Opinion

Best of Opinion: The hard work behind big ambitions

Today's columns examines the gap between ambition and action in climate policy, the impact of AI on jobs, India's battery-storage opportunity, energy transition and the power of brand storytelling

COP31 and the world's 35x35 plan

Raising electricity's share in energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035 may look attractive. But is it the right ambition for India?

India's grid-scale moment

Batteries will power the future economy. India must seize the opportunity to build a globally competitive industry that goes beyond lithium-ion

Shifts in labour market

India must prepare for greater AI adoption

Insalubrious climate for reform

COP31 is up against all-round failures

Best of Opinion: Are systems capable of putting capital to productive use?

The question is not simply how much capital is available, but who directs it, under what incentives, and whether the system is capable of putting it to productive use

CGST rule 96(10): Govt must return recovered money

CBIC's retrospective omission of CGST Rule 96(10) raises questions over amounts recovered from exporters, with the government urged to return refunds and interest collected under the provision

Go beyond banking

An efficient financial structure will support growth

Yes, blame the state

From sanitation and transport to industrial innovation, the state shapes the systems and incentives that determine public behaviour and business performance.

Time to revisit Narasimham report

There are multiple reforms that could be undertaken in the banking sector, including reform of state-owned banks, without necessarily privatising them

AI capex boom

Global tech investors are evaluating returns

Insurance cheque sent by post: Which date matters?

Should the premium be deemed received when the insurer receives the cheque, or when the cheque clears and the proceeds reach its account?

AI could be the force multiplier PSBs need

The technology can transform public-sector banks, driving massive productivity, inclusion and helping in sustained economic growth

When gold loses its glitter

The regulatory framework effective April 2026 has created the foundation for mitigating risks in gold loans but more needs to be done

Why voters won't reject Netanyahu

Netanyahu has won only because he hasn't been defeated. He's also changed Israel fundamentally. Any ruling alliance now will have to be a coalition to the exclusion of Israel's Arab citizens

Best of Opinion: From closing window to overshoot, climate action retreats

Today's columns examine climate overshoot and AI's environmental costs, Netanyahu's electoral position in Israel, US midterm implications for oil prices and China's property crisis

A tale of two Chinas

China's booming technology & export industries are thriving despite a prolonged property crisis, weak domestic consumption and rising inequality, raising questions about its long-term growth prospects

US midterms and the coming turmoil

Regardless of how the election goes, Mr Trump will have a window of two to three months to escalate tensions with Iran, a possibility for which India must be prepared

From closing window to overshoot: The retreat on climate action

The Emissions Gap Report's suggestion that the world can cross the 1.5°C global warming threshold, but still limit, adapt to and return from higher temperatures, is utterly misleading

Pamplona: The city Hemingway never really left

A century after Ernest Hemingway immortalised Pamplona in The Sun Also Rises, the Spanish city continues to draw visitors through its literary legacy, historic cafes and iconic San Fermín festival