MAM
All hands on deck as The Lifeboat sails into deeper waters in Season 3
MUMBAI: When success stories start sounding too polished, The Lifeboat prefers choppier seas. The long-form conversation podcast, ideated and hosted by Vinayak Burman, is returning for its third season on December 30, 2025, promising deeper dives into resilience, reinvention and the quiet moments that rarely make it to LinkedIn posts.
After strong engagement across its first two seasons, Season 3 widens the emotional lens. The new chapters move beyond career milestones to explore vulnerability, purpose and the internal recalibrations that shape founders, creators and leaders when the spotlight fades. The intent this time is intimacy over instruction, reflection over rhetoric.
The upcoming season features a diverse slate of voices spanning entrepreneurship, investing and creative industries. Among those stepping aboard are Karan Motwani, Gynoveda founders Rachana Gupta and Vishal Gupta, Neo Group founder and managing director Nitin Jain, and actor-turned-entrepreneur Pooja Bedi, alongside others. Each episode traces not just professional decisions but personal value systems, inflection points and moments of unlearning.
The Lifeboat first launched in November 2023 as a candid space for entrepreneurs and investors to speak plainly about the realities of building businesses. Season 1 featured founders such as Shashank Kumar of Dehaat, Vikas Lachhwani of mCaffeine, Josh Talks co-founders Supriya Paul and Shobhit Banga, Smriti Chandra of Abler Nordic India, and Kaushik Mukherjee of Sugar Cosmetics, with conversations centred on navigating early uncertainty and growth pressure.
Season 2 pushed the format further, shifting focus to leadership, communication, spirituality and personal evolution. Its guest list included Shweta Shalini, Priyavrata Mafatlal, Arjun Vaidya, Vineet Rai, Koreel Lahiri, Geetanjali Saxena, Aditya Hegde, Rohan More, Mrunalini Deshmukh and Avanne Dubash, signalling a move from boardroom lessons to inner work.
Burman says the third season raises the bar on honesty and depth, with more diverse perspectives and stories that feel less rehearsed and more lived-in. The aim, he notes, is not motivation-by-numbers but conversations that linger after the episode ends.
Season 3 of The Lifeboat will stream across Youtube and all major podcast platforms, inviting listeners once again to step away from smooth sailing and listen to what happens when the waters get real.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
