The Morning Brief

Why does a cancer injection bought by a hospital for ₹11,000 end up costing a patient ₹1.3 lakh? India’s drug pricing system is under scrutiny as the government caps trade margins on hundreds of cancer medicines at 30%. While prices of several drugs have fallen sharply, nearly one in four packs has seen no reduction. And a 30% margin still allows a markup of nearly 43% over the manufacturer’s price. So who profits from expensive medicines? Why have previous interventions failed? And will the latest price cuts actually bring relief to patients? Anirban Chowdhury talks to ET's pharma editor Vikas Dandekar. Listen in:

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X andLinkedinCheck out other interesting episodes like:How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?,How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, Two Women Fought to Change India's Maternity Laws...and Succeeded,https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536Can India Truly End Naxalism?, Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma’s Moat Breaks andmuch more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ onThe Economic Times Online,Spotify,Apple Podcasts,JioSaavn,Amazon Music andYoutube.

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When AI agents book your flights, buy your groceries and pick your hotels, no one is scrolling, and no one sees an ad. So how does the internet make money?

Lightspeed India partners Harsha Kumar and Hemanth Mohapatra explain which purchases agents will take over and which will stay human. They also cover why you can’t upsell an AI agent, what that means for the ad-based internet, and why India may prefer paying per outcome over subscriptions. They make the case for vertical AI built for tier-two and tier-three India, compare today’s AI wave with the dot-com era, and share how they use AI assistants themselves.

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You can follow Himanshi Lohchab on her social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like:How Will a Volatile ₹ Impact You in 2026?,How Quick Commerce is Triggering a Health Crisis for Gen Z, Two Women Fought to Change India's Maternity Laws...and Succeeded,https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536Can India Truly End Naxalism?, Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma’s Moat Breaks andmuch more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ onThe Economic Times Online,Spotify,Apple Podcasts,JioSaavn,Amazon Music andYoutube.

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China challenged America's dominance in manufacturing, technology and artificial intelligence. Now, it is threatening another American stronghold: the pharmaceutical industry.

Chinese biotech companies are developing breakthrough drugs faster and cheaper than their American counterparts. One Chinese cancer drug, ivonescimab, is emerging as a potential challenger to Keytruda, Merck's $31-billion blockbuster. Meanwhile, Western pharmaceutical giants are striking multibillion-dollar licensing deals with Chinese innovators.

But Washington is worried. Could America's growing dependence on Chinese biotechnology become a national security threat? And could India benefit from this escalating rivalry?

In this episode of The Morning Brief Decode, Anirban Chowdhury speaks to The Economic Times' pharma editor Vikas Dandekar about China's biotech revolution, the battle for the future of medicine, the US response and India's opportunity to become a bigger player in global drug innovation.

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India’s smartphone market is heading into Diwali on a sour note. Shipments fell sharply in the July–September quarter, with the sub-₹20,000 segment hit hardest. A global memory-chip crunch is raising costs, pushing up prices and forcing buyers to delay upgrades, settle for fewer features or choose refurbished phones. But does this slump signal a wider squeeze on household spending, or is it a supply shock tied to the race to build AI data centres? We examine what falling shipments reveal about affordability, consumption and India’s mobile growth, with Counterpoint Research’s Tarun Pathak and Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis.

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What if you didn’t need a tech team, or any code, to build software?
In this episode of Corner Office Conversation, Anirban Chowdhury sits down with Mukund Jha, Founder and CEO of Emergent, the AI platform where anyone with an idea can build a real, hosted, working app. A former Google engineer, Mukund also co-founded Dunzo, the unicorn that became a verb in India...and then folded.
He shares hard-won Dunzo lessons on growth versus endurance, focus and unit economics, and why second-mover advantage matters in AI. Emergent says 18 million apps have been built on it. Mukund believes anyone could soon build any software without code.

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The Supreme Court has set aside Yes Bank’s 2020 write-down of ₹8,415 crore in AT1 bonds. Anirban Chowdhury speaks to Sugata Ghosh of The Economic Times about how AT1 bonds work, why the Court ruled against the write-down, what the judgment means for investors and regulators, and how the case compares with Switzerland’s Credit Suisse AT1 dispute

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AI agents undergoing tests accessed Indian organisations’ live systems and read confidential business records and personal data. The companies did not detect these intrusions; AI developers disclosed them after internal reviews. What happens when an AI agent exceeds its instructions, and who should bear the consequences? Anirban Chowdhury speaks to lawyer Pavan Duggal and Prof NK Goyal of CMAI about the warning from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, the challenges of assigning liability and the safeguards businesses need. From disclosure requirements to protecting sensitive information, this episode examines whether India’s laws and corporate defences can keep pace with autonomous AI.

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As AI becomes more powerful, who gets to shape its direction—and share its benefits? ET’s tech editor Surabhi Agarwal speaks to Google DeepMind’s Chief AI Readiness Officer, Lila Ibrahim, about the tension between rapid development and responsible deployment. They discuss India’s place in the global AI race, the role of teachers in AI-enabled classrooms, and research that could help farmers grow more resilient crops. Ibrahim also reflects on responsibility inside DeepMind, the work around AlphaFold, and the everyday ways she uses AI as a parent. A conversation about preparing people and institutions for a technology already changing their lives.

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The rupee has bounced. So why does the RBI seem so worried? Unusually timed announcements, a special dollar window for oil companies and tougher currency trading rules reveal an aggressive effort to arrest the slide. But could making currency protection more expensive leave Indian businesses exposed? Anirban Chowdhury speaks to The Economic Times’ Sugata Ghosh about how these interventions work, how offshore bets influence the rupee and why a lasting recovery requires more than central bank firepower. Is the RBI restoring stability—or buying time?

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Blackstone wants to double its India investments to $100 billion in five years. What does Jonathan Gray see that nervous investors are missing? In this episode of ET Conversations, executive editor Sruthijith KK speaks to Blackstone’s president and COO about India’s growth prospects, the market pullback and the sectors attracting his capital. Gray explains why he remains optimistic about AI infrastructure, how Indian IT services firms can become AI deployment partners, and why a rising middle class creates opportunities across healthcare, travel, housing and finance. They also discuss rising interest rates, currency depreciation, private credit concerns and the discipline behind investing conviction.

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Misleading packaging, restaurant inspections and scrutiny of the kitchens behind your delivery apps: FSSAI is sharpening its enforcement. ET's FMCG editor Ratna Bhushan talks to FSSAI chief Rajit Punhani about holding food businesses accountable, taking regulatory action public, and the proposed changes that could help consumers know more about what they buy. Listen in:

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Airfares are rising just as the festive travel season approaches. ATF prices have jumped sharply in recent months, while a weaker rupee is adding to airlines’ fuel costs. At the same time, fewer flights and slower aircraft deliveries are tightening capacity even as demand picks up.

In this episode, Host Anirban Chowdhury speaks to ET's Forum Gandhi, about what is driving the surge in airfares, how airlines are balancing higher costs with weaker domestic traffic, and why Mumbai flyers could face an additional hit as capacity shifts to Navi Mumbai Airport. The conversation also looks at what passengers should watch over the next six months.
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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X andLinkedin
Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.
Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online,Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

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Ahead of the GST Council meeting, Bipin Sapra, Partner and Indirect Tax Policy Leader, EY India, explains to Anirban Chowdhury the proposed changes to input tax credit, refunds, exports and e-way bills—and what they could mean for business costs, working capital and consumer prices. These are expected changes, not final decisions.
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The Flydubai incident has raised a difficult question for aviation security: what happens when the threat comes from within the aircraft? As investigators work to establish the facts, the incident is already forcing a rethink of how airlines identify and mitigate insider threats.
Host Anirban Chowdhury speaks to aviation security experts Arik Arad and Shannon Wandmaker about the vulnerabilities exposed by the incident, why one-time background checks may not be enough in an age of rapid online radicalisation, and whether continuous vetting and stronger security cultures can close the gap. He also explains why aviation security is ultimately about layers of mitigation—not the promise of preventing every possible attack.

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI is moving from experimental technology to an increasingly powerful part of everyday work. At The Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Krish Ramineni, Founder and CEO of Fireflies.ai, joins ET’s Himanshi Lohchab to discuss AI agents, the future of knowledge work, India’s AI opportunity, and why falling AI costs could dramatically expand its adoption

Tune in.

You can follow Himanshi Lohchab on her social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online,Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xi Jinping has sat across the table from both Narendra Modi and Donald Trump within two weeks. For years, a more assertive China pushed India closer to Washington. But what happens if the US and China learn to manage their rivalry?

On this episode of Morning Brief Decode, Pranab Dhal Samanta, National Editor (Politics) at The Economic Times explains to Anirban Chowdhury whether the reset is really happening in Washington, what the summit's optics signal, and how India should balance China, the US and BRICS. He also flags what to watch in the next six months: the India-EU relationship, Eurasian trade access, and possible exemptions in the US trade deal.

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X andLinkedinCheck out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online,Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The independence of India’s Election Commission rests on a constitutional framework that gives it wide powers — but questions remain over how that independence works in practice. On The Morning Brief, host Neil Ghai speaks to ET’s Anubhuti Vishnoi on the changing appointment process for Election Commissioners, the internal friction within the poll panel and the impact of electoral-roll revisions on voters. Anubhuti breaks down Article 324, the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners and the debate over the executive’s role in selecting them.
She also examines the reported objections within the Commission over electoral-roll management, Form 6, centralised technology and the Special Intensive Revision.
Together, these issues raise a broader question about the institution’s ability to function collectively, independently and transparently as it prepares for elections ahead.

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The investigation into the death of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode is examining competing allegations and evidence. But beyond the immediate case lies a broader question: what are India’s premier institutions really preparing students for?

On The Morning Brief, host Anirban Chowdhury speaks to BITS Pilani Group Vice Chancellor V Ramgopal Rao, former JNU professor Rajeev Kumar and ET’s Rashmi Rajput about the intense pressure surrounding IIT admissions, the limitations of using exam performance as a measure of intellectual ability, and the challenges students face once they enter these highly competitive institutions.

The discussion also looks at AI and education: when should students be allowed to use AI, what should examinations test, and does the JEE system need to evolve as machines become increasingly capable of solving the very tests students compete to clear?

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You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X andLinkedinCheck out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online,Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes some CEOs and founders successful? At The Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Cheryl Lim, Partner at McKinsey & Company, joins ET’s Anirban Chowdhury to explore the mindsets and behaviours that drive long-term value creation, how leaders balance big ambitions with disciplined execution, and what it takes to build organisations that can sustain growth.

Listen In

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X andLinkedinCheck out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online,Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India’s IPO market has hit the accelerator. After just 27 mainboard IPOs in the first half of 2026, July-September alone is seeing 61 issues worth roughly ₹88,000 crore. And the pipeline is staggering: 148 companies with SEBI approvals worth ₹2.8 lakh crore are waiting to tap the market. Anirban Chowdhury speaks with ET markets editor Nishanth Vasudevan about what triggered the boom, whether Jio could suck liquidity from other issues, why smaller IPOs are still finding buyers, whether mega listings signal a market top, and whether foreign investors could finally return to India.

Listen In

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:X andLinkedinCheck out other interesting episodes like - Cognizant’s Surya Gummadi on How AI Can Deliver Returns, The Future of Insurance in India | Sarbvir Singh of PB Fintech, Groww’s ₹6,600 Cr Leap - Fintech’s Big Market Test Begins , OML CEO on the Creator Economy’s Next Wave & much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online,Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.