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The Systems Behind Scale
The Weekend Playlist
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Good morning.
India is not short of scale. The harder question is whether the systems underneath are keeping pace.
Sreedhar N. explains why the construction boom now needs to be judged by energy use, durability and lifetime cost, not just square footage. Ajay Shah points out that investment will not deepen simply because India is large; rules, taxation and institutions have to make it easier for foreign investors. And Gaurav Banerjee shows how media is confronting its own version of the problem, as television and streaming converge around the same need IP that can travel, adapt and hold attention.
Across all three, the next phase of growth looks less like adding more, and more like making what already exists work better.
WEEKEND EDITION
India’s Building Boom Meets Its Efficiency Test
What if the cheapest unit of energy is the one a building never needs?
In this episode of Weekend Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Sreedhar N. of Saint-Gobain, about how building materials are moving from individual products to systems that shape energy use, maintenance costs and asset life.
India’s construction boom is often associated with more cement, concrete and air-conditioning. Sreedhar points to a different model: lighter walls, insulation, better glazing and construction chemicals that can reduce energy bills by as much as 40% in new buildings, while waterproofing and reinforcement can extend the life of expensive assets. The larger challenge is adoption. Benefits must be measurable enough to influence developers, architects, contractors and regulators, especially beyond premium urban projects.
Saint-Gobain’s planned ₹10,000 crore-plus India investment suggests that efficient construction is becoming a sizeable industrial market.
Key Insight
As climate risks grow, building materials will increasingly be judged not just by cost, but by how well they help structures handle heat, fire, moisture and extreme weather.
SPECIAL EDITION
What Is Scaring Foreign Investors Away From India?
If India needs more investment to grow faster, what is making global capital hold back?
In this episode of Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with economist Ajay Shah of XKDR Forum about why foreign investment into India has lost momentum, and why the problem runs deeper than valuations or global risk appetite.
Shah points to a cluster of domestic frictions: complex capital controls, taxation of cross-border investment, trade barriers, weak contract enforcement, regulatory uncertainty and the absence of stronger investor protections. His larger point is that each additional layer of compliance raises the return a foreign investor must expect before India becomes worth the risk.
Yet attracting foreign capital is not simply about bringing more money into markets. Shah sees it as a route to technology, management practices, deeper financial markets and new investment by Indian businesses themselves. Fixing this, he says, requires sustained institutional reform rather than a single policy change.
Key Insight
India’s foreign investment slowdown is not cyclical; Shah sees it as part of a broader post-2011 weakening in India’s investment environment.
THE CORE QUIZ
Who was appointed Air India’s new CEO in August 2026? |
THE MEDIA ROOM
Why Sony Thinks Television Still Has Plenty of Life Left
What happens when television, streaming and sport stop behaving like separate businesses?
In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Gaurav Banerjee of Sony Pictures Networks India, about how Sony is rebuilding its content strategy around IP that can travel across television, streaming and connected screens.
The shift is visible in the way Sony is reworking established franchises such as KBC, Indian Idol and Crime Patrol, while expanding regional television, sports and SonyLIV. Banerjee’s priority is less about choosing one screen over another and more about increasing watch time wherever audiences are. Sony’s experience suggests that scale on streaming may increasingly come from the same mass entertainment and live sports that built television.
Key Insight
More screens have not necessarily created completely different audiences; Sony’s data suggests that a genuinely successful show can travel across television, streaming and YouTube.
SPOTIFY UNLOCK
Longer lives. Rising costs. Market volatility. Uncertain returns.
The assumptions that once shaped retirement planning are being challenged, and the rules of long-term wealth creation are changing with them.
The Core, in partnership with Spotify Unlock, invites a select group of senior leaders, founders and investors to a closed-door conversation on Building Wealth for a Longer Life, moderated by Govindraj Etihraj in conversation with Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder & CIO, Marcellus Investment Managers.
August 25, 2026 | 8:30 AM | Lower Parel, Mumbai
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