From Technological Rivalry to Global Governance: The path forward
The current geopolitical landscape is shaped by technological nationalism, driven by competition in AI and semiconductors. However, game theory and historical examples suggest that this phase will evolve into co-operative frameworks, balancing national interests with global technological cooperation
Secondary tariff on Venezuelan oil is Donald Trump’s latest effort at arm-twisting
Donald Trump’s secondary tariffs teach nations a valuable lesson: sovereignty is great, as long as it aligns with US foreign policy
Will Turkey’s ban on short selling succeed?
Regulators and governments panic when markets tank but rather than curing the ailment they end up targeting short sellers who present a soft target
April Price Hikes: Will passenger vehicle sales stall further?
Given the declining PV sales and rising inventory levels with dealers, all eyes are on the three to four per cent hike expected in April by PV makers
Can India handle the policy dilemmas thrown up by Trump, China and the EU?
Amid shifting global power dynamics, escalating tariff wars, and the evolving centrality of manufacturing, India finds itself at a crossroads. With opportunities to reshape its economic future and vulnerabilities to address, the path it chooses now could redefine its role in the geo-economic landscape
Operation Searchlight: The genocide that propelled the Bangladesh Liberation War
Operation Searchlight, launched on March 25, 1971, marked the brutal military crackdown by West Pakistan on East Pakistan, triggering the Bangladesh Liberation War. Rooted in political, economic, and linguistic oppression, this genocide ultimately led to Bangladesh’s independence after nine months of struggle
Jammu’s simmering terror activity
In Kathua, civilians, who are neither informers nor Village Defence Guards, but wandering in the dense jungles for livelihoods or travel pose a threat to terrorists when they stumble upon them or their hideouts. It has a led to a series of killings. Security forces can’t let their guard down
What does inward remittance data tell us?
Indian migrants are no longer predominantly working in blue-collar jobs in the Gulf
Chart of the Day | How Trump’s tariffs are changing IT companies’ demand outlook
Tariffs are not expected to uniformly affect all business segments of IT companies
Can the judiciary ever be made accountable?
Official misconduct and impropriety are not rare in any branch of the state. What sets the judiciary apart is its lack of accountability. The judges of the higher judiciary, that is, the Supreme Court of India and High Courts, are accountable only to Parliament. However, enforcement of accountability through this mechanism is practically non-existent
Indo-US ties recorded an inflection point 25 years ago. This base will insulate the relationship from hiccups in trade and technology
In March 2000, US President Bill Clinton addressed the Indian Parliament, an occasion that encapsulated a nascent bipartisan change in approach to ties with India. The challenge for India in the years ahead to make the engagement with the US more robust will be to navigate two interrelated strands – trade and technology
Why ships are the new chips
The Trump administration wants to make America’s maritime capacity great again
Chart of the Day| MF SIP investors are falling into the market timing trap
Retail investors tend to panic and exit during market downturns, harming their long-term returns, as they miss out on the best-performing days
Tackling Payment Fraud: The industry is solving it the wrong way
Digital payment fraud has evolved beyond stolen identities to sophisticated networks using synthetic identities and manipulated trust scores. The industry must shift from post-transaction detection to proactive, real-time, dynamic fraud prevention, focusing on continuous verification and ecosystem-wide intelligence sharing
Flash PMI’s low selling price inflation will help MPC cut rates as Trump tariffs loom
India’s private sector continues to show strong growth momentum, according to the Flash PMI for March. But while domestic demand is robust, the Monetary Policy Committee must take into account the impact of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs
The Eastern Window | India’s Neighbourhood First policy might need tweaking if Bangladesh wins China’s heart
Bangladeshi leader Mohammad Yunus is not only trying to seek China’s assistance but is also engaging in a bigger diplomatic game to put pressure on India. The move comes when China has named areas in Ladakh as its own counties
A billion-tonne coal milestone highlights India's energy dilemma
For India, the use of fossil fuel cannot be wished away in a hurry, while the strategy should be to expedite RE investment
Open Source in Tech: What India can learn from China
India and China have embraced open source software for different reasons and with contrasting outcomes. While India focuses on digital public goods like Aadhaar and UPI, China is leveraging open source to build cutting-edge products like the DeepSeek AI model and the C930 chip
Four takeaways from Raisina Dialogue on contemporary geopolitics
From Ukraine to information warfare, discussions at the Raisina Dialogue revealed insights about the shifts in contemporary geopolitics that India would do well to adapt to
Germany finally shakes off its fiscal straitjacket to cope with tectonic shifts
Both houses of Germany’s Parliament have approved carveouts in the country’s restrictive “debt brake” in the wake of mounting economic and geopolitical challenges. A militarily assertive Germany, rearmed with public spending, can alter the balance of power within Europe and NATO. For Washington, it offers a much-needed “burden-sharing” partner. For Russia and China, it is a clear signal that Europe is mobilising for long-term strategic competition
With Indorama, EPL gets another stab at growth acceleration
Indorama plans to encourage EPL pursue growth aggressively
The Reading List: March 21, 2025
A selection of articles and social media gems from the world of economy, business and finance, curated by our research and opinion teams
Water, our most abused fundamental natural resource
March 22 is World Water Day. It’s an occasion to take a close look at water, a resource that is relatively scarce in India, which is classified as “water stressed”. As the economy grows and per capita incomes rise, water availability will have to increase. The way out is dust off old plans such as interlinking of rivers and use technological solutions to reuse water. Implementing them well is a prerequisite to be a developed nation
Chart of the Day: States’ borrowing spree isn’t leading to a spending one
The outlook on state capex is benign while poll-promised freebies could dent fiscal position.
