A few days after Trump’s 50% reciprocal tariffs on India – including penalty for buying Russian oil and defence equipment - went into effect, the country announced its GDP numbers for Q1 of FY26, and did they surprise us all. It was almost like a rejoinder to Trump calling India “a dead economy”. But trade… Continue reading Why The Indian Economy Needn’t Be Tarrified
I began this year by writing about the challenges facing India this year as Trump’s tariffs take effect and cause a global economic slowdown, from which India too will not be immune. Then in February 2025, I wrote about the Indian Union Budget which I thought was desperate to push growth, including by cutting taxes… Continue reading Time for India’s Economy to Become More Competitive
With large parts of the world going to elections this year, it’s worth looking at some of the political shifts that could signal changes in economic policy as well. India has just concluded a mammoth 7-phase election and I have written about its implications for the Indian economy in my previous blog post. Parliamentary elections… Continue reading What EU and UK Elections Could Mean for Their Economies
As the world tries to get back to normal business after three years of a pandemic, it appears that people are in the mood to take to the streets and protest. From UK and France to Mexico and Israel, people are demanding their fair share of economic and political rights. Not content with all the… Continue reading Protests Around the World and What They Portend
The last time I wrote about the Indian budget, which was exactly a year ago, I had said that our budget-making is as per Murphy’s Law. I meant that in not realizing the previous year’s mistake, we once again created a union budget that ignored the needs of the common man and woman. This, while… Continue reading India Budget 2023: Capex vs Capacity Building
The recently concluded state assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh yielded results along expected lines. It’s just that no one could tell the extent of the BJP’s landslide victory in Gujarat, nor how close it would be in Himachal. And it was India’s two leading national parties slugging it out in both states. These… Continue reading Another Landslide Victory and What it Says About the State of the Indian Economy
There isn’t a single news programme or article on the global economy these days that doesn’t mention recession. This has been so for the past many months, but as central banks – especially the US Federal Reserve – keep raising interest rates to combat inflation, the prospect of a recession draws ever nearer. In their… Continue reading The Indian Economy: Bright Spot or Dangers Lurking?
Just last year, I had written on the occasion of the start of India’s 75th year of independence, about the long, Sisyphean journey our country had taken to reach where we are today. And about the challenges that remain. I had written it also from the point of view of our own personal experiences as… Continue reading A Democracy Fraying @ 75
On hearing the news of India’s FY22 GDP growth announced a few days ago, you might think – like the Indian government and some sections of the media – that ours is the fastest growing large economy. Never mind that the fourth quarter was the slowest growing in a long time – 4.1% - and… Continue reading Growth Depends on India Going Back to Work
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that corporate India has had a good run for the past few years. Ever since the generous tax cuts given by the government in 2019, in order to boost investment, that is. We have yet to see the investment commensurate with such tax breaks, but that their earnings have… Continue reading Possible Reversals Ahead for India Inc
Peripatetic Perch 