The Morning Brief

Are music labels about to dictate the terms of Indian cinema? What began as strategic investments—Saregama's ₹325 crore stake in Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions and Universal Music's acquisition of 30.8% in Excel Entertainment—has sparked questions about consolidation, control, and the future of India's entertainment ecosystem. In this episode of The Morning Brief, host Anirban Chowdhury speaks with ET’s film journalist Rajesh N Naidu and Nirmika Singh, founder of MOX Asia, former Editor, Rolling Stone India to decode the financial mechanics behind these deals.The discussion explores whether this signals industry consolidation or smart cost control, how music labels are securing IP at cheaper rates while expanding global reach, and what differentiated strategies—Universal's premium content scaling versus Saregama's long-haul domestic focus—reveal about competitive dynamics. 

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

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India's precious metals explosion defies gravity as equities stumble. While the Nifty crawls at 10.5% and bleeds 4% this year, gold has rocketed from $2,700 to over $5,000. Silver from $28 to $100. That's a 200% surge in twelve months. Geopolitical chaos, tariff wars, and safe-haven demand are fueling this unprecedented rally. In this episode, host Kairavi Lukka talks to Naveen Mathur, Director - Commodities & Currencies, Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd, who warns: gold remains your portfolio anchor, but silver's volatility demands caution. With targets eyeing $5,500 for gold and ₹3.45 lakh/kg for silver, the question isn't whether precious metals outshine stocks, but whether investors can stomach the wild swings ahead. The metals revolution is here.

You can follow Kairavi Lukka on his social media:X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

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Qure.ai is transforming routine medical imaging into early disease detection at unprecedented scale. Processing nearly 1,000 patients per hour across 105 countries, the startup has made preliminary radiology reports at India’s AIIMS and CMC Vellore AI-powered often flagging diseases physicians weren’t even looking for. In this conversation, Vikas Dandekar speaks with Prashant Warier Co-founder & CEO, Ankit Modi, Founding Member and Chief Product Officer and Preetham Putha, Founding Member and Chief AI Officer about how Qure.ai is reimagining diagnostics. Their breakthrough includes risk-scoring algorithms that detect high-risk lung nodules on standard chest X-rays, achieving a 54% CT-confirmed malignancy rate. From TB screening programs in Mumbai. where their tools uncovered 35% more cases for lung cancer detection in US hospitals, Qure.ai now holds 19 FDA clearances and WHO endorsement for autonomous AI diagnosis. Founded in 2016 and trained on over 1.5 billion anonymized images, Qure.ai has published clinical evidence in The Lancet and Nature. With current revenues of ₹200 crore, the company is targeting profitability within two years while scaling toward its ambition of impacting 1 billion lives by 2030.

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In this episode of ET@Davos, ET’s Sruthijith KK speaks to Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind and Nobel Laureate 2024, on the future of AI. The chess prodigy-turned scientist-turned-AI pioneer explains how DeepMind balances frontier research with a billion-user scale. Hassabis says Google’s Apple partnership followed direct model comparisons where Gemini prevailed; China is now only months behind the West but lacks frontier breakthroughs; and AGI could arrive within a decade, triggering “post-scarcity” abundance. He defends AI’s energy demands, citing AI-designed fusion and grid optimisation. From Transformers to AlphaFold, Hassabis argues Google pioneered modern AI but moved too slowly. His bottom line: within 5–10 years, machines will be doing original science. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

You can follow Sruthijith K.K. on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

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In this episode, ET's Executive Editor Sruthijith KK sits down with AI pioneer Andrew Ng, Founder of DeepLearning.AI, for a critical conversation on India's tech future. Ng delivers a stark warning: the nation's massive IT services industry faces existential disruption. While dismissing AGI hype as overblown, he insists AI-powered upskilling isn't optional—it's survival. Ng challenges CEOs to personally master AI fundamentals, arguing that sophisticated tool usage now separates viable professionals from obsolete ones. For India, the path demands rapid workforce transformation and strategic open-source investment to maintain sovereignty. His message is clear: nations executing this transition will leapfrog competitors; those hesitating risk devastating displacement.

Listen in.

Check out other interesting episodes like: How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

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India's most trusted rocket, the PSLV, has experienced something unprecedented: back-to-back failures in May 2025 and January 2026, both involving mysterious third-stage anomalies. With a 92% success rate built over three decades, these consecutive setbacks mark uncharted territory for ISRO. Host Anirban Chowdhury speaks to TOI’s space journalist Chethan Kumar to break down the technical failures, examines whether the agency is overstretched by ambitious missions like Gaganyaan, discusses implications for commercial launches and the upcoming private-sector PSLV debut, and questions why ISRO has departed from transparency by withholding failure reports. As India's space ambitions grow, can its workhorse rocket regain its legendary reliability?

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

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Iran's current crisis isn't just another protest cycle, it's a convergence of systemic failures. A decades-old illusion of invincibility crumbled when US-Israeli bombs struck its nuclear facilities. Tehran's water crisis last autumn exposed the regime's inability to provide basic necessities, igniting rage that economic sanctions and 40-50% inflation had already primed. What began as bread-and-butter grievances morphed into brazen political dissent: women publicly burning portraits of Supreme Leader Khamenei. In this episode, host Anirban Chowdhury talks to Kabir Taneja, Deputy Director and Fellow with the Strategic Studies Programme at Observer Research Foundation about Iran's unraveling. The geopolitical architecture Iran built, its "axis of resistance", lies in ruins. Israel systematically dismantled Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi capabilities, leaving Tehran exposed and its proxies toothless. Even moderate President Pezeshkian backs the crackdown, alienating young voters. For India, this isn't abstract geopolitics. One-fifth of global oil transits the Strait of Hormuz; any Iranian desperation to play there inflates import bills and triggers rupee pressure. Chabahar Port ambitions stall. Basmati exporters await frozen payments. The danger isn't revolution, it's an erratic, cornered regime with nothing left to lose.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India assumes the BRICS chair amid profound contradiction. What began as an emerging economies coalition has become an unwieldy 10-nation bloc including Gulf states, Egypt, and Ethiopia bound more by grievance than vision. Host Anirban Chowdhury speaks with Alicia García-Herrero, chief economist at Natixis, and former BRICS Sherpa Sanjay Bhattacharya to explore whether BRICS can deliver tangible cooperation or remain trapped in anti-Western posturing. For India, the chairmanship means navigating between dollar-defiant Russia and hegemonic China while preserving Western partnerships. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's "inclusive development" focus signals intent, but execution trumps rhetoric. The bloc's value lies in widening the negotiating table, not replacing existing systems. India's test: shaping BRICS without being shaped by it, proving genuine multipolarity requires Indian leadership, not Chinese dominance masquerading as collective action. The world watches whether Delhi extracts concrete benefits from this proving ground.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silicon Valley is experiencing its biggest platform shift in decades, but beneath the frenzy lies a brutal correction in progress. An early-stage AI investor reveals the uncomfortable truths emerging from the epicenter of the boom. Host Swathi Moorthy talks to Apoorva Pandhi, Managing Director of Zetta Venture Partners about why the honeymoon is over. What began as wild experimentation now faces merciless ROI demands. Startups are securing nine-figure valuations with little more than demos. The mortality rate between seed and Series A has never been higher. Each breakthrough from major AI labs creates an instant graveyard of obsolete startups entire business models evaporate overnight. This isn't typical market turbulence. Researchers, not traditional founders, now command the power. Mega-funds are abandoning late-stage discipline to chase seed deals with oversized checks. The math has broken. And at the heart of it all: a dangerous gap between what AI companies are worth and what they can actually deliver. The reckoning won't be gradual, it's already underway, and most won't see it coming.

You can follow Swathi Moorthy on her social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes of ET in the Valley: ET in the Valley:  Grant Lee, Co-Founder & CEO of Gamma, ET in the Valley: Databricks Co-founder Patrick Wendell, ET in the Valley: Replit Founder and CEO Amjad Masad, ET in the Valley: ElevenLabs Co-Founder Mati Staniszewski and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India's quick service restaurant sector witnessed a seismic shift as Devyani International and Sapphire Foods merged to create the country's largest listed QSR platform with over 3,000 stores and consolidated revenue exceeding ₹7,800 crore. The deal brings KFC and Pizza Hut operations under one franchisee, promising annual synergies of ₹210-225 crore and positioning the entity as a formidable challenger to Jubilant FoodWorks' Domino's empire. But size alone won't guarantee success. As India's food services market fragments with regional players and artisanal chains disrupting legacy brands, the combined entity faces a critical question: can it deliver the agility needed to compete in an increasingly brand-agnostic landscape where Gen Z consumers show little loyalty? Host Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET’s Ratna Bhushan and Ankur Bisen, Management Consultant, Author And Senior Partner At The Knowledge Company about how the merger unlocks significant cost advantages and operational efficiencies, yet becoming bigger also makes you vulnerable at the edges. The next two years will reveal whether this consolidation creates a QSR powerhouse or simply a larger target for market disruption.

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: Twitter and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like: When Grinch Almost Stole Gig Workers' Christmas, How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?, How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, India’s Labour Law Reboot, Viral to Valuation: Building Women’s Cricket as a Brand and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.