IPA Special
India’s Silent Debt Time Bomb: When Households Borrow Faster Than They Save
By R. Suryamurthy There is a number in the government’s latest disclosures that should unsettle anyone paying attention to India’s economic trajectory. Household financial liabilities — the debt Indian families owe to banks, NBFCs and other lenders — have soared 76% in just four years, rising from ₹77.7 lakh...
Narendra Modi Has To Exercise His Finest Diplomatic Skill In Talks With Putin
By T N Ashok When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in India’s capital on December 4 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, he will bring more than proposals for weapons systems and energy contracts. The visit represents a pivotal moment in global realignment, one that could determine whether India...
Congress Dilemma Over Succession In Karnataka Remains Despite A Temporary Truce
By Kalyani Shankar After the recent setback in Bihar, the Congress Party is now grappling with a power struggle in Karnataka between the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Deputy D.K. Shiv Kumar. Within political circles, especially among Congress members, there is rampant speculation about a possible leadership change later...
Traditional Knowledge And Modern Knowledge: Is There A Binary?
By Dr. Ram Puniyani While delivering Ramnath Goenka Lecture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that we should take a ten-year pledge to root out colonial mindset. In ten years, it will be 200 years when Lord Macaulay introduced the pattern of education in English. As per Mr. Modi “…Macaulay...
Anatomy Of A Demolition In Prem Nagar Basti In Gurugram In New India
By Tulip Banerjee Forty-year old Kamlesh sat on a broken charpai by the road in Gurugram’s Prem Nagar II locality, waiting for her mehendi to dry while staring into the wreckage of the only home she has ever known. Two days after their homes were demolished, women huddled together,...
Strengths And Weaknesses On Display At Your Party’s Founding Conference
By Ben Chacko LONDON: Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party’s founding conference brought thousands of people to Liverpool at the weekend. Many more of the party’s 50,000 members participated online. They voted for collective leadership; for dual membership with other parties to be permitted; for the party to be explicitly socialist...
Delhi Summit To See A New Strategic Reset In India-Russia Partnership
By K Raveendran An evolving convergence of political intent and economic pragmatism is giving fresh momentum to the India–Russia relationship, placing the forthcoming summit in New Delhi as a significant moment in a partnership that has already weathered decades of geopolitical shifts. The visit of President Vladimir Putin, framed...
India’s GDP Is Booming — But The Fiscal Math Is Becoming A Fantasy
By R. Suryamurthy India’s second-quarter GDP print has triggered the kind of chest-thumping usually reserved for election night or a cricket victory. Real GDP surged 8.2% in July–September, the strongest among major economies and, predictably, a cause for unrestrained celebration across ministries and television studios. Manufacturing accelerated, construction stayed...
Labour Codes Snatch Numerous Rights And Protections Of Workers
By Dr. Gyan Pathak India has implemented the four controversial Labour Codes on November 21, 2025, with a theoretical promise to the workforce of the country more benefits and greater protection. Nevertheless, it is highly uncertain to what extent the promises made will be realised on the ground, especially...
India At The Crossroads Navigating Global Trade Headwinds In Tariff War
By T N Ashok The World Trade Organization’s latest assessments paint an increasingly sombre picture of global commerce. After an unexpectedly robust first half of 2025—when merchandise trade volumes surged 4.9% year-on-year—the momentum has decisively shifted. The WTO’s November Goods Trade Barometer dropped to 101.8 from 102.2 in June,...
America’s Tariff Shock Is Rewriting Global Trade Making WTO Of Little Relevance
By R. Suryamurthy The global trading system is edging into a colder, more brittle phase, and the numbers emerging from Geneva and New Delhi tell the story with an uncomfortable clarity—one that Washington’s political class has not yet fully owned. The World Trade Organization’s latest Goods Trade Barometer, released...
Despite The Controversies, ‘Your Party’ Of Britain Has Great Potential
By Ben Chacko LONDON: Despite the disputes that have troubled its launch, the founding conference of “Your Party” this weekend is an important moment. Its gestation dates back further than the (itself controversial) announcement it was coming by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana in July. People have called for...
Judicial Discretion In The Era Of Illiberalism In Independent India
By Rohit Sarma The era of illiberalism in India and beyond has offered many lessons to those studying constitutions, constitutionalism and the nature of the judicial process. It has shown that the demise of constitutionalism does not necessarily take the form of the dramatic dismemberment of existing institutions and...
The Great AI Gold Rush By US Big Tech Companies Through Huge Investment
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayers SILICON VALLEY / SAN FRANSISCO / CALIFORNIA: The numbers are staggering. Microsoft has spent over $20 billion building data centres stuffed with the most powerful computer chips ever made. Meta is burning through billions more, weaving artificial intelligence into Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook. Google and...
Congress High Command To Settle Karnataka’s Leadership Tussle Soon
By Rahil Nora Chopra The Congress high command seems to have finally woken up to the dire need for resolving the tricky leadership crisis lingering on in Karnataka, with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday saying that both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar would be summoned...
IMF’s Latest Paper On India Underscores The Need For Effective Social Security
By Anjan Roy International Monetary Fund’s latest country level consultations with India reveal a flattering picture of the state of the economy. The executive directors have submitted their consultation report to the government, along with their recommendations for the government and its economic managers. Two observations stand out from...
India Constitution Has Admirably Dealt With The Issue Of Caste Society
By Dr. B K Kango Since the advent of 19th century and spread of education and awareness, the injustice done in the name of the caste has come into focus. Many reformers like Periyar, Mahatma Phule and Dr. Ambedkar and others have focused this issue of caste injustice and...
India’s Latest Rare Earth Minerals Production Move Is Sure To Boost Its Geopolitical Status
By T N Ashok In the unassuming coastal sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu lie minerals with an outsized claim on the future. Rare earth elements—seventeen chemically similar metals with unpronounceable names like neodymium, dysprosium, and praseodymium—are the sinews of modern civilization. They power the motors in electric vehicles,...
