Companies that align what they earn with what they stand for can transform industries, drive innovation, and actually leave things better than they found them. They build trust that lasts. They attract talent that stays. They create customers who come back. The future belongs to businesses that figure out how to balance purpose and profit. Indian founders face a choice: build like Tata, with purpose woven into the foundation, or chase short-term efficiency like IndiGo and Micromax until the wheels come off.
The emphasis on Vikisit Bharat (Developed India) is to be welcomed. Who would not want India to be developed fully but there remain huge questions in terms of the direction of this development and what the nature of development ought to be in an India where inequality remains high, health services are poor, and education poses many challenges that have been highlighted time and again. Consider that the total percentage on education (Centre and State expenditure on education combined) is merely 3.3% of the GDP, and on health it stands at just 1.5%. This is a shockingly low number
It may be argued that invoking the Bhutanese king’s principled stance as a reference point for a country as vast and diverse as India is deeply flawed—or, at best, a theoretical abstraction. Yet the fact remains: the ethos of good governance knows no geographical boundaries. If the highest leadership of a small, landlocked nation with limited resources could believe in, and strive towards, such ideals, why should our country fall short of visionary leadership, especially when it is far larger and endowed with greater capacities, opportunities, and strategic advantages?
In this backdrop, opening up India fully to Chinese, including inviting the Chinese delegations, is akin to arranging visits of KFC owners to poultry farms! The hubris that this was to familiarize two big political parties and two economic powers with each other must have amused Beijing endlessly. Finally, insecurity is palpable in India’s handling of China and the US. About time we get over this.
What is being done to the Aravallis displays much more than deforestation that extends far beyond Rajasthan and northwestern India. If hills can be eroded through redefinition, forests can be fragmented through classification, water bodies can be diminished through measurement, then survival can be denied through legality. The states are acting like it is trusting paperwork more than the ecosystem and reality.
The impact of the US tariff escalation, particularly on agricultural goods, is expected to be significant as the US is one of the largest importers of Indian agricultural products in FY25 (US$ 5.62 billion), accounting for 10.98 per cent of total Indian exports. While seafood (primarily frozen shrimp) has been the top item, there are others as well, including spices and essential oils, basmati rice, processed fruits and vegetables, and baked foods. These are directly linked to the livelihood of Indian farmers.
The WDMMA report notwithstanding, critical shortages of the IAF in terms of fighter jets and the Indian Army’s helicopter shortages can hardly be ignored. In terms of fighter jet squadrons, the IAF now just about equals that of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). What this means in a multi-front war requires no elaboration...... (and) reports suggesting China supplying 40 J-35 stealth fighters to Pakistan starting 2026 should not be ignored.
International trade wars, ushered in by Trump, have unfortunately started affecting the green energy transition. Since China has developed a virtual monopoly on a range of green technologies from solar panels to lithium batteries, western governments fear Chinese dominance over important economic sectors and are imposing trade restrictions, putting their own climate targets in doubt. In retaliation, China has used its stranglehold over rare earth minerals by imposing export controls, that are expected to hurt many critical sectors in the West, including green energy technologies.
A nation aspiring to be “Viksit Bharat” by 2047 should be expanding the scope of social citizenship and social security, not shrinking it. Reforming MNREGA was both necessary and desirable. Replacing a justiciable right with a discretionary scheme is neither reform nor progress. It is a constitutional, economic and moral step backward.
The conventional military doctrine based on guarding territories by large land formation requires to diversify and adopt the postulates of non-contact warfare. In the context of the multi-domain nature of conflicts in the backdrop of modern technologies, the military needs to fight in a dispersed and decentralised manner. The requirement of technically-enabled junior leadership is paramount, making directive style of command pertinent.
In view of global supply chain fragilities and realignments, MNCs are aggressively pursuing “China Plus One strategy” to minimize the potential adverse effects on their supply chains. This provides an opportunity for India to emerge as a viable alternative destination for manufacturing due to its large domestic market, cheap labour costs and strategic location. To lure global corporations to invest in India requires focus on enabling business policies, infrastructure development, and a greater synchronization between trade, investment, competition policies
One thing is clear: AI is no fad. It’s not even a standalone phenomenon, like the pandemic. It’s fast becoming an intrinsic part of the socio-economic fabric. And while 2025 saw some clear trends emerging, the path forward remains less than certain. The biggest source of uncertainty is whether the current trajectories will yield exponential improvements in capabilities, or will plateau, requiring fresh thinking.
The rupee’s fall reflects a convergence of factors—a strong global dollar cycle, foreign capital outflows, and a high import bill—playing out simultaneously. Given India’s underlying fundamentals, analysts expect the exchange rate to remain range-bound rather than experience an unchecked slide.
As India aspires to become a knowledge superpower, internationalisation must be embedded at the heart of our higher education strategy. This journey transcends state boundaries. It is a national mission with global consequences. If pursued thoughtfully and inclusively, it can transform not only our universities but also our economy, society, and global standing.
The only way out for Bangladesh, the only way forward, the only way to deliver us from the current instability is to hold the elections as scheduled. This is what the Bangladeshi people want and this is what the country needs. We must all come together to make sure that it happens. The only people who benefit from elections being delayed are the enemies of the Bangladeshi people.
The Indian freedom struggle was inherently multi-religious, multilingual, and multi-ethnic, with women and men participating across communities to forge a united nation. While the Muslim League demanded Pakistan in Muslim-majority areas, the Hindu Mahasabha and RSS pursued the idea of a Hindu nation. The Constituent Assembly, however, embodied the collective will of an inclusive India and resolved symbolic questions such as Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana through dialogue and compromise.
The airline brought national disaster. The nightclub hotel was a more localised story. But both mock the nation and its growth story in their own ways, highlighting the hidden costs of a faster growth that has beaten the “Hindu rate of growth” but has brought us a disaster that unfolds at periodic intervals to shock the nation and ridicule its governance structures.
In such a world, the greatest danger is not that AI becomes alien. The danger is that humans start behaving less humanly by outsourcing thinking, surrendering responsibility, and hiding behind the machine while letting it make decisions we should be making ourselves. Leaders may find it convenient to blame the algorithm. Companies may find it profitable to exploit it. Ordinary citizens may find it easier to trust AI’s shortcuts than to cultivate patience and understanding.
IndiGo’s meltdown, telecom’s flip-flop policy history, the fragility of airport PPPs, the helplessness of education regulators—all point to one truth: India’s regulatory state is not yet strong enough to discipline the giants it has created, nor can they rein in monopolies. Until regulators regain independence, authority, and credibility, India will continue to oscillate between private excess and public helplessness. Rogue companies will be blamed, but the deeper fault will lie in a system where rules are flexible for the powerful and rigid for everyone else.
