ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash

General V K Singh, former chief of Army staff, donned many hats before turning to be a full-time politician. Coming from a family of soldiers, Singh served 42 years in the Indian Army, which saw him on the front lines of combat, in the Indo-Pak War of 1971 and also in Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. During his four-decade-long military service, he has seen it all from being awarded prestigious medals, which include Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal, to being a controversy child with accusations of a military coup, falsified birth certificate and snooping of government servants, all of which was never proven. General Singh also joined India Against Corruption movement with Anna Hazare but moved on to the BJP and currently serves as Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Ministry of Civil Aviation in the second term of the Modi government. In an in-depth conversation with Smita Prakash, General Singh reveals the truth about the ‘coup’, the creation of the TSD, brutalities by Pakistani Army during the Indo-Pak War of 1971, Galwan and other untold stories.

With the US and India going for elections in 2024 this topic is very pertinent as there is a general consensus in both capitals and a bipartisan consensus in Washington that, despite significant differences, bilateral cooperation is beneficial to both countries. In this episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash at the Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi, March 2023, the panel discussed the India-US relationship- from national security to trade, the perspective of Democrats and Republicans towards India, the Ukraine conflict, the misinformation campaign and the role of Indian diaspora in American politics. The expert panel, comprising of senior fellow and Director, Technology and National Security Program of Centre for a New American Society, USA Martijn Rasser; Director, US and the Americas Programme and Dean Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs, Chatham House, UK Leslie Vinjamuri; and Distinguished fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, USA and former US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster came together with Smita Prakash and discussed various aspects of US-India relations in the view of a Democrat or Republican President in The White House in November 2024.

A Punjabi by birth, Sonu Sood’s career in films began in the Tamil and Telugu film industry, but he gradually moved to the Bombay film industry when interesting offers came his way. In this heart to heart chat with Smita Prakash, the vagaries of the film industry are discussed at length. In 2020 when there was a nationwide lockdown during the pandemic, Sood helped thousands of migrants return home. He speaks about this life altering mission of his in this podcast. Many thought that his social work was a stepping stone into politics, but Sood says he isn’t ready as yet though many offers have come his way. Sood also talks about physical and mental fitness regimes that he follows.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during the 17th edition of the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum in Slovakia last year said, "Europe has to get out of the mindset that Europe's problem is the world's problem but the world's problem is not Europe's problem." The remark led to discussions and debates over Europe's perspective of the world. In this episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash at the Raisina Dialogue held in New Delhi, March 2023, the panel discussed Europe's stand on geo-political developments- from migration of refugees to European countries, to the China-Taiwan conflict, to Russia-Ukraine War, to Covid-19 pandemic. The expert panel, comprising of Portugal's Director General for Foreign Policy Rui Vinhas; Founder of Austria-based For A Conscious Experience Velina Tchakarova; and Finland's Tomi Huhtanen, the Executive Director of Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, came together with Smita Prakash and discussed various issues thread by thread.

Young politician Poonam Mahajan, daughter of veteran BJP leader, Pramod Mahajan, has carved a niche for herself in Bharatiya Janata Party. A two-time MP from Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha constituency, she has held many important positions in the BJP. She is known more as her father's daughter, who in a candid conversation with Smita Prakash talks about her life, vision for her party and her state- Maharashtra. She recalls her entry into politics after her father's horrific murder in 2006 and the legal battle that ensued the killing of her father by his brother. She also hits out at the Congress party, the Gandhi family and Bharat Jodo Yatra. Talking about Maharastra politics, she explains the history of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and the changed scenario of alliances in the stat

Alakh Pandey, an entrepreneur also known as Physics Wallah was in the 11th grade when he began teaching younger children to supplement his family income. Later he dropped out of college to pursue his passion of teaching physics. Now his unicorn business is said to have a net worth of Rs 4000 crore. Alakh found a different way of communicating complex physics problems to get through to children. In an in-depth conversation with Smita Prakash, Alakh Pandey sheds light on the struggle he faced early in life before he established Physics Wallah. Free physics lessons on YouTube was the stepping stone. He also shares the nuances in education sector & future of ed-tech business.

Manoj Bajpayee, one of the most talented actors today has three national awards and six Filmfare trophies to his name. He has also been awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to the arts. In a candid conversation in ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Manoj Bajpayee opens up about his family, initial struggles and entry into Bollywood. He recalls how Satya’s success in 1998 helped him to get a foothold in the film industry and established him an actor. He takes us on a journey talking about his filmography and shares his experiences working with different co-stars. The Zubeidaa actor explains his fitness regime and how spiritualism has helped him to keep going in the City of Dreams, Mumbai. He recalls the proudest moment of his life when he saw the joy in his father's eyes when the boy from Bihar’s Belwa village received one of India’s highest civilian honours, the Padma award.

Dr Satheesh Reddy headed the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is currently Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri dealing with the programme which spearheads India's indigenous development of defence systems and technologies. In this informative conversation with Smita Prakash, Dr Reddy talks extensively about India’s strategic missile programme and the impact it has on India’s defence system. He sheds light on different developmental programmes undertaken by DRDO for radars, sonar, drones, tanks, aircraft and their contribution during Covid pandemic. He emphasises the growth of the defence industry in India and the start-up movement in the country. He also recalls his years as a young scientist working under the leadership of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar's illustrious career as a Diplomat spans 38 years including tenures as India's Ambassador in China, the Czech Republic, the USA, Singapore and finally, as Foreign Secretary. He was picked by Prime Minister Modi himself, to be part of his cabinet in 2019 as External Affairs Minister. The articulate Dr S. Jaishankar, in an interesting conversation with Smita Prakash shares his journey from being a diplomat to entering politics. He talks about his father whose career growth as a Cabinet Secretary was halted by Indira Gandhi due to internal politics. He slams the opposition over allegations of being accommodative of China and explains the steps taken by the government to strengthen the security at the LAC. He also reveals how some foreign powers are collaborating to create a false narrative against India as the election approaches.

Noted journalist Rubika Liyaquat made a name for herself in the field of TV journalism with her fiery style of anchoring news bulletins. Whether in Zee TV or now in ABP News she continues with the same style of picking up contentious topics and getting all sides of the debate on her shows. Rubika does on-the-ground reporting and is often criticized for editorialising news. She is active on social media where true to her style, her posts are fearless and bold. Being a progressive Muslim woman professional, she finds herself at odds with those who want to box her in. In a candid interview with Smita Prakash, Rubika talks about her life, her family and her reason for becoming a journalist. She speaks her mind on the Hijab controversy and other issues related to the Muslim community. She, without hesitation, shares about her struggle to break stereotypes and explains the many trials she had to go through.