From the Bookshelves
.jpg "Shiv Shivakumar: How to deal with the ten most important career dilemmas")
-
Challenging the myths of meritocracy, with Prof. Michael Sandel
As more people feel dislocated in the face of the inexorable forces of globalisation and lash out against immigrants and free trade, Professor Michael Sandel, one of the foremost philosophers in the world and a professor at Harvard University, challenges the usual notions of meritocracy in his latest book, 'The Tyranny of Merit: What's become of the common good?' While the book delves more into Donald Trump's win and Brexit as the base for its narrative, it has lessons for everyone as education plays a key role in how citizenry votes around the world
-
Dr Sudipta Sarangi: Why we like free stuff, and the economics of other small things
Dr. Sudipta Sarangi's debut novel 'The Economics of Small Things' questions our small actions and why we do things the way we do them, and the economics behind them. The book explains concepts of economics with real life questions, like why we ask for freebies while buying vegetables, and more importantly, why the shopkeeper will give you freebies. The book presents some interesting case studies, including the correlation of the pied piper of Hamelin in the context of economics
-
Chinmay Tumbe: Why pandemics, economics and politics will always be inter-connected
Every pandemic that tore through the Indian subcontinent like in 2020, brought businesses to a standstill. In 1907, India's GDP contracted by 5 percent, and in 1918 India's GDP fell 10 percent while inflation was high, creating a supply-side shock as 20 million Indians died. The Age of Pandemics by Chinmay Tumbe argues the close connection between pandemics, economics, and politics that have shaped Indian history and why we need to give a central role to pandemics
-
Understanding Amartya Sen, with Lawrence Hamilton
Noble laureate Dr. Amartya Sen is a celebrated economist but he is highly misunderstood in India. The book is an attempt by the author to bring his economic theories and other ideas in a simple concise manner to common readers. Amartya Sen has never been shy of being critical of the Indian government's identity politics and economic reforms which has not gone done well with a lot of politicians and intellectuals alike. The book distills his ideas of the capabilities approach, choice theory among other things, and why his ideas are all the more important in the pandemic era.
-
Sumant Sinha: Need for renewable energy in India and challenges that ail the power sector
74% of carbon comes from energy sector and a third of it comes from the electricity providers in India. Indian renewable sector has faced challenges in terms of valuations, competitive bid prices but things are changing in 2020. With India planning to sell its discoms in Union territories to private companies, renewable companies are now looking to acquire these assets for expanding their portfolio. This conversation dwells on the reason to adapt to renewable space, future opportunities and challenges in the sector
-
Nims Purja: What life's like in the death zone
Remember that viral image of the long queue at Mount Everest? That was the work of Nirmal "Nims" Purja, who served in the armed forces before leaving to follow his passion for mountaineering full-time. He joins us on this week's episode to talk about his book 'Beyond Possible', a real-life chronicle of the sheer grit it takes to conquest all the world's 8,000-metre 'death zone' peaks in 7 months
-
Devaki Jain: Memoirs of a powerful feminist economist
In her book 'The Brass Notebook', Padma Bhushan awardee Devaki Jain highlights the lived pain of ambitious women growing up in pre-Independence India. She joins us on this episode to share her incredible story to success, peppered with intimate anecdotes and reflections—a story she isn't afraid of showing off
-
Mohammad Mustafa: 5 things to remember when raising capital
With deep experience in banking himself as SIDBI's ex-chairman, Mustafa had an inside view into how the venture capital ecosystem works. From his observation collected across the years, Mustafa's book 'Demystifying Venture Capital' is a primer for the Indian VC scene, which works very differently from other parts of Indian finance. Mustafa joins us on this week's episode to share his insights
-
Joe Foster: The 'lousy shoemaker' who founded Reebok
Foster joins us to kick off Season 2 of this podcast, to talk about his book 'Shoe Maker' and the incredible journey of how he built Reebok
-
Season finale: Vivek Kaul reviews Dr Viral Acharya's new book
From movie anecdotes to the mess in the Indian banking system, the author of 'Bad Money', Vivek Kaul, reviews the former RBI deputy governor's book, 'Quest For Restoring Financial Stability'. On this episode, we discuss fiscal dominance, the RBI's need for setting its own targets and the need for freedom to regulate PSU banks
-
Podcast: Why leadership is like climbing Mount Everest—and how to get to the top
Leadership coach Shital Kakkar Mehra talks about how to get from the cubicle to the corner office, and in the age of remote work, why influencer skills are important. Kakkar Mehra discusses her book 'Executive Presence: The POISE Formula For Leadership' on this episode, and how the idea of leadership has evolved during Covid-19