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IMA India's Podcast offers insights on the Indian economy, politics, business environment and functional areas for CXOs and senior management.
274 Episodes
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The rise of Jardine Matheson owed as much to Bombay as to Britain. Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, a Parsi merchant , supplied the cargo, capital and connections that William Jardine needed to build his “Noble House.” The Parsis of Bombay were not mere middlemen; they were global traders. From cotton and tea to the darker commerce of opium, families like the Jeejeebhoys, Readymoneys and Wadias tied Canton to Bombay. They spoke Gujarati at home, did business in English and haggled in Cantonese in Ch...
As American tariffs bite and orders dry up, Indian firms exposed to the US are scrambling for options. None is straightforward. Shifting production elsewhere means heavy capital outlays, new supplier risks and the headache of securing components and sub-assemblies. Yet a sudden shift in US policy could render such moves pointless. The calculation, then, is less about margins than about risk. Which is the bigger danger - losing customers or tying up capital in ventures that may turn sour? The ...
India’s $2.1 trillion consumer economy is being rapidly rewritten. Aspirations are rising, as the rural –urban divide begins to blur. The digital media now shapes buying decisions, even when purchases stay offline. Premiumisation is spreading beyond metros, while health and wellness surge nationwide. Consumers loyalties pivot on relevance and trust, forcing brands to adapt faster. From FMCG to autos, spending patterns are shifting in unexpected ways. IMA’s latest report decodes these t...
Your columnist has, over the years, been trained by his better half to visit museums with the noble intent of cultivating an interest in art. Initially reluctant, he is now more attuned to its charms and has even begun to recognise the works of the Greats. Admittedly, he still sometimes wonders what all the fuss is about, but he has evolved into a more willing follower—something of a loyal aide-de-camp, trailing his master with immaculate precision. On a recent hiking trip to the Alps,...
The new order will be multipolar, fragmented and spiked with suspicion. America will remain strong but unpredictable. China will be powerful but mistrusted. Europe will hedge and Asia will prepare for the worst. In this unsettled world, India’s choices, whether it pursues reform, asserts itself diplomatically and balances skilfully, will shape not just its own future but the architecture of the century. The order is not yet written, but Delhi holds one of the pens. The only question is...
Tata Motors has learned to treat disruption as a forcing mechanism. Product disappointments such as the Nano and the Indica, exposed not only poor design but also structural weaknesses in quality control and consumer insight. By 2016 the rot was visible, as market share eroded, customer trust waned and internal morale sagged. The company responded with urgency. The turnaround playbook was rooted in recognising crises not as aberrations, but as catalysts for reinvention. Adit Jain in conversat...
The world today is in a state of flux - geopolitical tensions, economic volatility, trade wars and environmental crises are converging into an unrelenting storm. In such a landscape, running an enterprise is no longer about operational excellence alone, it’s about human resilience. The role of a leader has fundamentally changed. From being a figurehead or coordinator, the modern leader is now omnipresent, emotionally available, environmentally aware and prepared to manage failure at mul...
Sustainability and ethics are no longer optional 'nice to haves’ but an essential element of long-term business success. Today’s organisations must go beyond minimising their environmental impact and actively integrate ethical practices and sustainability into their core operations. Avery Dennison, a global leader in materials science and digital identification solutions, is at the forefront of this transformation. By optimising labour and supply chain efficiency, reducing waste and driving s...
The pressure of delivering strong results quarter after quarter can tempt even the best companies to be myopic on ethics and fair business practices. Sometimes, this gives rise to the sort of scandals that can destroy the very foundations of a business. While some may view 'fair practices' as resource-draining and growth-impeding, companies that adopt a values-based approach to ethics and compliance gain a long-term competitive edge in the marketplace. At recent combined sessions of the India...
According to Spencer Stuart, 87% of CHROs today are active participants in CEO succession planning – a powerful signal that boards increasingly see HR leaders as strategic stewards of enterprise leadership. As the CHRO role expands beyond functional excellence into business transformation, culture-building and digital foresight, it is becoming a credible springboard to the CEO’s office. At a recent India CHRO Forum session in Delhi and Mumbai, Ashish Srivastava, Managing Director o...
Despite years of digital transformation, most enterprises remain stuck in what might be termed a ‘digital slum’: a maze of dashboards, siloed systems and disconnected analytics. They are data-rich but insight-poor, paralysed by complexity and unclear on how to translate their massive data reservoirs into real business value. At a recent India CEO Forum session in Mumbai, Dr Shailesh Kumar, Chief Data Scientist at Reliance Jio, laid out a comprehensive blueprint for becoming an AI-first enterp...
In an era of increasing organisational complexity and rapid market shifts, the partnership between CFOs and CHROs is more critical than ever. Strategic synergy between Finance and HR fosters resilience, driving sustainable growth and cost efficiency. A well-integrated Finance-HR collaboration enables companies to navigate economic uncertainties while strengthening workforce engagement. At a recent India CHRO Forum session in Bangalore, Abhishek Gupta, Myntra’s CFO, and Govinda Raj MK, its CHR...
As AI reshapes the business landscape, CHROs are being called upon to cut through the noise and lead with clarity. This episode brings together two compelling conversations from IMA India’s recent HR sessions. In the first, Naveen Narayanan, Global Head of HR at Biocon Biologics, outlines the CHRO’s evolving role in embedding GenAI into workforce strategy—bridging capability gaps, reframing talent models and redefining value creation. The second session delves into the growing shift from role...
Global investment in smart manufacturing is accelerating, with India emerging as one of the world’s most dynamic markets. As industrial ecosystems evolve, the focus for businesses is shifting from whether to adopt smart technologies to how to scale them effectively. At a recent IMA India CEO Forum session run in collaboration with the EDAG Group, Rainer Wittich, CEO, EDAG Production Solutions, Arnab Roy, CFO, Maruti Suzuki and Rajat Verma, Founder and CEO of LOHUM, explored the advancements d...
The Supreme Court of India recently ordered the liquidation of Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), marking a significant development with wide-ranging implications for Corporate India. The case highlights critical issues around procedural rigour, finality in insolvency proceedings and the scope of judicial intervention. At a recent IMA India CFO Forum session, Tine Abraham, Partner, Disputes Practice and Mohammed Shameer, Partner, Disputes Pr...
Compensation is a critical lever for attracting, retaining and motivating talent. In a shifting economic climate, getting it right has never been more important. At a recent IMA India CHRO Forum session in Mumbai, Amit Otwani, Associate Partner and Kavitha Venkatachalam, Director at Aon Human Capital Solutions (HCS), shared insights from Aon’s latest Salary Increase and Turnover Survey. Drawing on global and Indian macroeconomic trends, the discussion explored FY25 increments, pay-for-perform...
Sustainability is now a critical imperative for businesses and societies alike, and understanding the prime forces driving this agenda is more important than ever before. From global trends and technological innovations to corporate leadership and evolving policy frameworks, the sustainability landscape is rapidly transforming. This podcast explains the tangible benefits of embedding sustainability into business practices and discussed how businesses can navigate the complex terrain and...
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.’ In an era increasingly dominated by personalities and passing controversies, it is essential to refocus on enduring ideas and transformative events. This is especially true in the post-2020 world, where a series of global shocks has fundamentally reshaped geopolitics. In response, India’s foreign policy is being fundamentally recalibrated. From managing a volatile border with Ch...
The emergence of US tariffs as a policy tool, is a decisive shift in global trade and indeed the liberal world order, which facilitated the emergence of Asia’s tiger economies. Once dismissed as a temporary measure, tariffs are now rooted in a broader economic agenda that merges protectionism, domestic manufacturing and geopolitical influence. For companies, this carries far-reaching implications, shaping inflation, growth and production strategies. At the start of the year, mark...
In the discussions that your columnist has had, over the course of the past couple of months, with IMA Forum Members, it was evident that urban consumption has begun to taper. As it happens, the trend really became apparent several quarters ago. Still, consumer goods companies are likely to record annual revenue growth between 5% and 8%. But that is largely on account of higher prices rather than larger volumes. Analysts have offered various explanations such as greater inflation, poor ...
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