Category: Policy
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Trust Economy and the Future of Development
Trust is slowly becoming one of the most valuable invisible assets in the global economy. In earlier decades, countries competed mainly through natural resources, military power, industrial capacity, and low-cost labour. Today, trust itself is emerging as a major economic force influencing investment decisions, innovation ecosystems, financial stability, governance quality,…
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Cheap Labour or Ecosystem: What Is Really Driving the Shift of IT Majors from China to India
For nearly three decades, the global business community looked at India mainly as a destination for low-cost talent. The image was simple. Cheap engineers, English-speaking graduates, back-office support, call centres, coding support, and outsourced software maintenance. China, meanwhile, became the world’s factory with unmatched infrastructure, manufacturing ecosystems, and execution speed.…
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Demography is Becoming the New Economics
For decades, economists believed that capital, technology, and natural resources were the primary drivers of national power. Today, demographics are slowly overtaking all three. The structure of population itself is becoming the hidden engine that determines which economies rise, which stagnate, and which collapse under social and fiscal pressure. The…
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India’s Tax Maze and the Growing Global Discomfort with Investing in India
For decades India was presented to the world as a land of demographic strength, entrepreneurship, democracy, and long-term growth potential. From the economic reforms of 1991 onwards, foreign investors slowly began to see India as a serious alternative to many emerging markets. Global fund managers travelled across continents explaining the…
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MSMEs and Credit Facilities: Growth Without Ground Reality
Historical Expansion but Structural Weakness For decades, India has celebrated MSMEs as the backbone of its economy, contributing nearly 30 percent to GDP and employing over 110 million people. Yet, the story of credit to MSMEs has always been a story of intent without deep structural correction. From nationalisation of…
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Ethanol Blending in India: Growth Promise or Hidden Cost
Historical Push Towards Energy Security and Rural SupportIndia’s journey with ethanol blending has been shaped by two long-standing concerns: dependence on imported crude oil and the need to support farmers, especially in the sugar economy. The ethanol blending programme, accelerated in the last decade, aimed to reduce oil imports, stabilise…
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Reimagining Legacy Clusters in India: From Survival to Global Relevance
Introduction: The Forgotten Backbone of Industrial India India’s legacy industrial clusters—spread across textiles, handicrafts, engineering, leather, and food processing—have historically been the backbone of employment, exports, and regional development. Yet, in a rapidly evolving global economy shaped by supply chain realignments, sustainability pressures, and technological disruption, many of these clusters…
