Op-Eds

If universities are to remain home to creativity, they must embrace both radical thinking and scepticism toward received wisdom. This is important not just for humanities and social science but also for science and engineering. In recent weeks, two American university presidents, Claudine Gay from Harvard and Liz Magill from the University of Pennsylvania, resigned...   Read More

Facing unprecedented socio-economic challenges, the financial system must act decisively to preserve its vital economic role. 2024 will be a make-or-break year for the financial sector. It will rise to the challenge of a changing world or fall into irrelevance and chronic stress. The fate of finance and the global economy hangs in the balance....   Read More

Despite targeted Skill India government initiatives strive to boost female participation, societal pressures and caregiving responsibilities stand out as formidable barriers. The PLFS 2022-23 furnishes valuable insights into female workforce participation, underscoring how family dynamics shape caregiving responsibilities and impact women’s career trajectories. Given the magnitude of the need, there is an urgent call to...   Read More

Unlocking the full potential of AI, ushering in an era where technology and agriculture converge. In the dynamic landscape of agricultural development, rural progress undergoes a significant metamorphosis with the infusion of technology, contributing to a structural transformation that reverberates across rural communities. Despite agriculture’s historical resistance to digital integration, the sector is experiencing a...   Read More

Jan Vishwas Bill 1.0 recognised this problem but couldn’t do enough. A Jan Vishwas 2.0 that aims higher is needed, so that job creation can be accelerated Tulsidas’s Ramacharitmanas asks, Jaum mrigpati badha medukanhi bhala ki kahai kou tahi (if a lion kills frogs, will anyone speak well of him)? The Indian Penal Code makes...   Read More

In India, women still face numerous hurdles to access employment and, once employed, to access decision-making positions. Claudia Goldin’s winning the 2023 Nobel Prize in the Economic Sciences, with her comprehensive account of women’s earnings and their underrepresentation in the global labour market, has aroused renewed interest among the international community in the persistently low...   Read More

Each sequential release of GDP estimates by MoSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) generates considerable excitement. Yet, perhaps many of us are unaware that each year’s estimates are revised six times over a stretch of three years before they are finalized. For example, the first estimate of growth for the current year 2023-24, the...   Read More

The number recently put forth by a government-constituted task force represents, at best, an interim assessment till the final report is out. The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) released a report on “Logistics Cost in India Assessment and Long-term Framework” on December 14, 2023. The report is an outcome of a consultative approach...   Read More

Opinion: Nandan Nilekani and Tanuj Bhojwani. India is on the brink of a transformation that could change its economic and social future. Before the end of this decade, more Indians will use AI every day than in any other country in the world. What’s more, people in advanced economies will be surprised by the ways...   Read More

A growth trajectory of 6.5 to 7.5 %, centred around 7 %, is reasonable in the coming years, barring the eventuality of simultaneous external shocks. In view of its robust growth of 7.7 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has upgraded the full-year growth...   Read More