Economists

The Reserve Bank is likely to keep the benchmark policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in the April monetary policy review meeting, as the West Asia crisis is likely to push up inflation, according to economists. The continuing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, volatility in commodity prices and sharp currency movement that have seen the rupee hit record lows have complicated the policy outlook, and its projections on growth, inflation and also the stance of policy will be keenly watched, the poll of over a dozen economists said. "Given the uncertainty around crude oil prices and geopolitical developments, the RBI is likely to remain on pause in the April policy and closely monitor incoming inflation data before taking any further action," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA. SBI's chief economist Soumya Kanti Ghosh said while announcing the pause, the RBI will be careful in communicating its decision. "India is not unscathed from the current crisis and is feeling the

Rising crude prices and trade disruptions from the West Asia war are prompting economists to trim India's growth forecasts, threatening the economy's recent "sweet spot"

Economists say a brief West Asia conflict may have limited impact on India's macro outlook, though risks could emerge if crude oil prices stay elevated for a prolonged period

As India shifts its GDP base year to 2022-23, economists are divided on whether the unrevised WPI base will distort real growth estimates, even as CPI has been updated to 2024

Next step may be a rate increase as and when the inflation rate grows

Economists say the India-US trade deal could lift FY27 GDP growth by 20-40 basis points by boosting exports and reducing uncertainty, though risks from imports remain

In this episode of Budget Basics, we break down one of the most important, but least understood, budget terms: Primary Deficit. What does it really say about a government’s finances?

A series of crises has left two vacancies at the top of the UK statistics body and one at the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday met leading economists to elicit their views on the forthcoming Budget. Those present at the meeting include Sajjid Chinoy, Neelkanth Misra, Dharmakirti Joshi, Ridham Desai, Sonal Varma and Indira Rajaraman. "Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt @nsitharaman chairs the first Pre-Budget Consultation with leading economists in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, in New Delhi, today," the Ministry of Finance said in a social media post on X. "The meeting was also attended by Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) @FinMinIndia; and Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India, besides senior officers from the DEA," it added. Sitharaman is likely to present the Budget on February 1. She will present the Budget in the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties and the steep US tariff of 50 per cent imposed on shipments from India. The Budget for the next fiscal year will .

Today's pieces cover wide ground, from Adam Smith to Bihari exceptionalism to the AI behemoth that threatens to swallow advertising whole, and the enduring vision of Ritwik Ghatak

While participants in the domestic financial market are expecting a 25 basis-point policy repo rate cut in the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India

At BS BFSI Insight Summit 2025, a high-level panel of economists said that flexible inflation targeting has largely worked in keeping inflation under control and no major revamp is required

Economists say US trade deficits are normal and not the "unusual and extraordinary" threat cited by Trump for imposing emergency tariffs

They won the prize for explaining the Innovation-driven economic growth, which is a theory that states that a nation's long-term growth depends on its ability to innovate

Albert Park tells that the 50 per cent US tariffs offer opportunities to India to diversify its export destinations

Bank-fintech collaborations are allowing for more proper pricing and risk underwriting, said Julapa Jagtiani, Senior Economic Advisor and Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, on Thursday. Jagtiani was addressing a webinar on "Beyond Intuition: AI, Crypto, and Social Algorithms Shaping the Future of Finance", organised by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) Centre for Software and IT Management (CSITM). "When banks team up with vendors of AI solutions, we see more correct pricing of non-prime borrowers. Rather than pricing all as equally risky, AI differentiates who will default and who will not," said Jagtiani. The webinar was attended by more than 170 participants and included pre-eminent finance professionals from the United States, United Kingdom, and India. Apart from Jagtiani, the panel comprised Evelyn de Rothschild, Professor of Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, Marina Niessner, Assistant Professor of Finance at Indiana University's ..

The monthly jobs report is already closely-watched on Wall Street and in Washington but has taken on a new importance after President Donald Trump on Friday fired the official who oversees it. Trump claimed that June's employment figures were "RIGGED" to make him and other Republicans "look bad". Yet he provided no evidence and even the official Trump had appointed in his first term to oversee the report, William Beach, condemned the firing of Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics appointed by former President Joe Biden. The firing followed Friday's jobs report that showed hiring was weak in July and had come to nearly a standstill in May and June, right after Trump rolled out sweeping tariffs. Economists and Wall Street investors have long considered the job figures reliable, with share prices and bond yields often reacting sharply when they are released. Yet Friday's revisions were unusually large -- the largest, outside of a recession, in five decades.

Desai moved to London in 1965 and began teaching at the prestigious London School of Economics. Over time, he rose to become a full professor and was later honoured as professor emeritus

At the launch of 'A World in Flux', Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said multilateral institutions are now in limbo and stressed the urgent need to reshape them for today's rapidly evolving world

India is the world's fastest-growing major economy at an annual rate of 7.4% in the January-March quarter, but so far growth has failed to create enough well-paying jobs for millions of young people