Economic Reforms

India needs lasting reforms to attract foreign capital, not stopgaps

Without credible investment protection, the FTA alone is unlikely to attract the manufacturing FDI India needs to create jobs

From scarcity to scale: How the 1991 reforms transformed India's economy

Thirty-five years after the landmark reforms of 1991, the numbers show how India's economy, businesses and households have changed - and why the next phase of reforms will matter just as much

35 years of liberalisation: Which sectors emerged as biggest winners?

India's economic reforms changed the course of industries from IT and pharma to retail and aviation. Here's a look at the biggest winners and the challenges that continue today

Best of BS Opinion: Reviving 1991 reform spirit vital for India's growth

Today's Best of BS Opinion examines lessons from the 1991 reforms, safeguards for offline UPI, enterprise digital infrastructure, state capacity and the costs of children growing up online

Economic reforms: India needs a second wave to sustain high growth

Thirty-five years after the 1991 reforms, India needs a new reform wave focused on deregulation, stronger state capacity, judicial efficiency and faster growth

The unbearable lightness of trade deals

India's recent flurry of FTAs is an excellent start, but it is only a start

India's regulators need more independent voices, less insider control

Complex markets require independent voices and diverse expertise. India's regulatory architecture is missing both

Reform delayed is reform denied: Time to make reforms part of everyday life

We have missed the bus before, but now reforms must become part of everyday conversation

The Greenspan era: "Great moderation" can lead to great disruption

Alan Greenspan's legacy spans economic stability, financial deregulation and debate over the 2008 crisis, while his views on India underscored the need for deeper reforms

Fabian socialism held India back after 1991 reforms: A Greenspan view

In his 2007 memoir, Alan Greenspan praised India's reforms but argued that lingering socialist policies and bureaucracy were holding back its economic potential

Cuba calls for free-market reforms in major economic shift since revolution

Observers on Friday called Cuba's new free-market reforms the most sweeping economic overhaul of the island's communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former president Raul Castro said in an interview that Cuba must seek to move its economy forward. The 176 measures aim to further decentralise Cuba's state-run economy, which has been left gasping by a tightened embargo under US President Donald Trump. Under the island's current economic model, the government largely determines what is produced, who produces it, the prices at which goods are sold and how the country's resources are allocated. The plan includes more space for private businesses, imports and exports without state intermediation, free hiring of personnel, authorisation for private banks and investment by Cubans abroad. It even permits fast-food chains to establish themselves on the island. "Elements that for decades were listed as pillars of the revolutionary economy, such as the state monopoly

The rupee's problem runs deeper than West Asia war and oil price surge

While foreign firms have been reluctant to invest in India, Indian firms have been expanding their investment abroad

Europe is finally beginning to reinvent itself for a changing world

Europe is accelerating efforts to strengthen its economy through market integration, industrial support and tougher trade measures, while reducing reliance on US policy under Donald Trump

12 years of NDA in power: PM Narendra Modi says reforms to continue

Prime Minister says reforms are a matter of conviction, not compulsion, as NDA leaders felicitate him for becoming India's longest-serving elected prime minister

A slippery slope: Why India must prioritise growth over rupee fears

High oil prices, a weakening rupee and global capital shifts demand bold policymaking to protect growth and build resilience against external shocks

India's investment slowdown is a fallout of deeper structural shifts

Taken together, the Indian economy requires some mechanism for stimulating private investment in the real economy

IBC@10: Insolvency and bankruptcy code's administration needs improvement

The recent IBC (Amendment) Act, 2026, aims to strengthen the law and improve outcomes

A big push in economics: Special times call for special initiatives

The last time the domestic private sector achieved a one-year gain of net fixed assets above 20 per cent in nominal terms was 2009-10

1973 and now: How Indira's self-destructive responses are instructive today

An oil shock, monsoon fears, rampant unemployment, and the seeming inevitability of inflation, are common to both eras. Indira Gandhi's self-destructive responses are instructive today

Stability and growth: India needs to accelerate its pace of reforms

It is worth recognising that the global business environment has changed over the past few years, and a country like India has to improve its business environment more proactively