As India progresses on a journey to become a global economic powerhouse, three frontiers of globalization stand out as having the highest impact on its trade trajectory: the growing utilisation of India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), the technology-driven expansion of the services sector through Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and AI,…
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India’s Trade Diplomacy Rewriting Its Place in the Global Economy
Today, the global economic order is undergoing a profound change. We are moving from the era of hyper-globalization, characterized by deeply integrated supply chains and borderless trades, to a more fragmented landscape defined by strategic partnerships, economic security concerns, and a regional framework. Amid this shift, India has now emerged…
State Finances in Transition: Deficits, Debt, and Fiscal Space
State governments anchor India’s fiscal architecture, with combined expenditure exceeding the Centre’s. Their fiscal position has a direct bearing on development outcomes, macroeconomic stability, and cooperative federalism. After the pandemic-induced spike in fiscal deficit (around 4.1 per cent of GDP in 2020–21), states consolidated, with deficits falling below 3 per…
A Truer Mirror for a Transformed Economy: Why CPI Rebasing Matters for Indian Industry
The release of India’s revised Consumer Price Index with base year 2024 on 12th February by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) marks a defining moment for economic measurement in India. This is not merely a technical exercise in statistical housekeeping. For industry, it represents a fundamental recalibration of the lens through which…
India’s Foreign Direct Investment Story: Reform, Resilience and Rising Global Confidence
India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) trajectory over the past decade is not merely a story of rising capital inflows — it is the narrative of a country systematically restructuring its economic foundations to align with new global realities. The shift has been structural, deliberate and reform-driven, reflecting the convergence of…
Attracting and Managing International Investment: The Indian Approach
The global investment climate is no longer a simple contest of growth rates. It is a contest of credibility – earned over time, tested through cycles, and sustained by institutions. Capital remains abundant, but conviction is harder to earn. Geopolitical fragmentation, supply-chain realignments, and episodic risk-off cycles mean that the largest movers of global capital – sovereign funds, pensions, insurers, and strategic multinationals – are increasingly…
GIFT CITY-IFSC and India’s Global Financial Ambitions
In 2015, the Government of India implemented a major financial sector reform by establishing and operationalising India’s maiden International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (GIFT City), Gujarat. The vision of the Government is to develop GIFT IFSC as a leading global financial centre with trusted business regulations, a competitive tax structure, and a world-class ease…
Strengthening India’s Economic Security: Time to Broaden the Conversation
Recent years have witnessed a series of severe shocks to the global economy that differ in origin but are remarkably similar in impact. The pandemic disrupted global production and mobility at an unprecedented scale. The Russia Ukraine conflict exposed vulnerabilities in global energy, food, and fertiliser systems. Climate related events are increasingly…
ADVANCING TAX CERTAINTY AND COMPETITIVENESS: A REFORM AGENDA FOR INDIA’S NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
As India prepares for the Union Budget 2026–27, the moment calls for a decisive shift from incremental tax changes to deep, structural reforms in tax administration. In an increasingly competitive global environment, a predictable, efficient, and non adversarial tax regime is no longer merely an enabler of compliance; it is…
R&D as a Driver of Economic Resilience
The total investment in R&D in India is estimated at about Rs 1.3 trillion in 2023-24 with about 57.0 per cent of funding from public sources. Close to 60.0 per cent of this Government funding is by strategic departments of the Government which include the Defence Research and Development Organization…