#8: Vedica Kant on Reliance, Jio and the Indian Tech Ecosystem

The Long Game with Mehdi Yacoubi

My guest today is Vedica Kant. Vedica is a historian of South Asia and the Middle East, and she is the author of India and the First World War. Vedica is also the co-creator of the excellent newsletter Keeping Up With India about the Indian Tech ecosystem. Currently, she is a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.

We start the conversation talking about why Vedica started her newsletter about India; then, we talk about the specificities of the Indian tech ecosystem. We cover her series on Reliance and Jio, and Vedica explains why Reliance has become so powerful lately. We also discuss what are the most promising sectors right now in India.

My favorite part of the conversation was when Vedica explains why it's so important to read fiction.

You can find the show notes here!

Please, enjoy my conversation with Vedica Kant!

Find Vedica online:

• Twitter

Topics we discuss:

• Why Vedica started the newsletter Keeping Up With India
• Reliance and Jio
• Why business and politics always mix in India
• The 4 Internets
• We are Westerners consistently getting wrong about India.
• India — China geopolitics
• Indian immigrants in the US
• Can Neobanks succeed in India?
• Indian Tech Ecosystem: what is Vedica most excited about lately?
• What are the underrated sectors of the Indian tech ecosystem?
• What are the main problems preventing India from becoming a developed country right now?
• How to get to know more India, from an outsider's perspective
• How will the current state of India influence the country's future?
• Why Vedica believes reading fiction is essential
• The fiction books Vedica recommends

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