Jaishankar’s funeral diplomacy sets constructive tone for healthy ties with Bangladesh
India has shown its readiness to respect Bangladesh’s choice of a new leader though Sheikh Hasina continues to live in India. Khaleda Zia’s recent death might help her party, BNP, in the February 12 elections. With Jamaat trying to attract some of Awami League’s vote back, the battle of the ballot is getting fierce
OPINION | Regulatory oversight, not competition law, needed for aviation crisis
The aviation disruptions in India stem from operational and regulatory failures, highlighting the need for stronger DGCA oversight, rather than competition law, to address structural issues and protect passengers
The Venezuela Strike: Stable oil supply, but heightened global uncertainty
Despite the dramatic U.S. military capture of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's marginal oil production—under 1% of global supply—ensures stable near-term flows, yet escalating geopolitical risks could inject lasting uncertainty into energy and financial markets.
Budget Snapshot | The fiscal tightrope
IMF estimates central government's upcoming Budget may not further lower fiscal deficit figure as revenue dips and interest costs rise
Banks struggle to attract deposits as government keeps small savings rates high
For the eighth consecutive quarter, interest rates on popular small savings instruments have been left untouched. With small savings rates frozen and liquidity staying tight, India’s banks are boxed in even as the RBI eases policy
OPINION | US action in Venezuela is an exercise of raw power; India should be wary
The case of Venezuela serves as a warning that universal norms are fading and power-based hierarchies are rising. India must adapt carefully, strengthening its stance in a world where raw power has returned to the forefront of history
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
