Srinath Sridharan

Dr. Srinath Sridharan is a Corporate Advisor & Independent Director on Corporate Boards. He is the author of ‘Family and Dhanda’.

IRDAI’s Insurance Reset Needs Stronger Consumer Safeguards

IRDAI’s distribution reforms address deep incentive problems. Their success will depend on consumer protection, viable last-mile economics, product suitability and credible regulatory enforcement.

Srinath Sridharan

October 9, 2026 at 2:01 PM IST

IRDAI

IRDAI for Cap on Commissions, Single Distribution Entity, More Disclosure: Who Gains, Who Loses?

Rajesh Mahapatra

Srinath Sridharan

October 8, 2026 at 2:29 PM IST

Sarci-Sense: Why Has Everyone Become a Customer of Their Own Life?

Basis Life

We have begun judging every experience by what it gives us back. Even happiness now appears to require a return on investment.

Srinath Sridharan

October 3, 2026 at 4:52 AM IST

iStock.com

Audit the FTAs

An FTA gives away tariff revenue and policy space in return for market access, investment and exports. India should publish the balance sheet of every such bargain, measure what it delivered and learn from it before negotiating the next one.

Srinath Sridharan

Arjun Raghavendra M.

September 30, 2026 at 5:47 AM IST

istock.com

IRDAI Must Finally Put Some Bite Behind Its Rules

After years of mis-selling and claims grievances, IRDAI is tightening distribution rules. But will lower commissions curb bad incentives, or simply push them elsewhere?

Srinath Sridharan

September 28, 2026 at 4:05 AM IST

IRDAI

The Conference Boom Needs a Measure Beyond Footfall

India’s expanding conference economy reflects confidence and ambition, but its next test is whether scale deepens engagement or merely magnifies the spectacle around it.

Srinath Sridharan

September 18, 2026 at 6:07 AM IST

PIB

Fraudsters Do Not Need Better AI Than Us

The real fraud advantage lies in incentive, speed and adaptation. India’s digital defences must learn to see the whole fraud stack before criminals learn to defeat it.

Srinath Sridharan

Anand Venkatanarayanan

September 15, 2026 at 6:05 AM IST

Istock.com

Sarci Sense: Why Do We Photograph Food Before Eating It?

Basis Life

We once ate, remembered and moved on. Now even a meal seems incomplete until someone who isn’t there has seen it.

Srinath Sridharan

September 12, 2026 at 3:45 AM IST

Istock.com

India’s Industrial Future Cannot Be Rented

India is scaling factories, but dependence on value-chain can leave ambition exposed to geopolitical leverage. True industrial power requires owning the capabilities beneath manufacturing scale.

Srinath Sridharan

September 9, 2026 at 3:47 AM IST

istock.com

Economists and Modern-Day Court-Poets

AI is beginning to dismantle the scarcity on which economic expertise was built. The profession’s future may depend on what it does when everyone can question the numbers.

Srinath Sridharan

Anand Venkatanarayanan

September 5, 2026 at 7:06 AM IST

iStock.com

Sarci Sense: Why Can We Manage Everything Except the Newspaper Flying Everywhere?

Basis Life

We organise careers, money and children with military precision, yet leave the morning newspaper scattered across the house. Perhaps our disorder is more selective than our discipline.

Srinath Sridharan

September 4, 2026 at 8:26 AM IST

istock.com

Sarci Sense: When Did Looking Successful Become Enough?

Basis Life

We claim to admire character, merit and substance. Yet give us a famous surname, a foreign degree or a photograph with the right person, and our principles suddenly become negotiable.

Srinath Sridharan

August 29, 2026 at 5:45 AM IST

Istock.com

Sarci Sense: When Did We Stop Being Embarrassed by Hypocrisy?

Basis Life

We have always lived with contradictions. But somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost the old discomfort of being caught behaving differently from what we preach.

Srinath Sridharan

August 22, 2026 at 5:45 AM IST

Istock.com

Sarci Sense: India Has Discovered Protein. Again.

Basis Life

In India’s desperate search for protein, a generation raised on social media is paying a premium to rediscover what its own kitchens have known for centuries

Srinath Sridharan

August 15, 2026 at 3:00 AM IST

iStock.com

Sarci-Sense: Don’t We Believe in Serendipity Anymore?

Basis Life

The finest chapters of our lives were often written by circumstances that never consulted us. The human question is - Are we still leaving enough room for serendipity?

Srinath Sridharan

August 8, 2026 at 6:13 AM IST

istock.com

Sarci Sense: Whatever Happened To Knowing The Way?

Basis Life

We have never reached destinations more efficiently. Yet somewhere between landmarks and location pins, we may have stopped truly knowing the cities we live in.

Srinath Sridharan

August 1, 2026 at 6:08 AM IST

Istock.com

Sarci Sense: Why We Forgot How To Be Unreachable

Basis Life

Human beings have never been easier to find. Yet somewhere along the way, constant connectivity has quietly changed what freedom, trust and even courtesy now mean.

Srinath Sridharan

July 25, 2026 at 5:50 AM IST

Istock.com

RBI’s Technology Maker-Checker Conundrum

Beyond the remediated BANK.IN security episode lies a larger governance challenge as AI rewrites the economics of institutional assurance.

Srinath Sridharan

Anand Venkatanarayanan

July 20, 2026 at 5:12 AM IST

Sarci-Sense: When Everything Becomes Instant, Society Forgets How To Wait Patiently

Basis Life

Every successful business today competes by eliminating waiting. But as technology accelerates life, are we quietly losing the patience, anticipation and resilience that only waiting once taught us?

Srinath Sridharan

July 18, 2026 at 6:32 AM IST

Istock.com

India Cannot Become Developed On Bank Credit Alone

No major economy has achieved developed-nation status by relying predominantly on banks. India must now build corporate debt markets worthy of its ambitions.

Srinath Sridharan

July 13, 2026 at 6:56 AM IST

IStock.com

The Bureau

Asian Stocks Mixed as Saudi-Houthi Escalation Revives Oil-Supply Concerns

RBI announces special dollar window for PSU oil cos, regulatory measures for FX market

RBI Raises Repo Rate for First Time in Four Years, Shifts Stance to Tightening

RBI raises 2026-27 CPI inflation forecast to 5.2%, flags oil, monsoon risks

India's Balance of Payments to Remain Under Pressure, Keep Rupee Vulnerable - ANZ

RBI to Use Appropriate Mix of Liquidity Tools, Align WACR with Repo Rate

RBI Raises 2026-27 GDP Growth Forecast to 7.1%, Flags West Asia, Monsoon Risks

Two External MPC Members Dissent on Policy Stance, Favour Retaining Neutral

Is the RBI Behind the Curve?

In Search of the Lesser Florican

Maneet Pal Singh