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India at Work: The Price of Growth, The Power of Story
The Weekend Playlist
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This week, India’s story unfolds across two striking frontiers — how we earn and how we escape.
As governments double down on public spending to keep the economy humming, economist Anoop Singh warns that fiscal opacity could turn this growth push into a gamble. Meanwhile, on our screens, Sameer Nair — the mind behind KBC, Scam 1992, and Gandhi — reflects on three decades of shaping how India watches, feels, and imagines itself.
From the nation’s spreadsheets to its stories, this edition explores the forces that will define India’s next chapter — of ambition and imagination.
Because how a country builds and dreams reveals far more about its future than any statistic ever could.
THE MEDIA ROOM
From KBC to Gandhi: The Storyteller-in-Chief
Before there were streamers, binge-worthy thrillers, and global fandoms — there was one man quietly rewriting how India watched stories.
In this episode of The Media Room, media journalist Vanita Kohli-Khandekar sits down with Sameer Nair, the creative powerhouse behind Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kaun Banega Crorepati, Scam 1992, and now Gandhi.
Nair looks back at three decades of Indian entertainment — from the rise of appointment TV to the chaos and opportunity of the OTT boom. His mantra? “There is no bottom of the pyramid in entertainment.” Because whether it’s a saas-bahu drama or a stock market scam, great stories are about attention, empathy, and curiosity.
He also breaks down Applause Entertainment’s strategy — stories that begin with “an audience of one” — and how India’s storytelling economy can scale without sacrificing quality.
Tune in for a masterclass in how storytelling, technology, and risk-taking shaped the screens — and imaginations — of modern India.
Because sometimes, the real story is about the people who tell them best.
HOW INDIA’S ECONOMY WORKS
India’s New Growth Plan: Spend Now, Fix Later?
Global trade is slowing. Debt is rising. And governments — India included — are stepping in to spend their way to growth.
But in this new world of fiscal-first economics, there’s a catch: you can’t manage what you can’t see.
In this episode of The Core Report, Puja Mehra speaks with Dr. Anoop Singh, economist and author of Managing Public Finances in a New Global Era, to unpack how India’s spending story is unfolding — and why its timing couldn’t be trickier.
From opaque accounting and off-budget borrowing to mounting subsidies and inconsistent state data, Singh lays bare the cracks in India’s fiscal foundation. His message is simple but urgent: transparency isn’t just good governance — it’s economic survival.
Tune in for a sharp, data-driven conversation on how India can make every rupee count — and build a fiscal system that can stand the test of global uncertainty.
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