The Reading List: January 2, 2026
A selection of articles and social media posts from the world of economy, business and finance curated by our research and opinion teams for your weekend read
Why China is doubling down on its export-led growth model
The country plans to reinforce its dominance of global manufacturing, despite persistent deflation at home and rising tensions abroad
OPINION | Is Budget 2026 ready to transform India’s logistics ecosystem?
Budget 2026 presents an opportunity to enhance India’s logistics sector by improving multimodal connectivity, adopting technology, promoting sustainability, and investing in driver development for a more efficient, inclusive ecosystem
OPINION | Why western media continues to misrepresent the RSS
RSSFACTS: The Western media persists in demonising the RSS due to historical misconceptions, a political lens, and a lack of understanding of Hindu Dharma and its civilisational context
OPINION | Vault Matters: Can RBI Gov Malhotra get the elephant out of the forest?
The year gone by was more like a honeymoon period for Sanjay Malhotra with inflation tamed and IndusInd Bank’s fraud not turning out to be a crisis for the banking sector. The joker in the pack was Rupee, which started behaving unpredictable towards the end of 2025. Coupled with uneasy growth trends, 2026 could prove to be a test year for the governor
The shape of AI to come in 2026
After a year where generative AI's promise collided with reality—marked by China's resource-efficient breakthroughs exposing Silicon Valley's expensive inefficiencies, agentic AI stalling at pilot stage, and an MIT study revealing that 95% of enterprise investments failed to deliver returns—2026 emerges as AI's reckoning year, where the industry must prove substance over hype, demonstrate genuine ROI, and potentially witness a fundamental shift from LLM-centric development toward novel architectures while navigating the intensifying US-China technological rivalry and the growing divide between AI-capable nations and those facing a new form of technological colonialism.
Governance wake-up calls from 2025: Essential lessons for a stronger 2026
As India reflects on a year marked by regulatory lapses, environmental crises, and infrastructure failures, 2025's hard lessons demand urgent reforms to build better governance in 2026
Why bond investing in 2026 will be like batting on a sticky wicket
As the monetary easing cycle ends, India's bond market in 2026 faces a tricky landscape of fiscal pressures, heavy supply, and shifting demand—requiring cautious, accrual-focused strategies amid a steep yield curve
OPINION | Is Budget 2026 ready to make solar India’s most competitive energy source?
The Union Budget 2026–27 holds immense potential to accelerate India’s renewable energy goals, particularly solar power, by strengthening domestic manufacturing, enhancing financial incentives, and supporting climate-focused initiatives for sustainable growth
Taxation returns as policy risk for investors in cigarette stocks
A sharp increase in excise duty after GST compensation cess ended will see cigarette prices being hiked sharply. While that’s the immediate risk, the bigger risk is of a shift in policy
Indian IT should strike a fine balance as AI investments take off
IT companies are making large acquisitions and also investing in new technologies
After a trying 2025, investors need a sound strategy for 2026
What investing strategy can deliver good returns in the New Year, which sectors are likely to outperform and what are the risks to watch out for
RBI Financial Stability Report: Banks’ clean-up is real -- but the hard work isn’t over yet
With NPAs at multi-decade lows, lenders have earned bragging rights. The next test is whether this improvement survives a tougher credit cycle.
From e-commerce to AI to Deep Tech: The evolving Indian VC landscape
In sectors attracting funding, AI/ML emerged as a standout, with 191 deals raising $1.2 billion, nearly doubling the funding from 2024
Will the IPO boom continue in 2026?
Indications are that it will but what’s more important for investors is to understand what’s driving the fund-raising, the motivations of selling shareholders and their own investing behaviour
Forecasting the world in 2026
FT writers’ predictions for the new year, from the likelihood of higher Trump tariffs to the future of interest rates and the arrival of humanoid helpers
After GST 2.0, the harder task of making the tax good and simple
Rate rationalisation has boosted consumption, but revenue stress, compliance pain, and unresolved federal frictions show that India’s indirect tax reform is still a work in progress
OPINION | India’s AI Copyright Challenge: Law, data, and doctrine limits
As generative AI moves from experimentation to mass commercial deployment, India stands at a critical crossroads where copyright law, innovation policy, and creator protection must be reconciled
Will foreign investors return to India’s markets in FY2027?
There are strong reasons to suggest that foreign investors’ disenchantment in recent years could be nearing an end
Tax revenue squeeze forces Centre to slam brakes on spending
GST cuts meant to stimulate the economy have backfired on the fiscal front, with central tax collections rising just 3.3% and forcing the government into spending cuts which could stall the growth momentum
IIP's November Surge: A false dawn or the start of a 2026 turnaround?
While industrial output hits a two-year high, underlying volatility in key sectors and a long-awaited index rebasing will define the true trajectory of India's factory activity in 2026
Budget Snapshot: Nominal GDP growth deceleration complicates fiscal maths
The fiscal maths of the Budget is under threat as nominal GDP growth decelerates
OPINION | India's digital future – sovereignty or stagnation?
Digital power now rests on owning intelligence, infrastructure, and trust. Can India build all three?
OPINION | Gig workers call New Year shutdown, demand fairer working conditions
Gig workers in India plan a strike for better working conditions, including transparency and a ban on 10-minute deliveries. The growing platform economy raises concerns about worker welfare and regulation
Year in a word: ‘Peace’
Despite ceaseless Trumpian talk of ending the world’s wars, it’s not quite that easy
