Opinion
Appeal
The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.Decoding Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein On Her 175th Death Anniversary
By Jenny Farrell NEW YORK: Yet another Frankenstein film has made its way to the screen. Despite critical acclaim and projected awards, it has little in common with Mary Shelley’s novel. Readers interested in Shelley’s political vision and the historical pressures that gave rise to the book are far...
2026-27 Budget Shows BJP’s Lack Of Confidence In Poll-Bound States
By K Raveendran The Union Budget’s political messaging has been read as carefully as its fiscal arithmetic, particularly in states heading into elections where expectations of targeted concessions were unusually high. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Parliament draped in a Kancheepuram silk saree, a gesture that appeared designed...
Union Budget 2026-27 Ignores Core Labour Concerns, But Claims Right Focus
By Dr. Gyan Pathak The Union Budget 2026-27 clearly ignores core labour concerns of the country, though it speaks of the language of jobs, skill, and future readiness. The most worrisome aspect of the budget is that despite over a decade of contrary experience, especially since 2014 under Prime...
Boosting Defence Capability Is Fine But The Priorities Are Very Crucial
By Girish Linganna When the Finance Minister announced ₹7.85 lakh crore for defence in Budget 2026-27, many of us probably thought—okay, that sounds like huge money. But let me tell you something interesting: spending more rupees doesn’t always mean we’re getting stronger. This is exactly what’s happening with India’s...
Tamil Nadu’s Volatile Pre-Election Scene: Both Fronts Face Problems
By Kalyani Shankar As the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections approach, the main political parties feature two coalitions: the ruling DMK-led alliance with Congress and left parties, and the AIADMK coalition with the BJP and smaller parties. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin continues to lead the DMK, highlighting the importance of...
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Is Flouting Laws At Random
By Ashis Biswas When it comes to flagrantly violating the law and getting away with it, some Indian politicians seem to be in a class of their own! In April/May year, Assembly elections will be held in four states — Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala, along with...
India’s Budget And The Dangerous Comfort Of Complacency On Growth
By R. Suryamurthy India’s Union Budget for 2026–27 presents itself as a document of calm control. Fiscal deficits decline, debt ratios edge downwards, capital expenditure continues to expand, and the rhetoric of prudence is carefully maintained. There is no dramatic retrenchment, no populist surge, and no overt fiscal gamble....
2026-27 Budget Has Deviated From The Standard Model Pursued So Far
By Anjan Roy Finance minster, Nirmala Sitharaman, presented a budget in Parliament on February 1 which is more a multi-year development blueprint for the country than a statement of government’s incomes and expenditures and how the finances are to be managed. At the same time, while the finance minister’s...
Nirmala Sitharaman’s Ninth Quiet Budget Pitches For Stability In An Era Of Global Turmoil
By T N Ashok By the time Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rose in Parliament to present her ninth Union Budget, there was little suspense about the broad direction. This was not meant to be a vote-catching spectacle, despite five assembly elections looming. Nor was it an exercise in fiscal...
2026-27 Budget Once Again Lets Kerala Down
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come as a big disappointment for Kerala. The Finance Minister has not conceded even a single demand of the State’s 29-strong wish list. The only saving grace – if it can be called one –...
India-EU Free Trade Deal Redraws Balance Of Economic Power
By K Raveendran The sharp note of disappointment sounded by Scott Bessent over the India–European Union free trade agreement says less about a single deal and more about a changing geometry of power in the global economy. At one level, Washington’s frustration reflects a familiar concern that sanctions and...
Economic Survey Lavishes Praise On Kerala’s Programmes
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Economic Survey tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Thursday has praised Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP) and the Kochi Water Metro as models worth replicating. The survey’s praise represents a ringing rebuff to the opposition which has been unleashing...
Economic Survey 2025-26 Sets India’s New Expectations And Priorities
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Though Economic Surveys do not dictate exact budget numbers, it strongly influences the Union Budgets of India. If it is the case, the Economic Survey 2025-26 indicates the four keys priorities that we may see in the Union Budget 2026-27: A growth-supported fiscal stance anchored...
Trump’s Deliberate Harassment Of US Fed Chairman Invites Backlash From Eminent Economists
By Anjan Roy President Donald Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh, as the next chairman of the US Federal Reserve, the country’s centre bank, from May when the term of the present chair, Jerome Powell, ends. In the run-up to that nomination there was the nasty fight against Powell that...
The Great Paradox Of U.S. President Suing His Own Tax Collector Internal Revenue Service
By T N Ashok WASHINGTON: There’s a delicious irony in watching a sitting president sue the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion while his own Treasury Secretary simultaneously runs the agency. Welcome to the Trump administration’s latest exercise in what might be called “government as performance art”—or perhaps more...
Can Law And Policy Manage The Environmental Costs Of Digital Growth?
By Harsh Gour Digital infrastructure is the spine of modern innovation – from the clouds that fuel e-commerce and artificial intelligence (AI), to the everyday apps. Yet, beneath the gleaming facades of hyperscale server parks lies a fast-unfolding crisis. Data centres have become the new “gold” of investment, attracting...
Trumps Economic Policies Drowned Out By The Drumbeat Of Minneapolis Outrage
By T N Ashok WASHINGTON: In the corridors of power, where messaging is currency and optics are everything, President Donald Trump faces a political paradox that threatens to undermine his party’s prospects in November’s midterm elections: his administration’s economic achievements are being systematically overshadowed by images of masked federal...
Why Any U.S. Attack On Iran Will Backfire On American Economy Helping China?
By Dr. Nilanjan Banik As the world anxiously awaits whether the US will attack Iran — whose oil China buys in vast quantities as its largest customer — analysts warn of global repercussions that could spill over into broader geopolitical tensions. Although the arguments given by the US are...
