Category Public Finances and Macroeconomics

WhatsApp Image 2026 09 27 at 15.17.54

Goa Budget 2026–27: A Department-Wise Review

Goa is India's smallest state by area, spread across roughly 3,700 sq. km along the western coast and divided into North Goa and South Goa districts (with a third district, Kushavati, recently notified in South Goa). Its economy has historically leaned heavily on tourism, mining and remittances, alongside a growing services and IT base, a structure that also leaves it exposed to global shocks, from oil-price swings to shifts in outbound travel demand.

When War Becomes an Operating Cost Insurance, Chokepoints and the New Gulf Security Order

When War Becomes an Operating Cost: Insurance, Chokepoints and the New Gulf Security Order

Rahi Naik

Introduction: Why the Gulf Is Building Security Beyond Washington

For decades, the security architecture of the Arabian Gulf rested on an implicit bargain: Gulf monarchies would remain closely aligned with Washington, while the United States would provide the military deterrence necessary to protect the region’s territorial integrity, energy infrastructure and maritime routes.

That bargain has not collapsed. But it has been tested.

WhatsApp Image 2026 09 25 at 12.16.42 AM

The India International Bullion Exchange (2022): A New Gateway for Gold Trading

The India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) is India's first regulated gateway for the import and trading of gold and silver, operationalised at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), Gandhinagar. Its conceptual origin lies in the Union Budget 2020-21, in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government's intent to establish an international bullion exchange in an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) (Ministry of Finance, 2020).

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Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers – Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS), 2026: An Economic and Compliance Assessment

The Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers – Disclosure Scheme, 2026 (FAST-DS 2026) was introduced by the Ministry of Finance under Sections 135 to 142 of Chapter IV of the Finance Act, 2026, to provide a voluntary, one-time compliance opportunity for Indian resident taxpayers to regularize undeclared foreign holdings and overseas-sourced income (Finance Act, 2026).

WhatsApp Image 2026 09 24 at 1.42.53 PM

City Finance Rankings Challenge (2021): Strengthening Municipal Financial Management in India

Policy UpdateDivya Natarajan Background The City Finance Rankings is a Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) initiative that evaluates, recognises, and rewards India’s Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) on the quality of their financial health and their improvement in financial…

anushree litphoto

National Monetisation Pipeline 2.0 (2025–30) Advancing India’s Asset Monetisation Framework Beyond 2021

The idea of asset recycling was created globally to help solve the traditional issue for governments known as "the sovereign dilemma" or how to provide new and better public services while keeping their public debt from increasing. The first state (in this case, Australia's New South Wales) to implement asset recycling in its post-recession economic recovery in the 2010s demonstrated that with a few key steps a government can create the cash flow needed to develop new public assets. The concept is simple: build a public asset, de-risk that public asset until it produces steady cash flowing into your budget, then lease those cash-flowing rights to private investors. Thereby immediately creating an influx of funds to start developing the next generation of public assets.

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