Decoding the U.S. Trade Deal: Strategic Signals and Policy Implications
In spite of the Agreement being presented officially as win-win, it is one-sided.
Arun Kumar
Arun Kumar, Malcolm S Adiseshiah Chair Professor, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi and author of ‘Indian Economy’s Greatest Crisis: Impact of the Coronavirus and the Road Ahead‘.
Union Budget 2026–27: Incremental Change Without Structural Transformation
The Union Budget 2026-27 lacks a clear vision which will neither resolve the current problems faced by the economy nor will it help meet the global challenge ahead.
From Haryana to India: How Police Corruption Feeds Illegality
The Director General of Police (DGP) of Haryana, O.P. Singh, has implored police officers to be citizen-friendly. He has said they should never harass people. It is quite an admission of what is wrong with policing in India. It implies that the police have become a law unto themselves and act illegally. That is why a DGP has to plead with his force to act like the police should.
Decoding India’s Q2 GDP: Growth Drivers and Data Integrity
The Gross Domestic Product or GDP growth rate for quarter two of 2025-2026 has come at a whopping 8.2% – which is a six-quarter high – much faster than experts expected. The Reserve Bank of India had also expected a growth rate of 7%. This is surprising because the expected GST reduction impacted production and consumption of various items in August-September. The demand boost came after September 22 – which left just a week before the close of Q2. Reports have come in of many investment projects being withdrawn or curtailed and of net FDI becoming negative. These are not the signs of a robust economy.
The Pro-Business Pivot: How Modern Labour Codes Prioritize Industry Over Protection
That Labour Codes will create a divide between workers and businesses was a given. The former have opposed them since 2019 when the Code on Wages was passed by parliament followed by the other three in 2020 – the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code. Businesses have been pressing for their implementation since then because they know they will benefit from them. The government presents these Codes as beneficial to labour since they are supposed to simplify a very complex and outdated system.
The Economy of Influence: Grand Bribery and the Bihar Election Results
The Bihar results are astounding, with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) sweeping an unprecedented 202 seats (83%) out of 243. Political analysts and correspondents covering the elections have proved to be utterly wrong. Most of them expected it to be a close fight.