Columns

Sustained oil shock combined with knock-on effects on trade and domestic spending could shave a full percentage point off India's FY27 GDP growth forecast

Updated : Mar 18, 2026

When oil catches fire: The US-Israel-Iran war poses a real and present challenge to India's growth

With Brent crude approaching $100 a barrel amid the US-Iran conflict, India faces a multi-front challenge — a wider trade gap, higher inflation, a strained government budget, and corporate earnings under siege.

A new breed of companies from small and big towns is rising and fueling the next wave of economic growth, says Prashant Singhal

Updated : Mar 16, 2026

The rise of modern Bharat and ‘Kohinoors’ of entrepreneurs

A large number of domestic champions have emerged who have built size, scale, profitability and global competitiveness while staying away from the limelight.

AI is improving how revenue is earned before it dramatically changes how much revenue is earned.

Updated : Mar 5, 2026

AI’s structural shift: From efficiency lever to outcome-driven growth engine

Industry leaders say AI’s direct revenue share remains modest today, but its deeper integration into workflows, pricing models and talent structures could redefine IT services economics over the next five years.

A simple clarification in the DAP 2026, such as an explicit safe harbour for IOCC-routed investment in Make-I procurements, would remove a significant barrier to capital participation

Updated : Feb 25, 2026

Fixing defence's FDI blind spot: Why the 'make' category needs a clearer rulebook

The Government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat targets – ₹3 lakh crore in defence production and ₹50,000 crore in exports by 2029 – demand private and foreign capital participation

The ruling should prompt India to re-examine its trade deal with the United States. Here's why

Updated : Feb 21, 2026

India must reassess US trade deal after tariff ruling

By ruling that President Donald Trump lacked authority to impose sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” under the IEEPA, the Court closed the fastest route for economy-wide tariffs and reasserted Congress’s control over trade policy.

Beyond M&As, trade unions and farmers have risen up to what they call the anti-worker and anti-farmer attitude of the government.

Updated : Feb 13, 2026

Rethinking negotiations to achieve better outcomes

Apart from the above, negotiations at the corporate level are equally important. They find resonance in mergers and acquisitions (M&As), hiring of CEOs and other senior management leaders, performance appraisals between employees and the Human Resources Departments and within family businesses to arrive at amicable partitions.

The shift may drive these entities to revisit pricing, contracts, and delivery models to align with India’s revised GST framework. (Image generated by AI)

Updated : Feb 16, 2026

Budget 2026-27 changes the tax landscape for intermediary services

The changes create a more level playing field between domestic and foreign service providers, while reinforcing India’s position as a reliable hub for cross-border services.

Higher STT can make equity derivative trading more expensive, pushing some trading activity away from these markets while commodity markets remain tax-neutral.

Updated : Feb 10, 2026

STT hike without CTT reform: A missed chance for true market parity

With STT on futures jumping to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent and STT on options premium now 0.15 per cent, the change aims to introduce a “reasonable course correction” in the F&O segment and generate additional revenue.

The startup IPOs of the recent past offer some lessons about how India’s markets are evolving

Updated : Feb 10, 2026

Inside India’s IPO rush: Why startups are ringing the bell sooner than ever

For years, late-stage private funding served as a substitute for IPOs. Companies could raise large rounds at rising valuations, often without diligent governance or profitability standards expected of listed firms. That model seem to have weakened.

The more persistent and less visible consequence was behavioural displacement: users began migrating to unregulated, offshore platforms operating beyond India’s legal jurisdiction

Updated : Feb 7, 2026

Banning gaming, promoting AVGC: India’s policy contradiction in the digital economy

When the ban on real money games (RMG) came into effect, several leading gaming platforms ceased operations almost overnight, leaving as many as 100 million gamers in a quandary.

The future belongs to CFOs who can see beyond the ledger to envision new business models

Updated : Feb 9, 2026

Beyond the ledger: The rise of the AI-powered strategic CFO

Agentic AI is revolutionizing this dynamic, enabling a strategic shift in how finance teams allocate their time. By automating routine tasks, AI agents are freeing up finance professionals to focus on high-value strategic analysis.

For India’s energy PSUs, the last decade was a period of reinvention, redefinition and positive momentum.

Updated : Feb 2, 2026

Engines of Growth and Transformation: How India’s Energy PSUs Rewired Themselves

India’s public sector energy companies, once seen as slow-moving bureaucratic giants, have quietly reinvented themselves over the past decade. From expanding clean cooking and lighting access to scaling renewables and digital systems, energy PSUs have emerged as central players in India’s energy transition rather than relics of its past.

Several recent events of corporate oversight, noncompliance, and wilful disregard of the law suggest an organisational culture marked by a casual, often reckless, approach to the regulatory environment

Updated : Jan 30, 2026

Law as a strategic imperative for business

Ignorance of law is no excuse, and not affordable either

Green algorithm is an approach that treats energy efficiency, carbon intensity, and grid impact as core design parameters in how AI systems are built and deployed

Updated : Jan 23, 2026

The Green Algorithm: Making AI energy-smart

Energy is no longer a background input but a defining constraint and increasingly, a performance metric, shaping how AI systems are architected. Energy efficiency is now as critical a metric as accuracy or speed

A dedicated ESG statute would advance the enforcement of the existing laws

Updated : Jan 20, 2026

From the Aravallis to the Himalayas: Why India needs its ESG law now

A dedicated ESG statute would not replace the existing laws but advance their enforcement whilst making growth predictable by mandating organization wide analysis with board level responsibility, and real consequences for false claims.

India should implement family based identifiers, starting with assigning a unique 'Family ID'

Updated : Jan 19, 2026

Budget 2026: Why India needs a family ID system to fix welfare delivery

Budget 2026: A deeper look at these welfare schemes is warranted to evaluate their efficacy of beneficiary mapping (inclusion), design, delivery, and best-fit impact, even when the intent is 100%

The industry has steadily moved from building digital systems to building systems that learn, adapt, and optimize themselves.

Updated : Jan 13, 2026

2025: When modern engineering shifted from building systems to orchestrating intelligence

As we enter 2026, companies that embrace this shift will redefine their operational boundaries, while those still modernizing legacy systems will struggle to keep pace.

Winter travel in North India is a cumbersome affair

Updated : Jan 9, 2026

The winter chaos guide: How Indian travellers can survive delays, lost bags and weather disruptions

If you’ve travelled through North India between December and February, this scene feels familiar. Winter doesn’t just bring cold, it brings chaos. Fog shuts down runways, flights stack up, baggage goes missing, hotel plans unravel.

Health insurance is no longer optional in today's time

Updated : Jan 8, 2026

Rising health inflation: Why 2025 became the wake-up year for Indian families

Despite rising awareness, India continues to rely heavily on personal savings during medical emergencies.

2026 will all be about acceleration in insurance