Op-Eds

The hidden costs countries now accept for strategic resilience. A new principle is reshaping global finance: the sovereignty premium – the economic cost countries willingly pay for financial autonomy. This premium functions as geopolitical insurance, a calculated payment to build structural resilience against exclusion while securing self-determination. For an increasing number of states, economic efficiency now...   Read More

A structured care-giving industry can not only meet a vital social need but also generate large-scale employment, spur health-tech innovation, and create new public-private models of welfare. India is often described as a young country, but the truth is that it is also ageing faster. As per a report by NITI Aayog, the elderly in...   Read More

India's agricultural future hinges on aligning water and crop calendars to combat the dual threats of drought stress and waterlogging Summary India’s farms thrive when water arrives in sync with crop needs – but that harmony is breaking down. Mistimed irrigation brings twin threats: drought stress and waterlogging, both devastating for smallholders. Erratic monsoons and...   Read More

Training, targeted support can make a difference. India’s livestock sector is experiencing a transformation, and women are at its core. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and NCAER (2025) study titled, ‘National Skill Gap Study for High Growth Sectors’, assessed the skill shortages and gaps in the sector, ‘raising cattle and buffaloes’. The...   Read More

From IT corridors to gig platforms, urban job markets remain stratified by caste, religion and gender. It’s time to make inclusion a core goal of labour policy. In India’s largest cities, a Muslim woman with a university degree is still more likely to be shut out of a white-collar job than her equally qualified peers...   Read More

To the GST Council’s credit, it went beyond the elimination of two rate slabs and delved into fine details to fix structural anomalies in this tax regimes. It broad-bases rates for like goods, corrects inverted duties and clusters products by their end use. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has finally spoken its mind...   Read More

The political economy of fiscal and financial blind spots. Financial surveillance fails when it matters most. Every major financial disruption – from the 1997 Asian crisis to the 2008 financial crisis or recent geopolitical shocks from wars, sanctions and trade realignments – has exposed how blind spots persist in national systems, regional arrangements and global...   Read More

A critical part of the package are the process reforms for simplifying registrations and expediting refunds, both for inverted duty structure and exports. The run-up to the 56th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting was full of mixed sentiments—lots of excitement about the broad-brush picture of GST 2.0 reform and yet some lurking apprehension about the...   Read More

Uneven state spending and neglect of infrastructure threaten India’s renewable energy targets despite ambitious national pledges. No country can scale renewable energy without robust infrastructure. Solar and wind power are variable, location-specific, and often generated far from consumption centres. Dedicated transmission corridors are needed to evacuate this power efficiently and reduce curtailments. Upgraded distribution systems...   Read More

India’s goods and services tax (GST) is set for an overhaul by Diwali this year. With so much hope pinned on this reform, we must get every detail of the regime right. Here’s a look at some key issues that must be addressed by the GST Council.  Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Independence...   Read More