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Why Institutions Are Being Forced To Rethink Themselves
The Weekend Playlist
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Good morning.
This week’s conversations examine how established systems are adapting to a changing economy.
Mayank Bathwal looks at why health insurance must become more relevant and affordable. Kunal Pande explores how tokenisation could widen access to large assets if regulation and cyber resilience keep pace. Earl Wilkinson explains why news publishers need new ways to build value beyond print economics. And Rajeswari Sengupta asks whether India’s 7.8% GDP growth estimate is transparent enough to be independently assessed.
Across all four, the question is the same: can institutions evolve fast enough to retain trust as markets, technology and consumer behaviour change?
WEEKEND EDITION
Health Insurance Is Getting Broader, But Is It Getting Better?
What would make people value health insurance even when they are not sick?
In this episode of Weekend Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Mayank Bathwal, Member of the Executive Committee, GIC and CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, about how India’s health insurance market is moving beyond hospital bills to cover a wider range of healthcare needs.
As medical costs rise, families are opting for larger covers, while insurers are expanding into outpatient care, preventive health and wellness.
However, increasing insurance penetration will require more than wider distribution. Younger consumers want products that feel relevant before hospitalisation, while the “missing middle” needs affordable premiums. That makes product design, healthcare costs and customer experience central to the industry’s next phase of growth.
Key Insight
Health insurance penetration is not just a distribution challenge; it is also a question of whether products match how different consumers actually use healthcare.
SPECIAL EDITION
Can Tokenisation Make Big Assets More Accessible?
What changes when an expensive asset can be broken into smaller, digitally tradeable pieces?
In this episode of Special Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Kunal Pande, National Leader, Cyber, Risk and Compliance Services at KPMG India, about how tokenisation could reshape access to financial and real-world assets.
The opportunity goes beyond bonds and certificates of deposit. Real estate, infrastructure and other large-ticket assets could potentially be fractionalised, widening participation while improving efficiency through programmable transactions.
However, technology alone will not create a market. Tokenised assets still depend on links between the blockchain and the underlying real-world asset, creating operational and cybersecurity risks. Scaling the market will therefore require coordinated regulation, stronger controls, investor education and greater resilience.
Key Insight
Tokenisation may lower barriers to investment, but market adoption will depend on product innovation, investor awareness and strong safeguards.
THE CORE QUIZ
What was India’s reported GDP growth rate in the April-June 2026 quarter? |
THE MEDIA ROOM
Can Journalism Find A Sustainable Digital Model?
Can news publishers build a sustainable digital business without recreating the economics of print?
In this episode of The Media Room, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar speaks with Earl Wilkinson, Executive Director and CEO of The International News Media Association, about how the news business is adapting to changing technology, audiences and revenue models.
Publishers are moving beyond print towards subscriptions, events, specialised products and other revenue streams. In India, where print remains relatively resilient, that transition may take a different path.
However, the larger challenge is not simply moving old revenues online. Publishers have to rebuild the value of journalism for audiences willing to pay.
Key Insight
The strongest news businesses may be those that combine journalism with subscriptions, events and specialised products rather than rely on one revenue stream.
HOW INDIA’S ECONOMY WORKS
What India’s GDP Numbers Still Don’t Explain
How much confidence should we place in India’s latest 7.8% GDP growth estimate?
In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Rajeswari Sengupta, Economist and Associate Professor at IGIDR, about how India measures GDP and what has changed in the latest base-year revision.
The statistical challenge is considerable: India has a large informal economy, incomplete income data and a rapidly changing services sector. The new series also introduces methodological changes, including double deflation and the use of new data sources.
However, Sengupta’s concern is less about whether the number is right or wrong than whether it can be properly evaluated independently. Without detailed sources and methods documentation, questions remain over deflators, GST data and informal-sector estimates.
Why This Matters
India’s GDP debate is less about one growth number and more about whether the underlying methodology can be independently understood and tested.
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