India on precipice of amazing, undeniable global soft power: Comedian Vir Das
is on the precipice of an "amazing, undeniable"
global soft power
whose "guardians" in equal measure are both those living in the homeland as well as the
Indian diaspora
, Emmy-Award winning comedian and actor
Vir Das
has said.
"I think something that the diaspora does really well is protect culture," Das said here during a special interaction hosted at Asia Society.
Explore courses from Top Institutes in
Select a Course Category
Leadership
Degree
healthcare
Technology
PGDM
Artificial Intelligence
Healthcare
Digital Marketing
Cybersecurity
Design Thinking
Operations Management
Data Science
Finance
Data Analytics
others
Public Policy
Others
CXO
MCA
Project Management
Management
Data Science
MBA
Product Management
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
12 Months
IIM Kozhikode
Advanced Strategic Management Programme
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
12 Weeks
IIM Kozhikode
CERT-IIMK EPIS Async India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
11 Months
IIM Lucknow
CERT-IIML SLP India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
18 Weeks
109820388
Strategic Marketing for Leaders: Leveraging AI for Growth
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
12 Months
IIM Kozhikode
SEPO - IIMK CEO Programme India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
22 Weeks
Indian School of Business
SEPO - ISB Venture Capital & Private Equity India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Opportunities & Outlining Plans to use AI & ML
Applying Data-Driven Business Innovation Best Practices
Changing Culture to Integrate AI-Enabled Technologies
Ethics, Privacy and Regulations in AI & ML
Duration:
20 Weeks
Indian School of Business
ISB Leadership in AI
Starts on
May 14, 2024
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Critical Thinking & Decision-Making Skills
Power of Emerging Technologies
Innovation and Drive Organizational Change
Fostering a Culture of Innovation
Duration:
9 Months
MIT xPRO
MIT Technology Leadership and Innovation
Starts on
May 14, 2024
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Financial Accounting & Analysis
Financial Instruments & Markets
Corporate Finance & Valuation
Investment Management & Banking
Duration:
12 Months
IIM Kozhikode
IIMK Professional Certificate in Financial Analysis and Financial Management
Starts on
Mar 30, 2024
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
10 Months
IIM Kozhikode
CERT-IIMK-Women Leadership Programme INDIA
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
12 Months
IIM Kozhikode
Senior Management Programme
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Strategic Thinking & Planning
Competitive Advantage & Market Positioning
Strategic Leadership & Decision-Making
Change Management & Organizational Transformation
Duration:
1 Year
IIM Kozhikode
IIMK Advanced Strategic Management Programme
Starts on
Mar 30, 2024
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
10 Months
IIM Indore
Executive Programme in Business Management
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Das, who won the 2023
International Emmy
for Best Comedy for his
comedy special
'Landing', said amid applause and laughter from the audience at the event that what he finds "lovely" about the Indian diaspora is that while they have an American accent and American values, but "at your shaadi, you (dance) to 'Mehendi laga ke rakhna'.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Senior Living Homes in Jigatala May Surprise You
Senior Living | Search Ads
Undo
The Asia Society event on Thursday was presented in collaboration with global media platform, community and agency South Asian Trailblazers and was held on the eve of the premiere of Das's latest comedy special 'Vir Das: Fool Volume'.
"India is on the precipice of an amazing, undeniable global soft power, and it only translates when the bridge happens from me to you. So we are both ends carrying that soft power," Das said, a message for the Indian diaspora settled across the world.
Live Events
"We are both guardians of India's soft power at an equal level."
Citing the example of Indian actor and singer
Diljit Dosanjh
, who became the first Punjabi singer to perform at the popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California in 2023, Das said, "When Diljit performs at Coachella, that is an amazing, undeniable thing."
"The diaspora has to show up to pack Coachella. When he shows up in India, we'll pack it for him. But when he comes to Coachella, show up, for modern Indian culture," he said.
Das, who was first nominated for the 2021 International Emmy for Comedy for his previous Netflix special 'Vir Das: For India', had hosted the prestigious global awards last year.
Responding to a question during the interactive Q&A session with the audience on what are some of the things the next generation should adopt from the current one, Das said one would be to know "that India is far more open-minded than you think it is. I say this with all due respect to the diaspora.
"
Sometimes you are raised in a time capsule version of India, that is the last version of India that your parents left behind, and that India doesn't exist anymore," he said to applause from the audience.
Das added that "You are raised in more conservative households than we are, many times. So, please come and visit
modern India
."
"Come and visit a place that does everything from Diljit to Mika to 'RRR' to 'Hanumankind'," Das said, referring to the popular Indian artists, the blockbuster movie which won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 2023 Academy Awards for 'Naatu, Naatu' and the India-born rapper Sooraj Cherukat.
Das underlined that there are things happening in India right now that kids of the Indian diaspora need to know.
"The second thing is that it is okay to be flawed. I feel like children who are raised in the diaspora, you are under tremendous pressure to have model minority behaviour, more so than kids who are raised back home" because opportunities are far more scarce.
"It is a smaller community here, but try and create the abundance mindset that you had when there were a billion jobs for you. I know that there are fewer jobs, that's a very tough mindset to create, but I think your child would be better served by creating that mindset," Das said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
38 minutes ago
- Time of India
S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones climb to record high. Check top stocks
U.S. stocks capped another strong week with more records on Friday. S&P 500 rose 0.4% to set an all-time high, the fifth time it did so this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 208 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to its own record set the day before. S&P 500 rose 25.29 points to 6,388.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 208.01 to 44,901.92, and the Nasdaq composite added 50.36 to 21,108.32. Deckers, the company behind Ugg boots and Hoka shoes, jumped 11.3% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the spring than analysts expected. Its growth was particularly strong outside the United States, where revenue soared nearly 50%. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Product Management Artificial Intelligence Operations Management Healthcare Digital Marketing PGDM Degree Others Design Thinking Technology CXO Data Science Public Policy healthcare Finance MCA Data Science MBA Leadership others Data Analytics Cybersecurity Project Management Management Skills you'll gain: Product Strategy & Competitive Advantage Tactics Product Development Processes & Market Orientations Product Analytics & Data-Driven Decision Making Agile Development, Design Thinking, & Product Leadership Duration: 40 Weeks IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate in Product Management Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Product Strategy & Roadmapping User-Centric Product Design Agile Product Development Market Analysis & Product Launch Duration: 24 Weeks Indian School of Business Professional Certificate in Product Management Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Creating Effective Product Roadmap User Research & Translating it to Product Design Key Metrics via Product Analytics Hand-On Projects Using Cutting Edge Tools Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business ISB Product Management Starts on May 14, 2024 Get Details Edwards Lifesciences rose 5.5% after likewise topping Wall Street 's expectations for profit in the latest quarter. It said it saw strength across all its product groups, and it expects profit for the full year to come in at the high end of the forecasted range it had given earlier. They helped offset a drop of 8.5% for Intel, which fell after reporting a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts were looking for a profit. The struggling chipmaker also said it would cut thousands of jobs and eliminate other expenses as it tries to turn around its fortunes. Intel, which helped launch Silicon Valley as the U.S. technology hub, has fallen behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices while demand for artificial intelligence chips soars. The pressure is on companies to deliver solid growth in profits in order to justify big gains for their stock prices, which have rallied to record after record in recent weeks. Wall Street has zoomed higher on hopes that President Donald Trump will reach trade deals with other countries that will lower his stiff proposed tariffs, along with the risk that they could cause a recession and drive up inflation. Trump has recently announced deals with Japan and the Philippines, and the next big deadline is looming on Friday, August 1. Live Events Besides potential trade talks, next week will also feature a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Trump again on Thursday lobbied the Fed to cut rates, which he has implied could save the U.S. government money on its debt repayments. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, though, has continued to insist he wants to wait for more data about how Trump's tariffs affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move. Lower interest rates can help goose the economy, but they can also give inflation more fuel. Lower rates also may not lower the U.S. government's costs to borrow money, if the bond market feels they could send inflation higher in the future. In that case, lower short-term rates brought by the Fed could actually have the opposite effect and make it more expensive for Washington to borrow money over the long term. The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that the Fed will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady following Trump's latest attempt to push Powell to cut interest rates. Trump also seemed to back off on threats to fire the Fed's chair. FAQs Q1. Which are top three indexes of US Stock Market ? A1. Top three indexes of US Stock Market are S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq. Q2. Who is Fed Chair? A2. Chairman of Federal Reserve is Jerome Powell.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
IRDAI warns brokers on deal rush
Mumbai: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has raised concerns over a surge in merger, acquisition, and demerger activities in the insurance distribution space, cautioning brokers against adopting sharp practices to solely inflate their valuations. "We have been witnessing record activity among brokers and other distribution intermediaries," said Satyajit Tripathy, member (distribution), IRDAI, at an Insurance Brokers Association of India event. "While this is fine by all means, I must add a word of caution that with increased growth being seen, we need not be adopting what we call as sharp practices to increase valuation, get listed, and to do business in a way, which may in the long run prove detrimental to the whole ecosystem." The inflow of private equity capital into insurance broking has risen about 20x between 2011-17 and 2018-24 to reach $4.8 billion. Indian insurance broking has 735 licensed brokers of which the top 36 drive over 85% of revenue, implying a long tail of brokers that have not scaled, according to a report by IBAI and acknowledged the significant value addition brought in by brokers to the industry in the last 4-5 years, particularly the event, the government urged over 700 insurance brokers to deepen insurance reach across the country and called on brokers to ensure access to affordable and appropriate insurance solutions for every Indian whether self-employed, salaried, agricultural, or industrial. "There is a vast untapped potential in Type 2 and Type 3 cities, agricultural and rural zones, in unorganised sectors, and among small businesses," said M Nagaraju, secretary, Department of Financial Services. "We believe insurance brokers can possibly increase awareness about the importance and availability of insurance in remote and low-income populations."
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
India-UK trade pact: Tariff cut may not impact Scotch whisky retail prices
The India-UK free trade agreement (FTA), under which tariffs on whisky and gin have been halved from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, which will further fall to 40 per cent in a decade's time, will not necessarily impact prices of Scotch whisky and gin for Indian consumers. According to a May 2025 report from the International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), blended Scotch grew the strongest of all the large whisky categories in India in 2024, with volumes rising by medium single digits and sales more than doubling since 2020. India is known to be a whisky market, with widespread national sales. However, while the data company's forecasts anticipated an upside from the FTA, it added that its impact should not be overestimated. 'While tariffs have been slashed from 150 per cent to 75 per cent, the impact on shelf prices is closer to 10 per cent and it is not a given that this will be passed on to consumers,' it had stated in the 2025 executive summary. The revised tariffs will apply to both bottled-in-origin (BIO) and bulk imports. Industry executives agree, stating that tariffs make up only up to 15 per cent of the final retail price, and with state taxes and costs for distribution and marketing, prices could be down by a mere 10 per cent. This may not be passed on to consumers, they said on the condition of anonymity. A senior commerce ministry official said that a major portion of whisky imports into India are used in the manufacture of blended whisky, whose production is set to rise due to cheaper raw material. 'We are foreseeing significant strategic and cost advantages from this development. We have estimated our Scotch requirements at over ₹250 crore in 2025-26 (FY26), and this treaty represents a substantial opportunity for value creation,' said Abhishek Khaitan, managing director at Radico Khaitan, one of the largest importers of Scotch whisky. Some liquor players also believe that the FTA will help consumers have access to premium Scotch whisky at reduced prices. 'The UK FTA is a positive move for the Scotch whisky segment, and it will enhance accessibility and affordability for Indian consumers. For import-driven portfolios like ours, this could fast-track category adoption, bring price parity closer to Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), and enable deeper reinvestment into consumer-building efforts,' said Debashish Shyam, cofounder and director, Ardent Alcobev, which sells Dram Bell blended Scotch whisky. However, the real benefit, Shyam added, will depend on how quickly the duty reductions are implemented, and whether the states align their tax structures accordingly. Spirits made up 51.2 per cent of the total beverage alcohol market in 2024, dominated by whisky. According to the data company, India consumed 258,750 under-9-litre cases of whisky in 2024, which is set to witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1 per cent from 2024 to 2029. These included 8,509.60 cases of Scotch whisky, the company stated, adding that India is set to become the biggest Scotch market in the world by 2027.
