When the Finance Minister rose in Parliament to present the Union Budget, the macro story was familiar: fiscal discipline, capital expenditure, manufacturing, and growth amid global uncertainty. But for the North-East — a region long treated as a footnote in national economic imagination — the real question was simpler and sharper: does this budget finally…
As New Delhi negotiates what is being billed as the “mother of all trade deals” with Europe, a quieter and more uncomfortable question remains unanswered: where does North East India fit into this grand economic reset? A Deal That Will Reshape India — Unevenly The proposed India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is no ordinary…
Once caricatured as elite networking or grandstanding diplomacy, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum now serves a different function. It is no longer where deals are struck in public view; it is where global alignment is tested. Capital, governments, and technology leaders use Davos to reveal priorities, anxieties, and limits—often through repetition rather…
The Reserve Bank of India’s latest directive asking states to outline a “clear glide path” for reducing public debt has triggered a fresh round of debate in policy circles. On the surface, the numbers appear reassuring. Aggregate state debt-to-GDP has declined from a pandemic-era peak of nearly 31% in FY21 to a projected 29.2% in…
For over a decade, India’s economy has transformed at a pace rarely seen in modern history. Payments moved from cash to QR codes, consumption shifted from physical goods to digital services, and infrastructure expanded from highways to data centres. Yet, for much of this period, India’s official economic mirror—the National Accounts—remained anchored to a much…
When history looks back at the 2026 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, one speech is likely to be remembered not for rhetorical flourish or political grandstanding, but for its clarity, sobriety, and intellectual honesty. That speech came from Mark Carney. In a forum often criticised for platitudes and safe consensus, Carney…
Editor’s Note: This article reflects global trade developments and policy signals as of January 22, 2026. A Quiet Shift in the Global Trade Order The global trade system is changing—slowly, but decisively. For decades, the U.S.–EU partnership has been one of the most stable anchors of the world economy. Today, that certainty is giving way…
The World Economic Forum at Davos has long been accused of living in a bubble — detached from ground realities, obsessed with abstract global cooperation. In 2026, that illusion finally cracked. This year’s Davos didn’t celebrate globalization. It questioned its survival. From blunt declarations that “globalization has failed” to warnings that the old rules-based order…
As India heads into the Union Budget, a subtle but decisive shift is underway in the country’s economic narrative. Unlike previous years—where tax cuts, consumption boosts, and short-term relief dominated pre-Budget lobbying—industry bodies are now pushing for something far more structural. The message from business is clear:India does not need another demand stimulus. It needs…
As India approaches the Union Budget, one of the most urgent—and quietly ignored—policy failures is unfolding in the digital asset economy. The country’s crypto industry has issued a last-minute plea to the government: reduce the 1% TDS on virtual digital assets to 0.01%, warning that the current regime has already driven trading activity offshore and…
