IPA Staff
16505 stories by IPA Staff
Thailand, Cambodia Resuming Border War Again Has A Bad Omen For The Region
By Tirthankar Mitra A ceasefire imposed rather than agreed upon rarely lasts long. The renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia is a case in point. A truce brokered earlier this year marked a lull in hostilities. It was pushed on the two neighbouring countries by US President Donald Trump...
U.S. Blockade Of Venezuela Is Also An Indirect Attack On Cuba
By W. T. Whitney, Jr. NEW YORK: Hitting two birds with one stone, the U.S. government, top-level disturber of the peace now brandishing a Caribbean armada, is striking out against Venezuela—and Cuba too, indirectly. The U.S. military on December 10 seized a large oil tanker in the Caribbean bound...
At $4.4 Billion, Shriram Finance To Get India’s Largest Financial-Sector FDI
MUMBAI: Leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) Shriram Finance on Friday said Japan-based MUFG Bank would invest ₹39,618 crore, or $4.4 billion, to acquire a 20 per cent stake on a fully diluted basis through a preferential issue of equity shares. This will be the largest foreign direct investment (FDI)...
Neutral Policy Gives Flexibility To RBI To Act Amid Evolving Conditions: Governor
MUMBAI: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said that a neutral monetary policy stance would give flexibility to the central bank to act according to the evolving macroeconomic conditions while voting for a 25 basis points cut in repo rate, along with five other MPC members. The Reserve Bank of...
India’s Trade Deficit With China May Reach $106 Billion In 2025: GTRI
NEW DELHI: India’s trade deficit with China is expected to reach $106 billion in 2025 as imports are rising faster than the country’s exports to the neighbouring country, think tank GTRI said on Friday. It said that the country’s exports to China fell from $23 billion in 2021 to...
Donald Trump Signs Defence Law Backing Deeper India-US Ties, QUAD
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has signed into law an annual defence policy bill that highlights broadening America’s engagement with India, including through the Quad to advance the shared objective of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and address the challenge posed by China. The National Defence Authorisation...
Funds For Rural Roads Scheme Grossly Underutilised
NEW DELHI: The Centre has spent only about Rs 2,000 crore so far in the current financial year under the flagship Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), accounting for just 10.5% of the Rs 19,000 crore allocated for the scheme in the Union Budget. Even if another Rs 2,000...
Narendra Modi Govt Brings To An End Two Decade Old Rural Job Scheme MGNREGA
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Two decades old Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 is finally replaced by Viksit Bharat – Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill 2025 on the last day of the Winter Session of the Parliament on December 19....
Trump’s Tariff Hike Squeezes India’s Exports Leaving States Counting Losses
By T N Ashok India’s export-led growth strategy is facing its most severe test in years as sweeping U.S. tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump ripple through the country’s manufacturing heartland, triggering order cancellations, factory slowdowns and mounting job losses. Nowhere is the pain more visible than in Tamil...
World Bank Methodology On Poverty Estimation Ignores Ground Reality
By Utsa Patnaik Of late, there have been several academic papers and media writeups on the World Bank’s 2025 claim of steeply declining extreme poverty in the world, especially in Asia. It would be wonderful if this was true, but it is not true. This claim is spurious, arising...
U.S. Under Trump.2 Underlines That National Security Is Interlinked With Economic Security
By Asad Mirza The last week witnessed both a loss and a win for the Indian diplomacy. The win was being included in the latest proposal by the American President Donald Trump to form a new regional grouping called C-5, and the loss was India being denied a seat...
India’s Reengagement With China In Trade And Investment Is Benefitting Exporters
By T N Ashok When India quietly eased business visa rules for foreign engineers and technicians last month, the immediate beneficiaries were Indian manufacturers struggling with stalled factory lines and half-installed machinery. But the deeper signal was unmistakable: New Delhi is cautiously reopening channels with Beijing at a moment...
In Maharashtra Municipal Polls, Uddhav Sena And MNS Of Raj Thackeray To Join Hands
By Rahil Nora Chopra The formal alliance between the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray-headed MNS is expected soon in the run up to the elections to 29 municipal corporations of Maharashtra. Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said “Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray had come together…we would...
Leading War Journalist Peter Arnett Knew Best How To Cover Conflict Zone
By Tirthankar Mitra Having dodged bullets and ducked bombs for a considerable part of his working life, trailblazing war journalist Peter Arnett died in his bed. He was 91. Arnett managed to stay ahead of death in the different theatres of war. In the process, he brought eye witnesses...
India Accelerates Free Trade Agreements To Counter US Tariffs And Expand Exports
NEW DELHI: India has accelerated a push to finalize several free trade agreements over the next few months to offset the impact of steep US import tariffs and widen export destinations during growing global trade uncertainties. New Delhi is in advanced talks with the European Union, New Zealand and...
India–Oman CEPA Sealed In Muscat, Opening A New Chapter In Trade And Investment Ties
CHENNAI: India and Oman have taken a significant step on Thursday towards deepening their economic relationship with the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a move that is expected to substantially expand trade, investment and broader commercial engagement between the two countries. The agreement was signed in Muscat...
Pension Sector Set For Full Foreign Ownership As FDI Cap Rises To 100%
NEW DELHI: India’s pension sector is poised for a structural shift, with the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit set to be raised to 100%, in line with the insurance sector. The move follows Parliament’s approval on Wednesday to increase the FDI cap in insurance from 74% to 100%, a...
Parliament Panel Flags Delays In Operationalisation Of Mines
NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Panel has flagged delays between mine auctions and operationalisation and has urged the government to explore setting up an inter-ministerial committee to monitor the post-auction progress for mineral and critical mineral projects. The panel also stressed that critical mineral projects should be given priority in...
