 "India Inc continued to grapple with muted revenue growth in the September 2024 quarter (Q2FY25) and witnessed a decline in margins and profits. The headwinds were especially severe for non-financial companies, while banking, financial services, and i")
A failing endeavour is like a runaway train — a roaring, unstoppable force hurtling toward disaster. The wheels spin faster as warning signals flash past, while those in charge grapple with broken brakes or simply ignore the danger. Turning such a train around isn’t easy. It demands courage to pull the brakes, foresight to switch tracks, and relentless effort to steer towards the destination. Whether it’s a government on the brink of fiscal chaos, a city stuck in time, or legends of cricket hurtling toward irrelevance, turning things around demands brakes, new tracks, and sheer willpower.
Take Joseph Stiglitz’s analysis of Donald Trump’s economic policies. America, he argues, is barrelling towards a fiscal cliff. Trump’s tax cuts-for-the-rich agenda mirrors an engineer hitting the accelerator, ignoring warning signs. The debt ceiling looms like a barrier further down the tracks. Stiglitz proposes progressive tax reform and stronger government programmes as a detour.
Then there’s Devangshu Datta’s exploration of social media’s double-edged sword. On the surface, viral hoaxes like the “Enron Egg” are the harmless, quirky bumps on our journey, he writes. But deeper down the tracks lies destruction, as shown by the Southport riots, where misinformation fuelled communal violence.
Closer home, Mihir Sharma paints Delhi as a stagnant train that needs to start moving soon. Fifteen years under the Aam Aadmi Party, and infrastructure woes, governance failures, and unfulfilled promises plague the city, he writes. While other urban centres have sped ahead, Delhi’s mohalla clinics and schools are barely functional, and its ambitions for decentralised governance lie rusting. Meanwhile, Shekhar Gupta talks about the political situation in Bangladesh.
Even in cricket, India’s once-mighty batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli risk being left behind. Vishal Menon highlights their dwindling form which is akin to a locomotive running out of steam. Kohli’s struggles with his cover drive and Rohit’s diminishing confidence reflect an unwillingness to adapt. Perhaps a stint in domestic cricket could act as a pit stop to refuel their careers, but are they willing to make the effort?
 "The number of companies worldwide that are “fully modernised” and follow processes based on artificial intelligence (AI) has increased from 9 per cent in 2023 to 16 per cent this year, according to a survey by Accenture. India's share tripled from 8")
 "The merger negotiations between US-based private equity major Blackstone-owned Quality Care India and Bangalore-based listed hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare have reached the final stage with Blackstone expected to hold a majority stake in the merg")
 "China recently introduced an aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus to revive its flagging economy. Its 2024 growth target of 5 per cent was at risk, as reflected in a loss of momentum, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowing to 4.7 per cen")
 "Blackstone in race for majority pie in Omega Healthcare")
 "Electronics")
