Why the DPDP Act is India’s big digital win
Posted: Dec 2, 2025 at 3:30 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The Supreme Court’s 2017 verdict, which held privacy to be a fundamental right, set the ball rolling for a comprehensive structure for protecting digital personal data. Eight years later on November 13, 2025, the MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) formally notified the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) rules 2025, putting India’s first comprehensive data law into full effect[…]
Indian GDP growth story in the shadow of a US tariff
Posted: Dec 1, 2025 at 1:28 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
After the United States imposed a steep 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods on August 27, dismay and concerns over India’s growth outlook intensified across markets, policy circles and industry.
Several analysts moved swiftly to revise their projections downward, expecting GDP growth to slip closer to 6 per cent for 2025–26. The tariff shock, aimed largely at labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, jewellery and seafood, introduced a fresh layer of uncertainty at a time when global trade was already weakening under the weight of geopolitical tensions, rising protectionism and softening demand in major economies […]
COP30: Finance, forests, and fractured frontiers of global climate
Posted: Nov 27, 2025 at 3:24 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The Amazon Moment: Context and Symbolism
COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, carried a weight few climate summits have borne. Convened deep inside the Amazon rainforest—the planet’s largest carbon sink and a living symbol of both fragility and hope—the conference marked a decade since the Paris Agreement. It unfolded against a backdrop of escalating climate extremes, record heatwaves, and widening adaptation gaps. […]
Moody’s projects a steady growth for India through 2027
Posted: Nov 24, 2025 at 12:48 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Moody’s Ratings has delivered a cautiously optimistic assessment of India’s economic trajectory, projecting that the country will maintain growth of around 6.5 per cent through 2027. In its latest macroeconomic report titled “Global Macro 2026: India’s Growth Will Be Steady but Subdued in 2026,” the agency reiterates that India continues to defy global economic strains, geopolitical uncertainty, and even targeted tariff increases by the United States. The report keeps India’s GDP growth forecast unchanged at 6.4 per cent for 2026 and 6.5 per cent for 2027 […]
A Strategic Leap towards Global Banking Giants
Posted: Nov 17, 2025 at 4:06 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
As India eyes its transition into the world’s third-largest economy, the government is quietly crafting an ambitious redesign of its banking landscape: the revival of public sector bank consolidation.
The renewed push, coming after a six-year pause, is rooted in a long-term vision to create two Indian banking giants that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s top 20 banks and fuel the country’s next phase of growth. […]
Turning Climate Commitments into Market Opportunity
Posted: Nov 4, 2025 at 5:31 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
When negotiators left Baku after COP 29 (Conference of the Parties), the global carbon-market landscape finally had a shape. Years of wrangling over Article 6 of the Paris Agreement—the rulebook for how countries can trade verified emission reductions—had produced workable text. For India, this was the moment to move from commitment to construction […]
Shield MSMEs from Global Trade Headwinds
Posted: Nov 3, 2025 at 1:43 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Contrary to widespread apprehensions that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth might falter following the steep 50 per cent tariff imposed by the United States (US) on Indian goods, the country’s growth outlook remains resilient in the near term. […]
The Rise of Integrated Aviation Hubs
Posted: October 30, 2025 at 3:48 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India has now emerged as the world’s fifth-largest aviation market. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) data revealed in that India handled 211 million passengers in 2024, an 11.1 per cent increase from the previous year, moving past Japan. Only the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Spain are ahead of India. […]
India in a Softening Rate World: Navigating Strategic Opportunities and Risks
Posted: Sep 23, 2025 at 4:30 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The US Federal Reserve’s decision on September 17, 2025, to cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.00-4.25% marks more than a technical adjustment. It represents a pivotal inflection in global monetary policy, reflecting mounting concerns about slowing employment growth and growth sustainability in the world’s largest economy. After nine months of holding steady […]
India’s maritime sector riding high on a wave of reforms
Posted: September 9, 2025 at 4:12 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India, with a coastline that is approximately 11,098 km long, spanning nine states and four Union Territories, boasts one of the busiest trade routes in the world. The country has 12 major and 200 minor ports, besides 30 shipyards. In terms of merchant shipping fleets, India is ranked 20th in the world. According to a FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) report, seaways facilitate 70 per cent […]
India gets decisive with an online gaming law
Posted: Sep 5, 2025 at 2:18 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India’s sweeping Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 has imposed a blanket ban on all real-money online games, triggering sharp debate and legal challenges. The government has cited addiction, fraud, and money laundering risks. While critics argue the ban ignores distinctions between skill and chance-based games […]
MSMEs are key to building a robust, self-reliant India
Posted: September 2, 2025 at 4:36 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) hold the key to India’s ambition of becoming a USD 30 trillion economy and a global manufacturing hub in the next two decades.
So, MSMEs are not only desirable, but they are essential to building a robust, self-reliant, and inclusive economy.
Yet, these small units are vulnerable to economic upheavals […]
GST 2.0: Will the reform bring fewer slabs and cheaper essentials?
Posted: Aug 26, 2025 at 12:06 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The GST, launched with much fanfare at midnight on July 1, 2017, is poised for its biggest revamp yet. Eight years after its rollout, the government is preparing a GST 2.0 by Diwali 2025, aiming to simplify India’s indirect tax structure and boost consumption. The plan—endorsed by a Group of Ministers—proposes […]
India’s Agri Export Boom: Context, Challenges, and Future Outlook
Posted: August 25, 2025 at 4:15 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India has consistently been a net exporter of agricultural goods, shipping more farm produce overseas than it imports for decades now. In sharp contrast, the broader merchandise sector—including engineering, textiles, and manufacturing—has struggled to gain momentum, revealing structural weaknesses outside agriculture […]
Towards realising the dream of a developed India
Posted: Aug 5, 2025 at 14:26 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India’s ambition to become a developed nation by 2047 hinges on sustained high economic growth, inclusive development and institutional reforms. With an execution-driven vision, India can achieve its aspiration of becoming a USD 30 trillion economy by the 100th year of its independence.[…]
Now is the time to Invest in Bharat: the Small-City Hubs
Posted: July 22, 2025 at 12:44 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
For decades, India’s startup narrative was synonymous with Bengaluru’s tech corridors, Mumbai’s financial hustle, and Delhi’s political pulse. These metropolitan giants—home to the largest funding rounds, incubators, and talent pools—naturally drew the spotlight. But as the ecosystem matures and metros become saturated, investors and innovators are turning their gaze to a different horizon: Bharat […]
Gold versus Silver in 2025: Why white metal might outshine its yellow peer?
Posted: July 21, 2025 at 14:25 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Silver has gained with an even higher fervour but it still remains undervalued and offers higher potential returns than gold. This is reflected in the gold-to-silver ratio which is currently hovering over the 90 mark against the historic average of 50-80.
Bullion, long regarded as a safe haven, has truly lived up to its reputation in 2025—a year marked by heightened uncertainty on multiple fronts. Both gold and silver have posted impressive gains, outperforming most major asset classes,[…]
Government rightly bets Rs 1 lakh crore on Talent to Product Innovation
Posted: July 14, 2025 at 11:59 am | Author: Manish Marwah
One reason why the Indian industry was lagging behind China in the global supply chain was a lack of resource allocation for research and development. As a result, innovation suffered, and so did manufacturing. Manufacturing share in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been hovering around 15-16 per cent for decades […]
India’s Role in Climate Resilience and Global Climate Diplomacy
Posted: July 9, 2025 at 16:39 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India’s role in a warming world is proving to be vital, thanks to its demographic edge, expanding economy, consolidating geo-political position, and as a significant energy consumer and a prospective green solution provider.
The recently concluded Group of Seven (G7) summit, wherein India participated as a guest country, can be an ideal case in point. […]
Are Ferrite Magnets the Way Forward for India, moving over Rare Earths?
Posted: June 24, 2025 at 8:55 am | Author: Manish Marwah
The impact of the trade tussle between the US and China has engulfed the entire world with Beijing restricting the export of rare earth minerals. China being the producer or supplier of 90 per cent of the world’s rare earth minerals, the move has hit sectors such as defence, energy, automobile makers, aerospace manufacturers […]
Looking beyond 4th largest economy tag to make India developed
Posted: June 17, 2025 at 17:21 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
India will likely be the fourth-largest economy in the world in 2025, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 4.19 trillion by overtaking Japan.
This is noteworthy and impressive as the Indian economy’s ranking moved just by two places from 12th to 10th in 2004-2014, but it improved sharply to 5th place in the next decade between 2014 and 2024. […]
RBI delivers a bonanza for FY26, finally!
Posted: June 11, 2025 at 6:29 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The RBI’s latest rate action is a strong signal of its intent to support growth in a cautious global environment. If executed well, this policy move could lay the foundation for a broader economic revival in the second half of FY26. […]
The Promise of Green Hydrogen for De-carbonization
Posted: May 30, 2025 at 16:24 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Green hydrogen, produced by electrolyzing water using renewable energy, has long been heralded as a clean energy panacea. Today, the global energy sector is transitioning from pilot projects to real-world applications, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors like heavy transport, aviation, and industry. As a result, green hydrogen has moved from a niche concept to a centrepiece of global decarbonization strategies. […]
Debt, deals, and dilemmas in the US economy
Posted: May 26, 2025 at 3:11 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The convergence of escalating national debt, assertive trade policies, and a cautiously optimistic economic environment underscores the complexities facing the US economy. Policymakers and stakeholders must navigate these challenges to ensure sustainable growth and financial stability in the years ahead. […]
India-UK FTA to boost labour-intensive apparel & textile sector
Posted: May 16, 2025 at 15:46 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
After painstaking negotiations for over three years, India and the United Kingdom (UK) marked a major milestone in bilateral relations on May 6, when the two countries finalised a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The deal, linking the fourth and sixth largest economies in the world, aims to strengthen strategic partnership and boost trade between the two countries. […]
Let a deep interest rate cut rev up domestic levers of growth
Posted: May 7, 2025 at 4:31 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
It was not surprising when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank cut India’s growth projection by 30 basis points (bps) to 6.2 per cent and by 40 bps to 6.3 per cent for 2025-26, respectively, due to higher trade tensions and global uncertainty. […]
Will tariff war ruffle USD, inviting slowdown and weaning its appeal?
Posted: April 23, 2025 at 12:49 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
The greenback’s near-nine-per-cent fall in 2025 so far can be attributed to multiple factors, including the US’ rising debt, fears of recession and actions of the central banks across the globe. But President Donald Trump’s disruptive streak with regular policy flip-flops has only accentuated the problem and has reduced the appeal of the world’s reserve currency, the US Dollar. […]
“New Drone Fund” and India’s local and global dreams
Posted: April 22, 2025 at 12:01 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
A new Centre-backed fund is being budgeted to foster a self-sustaining drone ecosystem for development, manufacturing, and adoption of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), including civilian anti-UAS systems.[…]
Indian FMCG sector set to soar, but salespersons issue seeks attention
Posted: April 9, 2025 at 10:48 am | Author: Manish Marwah
After a tumultuous 2024, the FMCG industry hopes to gallop ahead in 2025, riding on rising disposable incomes, urbanization, digital penetration, and shifting consumer preferences. Inflation primarily contributed to last year’s slowdown […]
Trump’s posturing of a hard bargainer has potential pitfalls
Posted: April 1, 2025 at 4:45 pm | Author: Manish Marwah
Over time, the US losing its manufacturing prowess is because other countries have upped their game and are offering cheaper solutions across the board. China’s AI company DeepSeek’s growing dominance at the cost of Nvidia, or BYD’s (Chinese EV car company) global clout over Tesla are a glaring example.[…]