- The Core
- Posts
- A Year in Three Conversations: What 2025 Really Told Us
A Year in Three Conversations: What 2025 Really Told Us
The Weekend Playlist
In partnership with
Good Morning. As India looks ahead, some of the most important shifts are happening away from the spotlight.
In our recent conversation with Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO of ONGC, we examined how India is rethinking oil exploration—moving patiently, offshore, and one well at a time—to reduce risk while securing its long-term energy future in a volatile, geopolitically charged world.
As we close out 2025, this final Weekend Edition steps back to revisit a few conversations that best captured the forces reshaping India beneath the headlines.
From Sajjid Chinoy’s data-driven explanation of India’s hidden services boom—quietly cushioning growth even as the world slows—to Aamir Khan’s candid challenge to the dominance of OTT platforms in our first-ever celebrity interview at The Core Report, these stories reflect a common theme.
This is our Core Report Rewind—a look at the ideas and conversations that helped make sense of the year that was.
WEEKEND EDITION (Energy Special)
India’s Oil Bet Is Changing—One Well at a Time
India’s future oil discoveries, if they happen, are unlikely to be quick wins on land. They will come slowly, offshore, and at enormous cost.
That is the central takeaway from The Core Report conversation between financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj and ONGC Chairman & CEO Arun Kumar Singh—a rare look inside how India is rethinking oil exploration in a riskier, more expensive, and geopolitically fraught world.
For decades, oil exploration in India followed a familiar pattern: drill, discover, scale—or walk away. That model no longer works.
Today, a single ultra-deep water well can cost many multiples of a traditional onshore well, with no guarantee of success. Instead of betting big on one strike, ONGC is now spreading risk—de-risking exploration one well at a time.
Why offshore matters now
India’s largest undiscovered oil and gas reserves are expected to lie deep offshore, particularly in deep and ultra-deep water blocks. These are technically complex, capital-intensive, and unforgiving of error.
Which is why ONGC is leaning heavily on:
Advanced seismic imaging
AI-driven subsurface analysis
Repeated drilling to build data confidence, not chase lucky hits
In modern exploration, patience beats speed. Data beats instinct.
Oil isn’t going away—yet
Even as India pushes hard on renewables, solar, and energy storage, the message from ONGC is blunt: oil and gas will remain central to India’s growth for decades.
The energy transition is real—but it will be uneven, gradual, and demand-driven. Until then, India must secure its hydrocarbons while managing cost and risk better than before.
The bigger shift
This is not just about drilling deeper. It is about changing how India thinks about risk, technology, and time horizons.
Exploration today is not about heroic discoveries.
It is about methodical progress, one well at a time.
And in an uncertain energy future, that may be India’s smartest bet.
INDIA ENERGY WEEK 2026
India Energy Week returns for its 4th edition from 27–30 January 2026 in Goa, held under the patronage of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and co-organised by FIPI and DMG Events.
As India advances its role in the global energy transition, the event will bring together policymakers, industry leaders and innovators to shape practical pathways toward a secure, sustainable and affordable energy future.
IEW 2026 will spotlight India’s leadership in balancing energy access with decarbonisation, while showcasing strategic investments, emerging technologies and global partnerships driving the next era of energy progress.
THE CORE REPORT REWIND
This is the final Weekend Edition of The Core Report for 2025.
Before we turn the page, this edition looks back at two conversations that stood out for very different reasons—one on India’s quietly shifting economic engine, the other on a deliberate challenge to how Indian cinema is released and consumed.
Together, they capture what defined the year: change happening not loudly, but decisively. This is our Core Report Rewind—a pick of the conversations that helped explain where India is headed next.
Aamir Khan on Cinema, OTT—and Why the Big Screen Still Matters
This was The Core Report’s first interview with a film celebrity—and Aamir Khan used it to challenge one of the industry’s strongest assumptions.
In The Media Room with Vanita Kohli-Khandekar, he explains why he is backing theatrical releases over OTT, even as streaming offers lower risk and guaranteed distribution. From Sitaare Zameen Par to pay-per-view models, the conversation goes beyond business mechanics to a deeper question: what is lost when cinema stops being a shared, big-screen experience?
It is a rare, high-conviction view on the future of films—and the risks Aamir Khan is willing to take to protect it.
THE CORE QUIZ
Which regulator is probing IndiGo over alleged abuse of dominance after its December disruptions? |
Sajjid Chinoy on the Shift Few Are Watching Closely Enough
Some conversations stay with you because they explain what headlines miss.
Our discussion with Sajjid Chinoy did exactly that. At a time when global growth is slowing and risks are building, he laid out—clearly and without drama—how India’s services economy is quietly doing the heavy lifting, cushioning shocks and reshaping the country’s growth trajectory.
This was not about forecasts or slogans. It was about data, jobs, productivity, and the kind of work India is increasingly doing for the world—and why that matters far more than most realise.
It is one of those conversations that reframes how you see India’s economy heading into the next decade.
MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
Stop guessing. Start scaling.
See the top-performing Facebook ads in your niche and replicate them using AI. Gethookd shows you what’s actually working so you can increase ROI and scale ad spend with confidence.
The Year-End Moves No One’s Watching
Markets don’t wait — and year-end waits even less.
In the final stretch, money rotates, funds window-dress, tax-loss selling meets bottom-fishing, and “Santa Rally” chatter turns into real tape. Most people notice after the move.
Elite Trade Club is your morning shortcut: a curated selection of the setups that still matter this year — the headlines that move stocks, catalysts on deck, and where smart money is positioning before New Year’s. One read. Five minutes. Actionable clarity.
If you want to start 2026 from a stronger spot, finish 2025 prepared. Join 200K+ traders who open our premarket briefing, place their plan, and let the open come to them.
By joining, you’ll receive Elite Trade Club emails and select partner insights. See Privacy Policy.
THE TEAM
✍️ Zinal Dedhia, Kudrat Wadhwa | ✂️ Rohini Chatterji | 📹️ Maitrayee Iyer | 🎧 Joshua Thomas
🤝 Reach 80k+ CXOs? Partner with us.
✉️ Got questions or feedback? Reach out.
💰 Like The Core? Support us.
