Part III: From the Tea Stall to the World The story of UPI would be incomplete if it ended with the QR code at the neighbourhood shop. What began as an attempt to make domestic payments simpler has now acquired a larger significance. India is increasingly exploring whether the architecture that transformed payments at homeContinue reading “The QR Code That Changed India-III”
Tag Archives: economy
BRICS: The Delhi Moment
The New Delhi BRICS Summit could hardly have come at a more difficult moment. The world is fractured by wars, trade tensions, sanctions and strategic rivalries. Even multilateral forums that were once accustomed to producing carefully negotiated statements are increasingly finding consensus difficult. Against this backdrop, the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration by allContinue reading “BRICS: The Delhi Moment”
Can India Give BRICS a New Purpose?-II
Part II: What Can Bring Them Together If geopolitics is the fault line running through BRICS, what can hold it together? The answer may lie not in trying to resolve the world’s political differences, but in finding areas where countries with very different interests can still work together. This is where India’s opportunity begins. WhatContinue reading “Can India Give BRICS a New Purpose?-II”
Can India Give BRICS a New Purpose?-I
Part I: The Geopolitical Trap BRICS returns to Delhi at a moment when the world seems unusually divided. But before asking what India can do with the grouping, it is worth asking what BRICS has achieved so far—and whether its original economic promise has been overtaken by geopolitics. A Summit at a Difficult Moment NewContinue reading “Can India Give BRICS a New Purpose?-I”
A Budget of Consolidation in an Uncertain World
The Union Budget 2026–27 has been presented at a moment when the global economic and political environment remains deeply unsettled. Wars continue to disrupt trade routes, financial markets remain sensitive to interest rate movements in advanced economies, and supply chains are increasingly shaped by geopolitics rather than efficiency alone. For an economy like India—integrated withContinue reading “A Budget of Consolidation in an Uncertain World”
The “Mother of All Deals”: India, Europe, and the Re-Making of Global Trade
When India and the European Union concluded what leaders on both sides have described as the “Mother of All Deals” in January 2026, the moment marked the end of one of the longest and most tortuous trade negotiations of the modern era—and the beginning of a new geoeconomic alignment in a fractured world. Negotiations forContinue reading “The “Mother of All Deals”: India, Europe, and the Re-Making of Global Trade”
India in 2026: Her Moment of Measure Part-II
Pressures, Possibilities, and the Shape of Influence In the first part of this essay, I reflected on India’s economic scale and the institutional resilience that now underpins it. Yet macro stability alone does not tell the full story of a nation’s moment. Beneath the surface lie social tensions, external pressures, and environmental limits that willContinue reading “India in 2026: Her Moment of Measure Part-II”
India in 2026: Her Moment of Measure Part-I
Scale, Stability, and the Learning Curve As India enters 2026, it does so at a moment of paradox. The country stands on the cusp of an extraordinary economic milestone: by the close of the financial year, it has overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. Yet this achievement unfolds against a backdrop of disquiet—strainedContinue reading “India in 2026: Her Moment of Measure Part-I”
From Illness to Wellness; A Healthy India by 2047 – Part I
I. Introduction As India approaches the centenary of its independence in 2047, it is poised to emerge as one of the world’s top three economies and a global superpower. However, this aspiration hinges on the health and productivity of its people. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion, India holds a unique demographic advantage. ToContinue reading “From Illness to Wellness; A Healthy India by 2047 – Part I”
A Budget Asserting Confidence of an Incumbent Government
‘Flat’, ‘without Substance’ and ‘a budget from a government on its way out’ are some of the epithets that greeted the Interim budget presented earlier in the day. Clearly, these were voiced by the critics, not from the economist community, but largely from the opposition parties. And yet, if the budget had incorporated any major policy initiative,Continue reading “A Budget Asserting Confidence of an Incumbent Government”
