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IDEA EXCHANGE NEWS
Canadian envoy Christopher Cooter at Idea Exchange: ‘Working together, combining resources, talent, scale, we think India and Canada can be world beaters’
September 7, 2026 08:47 IST
Canadian High Commissioner to India, Christopher Cooter, has worked on repairing the relationship which led to PM Mark Carney’s visit. He is best placed to explain the transformation in equations, Delhi’s security concerns, cooperation in energy, education, visas, the West Asia war and ties with the US.
Rajiv Ranjan Singh at Idea Exchange: ‘Despite US tariffs, our fish export has increased… now exporting to the UK, Japan, China, Thailand and EU’
August 31, 2026 07:20 IST
Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, is the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. He is heading the fisheries department at a time when the sector is facing challenges amid tariffs by the US, a major importer of shrimps from India.
Neelkanth Mishra at Idea Exchange: ‘Rise in inequality since labour is in surplus, capital in shortage. Need to democratise access to capital’
August 24, 2026 07:56 IST
Neelkanth Mishra is an Executive Director at the World Bank Group, representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Bringing a wealth of experience from decades of work in financial markets and policy circles, he joins at a time of high global uncertainty.
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla at Idea Exchange: ‘Today’s kids are brilliant… you have to be with a dream for a long time, work on it, only then will it happen’
August 17, 2026 08:37 IST
Shubhanshu Shukla spent 20 days at the International Space Station last year, becoming only the second Indian — the first in over four decades — to travel to space.
Ajinkya Rahane at Idea Exchange: ‘I never worried about my batting position and milestones. It was always about the team’
August 10, 2026 07:15 IST
Ajinkya Rahane finished with 8,414 international runs and 15 centuries across 85 Tests, 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is before retiring from all forms of cricket in July this year, leaving behind a legacy of resilience, calm leadership and memorable overseas performances
BRS leader KT Rama Rao at Idea Exchange: ‘People are economically bankrupt and politicians are intellectually bankrupt. It’s a deadly cocktail’
August 3, 2026 10:58 IST
At a time when regional forces are struggling to stay afloat in many states, the suave and articulate KTR is up against both the Congress and the BJP in his state while battling cases and fending off charges of a tacit understanding with the ruling party at the Centre.
Ravi Kishan at Idea Exchange: ‘Social media has emerged as a big, unknown power… It can create and it can also destroy overnight’
July 27, 2026 07:24 IST
Rai Kishan said: "If the PM is making a video at midnight, then he is listening. Their voice must have reached him; that’s why he is speaking."
German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann: ‘Indian migration is a success in Germany… I am impressed how Indians have integrated into the German labour market’
July 20, 2026 07:30 IST
German ambassador Philipp Ackermann, who has served in India from 2022 to 2026, and was posted in Delhi from 2007 to 2010, has witnessed the changing arc of the relationship. He has witnessed strengthening of bilateral ties and navigated the challenges — wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran and the volatility in geopolitics.
World Athletics VP Adille Sumariwalla at Idea Exchange: ‘National records are being broken again and again. This shows we have bench strength’
July 13, 2026 07:32 IST
One of the few Indian athletes to successfully transition into sports administration, Sumariwalla has driven reforms that have transformed Indian athletics while ensuring the country has a voice at the highest levels of global decision-making.
Himanta Biswa Sarma at Idea Exchange: ‘Congress party’s biggest problem is that as it shifts further Left, it may grow stronger ideologically but weaker numerically’
July 6, 2026 07:13 IST
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Assam’s shift from insurgency to peace and development, politics of polarisation, citizenship debates and evolving challenges in Manipur and Bangladesh. The conversation was moderated by Liz Mathew, Deputy Editor, The Indian Express. Liz Mathew: You’ve had resounding victories in Assam. What do you think is your biggest achievement […]
Himanta Biswa Sarma at Idea Exchange: ‘Don’t think polarisation needed in Assam, I controlled the menace’Subscriber Only
July 4, 2026 04:26 IST
Manipur conflict can only be settled by communities involved: Assam CM
PP Chaudhary at Idea Exchange: ‘We do not want the anti-defection law to be misused by either side’
June 29, 2026 15:04 IST
PP Chaudhary is Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on One Nation One Election (ONOE), and a member of six other key committees, including Committee on Finance, Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha and Committee on Estimates.
Russian Ambassador: ‘Will never allow China to affect India ties’Sign In to read
June 22, 2026 10:42 IST
India-Russia relations remain strong and stable, says Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov, stressing strategic partnership, growing trade ties and shared national interests.
Kiren Rijiju at Idea Exchange: ‘Anybody can create a political party but don’t undermine and ridicule Indian democracy’
June 15, 2026 06:39 IST
Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, is seen as one of the most vocal leaders in the BJP-led NDA government which has just completed two years of its third term. He plays a crucial role as the government is keen on passing the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, also known as the Delimitation Bill, 2026, which failed to get the two-third majority in the Lok Sabha in April.
Sanjay Jha at Idea Exchange: ‘Two people destroyed the India Bloc alliance: Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal’
June 8, 2026 07:17 IST
A close Nitish confidant, he now finds himself at the centre of one of the most consequential political experiments in Bihar: whether a regional party built around a towering leader can successfully reinvent itself in the post-Nitish era.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia at Idea Exchange: ‘FTAs with Europe, UK good moves… should ensure industry doesn’t put pressure to take rigid positions’
June 1, 2026 07:10 IST
Few understand India’s political economy as Montek Singh Ahluwalia does. As Commerce Secretary and Finance Secretary in the early 1990s, he helped shape India’s response to the balance of payment crisis of 1991, setting in motion its transformation into a market-linked economy by dismantling the licence raj and ushering in reforms across sectors.
BCCI president Mithun Manhas: ‘I don’t see India-Pakistan players shaking hands, as of now … our tradition is namaste’Subscriber Only
May 25, 2026 08:33 IST
Mithun Manhas is one of the key individuals responsible for the development of Jammu & Kashmir cricket, a team that became Ranji champions. Now at the helm of BCCI, he has a lot on his plate like the cricketing ties with Pakistan, the sport’s return to the Olympic and the growing influence of Indian cricket globally.
Pralhad Joshi at Idea Exchange: ‘In Kerala, preparations for the next election will start… people used to say we won’t win in Bengal, but we did’
May 18, 2026 08:09 IST
A senior BJP leader, Pralhad Joshi joined the Narendra Modi Cabinet as minister of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines in 2019. Currently, he holds two key portfolios, consumer food and public distribution.
V D Satheesan at Idea Exchange: ‘Leaders should discuss the future of the states. Only then will we be able to come back to power in many states’
May 14, 2026 14:25 IST
A six-term MLA, VD Satheesan is widely credited as a key architect behind the Congress-led UDF’s renewed strength in Kerala. The 62-year-old Congress leader played a pivotal role in reorganising the Opposition and sharpening its political strategy against the LDF government.
Shankar Prasad Sharma at Idea Exchange: ‘Nepal would like to balance its foreign policy relationship because we need all our friends’
May 4, 2026 07:57 IST
Shankar Prasad Sharma has been the ambassador of Nepal to India for the last four years. A top academic and one of Nepal’s foremost economists, he was the Vice Chairman of Nepal’s Planning Commission and also served as Nepal’s ambassador to the US during the Obama administration.
Sarbananda Sonowal at Idea Exchange: ‘We view our seafarers as national soldiers. We will never let them feel lonely under any circumstances’Subscriber Only
April 27, 2026 14:03 IST
Sarbananda Sonowal is the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways. Amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, his ministry assumes increased significance, as it navigates the consequences of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Idea Exchange: INTUC’s Ashok Singh and BMS’s Pawan Kumar speak on workers’ protest, demands and handling of outcry by states
April 20, 2026 10:32 IST
Congress’s Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) vice president Ashok Singh and RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh’s (BMS) vice president Pawan Kumar have been at the forefront of efforts to mediate between workers, employers and state authorities.
Ireland’s Ambassador Kevin Kelly at Idea Exchange: ‘India follows a policy of strategic autonomy and multi-alignment, that doesn’t mean it is politically neutral’Subscriber Only
April 13, 2026 14:19 IST
Kevin Kelly, Ireland’s Ambassador to India, has been in Delhi for about two years and has witnessed from here major geopolitical developments, including the West Asia war and Russia-Ukraine conflict.
‘Coaching culture trains students to game exams, not build concepts’: IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare at Idea ExchangeSign In to read
April 6, 2026 11:49 IST
Director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Professor Shireesh Kedare, an environmental science engineer, is a strong voice in India’s energy policy sector.
Vivek Katju at Idea Exchange: ‘Can’t imagine Netanyahu bucking Trump if Trump lays the law. He may turn and twist but he will listen’Subscriber Only
April 1, 2026 12:13 IST
Veteran Indian diplomat Vivek Katju, from the 1975 IFS batch, dealt with Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan during his career. He watched the 1979 Iran Revolution from Abu Dhabi, was part of policy-making during the time of Delhi-Lahore bus service, Kargil war and Agra summit, managed negotiations with the Taliban during IC-814 hijack and dealt with the file on Iran’s nuclear programme.
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