Meta and our digital future, with Ajit Mohan

Welcome to another installment of The Sketch, In today's installment, we are thrilled to have a special guest, Nadir Godrej, the Managing Director at Godrej Industries and the esteemed senior operational leader. Many of us have relied on Godrej products to safeguard our belongings with their trusted safes and almirahs. Listen in to his wonderful insights on the Godrej business and the various subsidiaries under the group, with backstories leading way back to British Raj.This episode is not to miss out, Tune in to hear from Nadir Godrej as he shares his perspectives on the Godrej business and the various subsidiaries within the group. Get ready for a journey through time as he reminisces about backstories dating back to the British Raj. This episode is a must-listen for anyone eager to discover the fascinating history and current developments within the Godrej Group.

Luxury car sales in India have reached all-time high levels, with Mercedes-Benz India leading the race, closely followed by other German players like BMW Group and Audi as an increasing number of Indians are choosing to buy cars that might cost as much as a small apartment. What are the factors behind this? In this special episode of The Sketch, Mint’s premium business podcast, Former Mint Editor-in-Chief, Sruthijith KK spoke with Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO of Mercedes Benz India Pvt. Ltd to explore the trends in the luxury car segment in the country. And what makes Mercedes the most popular luxury car brand in India.

A ‘no margin for error’ business, semiconductor chip manufacturing requires high precision and expertise over extremely complex processes. It has been a year since PM Modi launched the ambitious Semicon India initiative with a clear goal to help India emerge as a major semiconductor manufacturing base. A year down the line, those plans are still to take off despite the government's best efforts. Why is that the case? Is India’s ambition to compete with China in the semiconductor manufacturing space realistic? What are the roadblocks India needs to deal with on the way? In this special episode of The Sketch, Mint’s premium business podcast, Mint Editor-in-Chief Sruthijith KK sat down with David Reed, CEO, Vedanta-Foxconn Semiconductors Ltd, to explore the questions, concerns, and possibilities India must take into account as it embarks on this journey.

Harsh Jain is the founder and CEO of India’s biggest fantasy sports app—Dream11. In this conversation with Mint editor in chief Sruthijith KK, he talks about the startup’s early days, the struggle to find funding and the product-market fit and eventually persisting against the odds to become a profitable unicorn with an $8 billion valuation.

Vasant 'Vas' Narasimhan is a physician and CEO of the $50 billion Swiss pharma giant Novartis AG. In this conversation with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK, he discusses the company's direction under him, its presence in and plans for India, battling the extreme odds in drug discovery, the role his Indian heritage played in his life and work, and much more.

In this episode of The Sketch, Metro AG India MD Arvind Mediratta discusses the intricacies of modern retail, what makes the kirana store a formidable force in India, the shifts in consumer tastes and why India has seen the exit of so many western retailers.

In this episode, Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala, who turned a small family-run business into an FMCG behemoth with marquee brands such as Parachute and Saffola, a top-line exceeding Rs10,000 crore and presence in more than 25 countries, reflects on his journey, the essence of success in this highly competitive industry, the digital disruption in FMCG, his legendary battle with Hindustan Lever for marketshare in coconut oil, and how young entrepreneurs can find mentorship through his foundation.

In this hour-long conversation, economist-turned game developer Trivikraman Thampy, co-founder and co-CEO of Games 24X7, talks to Mint Editor-in-Chief Sruthijith KK about how he built a $2.5 billion gaming company, the behavioral economics principles applied in gaming, the debate around addiction in real money gaming and what the future holds for the industry.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta runs a suite of apps that are among the most used in India—Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram. In this conversation with Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK, Meta’s India MD Ajit Mohan discusses the company’s priorities, the future of social media, its engagement with regulators around knotty issues such as content moderation, the rise of the influencer economy, and the roadmap for Whatsapp pay here.

Alison Rose became the CEO of Natwest Group in November 2019 and has since had to steer the bank through Brexit, the Covid 19 crisis and now the Russia-Ukraine war and high inflation. In this episode, she tells Mint editor-in-chief Sruthijith KK about helming a major banking institution through covid and macroeconomic headwinds and delivering a strong financial performance through it all, the banks with more than 14,000 employees in India that’s its “technology and innovation hub”, leading with purpose, what organisations can do to foster and support women leaders and whether the Queen has ever called her with customer service complaints (The Queen’s bank—Coutts—is part of Natwest).