While the global economy grapples with real crises, India is booming… with ministers dishing out unsolicited gyaan. In this week’s Newsance, Abhinandan Sekhri looks at how India’s startup ecosystem is being smothered – not by a lack of ideas, but by a surplus of sycophancy.

From Piyush Goyal’s bizarre economic takes to Ramdev’s “cutting-edge” science, and from cow dung startups to the death of India’s digital media dreams – this episode exposes how innovation is being replaced with Chatu Quotient. Because in today’s India, kissing up pays more than skill or merit. 

From Silicon Valley to Sycophancy Gully, this show has it all. There’s also an appearance by Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, who believes digital media isn’t “real media” – perhaps because the only real media, in his eyes, is the kind that can be kept afloat with government ad money. 

Watch.

We have a new Sena project to report on police excesses across at least eight states in India, and how these impact everyday Indians. Click here to contribute.