July 29, 2025 • 26 mins
First, we talk to The Indian Express' Divya A about the new developments between India and Maldives. She shares that PM Modi recently visited the Maldives and attended their Independence Day celebrations, even though almost since the last two years the relationship between the two countries hasn't been at its best.
Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Amit Kamath about 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh becoming the FIDE Women's World Cup Champion and defeating the Indian Chess Giant Koneru Humpy. He shares her journey and the significance that it holds for Indian Chess. (10:17)
Lastly, we talk about Tata Consultancy Services or TCS announcing that it will be laying off 2% of its workforce and how this might impact the Indian IT industry. (22:47)
Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
Next, we talk to The Indian Express' Amit Kamath about 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh becoming the FIDE Women's World Cup Champion and defeating the Indian Chess Giant Koneru Humpy. He shares her journey and the significance that it holds for Indian Chess. (10:17)
Lastly, we talk about Tata Consultancy Services or TCS announcing that it will be laying off 2% of its workforce and how this might impact the Indian IT industry. (22:47)
Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this episode, we talk about nineteen year old the
wyadeshmuk becoming the Fee Day Women's World Cup champion. We
also talk about Tata Consultancy Services announcing that it will
lay off two percent of its workforce. But first we
talk about the new developments between India and Maldives.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I am Aherri kan Nanda and you are listening to
three Things being an Express News show.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
After President Muhammad Muiz came to power in November twenty
twenty three, he signaled very clearly that Maldives should politically
distance itself from India.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
This was a sharp contrast.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
To his predecessors, whose approach towards India had been far
more friendly. In fact, Muiz rose to power on an
India Out campaign, and during his first year as president
he introduced several policies in line with that stance, including
asking India to withdraw its troops from the c But now,
nearly two years later, he seems to have taken a
(01:04):
u turn. That shift was clearly visible during Prime ministern
Ary in the Remode's two day visit to the Maldives
last week, where he attended the country's.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Independence Day celebrations.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
During this visit, several economic agreements were signed, projects were inaugurated,
and India also announced a credit line of rupee's four thousand,
eight hundred and fifty kurore. To talk about this reset
and what it means for both countries, my colleague Sshank
Page speaks to the Indian Expresses the VIAA in this segment, Divia.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Before we talk about pmod's latest visit, can you briefly
talk about what strategic significance Maldives has for India.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Maldius is very important for India simply because of its
geography location. It's India's close neighbor. It's just about three
hundred nautical mines from India's mainland, so it is key
component of India's neighborhood and you know the India's neighborhood
first policy and also a strong relationship with Maldives is
(02:05):
important because it in a way helps counter China's growing
influence in the Indian Ocean region. So in that sense,
in fact, India has been building bridges and focusing on
all the countries and smaller island nations in the neighborhood
as a counterbalance to China.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
I would say it is also India's.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Key partner in trade, you know, major trading partner in
terms of volumes. It may not be so much, but
it is among the major trading partner. There is also
a lot of people to people ties and tourism ties.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
There are also cultural and ethnic linguistic ties.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
So a good relationship between Maldives and India is important
in many ways for New Delhi and maliboth And.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
You know, when talking about China, India has in the
past express concerns about a large number of Chinese vessels
being present around Maldives and New Delhi for instance, has
told malay that it should exercise caution while granting them permission.
And what's also important to consider is that President Muise
(03:10):
he's actually seen as being much closer to China than
his predecessor. And he actually came to power on an
India campaign, right, So can you talk about his government's
stance regarding India and what we have seen since he's
come to power.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Yeah, as far as President Mohammed Mois is concerned, So
when he started his election campaign in late twenty twenty three,
it was basically on the back of an India Out
policy which indirectly meant India out and you know, China in.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
And when he became the president, he also made his
first official visits to China, whereas traditionally Maldivian presidents would
make their first official visits to India. So that was
not just a clear signal, it was a clear state
in many ways which showed his proximity to China and
(04:03):
his indifference or kind of maintaining distances with India.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
So things became complicated. In fact, as soon as.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
He returned from China, there was a call for India
to withdraw troops from the Maldives. Then in the same month,
in January of twenty twenty four, we would remember Prime
Minister in re Remodes visit to Luxury, so one Inocco's
picture that Prime ministers posted from there created a bit
of a flutter in Maldis with the senior minister saying
(04:36):
that Indian should not be visiting here and all of that,
and so everything became went downhild after that, and what
we are seeing now twenty months later is a complete
reset And it hasn't happened overnight. It has happened through
a sustained effort on part of both sides.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
In the last one year.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Or more, right, And you mentioned the controversy involving PMO
D's luxury visit, and it had started after social media
users in Maldives, you know, they had started making offensive
and derogatory remarks against Indians, and then ministers in Moyes's
cabinet repeated those remarks, some of which were directed against
(05:20):
PMO D as well, and later at least three of
those ministers were sacked.
Speaker 6 (05:25):
But you know, when we talk about this government's.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Decision to ask India to withdraw its troops, that was,
you know, seen as a big deal because in terms
of defense, like you said, Maldives has been an important
strategic partner. You know, almost seventy percent of Maldive's defense
training is actually done by India. So that was seen
as a friction point. But you know, now what we
(05:50):
are seeing is a bit of reset. So tell us
what all is happening right now and what were the
highlights of PM Moods two day visit.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
There you see from India out now it has come
to Indian Prime Minister being the guest of honor at
their Independence Day celebrations. So from India out it's a
bit of a red carpet for India. So it's a
complete reset from the time you see when Indian tourism
and tourists were discouraged, you know, they were asked to
(06:20):
not come and all of that. Now we had President
Muys making a statement that you know, India is one
of the major countries that helped small Thives with tourism
and with Prime Minister Mody's visit, it is going to
increase a lot. In fact, the two leaders also discussed
starting direct flights because as of now one has to
(06:41):
you know, land in Maldives, you have to take a
flight from like a smaller flight from one of the
southern cities like Chennai or Kochi. So they were talks
about starting more direct flights from the bigger cities of India.
So all that is now part of the conversations, which
is a complete to turn around to say the least
(07:01):
from what we saw early last year from India out
to red carpet is what it is is actually and
talk about some.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Of the things that were initiated during the visit. What
were some of the important announcements.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
See, we say that the visit signifies a total reset,
but it is also a new daily has made a
lot of sustained efforts, including a lot of assistance to
the island nation to deal with it with its economic situation,
and maybe that has been a factor arguably which has
helped bring the relations back on track. So in that sense,
(07:37):
India extended a credit line work through piece almost to
piece five thousand coro to Maldives, which was announced during
this trip. There is also a lot of other projects
that India helps with, including defense, training, social sector. So
India also is kind of you know helping them implement
(07:58):
you know, digital payment solution on a large scale. There
are some road and trained system projects that India helped with.
There are some community development projects, some heavy vehicles that
were given to the Maltivian Ministry of Defense. There is
also a pact on the corporation the sector of fisheries
and aquaculture. So as a neighbor, there was a lot
(08:20):
of corporation and help that India extended and support that
India extended to Maldives.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
And if you especially considering we are seeing this kind
of U turn, anything in particular that stands out in
the recent statements that have been made by these two leaders.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah, so how it started, how the warmth started, how
the breakthrough came when Prime Minister Modi was sworn in
for his third term in the middle of last year.
So among all the leaders from the neighborhood who were invited,
President Mouis was also invited and he came down for
the swearing in ceremony, and soon after he also made
(08:57):
an official visit to India in October last year. So
that visit was the beginning of you know what we
see now over these last few months, the momentum has
been maintained at political level and now it came to
a point last week where we see that the two
leaders showed a lot of warmth for each other and
(09:19):
Prime Minister Modi saying that masum Kesabiho, our friendship will
remain clear and warm, which is to say that India
is Maldives all with a friend and President mo Is
also saying that this is a defining visit that sets
a clear path for the future of you know, bilateral relations,
which is a way to say that whatever may happen,
(09:40):
the Taiesa are going to be now on a secure
path and the kind of things that we saw in
the past are not going to become issues in the
coming months, so to speak.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
So those are the kind of things that we see.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
And Prime Minister Modi also held a lot of meetings
across the political spectrum in Maldives with the opposition leaders
and I think across you know, political parties in Maldives
there was a huge support for you know, taking the
bilateral ties forward. So we see that things are on
a good track so to speak in that sense.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
And now shifting focus from Maldives, we turned to the
world of chess. On Monday, nineteen year old Deva Deshmuk
defeated veteran Kuneeru Humpy, the most dominant force in Indian
women's chess for over two decades, to win the FEEDA
Women's World Cup final. The win also makes Viva eligible
to become only the fourth Indian woman to earn the.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Grand Master title, a remarkable feat.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Especially since she did not have a single grand Master
norm before the tournament. Her final against Humpy also marked
a turning point, signaling that Indian players are now ready
to lead women's chess after decades of dominance by Chinese
and Russian players. To know about this win and what
it means for Indian chess. We are joined by Ahmed Kamat,
(11:04):
the co host of the Express Sports podcast. Ahmit begin
by telling us a little bit about them. What has
her career tragictory been like so far?
Speaker 7 (11:13):
Yeah, I think if you want to trace her rise,
the easiest metric or the easiest way to look at
it is this last year, sometime around June, I believe
she was playing in the World Junior Championships and she
won the title. So she became the World Junior Champion.
In the span of around thirteen months, she has already
become a World Cup winner. The fee day Women's World
(11:35):
Cup is the second most prestigious tournament in women's chess
after the Women's World Championship, but technically it's the most tricky, treacherous,
grueling tournament to compete in because it takes place over
a span of twenty four days. Like unlike the World Championship,
you don't just play one opponent over and over again.
(11:56):
You play I think six rounds, seven rounds, and these
are all me matches. These are all best of two
matches that you play in classical format. If you don't win,
then you have to again play tiebreaks, which is what
happened in the final, like she had two outlast a
veteran like Kuno Humpy whare the tie breaks in the final?
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Right, So this is what makes winning the World.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
Cup rerely tricky, even somebody like a Magnus Carlson only
one is first World Cup in twenty twenty three, very
bit again on the So that kind of gives you
a sense of how difficult it is to win a
World Cup.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
And talk about what do her contemporaries have to say
about her? What makes her stand out from the other players?
Speaker 7 (12:35):
Right now, you know, I've been speaking to a lot
of these people in Indian chess, right, all of them
are accomplished players themselves who have now moved into coaching
and things like that, and everybody when they talk about Diva,
there are a couple of themes that come across. One
is her aggression on the board. Second is you know,
her emotional maturity when she's on the board, Like, she's
not somebody who's over As I said mentioned she's not overall,
(12:57):
but she is a very emotionally mature person for somebody
who's just nineteen, right, she is not somebody like when
you look at her away from a chess game, she's
somebody who's bubbly. She's very goofy. She shouldn't take herself
too seriously. You will see her apologizing to chess pieces.
Speaker 6 (13:13):
She's goofy.
Speaker 7 (13:13):
She'll joke about things. Her interviews are like a breath
of fresh air and you put her on the board
and she's like then her game phase switches on. Right,
So she's that kind of a mature person. But some
of the things that the other grandmasters and these guys
told me, Like I was talking to Abijunte who was
the captain of the Indian women's team when they won
gold last year at the Olympiad. He was like, you know,
(13:34):
when I told Va that, you know you are in
form and we need you to play all eleven games
at the Olympiad without missing a beat, without doing like
a double take. Dva was like, okay, sure, I'll do it.
And playing eleven games is something that not a lot
of players do at an Olympiad, so this is rare.
These kinds of qualities are what make her the what
make her different than other players in a sense, right.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
And amit?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Can you tell us about this match between her and
Kuneru Hump. Talk about how Divia managed to defeat Humpy,
who clearly has been a giant in Indian chess.
Speaker 7 (14:07):
Right, So what is interesting is in the battle between Kuneru,
Humpy and Devia, we had like two complete contrasts.
Speaker 6 (14:15):
Right.
Speaker 7 (14:15):
You had somebody who's thirty eight, who's uh, you know,
kind of eased off on her career because of childbirth,
because of like you know, family taking over. And then
she is now starting to make a resurgence in the
sport where last year she became a world rapid champion.
This is Humpy, by the way, and this year she's
already won Woman's Grand Prix event and now we are
(14:36):
seeing her reach the final. So she's somebody who has
a lot of experience under her belt. She knows a
lot about competing and these type of high pressure tournaments.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Right.
Speaker 7 (14:47):
And then you had somebody like a Diva who was
playing in her first event of sorts, like first real
big ticket event.
Speaker 6 (14:55):
She goes all the way.
Speaker 7 (14:56):
She's nineteen, she's not even a grandmaster. So that is
what makes it kind of significant. And to be fair,
Diva has become a grandmaster without actually getting the three
norms that are mandatory to become a grandmaster. It's almost
like that sap CD thing where you get a ladder
and then you just quickly rise without having to go
through all the squares. She's just had that ladder. But
(15:18):
I mean, it's not to suggest that she's taken like
a shortcut, because this was I think the most treacherous
shortcut you could take to become a grandmaster. So yeah,
she had to do that, and beating Humpy was the
final with Humpy was something that was like really tricky
because the final was held over three days. The first
game was played in the classical format, which ended in
(15:38):
a draw. In that match, we saw Diva was the
one who was trying to, you know, get something out
of the match. She was trying to take a risk,
she was being aggressive, trying to you know, force Humpy's
hand and get an error out of her. In the
second game, there was not really too much happening because
Humpy was playing with white pieces and she made sure that,
you know, everything was quiet on the battlefield. So that
(16:00):
also ended in a draw. Then we came back for
the third day for the tie breaks, which are played
in the rapid format. It's a much faster time control.
The first game there also ended in a draw, but
the second game was where the v are kind of
you know. So the thing is, this tournament was played
over twenty four days, so eventually Humpy kind of physically
also got exhausted, and we saw that that physical exhaustion
(16:22):
leading to a few errors on the board in the
second game of the tie break, and that is when
Va kind of capitalized. That's how she became a grand master,
a World Cup winner, and also she earned herself a
spot in the women's candidates tournament.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Am you mentioned that Devia didn't follow the usual path
of achieving grand master norms, but still earned the title
by defeating some of the top players in the tournament.
Could you tell us who some of those players were?
Speaker 6 (16:51):
Great?
Speaker 7 (16:51):
So, she had to beat world number six jew Jaina
from China, who is one of the biggest rising stars
in women's chest she's a grand master. Then she had
to beat Harika Dronavalli in the next round, again Hurrika
is a grandmaster. In the next round, the semi finals,
Devia had to beat Tanzongi. Tanzongi is a former women's
World champion, and then she ran into the og Trailblazer
(17:15):
of Indian women's chess, which was Kunu Humpi and also
outlasted her to become a World Cup winner. Right, so,
by no means was this easy. She started a tournament
thinking that she will probably get one grand master norm
out of the tournament. She ends the tournament by becoming
a grand master herself.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And Ahmed, can you also talk about the kind of
rise that women have seen in chess, which, like many
other sports, has been male dominated for a very long time.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
Right, So, I think even now if you look at it,
the headlines in Indian chess also have been dominated to
a certain extent by men.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Because you know, you.
Speaker 7 (17:54):
Have and really a proper golden generation of sorts coming
in men's chess. You have Goke Sho's at the age
of eighteen become the youngest ever world champion. You have
Pragyananda who's also doing equally incredible feats. You have our
guinal Areas he who's reached twenty eight hundred rating also incredible.
So you have these three guys who have become the
(18:16):
flag bearers of Indian chess. But now because of players
like Diva, women's chess is also starting to stake its
rightful position under the spotlight at the last year's Olympiad.
You know, the headlines could have well been about the
Indian men's team or the open team as they call it.
But then simultaneously you also had the women's team kind
(18:37):
of winning a gold medal. You had Diva winning the
individual gold. You had one who's also right now one
of the most promising players in Indian women's chess. She
also won a gold medal for her board. So whatever
the men had done in the open section, the women
also matched. It was a clean sweep of sorts at
the Olympiad, and so that was the first indicator we
(18:59):
had that the women are also coming up. They are
also going to be a force to be reckoned with.
And what we've seen that the World Cup is equally amazing.
Like you know, if you looked at the quarterfinals, there
were four Indian women there as compared to just three
Chinese women, and that in itself was an indicator that
Indian women's as like the slangos upna time iiga, So
(19:24):
the time of Indian women's players is finally yere, right.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
And what also stood out this time was that the
final featured two Indian players and what we are seeing
now is that Indian women's chess players are ready to
challenge China's long standing nominance.
Speaker 7 (19:41):
See, China has been one of the biggest forces to
be reckoned within women's chests, right, and this has been
for the last let's say fifteen years or so, because
since who iFun became a women's world champion around twenty ten.
Since then, you know, we've had three more women becoming
world champion. You had Tanzongi, we had Zoo Engine, all
(20:04):
of them becoming women's world champions, and in the last
fifteen years or so, barring maybe two short stints, it's
always been a woman from China who's sat on that throne.
But if you looked at the Free Day World Cup
which just tended in Batumi, you had two women, Divya
and Humpy fighting for the top prize, and you had
(20:25):
two Chinese players Lea ting j and Tanzongi. Both of
them were fighting for the third spot, right, and both
of them were defeated by uh you know, and Humpy
on the way to reaching the final. So that was
an indicator that, you know, Indian women are now starting
to chip away at that great heft that Chinese women
(20:47):
enjoyed in women's chares. So nine women's players from China
had come into the tournament trying to win the title. Instead,
the best they could reach was the number three and
number four spots, right, So that is also an indicator
of how Indian woman kind of dominated this tournament.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
So amed what lies ahead for Diva? Now? What challenges
can she look forward to as a grand master?
Speaker 6 (21:11):
I think for.
Speaker 7 (21:11):
Somebody like a Diva. Now, what also will have to
be baked into her is the like she's spoken about herself.
You know, she's spoken about trying to balance this aggressive
streak that she has with a little bit of pragmatism, like,
you know, every game can't.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Be pushed till you reach So you know what.
Speaker 7 (21:33):
Was really fascinating the first game that I spoke about
when she was playing against Humpy and Vivia was the
one who was trying to still challenge, who's trying to
literally trying to squeeze water out of stone? And Anan
was doing commentary at that time for the official broadcast,
and he was like, at some point, I think around
after move forty, Anan was the one who was like, Okay,
(21:53):
now this seems to be heading to a draw, and
you could see Anan getting a little uh frustrate in
a sense he was like, Okay, what is happening. I
don't understand why these guys are still playing because I
can see that it's a draw and these two guys
were not giving each other any quarters. Like I could
maybe you could rationalize DVa's thought process by saying that,
you know, she had realized that Humpy is playing on
(22:15):
her twenty four days. She's thirty eight, so she must
be more exhausted physically than Diva was. So the effort
was to try and like, you know, exhaust her to
make sure that she spends another additional fifteen minutes, twenty minutes,
thirty minutes on the board. So that was clear. But
then that pragmatism is something that she will have to
get into her And this is not me saying it,
(22:36):
this is what Via herself has her that now her
bigger challenge is to try and balance this aggressive streak
that she has on the board with a little bit
of knowing when to fold your cards and knowing when
to challenge, though poor.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And in the end, we talk about the TCS layoffs
On Sunday, Tata Consultancy Services India's largest IT company announced
that it will lay off two percent of its workforce.
This decision is likely going to impact mid and senior
level employees. The move has stirred anxiety across the tech sector,
raising a pressing question is the Indian IT industry now
(23:16):
adopting the aggressive layoff cultures seen by.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
The tech giants in the US.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
In his recent piece, The Indian Express's George Matthew writes
that for decades, Indian IT firms were seen as stable
and secure employers, but that reputation is now fading. Companies
like TCS Inforces, Whipro and ETCL Technologies had nearly doubled
their headcount over the past decade, especially after the pandemic. However,
(23:42):
it demands now softening and pressure on margins, they appear
to be reversing that growth story. He points out that
TCS alone grew from over three LAC employees in financial
ear of twenty fifteen to over six lack by June
twenty twenty five. The company also diversified aggressive, employing people
from over one fifty nationalities and with women now making
(24:05):
over thirty five percent of its workforce. But since the
financial year of twenty twenty three, it has slowed down
hiding and scenerize in employee exit. In forces followed a
similar trajectory, growing at eighty four percent over ten years.
Its head count peaked at around three point five LAK
in the financial year of twenty twenty three, but has
(24:26):
since dipped slightly. The company continues to hire fresh graduates,
though at a slower pace, and is realigning to meet
shifting client needs and automation trends. Meanwhile, Whippro also grew
by sixty four percent over the past decade, peaking at
nearly two point five LAC employees in the financial year
of twenty twenty three before settling at around two point
(24:47):
three LAC. It also boasted diversity while adapting to digital
shifts now. While unveiling the company's results earlier this month,
TCSCO and MD Kay Kritivasen said that continued global microeconomic
and geopolitical uncertainties have led to a demand contraction.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
So Matthew writes that.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
With layoffs beginning at the very top of the industry,
there's a growing concern that the era of lifetime job security.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
In Indian it may be coming to an end, and.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
For a sector long viewed as a safe haven for
India's middle class. The message now seems clear. No one
is immune. You were listening to Three Things by the
Indian Express. Today's episode was edited and mixed by Surish
Babar and produced by Shashank Phagev.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
And Nina Hurrikananda.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
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In this episode, we talk about nineteen year old the
wyadeshmuk becoming the Fee Day Women's World Cup champion. We
also talk about Tata Consultancy Services announcing that it will
lay off two percent of its workforce. But first we
talk about the new developments between India and Maldives.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I am Aherri kan Nanda and you are listening to
three Things being an Express News show.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
After President Muhammad Muiz came to power in November twenty
twenty three, he signaled very clearly that Maldives should politically
distance itself from India.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
This was a sharp contrast.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
To his predecessors, whose approach towards India had been far
more friendly. In fact, Muiz rose to power on an
India Out campaign, and during his first year as president
he introduced several policies in line with that stance, including
asking India to withdraw its troops from the c But now,
nearly two years later, he seems to have taken a
(01:04):
u turn. That shift was clearly visible during Prime ministern
Ary in the Remode's two day visit to the Maldives
last week, where he attended the country's.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Independence Day celebrations.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
During this visit, several economic agreements were signed, projects were inaugurated,
and India also announced a credit line of rupee's four thousand,
eight hundred and fifty kurore. To talk about this reset
and what it means for both countries, my colleague Sshank
Page speaks to the Indian Expresses the VIAA in this segment, Divia.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Before we talk about pmod's latest visit, can you briefly
talk about what strategic significance Maldives has for India.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Maldius is very important for India simply because of its
geography location. It's India's close neighbor. It's just about three
hundred nautical mines from India's mainland, so it is key
component of India's neighborhood and you know the India's neighborhood
first policy and also a strong relationship with Maldives is
(02:05):
important because it in a way helps counter China's growing
influence in the Indian Ocean region. So in that sense,
in fact, India has been building bridges and focusing on
all the countries and smaller island nations in the neighborhood
as a counterbalance to China.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
I would say it is also India's.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Key partner in trade, you know, major trading partner in
terms of volumes. It may not be so much, but
it is among the major trading partner. There is also
a lot of people to people ties and tourism ties.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
There are also cultural and ethnic linguistic ties.
Speaker 4 (02:42):
So a good relationship between Maldives and India is important
in many ways for New Delhi and maliboth And.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
You know, when talking about China, India has in the
past express concerns about a large number of Chinese vessels
being present around Maldives and New Delhi for instance, has
told malay that it should exercise caution while granting them permission.
And what's also important to consider is that President Muise
(03:10):
he's actually seen as being much closer to China than
his predecessor. And he actually came to power on an
India campaign, right, So can you talk about his government's
stance regarding India and what we have seen since he's
come to power.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Yeah, as far as President Mohammed Mois is concerned, So
when he started his election campaign in late twenty twenty three,
it was basically on the back of an India Out
policy which indirectly meant India out and you know, China in.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
And when he became the president, he also made his
first official visits to China, whereas traditionally Maldivian presidents would
make their first official visits to India. So that was
not just a clear signal, it was a clear state
in many ways which showed his proximity to China and
(04:03):
his indifference or kind of maintaining distances with India.
Speaker 5 (04:09):
So things became complicated. In fact, as soon as.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
He returned from China, there was a call for India
to withdraw troops from the Maldives. Then in the same month,
in January of twenty twenty four, we would remember Prime
Minister in re Remodes visit to Luxury, so one Inocco's
picture that Prime ministers posted from there created a bit
of a flutter in Maldis with the senior minister saying
(04:36):
that Indian should not be visiting here and all of that,
and so everything became went downhild after that, and what
we are seeing now twenty months later is a complete
reset And it hasn't happened overnight. It has happened through
a sustained effort on part of both sides.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
In the last one year.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Or more, right, And you mentioned the controversy involving PMO
D's luxury visit, and it had started after social media
users in Maldives, you know, they had started making offensive
and derogatory remarks against Indians, and then ministers in Moyes's
cabinet repeated those remarks, some of which were directed against
(05:20):
PMO D as well, and later at least three of
those ministers were sacked.
Speaker 6 (05:25):
But you know, when we talk about this government's.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Decision to ask India to withdraw its troops, that was,
you know, seen as a big deal because in terms
of defense, like you said, Maldives has been an important
strategic partner. You know, almost seventy percent of Maldive's defense
training is actually done by India. So that was seen
as a friction point. But you know, now what we
(05:50):
are seeing is a bit of reset. So tell us
what all is happening right now and what were the
highlights of PM Moods two day visit.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
There you see from India out now it has come
to Indian Prime Minister being the guest of honor at
their Independence Day celebrations. So from India out it's a
bit of a red carpet for India. So it's a
complete reset from the time you see when Indian tourism
and tourists were discouraged, you know, they were asked to
(06:20):
not come and all of that. Now we had President
Muys making a statement that you know, India is one
of the major countries that helped small Thives with tourism
and with Prime Minister Mody's visit, it is going to
increase a lot. In fact, the two leaders also discussed
starting direct flights because as of now one has to
(06:41):
you know, land in Maldives, you have to take a
flight from like a smaller flight from one of the
southern cities like Chennai or Kochi. So they were talks
about starting more direct flights from the bigger cities of India.
So all that is now part of the conversations, which
is a complete to turn around to say the least
(07:01):
from what we saw early last year from India out
to red carpet is what it is is actually and
talk about some.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Of the things that were initiated during the visit. What
were some of the important announcements.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
See, we say that the visit signifies a total reset,
but it is also a new daily has made a
lot of sustained efforts, including a lot of assistance to
the island nation to deal with it with its economic situation,
and maybe that has been a factor arguably which has
helped bring the relations back on track. So in that sense,
(07:37):
India extended a credit line work through piece almost to
piece five thousand coro to Maldives, which was announced during
this trip. There is also a lot of other projects
that India helps with, including defense, training, social sector. So
India also is kind of you know helping them implement
(07:58):
you know, digital payment solution on a large scale. There
are some road and trained system projects that India helped with.
There are some community development projects, some heavy vehicles that
were given to the Maltivian Ministry of Defense. There is
also a pact on the corporation the sector of fisheries
and aquaculture. So as a neighbor, there was a lot
(08:20):
of corporation and help that India extended and support that
India extended to Maldives.
Speaker 6 (08:26):
And if you especially considering we are seeing this kind
of U turn, anything in particular that stands out in
the recent statements that have been made by these two leaders.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Yeah, so how it started, how the warmth started, how
the breakthrough came when Prime Minister Modi was sworn in
for his third term in the middle of last year.
So among all the leaders from the neighborhood who were invited,
President Mouis was also invited and he came down for
the swearing in ceremony, and soon after he also made
(08:57):
an official visit to India in October last year. So
that visit was the beginning of you know what we
see now over these last few months, the momentum has
been maintained at political level and now it came to
a point last week where we see that the two
leaders showed a lot of warmth for each other and
(09:19):
Prime Minister Modi saying that masum Kesabiho, our friendship will
remain clear and warm, which is to say that India
is Maldives all with a friend and President mo Is
also saying that this is a defining visit that sets
a clear path for the future of you know, bilateral relations,
which is a way to say that whatever may happen,
(09:40):
the Taiesa are going to be now on a secure
path and the kind of things that we saw in
the past are not going to become issues in the
coming months, so to speak.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
So those are the kind of things that we see.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
And Prime Minister Modi also held a lot of meetings
across the political spectrum in Maldives with the opposition leaders
and I think across you know, political parties in Maldives
there was a huge support for you know, taking the
bilateral ties forward. So we see that things are on
a good track so to speak in that sense.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
And now shifting focus from Maldives, we turned to the
world of chess. On Monday, nineteen year old Deva Deshmuk
defeated veteran Kuneeru Humpy, the most dominant force in Indian
women's chess for over two decades, to win the FEEDA
Women's World Cup final. The win also makes Viva eligible
to become only the fourth Indian woman to earn the.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Grand Master title, a remarkable feat.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
Especially since she did not have a single grand Master
norm before the tournament. Her final against Humpy also marked
a turning point, signaling that Indian players are now ready
to lead women's chess after decades of dominance by Chinese
and Russian players. To know about this win and what
it means for Indian chess. We are joined by Ahmed Kamat,
(11:04):
the co host of the Express Sports podcast. Ahmit begin
by telling us a little bit about them. What has
her career tragictory been like so far?
Speaker 7 (11:13):
Yeah, I think if you want to trace her rise,
the easiest metric or the easiest way to look at
it is this last year, sometime around June, I believe
she was playing in the World Junior Championships and she
won the title. So she became the World Junior Champion.
In the span of around thirteen months, she has already
become a World Cup winner. The fee day Women's World
(11:35):
Cup is the second most prestigious tournament in women's chess
after the Women's World Championship, but technically it's the most tricky, treacherous,
grueling tournament to compete in because it takes place over
a span of twenty four days. Like unlike the World Championship,
you don't just play one opponent over and over again.
(11:56):
You play I think six rounds, seven rounds, and these
are all me matches. These are all best of two
matches that you play in classical format. If you don't win,
then you have to again play tiebreaks, which is what
happened in the final, like she had two outlast a
veteran like Kuno Humpy whare the tie breaks in the final?
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Right, So this is what makes winning the World.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
Cup rerely tricky, even somebody like a Magnus Carlson only
one is first World Cup in twenty twenty three, very
bit again on the So that kind of gives you
a sense of how difficult it is to win a
World Cup.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
And talk about what do her contemporaries have to say
about her? What makes her stand out from the other players?
Speaker 7 (12:35):
Right now, you know, I've been speaking to a lot
of these people in Indian chess, right, all of them
are accomplished players themselves who have now moved into coaching
and things like that, and everybody when they talk about Diva,
there are a couple of themes that come across. One
is her aggression on the board. Second is you know,
her emotional maturity when she's on the board, Like, she's
not somebody who's over As I said mentioned she's not overall,
(12:57):
but she is a very emotionally mature person for somebody
who's just nineteen, right, she is not somebody like when
you look at her away from a chess game, she's
somebody who's bubbly. She's very goofy. She shouldn't take herself
too seriously. You will see her apologizing to chess pieces.
Speaker 6 (13:13):
She's goofy.
Speaker 7 (13:13):
She'll joke about things. Her interviews are like a breath
of fresh air and you put her on the board
and she's like then her game phase switches on. Right,
So she's that kind of a mature person. But some
of the things that the other grandmasters and these guys
told me, Like I was talking to Abijunte who was
the captain of the Indian women's team when they won
gold last year at the Olympiad. He was like, you know,
(13:34):
when I told Va that, you know you are in
form and we need you to play all eleven games
at the Olympiad without missing a beat, without doing like
a double take. Dva was like, okay, sure, I'll do it.
And playing eleven games is something that not a lot
of players do at an Olympiad, so this is rare.
These kinds of qualities are what make her the what
make her different than other players in a sense, right.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
And amit?
Speaker 1 (13:56):
Can you tell us about this match between her and
Kuneru Hump. Talk about how Divia managed to defeat Humpy,
who clearly has been a giant in Indian chess.
Speaker 7 (14:07):
Right, So what is interesting is in the battle between Kuneru,
Humpy and Devia, we had like two complete contrasts.
Speaker 6 (14:15):
Right.
Speaker 7 (14:15):
You had somebody who's thirty eight, who's uh, you know,
kind of eased off on her career because of childbirth,
because of like you know, family taking over. And then
she is now starting to make a resurgence in the
sport where last year she became a world rapid champion.
This is Humpy, by the way, and this year she's
already won Woman's Grand Prix event and now we are
(14:36):
seeing her reach the final. So she's somebody who has
a lot of experience under her belt. She knows a
lot about competing and these type of high pressure tournaments.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
Right.
Speaker 7 (14:47):
And then you had somebody like a Diva who was
playing in her first event of sorts, like first real
big ticket event.
Speaker 6 (14:55):
She goes all the way.
Speaker 7 (14:56):
She's nineteen, she's not even a grandmaster. So that is
what makes it kind of significant. And to be fair,
Diva has become a grandmaster without actually getting the three
norms that are mandatory to become a grandmaster. It's almost
like that sap CD thing where you get a ladder
and then you just quickly rise without having to go
through all the squares. She's just had that ladder. But
(15:18):
I mean, it's not to suggest that she's taken like
a shortcut, because this was I think the most treacherous
shortcut you could take to become a grandmaster. So yeah,
she had to do that, and beating Humpy was the
final with Humpy was something that was like really tricky
because the final was held over three days. The first
game was played in the classical format, which ended in
(15:38):
a draw. In that match, we saw Diva was the
one who was trying to, you know, get something out
of the match. She was trying to take a risk,
she was being aggressive, trying to you know, force Humpy's
hand and get an error out of her. In the
second game, there was not really too much happening because
Humpy was playing with white pieces and she made sure that,
you know, everything was quiet on the battlefield. So that
(16:00):
also ended in a draw. Then we came back for
the third day for the tie breaks, which are played
in the rapid format. It's a much faster time control.
The first game there also ended in a draw, but
the second game was where the v are kind of
you know. So the thing is, this tournament was played
over twenty four days, so eventually Humpy kind of physically
also got exhausted, and we saw that that physical exhaustion
(16:22):
leading to a few errors on the board in the
second game of the tie break, and that is when
Va kind of capitalized. That's how she became a grand master,
a World Cup winner, and also she earned herself a
spot in the women's candidates tournament.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Am you mentioned that Devia didn't follow the usual path
of achieving grand master norms, but still earned the title
by defeating some of the top players in the tournament.
Could you tell us who some of those players were?
Speaker 6 (16:51):
Great?
Speaker 7 (16:51):
So, she had to beat world number six jew Jaina
from China, who is one of the biggest rising stars
in women's chest she's a grand master. Then she had
to beat Harika Dronavalli in the next round, again Hurrika
is a grandmaster. In the next round, the semi finals,
Devia had to beat Tanzongi. Tanzongi is a former women's
World champion, and then she ran into the og Trailblazer
(17:15):
of Indian women's chess, which was Kunu Humpi and also
outlasted her to become a World Cup winner. Right, so,
by no means was this easy. She started a tournament
thinking that she will probably get one grand master norm
out of the tournament. She ends the tournament by becoming
a grand master herself.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And Ahmed, can you also talk about the kind of
rise that women have seen in chess, which, like many
other sports, has been male dominated for a very long time.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
Right, So, I think even now if you look at it,
the headlines in Indian chess also have been dominated to
a certain extent by men.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Because you know, you.
Speaker 7 (17:54):
Have and really a proper golden generation of sorts coming
in men's chess. You have Goke Sho's at the age
of eighteen become the youngest ever world champion. You have
Pragyananda who's also doing equally incredible feats. You have our
guinal Areas he who's reached twenty eight hundred rating also incredible.
So you have these three guys who have become the
(18:16):
flag bearers of Indian chess. But now because of players
like Diva, women's chess is also starting to stake its
rightful position under the spotlight at the last year's Olympiad.
You know, the headlines could have well been about the
Indian men's team or the open team as they call it.
But then simultaneously you also had the women's team kind
(18:37):
of winning a gold medal. You had Diva winning the
individual gold. You had one who's also right now one
of the most promising players in Indian women's chess. She
also won a gold medal for her board. So whatever
the men had done in the open section, the women
also matched. It was a clean sweep of sorts at
the Olympiad, and so that was the first indicator we
(18:59):
had that the women are also coming up. They are
also going to be a force to be reckoned with.
And what we've seen that the World Cup is equally amazing.
Like you know, if you looked at the quarterfinals, there
were four Indian women there as compared to just three
Chinese women, and that in itself was an indicator that
Indian women's as like the slangos upna time iiga, So
(19:24):
the time of Indian women's players is finally yere, right.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
And what also stood out this time was that the
final featured two Indian players and what we are seeing
now is that Indian women's chess players are ready to
challenge China's long standing nominance.
Speaker 7 (19:41):
See, China has been one of the biggest forces to
be reckoned within women's chests, right, and this has been
for the last let's say fifteen years or so, because
since who iFun became a women's world champion around twenty ten.
Since then, you know, we've had three more women becoming
world champion. You had Tanzongi, we had Zoo Engine, all
(20:04):
of them becoming women's world champions, and in the last
fifteen years or so, barring maybe two short stints, it's
always been a woman from China who's sat on that throne.
But if you looked at the Free Day World Cup
which just tended in Batumi, you had two women, Divya
and Humpy fighting for the top prize, and you had
(20:25):
two Chinese players Lea ting j and Tanzongi. Both of
them were fighting for the third spot, right, and both
of them were defeated by uh you know, and Humpy
on the way to reaching the final. So that was
an indicator that, you know, Indian women are now starting
to chip away at that great heft that Chinese women
(20:47):
enjoyed in women's chares. So nine women's players from China
had come into the tournament trying to win the title. Instead,
the best they could reach was the number three and
number four spots, right, So that is also an indicator
of how Indian woman kind of dominated this tournament.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
So amed what lies ahead for Diva? Now? What challenges
can she look forward to as a grand master?
Speaker 6 (21:11):
I think for.
Speaker 7 (21:11):
Somebody like a Diva. Now, what also will have to
be baked into her is the like she's spoken about herself.
You know, she's spoken about trying to balance this aggressive
streak that she has with a little bit of pragmatism, like,
you know, every game can't.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Be pushed till you reach So you know what.
Speaker 7 (21:33):
Was really fascinating the first game that I spoke about
when she was playing against Humpy and Vivia was the
one who was trying to still challenge, who's trying to
literally trying to squeeze water out of stone? And Anan
was doing commentary at that time for the official broadcast,
and he was like, at some point, I think around
after move forty, Anan was the one who was like, Okay,
(21:53):
now this seems to be heading to a draw, and
you could see Anan getting a little uh frustrate in
a sense he was like, Okay, what is happening. I
don't understand why these guys are still playing because I
can see that it's a draw and these two guys
were not giving each other any quarters. Like I could
maybe you could rationalize DVa's thought process by saying that,
you know, she had realized that Humpy is playing on
(22:15):
her twenty four days. She's thirty eight, so she must
be more exhausted physically than Diva was. So the effort
was to try and like, you know, exhaust her to
make sure that she spends another additional fifteen minutes, twenty minutes,
thirty minutes on the board. So that was clear. But
then that pragmatism is something that she will have to
get into her And this is not me saying it,
(22:36):
this is what Via herself has her that now her
bigger challenge is to try and balance this aggressive streak
that she has on the board with a little bit
of knowing when to fold your cards and knowing when
to challenge, though poor.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
And in the end, we talk about the TCS layoffs
On Sunday, Tata Consultancy Services India's largest IT company announced
that it will lay off two percent of its workforce.
This decision is likely going to impact mid and senior
level employees. The move has stirred anxiety across the tech sector,
raising a pressing question is the Indian IT industry now
(23:16):
adopting the aggressive layoff cultures seen by.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
The tech giants in the US.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
In his recent piece, The Indian Express's George Matthew writes
that for decades, Indian IT firms were seen as stable
and secure employers, but that reputation is now fading. Companies
like TCS Inforces, Whipro and ETCL Technologies had nearly doubled
their headcount over the past decade, especially after the pandemic. However,
(23:42):
it demands now softening and pressure on margins, they appear
to be reversing that growth story. He points out that
TCS alone grew from over three LAC employees in financial
ear of twenty fifteen to over six lack by June
twenty twenty five. The company also diversified aggressive, employing people
from over one fifty nationalities and with women now making
(24:05):
over thirty five percent of its workforce. But since the
financial year of twenty twenty three, it has slowed down
hiding and scenerize in employee exit. In forces followed a
similar trajectory, growing at eighty four percent over ten years.
Its head count peaked at around three point five LAK
in the financial year of twenty twenty three, but has
(24:26):
since dipped slightly. The company continues to hire fresh graduates,
though at a slower pace, and is realigning to meet
shifting client needs and automation trends. Meanwhile, Whippro also grew
by sixty four percent over the past decade, peaking at
nearly two point five LAC employees in the financial year
of twenty twenty three before settling at around two point
(24:47):
three LAC. It also boasted diversity while adapting to digital
shifts now. While unveiling the company's results earlier this month,
TCSCO and MD Kay Kritivasen said that continued global microeconomic
and geopolitical uncertainties have led to a demand contraction.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
So Matthew writes that.
Speaker 1 (25:07):
With layoffs beginning at the very top of the industry,
there's a growing concern that the era of lifetime job security.
Speaker 3 (25:13):
In Indian it may be coming to an end, and.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
For a sector long viewed as a safe haven for
India's middle class. The message now seems clear. No one
is immune. You were listening to Three Things by the
Indian Express. Today's episode was edited and mixed by Surish
Babar and produced by Shashank Phagev.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
And Nina Hurrikananda.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
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