ContextGlobal trend: Government bond yields have risen across major economies since the US–Iran war began on February 27, reflecting higher borrowing costs amid inflationary pressures and supply disruptions.China’s exception: Unlike other major econo...
Context: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised India’s GDP growth forecast for 2026–27 to 7% from 6.4% in July, citing resilient domestic demand and services-led growth. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also raised its growth projection to 7.1%...
Context: Recent reports on industrial injuries, wage theft and protests over stagnant wages highlight how the classification of workers as ‘unskilled’ often leads to lower wages, inadequate safety measures and denial of benefits, despite their practi...
Context: India’s retail inflation rose to 5.54% in September, from 4.83% in August, indicating generalisation or spread of inflation across a wider range of goods and services. The RBI has acknowledged emerging signs of elevated inflation expectation...
Context: Retail inflation rose to 5.54% in September, an almost two-year high, keeping headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation above the RBI’s 4% target for the fourth consecutive month; rural inflation reached 6.08%, while rural food inflation...
Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to 7.1%, from 6.9% at the beginning of the year, 6.6% in June and 6.7% in August, reflecting stronger-than-expected economic performance despite ge...
Context: The 57th meeting of the GST Council introduced major procedural and administrative reforms aimed at simplifying compliance, reducing taxpayer harassment, limiting official discretion and improving the ease of doing business, as GST enters it...
Context: Gross inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) reached a record $94.8 billion in FY 2025–26, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data. UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026 ranked India 11th among global FDI destinations, following a 44%...
Context: The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) shifted its stance in the October review and raised the policy rate, reflecting a reassessment of the balance between growth and inflation risks.Although India’s economy has remained resilient despit...
Context: India faces a difficult external-sector situation because it runs a structural trade deficit with China while maintaining a trade surplus with the U.S.The surplus with the U.S. helps partly offset the deficit with China, but higher U.S. tari...
Context: The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026 has triggered a fresh Centre–State dispute over the regulation and taxation of mineral resources.The amendment expands the Centre’s regulatory powers and places restrict...
Context: A World Bank forecast warns of a potential global employment crisis: around 1.2 billion young people in the Global South are expected to reach working age over the coming decade, while only about 400 million viable jobs may be generated.This...
Context: Nearly a decade after adopting the 2015 Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), India is revising its model to make it more responsive to changing investment practices and more investor-friendly.The Union Budget 2025-26 announced the propos...
Context: India has crossed 300 GW of installed renewable-energy capacity and ranks among the world's leading renewable-energy deployers, but rapid capacity addition has not always translated into electricity availability during peak-demand periods, p...
Context: India’s foreign investment policy faces a contradiction: despite recognising the importance of foreign capital, delays in reforming the 2016 Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and the restrictive investment-protection framework may be a...
Context: India’s agricultural transformation over the past six decades has delivered food security and high production of cereals, milk, fruits, vegetables and fisheries.The next phase of transformation needs to focus on rural prosperity, by enabling...
Context: SpaceX’s reported efforts to remove Chinese-made components from its supply chain illustrate a broader restructuring of global production.The shift is moving beyond relocating final assembly towards reducing dependence on Chinese suppliers,...
Context: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued detailed guidelines to bring uniformity and consistency in the design, construction and specifications of high-speed corridors.These corridors include access-controlled national high...
Context: Quality Control Orders (QCOs) are mandatory quality regulations that require specified products to conform to prescribed standards, generally certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).India has significantly expanded QCO coverage to...
Context: India’s expanding network of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is creating an opportunity to strengthen India’s domestic commercial arbitration ecosystem.India has signed BITs with the United Arab Emirates...
Context: E20 petrol contains 80% motor gasoline and 20% anhydrous ethanol by volume. India began retailing E20 in February 2023, when public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) introduced it at selected outlets.The policy aims to reduce crude oil d...
Context: Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose from 4.45% in July to 4.8% in August, indicating renewed price pressures.Inflation is increasingly broad-based, with pressures emerging across food, non-food and core inflati...
Context: In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi identified manufacturing power as the first of the seven Saptadhara streams for achieving Viksit Bharat, with a focus on harnessing India's demographic potential.India's growth st...
Context: India’s rapid economic growth has not been matched by adequate job creation, wage growth, private investment and productivity gains, raising concerns about a possible middle-income, low-productivity trap.The challenge extends beyond external...
Context: Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Associations (FADA) data show that total vehicle registrations rose 17.5% year-on-year in August 2026, reaching the highest-ever August volume, with compressed natural gas (CNG), electric and hybrid powertra...
Context: Oil-marketing companies (OMCs) raised the price of commercial LPG cylinders by about ₹10 from September 1, after two consecutive months of decline. The 19-kg cylinder in Delhi now costs ₹2,747.5, while the 14.2-kg domestic cylinder price rem...
Context: After nearly 36 years without an A-grade sovereign rating, India received a major upgrade from the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) on September 2, raising its long-term sovereign rating from BBB+ to A-. The upgrade reflects confidence in In...
Context: India has completed a decade of formal inflation targeting (IT) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The framework aims to maintain Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation at 4%, with a tolerance band of ±2 percentage points. However, evidence p...
Context: India’s Q1 FY2026-27 GDP growth was reported at ~7.8%, a historically strong rate.Despite this, public trust in official GDP figures appears weak, reflecting a gap between headline growth and lived economic experience.India also shifted to a...
Context: India is reportedly revising its 2015 Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), with the revised text expected to be placed before the Union Cabinet.The proposed revision follows the 2025 Union Budget announcement on revamping the 2015 M...
Context: Nuclear scientist Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, has advocated introducing thorium-based fuel into India’s indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) fleet alongside the existing three-stage n...
Context: A former Finance Secretary questioned the official Q1 FY 2026-27 GDP growth estimates of 7.8% in real terms and 10.3% in nominal terms, suggesting substantially lower growth.However, the criticism incorrectly combines old-series and new-seri...
Context: The National Statistical Office (NSO) released a new series of National Accounts Statistics (NAS), reporting manufacturing GVA of ₹38.6 lakh crore in 2023-24, equal to 14.7% of GDP at current prices.An alternative estimate based on official...
Context: China is the world’s largest trade-surplus economy, with a trade surplus of around $1.2 trillion, and accounts for nearly 30% of global manufacturing output.Its manufacturing dominance is supported by government subsidies, state-directed fin...
Context: A 10-year JGB yield above 3% provides Japanese institutional investors with an increasingly attractive domestic investment opportunity.For investors with long-term liabilities, particularly Japanese life insurers, higher domestic yields...
Context: Rising Japanese government bond (JGB) yields are making domestic Japanese bonds increasingly attractive, potentially reversing Japan’s long-standing flow of capital into overseas bond markets.The 3% yield threshold is particularly significan...
Context: The U.S. Senate has passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, 2026, which proposes sanctions and additional trade restrictions linked to Russia.A key provision authorises tariffs of up to 100% on countries among the five...
Context: Real GDP growth in April–June 2026 (Q1 FY2026-27) stood at 7.8%, well above the expected 6–7%, despite concerns over the West Asia crisis.The growth was broad-based, led by manufacturing and services, indicating that it was not merely a stat...
ContextIndia enters its next employment decade after expanding infrastructure, formalisation, financial inclusion, skilling and entrepreneurship.RBI’s KLEMS productivity database estimates employment rose from 47.15 crore in 2014–15 to 64.33 crore in...
Context: Despite global disruptions arising from the West Asia conflict, India’s macroeconomic indicators have remained stronger than initially expected.GDP growth has remained above 7%, while inflation has stayed relatively contained and the current...
Context: Despite the West Asia conflict, India's economic growth has remained resilient, with GDP growth potentially reaching around 8% in the latest quarter, supported by strong automobiles, credit, exports and corporate earnings.However, much of th...
Context: India's Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, initially designed to support sugar mills and cane farmers, is increasingly becoming dependent on grain-based ethanol, raising concerns over food security, water use and the sustainability of h...
Context: Retail sugar prices reportedly rose sharply from around ₹45 to ₹65/kg within a month, with the ethanol-blending programme being blamed; however, the article attributes the rise mainly to lower sugar production and delayed government policy r...
Context: Andhra Pradesh, particularly Visakhapatnam (Vizag), is emerging as India’s third major international subsea digital gateway after Mumbai and Chennai, driven by new data centres and submarine cables.Key Prelims FactsI-2SEA (India–Southeast As...
Context: Recent disruptions linked to West Asia have highlighted India’s vulnerability to prolonged interruptions in energy supplies.India has substantial capacity to import crude oil, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), bu...
Context: Andhra Pradesh, particularly Visakhapatnam (Vizag), is emerging as India’s third major international subsea digital gateway after Mumbai and Chennai, driven by new data centres and submarine cables.Key Prelims FactsI-2SEA (India–Southeast As...
Context: Recent disruptions linked to West Asia have highlighted India’s vulnerability to prolonged interruptions in energy supplies.India has substantial capacity to import crude oil, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), bu...
