opinion

Manufacturing PMI: Production and new orders were affected in April, but exports provide cheer

Inflation in manufactured goods prices the fastest in last seven years

Chart of the Day | Why is India’s stringency index still below that of several countries in Europe?

Given the ferocity of the second wave in India, perhaps a stronger response is merited  

Commodities supercycle arrives as pandemic recedes globally

Sector-wide bull market gathers momentum

Interview | Impact of second COVID wave on economy and market to be modest, says Prashant Jain of HDFC AMC

Any market correction triggered by FII selling is an ideal time to buy equities, says CIO of HDFC MF

What explains Trinamool’s spectacular victory?

The issue of Bengali identity seems to have resonated with the voters

Why Amartya Sen’s thesis of democracy averting famines doesn’t apply to the fight against the pandemic

Unlike a famine which makes it to the front pages of newspapers, there is very little interest about the systematic underfunding of public health 

Will court jab raise Centre’s COVID consciousness?

Government should take note of Supreme Court’s posers and make necessary course correction in the COVID vaccination programme

Congress-AIUDF alliance helped BJP appropriate greater ethno-nationalistic space in Assam despite CAA

Will the BJP be finally able to shed its ‘Hindi-speaking North Indian party’ image in Assam? The answer to this will depend on how well the AJP and the RD are able to politically mobilise themselves in the next five years within a complex matrix of ethnic identities 

Factors that aided the Left’s historic win in Kerala

Pinarayi Vijayan’s quest to retain power was aided by a listless UDF, which was lulled into believing that the state’s record of voting out governments would propel it to a win 

Key takeaways from the 2021 assembly election results

The BJP and the Congress are on the back foot. The regional parties have yet again shown that they have it in them to stop the BJP juggernaut

Didi becomes the Dada of Bengal

Mamata Banerjee is all set to become Chief Minister for a third successive term. BJP looks like will be unable to further the gains of the 2019 general elections 

The Reading List: April 30, 2021

A selection of articles and social media gems from the world of economy, business and finance

COVID-19 second wave has not damaged India’s international standing

India did handle the first wave of the pandemic admirably; our health system did not collapse, deaths were (and still remain) very low compared to the population, even allowing for underreporting

Post-Poll Survey | Kerala voters made up their mind much in advance

A voter survey conducted by the Centre for Public Policy Research showed that about 60 percent of the voters made up their mind on whom to vote for well before the election campaign started 

Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | The need to plug gaps in India’s vaccination drive

In today's edition of Moneycontrol Pro Panorama: The exit poll maths, volume play at HUL, the Weekly Tactical, Zomato IPO buzz, the red flags in US economy and more

The challenges facing HUL in FY22

HUL’s March quarter results were healthy but inflation and COVID-19 have sprung a challenge it needs to overcome

Exit polls add to the suspense

Exit polls are generally a better indicator of electoral trends and results than opinion polls. There is broad consensus on who’s winning all the states, barring West Bengal which shows a split verdict 

Margin debt and leverage are flashing red, again

Much of the froth in US markets is being driven by unusual liquidity flows that may reverse soon

Zomato IPO: Is it worth the hype?

The sooner Zomato comes out of the cash burn business model, the better will be its chances be in attracting quality investors.

Gateway Distriparks’ results indicate resilience in EXIM trade

The improvement in profit margins of Gateway Distriparks and a positive outlook has led to earnings upgrades by analysts

The vaccination policy: How does India stack up against others?

The developed economies have not involved the private sector in their vaccination programmes  

Poll heat over, exit polls spring few surprises

The BJP is at an advantage in West Bengal

Foreign Affairs | India-US ties in light of the COVID-19 second wave

India has to keep in mind that it cannot walk the path of development alone. Many countries can help, but it's the US that has the most capacity to substantially contribute to help India’s journey down this road 

SEBI's skin-in-the-game circular to mutual fund AMCs has good intentions, but is not well thought out

Mere participation in the mutual fund scheme by employees and directors of the AMC is not a shield against underperformance or indeed wrongdoing 

Moneycontrol Pro Panorama | Is Sebi’s move on MF pay a game changer?

In today’s edition Moneycontrol Pro Panorama: An IPO with a difference, Fed’s shot of hope, Maruti’s margin call, Moderna’s vaccine push and more