Rakesh Khar

Rakesh Khar is a seasoned editor. He writes at the intersection of politics, business, technology and society.

VW-JSW’s India Wager: Cakewalk or Tough Road Ahead?

Video

Rakesh Khar

September 14, 2026 at 5:28 AM IST

Relinquishing the Wheel: Why Volkswagen’s JSW Gamble Faces a Brutal Reality Check

Volkswagen’s JSW deal offers scale, local heft and an EV route into India. But history shows that ownership changes alone rarely crack the country’s brutal auto market.

Rakesh Khar

September 14, 2026 at 2:26 AM IST

Volkswagen India

Modi’s Gold Gamble Pits Economic Restraint Against Political Comfort

Modi’s appeal to curb gold purchases tests the balance between easing import pressures and disrupting a trade rooted in savings and tradition.

Rakesh Khar

September 7, 2026 at 7:27 AM IST

iStock.com/D. Talukdar

India Must Build Midstream Muscle to Break China’s Mineral Chokepoint

India’s mineral security depends less on access to ore than on processing capacity at home, agile state firms, and durable overseas partnerships.

Rakesh Khar

August 24, 2026 at 6:06 AM IST

Arunvrparavur/Via WikiCommons

How Parliamentary Gridlock is Turning India’s Youth Away From the Ballot

Opinion

A decade after young Indians embraced the ballot, repeated parliamentary paralysis risks turning political hope into deep and lasting cynicism.

Rakesh Khar

August 17, 2026 at 7:29 AM IST

PIB

Private Equity’s Expanding Footprint in India’s Schools and Hospitals

Private capital is expanding capacity in education and healthcare, but weak safeguards risk leaving access, affordability and public purpose behind.

Rakesh Khar

August 7, 2026 at 6:06 AM IST

Istock.com

IAS Out, IPS In: The New Federal Information Order

Governments – state and union – are linking the PR machinery with state intelligence, and while this might help manage crises, the move risks turning into an apparatus to curb dissent.

Rakesh Khar

July 17, 2026 at 8:32 AM IST

Istock.com

Identity, Convergence, and the WhatsApp-CRED Gambit

As Meta positions WhatsApp to dominate the digital payments ecosystem to crack its monetisation problem, New Delhi is worried about mass impersonation, phishing and cyber fraud, and most importantly, data arbitrage with the username rollout.

Rakesh Khar

July 6, 2026 at 6:53 AM IST

istock.com

From NYAY to AI: How Jobless Growth Is Forcing Universal Basic Income Back on the Table

Artificial intelligence is reshaping India's job market just as welfare politics becomes increasingly entrenched, bringing Universal Basic Income, once dismissed as politically unviable, back into the spotlight.

Rakesh Khar

July 1, 2026 at 6:11 AM IST

Istock.com

After the Unicorn Rush, India's Start-ups Face a Reality Check

The first decade was about scale and valuation. The next will determine whether India's start-ups can build businesses that endure.

Rakesh Khar

June 19, 2026 at 4:19 AM IST

Istock.com

When States Compete, Can Economics Trump Politics?

As states battle for capital, Niti Aayog faces a crucial test: can economics trump politics in India's growth story?

Rakesh Khar

June 16, 2026 at 7:55 AM IST

istock.com

The Bureau

India August CPI Hits 20-Month High at 4.82%; Food Inflation Nears 6%

BRICS Targets US Tariffs, Western Sanctions and EU Carbon Tax—Without Naming Them

India August WPI Inflation 9.92%, June Figure Revised to 9.97% From 9.87%

FSSAI-Warning Labels, Ad Wars, Vodafone, Vijay Mallya, Vedanta & More

Read the full text of BRICS New Delhi Declaration

SBI Research sees RBI rate hikes in Oct, Dec on oil, CPI risks

RBI to Sell ₹1 trillion of gilts in September as liquidity absorption shifts to OMO

India’s GDP Data Puzzle: Pronab Sen on Deflators, Revisions and Trust

In Search of the Lesser Florican

Maneet Pal Singh