Latest news with #PrakharKePravachan
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Shark Tank India takes a dig at Narayana Murthy's '70-hour work week' comment: ‘Turn your millionaire bosses into billionaires'
Registrations for the fifth season of Shark Tank India are now open. Sony made the announcement with a teaser that took a dig at Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's controversial comments about implementing 70-hour work weeks. He had previously said that he doesn't believe in the idea of 'work-life balance', and said that he was disappointed when India moved away from six-day work weeks. Reiterating his stance, he said at the CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit last year, 'I am sorry, I have not changed my view. I will take this with me to my grave.' The announcement video unfolds in a tongue-and-cheek manner, with several fictional CEOs complaining about their employees having quit to start their own businesses. One of them complains about not being able to play golf anymore because his employee isn't there to carry his bags. Another complains about having to take 'sharing' rides to work, but in a helicopter. The trailer pointed fingers at rich CEOs exploiting the workforce because of their greed. A voiceover sarcastically urged potential candidates to continue making their wealthy employers even wealthier by not quitting their jobs and not starting their own entrepreneurial ventures. Also read – Aman Gupta accuses new Shark Tank India judges of trying to whitewash their image through the show: 'They saw Anupam and I become heroes' 'You can change (your bosses') lives. So, please work overtime. Sacrifice your personal life, your hobbies, and your start-up dreams. Work 70 hours for your bosses, at least until AI doesn't replace you. Keep working, so that your millionaire bosses become billionaires. Save your bosses, do not apply to Shark Tank India,' the voiceover said, as visuals of overworked employees logging in from beyond the grave while CEOs party on a yacht played in the background. In the past, several 'sharks' have offered their opinions about working 70 hours in a week. Recently, appearing on the Prakhar Ke Pravachan podcast, Aman Gupta said that such demands are unnecessary. Viraj Bahl, who appeared on the fourth season of the show, said on The Rockford Circle podcast that a 70-hour work week is 'crazy'. He said, 'Either compensate them in the same way you are getting compensated for working 70 hours, proportionately, or do not expect them to work 70 hours. I think it's an obsolete idea. Seventy hour weeks should not happen.' Namita Thapar wrote on LinkedIn, 'Say NO to 70-hour weeks, or if you want that life, say NO to being a parent!' Anupam Mittal was the only one who endorsed the idea, writing in response to Namita, 'Not counting but am pretty sure you are up there in terms of weekly hours Better to embrace and find work-life harmony than to continue to be torn between work-life balance.'
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
‘Pilots are angry, ground staff is terrified': ‘Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says ‘sab kaand khulenge' post Air India 171 crash, as he exposes aviation industry secrets
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, who is better known as Flying Beast online, usually makes family vlogs for his nearly 10 million subscribers. Recently, he appeared on Shark Tank India and pitched his protein business. But, he often posts aviation-related content as well, considering his decade-long experience as a commercial pilot. In recent weeks, Taneja has shared theories about the tragic Air India Flight 171 crash, which resulted in the death of 270 people. Hours after the disaster, he suggested that it could've been caused by a 'dual engine failure'. In recent days, he has also pointed to human error as being one of the reasons behind the crash. In a new interview, however, Taneja explained that human error is caused by a variety of factors that expose the systemic issues with the Indian aviation industry. Appearing on the Prakhar Ke Pravachan podcast, Taneja praised Air India pilots for putting their foot down and demanding pristine aircraft to fly on. He said that pilots were fully aware of the corners that were being cut by airlines prior to the disaster, but had no choice but to follow orders and protocols. Taneja himself was fired from Air Asia a few years ago, after he blew the whistle on certain alleged practices at the airline. In the interview, he said that the ground staff is under such pressure to maintain punctuality that they often ignore issues with the aircraft, requesting pilots to raise their concerns later. Also read – 'Sending Air India 171 black boxes to America is shocking': 'Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says 'Boeing has power', highlights conflict of interest He said, 'Scheduling is a major issue. Someone who has flown all night and hasn't had enough time to recover from fatigue should not be assigned another flight. When an investigation happens, it reveals every detail, such as the culture of an airline, and if they're following regulations about rostering.' Addressing the mass-cancellations of Air India flight following the 171 crash, Taneja said, 'I know that Air India pilots are angry and upset. They know that, at the end of the day, they're the ones in the air. Management is sitting on the ground. Engineers are on the ground. Everyone else is on the ground. They're saying, 'I will not take an okay aircraft. Give me a perfect aircraft to fly'.' Explaining the pressure that airlines put on their employees, Taneja continued, 'A common practice in aviation is for engineers to request pilots not to log complaints. If the complaint is logged, an entire procedure has to be performed. This causes delays. They will tell you that they will okay the aircraft to fly, and ask you to raise the concern at Delhi. They tell you to report 'in-air failures', or that some issue happened after take-off. But everyone knows the truth. This is an endless back-and-forth between pilots and engineers. Companies need to change their ways. They shouldn't take such big risks over one or two minutes.' He said that engineers are under incredible pressure to ensure on-time departures and arrivals. 'They're constantly terrified. They keep worrying about being reprimanded for causing a delay. They keep telling pilots to blame the air traffic control, to tell the company that they received the aircraft on time but were delayed by the ATC. It's not like the company is paying them in crores. They make regular salaries, but they're constantly on edge,' he said, adding, 'Jab audit hota hai, toh khali 171 nahi khulta, sab kaand khulte hain.' Sharing a personal anecdote, Taneja said that he once spotted blood on one of the wings before take-off, and he raised the issue with a ground engineer because he suspected a bird strike. He said that the aircraft's should have been checked thoroughly in that case. He said, 'This happened with me. I was conducting a walk-around, and I saw some blood stains on the wings. It's an obvious sign of a bird strike. The ground staff was like, 'Sir, saaf kar deta hoon, le jao'. I was like, 'Kya baat kar raha hai?' Anything can happen. The flaps could be affected, the engine could be affected. After a point, I stopped doing all this.'
Indian Express
24-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Gaurav Taneja, aka Flying Beast, questions mass-construction around Indian airports, says Air India 171 tragedy could've been averted even if there was jungle land
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, who has appeared on television shows such as Shark Tank India and has accumulated around 10 million subscribers online, used to work as a commercial pilot for a decade. He has offered his commentary on the recent Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed the lives of 270 people. Hours after the crash, he suggested that it could've been caused by a rare 'dual engine failure'. He has since amended his theories to include human error, while also making a point to question systemic issues in the airline industry. He said that the easiest thing to do is to blame the pilots, but that a serious investigation needs to be conducted into some of the more questionable aspects of the industry. In an interview on the Prakhar Ke Pravachan YouTube channel, he also questioned the mass-construction around Indian airports, and said that a major tragedy is waiting to happen in cities like Mumbai, where huge populations reside mere metres from the airport perimeter. During the interview, he said that the doomed aircraft could've been saved if the pilots had open space to conduct an emergency landing. Describing the probability of a dual engine failure as 'one in a trillion', he said that he has no recollection of anything like this ever happening in the past. Also read – 'Sending Air India 171 black boxes to America is shocking': 'Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says 'Boeing has power', highlights conflict of interest Addressing the issue of construction around airports, he said that loss of life could've been avoided had there even been trees and farmland. 'A lawyer who is handling my case also, he has filed a lot of PILs. He says that there are a lot of buildings which should not be there. The Airports Authority of India has given permissions left, right, and centre. Land is expensive in Mumbai, and nobody wants to waste empty land. You won't see this in any other country, that there are buildings immediately after the perimeter wall. But nobody wants to pick fights with builders.' Speaking about the Ahmedabad crash, he said, 'Even if there were no buildings, and there was some sort of jungle, the trees would've absorbed the impact. The aircraft would've been damaged, there would have been damage to the landing gear and the wings, but there would've been less loss of life. There is a procedure for crash landings. We practice it.' He said that most pilots anyway plot emergency landings during flights. 'If you're flying for 10 hours, what else do you do? You look at your map and you look outside, and calculate how long it would take you to reach the nearest airport in case an engine fails,' he said. He said that the only conclusion he can come to is that one engine failed on the runway, after the point of no return, and that the second engine was erroneously switched off by the pilots, because of the first engine's unexpected failure and the longer-than-usual liftoff distracted them. Reminding people that pilot error is caused by a variety of behind-the-scenes factors, he said that Indian airlines have a history of cutting corners. 'These are such beautiful machines, they don't fail just like that. They must've been taken advantage of. There must've been a human factor, things must've gone wrong at the airport, there must've been a long history of scheduling and management issues. A lot of things must've gone wrong for something like this to happen,' he said.
Indian Express
24-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
‘Sending Air India 171 black boxes to America is shocking': ‘Flying Beast' Gaurav Taneja says ‘Boeing has power', highlights conflict of interest
YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, better known as Flying Beast online, spoke about the timeline of the ongoing Air India Flight 171 investigation. He said that a preliminary report should be made available within 30 days of the crash. On June 12, the Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashed into a building moments after take-off, killing 270. Since then, Taneja has offered insight into the tragedy, as a former commercial pilot with a decade of experience. Hours after the crash, he said that the likeliest cause would be a 'dual engine failure'; he has since amended his theory to include human error. In a new interview, he questioned the decision to send the flight's recovered black box to the United States, and said that this is a conflict of interest because the manufacturer of the aircraft, Boeing, exercises major power in America. The decision to investigate the black boxes in an Indian facility or whether to send them overseas is yet to be taken. Sources have said that it will depend on the condition of the black boxes. Appearing on the Prakhar Ke Pravachan podcast, Taneja said that everything that could go wrong on that fateful day went wrong. He said that, to the best of his understanding, the pilots accidentally killed the wrong engine after take-off, after one of the engines had already stalled on the runway. He also pointed to systemic issues in the airline industry, and questioned the reasons why experienced pilots could've made such an error. He said that pilots are often made to fly under fatigue, and on subpar aircraft that don't meet full safety requirements. Also read – Gaurav Taneja aka Flying Beast freezes as he simulates Air India Flight 171 crash: 'All you can do is watch the ground come at you' Explaining how data is recorded on flights, he said, 'There are two boxes, CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) and DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder). When I used to fly, the CVR would record the last two hours of communication. The DFDR is a comprehensive log of the flight, every possible data point is recorded. Pitch, bank, roll, fuel, everything… These are the two boxes that need to be recovered, which they were. But, surprisingly, they said that they've been damaged, and can't be processed here. So, they were sent to the US.' Taneja continued, 'That was shocking, because it was a Boeing aircraft. Boeing is an American company, and you've sent the boxes to America. There's a conflict of interest… The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau here falls under the government's ambit. There has been a fight to make it independent, because a body that's under the government can be easily manipulated… The reports that are made in India aren't made so that future accidents can be avoided; they're made to save someone.' Addressing the past complaints made against Boeing, Taneja said, 'The US economy relies on Boeing. It's a very big company. There are a couple of lawmakers who were initially at Boeing, and now they're in Congress. Boeing has power.' A few years ago, Boeing came under fire after two 737 Max aircraft crashed because of a software update that wasn't communicated properly to pilots or airlines. The entire fleet was grounded until the issue was addressed and resolved. Indian Express reported on June 20 that the decision on whether to send the black boxes abroad hasn't yet been finalised. 'The AAIB investigation is progressing steadily with all necessary support from local authorities and agencies. Key recovery work, including site documentation and evidence collection, has been completed, and further analysis is now underway,' the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Thursday. 'It will depend on the condition. The investigators will have to ascertain the absolute integrity of the black boxes, and if they are confident about it, they would like to analyse them at the new lab instead of sending it to an overseas facility,' a source had earlier told The Indian Express.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Shark Tank judge Aman Gupta once said his home was run on his wife's money. Who is Priya Dagar? A look at their 'DDLJ' like love story
The panel of judges on Shark Tank India comprises individuals who have each faced significant adversity before achieving success, and Aman Gupta's story is no different. Known today as the co-founder and chief marketing officer of boAt, Aman walked a challenging path before becoming a household name in the Indian entrepreneurial world. Overcoming Early Financial Struggles In a candid conversation on Prakhar Ke Pravachan, Aman Gupta revisited his difficult years following his exit from a chartered accountancy role. He shared how this phase of his life was marked by financial instability. For years, he earned little to no money and relied heavily on his wife, Priya Dagar, for financial support. Despite the emotional toll, Aman kept pushing forward. He recalled travelling on local buses, strategically boarding them from the first stop to secure a seat so he could catch up on sleep or use the time to study. His dedication to growth meant working long hours—sometimes up to 16 hours a day—and switching between multiple jobs. While his peers seemed to be thriving in their careers, Aman often found himself questioning his decisions. It wasn't until he turned 40 that his professional journey began gaining the momentum he had always aspired to. He openly acknowledged that up until that age, it was his wife who carried the financial burden for the household. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like If You Eat Ginger Everyday for 1 Month This is What Happens Tips and Tricks Undo A Love Story Straight Out of a Film While Aman's career graph saw numerous setbacks, his personal life blossomed with romance and resilience. His love story with Priya Dagar is heartwarming and dramatic, almost like a plot from a romantic film. During an interaction with content creator Ranveer Allahabadia, Aman compared his own story to the Bollywood classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. When Aman was heartbroken about Priya, his father encouraged him to go after her—mirroring the supportive father figure played by Anupam Kher in the movie. Desperate to see her one last time, Aman searched multiple train stations, trying to find where she was headed. Eventually spotting her name on a train chart, he boarded the train without a ticket, approached her, and simply said hello before walking away. That moment was enough to spark a deeper conversation between them. Since then, they've been inseparable for the last 18 years, standing by each other through thick and thin. Multiple Ventures Before boAt Aman's meteoric rise didn't happen overnight. In the same interview, he admitted that boAt wasn't his first attempt at entrepreneurship. Before this massive success, he had launched five other ventures—all of which failed to take off. However, each setback taught him valuable lessons, ultimately contributing to the brand boAt's current popularity. His Current Financial Standing Today, Aman Gupta enjoys remarkable financial success. According to a report by GQ India, his current net worth is estimated at around Rs 720 crore. From taking buses to save money to building one of India's most recognized audio tech brands, Aman's journey is a testament to perseverance, humility, and the unwavering support of a loving partner. Who Is Priya Dagar? As per her LinkedIn profile, Dagar is a professional who works in the field of venture philanthropy and investments that are sustainable and have a social impact. Earlier, she worked as a senior policy advisor at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for energy, environment, and climate change. Her professional journey spans over 15 years, during which she has fulfilled several important roles, such as Research Associate at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Consultant at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. She holds an MS degree from Symbiosis International University.
