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How India's Economy Works

How India's Economy Works

The Core 59 Episodes Oct 7, 2026

Join journalist Puja Mehra as she breaks down one story to give you all the context you need to understand how it fits into the larger picture of India's economy.

Episodes

The RBI Raised Rates. Then It Softened the Sting
The RBI Raised Rates. Then It Softened the Sting Oct 7, 2026 00:14:47 The Reserve Bank of India has raised the repo rate and shifted its stance to “calibrated tightening”, signalling that rate cuts are unlikely even as future policy decisions remain data-dependent. But what does this mean for inflation, growth, borrowing costs and liquidity in the banking system?In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, journalist and author Puja Mehra speaks with Madan Sabnavis
India Needs Cheaper Capital. Indian Households Could Hold the Key
India Needs Cheaper Capital. Indian Households Could Hold the Key Sep 30, 2026 00:29:47 India’s households save a substantial share of their income, but much of that saving goes into physical assets such as gold and real estate rather than financial instruments. Why does this matter for the economy? And what does the composition of household savings have to do with investment, borrowing costs and economic growth?In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, journalist and author Puja
Global Bond Markets Are Shifting. What It Means for India
Global Bond Markets Are Shifting. What It Means for India Sep 23, 2026 00:35:08 The episode examines how rising government borrowing, persistent inflation, changing bond investors and huge AI-related investment needs are reshaping global bond markets. In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Dr. Anoop Singh, economist and Former Director of the IMF. Singh explains why the US Treasury market matters far beyond the United States, why central banks ha
What the Iran Conflict has Revealed about India's Energy Security
What the Iran Conflict has Revealed about India's Energy Security Sep 16, 2026 00:38:26 In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with political scientist and economic historian Rohit Chandra, Assistant Professor at the School of Public Policy of IIT, Delhi. They talk about what those crises taught India, how the country’s energy system has changed, and what the latest Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruption reveal about India’s continuing vulnerabilities.
India’s 7.8% Growth Has an Unanswered Question
India’s 7.8% Growth Has an Unanswered Question Sep 9, 2026 00:57:47 India’s latest GDP numbers show the economy growing at 7.8%, but how much confidence should we place in that figure? In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with economist Rajeswari Sengupta about the complexities of measuring India’s GDP, the latest base-year revision and the methodological changes behind the new estimates.Sengupta explains why India’s large informal econo
India’s Self-Inflicted Outflows: How Policy Makers Are Driving Away Foreign Investors
India’s Self-Inflicted Outflows: How Policy Makers Are Driving Away Foreign Investors Sep 2, 2026 00:39:26 In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Ananth Narayan, Economist and Former Whole Time Member, SEBI about the growing interconnections between India’s interest-rate, equity and currency markets—and the unintended consequences of intervening in each of them separately.Narayan argues that the RBI’s aggressive intervention in the bond market, including record purchases o
The Unintended Consequences Of India's Rural Homes Subsidy
The Unintended Consequences Of India's Rural Homes Subsidy Aug 19, 2026 00:27:24 India has spent heavily on housing schemes, but are we building homes in the places where people actually need them? In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks to economist Dr. Vidya Mahambare, Union Bank Chair Professor of Economics and Director (Research and Fellow Programme In Management) at the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, about why India’s housing polic
Why India's GDP Growth Isn't Resulting in Prosperity
Why India's GDP Growth Isn't Resulting in Prosperity Aug 5, 2026 00:33:13 India has been one of the world's fastest-growing major economies for years. Yet for millions of Indians, rising GDP has not translated into rising household prosperity, better jobs, or greater economic security.In this episode of How India's Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with economist Professor Partha Chatterjee, Dean of Academics and Professor of Economics at ⁠Shiv Nadar University, about th
India’s Engineering Crisis
India’s Engineering Crisis Jul 22, 2026 00:35:18 In this episode of How India's Economy Works, Puja Mehra speaks with Electrical Engineer Sudhir Gera, Director of Operations at IEC Electric Power Ltd, who has spent over three decades in the industry and has worked closely with engineering colleges, regulators, and policymakers. He explains why India's challenge is not a shortage of engineering graduates but a shortage of industry-ready s
How India's exports to the US jumped in the tumultuous year of Trump Tariffs
How India's exports to the US jumped in the tumultuous year of Trump Tariffs Jul 8, 2026 00:17:51 In this episode of How India's Economy Works, host Puja Mehra speaks with trade economist Dr. Nisha Taneja, Professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). They unpack what the latest export data really reveals. Why did some sectors thrive while others—diamonds, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and jewellery—registered sharp declines? Why did exports t
India's Forex Reserves Aren't the Safety Net You Think
India's Forex Reserves Aren't the Safety Net You Think Jun 17, 2026 00:33:17 In this episode of How India's Economy Works, host Puja Mehra speaks with economist Renu Kohli, formerly at the Reserve Bank of India and the IMF and currently senior fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP). They talk about the recent depreciation of the rupee and why this episode may be different from previous currency shocks. Despite India's large foreign exchange re
What the RBI's role in the economy and its Relationship with Government is
What the RBI's role in the economy and its Relationship with Government is Jun 10, 2026 00:38:53 In this episode of How India’s Economy Works, host Puja Mehra speaks with economist and Professor of Economics at SRM University, Dr. Parag Waknis to unpack one of the most important yet least understood documents in Indian policymaking, the RBI’s accounts. They explore how the RBI manages government debt, why it holds government securities on its balance sheet, and how these operations influence

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