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Bharatvaarta

by Bharatvaarta · English · News

Bharatvaarta podcast is a commentary on politics, policy and culture focused on India. The podcast brings together people from different walks of life who have varied and interesting perspectives on what's happening around us.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 11 min
Latest: 3 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

3 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 12 min

If AI Changes How We Work, How Do You Stay Relevant? Manish Sabharwal

India doesn't have a jobs problem. It has a wages problem. That reframe from Manish Sabharwal sets up one of our sharpest conversations on why India keeps producing record numbers of graduates who still feel stuck - and what a young person should actually do about it. Roshan Cariappa sits down with Manish Sabharwal - co-founder of TeamLease and Ashoka University - to ask questions that are useful at any age: government job, private job, or building your own thing? And in a world where AI can do the "quick and dirty" first draft, what keeps a human relevant? They get into India's 200-year-old…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

29 Sep 2026 · 27 min

What Is the Real Business Model Behind AI? Ft. Vivek Raghan, Co-Founder Sarvam AI

AI is getting better. AI models are getting more capable. And yet, in many cases, the cost of using AI keeps falling. So… who is actually paying for all of this? In this conversation, Roshan Cariappa sits down with Vivek Raghavan, Co-founder of Sarvam AI, to unpack one of the biggest questions around the AI boom: what is the real business model behind AI? We talk about why companies can spend billions building AI and still offer powerful models to users at little or no upfront cost. What exactly are we giving up when we use “free” AI? And if India is among the world's biggest users of AI,…
18 Sep 2026 · 30 min

If God is Formless, Why Do Hindus Worship So many Idols? Ft. Ami Ganatra

Who is a Hindu? And what does it really mean to be one? Many of us grew up calling ourselves Hindu, but the deeper we look, the more questions emerge. Is Hinduism a religion or a way of life? How did the gods and deities we worship today evolve? And what ideas hold together such a diverse philosophical tradition? In this conversation, Roshan Cariappa sits down with author Ami to explore the foundations of the Hindu worldview — from karma, rebirth and moksha to dharma, the cosmic order, questioning, pluralism and the evolution of Hindu deities. The conversation also looks at how Vedic gods…
12 Sep 2026 · 27 min

How Much of "Made in India" Defence Is Actually Indian?

India wants to become a defence superpower. But how can that happen when we still depend heavily on foreign technology, engines, sensors and weapons? In this conversation, Roshan Cariappa sits down with Vivek Krishnan, CEO & Co-Founder of SSS Defence, and Dinesh Shivanna, Co-Founder & CTO of SSS Defence, to unpack one of India's biggest strategic challenges: building a genuinely self-reliant defence industry. Why does India still import so much of its military equipment? Why have we struggled to build indigenous engines? Why isn't simply having more defence startups enough? And what has the…
4 Sep 2026 · 28 min

The World Is Changing. How can India Become the Voice of the Global South?

The world is changing - and India is being forced to make choices. China has transformed itself into an economic and strategic superpower. The United States is still the world's dominant power, but its relationship with China is changing. Russia remains a major geopolitical force. And the Global South is demanding a greater say in how the world is governed. So where does India stand? In the run-up to India's BRICS 2026 Summit, Bharatvaarta brings together perspectives from three of India's leading thinkers and practitioners to examine India's position in this emerging world order. From…
1 Sep 2026 · 29 min

If RSS Is So Powerful, Why Doesn't It Take Power? The Reign Behind Indian Politics | Sachin Nandha

The RSS does not contest elections. So where does its influence over Indian politics and society actually come from? In this focused Bharatvaarta conversation, Roshan Cariappa speaks with Sachin Nandha about the organisation, ideology and structure of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - and its relationship with the BJP, Narendra Modi and the larger Sangh Parivar. What makes the RSS so influential despite not being a political party? Why does the organisation place such importance on the shakha? Is the BJP an instrument of the RSS, or does it operate independently? And how should we…
21 Aug 2026 · 23 min

"Who Is Funding This?" Mohandas Pai On NGOs, Foreign Money, Religious Conversions & Indian Politics

A closer look at one of the sharpest threads from our full conversation with Mohandas Pai. The complete episode - covering the Gen Z protests, the NEET crisis and India's youth unemployment story, along with everything below - is live here: https://youtu.be/hG48jHX7xks This cut focuses on the politics underneath it all: foreign funding, the Congress's search for direction, and what's actually broken in how India is governed. Pai opens with a hard line on foreign money in Indian civil society: no foreign funds for advocacy, no foreign funds for politics, and no exceptions for NGOs who want to…
15 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

Mohandas Pai on NEET Protests, Education Reforms, Reservations and India's Future | Bharatvaarta

22 lakh students wrote NEET this year. There were about 1.35 lakh seats. That gap is where the protests came from — but Mohandas Pai's argument is that NEET was only the trigger. The real story is a generation that did everything it was told to do, and found nothing waiting on the other side. In this conversation, the former Infosys CFO lays out why the anger erupted in the Hindi belt and not the South, why a student clearing 80% watches a 45% score take the seat, what medical education actually costs once you strip out the policy distortions, and why he believes reservation must continue —…
31 Jul 2026 · 27 min

How India Is Ending Naxal Terror | The Untold Strategy Behind the Final Crackdown FT. Tuhin Sinha

Every nation has a story, but some chapters are written in blood. For decades, India fought an enemy that didn't wear a uniform - an ideology that spread through forests, cities and silence, in one of the longest internal-security battles in the country's history. Roshan Cariappa sits down with Tuhin A. Sinha - BJP National Spokesperson, author of 14 books, and now the writer of a comprehensive new book "Naxal Terror Vanquished: The Long War against Maoism, and the Doctrine That Ended It." This book discusses how India confronted and pushed back Naxal terror. We've had Tuhin on the show…
24 Jul 2026 · 42 min

Who's Actually Blocking Young Indians From Politics? | BJP National Spokesperson | Bharatvaarta

1985: Rajiv Gandhi says 15 paise of every rupee actually reaches the poor. 2009: Rahul Gandhi puts the number at 5%. Twenty-four years apart, same party, and by their own accounting the leak had got worse. That pair of numbers is where this conversation lands in its final minutes, and Tuhin A. Sinha uses it to make a much larger argument: that the question of who is anti-youth in Indian politics has a fairly specific answer, and it isn't the one the Opposition has been giving. Roshan Cariappa sits down with Tuhin - BJP National Spokesperson and author of 14 books - days before a Monsoon…
17 Jul 2026 · 53 min

Professional Politicians Are The Most Dangerous People | Bhaskar Rao - On Bengaluru collapse

Why did Bengaluru - a city that could have been India's New York, Chicago or Tokyo - collapse into traffic, flooding, garbage, water shortage and "work in progress" chaos? Former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao (IPS) sits down with Bharatvaarta for an unflinching conversation on urban governance, the broken BBMP-mayor system, police reforms, corruption, and the political rot he calls the single most dangerous force in the country. From the Bengaluru of the 1970s to today's civic breakdown, Bhaskar Rao explains WHO actually runs Bengaluru (and why nobody is accountable), why the…
20 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 28 min

⁠“India Needs A New Constitution” | Prof. Gautam Desiraju

One Indian’s vote is worth 2.5 times another Indian’s vote. According to Professor Gautam Desiraju, that single fact reveals a deep flaw in Indian democracy—and fixing it could require redrawing the map of India itself. Most Indians have never heard the word delimitation. Yet Professor Desiraju argues it may be the most important political issue India will face in the coming decade. He believes India should not have 28 states, but closer to 75. He argues that every vote must carry equal value. He questions whether the Constitution should be treated as a sacred document. And he makes the case…
5 Jun 2026 · 48 min

Why He Walked Away From Microsoft To Build India's AI | Rishi Bal, BharatGen CEO

Most Indians, when they get a job at Microsoft in Seattle, never look back. Rishi Bal did look back. He left a comfortable engineering career in the US — at one of the world's most valuable tech companies — and came home to build something India doesn't yet have: its own AI. Today, Rishi is the CEO of BharatGen — India's first government-funded sovereign AI initiative, anchored at IIT Bombay, supported by the Department of Science & Technology. Under his leadership, the team has just released Param 2 — a 17 billion parameter foundation model, built "from first byte to final model," entirely…
29 May 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

A Former Ambassador Reveals What Happens Inside India's Toughest Global Negotiations | Mohan Kumar

The post-WW2 world order is dead. The UN doesn't work. The WTO can't function. Multilateralism has collapsed. And the world is now in a dangerous "interregnum" — a period of fragmentation, conflict, and competing alliances where every country is fighting to shape what comes next. So what does this mean for India? In this conversation with Roshan Cariappa, Ambassador Dr. Mohan Kumar — Former Indian Ambassador to France and Bahrain, India's lead negotiator at the WTO/GATT for nearly a decade, Professor of Diplomatic Practice at OP Jindal Global University, and Chairman of RIS — takes us inside…
22 May 2026 · 1 hr 18 min

"India Has 25 Years To Grow Rich Before It Grows Old " — Neelkanth Mishra, EAC-PM | Bharatvaarta

India has 20–25 years. After that, the demographic window closes. That is the central claim of this conversation. India is racing to do in 50–60 years what the West did in 150–200. To grow rich before it grows old. To become a developed economy while still a democracy — something almost no large country has ever managed. In this Bharatvaarta conversation, Roshan Cariappa sits down with Neelkanth Mishra — Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, Chief Economist at Axis Bank, and one of India's most respected voices on the economy — to ask the question that very few…
16 May 2026 · 1 hr 21 min

🤯How PM Modi Won, Deepfake Politics & India's AI Race 🚨| Shashi Shekhar Vempati

This is about How BJP Pulled Off The Biggest Political Comeback Of Our Generation! Behind the historic BJP victory wasn't just a charismatic leader — it was a small group of professionals who quietly built India's first real digital election machine. Shashi Shekhar Vempati was one of them. A decade later, he became the first non-bureaucrat CEO of Prasar Bharati, took on India's biggest media reform challenge, and is now one of the most important voices on India's AI future — co-founding AI4India and recently appointed Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). This isn't…
9 May 2026 · 1 hr 41 min

India's Middle Class is breaking | ft. Saurabh Mukherjea

India is growing. But why does the average Indian still feel stuck? In this conversation with Saurabh Mukherjea, we break down what’s really happening to India’s middle class — from stagnant incomes and rising debt to job uncertainty and changing financial behaviour. Based on real data, field research, and on-ground stories, this episode explores: - Why people earning ₹5 lakh to ₹1 crore feel stuck - How automation is silently reducing salaries - Why India’s middle class is taking on more debt than ever before - The hidden impact of UPI and easy credit - Why people are taking loans for…
8 May 2026 · 1 hr 45 min

Anuradha Goyal on Temple Culture
7 May 2026 · 1 hr 9 min

Is India Repeating Its Biggest Historical Mistake🤯 | Vivek Raghavan, Maker of Aadhaar, CEO Sarvam AI

India is the 2nd largest user of ChatGPT in the world. We are also the largest FREE user of ChatGPT! So what are we really doing? "We're exporting our data and importing intelligence — exactly like we used to export cotton and import cloth." — Vivek Raghavan This isn't just a tech conversation. It's about whether India sits at the AI table or gets dictated to from outside. 👉 If you use ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude every day — this episode is for you. 👉 If you're a 22-year-old engineer wondering where to focus — this episode is for you. 👉 If you care about how India navigates the next 10…
8 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

Story of Maharani Tarabai - Maratha Queen who Defeated Aurangzeb | Medha Bhaskaran

After the execution of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the Maratha Empire stood on the brink of collapse. Leadership was uncertain. The Mughals were advancing. And the idea of Swaraj seemed close to fading. But history didn’t unfold the way it was expected to. In this conversation, Medha Bhaskaran — author of Queen Tara: Kali of the Deccan — joins Bharatvaarta to trace the rise of Maharani Tarabai, a leader who emerged from the margins of power to take charge in one of the most critical moments in Indian history. We explore how Tarabai, initially far removed from succession, became a “destiny…
29 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 19 min

Why Hindus Don't Have One God And More | Ami Ganatra

India’s civilisational identity is often taken for granted — but few questions are as fundamental, and as complex, as this one: Who are we as Hindus? In this wide-ranging conversation, Ami Ganatra joins Bharatvaarta to explore the philosophical foundations of Hindu thought — from identity and Dharma to the evolution of gods, rituals, and ways of thinking that have shaped this civilisation over thousands of years. We unpack why Hindu thought has no single founder or fixed doctrine, how it accommodates multiple ways of seeing the world, and why questioning has always been central to its…
22 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 38 min

The Empire That Almost Ruled India | Uday S. Kulkarni

India’s past is often told as a sequence of empires rising and falling — but few moments were as decisive as the 18th century, when one power came remarkably close to reshaping the entire subcontinent. In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Uday S. Kulkarni joins Bharatvaarta to trace the rise of the Marathas — from the early vision of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to a force that expanded across India, challenged the Mughals, and altered the balance of power in the subcontinent. We unpack how Swaraj was not just a political idea but a civilisational response to centuries of upheaval, how…
7 Mar 2026 · 1 hr 14 min

Cold War 2.0 Explained | Velina Tchakarova on Wars, Power & India’s Choices

The world is entering a phase where crises no longer unfold in isolation — wars, supply chains, energy chokepoints, sanctions, and strategic rivalries are now tightly connected inside a rapidly accelerating global power transition.In this wide-ranging conversation, Velina Tchakarova joins Bharatvaarta to explain why we are now living through what she calls Cold War 2.0 — a far more complex confrontation than the first Cold War, shaped not just by military blocs but by technology, finance, energy systems, and strategic interdependence. We unpack why the United States–China rivalry now…
30 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

India’s Hardest Choices in 2026 | Abhijit Chavda

India is entering a decade where its biggest challenges will not come from visible enemies alone — but from the choices it makes under pressure in a rapidly fragmenting world order. In this wide-ranging and rigorous conversation, Abhijit Chavda joins Bharatvaarta to examine the hard geopolitical decisions India faces today — from energy security and strategic autonomy to American pressure, global trade realignments, and the limits of the so-called “rules-based order.” We unpack why India’s purchase of Russian energy is not just an economic decision but a sovereignty test, how sanctions and…
23 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 28 min

Hitler: The Proclaimed Messiah of the Palestinian Cause | Aabhas Malhadiyar

History is often presented as settled, resolved, and safely contained in textbooks. But the reality is far messier — shaped by ideology, selective memory, and the narratives societies choose to preserve or suppress. In this wide-ranging and deeply challenging conversation, Aabhas Malhadiyar examines the Holocaust not as an isolated European event, but as part of a much larger ideological and political story that continues to echo into the present. Drawing from historical research and archival material, Aabhas Malhadiyar walks us through the roots of Jewish persecution, the ideological…
17 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 22 min

Understanding the Deep State | Former R&AW Chief Vikram Sood

India is entering an era where power no longer sits only in governments, elections, or visible institutions — it operates through deep systems, narratives, capital flows, intelligence networks, and corporate influence. In this wide-ranging and uncompromising conversation, former R&AW chief Vikram Sood ji explains how the deep state actually functions in the modern world — beyond conspiracy theories and political slogans. From intelligence agencies and NGOs to Big Tech, asset managers, media, and covert influence operations, Vikram Sood ji lays out how power sustains itself regardless of…
8 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 11 min

Deregulation, Civil Service Reform & India’s Growth Story | Manish Sabharwal

⚔️ Manish Sabharwal — Why India Isn’t Creating Jobs, Regulatory Cholesterol & Fixing the Administrative State 🇮🇳📉 India doesn’t lack land. It doesn’t lack capital. And it certainly doesn’t lack labour. So why isn’t it combining into prosperity the way it did in China? In this sharp, no-nonsense conversation, Manish Sabharwal explains why India’s real bottleneck is not infrastructure or skills — but a regulatory mindset that treats innovation as “prohibited till permitted.” We unpack why 1991 was necessary but incomplete, how regulatory cholesterol suffocates entrepreneurship, why…
20 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 53 min

Inside the RSS: How the Sangh Shapes Policy & Politics in Modern India | Sachin Nandha

⚔️ Sachin Nandha — Inside the RSS, Rashtra vs Raja & How Power Really Works in India 🇮🇳🧠 The RSS has never contested an election — yet it remains one of the most influential forces shaping modern India. So what exactly is the RSS? An ideology? An organisation? A movement? Or something far more complex? In this deep, nuanced, and often uncomfortable conversation, Sachin Nandha breaks down how the RSS actually functions — not as a conventional institution, but as a bottom-up social movement built around the daily shakha, psychological rootedness, and the long project of rebuilding the…
12 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 15 min

The Algorithmic War — Big Tech, Geopolitics & India’s Security Future | Col. Pavithran Rajan

⚔️ Col. Pavithran Rajan — Are We Already at War? Algorithms, Sovereignty & The Future of India’s National Security 🇮🇳🛰️ War today isn’t declared — it’s engineered. In this explosive conversation, Col. Pavithran Rajan breaks down why the world has entered a permanent state of “Persistent Unpeace.” Battles now unfold through algorithms, digital platforms, currency shifts, and information warfare long before a single shot is fired. From Kautilya’s systems thinking to Clausewitz’s kinetic doctrine, from NATO’s eastward push to Ukraine’s hybrid war, Col. Rajan explains how modern conflict is…
4 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 44 min

Path to Becoming a Defence Superpower || SSS Defence Co-Founders Vivek & Dinesh

⚔️ Vivek Krishnan & Dinesh Shivanna — India’s Defense Tech Reality, Broken Incentives & What Must Change 🇮🇳🚀 Instagram → /carygotthebluesg ambition is rising — but the gap between what we need and what we can currently produce is still dangerously wide. In this deep and brutally honest conversation, Vivek Krishnan and Dinesh Shivanna break down the hard truths behind India’s military industrial base: our dependence on imports, the missing engine ecosystem, bureaucratic bottlenecks, the myth of “cheap India”, and why wars of the future will be won by countries that control core…

About Bharatvaarta

Bharatvaarta is a English news podcast from Bharatvaarta. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Bharatvaarta
Language: English
Category: News
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 11 min
Latest episode: 3 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1636240449
Website: bharatvaarta.in
Rights: 2024 Bharatvaarta

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