Episodes

What India Needs: Comedy, Censorship & Cancel Culture with Arvind Sunder
May 14, 2026

What India Needs: Comedy, Censorship & Cancel Culture with Arvind Sunder

Send us Fan Mail Comedy in India can make you famous, have you cancelled, or even arrested. In this episode, Shutapa Paul sits down with comedian Arvind Sunder to explore the changing landscape of stand-up in India. From censorship and ‘cancel’ culture to social media outrage and the pressure of be…
What India Needs: Racing to Build Breakthrough Biotech with Dr. Jogin Desai
April 14, 2026

What India Needs: Racing to Build Breakthrough Biotech with Dr. Jogin Desai

Send us Fan Mail India spends just 0.7% of its GDP on research and development, compared to 2.5%-5.5% in countries like the US and China. What will it take for India to move from catching up to leading? In this episode, Shutapa Paul speaks with Dr. Jogin Desai, CEO & Founder of Eyestem, as they…
What India Needs: Building India's Next Tech Decade with BV Naidu
March 14, 2026

What India Needs: Building India's Next Tech Decade with BV Naidu

Send a text India is projected to become a $110 billion semiconductor market by 2030. But can the country move beyond being the world’s back office and build a true deeptech and hardware innovation economy? In this episode, Shutapa Paul sits down with tech industry veteran, BV Naidu, Chairman of th…
What India Needs: The Financial Literacy Deficit with Karthik Rangappa
Feb. 14, 2026

What India Needs: The Financial Literacy Deficit with Karthik Rangappa

Send a text Only 27% of Indians have basic financial literacy, and that gap becomes dangerous as more people enter the stock market and rely on digital financial tools. In this episode of ‘What India Needs’, Shutapa Paul speaks with Karthik Rangappa, Chief of Education at Zerodha and Curator of Var…
What India Needs: Reading India’s Past Today with Dr. Vikram Sampath
Jan. 18, 2026

What India Needs: Reading India’s Past Today with Dr. Vikram Sampath

Send us a text India’s past has many versions. Which version of history do you believe? In this episode of What India Needs, Shutapa Paul deciphers bygone times with historian and acclaimed author Dr. Vikram Sampath. From Mahatma Gandhi and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar to Jawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambed…
What India Needs: Building Equitable Workplaces with Shreya Krishnan
Nov. 17, 2025

What India Needs: Building Equitable Workplaces with Shreya Krishnan

Send us a text 36% of India’s tech workforce is women, but only 8% reach senior leadership. What’s keeping women from leading the future of work? In this episode of the What India Needs Podcast, Shutapa Paul speaks with Shreya Krishnan, Managing Director - India, of AnitaB.org, a global non-profit …