Business Standard Dialogue Webinars

The enabling provision to remove the zero-MDR regime on UPI transactions has sparked a hotly contested debate in the country. The questions are many after the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed in Parliament recently: What the merchant discount rate (MDR) implies, why it is being explored, who should pay it and how much and whether it would impact the unified payments interface (UPI) stream. And, is this the right way forward?

 

To find answers to all these questions, we have lined up a strong panel with sharp views. This 18th episode of Business Standard Dialogue will be a must-watch for those who are tracking this development and also those who are new to the club.

Soon after a month-long students' agitation at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar against paper leaks in various exams, a Bill was passed in Parliament to address issues in the examination system, mainly for entry into medical and engineering courses. The government also set up a high-level committee headed by Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys, to reform the exam system.  

 

The 17th episode of the Business Standard Dialogue will discuss whether the government steps are enough to reform the education system in India, or if there's a need for a total reset. What is the solution? What will create employment?

This will be a special webinar, looking back at the historic economic reforms of 1991. To mark 35 years of reforms, which ushered in liberalisation through measures like abolition of the licence raj and doing away with public sector monopolies in industries such as telecom, civil aviation and power, the webinar will have a top bureaucrat of the time Montek Singh Ahluwalia share his memories when history was being made by the Narasimha Rao-led government. Ahluwalia, who was commerce secretary and then economic affairs secretary in 1991, has often been described as a core architect of the reforms alongside then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Industrialist Naushad Forbes, who closely watched business sentiments change dramatically after the announcement of the 1991 reforms, will be another panelist. His commentary on policy and business has referred to the animal spirits of the industry post-1991. On the show, we will also have senior business journalist A K Bhattacharya, who reported on the unshackling of the economy as things unfolded.       
                               

The webinar, which will coincide with a series of special reports on the subject in Business Standard, will discuss how the reforms played out across diverse areas, and what needs to be done now.   

The West Asia crisis has been a reality check for India’s oil exploration scene. With its heavy dependence on imported crude oil and natural gas, the country has been at the receiving end of the global supply shocks during the war. As geopolitics turns increasingly volatile, the need to intensify exploration of domestic oil reserves is a priority for India, more than ever before.

 

What is India’s goal on oil exploration? What needs to be fixed? What are the challenges on the way? To discuss these issues and more, we have a powerful panel of experts.

It’s that time of the year when Monsoon rains are among the most talked-about topics in India. And Goa and its popular beaches invariably figure prominently in any such discussion. Goa's weather over the next fortnight or so is expected to be dominated by the monsoon with consistent rainfall.

 

The webinar on July 9 will take you to the scene of action, Goa, to capture the transformation that this global destination is witnessing. During the Monsoon and beyond. Panellists will discuss how Goa is reinventing itself as an all-season tourism hub, and that the beaches are just the starting point.

Global tech majors are increasingly looking at Indian cities to set up their data centres. Already, India figures in the top 10 international list, coinciding with the exponential rise in demand for processing artificial intelligence (AI) datasets. With ambitious growth projections and tax sops by the government, India could well become the data centre capital of the world in the coming years.

 

Is India going to be a data centre destination because of its real estate prowess? How will we meet the  huge demand for power and water at these data centres? Will India have a tech and R&D advantage in all this? What is India’s gain, and what are the challenges it might face in a journey that has just begun? Experts will share their views on this very pertinent subject at the Business Standard webinar this week.

From monitoring food companies on hygiene, contamination and labelling, to directing restaurants on use of proper kitchen tools, the regulator has been in the headlines recently. The tenth episode of the webinar—Business Standard Dialogue—will discuss the growing significance of food regulation and the role of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at a time when speed is of the essence.