Air pollution remains a correctable public policy failure, not an inevitable outcome. Recent estimates attribute over 17,000 premature deaths annually to air pollution. Despite India’s leadership in ecological fiscal federalism designed since 14th Finance Commission - retained by the 15th and 16th FCs, unresolved gaps permit this macroeconomic drag to …

The revenue shortfalls are offset by expenditure compression, keeping the headline deficit on target.

Fin­ance Min­is­ter Nirmala Sithara­man presen­ted the Budget for 2026-27 at a moment of heightened global uncer­tainty. Trade ten­sions, shift­ing mon­et­ary policy in advanced eco­nom­ies and per­sist­ent sup­ply-chain fra­gil­it­ies all loom large.

Mar­kets showed a short-term “ran­dom-walk” …

There is a shadow of 16th Finance Commission on Union Budget 2026-27 presented today.

The Sixteenth Finance Commission (FC-16) report, tabled in Parliament today, covering the period 2026-31, retains the magnitude of tax transfers at 41 percent amidst the grand bargain by the states. It offers a balanced yet cautious …

As India enters 2026, its economy continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience amid a complex global landscape. The latest advance estimates from the National Statistical Office project real GDP growth at 7.4% for FY 2025-26, up from 6.5% in the previous fiscal year.  This robust performance, driven by buoyant services …

(Co-authored with Pramod Sinha)

Even as exports face difficulties, sari endures as more than fabric—a repository of memory, identity and quiet resilience

In December 1975, a newspaper editorial mentioned India’s sari exports for the fiscal year 1974-75¹. Valued at just over Rs 7.5 crore—equivalent to roughly $9 million …