Op-Eds

The borrowed metaphor now obscures more than it explains.    Since the 1997 Asian crisis, financial stability – macro-financial stability more broadly – has been the primary objective of global finance, shaping the work of central banks, finance ministries, the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board. Today, ‘resilience’ has taken its place. Authorities...   Read More

India must integrate coastal ecosystems into its climate strategy. Its maritime geography is not merely a conduit for commerce; it is an ecological asset of strategic significance. What if the solution to India’s net-zero ambition isn’t just on land but beneath the waves? The ‘blue economy’ is India’s overlooked trillion-dollar lever where environmental sustainability, economic...   Read More

The current care-giving model is overwhelmingly informal and family-based, with little to no state or institutional support. In the quiet routines of everyday Indian households, an invisible yet indispensable workforce is at play, one that fuels the nation’s social fabric through everyday acts of care. Whether it is a grandmother helping with child-care, a father...   Read More

Once defined by its growing population, India now faces a quieter but deeper demographic shift. According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2023, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the country has reached 1.9 children per woman, below the replacement rate of 2.1. In urban India, the TFR stands at 1.5, while rural India is...   Read More

India has made significant progress in its Biofuel Mission over the last 10 years. The commitment to biofuel production, promotion and its usage as part of a global alliance was reinstated in India’s launch of the Global Biofuel Alliance at the G20 Summit of 2023. On the Bioethanol front, the country has achieved the target...   Read More

Law will remain powerless, unless women speak up. The Constitution guarantees equality, dignity, and protection from violence, and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) provides a legal framework. Yet, when women do not name their suffering, these protections lose their power. Until women can speak up fearlessly — in homes, workplaces, and...   Read More

Such reform can make India's infrastructure spending equitable apart from being efficient. Summary Public infrastructure evaluations often overlook intangible benefits like improved health and social stability. Traditional metrics focus on direct outputs, missing the broader impacts on welfare and productivity. Integrating social indices and participatory metrics can lead to more informed policy decisions and equitable...   Read More

The focus of agricultural reform must be to bridge the gaps between men and women, traditional and modern practices, unpaid labour and entrepreneurship. The paradox in the agriculture sector is glaring — the share of agricultural GVA (crops and irrigation) in All-India Gross Value Added (GVA) in2022-23 was 10 per cent whereas the share of...   Read More

The most immediate and striking observation is the prevalence of the tertiary sector, which consumes the largest share of time for the overall population’s paid work, but it is overwhelmingly dominated by urban population. India’s vast and diverse economy is driven by the time and toil of millions. But beyond headline figures like GDP and...   Read More

Economic growth depends on innovation and technological progress — a fact highlighted by the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economics which highlighted the role of human capital in driving productivity. In India, this linkage is most visible in the automobile industry, a pillar of manufacturing and employment. Yet, the sector faces widening skill shortages and skill...   Read More