TMS Ep131: Wheat export, ICICI's Sandeep Bakshi, markets, battery swapping

With two major wheat exporters locked in a bitter war, the rest of the world is now looking for countries which can fill the void. Will India be able to rise to the occasion? Will it be able to address the logistical bottlenecks and quality issues and grab import contracts of wheat before Russia and Ukraine call a truce? 

Turbulent times indeed offer opportunities. Sandeep Bakshi took over the reins of ICICI bank at a rough time. It was 2018. The reputation of the country’s second largest lender was in tatters, and its balance sheet under government scanner. He steered the bank out of the troubled water in the last four years, winning back trust and on-boarding more customers. He is Business Standard’s Banker of the Year. Know more about this turnaround czar.  

The stock of ICICI bank has tanked over 5% this year, but experts are still bullish on the private lender. Meanwhile, benchmark indices zoomed 2% yesterday after the US Federal Reserve hiked rates for the first time in three years. However, analysts don’t see the RBI moving the needle on rate hikes just yet as growth concerns linger and the geopolitical situation remains dynamic. 

From the markets, let us now move on to the future of mobility. Electric vehicles are increasingly marking their presence on the roads, challenging the monopoly of internal combustion engine counterparts. And battery swapping as a service will drive its growth in the days to come. Let us see what it is all about and more in this episode of the podcast.