opinion

IIP: What ails manufacturing in India?

Manufacturing growth has had a CAGR of just 2.67 percent in the six years to April 2024 and of 23 major industry groups, 10 have had a negative CAGR

A multi-pronged approach, not mere targets, can boost affordable housing

The present PMAY scheme and the faltering pace of affordable housing that fell short of its earlier targets has evoked a great deal of criticism

A tale of three inflations, with a twist at the end

Three major economies — US, China and India — reported inflation data. The overall conclusion is that emerging markets look attractive. But there's a fly in the ointment

HCL, Infosys and now Cognizant—Why IT companies are increasingly betting on engineering R&D services

The engineering R&D outsourcing spends are projected to outpace IT services in the next several years

Chart of the Day: Are cement prices under pressure?

Cement manufacturers tried to hike prices in April and May but did not succeed

Third terror attack in Jammu: Way forward for Modi 3.0 government

Three terror attacks this week pose a complex challenge which needs to be addressed by both military and political measures. Pilgrim safety is non-negotiable

Europe Elections: Voters send a message to their failing leaders

Elections to the European Parliament ought to come as a salutary shock

Women have a lot on their Petri dish

A new WHO survey suggests that they are more exposed than men to superbugs

Hong Kong grows wealth; Singapore preserves it, stop comparing

They sit in very different corners of the financial system. The rise of one doesn’t spell the demise of the other

Martin Wolf: Tariffs are bad policy, but good politics

There are excellent reasons why we may want to intervene in the economy but these taxes will rarely be the best way

US economic slowdown? Watch what consumers do, not how they feel

Sentiment about the US economy has been improving, but the more reliable indicator is Americans’ ability to spend

Development of Eastern India: Portfolio allocations raise hope

Multiple key Union ministries being headed by parliamentarians representing the eastern part of the country could ensure that there is a stronger focus on the economic progress of the region so that it can contribute in a bigger way to the Viksit Bharat agenda of the Modi government 3.0

Naidu’s real test will be getting a special financial package for Andhra. Cabinet posts not so important

Cabinet portfolio allocations are not the correct measure to judge the leverage TDP has extracted from the coalition government. It could be because the real test for N Chandrababu Naidu will be the concessions he extracts for Andhra 

Will the world get a first glimpse of Modi 3.0 this Friday?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to open international engagements in his third term with the G7 summit in Italy on June 14

The power of the narrative has pollsters, equity researchers in its thrall

Output from two constituents—pollsters and equity researchers—show how a powerful narrative can result in a willing suspension of disbelief

The depressing message from the Household Consumption survey

The top 5 percent in urban India spent 2.6 times more on cereals than the poorest 5 percent. And they spent one and a half times as much on cereals than those in the 40-50 percent fractile, which is Middle India. A similar gap exists in cereal consumption between the rich and poor in rural India. The point is: if they had the means, the poor would increase their intake of cereals, or consume a better quality of cereals

Decoding Economics: India’s two hundred and fifty thousand democracies

Villages have seen the emergence of a new class of local political elites who are diverse and more representative of the underlying population than their higher-tiered counterparts

May springs a surprise for life insurers with volume growth

A seasonally light month of May brought a notable growth in the number of policies sold for life insurers.

How did the US eclipse Europe in productivity? Mass layoffs

Widespread job dismissals during the pandemic followed by a rapid recovery delivered big gains in output per hour worked

Two oil deals lay bare the OPEC+ problem

While the oil exporters’ club is focused on influencing prices, other actors are working to reduce their exposure to them

Pakistan PM concludes crucial Beijing visit before his Budget. How it may impact India

Pakistan’s increasing dependence on China consolidates the latter’s influence in that country. China does not see Pakistan as a market for investment but a useful pawn to balance and constrain India’s rise 

AI can pick stocks better than you can

Predicting the direction of earnings, even in a binary way, turns out not to be particularly easy, for either human or machine

French Election: Emmanuel Macron plays fast and loose with investor faith

Portfolio managers are concerned about the fiscal direction France is taking

How Hindu nationalism is intrinsically linked to the national consciousness

#RSSFACTS: Though the concept of Hindu nationalism dates back to the Vedic age, it was in 1965 that Deendayal Upadhyaya propounded the philosophy of ‘Integral Humanism’. The contemporary framework of Hindu nationalism has been influenced by him to a great extent

As retail inventory falls, India must up its game in global cotton textiles

Falling cotton prices augur well for India’s yarn spinning and weaving mills that are seeing demand improvement in domestic and overseas markets