Can India's IPL Cricket Teams Keep Rising in Value

Nature offers Keralites a major source of pride, jobs and income

(Photo: dance, Kerala, courtesy Wikimedia.) By Sunil Mani Sunil Mani is a visiting professor, Centre for Development Studies, and Ahmedabad University, both in India. The views expressed are personal. EXTRACTS Over centuries, Keralites have advanced the use of Ayurvedic and other nature-based remedies to treat back and joint pain, allergies, diabetes, insomnia, stress and other ailments. They grow jackfruits, mangoes, pineapples, cashews, and other fruits. A long tradition of cooking offers toddy-appams, coconut-based fish and meat curries, payasams and halvas. Visitors are entertained with Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Theyyam, Kalaripayattu, and other dances and cultural attractions. Not surprising then, that, tourism and medical tourism are an important pillar of Kerala’s economy. It is one of the state’s largest employers, generates thousands of small and several big entrepreneurs, contributes significantly to a more balanced economic development across the state, and earns foreign exchange for India. However, Kerala’s tourism industry faces major challenges. They include congested roads, impact of climate-change, and, most important, competition from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Maldives. Up until a decade ago, Kerala was far cheaper for foreign tourists. In 2026, the total costs for a ten-day trip, for a British or American couple, to Kerala, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are roughly the same. Travel to Kerala is becoming more expensive due to higher costs, especially of unskilled labor and real estate. Daily wage rates in Kerala are among the highest in India. It is being driven up by a combination of powerful labor unions and a highly educated workforce, which avoids manual labor. Ironically, Kerala, which exports labor to the Persian Gulf countries, imports unskilled labor - around three million - from the poorer regions of Bihar, West Bengal, and other Indian states. Then, demand for homes and other real estate in Kerala keeps rising, from relatively affluent Keralites working outside the state, especially those in the Persian Gulf countries. This has sharply boosted prices of land and construction costs. There is then climate-related risks, though this also applies to competing tropical tourist destinations. In 2019, for instance, the summer and monsoon tourism business, across much of Kerala, was severely hurt by heavy rain, floods, and landslides. There was also a highly publicized outbreak of the Nipah virus and fears of flood-related communicable diseases, particularly leptospirosis (rat fever), dengue fever, influenza, and hepatitis A. Given the challenges, entrepreneurs, officials, and policy makers in Kerala must recognize that the state’s advantages in tourism needs to be nurtured and strengthened, or it can evaporate quickly. There are no compelling reasons for foreign tourists to spend their money in Kerala. Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Maldives also offer beaches, forests, and birding, good food, and massages, yoga, and other nature-based wellness treatments. The example of the cashew industry in Kerala offers a good lesson. In the mid-1990s, Vietnamese delegations visited Kollam to learn about Kerala’s cashew nut processing operations. By 2006, using automation and favourable government labor and other policies, Vietnam overtook India as the leading exporter of cashew nuts. Meanwhile, Kerala’s cashew agro-industry was unable to cut costs and improve quality, severely damaging the state’s centuries-old dominance in the global supply of the nuts. Unlike Vietnam and Sri Lanka, Kerala offers a rare blend of ancient, proven Ayurveda-based medical services and numerous leisure attractions. Will Kerala’s advantage soon disappear due to complacency and neglect or since it is being copied by rivals? Or, will those in Kerala’s tourism business focus on improving quality and services and lowering costs, thereby continuing to attract more foreign tourists? This essay will be part of the book, Kerala and Keralites: The Promise and Challenges. The book is a collection of essays and interviews from the Global Indian Times, edited by Ignatius Chithelen and Cherian Samuel. Bryant Park Publishers. Publication date July 2026. 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]

Monica Sunny’s Chai Box sells organic teas, blended with spices from Kerala, in the United States

By Ignatius Chithelen June 25, 2026 Selling even premium teas and coffees is intensely competitive, largely a commodity business, with low barriers to entry for new sellers. Costco’s site, for instance, lists more than fifteen premium, organic breakfast teas, including from large brands like Bigelow, Twinings, and Pure Leaf, all stating their teas are made from natural ingredients and are environmentally friendly. So, Sunny faces a major challenge of fine-tuning the quality, quantity, and price of the Chai Box teas to attract new buyers and convert them into long-term customers. A big advantage in selling caffeinated teas and coffees, as Starbucks, Nespresso and Blue Bottle have shown, is that, once buyers like a taste, and are satisfied with the service and price, they will continue to keep buying since the beverages are addictive. Apparently, Sunny’s strategy is to first attract Indians and other South Asians in the US as customers. If Sunny can get even five-percent, of nearly two million South Asian households, to buy Chai Box teas, it could be a lucrative, niche company. “Growing up in an Indian household, I started drinking Chai at the age of two and blending teas at the age of twelve,” Sunny says in a blog post. “For me, Chai is more than just a drink, it is a part of my culture and heritage...an integral part of my family’s daily ritual. [https://thechaibox.com/pages/our-story]” 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. Neither he nor Banyan has any financial or other interests in any of the companies mentioned in this story. This essay will be part of the book, Kerala and Keralites: The Promise and Challenges. The book is a collection of essays and interviews from the Global Indian Times, edited by Ignatius Chithelen and Cherian Samuel. Bryant Park Publishers. Publication date July 2026. 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]

Why Indian Banks Face Big Potential Losses on their Foreign Education Loans

(Image: courtesy Wikimedia Commons.) Ironically, the reduced work visa and job opportunities in the US and UK for Indians earning foreign degrees is in part due to a sharp increase in their numbers. In 2024, more than 1.3 million [https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases?dtl/388400] Indians were enrolled in foreign universities. This is up twenty-five fold, from about 53,000, in 2000; and up seven-fold, from about 192,000, in 2010. [https://wenr.wes.org/strategic-internationalization/wenr-november-2012-where-are-overseas-indians-studying/] Hence, the intense competition, among college graduates for jobs in India, is also occurring among Indians with degrees in foreign countries. Yet, many Indian students continue to believe that a foreign degree, even a non-STEM one, is the key that will enable them to get a high-paying foreign job. In part, they are influenced by stories about the success of Indians, especially in the US, widely covered by the media in India. Ultimately, the responsibility lies on the parents and the students. They should view borrowing for a foreign degree with a realistic understanding of the risks. A foreign education loan should not be a speculative gamble, like borrowing a large, high interest loan to buy a lottery ticket. 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]

PGA Champion Aaron Rai's Father is Sikh, Wife Hindu, Sponsor Muslim and Coach Christian

(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]

Parabilis, with CEO Mathai Mammen, Pursues New Class of Medicines to Treat Cancer

(Photo: Mathai Mammen, CEO, Parabilis) June 13, 2026 Parabilis is developing medicines, based on its helicon peptide platforms, to treat both rare and common cancers. Helicons are a type of peptides capable of modulating proteins in a cell, a task which conventional medicines could not accomplish. Peptides are short chains of molecules called amino acids, which make up a protein. “(W)e have advanced a new class of medicines, [https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7470520862149005312/]Helicons, designed to reach targets long considered undruggable and move closer to our goal of creating extraordinary medicines for patients with serious diseases.” Mathai Mammen, Chairman and Chief Executive of the company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, posted on LinkedIn. Mammen earned his MD from Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University. He received his BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His mother Molly Mammen was a technician scientist in a cancer lab at Dalhousie University. “I witnessed both overt and subtle discrimination, bias and powerful perseverance [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mathai-mammen_embraceequity-science-medicine-share-7040301479223513088-ZUW2/] and courage, and success in everything that my mother took on professionally and personally,” Mathai Mammen states in a LinkedIn post. His parents migrated to Canada, from Kerala, India, when he was a toddler. 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 Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. Neither he nor Banyan has any financial or other interests in any of the companies mentioned in this story. 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]