BW Businessworld - May 31, 2025

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THE FOUR DAYS of intense drone and missile attacks across the India-
Pakistan border, till Pakistan pleaded for a ceasefire in the torrid summer
of 2025, were a spell of revelations. Among other eye-openers Operation
Sindoor validated the years of indigenous research on and development
of India’s defence capability. India is in the midst of a transformation,
one that is simultaneously strategic, economic and deeply nationalistic in
nature. In this issue of BW Businessworld, we bring together two powerful
narratives that are shaping the country’s future: the rise of indigenous
defence technology and the broader arc of economic nationalism that now
defines India’s development agenda.

Exports Grow, But Imports Soar Further

INDIA'S TRADE DYNAMICS in April 2025 was a mixed bag — some wins, some warning signs.

1 min

Will the Return to Roots Sustain Goafest's Relevance?

AFTER AN UNEXPECTED Mumbai sojourn last year, Goafest reclaimed its coastal heritage on 21 May 2025, with the 18th edition of South Asia’s flagship advertising festival at Taj Cidade de Goa Heritage and Horizon.

1 min

The Wealth Paradox

HOW RICH DO YOU HAVE TO BE in order to belong to India's super-rich? According to a recent survey, The Rise of the Billionaire Raj by co-authors Bharti, Chancel, Piketty and Somanchi, to be part of the top 0.1 per cent of the Indian population (roughly one million people) you would need a net annual income of Rs 2.25 crore.

4 mins

Retirement: Reflections and Ruminations

A PART FROM THE INDO-PAK ceasefire and the \"hot\" border, the big breaking news story amidst mid-May heat was Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket.

2 mins

WHY INVESTING IN WOMEN FOUNDERS IS A SMART BUSINESS MOVE

India’s startup ecosystem has evolved rapidly, but one area still holds untapped potential: funding women entrepreneurs.

1 min

How AI Could Exacerbate the Skill Shortage Crisis

HUMANS CRAVE comfort and often more than we admit.

4 mins

When Life Happens to You, What Do You Do with It?

LET'S PAUSE FOR A MO-MENT - not to plan or to solve - but to reflect.

3 mins

Of Kiwis and Flightless Birds

NEW ZEALAND IS A FASCINATING COUNTRY.

2 mins

IS AADHAAR STILL WORK-IN-PROGRESS?

ON 2 MARCH, 2025, as I was going to cast my vote for the local municipal elections, I looked at the voter slips dropped at home by some candidate’s staff and noticed that my age had been mentioned as 81 even though I had turned 84, last month.

3 mins

What Leaders Should Avoid Doing

THE ANALYST STANDS CONFIDENTLY, presenting a crisp slide deck to the Leader, who sits across the table, arms folded, listening.

3 mins

INDIA'S SHADOWLANDS: MORE THAN JUST A FISCAL FOE

THE PARADOX is a labyrinth, a riddle veiled in plain sight: India, celebrated for its digital payment revolution, boasting billions of UPI transactions, simultaneously witnesses over 40 per cent of its gold and a substantial portion of its real estate changing hands in crisp, untraceable cash.

4 mins

$6B Exposure Threatens Collapse as Asset Sales and Tata Sons Shares Hang in Balance

THE SHAPOORJI PALLONJI (SP) GROUP, one of India's oldest conglomerates, is teetering on the edge of a financial abyss as it grapples with a staggering nearly $6 billion debt exposure, fuelled by a series of high-yield private credit deals and relentless asset disposals.

5 mins

“COMVIVA 2.0 IS A TECH TRANSFORMATION MOVEMENT”

RAJESH CHANDIRAMANI, CEO of Comviva, shares the company's three- pronged strategy to transform, accelerate, and expand in global telecom and digital markets By Team BW

2 mins

A HIGH VOLTAGE DIVERSIFICATION PLAY

JAKSON GROUP is firing on all cylinders in India's energy and infra space. Will this ambitious playbook be tempered with operational control and execution discipline?

4 mins

IMPROMPTU

I think marketing has really evolved in the last 20 years.

3 mins

Tried And Tested

Operation Sindoor validated decades of India'sindigenous R&D efforts, placing Indian PSUs and private firms at the heart of a self-reliant, export-ready military-industrial ecosystem

6 mins

"BrahMos Has Proven India's Credibility as a Defence Partner"

Conceived in the early 1990s and formalised in 1998, the BrahMos missile project represents one of India's most ambitious and commercially viable defence collaborations.

3 mins

Localisation to Boost India's Drone Industry

Backed by war validation and rising investor confidence, India's drone sector is set to take off in a big way. But can it convert ambition into global leadership?

5 mins

“India Must Aggressively Promote Homegrown Defence Tech”

ANKIT MEHTA, Co-founder and CEO, ideaForge, in this interview with BW Businessworld's Resham Suhail, shares insights on defence exports, deep-tech capital, policy gaps, growth plans, India's potential as a global drone powerhouse, and more. Excerpts

3 mins

A Drone King In The Making

GARUDA AEROSPACE is energising India's evolving defencetech landscape with dual-use drones and global ambitions

3 mins

Defence Tech Revolution: India's Path to Innovation Leadership

THE FOUNDATIONS of modern technology reveal a fascinating pattern—canned food, duct tape, microwave ovens, the internet, and virtually all modern-day electronics, trace their origins to research & development in the defence industry.

3 mins

When AI, Not Ammunition, Will Win Wars

THE recent skirmishes between India and Pakistan have demonstrated the shift in modern warfare.

3 mins

A Strategic Shift

Operation Sindoor signals a fundamental shift in India's approach to terrorism, its defence doctrine, nuclear deterrence and regional diplomacy By Sangeet Kumar Sanu

4 mins

"Providing Tax Benefits Can Attract More Investors To Deep Tech"

ANIL JOSHI, Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures, talks to Resham Suhail on how the time is ripe for startups in India's defence sector to flourish and even start attracting more capital. Excerpts

2 mins

The Cost of War is a Fraction of the Price we Pay

IN 2025, UKRAINE'S reconstruction bill topped $600 billion, a staggering toll that dwarfs its pre-war GDP and will linger long after the guns have fallen silent. Peace comes at a price - but war bankrupts the future.

4 mins

AGREEING TO MIND THEIR DUTIES

Although it took long in coming, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) endorses India's growing stature as a manufacturing and export powerhouse, while strengthening its position in the global supply chain

6 mins

India Halts Tours To Turkey, Azerbaijan

In a bold show of national solidarity, Indian travel giants have suspended tours to Turkey and Azerbaijan post-Pahalgam attack, turning a diplomatic standoff into a patriotic boycott that's reshaping outbound travel trends

5 mins

ECONOMIC NATIONALISM 2.0

From post-pandemic stimulus to strategic statecraft, India's pivot to self-reliance is reshaping global supply chains and tech ecosystems

4 mins

"INDIA'S DOMESTIC ECONOMY OFFERS GREAT OPPORTUNITIES"

In a conversation on the sidelines of SAP Now AI Tour in Mumbai, BW Businessworld's Rohit Chintapali spoke with SIMON DAVIES, who stepped into the role of SAP's Regional President for APAC in February. He shared his views on the company's newly integrated APAC leadership structure, India's role in accelerating AI adoption and more.

3 mins

“We've always focused on making our software better and faster than anyone else’s”

SAS founder and CEO JIM GOODNIGHT discusses India's role in the company's global plans, the distinction between classic and generative Al, and why leadership today requires clarity, caution, and a focus on impact, in this interview with BW Businessworld's Group Editorial Director Noor Fathima Warsia. Excerpts

3 mins

Leica's Pocket RocketIs This 2025's Ultimate Camera Phone?

With Xiaomi pairing up with the German imaging house Leica, the gleaming new 15 Ultra is not just specifications loaded, it whispers of German engineering finesse. It is really more of a Leica you can also use as a phone. As part of Xiaomi HyperCore, AI is baked in at a system level. Annoyingly, though, you don't get a charger in the box.

3 mins

Why am I so anxious?

Every second person seems to be dealing with some level of anxiety, and it is not surprising given the world we live in. The recent geopolitical tensions escalated this anxiety to a point where one found it hard to get through the day.

3 mins

INNOVATION, SCALE & LEADERSHIP TAKE CENTRE STAGE

IBN Nexcon 2025, the flagship business forum has positioned Chennai as a rising global business hub, while laying out India's pathway to 2047 through MSME growth, Indo-US trade ties, defence manufacturing, and skills-based transformation

6 mins

THE POWER OF A DREAM THAT GREW BYTE BY BYTE

Brick By Brick — From Middle-Class Roots to Entrepreneurial Success — A Road Map to Dream, Build and Succeed is an autobiographical account of how author Manish Vij invaded the world of business, his roller-coaster ride in the newly emerging digital domains and the peaks he has conquered since. In telling his story, the Managing Partner of the venture capital fund, the Smile Group, inadvertently also maps the evolution of technology-driven enterprises in India, ending each chapter with 'Actionable Insights' for newcomers to the club of tech startups

4 mins

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BW Businessworld Magazine Description:

BW Businessworld is a fortnightly magazine that has been published since 1975. It is one of the most popular business magazines in India, and it is known for its in-depth reporting and analysis of the Indian business world. It also features interviews with leading business leaders and entrepreneurs. It's a guide to the ever-changing business landscape.

In every issue, you'll find:

* In-depth analysis: Get the latest insights on the big trends that are shaping the business world.
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