 Google Cloud Bets Big on India

India as AI Producer

Gemini on Sovereign Cloud

Engineering Hub and Skills Push

Customer Wins and Local Models

Why Sovereign AI Matters

Capacity Roadmap and AI Stack

The $15B Data Center Buildout

Server Manufacturing Plans

How India Adopts AI

Closing the Hyperscaler Gap

Staying Ahead of AI Challengers

Wrap Up and Final Question

In this conversation with ET's editor technology Surabhi Agarwal, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian discusses the company's expanding footprint in India, including bringing Gemini Flash 3.5 and Gemini Enterprise to sovereign infrastructure, and scaling local engineering talent through forward-deployed teams and partnerships like Mission Karmayogi. Kurian addresses the $15 billion investment with Adani and Airtel, India's growing role as an AI export hub, and ambitions around server manufacturing. He also weighs in on sovereign AI becoming a global norm, Google Cloud's $460 billion order backlog, competition with AI-native challengers, and how the company plans to strengthen its position against larger rivals like Microsoft and Amazon. Listen in

In this conversation with ET's editor technology Surabhi Agarwal, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian discusses the company's expanding footprint in India, including bringing Gemini Flash 3.5 and Gemini Enterprise to sovereign infrastructure, and scaling local engineering talent through forward-deployed teams and partnerships like Mission Karmayogi. Kurian addresses the $15 billion investment with Adani and Airtel, India's growing role as an AI export hub, and ambitions around server manufacturing. He also weighs in on sovereign AI becoming a global norm, Google Cloud's $460 billion order backlog, competition with AI-native challengers, and how the company plans to strengthen its position against larger rivals like Microsoft and Amazon. Listen in

To make sense of the week’s hottest stories in business, economy, politics and markets, journalists from the Economic Times chat with reporters and industry leaders in this thrice-weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) podcast.

The Morning Brief

Google Cloud CEO On $15B India Bet, Sovereign AI Push & More

Hospitals Already Transformed

Schools The Next Prize

Why Parents Keep Paying

Scale Stories And Demand

How School Trusts Work

Regulation And Fee Limits

Hospital Playbook Opco Propco

Promise Versus Profit Fears

Exits Still Unproven

Private equity is expanding into India’s K-12 school sector, following the same playbook it used to reshape private hospitals. Since Indian schools must legally operate as not-for-profit trusts, PE firms like KKR, Blackstone, and Kedaara invest indirectly through separate for-profit “OpCo” service companies that charge trusts for management, infrastructure, and operations—mirroring hospital structures. The appeal: predictable, long-term cash flow from families who rarely withdraw children mid-cycle, rising fees, and unmet demand for quality private education. Regulatory hurdles, fee caps, and mandated free seats for low-income students complicate profitability. Unlike hospitals, no major PE-backed education platform has yet achieved a successful exit, leaving the model’s long-term viability untested.

Alenjith K Johny and Mohit Bhalla report; Anirban Chowdhury narrates for audio. 

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: X and Linkedin

Check out other interesting episodes like:ET Deep Dive: Swipe Left on Reality,India wants manufacturing at 25% of GDP — will AI in factories help?, Tanay Kothari Wants To Kill The Keyboard,From Doer to Director: The LinkedIn Playbook for the AI Agea, Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma’s Moat Breaks  and much more.

Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music and Youtube.

Private equity is expanding into India&rsquo;s K-12 school sector, following the same playbook it used to reshape private hospitals. Since Indian schools must legally operate as not-for-profit trusts, PE firms like KKR, Blackstone, and Kedaara invest indirectly through separate for-profit &ldquo;OpCo&rdquo; service companies that charge trusts for management, infrastructure, and operations&mdash;mirroring hospital structures. The appeal: predictable, long-term cash flow from families who rarely withdraw children mid-cycle, rising fees, and unmet demand for quality private education. Regulatory hurdles, fee caps, and mandated free seats for low-income students complicate profitability. Unlike hospitals, no major PE-backed education platform has yet achieved a successful exit, leaving the model&rsquo;s long-term viability untested.
Alenjith K Johny and Mohit Bhalla report; Anirban Chowdhury narrates for audio. You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media:<a href="https://twitter.com/AnirbanET"> X</a> and<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirban-chowdhury-b5067219/"> Linkedin </a>Check out other interesting episodes like:<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/et-deep-dive-swipe-left-on-reality/id1568661777?i=1000763614435&amp;l=te">ET Deep Dive: Swipe Left on Reality</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/india-wants-manufacturing-at-25-of-gdp-will-ai-in/id1568661777?i=1000760758322">India wants manufacturing at 25% of GDP &mdash; will AI in factories help?</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tanay-kothari-wants-to-kill-the-keyboard/id1568661777?i=1000758892178">Tanay Kothari Wants To Kill The Keyboard</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000738205536"> </a><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/from-doer-to-director-the-linkedin-playbook-for-the-ai-age/id1568661777?i=1000756242616">From Doer to Director: The LinkedIn Playbook for the AI Agea</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777?i=1000756051799">Semaglutide Goes Generic: Big Pharma&rsquo;s Moat Breaks</a>&nbsp; and<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777"> much more</a>.
Catch the latest episode of &lsquo;The Morning Brief&rsquo; on<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/podcast?from=mdr"> The Economic Times Online</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6PL5kfPbwURBEu6fHCVTOL?si=26ec0fbfa7134fea"> Spotify</a>,<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-morning-brief/id1568661777"> Apple Podcasts</a>,<a href="https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/the-morning-brief/1/GNPiFQD2xpY_"> JioSaavn</a>,<a href="https://music.amazon.in/podcasts/f378141f-9afb-495d-83da-9b08ec5047ac/the-morning-brief"> Amazon Music</a> and<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theetpodcasts"> Youtube</a>.

The New Kids' Table: Private Equity Goes to School

No Place to Hide

Maharashtra Crackdown

Meet Tulka Ram Munde

 Why the Raids Now

Mission Safe Food Drugs

Public Complaint Tools

Building Compliance Culture

Pressure and Pushback

Hospitals Pharmacy Rights

Spurious Drugs and GMP

Drug Pricing Scrutiny

Stopping OTC Antibiotics

Whats Next on Radar

Wrap Up

Since late May 2026, Maharashtra has been in the middle of one of its most aggressive food and drug enforcement drives in years — adulterated prasad seized near Shirdi, synthetic milk units shut down, the license of Mumbai’s Parsi Dairy Farm suspended, hospitals pulled up for forcing patients to buy from in-house pharmacies, and over 1,100 raids conducted statewide in just two months. The trigger: a widening gap between food safety standards on paper and enforcement on the ground, rising antimicrobial resistance from unchecked antibiotic sales, and a regulator willing to finally use the full force of the law.

This is the first of a two-part series on that crackdown. In this episode, ET’s pharma editor Vikas Dandekar speaks to the man driving it: Tukaram Mundhe, Commissioner of Maharashtra FDA. A 2005-batch IAS officer transferred 25 times in 21 years, Mundhe is known for his uncompromising style. They discuss what’s fueling the crackdown, whether it can survive political pressure, and if this enforcement is sustainable.

Listen in

Since late May 2026, Maharashtra has been in the middle of one of its most aggressive food and drug enforcement drives in years &mdash; adulterated prasad seized near Shirdi, synthetic milk units shut down, the license of Mumbai&rsquo;s Parsi Dairy Farm suspended, hospitals pulled up for forcing patients to buy from in-house pharmacies, and over 1,100 raids conducted statewide in just two months. The trigger: a widening gap between food safety standards on paper and enforcement on the ground, rising antimicrobial resistance from unchecked antibiotic sales, and a regulator willing to finally use the full force of the law.
This is the first of a two-part series on that crackdown. In this episode, ET&rsquo;s pharma editor Vikas Dandekar speaks to the man driving it: Tukaram Mundhe, Commissioner of Maharashtra FDA. A 2005-batch IAS officer transferred 25 times in 21 years, Mundhe is known for his uncompromising style. They discuss what&rsquo;s fueling the crackdown, whether it can survive political pressure, and if this enforcement is sustainable.
Listen in

No Place to Hide: Inside Maharashtra’s Food & Drug Crackdown (Part 1) 

Cockroaches to Movement

Big Questions Ahead

Meet the Guests

Youth Agency Explained

Joy as Resistance

Memes and Phone Cameras

Virality and Power

Identity and Surveillance

NEET Leak Fallout

Reform Trio Breakdown

Radhakrishnan Reforms

Why Implementation Fails

Punishment vs Reform

Nilekani Task Force

Bigger Education Crunch

Closing Thoughts

We look back at the Jantar Mantar protests through the lens of media, technology and youth agency. What began as a Chief Justice’s jibe calling unemployed young Indians “cockroaches” turned into a movement that forced a Union minister’s resignation — powered by satire, memes and a 26-day hunger strike, and a social media following that outgrew the ruling party’s own.

As the government rolls out fast-track courts, a tougher anti-cheating law and a Nilekani-led task force, the question is whether this marks a genuine break from the past or a repeat of 2024 — when a similar paper leak led to the Radhakrishnan committee's 101 recommendations, many of which remain only partially implemented two years on. Anirban Chowdhury speaks to Dr Anindya Kundu, sociologist, best-selling writer, Assistant Professor at Florida International University, Dr Usha Raman, former professor, Dept of Communication, University of Hyderabad and ET’s Anubhuti Vishnoi on virality, power, protest and reforms.

We look back at the Jantar Mantar protests through the lens of media, technology and youth agency. What began as a Chief Justice&rsquo;s jibe calling unemployed young Indians &ldquo;cockroaches&rdquo; turned into a movement that forced a Union minister&rsquo;s resignation &mdash; powered by satire, memes and a 26-day hunger strike, and a social media following that outgrew the ruling party&rsquo;s own.
As the government rolls out fast-track courts, a tougher anti-cheating law and a Nilekani-led task force, the question is whether this marks a genuine break from the past or a repeat of 2024 &mdash; when a similar paper leak led to the Radhakrishnan committee's 101 recommendations, many of which remain only partially implemented two years on. Anirban Chowdhury speaks to Dr Anindya Kundu, sociologist, best-selling writer, Assistant Professor at Florida International University, Dr Usha Raman, former professor, Dept of Communication, University of Hyderabad and ET&rsquo;s Anubhuti Vishnoi on virality, power, protest and reforms.

Cockroaches, Courts & Committees: What Did India’s GenZ Really Win?

Google Cloud CEO On $15B India Bet, Sovereign AI Push & More

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