Central banks are hoarding gold at record pace, hedging against dollar risk and geopolitical shocks. The yellow metal may not dethrone* the greenback yet, but it is back in the game.
Michael Debabrata Patra
Screengrab from "RBI Unlocked: Beyond the Rupee" series (JioHotstar)
Past experience indicates that China is far more likely to exploit any hint of Indian weaknesses than act as a reliable partner.
Brahma Chellaney
PMO/Via WikiCommons
India’s GDP grew 7.8% in April–June, the fastest in five quarters and above forecasts of 6.7–6.9%. Growth was led by services and investment, while mining and utilities remained weak.
BasisPoint Insight
iStock.com
Younger voters show less trust in electoral roll revisions—only 32.2% of 18–24s confident, versus 56.6% of those aged 55 and above.
Amitabh Tiwari
Revenue fears from GST slab cuts seem overdone. With the compensation cess as a cushion, states face only a modest and manageable impact.
Datametricx
gstcouncil.gov.in
Although much of the climate debate, both globally and in India, has focused on the costs of the energy transition, study shows that India’s climate-finance needs are relatively modest.
Rakesh Mohan and Janak Raj
iStock.com/ipopba
Strong government spending and services buoyed activity, but weak industry and lower nominal growth pose risks ahead.
iStcoks/mgstudyo
India’s wellness boom hides a paradox: health isn’t just about diet and exercise. Air, water, urban design, stress, and social systems shape well-being far more than individual choices.
TK Arun
GTRI examines the scale and distribution of the impact across sectors, the potential GDP implications, and the strategic responses required.
Ajay Srivastava
iStock.com/MAGNIFIER
Your weekly rundown of significant judicial rulings and legal battles influencing policy, companies, regulation, and governance.
Via WikiCommons
The divergence between Indian PMIs and hard data has rarely been wider, with the two indicators pointing in opposite ends.
As India faces a shifting US trade regime, the need for cushioning MSMEs and tackling non-tariff barriers immediately matters as much as shaping future trade rules.
Vijay Chauhan
India’s markets face a rough ride as tariff wars collide with weak demand, policy trade-offs and fragile corporate performance.
Dhananjay Sinha
Amey Bane/iStockphoto.com
From Hanoi’s daily sweep to India’s economic experiments, resilience isn’t about erasing chaos but learning to move with and through it.
Phynix
India’s proposed GST rejig is being billed as a Diwali bonanza. The risk is that it leaves state finances stretched without delivering a real consumption boost.
N. Srinivasa Rao
Powell’s cautious words and the CBO’s tariff arithmetic show how modern finance thrives on misreadings and manufactured optimism.
R. Gurumurthy
Screengrab
Powell’s Jackson Hole signal of a rate cut showed a Fed caught between rising unemployment risks and Trump’s tariff-fuelled inflation pressures.
BasisPoint Groupthink
US Federal Reserve
Michael Patra is an economist and former RBI Deputy Governor.
Arun is a seasoned writer on economic and policy matters.
Abheek is an Independent Economist and the Former Chief Economist at HDFC Bank.
Ajay Srivastava is the founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative.
Vijay, trade expert & ex-IRS officer, works with Deloitte India and Ashoka University’s ICPP.
Dhananjay, a D-School alum, is CEO and Co-Head of Equities at Systematix Group.
Kriti is a psychologist specialising in mental health, org behaviour, and brand strategy
Srinath is an author, corporate advisor, and independent director on corporate boards.
Ex-civil servant Chavaly held key Railways, Finance roles; specialises in infra & PPPs
Nilanjan Banik, Professor at Mahindra University, specialises in trade and development economics.
Sachin was till recently an MD with Standard Chartered Bank.
Rajesh Mahapatra is the former Editor of The Press Trust of India
Krishnadevan is Consulting Editor at BasisPoint Insight.
Chandra advises companies on big-picture narratives on strategy and markets.
Kalyan Ram co-founded Cogencis. He now leads BasisPoint Insight.