Category: Economies
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The Global Economy at a Crossroads: Stability Without Confidence
A World That Has Stabilized but Not Yet Recovered By early 2026, the global economy sits in a paradox. The world has avoided the worst outcomes that haunted policymakers after the pandemic and inflationary surge: no synchronized global recession, no systemic financial crisis, no uncontrolled price spiral. Major institutions such…
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WTO at a Crossroads: Why the Global Trade Referee Needs a Deep Reset
For nearly three decades, the World Trade Organization has been the anchor of the global trading system—promising predictability, fairness, and stability. But the world it was designed for no longer exists. The smooth flows of globalization have given way to geopolitically filtered supply chains, climate-linked trade retaliation, digital sovereignty, industrial…
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The Hidden Faultline: A K-Shaped Reality Beneath the Global Averages
The global economy today is celebrated through headline numbers—GDP growth, stock market highs, rising FDI flows, expanding digital infrastructure. But beneath these broad averages lies a sharply K-shaped economic reality, where prosperity rises steeply for some sectors and communities while stagnation deepens for others. This divergence is not accidental; it…
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From Globalisation to Conditional Integration: The New Architecture of Global Trade
The Historical Arc of Globalisation Globalisation once operated on a remarkably simple logic—price signals, comparative advantage, and supply-chain optimisation shaped the movement of goods, capital, and technology. From the early 1990s to around 2015, the world experienced a phase of hyper-globalisation, driven by China’s WTO entry, the rise of global…
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Who Is the Real Winner in Rule-Based Trade in the World?
The Promise and Paradox of Rule-Based Trade The global rule-based trading system—anchored in the World Trade Organization and a web of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs)—was designed to create predictability, fairness, and equal opportunity. Yet, history shows that rules rarely benefit all countries equally. The real winner is…
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A World Becoming Smaller—But Not Closer
Over the past four decades, the world has become smaller in terms of communication, transportation, and information exchange. Digital platforms compress distances; logistics networks deliver goods overnight; and technologies such as AI and blockchain make cross-border collaboration seamless. However, paradoxically, global trade is becoming more distant, fragmented, and politically conditioned.…
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The Truth About the India–USA Trade Deal: What Really Happened and What It Really Means
Despite dramatic headlines and political messaging, India and the United States still do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as of February 2026. What was announced between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not an FTA but a “limited trade understanding”—a narrow, transactional arrangement designed to…
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Fiscal Credibility at a Crossroads: India’s Consolidation Agenda in Economic Survey 2025–26
India’s Economic Survey 2025–26, Chapter 2—“Fiscal Developments: Anchoring Stability Through Credible Consolidation”—presents a decisive shift in the country’s macro-fiscal architecture. At a time when global economies are battling fiscal profligacy, debt overhang, and costly geopolitical uncertainty, India’s strategy seeks to build a new fiscal compact driven by credibility, transparency, and…
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Fiscal Policy Is Carrying the Growth Burden
For the first time in decades, the global economic cycle is being shaped less by the movements of central banks and more by the decisions of fiscal authorities. With monetary policy constrained by high inflation, elevated interest rates, and limited room for further tightening or easing, governments across both advanced…
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The Final EU–India FTA: A Historic Breakthrough and Its Deep Impact on India’s MSMEs
When India and the European Union formally announced the conclusion of their Free Trade Agreement at the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi, the moment marked the end of a negotiation marathon that began almost two decades ago. Now widely described as the “mother of all deals,” the pact connects…
"Connecting communities, empowering nations: Unifying the Regional and Global Economy ." 