India’s gem and jewellery industry faces US tariff setbacks but finds new hope through the UK trade deal, expanding markets, and domestic growth.

Michael Debabrata Patra

Fiscal Calm Masks Fragile Math Built on Windfalls and Deflators

India may meet its 4.4% deficit goal this year, but only through one-off gains and statistical cushions that leave its fiscal base exposed.

BasisPoint Groupthink

Inflation Targeting Needs Flexibility, Not Unanimity

When monetary consensus turns to groupthink, inflation targeting risks losing its flexibility—and its purpose.

Ashima Goyal

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Retail inflation fell to a record low in October, but a December rate cut still hangs in the balance.

Datametricx

The Educated Radical: How India’s Urban Terror Ecosystem is Evolving

Educated professionals entering the terror matrix mark a chilling new phase, where respectability becomes cover and urban India the chosen battlefield.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

India’s Strategic Shift Toward Diversified Trade and Green Commitments

As corporate India scales up renewables at unprecedented speed, the country is positioning itself for a new era of sustainable global trade.

Nilanjan Banik

O Womaniya...! What’s Behind the NDA Juggernaut in Bihar

NDA’s big lead in Bihar isn’t just a wave—it’s the outcome of turnout, caste maths, women voters, leadership depth and a fragmented opposition.

Amitabh Tiwari

Columnists

Michael Debabrata Patra

Michael Patra is an economist and former RBI Deputy Governor.

TK Arun

Arun is a seasoned writer on economic and policy matters.

Abheek Barua

Abheek is an Independent Economist and the Former Chief Economist at HDFC Bank.

Ajay Srivastava

Ajay Srivastava is the founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative.

Vijay Chauhan

Vijay, trade expert & ex-IRS officer, works with Deloitte India and Ashoka University’s ICPP.

Dhananjay Sinha

Dhananjay, a D-School alum, is CEO and Co-Head of Equities at Systematix Group.

Kirti Tarang Pande

Kriti is a psychologist specialising in mental health, org behaviour, and brand strategy

Srinath Sridharan

Srinath is an author, corporate advisor, and independent director on corporate boards.

Sharmila Chavaly

Ex-civil servant Chavaly held key Railways, Finance roles; specialises in infra & PPPs

Nilanjan Banik

Nilanjan Banik, Professor at Mahindra University, specialises in trade and development economics.

Sachin Malhotra

Sachin was till recently an MD with Standard Chartered Bank.

Rajesh Mahapatra

Rajesh Mahapatra is the former Editor of The Press Trust of India

Krishnadevan V

Krishnadevan is Consulting Editor at BasisPoint Insight.

Dev Chandrasekhar

Chandra advises companies on big-picture narratives on strategy and markets.

Kalyan Ram

Kalyan Ram co-founded Cogencis. He now leads BasisPoint Insight.

R. Gurumurthy

Gurumurthy is an ex-central banker who handled markets, and later, financial stability for RBI.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain is a former Commander of India’s Kashmir Corps.

The Bureau

New US Bill Targets Outsourcing, Threatens India’s IT Engine

Asia Stocks Retreat on Fading Fed Easing Hopes and Renewed Tech Selloff

Record-low Inflation Sets Stage for December Rate Cut: I-Sec PD

Retail Inflation Hits Record Low in Current Series, To Test RBI’s Statement on Space For Rate Cut

Equity Mutual Fund Inflows Fall for Third Straight Month in October

Exports to US Slide Across Sectors for Fourth Consecutive Month

The Immortality Mindset: The Psychology Behind Piyush & Prahlad's Culturally-Dominant Brands

Jallikattu: Tamil Nadu’s Ancient Bull-Taming Tradition

State Borrowing Pressures Keep Long-End Yields on Edge

Yield Scribe

Cabinet Approves Export Promotion Mission, But Funding and Rollout Challenges Loom

Ajay Srivastava

Buffett’s Last Letter is a Blueprint for Corporate Maturity

Krishnadevan V

Washington and Mumbai Align as SEC and SEBI Rethink Regulation

Krishnadevan V

When Inflation Disappears, Policy Loses its Compass

With inflation collapsing to a record low and tracking below 2% for 2025–26, India’s policy dilemma has flipped. The challenge now is not restraining prices but recalibrating a framework built for an inflationary past.

Madhavi Arora

India’s Tax System Finally Learns the Meaning of Proportion

NITI Aayog’s tax reform blueprint and the Income Tax Act mark a shift from punishment to trust—reducing fear, boosting fairness, and inviting investment.

Sangeeta Jain

India’s Next Growth Challenge: Growing ‘Right’

The true test of progress is whether prosperity reaches not just balance sheets but everyday life of everyone.

Srinath Sridharan

Kirti Tarang Pande

Swiss AT1 Ruling Reverberates in India

Rahul Ghosh

YES Bank: A Rescue Worth Remembering; and Questioning

Banker Emeritus

YES Bank Additional Tier-1 Bonds: Fading From Public Memory?

Mint Owl

Why the Swiss Court’s AT1 Ruling Shouldn’t Influence YES Bank Case

TK Arun

How Cash Handouts Are Rewriting State Politics—and Budgets

Richard Fargose

VoteVibe Exit Poll: NDA Set to Retain Bihar, But MGB Close Behind

The lower bound of VoteVibe's numbers for the NDA ranks among the most conservative, with most other exit polls projecting well above 135 seats for the ruling alliance.

BasisPoint Insight

India Must Push Trump to Roll Back Oil Tariff Before Any Trade Pact

Since Trump now acknowledges that India has largely stopped Russian oil imports, New Delhi must press Washington to roll back the “Russian oil” tariffs before taking a call on trade deal.

Ajay Srivastava

The Religion of SIPs: India’s March to Market Salvation

Are SIPs India's safest investment habit or a blind ritual that could distort markets? What happens when faith replaces fundamentals in financial behaviour?

R. Gurumurthy

Rupee Strains and the Liquidity Paradox Testing the RBI’s Resolve

As the rupee faces tariff-induced pressure, the RBI’s interventions are reshaping domestic liquidity, revealing the delicate balance of currency defence and monetary control.

Shubhada Rao, Vivek Kumar, and Yuvika Singhal

From Potholes to Prosperity: Building India’s Urban Future

India’s prosperity will be decided not just by factories and farms, but by how well its cities move, breathe and govern.

Anant Goenka

The Key to Unlocking Private Climate Finance

The transition to a low-carbon global economy cannot succeed without the active participation of the private sector, yet businesses and investors are reluctant to commit funds amid uncertainty and instability.

Lynn Forester de Rothschild

The Optics of Virtue: HUL’s Unexpected Theatre of Transparency

HUL’s move to let shareholders read its CEO’s contract signals intent, but with slow growth and a stagnant share price, it feels more symbolic than real.

Srinath Sridharan

Geopolitics

Why This Isn’t a G2 Moment

With power diffused and key regional players asserting autonomy, a US–China duopoly remains far from materialising.

Ashok K. Kantha

Briefing

RBI’s GIFT City Move Aims to Bring the Rupee Back Home

RBI’s push to let Indian banks trade NDFs in GIFT City aims to reclaim control of rupee pricing and bring offshore liquidity onshore.

Babuji K

Why Emerging Economies Are Embracing AI

Emerging economies are embracing AI with optimism, seeing it as a powerful catalyst to solve local challenges, boost access to services, and accelerate inclusive growth.

Michael Spence

Lenskart’s Virtue Narrative Gets a Market Reality Check

Markets took purpose washing to the cleaners as Lenskart’s weak debut exposed the gap between moral capitalism and real investor conviction.

Krishnadevan V

A Just Energy Transition Needs Circular Finance

How can India fund its clean energy goals without overloading public finances? Could ‘circular finance’ be the key to a just, scalable, and truly sustainable transition?

Arvind Mayaram

GTRI: Developing Critical Mineral Ecosystem Needs More Than Just a Cut in Royalty

Ajay Srivastava

Bihar Battle Enters the Last Lap of 122 Seats, Seemanchal in Focus

What impact will rebel candidates, caste equations, and minority representation have as Bihar’s final phase unfolds? Can fresh faces tip the balance in close contests?

Amitabh Tiwari

The Rise of Tech Companies and Global Financial Stability Risks

Systemic risk has moved from banks to Big Tech, with AI and compute now embedding deep risk in global markets, investor flows, and regulation.

Chandrika Soyantar

Mumbai’s Happy Paradox: Leaky Tunnels, Unbreakable Spirit

How can a city of crumbling infrastructure and brutal rents be Asia’s happiest? The answer, as it turns out, lies not in statistics or city planning, but in people and paradoxes.

Phynix

Cyber Risk - Digital Banking's Biggest Threat Is Closer Than You Think

Mitigate rising cyber risks in digital banking with AI-driven detection, zero trust, robust training, and rapid response for safer payments and trust.

K. Srinivasa Rao

Yes, Open Up Ecommerce Inventory to FDI — Just for Export

A wedge has a thin edge for a reason. The export crisis sparked by Trump-era trade shocks is a chance for India to reform e-commerce—starting with allowing inventory for exports.

TK Arun

At Sona Comstar, a Family Rift Becomes a Corporate Governance Test

What began as a family inheritance fight after Sanjay Kapur’s death is now reshaping debates on leadership, legacy, and governance in India Inc.

Sohini Ghosh

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Early data suggest a sharp uptick in demand in October following GST rate cuts — but can it last? E-way bills suggest otherwise.

Datametricx

Geopolitics

Is Takaichi Sanae Japan's Margaret Thatcher?

A protégé of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, who was assassinated in 2022, Takaichi has promised to revive his economic-policy approach – so-called Abenomics.

Koichi Hamada

Prune the List of Major Oilseeds and Sharpen Policy Focus

India needs a rethink on its oilseed strategy, with four of the nine “major” oilseeds no longer meriting MSP support. A sharper focus on crops like sunflower could cut import dependence and boost self-reliance.

G. Chandrashekhar

Bharti Airtel Keeps Scoring but Parries Questions on Capex Intensity

Bharti Airtel’s quarter showed strong execution and premiumisation. The market now wants the company to articulate its future more clearly, as silence still carries a price.

Krishnadevan V

The Fraught Politics of Corporate Disclosures

Is ESG disclosure a political fad or a financial necessity? As global norms shift and penalties rise, what firms reveal about sustainability could directly impact their bottom lines.

Raghuram Rajan

A Clear Choice: Open FDI Fully or Close the Door

India’s regulatory half-measures diminish investor confidence and stifle growth. It is time to choose decisively rather than muddle through ambiguity.

Srinath Sridharan

Who Owes What and Whose Debt Is It? Meta, Structured Finance, and the New Corporation

Meta’s $27 billion Hyperion deal shows how the modern firm no longer owns everything it uses but orchestrates capital, partners, and data through design.

R. Gurumurthy

Geopolitics

Signals From the City

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York marks more than a political upset—it hints at a generational shift in leadership, strategy, and civic values.

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

Basis Life

Sorry, But Are We Really Sorry? The New Face of Apologies

Kalyani Srinath

A Moment of Silence for the Loss of Silence

Kirti Tarang Pande

SarciSense: The Self-Improvement Circus — How ‘Becoming Better’ Became the New Anxiety

Srinath Sridharan

Seen and Stirred: When Two Ticks Turn Blue

R. Gurumurthy

A World With Fewer People

India’s fertility rate has fallen below replacement level, signalling a future of ageing populations, fewer births, and shifting realities.

Michael Debabrata Patra

Briefing

The Paradox of Victory: The Winner’s Curse in India’s Bond Auctions

How India’s government bond auctions reveal the winner’s curse, where success can conceal costly misjudgements and shape financial market behaviour.

Babuji K

SEBI Must Hold The Line On MF Fees

SEBI’s proposed overhaul of mutual fund rules is a long-overdue reset that puts transparency and investor value at the centre of the industry’s economics. Now, the regulator must hold its idea.

Srinath Sridharan

Where Have All the Bankers Gone? India’s De-Risked Banking Paradox

In saving its banks from collapse, India has saved them from competition. In shielding them from loss, it may have shielded them from relevance.

R. Gurumurthy

Interview

Calm Hands Steer India Through Policy Storms

Dr. Michael Patra’s new book reveals the inner theatre of India’s central banking—from crisis firefighting to quiet reforms.

Kalyan Ram

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Is No Longer Optional; It’s Economic Survival

Shekhar Pawar

The Invisible Frontline: Cyber Wars And India’s Digital Destiny

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd)

Why JLR's £2 Billion Loss Could Change Corporate Insurance Forever

Krishnadevan V

Jaguar’s Cyber Crisis: A £2 Billion Warning for Indian Boardrooms

Srinath Sridharan

Why Piyush Pandey’s Identity Ladder Works and Why Luxury Brands Fail

Customers don’t buy your product; they buy a better version of themselves. Purpose, not price, makes a product truly aspirational.

Kirti Tarang Pande

Unemployment Tracker

India’s Job Market Stalls as Unemployment Creeps Up Again

After two months of mild improvement, India’s unemployment rate edged up in September, widening the gender gap and exposing the fragility of recent gains.

Akshi Chawla