With increased urbanisation and intensification of climate risks, Indian cities face an unprecedented challenge: how to finance the massive infrastructure investments needed to build climate-resilient futures.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to India next week (December 4-5) at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the annual summit – which was institutionalised over two decades ago – is timely as well as futuristic. It is a given that this time-tested and trusted special and privileged strategic partnership has been a ‘constant’ (as stated by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar) amidst the global chaos, unilateralism and polarisation.
T.K. Arun China, facing US chip bans, doubled down on indigenous chipmaking—with success. If India leans on Intel instead of investing in homegrown R&D, it could miss its chance to replicate that model. Intel was one of the technology companies whose…
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 Reports have come in of many investment projects being withdrawn or curtailed and of net FDI becoming negative.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.
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 The government presents these Codes as beneficial to labour since they are supposed to simplify a very complex and outdated system.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 government's chief economic advisor, V Anantha Nageswaran, says he is not losing sleep over the falling rupee. We wish him long nights of peaceful rest and restoration. While the government and the RBl rest, the rupee will be hard at work, to give some respite to our exporters hit hard by Trumpian tariffs.
TK Arun As Annapurna Bhandar of Chandini Chowk faces closure, can Indian cities take a cue from Paris or San Francisco to protect legacy shops? When a sudden rent increase forces a thriving commercial establishment — that has a century-old…