Category: Uncategorized
-
Manufacturing at a Crossroads: Reading India’s Mixed Industrial Signals
India’s manufacturing sector today stands at an inflection point, reflecting a familiar but important pattern in the country’s development journey. Industrial output growth has moderated, especially in consumer durables and export-oriented manufacturing, even as infrastructure-linked sectors such as steel, cement, and capital goods tied to public projects continue to show…
-
India’s Widening Trade Deficit and Declining Rupee: A Turning Point for Economic Strategy
India is entering a decisive phase in its economic journey as the trade deficit surges to historic levels while the rupee continuously weakens against the US dollar. These twin developments are not isolated market fluctuations — they represent structural tensions in India’s external sector, shaped by deep historical legacies and…
-
Global Manufacturing Signals: The Twin Slowdown in China and Russia and What It Means for the World Economy
A Tale of Two Factories: Diverging but Converging Risks Manufacturing has long been the pulse of the global economy — an early signal of growth, resilience, or stress. The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) readings from two industrial powers, China and Russia, reveal a subtle but significant turning point.China’s private…
-
The Shifting Architecture of Global Trade — How U.S. Export Controls and Tariffs Are Reshaping Supply Chains
From Open Trade to Controlled Interdependence The United States once stood at the epicenter of global free trade, championing open markets and liberalization since the Bretton Woods era. However, the trajectory has sharply changed in recent years, especially since the trade conflicts of the late 2010s. The U.S. is now…
-
India’s Textile PLI 2.0: Lower Barriers, Higher Ambitions
Introduction: The Evolution of India’s PLI for Textiles When India launched its Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles in September 2021, it was a bold step to strengthen domestic manufacturing, attract global investments, and position India as a competitive player in man-made fibres (MMF) and technical textiles. However, despite…
-
Latin America’s Trade Crossroads: Watching U.S. Tariff Shifts with Uneasy Eyes
For much of modern history, Latin America’s economic fortunes have been tied to global demand for its commodities—coffee, copper, soybeans, oil, and more recently, lithium. The region’s trade models were built around exporting primary goods and importing higher-value industrial products. This dependency makes Latin America acutely sensitive to tariff policies…
-
Spain’s Economic Rebound: Europe’s New Standout Story
Spain, once viewed as one of the most fragile economies during the Eurozone debt crisis, has today emerged as Europe’s standout growth story. The transformation is not accidental—it is rooted in structural reforms, demographic shifts, and a pragmatic embrace of global opportunities. Yet, as history reminds us, sustaining momentum is…
-
Beyond Superstars: Why Industrial Strategy Must Include Everyday Sectors
Industrial policies worldwide often carry a strong bias toward “superstar” sectors—those that attract headlines, foreign investments, and political pride. High-tech industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, or aerospace typically dominate national strategies. These sectors are indeed important, as they symbolize technological edge and global competitiveness. But an overemphasis on them…
-
Fracturing, Not Deglobalizing: The Emerging Shape of the World Economy
The global economy today is often described through the lens of deglobalization, but that framing risks oversimplifying what is truly happening. Rather than a retreat from global integration, what we are witnessing is a strategic fracturing of certain sectors. While trade, capital, and investment still flow across borders at scale,…
-
Tariff Turbulence: How U.S. Tariffs on Indian Goods Are Reshaping India’s Economy
On 7–8 August 2025, the United States sharply escalated its trade dispute with India. President Donald Trump announced an additional 25-percentage-point duty on Indian goods because New Delhi continued to buy discounted Russian oil. Added to a 25 % levy imposed in April, this raised the total tariff on several…