Global Indian Times Podcast

PGA Champion Aaron Rai's Father is Sikh, Wife Gaurika a Hindu and Sponsor Shabir Randeree a Muslim

(Photo: Gaurika Bishnoi and Aaron Rai at their wedding, 2025. Courtesy Bishnoi Instagram.) March 23, 20264 By Ignatius Chithelen Rai’s PGA Championship win has boosted his popularity in the UK and the larger Indian market. So, he is likely being offered lucrative sponsorship deals by global sports and consumer brand companies. Also, if he chooses, Rai does not have to work hard on improving his golf game. With the PGA Championship win, he can play in the tournament for life. For the next five years, he also automatically qualifies for the other majors, Masters, US Open and The British Open; as well as for the PGA Tour. Will the fame and wealth distract Rai or will he win more tournaments, including majors? In 2020, Rai earned $1.4 million in prize money for winning the Scottish Open. He treated himself to a Mitsubishi Evo car, which then cost roughly $70,000, even though he could easily afford a more expensive, luxurious Rolls Royce or Mercedes Benz. Laughing, he explained his choice to a reporter of The Times, London: The Evos, made on a budget, had no flashy interiors, “they were just pure and focused. [https://www.thetimes.com/sport/golf/article/aaron-rai-interview-golf-scottish-open-27sqqj77w] Those are the values I believe in.” Gaurika, a Hindu, and Rai married in 2025. In 2018, Gaurika chatted with Rai’s mother during his round at the Hero Indian Open, part of the DP World Tour. It was held at her home club, the DLF Golf Club, near Delhi. Rai’s mother asked her to wait and meet her son, [https://golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/majors/pga/2026/05/18/2026-pga-championship-aaron-rai-how-he-met-his-wife/90138419007/] she told Golfweek. After Rai’s PGA Championship win, a follower commented on an Instagram post by Gaurika, “the more he listens to you [https://www.instagram.com/p/DMk5OiHR_n8/?img_index=1] the better he plays.” Ignatius Chithelen is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Aaron Rai Wins PGA Championship After Overcoming Fear of Success withWife's Help

May 23, 2026 Rai’s PGA Championship win has boosted his popularity in the UK and the larger Indian market. So, he is likely being offered lucrative sponsorship deals by global sports and consumer brand companies. Also, if he chooses, Rai does not have to work hard on improving his golf game. With the PGA Championship win, he can play in the tournament for life. For the next five years, he also automatically qualifies for the other majors, Masters, US Open and The British Open; as well as for the PGA Tour. Will the fame, attention and wealth distract Rai or will he win more tournaments, including majors? In 2020, Rai earned $1.4 million in prize money for winning the Scottish Open. He treated himself to a Mitsubishi Evo car, which then cost roughly $70,000, even though he could easily afford a more expensive, luxurious Rolls Royce or Mercedes Benz. Laughing, he explained his choice to a reporter of The Times, London: The Evos, made on a budget, had no flashy interiors, “they were just pure and focused. [https://www.thetimes.com/sport/golf/article/aaron-rai-interview-golf-scottish-open-27sqqj77w] Those are the values I believe in.” (Photo: Gaurika Bishnoi and Aaron Rai at their wedding, 2025. Courtesy Bishnoi Instagram.) Thank you for listening to this Global Indian Times podcast. To receive free weekly podcasts, kindly subscribe if you are not already a subscriber. The volunteers who run Global Indian Times appreciate your passing along the link to the podcast to others who may have an interest. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Only Five Percent of Students from India Find Jobs in the US After a MS Degree

(Image: Courtesy Wikimedia Commons [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NPP_grad_image_blue.png].) By Ignatius Chithelen. He is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A CFA, Chithelen is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. May 21, 2026 Since the 2010s, most top students from India, including from the reputed Indian Institutes of Technology, avoid pursuing advanced degrees in the US since they have to borrow large sums to cover their costs. Currently, most Indians pursuing MS degrees in the US are from mid-or-low tier colleges in India, who ignore the burden of debt, believing they will find better career opportunities in the US than in India. They are influenced by the stream of stories on the success of Indian professionals in the US, widely covered by the media in India. Yes, many of the engineers and doctors, who migrated to the US in the 1970’s and 1980’s, achieved professional and financial success. But they were the top students in India, from the IITs and the best medical colleges. Most of them did not take on large debt to pursue advanced education in the US. More important, most found jobs in the US upon graduation. Expecting to repeat their success today is like driving a car by looking in the rear-view mirror. The current reality, as Krishna and his classmates have found, is that the prospects of students from India finding a job in the US, especially after earning a MS from a mid-or-low ranked university, is one in twenty; US job prospects are far lower for Indians with non-STEM MS degrees. The intense competition among college graduates for jobs in India is now occurring among Indian Master’s graduates in the US. I see Krishna at the cocktail reception after the conference ends. I wish him good luck in finding a job and paying off his debt. Ignatius Chithelen is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A CFA, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Can India's IPL Cricket Teams Keep Rising in Value

(Photo: Manoj Badale, part owner of the Rajasthan Royals cricket team. Courtesy British Asian Trust.) By Cherian Samuel Most Indian cricket pundits predict valuations of Indian league teams will keep rising, with some forecasting they will exceed $5 billion by 2035. [https://www.moneycontrol.com/sports/cricket/every-ipl-team-could-be-worth-5-billion-in-10-years-claims-franchise-co-owner-article-13873670.html] In contrast, a report from D&P Advisory, a valuation consultancy based in Bengaluru, says the Indian men’s league is “grappling with maturity [https://dandpadvisory.com/ipl-valuation-report-2025-beyond-22-yards/]and recalibration.” This is in part because the consolidation of TV platforms in India “has transformed the media rights ecosystem, altering the balance of competition and value creation.” Is there any significance, for the future valuation of Indian league cricket teams, when an investor like Manoj Badale, with a good track record, is selling his stake in the Rajasthan Royals? Cherian Samuel, a writer based in Washington DC, retired from the World Bank. He earned a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Named in Epstein Files, Deepak Chopra's Professor Role to End at UC San Diego

(Photo: Protest in Washington DC demanding release of all Jeffrey Epstein files. Courtesy: Creative Commons. [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Release_the_Epstein_Files_%2854865107452%29.jpg]) May 1, 2026 Chopra is mentioned 3,354 times [https://www.justice.gov/epstein] in the Epstein files, according to the public database of millions of files released by the Justice Department. In a post on X/Twitter, Chopra states some of his email exchanges with Epstein “reflect poor judgement in tone [https://x.com/DeepakChopra/status/2019118382751113466?s=20]…Any contact I had was limited and unrelated to abusive activity.” One reader responded on X/Twitter, “Mr Chopra fails to mention that his emails are dated after Mr Epstein had been tried and found guilty of inappropriate sexual conduct with minors.” Among the victims of Epstein was Rina Oh, an Indian student who lived briefly in Epstein’s mansion in Florida. “I was trapped, [https://x.com/IndiaToday/status/2024518844799406080] https://x.com/IndiaToday/status/2024518844799406080with no transportation, no money, and threats of physical harm. That fear kept me silent for decades,” Oh told India Today. She told NDTV, “it was very easy to manipulate me. [https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/jeffrey-epstein-told-me-his-darkest-secrets-jeffrey-epstein-survivor-rina-oh-recalls-once-silenced-horror-to-ndtv-ex-prince-andrew-epstein-files-11105662] I was already very damaged. Jeffrey (Epstein) saw that, and he took advantage of me.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]