Opinion
AI guzzles a lot of power but recent deals by Big Tech players like Google and Microsoft point to renewed interest in using nuclear energy. While AI may worsen the climate emergency, AI optimists hope it’ll eventually help the world solve it as well.
In the Indian context, headline inflation is a better yardstick of the impact of prices on people’s well-being than some truncated construct. The Reserve Bank of India has good reason to stick to the price gauge it had been using as a guide for monetary policy
Exit polls aren’t always reliable but they’re pointing to wins for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. This will be a relief for investors who’d rather not face any policy shifts in the former.
The group’s plans to challenge the supremacy of the US dollar did not get far at its recent summit in Russia, even if polite noises were made. This failure to make headway should not surprise anyone.
Unilever had bought ice-cream maker B&J in 2000 partly because of its image as a brand with a conscience. But a row over Israel’s approach to Palestinians between the brand and its owner has gone to court—even as Unilever plans to exit the ice-cream market altogether.
India urgently needs a fresh assessment of the government’s staffing needs so that salaries can be rationalized and its fiscal burden eased. Even if demands get louder for a new Pay Commission, we must not simply go in for another round of pay hikes for government employees.
The country must start paying off its huge international debts from 2028 onwards. Only wide-ranging economic reforms would place it in a financial position to do so.
It has been established that all humans are susceptible to hindsight bias. We tend to think we knew an event’s outcome in advance, although this is just our mind playing tricks on us.
WhatsApp’s owner was fined by the Competition Commission of India for abusing its dominance of social media, but what it did to earn that penalty also sparked an online stir over privacy—the protection of which under India’s new law on personal data is keenly awaited.
Moscow has changed its nuclear doctrine after Washington’s go-ahead for Kyiv to use key weapons in Russian territory. The changes raise uncertainty over what Moscow might do and leave the world less safe.
It’s important to embed regulation in digital infrastructure. And it’s technically possible for a software update to enforce India’s consent-based privacy law on users of this financial data-sharing network.
As the clock ticks on, the world must come up quickly with win-win solutions that favour everyone’s well-being. The good news is that clean energy is getting cheaper and what’s good for the planet is also good for our economies.
There are cognitive costs to analyse too, as the recent US experience and election result tell us. Research shows that price instability makes households rejig budgets and worry, so the pain experienced is not just financial. It isn’t easily captured either by the data that policymakers track.
The outcome of America’s presidential election wasn’t just about who ran and on what campaign planks this time around. It was in line with a few global trends that has deeper implications for.
All equity records tell us that nobody can say for sure which way share prices will go. If we have a market full of ‘experts’ who express high confidence in the future, blame the incentive structure they operate under.
Last week’s test of an indigenous hypersonic missile by India’s DRDO marks a leap in technology and updates the country’s nuclear deterrence. But dangers lurk in the global race to develop these speedy and sneaky weapons, with new risks posed by the increased role played by AI in how these operate
India could celebrate robust demand for airline services as the single-day count of domestic passengers rose above half a million for the first time. The flip-side, however, is that supply is a major constraint and air-fares might also stay high as too many flyers chase too few seats.
Some welfarism is needed. Also, the state must set standards and enable fair competition, but the state must act as an enlightened referee rather than umpire, player and promotion board for India to achieve its development goals.
With Jakarta’s recent warming of relations with Beijing under Washington’s probable scanner, Indonesia would have to ensure its geopolitical neutrality doesn’t come under doubt. Its balancing act could get harder.
The 2024 US presidential election is one of those rare instances where there is palpable fear—in America and around the world—that the winner will actually follow through. The risks of Trump’s proposals are such.
Four transformations will be key. India must become the world’s next big factory, farming should be modernized, decarbonization needs to quicken and women-led growth must be unleashed. Industry is ready to help on all four.
Workplace mental health starts with leadership. For employees to thrive, they need an inclusive environment that’s free of discrimination backed by corporate policies of reasonable accommodation and support.
India’s packaged food majors should drive a food-processing revolution and run a campaign for substitution of fresh-veggie demand. This could crush price volatility, make inflation easier to tame and make room for the central bank to ease monetary policy in response to slowing growth.
As John Kerry reminded his audience at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, capping global warming remains a big challenge. As carbon emissions keep rising and the US looks set to flip its climate policy, can market forces make up for deficiencies of policy?
Who would believe while looking at our society— divided over caste, religion, region, and language— that we belong to a glorious tradition of nature worshippers?
Comprehensive tariff reforms, an initiative announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech, aimed at fixing import duty inversions can arrest the ‘cost competitiveness leak’ of Indian manufacturing, boost ‘Make in India’ and support economic growth.
A new paper reveals just how strong our obsession with quantification has become. Just think of the irrational love of ratings on e-commerce sites like Amazon. And it’s not serving us well.
One ray of hope at CoP-29 is that ground rules for a global carbon market were ratified. Another is news that UNFCCC parties have agreed to work out a new climate financing goal. And corporate participation had been high too.
Eight years ago, one could argue that a sense of shame would rescue the national capital region from foul winter air. Today, it’s clear that hasn’t happened. Does the country lack the will and talent needed?
The US president-elect’s stance on world affairs is bound to ruffle feathers across the globe, with many nations likely to review their current alignments. India has less to worry about, sure, but that doesn’t mean risks do not exist.
Governments need to prepare for the inevitability of both a young and ageing civil service to ensure delivery outcomes are not undermined. There are instructive examples of where and how they can do this.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House may prove a challenge for Indian policymakers in many ways, especially if a trade war erupts and in fields where interests diverge, but New Delhi has domestic concerns of inflation and slowing output growth to deal with first.
This year’s Booker prize winner, Samantha Harvey’s ‘Orbital’ is no ordinary page-turner. It turns our gaze to the planet from orbit and reminds us of the climate disaster that looms. Can odes sung to Earth move the world to act in its defence? Or is it a lost cause?
Bitcoin is back to hitting new peaks as cryptos shrug off recent scandals in the crypto-sphere. Trump’s favour could mean easier regulation, but that doesn’t mean a long-awaited crypto revolution is here.
RBI has tightened its regulation of banks considerably but bankers rarely show resistance in public. This doesn’t mean they have little to say about stiff rules. With regulators globally striving to keep up with advancing technology, RBI would gain by lending bankers a closer ear.
