IPA Staff
16492 stories by IPA Staff
Petrol, Diesel Levies Need Drastic Cuts For Inflation Control, Economic Growth
By Nantoo Banerjee The central excise duty cut on petrol and diesel oil to help petro-fuel producers and marketeers partly cover their losses on account of the rising crude oil import prices is an internal government matter. It is not meant to have any impact on retail prices which...
India Faces Multi-Layered Set Of Risks At The Onset Of FY2026-27
By Dr. Gyan Pathak On the very onset of the Financial Year 2026-27, beginning from April 1, 2026, India faces a multi-layered set of risks, given its position as a major energy importer with strong trade, investment, and remittance linkages with the West Asia region, which has turned into...
Four Weeks Of Israeli-American War On Iran: Remaking Of The World
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers NEW YORK: It began, as these things often do, with the language of certainty. Targeted strikes. Decisive blows. A crippled nuclear program and a supreme leader dead. Washington and Tel Aviv declared the opening salvos of their campaign against Iran a strategic masterstroke — a...
Battle Royale For Kerala Assembly: UDF Majority, Or LDF Hat-Trick?
By Kalyani Shankar After a decade in the Opposition, the Congress party is striving to regain its influence in Kerala ahead of the 2026 elections. The Congress-led UDF wants to snatch power, bolstered by strong results in past Lok Sabha elections and local body polls. The ruling CPI(M) is...
Shah’s Chargesheet Against Mamata: Doomed Move To Sway Bengalis
By Arun Srivastava As Union Home Minister, Amit Shah has brazenly criminalised Indian politics under the saffron Raj. Now, the tone and tenor of his chargesheet against West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Banerjee, which he unveiled on March 27 in Calcutta, provides ample clue towards...
Will PM Modi’s Much-Hyped Visit Boost BJP’s Poll Prospects In Kerala?
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Kerala are over the moon in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to pep up the party’s election campaign. Understandable. They think it will give a big boost to the party’s chances of winning a couple...
Samajwadi Party Launches Mission 2027 With Huge Rally In Western UP
By Pradeep Kapoor LUCKNOW: The successful launch of Mission 2027 by the Samajwadi Party assembly election campaign at a massive rally at Dadri on Sunday boosted the morale of leaders and workers in Western UP, considered to be stronghold of ruling BJP. The selection of the venue at Dadri...
Ghost In The Ledger: Digital Buccaneer Tycoons Hoodwinking Banks
By T N Ashok The glass towers of Bandra-Kurla Complex gleam with the sterile promise of a modern economy, but their foundations rest on a history of spectacular wreckage. For seven decades, thirteen Indian Prime Ministers—from the socialist idealism of Jawaharlal Nehru to the digital muscularity of Narendra Modi—have...
An Ode To The Thespian Utpal Dutt On His 97th Birth Anniversary
By Tirthankar Mitra Think of an actor equally at home on stage and screen, and Utpal Dutt whose birth anniversary was on March 29, comes to mind first. With an English accent which would have made even an Englishman envious, coupled with mannerisms to match, Dutt would have been...
‘No Kings’ Protests Symbolises Global Frustration With Trump
By Asad Mirza More than 3,000 ‘No Kings’ protests against the Trump administration were held across America and in more than a dozen countries on Saturday (March 27), according to a coalition of organisers that included “anti-authoritarian” groups – Indivisible and 50501, labour unions and other grassroots organisations. Saturday,...
WTO Debates Five-Year Extension Of Global Ban On Ecommerce Tariffs
NEW DELHI: As the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) 14th ministerial conference (MC14) drew to a close on Sunday, member nations were considering a five-year extension of the global ban on ecommerce tariffs, even as India continued to resist a long-term moratorium citing concerns over revenue loss, a Bloomberg report...
US-India Partnership Set For ‘Win-Win’ Economic Growth
NEW DELHI: India’s growing economy and massive infrastructure needs align perfectly with American expertise in energy, advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure and both sides are well-positioned for a ‘win-win’ expansion of their strategic economic pillar, US Ambassador Sergio Gor has said. The envoy said the two countries are prioritising...
Global Shocks, $140-Billion Fuel Bill Push Electrification Pivot
NEW DELHI: An annual $140-billion oil & gas import bill, power demand projecting to grow 6.4% annually, and back-to-back global disruptions – from Russian oil to the Iran war – exposing vulnerabilities, electrification is emerging as a central pillar of India’s energy strategy. A Bernstein report said India’s energy...
RBI’s Forced Dollar Unwind To Keep Rupee From Sliding, Bruise Banks
MUMBAI: The RBI’s unorthodox move to steady the rupee by forcing banks to unwind foreign exchange positions beyond $100 million will prevent its slide towards 95, even as markets fret over a possible escalation in the Iran conflict and the prospect of a US ground invasion. The move will...
Microfinance Sector Back On Track With Higher-Value Loans
KOLKATA: The microfinance market recorded a month-on-month growth in gross loan portfolio in February, with large lenders increasing loan disbursements to customers with robust track record. The sector’s total book size stood at Rs 3.29 lakh crore at the end of February, up 2.5% over the previous month, according...
Energy Markets See Through Shallow Peace Talk, Move On Their Own Terms
By K Raveendran US President Donald Trump’s attempt to jawbone oil lower has run into the hard edge of market reality. At the start, the strategy appeared to work. When he signalled that peace talks with Iran were possible and suggested a diplomatic opening, crude quickly gave back a...
Centre Bleeds, States Gain: India’s Fuel Tax Compact Is Breaking
By R. Suryamurthy Strip away the political theatre around fuel price relief, and what emerges is not a story of benevolence, but of a fiscal system stretched to its limits — and increasingly out of balance. India’s latest excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel are not just a...
AI-Driven Automation Could Close Off Many Pathways To Decent Work
By Dr. Gyan Pathak AI-Driven automation could close off many pathways to decent work, including clerical and administrative positions, particularly for women and young workers, which historically represent relatively higher-quality jobs in lower-income countries. Not only that, the disruption by Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in developing economies may materialize...
