RDI scheme: India can’t count on loans to set off an R&D boom
Thu, 03 Jul 2025 07:30:08 ISTThe government’s new low-cost credit scheme for research, development and innovation (RDI) in the private sector is unlikely to suffice in the face of a national urgency. We need R&D infrastructure and better-suited risk capital.
Mint Quick Edit | An American tariff of 500%? Absurd and unfair
Thu, 03 Jul 2025 07:00:07 ISTThat’s what Indian exports could be slapped with as a punitive US duty if a big ugly bill gets passed and India doesn’t quit buying Russian oil. Second order sanctions must stop.
India Inc is wisely betting on intrapreneurship to incubate innovation
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 16:00:06 ISTIndia’s next wave of ‘startup’ led growth could well emerge from within established companies that are fostering an entrepreneurial spirit. It’s easier said than done, though. Here’s what it takes.
What OpenAI has up its sleeve: An AI gadget mightier than the sword?
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:00:05 ISTSpeculation has arisen over Jonathan Ive (of Apple fame) designing a smart pen for OpenAI. If so, the designer’s love of minimalism may set it apart. The most disruptive new tech gizmo may well he one that feels least like technology.
Stiglitz & Cuerpo: The world has an opportunity to join hands on development again
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:00:04 ISTInitiatives being launched at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla represent only the beginning. Many pragmatic ideas exist that must be pursued if we are to put global development back on track.
China plus one: It’s a moving target that India can still strike
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 12:30:01 ISTInternational trade is in flux and India’s cost advantage is unclear, but we mustn’t lose time in laying the ground to become the world’s next factory as global manufacturers diversify away from China. Here are five areas that need urgent policy attention.
Devina Mehra: Investors mustn’t mix up apples and oranges while investing
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 12:05:01 ISTAn investment strategy demands utmost clarity on basic concepts. Asset classes are distinct from investment vehicles, for example, and allocation decisions on the former must be made first. Here’s how to go about it.
A composite index of financial conditions run by RBI is a promising idea
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:30:11 ISTA financial conditions index (FCI), as proposed by a paper in RBI’s monthly bulletin for June, could aid monetary policy. But such a tool can only be an input for human judgement—and correlation must never be confused with causation.
Mint Quick Edit | Can India’s ELI scheme generate 35 million jobs?
Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:00:11 ISTThe Union cabinet has approved an outlay of ₹1 trillion for employment-linked incentives aimed at job generation. Now let’s see if it can alter the recruitment appetite of businesses.
Rahul Matthan: Save open-source software from a tragedy of the commons
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 16:00:06 ISTOpen source tools are free but need upkeep that involves volunteers chipping in. Digital public goods that use such software are at risk of falling apart if we don’t find sufficient funds for maintenance. It’s a common problem that calls for wide cooperation.
Mayoral mystery: Why should New York City run a chain of grocery stores?
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 15:00:05 ISTAmericans have reason to be alarmed. Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposal, pitched as a call for market intervention against retail inflation, seems to go against the basics of capitalism.
António Guterres: The world needs a rescue plan for sustainable development
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:00:03 ISTThe Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla could help restore faith in global cooperation to achieve our common sustainability goals. The meeting isn’t about charity. It’s about justice and a future in which countries can thrive, build, trade and prosper together.
Open-book test: The art of dealing with Trump the deal-maker
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:30:01 ISTThe US president’s trade negotiations have revealed a preference for tactics he detailed in his 1980s book on deal-making. As some countries have already shown, this makes space—and offers cues—for effective counter strategies.
It’s time for India’s export strategy to converge its US and China tracks
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:00:01 ISTA US-China trade pact should prompt New Delhi to reshape its game plan to attract global value chains (GVCs) with both these big trade partners in mind. While China anchors our backward GVC linkages, the US can be our big export market. Let’s not risk slipping into a strategic grey zone.
Wholesome care: All hospitals should help their patients make living wills
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:30:13 ISTHinduja Hospital’s idea of formally offering this service needs to be replicated across the healthcare sector, especially by India’s many private hospitals. The legal option of rejecting life-support through an ‘advance medical directive’ must not languish in obscurity.
Mint Quick Edit | Financial stability must deliver service efficiency
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 07:00:14 ISTThe Reserve Bank of India’s latest ‘Financial Stability Report’ is heartening. Systemic risk is not a concern and India’s financial sector seems stable amid global flux. Stability, however, is just an enabler.
Why I Will Never Not Love London’s Elizabeth Line
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 17:02:29 ISTLondon’s crown-jewel railway has had its glitches, but on any broad assessment it has to be considered a resounding success.
India must watch out as the world’s security architecture shudders and shifts
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:00:07 ISTNato’s future is cloudy, even if its latest summit tried to convey success. Non-Nato powers have their own axes to grind, as recent times have shown. Amid all this flux, India must aim for self-reliance—especially in arming itself for national defence.
Andy Mukherjee: India's economy needs a revival of ‘animal spirits’, not cheaper credit
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:00:06 ISTThe Indian economy is not living up to its full potential, but the holdback isn't tight credit but lacklustre demand. Private sector investment is still far from what it should be and this isn’t a problem that monetary policy can resolve.
Pralhad Joshi: The International Solar Alliance has shone a path to clean energy
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:00:05 ISTThe International Solar Alliance (ISA) has rallied the world for a just and sustainable future. Its four pillars—a catalytic finance hub, capacity building, regional and country-level engagement and technology policy and roadmaps—can drive the Global South to embrace solar energy.
Ajit Ranade: What Mamdani’s rise in New York tells us about welfarism versus populism
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:30:02 ISTThere’s a crucial difference between the two, though real-world politics and policy often fail to keep them apart. Mamdani’s mayoral run has drawn gasps and shocked the US right, but his plan for the city might be just what it needs.
NHAI’s asset monetization strategy for roads is impressive but implementation is key
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 12:00:01 ISTThe National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has set out a well drafted and welcome strategic plan for using existing assets to fund new roads. Some elements of it, however, are open to debate. Here’s what could be done.
Tech evolution: Did Apple blink or think different in the race for artificial intelligence?
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 07:30:14 ISTA technology company that blinks at an inflection point in tech evolution risks its future. Apple Inc’s market value is under the shadow of AI, even as its Big Tech rivals grab the fancy of investors, but its core strength could see it ride out this wave
Mint Quick Edit | External front stability: Good news, but not entirely
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 07:00:14 ISTDespite global turbulence, India’s external balances are well within safety limits in the context of the economy’s macro stability. Capital flows, though, have been disappointing.
A new ‘terror pot’ that may be kept boiling for now
Mon, 30 Jun 2025 06:00:11 ISTIsrael has said Iran’s Khamenei regime was unpopular and, in effect, an organization of terrorists filled with religious hatred
Government-Owned Grocery Stores Aren’t the Solution
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:54:45 ISTWhether Zohran Mamdani’s goal is to address food scarcity or reduce prices, public ownership of supermarkets makes no sense.
The Supreme Court Is Right to Respect Parents’ Faith
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 17:50:40 ISTThe ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor should remind public schools that they’re working with parents, not competing against them.
Rajrishi Singhal: RBI’s mandate looks unlikely to include climate change
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 16:00:09 ISTClimate mandates for central banks have been opposed by Raghuram Rajan and others, but the risks posed by this crisis demand a response. Given India’s lengthy legislative process, the Reserve Bank of India is moving slowly but cautiously.
Productivity puzzle: Solow’s paradox has come to haunt AI adoption
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 15:30:08 ISTEconomist Robert Solow once quipped that computers were everywhere except in productivity statistics. As with information technology, a boost driven by artificial intelligence (AI) may not show up in economic data for decades on end.
GVA data haze: Has India been overcounting the output of its informal sector?
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 15:00:07 ISTThe statistical methods in use suggest that value addition in this sector may be lower than what India has officially recorded. Here is a deep delve into how we estimate the gross value added (GVA) by unorganized segments of major sectors like trade.
Manu Joseph: What being in awe of Israel actually says about people
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 14:00:06 ISTOne can be in awe of this tiny country’s capabilities and also be appalled by some of its actions. But that’s rare. Most of us are pushed to take sides for reasons we might only dimly be aware of.
Indian consumer habits: Second guess them at your own risk
Sun, 29 Jun 2025 13:00:05 ISTData across a decade’s span suggests that health consciousness and rising incomes have combined to alter consumption patterns in India. But the finer details of trends show surprises, so don’t jump to conclusions on what future decades hold.
ChatGPT is the perfect companion for a musical evening
Sat, 28 Jun 2025 12:19:57 ISTA ‘collaboration’ with AI led to the creation of amazing playlists and dazzling cover images.
Generative vs. Creative: A court verdict on AI training has exposed an Anthropic-shaped chink in US copyright law
Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:00:12 ISTThe recent ruling that okayed Anthropic’s use of ‘stolen books’ to train its AI model shows how copyright law loopholes can be exploited. If laws aren’t modified, the creative industry could face extinction.
No end to wars: Trump, Pakistan and the art of self-congratulation
Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:35:11 ISTPakistan’s cynical nomination of the US president for a Nobel Peace Prize tells us something grim about today’s world. Yet, as we just saw, performative diplomacy can quickly collapse. Both Pakistan and the US need to ponder the principles that underpin that prize
