Big exit at HDFC Bank raises even bigger questions about corporate governance

The sudden resignation of Atanu Chakraborty as non-executive chairman and independent director of HDFC Bank is not just another boardroom development. It is a moment that compels India Inc. to pause and reflect. In a country where board exits are typically cloaked in polite euphemisms — “personal reasons” or “other commitments” — this resignation stands…

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Modi As Mediator?

He fits the bill. But it’s a tough call Should Modi mediate in the US-Israel vs Iran war? At least one head of govt, Finland’s president, has publicly said so. Some pundits have mused about this. More important, though, is Modi ticks all the mediator boxes. Let’s list them. He’s prominent on the global stage….

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The actuarial pen is mightier than the sword

It is day 18 of the largest shipping disruption since WWII. I am looking at the dashboard www.hormuztracker.com: ~3,200 ships (4% global tonnage) idle in Gulf region and ~100 container ships (10% of global fleet) affected. “Probable cancellation and withholding of insurance cover in the face of calamity – doesn’t that contradict the spirit of…

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BrahMos, technology development and pinnacle of glory– how UP’s dominance in the defence economy grew in 9 years

The growth in the defence economy is the narrative of Uttar Pradesh (UP) over the past nine years.It is not merely a slogan, but a transformation of mind and action, realised on the ground. A state once viewed through the lens of limited potential and backwardness is today carving a new identity as a confluence…

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A West Asian war, a South Asian cost 

An Iran–Israel–US conflict would not stop at the battlefield. Through polluted seas, disrupted shipping, fuel shocks, and damaged marine ecosystems, its environmental and economic aftershocks could hit the Indian subcontinent hard.  A widening Iran–Israel–US conflict is often discussed in terms of missiles, deterrence, and oil prices. But that framework is far too narrow. Wars in…

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ego, identity, and reward loops

I have coached leaders who can negotiate billion-rupee deals, handle crises with a straight face, and command rooms full of sceptics. Then, in the next breath, they confess something quietly human: “If I am not the one speaking, I feel irrelevant.” That sentence is not about strategy. It is about wiring. The podium is not…

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The next century question

Kerala’s Muslims have come far since 1921. The harder task is deciding where they go next The Muslim community in Kerala stands at a pivotal historical threshold. It has just navigated a century of organised social resurgence—an odyssey that began in the shadow of the 1921 Mappila resistance and the crushing weight of colonial repression….

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Bhajan Lal Sharma’s 2-year report card

The more one examines the governance of the Rajasthan government since it unseated the Congress administration more than two years ago, the more it appears that the five-year rule of Ashok Gehlot (2018–2023) was a wasted period for the state. Internal rifts within the party, particularly between the chief minister and the deputy chief minister,…

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