Business Daily

In 1997, after years working abroad, Pramod Bhasin returned to India and spotted an opportunity that would help transform his country's economy.
Despite major telecommunications challenges, he went on to set up India's first call centre, laying the foundations for a new outsourcing industry.
In 2019, he told Rebecca Kesby how he overcame unreliable phone lines, scepticism and technical hurdles to turn an ambitious idea into reality.
Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.
When you subscribe to Witness History, you’ll be taken inside turning points in world affairs from West Africa’s fight back against Boko Haram in 2015 to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations.
You’ll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
You’ll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden’s Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles’ George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy’s show to a sudden end.
And if you’re curious about inventions, we’ll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.
If you’re new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.
(Photo: A call centre in New Delhi in 2003. Credit: Ravi Raveendran/AFP via Getty Images)

What is next for trade, tariffs and AI after Presidents Trump and Xi met at the White House? We examine what was agreed, whether tensions between the world's two biggest economies are easing, and what it could mean for technology, business and global trade. Vishala Sri-Pathma is joined by Henry Wang from the Center for China and Globalization and the AI researcher and author Stephanie Hare.
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
Producer: Josh Martin
(Picture: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping before a state dinner at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 24, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein TPX)

The presidents of the world's two biggest economies are meeting in Washington. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet at the White House amid tensions over Iran, Taiwan, artificial intelligence and international trade. Our North American business correspondent Samira Hussain and senior China correspondent Laura Bicker assess what both sides want from the visit and how the relationship between the two leaders could shape the outcome.
Presenter: Vishala Sri-Pathma
Producer: Gideon Long
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: U.S. President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, May 2026. Credit: Kenny Holston/Pool via REUTERS)

Jacob Rothman moved from California to China and helped build a manufacturing business supplying some of the world's biggest retailers. We meet the co-founder of Velong Enterprises to hear how he built the company across Asia and how an unlikely career path took him to the heart of global manufacturing. He also reflects on entrepreneurship, manufacturing in China and how global trade is changing.
Producer: Bisi Adebayo
You can email the team: businessdaily@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Jacob Rothman)

Most toys sold in America are made in China. But cheap labour is no longer the main reason manufacturers stay there. As the US toy industry presses for tariffs on toys to be removed, we follow the journey of a $30 toy from a factory in Guangdong, through shipping and the US border, to the shelves of American retailers. Along the way, we find out how much the factory gets, what shipping costs add to the price, how much of the final price stays in America, and the impact of President Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports.
Presenter: Sam Fenwick
Producer: David Cann
(Picture: Employees of Shaoguan Guanghua Plastic and Hardware Products Co Ltd work to assemble toy parts in the factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, China, 9 May, 2025. Credit: Go Nakamura/Reuters)