Ghanshyam Das Birla: The capitalist who built India’s freedom and future
Sat, 21 Feb 2026 07:00:13 ISTBalance sheets alone do not explain G.D. Birla’s place in India’s story.
The seatbelt sign is on as AI gathers speed
Sat, 21 Feb 2026 07:00:13 ISTAgainst growing AI anxiety, human connection is what we must hold on to.
Here’s why India’s AI dividend will be earned by legacy manufacturers rather than digital-natives
Fri, 20 Feb 2026 14:01:00 ISTAs the India AI Impact Summit puts the spotlight on artificial intelligence adoption, our legacy industries are poised to benefit. That is where the big gains will come. But its success will depend on how ready factories are and how well we roll it out. This is the AI moment we must grab.
AI in India: Is it a prosperity engine or mobility killer?
Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:00:59 ISTAI won’t automatically deliver prosperity to India—it could just as easily harden inequality and stall mobility. The real battle isn’t about frontier models, but diffusion, redesign and institutional will. At stake: a dual-speed nation, quiet aspiration collapse—or a truly inclusive Viksit Bharat.
Digital evolution: Our economic statistics can’t afford to get left behind as India’s economy evolves
Fri, 20 Feb 2026 07:30:13 ISTGlobally, as digital technology transforms economies, official statistics struggle to reflect economic reality. So too in India. While the ministry of statistics is doing a commendable job of updating its macro gauges, these might soon need to evolve further.
Mint Quick Edit | New Delhi AI Commitments: The case for eternal vigilance doesn’t diminish
Fri, 20 Feb 2026 07:00:52 ISTBig AI businesses promise to share statistical insights for policymaking and keep their tools equitably usable across languages and cultures. But lofty pledges won’t relieve antitrust authorities of their role in what’s shaping up as a multi-trillion dollar test case.
Go ahead, put data centres in space—but AI had better improve lives back here on Earth
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:01:01 ISTElon Musk envisions space as the future home for AI data centres. That may cut cooling costs and leave terrestrial electricity for humans. The large AI model that we in India need, meanwhile, is a government interface that can serve a billion plus people without routine glitches and Aadhaar failures
Beijing’s BRI isn’t in retreat and ‘debt trap’ warnings are falling on deaf ears in the Global South
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:00:20 ISTChina’s Belt and Road Initiative came in for much flak but has evolved. From megaprojects to strategic partnerships, Beijing still has the Global South charmed. If countries are being led into debt traps, they sure aren’t complaining.
Kaushik Basu: India brims with talent and promise but there seems no escape from politics and pollution
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:00:39 ISTTravelling across India and meeting its people is uplifting. It’s inspiring to see Indian students engaging with academic subjects and challenging experts. Yet politics, empty rhetoric and air pollution can quickly dampen spirits.
The India-EU free trade agreement tells us something important about globalization
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 12:30:18 ISTThe India-EU trade agreement is largely rooted in rules of the globalization era. Unlike recent deals struck by the US, it is WTO-compliant. It signals that countries with limited leverage value the mechanisms and principles that must underpin global trade.
Data tools mustn’t get rusty: India must institutionalize regular statistical revisions
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 12:00:37 ISTIndia’s consumer price index has finally been updated after more than a decade. The rejection of a key consumption survey had delayed this revision. India now needs an institutional framework to ensure regular statistical updates so policymakers aren’t forced to rely on tools that are outdated.
India is betting big on data centres but is this the best path to success with artificial intelligence?
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 07:30:53 ISTA proliferation of data centres may serve some purposes, but it's unlikely to help India achieve AI sovereignty. That path is far steeper. We need homegrown AI chips, original models and actual innovation based on first principles. Being the world’s data storage or processing hub won’t get us far.
Mint Quick Edit | Maruti Suzuki is a late entrant to India’s EV market: Can its price play win it leadership?
Thu, 19 Feb 2026 07:00:32 ISTMaruti Suzuki is playing the price warrior in an EV market that it has entered late. Faced with rivals like Tata, Mahindra, Hyundai, MG and others, can it shift the segment’s dynamics to its advantage? India’s top carmaker has no space for error.
Neither America nor China is worthy of world leadership—but is Europe in a position to step up?
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:00:34 ISTAmerica’s inequality and China’s authoritarianism leave little to admire. Yet a Europe distracted by US tech envy and stuck partly in the past risks missing its moment. Can it do what’s needed to offer the world a credible democratic alternative? Here’s what the EU must fix.
Why Warsh won’t be remembered for cutting rates
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:14:37 ISTThe likely next chair of the Federal Reserve will be judged by his handling of broader market issues, Ross Levine writes in a guest commentary.
The world needs jobs for a billion-plus people set to enter the workforce: Can we meet the challenge?
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:00:34 ISTWhile wars and market shocks grab headlines, a slow burn crisis is smouldering: 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will soon seek work, but only a fraction of the jobs needed exist. We must see off a demographic disaster while there’s still time.
As 2°C warming stares at us, India must invest in climate adaptation to shield its economy
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 14:00:33 ISTAs global warming heads for 2° Celsius above the pre-industrial level, climate shocks could constrain productivity, incomes and economic growth. India must take protective action now—before heat, drought and floods turn resilience into a far costlier scramble.
Monetary puzzle: Why cash in circulation has risen in India even as UPI transactions set new records
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:30:31 ISTIndia’s cash in circulation hit a record ₹40 trillion in January, even as UPI transactions scaled yet another peak. What exactly is going on? Four explanations unpack a trend that should both reassure and caution policymakers.
How to resist the temptations of money, power and sainthood in the social sector—learn to laugh at yourself
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:01:11 ISTSocial sector work has its challenges. Money, power and even sainthood may beckon, but not everyone succumbs. Those who survive seem to share a few traits—role clarity, simplicity and the wisdom not to take themselves too seriously.
With China and America in an AI-catapulted space race, the world needs a global treaty on AI warfare
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:30:47 ISTIn a world that may be on the verge of a power shift, AI’s fusion with satellite networks could have major geopolitical implications. As China and the US race to grab low-earth orbit slots, India must hasten its own AI–satcom push and press for a global consensus on AI warfare curbs.
Mint Quick Edit | Why India’s Rafale deal with France has been called the ‘deal of the century’
Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:00:26 ISTThe highlight of French President Macron’s visit to India is a $40 billion deal for 114 Rafale jets and other arms. It’s a win-win for both countries in various ways—some obvious, others not.
Regulation please: AI doing its own medical research entails the risk of putting human lives in danger
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:00:31 ISTAI-controlled laboratories that can run their own experiments and invent new cures could revolutionize medicine. Yet, such autonomy mustn’t go unregulated. Rogue agents can easily come up with deadly stuff that we may—or may not—live to regret.
China plans 203,000 orbiters but will need reusable rockets to chase Musk’s Starlink constellation
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:00:50 ISTBeijing’s plan for more than 200,000 satellites is ambitious alright. If they go into orbit, we could have a space jam within a decade. Yet, these orbiters will remain on paper unless China gets what Elon Musk’s SpaceX boasts of—low-cost reusable rockets.
Data as our definitive storyteller: Why statistics must lead the narrative of the Indian economy’s emergence
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:00:49 ISTUnemployment, poverty and inflation numbers make headlines and stir political commentary, but are we deploying data as a credible tracker of India’s progress? Unless we tell our statistical story with clarity, candour and confidence, others could steal the narrative.
India’s climate progress may end up too haphazard without a coherent institutional framework
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:30:28 ISTIndia has made clear gains on renewable energy, green hydrogen and climate finance. But ambition alone won’t secure our transition to a net-zero economy. Without stronger governance systems in place and proper fiscal alignment, it could prove a struggle.
The end of history as a guide: Artificial intelligence is a sharp break, not just another tech revolution
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:00:28 ISTThe past is fast losing its reliability as a guide to the future in an age of exponentially evolving AI. As error rates drop and autonomous systems rewrite their own code, familiar economic maps begin to blur. Humans evolved to trust their memory, but prepare for an inflection point like none other.
New Delhi’s AI Impact Summit should get more ambitious: Aim for substance beyond the spectacle
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:30:03 ISTThe international AI huddle in New Delhi offers India an opportunity to forge global partnerships in the Global South's favour and push an inclusive agenda. But as geopolitics and business interests loom over the AI race, can this summit make a substantive difference to how this technology evolves?
Mint Quick Edit | India’s unemployment edges up—but job quality is the real challenge
Tue, 17 Feb 2026 07:00:43 ISTIndia’s unemployment rate rose in January, as both PLFS and CMIE data shows. But in an economy marked by informal work and weak productivity, the joblessness count matters less than the quality of jobs. On this score, ‘developed economy’ status seems very far away.
AI diffusion across India’s farms will hinge on earning the trust of farmers as much as infrastructure
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:00:19 ISTPilot runs of AI tools that assist farmers work out well but often run into patchy networks while scaling up. Thankfully, at least pathways have been laid, allowing the rapid rollout of Amul’s Sarlaben, for example. But mass diffusion will take much more.
Think America’s economy is unfair? The US upper middle class is to blame, not its billionaires
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 15:00:18 ISTAmerica is struggling to adjust to a sharp surge in upper-end affluence. As more families crowd into the affluent bracket, competition for upmarket homes, private schools and status goods intensifies, raising prices and fuelling a sense of unfairness.
Decline of the American empire? Why educational self-injury may turn out to be worse than financial
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 14:08:58 ISTAmerica’s gravest threat may not be China’s rise or dollar fatigue, but forces within that put its greatest advantage at risk—its university system, institutions and capacity for self-correction. Will this empire step back from the brink?
AI market evolution: Rivalry is heating up and putting software services in the firing line
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:30:36 ISTHeard of QuitGPT? The market for AI tools is better contested today, with users switching as mass models converge in capability. Specialized offerings have emerged too: AI agents like Anthropic’s now threaten entire layers of legacy software and services.
India-EU trade deal: Can we overcome Europe’s carbon barrier and adapt to its regulatory maze?
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:00:56 ISTThe India-EU FTA has been billed as a breakthrough, but tariffs are the easy part. Europe’s carbon border tax remains irrationally heavy while its maze of sustainability and other rules would need India’s export-oriented value chains to adapt.
India’s revised inflation gauge: Why we can look forward to superior policy outcomes
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:30:12 ISTIndia’s overhauled consumer price index (CPI) is a big relief. Now that it’s better placed to capture the cost of living as people actually experience it, policy formulation should improve. From here on, the statistics ministry mustn’t let key macro gauges get outdated again.
Mint Quick Edit | Artifice of intelligence? The big questions we can’t expect Big AI tools to answer
Mon, 16 Feb 2026 07:00:31 ISTAI agents eye human jobs as Big AI pushes for artificial general intelligence (AGI). This stirs up a job quota debate. But bigger riddles loom. Will Big AI gain global labour market dominance? Plus, how do we join the winning side of capitalism’s greatest gamble?
