India’s employment crisis: Jobless growth, threat of automation, and impact of climate change on productivity
Unemployment and underemployment have always been important issues in post-Independence India. We have always been a primarily agrarian, labour-surplus economy with low capital stock that has manifested in low industrial productivity and a largely non-remunerative, monsoon-dependent agricultural sector. Key metrics for measuring the health of the job market are the
Editor’s Note | Vaishna Roy writes: Will India vote for what really matters?
As Prime Minister Modi stokes divisive fears, can the opposition offer a compelling alternative focused on lives, livelihoods and liberties? As I write this, a blazing summer is well underway across the country accompanied by the return of vitriol to the campaign trail. Prime Minister Modi’s brazenly communal reference to
Food inflation in India has been accelerating at more than 8 per cent year-on-year since November 2023
At the halfway mark of India’s elections, food remains a pinch point, for both consumers and producers. Inflation numbers bear the pain out: even as the overall retail inflation rate remained virtually unchanged in April, food inflation surged to a four-month high of 8.7 per cent, where rural consumers bore
India’s first opium processing factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur stands as a testament to the region’s rich history
The opium factory in Ghazipur | Photo Credit: Anand Mishra India’s first opium processing factory, set up 200 years ago in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh (UP) is now a thing of the past. There was a time, recalls Rudra Narayan Tiwari, a former journalist-turned-taxi-driver from Tiwaripur when the factory, ‘Govt
Digital Darkness: India leads the world in internet shutdowns
WATCH | Digital Darkness: India leads the world in internet shutdowns In light of India’s ranking in global internet shutdowns, watch this explainer about the reasons behind such shutdowns, internet blackouts in other nations, resultant fallouts, and so on. | Video Credit: Camera and editing by Samson Ronald K.; Presented
SUM AND SUBSTANCE | The road ahead for India’s stock market following the formation of a new coalition government under Narendra Modi
India’s stock market crashed on June 4 as it became clear that the BJP would not make it past the halfway mark alone and that this was going to be an NDA-led coalition with much more say for regional partners on the one hand, and a much stronger opposition on
Gujarat: Before industry, comes the safety of lives
This year, Gujarat’s Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said his government aims to become a $500 billion economy by 2026-27. Much of this stellar growth, said Patel, was thanks to the State’s ease of doing business, investor-friendly approach and robust industrial infrastructure. By extension, it would make sense that a State
Modi’s economic policies are primarily driven by political objectives rather than substantive economic concerns
Modi’s policies have caused an unusual increase of income and wealth concentration in the hands of a few business houses. | Photo Credit: AMIIT DAVE/REUTERS The election results, which gave both the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance a far fewer number of seats than they had in the previous
Economic Survey 2023-24: Growth Prospects, China Strategy, AI Impact
The Indian economy is on a strong wicket, despite geopolitical challenges, says the Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in the Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 22. The Survey, authored by Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran and his team, is an annual document presented by the government
Coalition Pressures, Middle-class Squeeze, and Execution Gaps Mar BJP’s Post-election Budget
In the snap TV analysis post Budget, an industry head struggled to find the right adjectives to commend what he had just heard. “Frankly, I like the Budget,” he said, and added, “I think it is a good Budget” before pausing to hit home the central takeaway: “It is time