Resilience Personified - Ms. Sugitha

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:00:26 +0530

Leaders I Met: Resilience Personified - Ms. Sugitha

In a recent online meeting, Ms. Sugitha Sarangaraj spoke about her experiences as a journalist in covering the devastating floods of Chennai in 2015. Yes, 2015 is a year that will remain fresh in the minds of Chennaiites for a long time. This natural disaster tested the city's spirit and brought out extraordinary stories of human courage and commitment. As she spoke, it brought back memories - the sense of helplessness, the chaos, revival of hope and so on. It occurred to me that leadership is not just about executing one's job role. Quite often, it is established when one goes beyond the call of duty.

The question then is, what drives them? Is it just passion for the job or much more? There is much more to it. It could be a burning resolve to raise the bar or a genuine empathy for the people and stories that matter.

Ms. Sugitha Sarangaraj embodies all of this.

I later had the opportunity to meet her in person. What followed was one of those rare conversations that sweeps across many topics at once — artificial intelligence and its implications, the ethics of reporting in a world of misinformation, the critical importance of fact-checking, the vulnerabilities in cybersecurity and much more. She moved through each topic with the ease of someone who thinks deeply and reads widely.

Three qualities about her that struck me were:

1. Choose the Path Less Trodden

It is easy enough to stay within one's comfort zone and still build a remarkable career. But it takes a different order of willpower and determination to make your mark while walking a more difficult path. She has done exactly that. Every time someone implied that a particular role or beat wasn't meant for a woman, she didn't step aside. She rose to the occasion and excelled at it. That quiet, consistent defiance is itself a form of leadership.

2. Set Your Own Bar

Forget the glass ceiling, set your own ceiling seems to be her mantra. Not just that, she simply kept raising it. She didn't wait for society to define what success looks like for her. She has been consistently breaking stereotypes and upping her own standards, measuring herself not against external benchmarks but against her own best work. That is a rare and powerful kind of ambition.

3. An Unquenchable Thirst for Knowledge

In a media landscape that is shifting faster than almost any other field, she is constantly investing quality time in learning and upgrading her skills. It is not a checkbox exercise. It is a genuine intellectual curiosity that keeps her sharp, relevant, and ahead of the curve. In a world of shortcuts, that kind of commitment to growth is both rare and admirable.

What this means is that true leadership rarely announces itself. It doesn't wait for the right title or the right moment. It shows up in the middle of a flood, in the choice to take the harder road, in the quiet discipline of learning something new, the steely determination. She is a reminder that some of the most meaningful leaders are not just in boardrooms. They are out in the field, asking the uncomfortable questions, telling the stories that need to be told and inspiring others simply by the way they choose to live and work.

My interaction with Sugitha Sarangaraj reinforced a simple thought. When passion is combined with purpose, resilience and continuous learning, it creates a form of leadership that quietly stands out.

Utopian Reality

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 13:48:53 +0530

Utopian Reality - Predictions for 2050

A lot has been said about AI. One statement from Mr.Vinod Khosla caught my eye. To quote - “By 2050, it'll be very clear that nobody needs jobs because with enough production of goods and services that are near free, you won't need jobs.”

This made me wonder, could it be possible? And secondly, what if it is possible?

Let us understand the base concept first.

How Economies Were Built

The earliest form of economic activity started with the barter system. Over time, value got attached to particular produce and it started attracting better yields. This led to the introduction of money as a concept of value and today we are here.

Across this evolution, two constants remained:

Buyer and seller
Product or service of value

This unit transaction is what builds the economy at a larger level.

Can Machines Create an Economy?

Machine and AI per se cannot create an economy. They are tools to create. But value perception is driven by human needs and wants. Even assuming super-intelligence, the trade that happens between machines will create only virtual value unless it ultimately serves human utility. Without human participation, perception and demand, it is difficult to anchor a real world economy.

Economy, at its core, is human.

The Possibility of Abundance

In the future, it is quite possible that the scale of production, both products and services, due to AI might be so high that costs plummet to abysmally low levels. Basic needs such as:

Food
Shelter
Clothing
Healthcare
Transportation
Communication

can be revolutionized through technology at scale.

This might lead to a phase where these are commoditized. I believe this is the point Mr. Khosla is trying to raise. Even with very little work done, one might be able to fulfill basic needs. It is also possible that Governments run social programs at scale to meet these needs efficiently.

What Then Drives Effort?

People with aspirational needs might have to do more. This is where I see the barter system making a comeback, though in a very different manner. Not necessarily exchange of goods, but exchange of skills, creativity, reputation and intellectual contribution.

However, there is also a risk of dystopia if Governments fail to bridge the divide between the haves and the have-nots. Abundance without fair access can deepen inequality instead of solving it.

A Question That Stays With Me

As someone who works closely with entrepreneurs, MSMEs and capital formation, I keep returning to one question - If survival becomes easy and production becomes automated, what becomes the true driver of value creation?

Capital, incentives and human aspiration may still matter deeply. Technology can reduce effort, but it cannot replace ambition, purpose and the desire to build. Interesting times ahead.

What are your thoughts about the future?

Anand Saravana Raj - Insights #Artificial Intelligence