India, the world's fourth largest economy, is set to maintain the 'goldilocks' phase with tailwinds of good growth, low inflation and robust banking performance as well as reform initiatives poised to sustain the economic pace witnessed during 2025.
Jagdish Bhagwati, University Professor, Economics and Law, Columbia University, delivered the Third Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Annual Parliamentary Lecture in the Central Hall of Parliament House on December 2, 2010. Here are the edited excerpts of his excellent analysis of how the economic reforms have benefited India:
After years of rapid expansion, the Centre's capital spending growth eases as private investment shows early signs of revival, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'The BJP is keeping its options open and that the final decision is still tightly held.' 'That is consistent with the party's tendency to preserve suspense, avoid premature factional conflict, and use leadership selection as a way of resetting internal hierarchies.'
The mandate will help further the development agenda in these states, with good governance and policy reforms taking centrestage
He will meet foreign investors to persuade them to invest in India.
Noting that India prohibited foreign investment in too many sectors such as retail, US President Barack Obama on Sunday cited concerns over deteriorating investment climate there to endorse another 'wave' of economic reforms.
Modelled loosely around the National Highway System of the US, he in 2001 launched the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South & East-West Corridor projects to build 4/6 lane highways between four top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar.
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
The government has intensified its Study in India programme and is working closely with universities and states to achieve this goal.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
Luck appears to be on the government's side. It needs to take full advantage of it by initiating long overdue economic reforms without delay, says A K Bhattacharya.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has released its manifesto for the West Bengal elections, focusing on welfare politics and women's empowerment with pledges to expand existing schemes, improve healthcare, and develop infrastructure.
This year's Economic Survey and the Union Budget were more closely followed for more reasons than one.
A bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first Indian governor-general, has replaced a statue of British architect Edwin Lutyens at Rashtrapati Bhavan, symbolizing a move away from colonial influences and embracing Indian heritage.
BJP's success in two state elections gave Modi room to cut through a thicket of regulations and state controls.
Two of the three strikes are related to the gig economy, a centrepiece of the new labour Codes.
A new survey indicates that Indian employers are planning to increase hiring in the April-June quarter, driven by strong business confidence and domestic demand. The survey also highlights the impact of AI adoption on workforce strategy and the challenges of talent scarcity.
Describing the pace of change in China as truly astounding and outstanding, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that India had much to learn from the way the Communist nation had approached economic reforms and liberalisation. Gandhi said the world today recognised the reality of an Asian renaissance and the re-emergence of China and India. She said that the two countries must work and prosper together as the world is big enough to accommodate the growth of both.
India's gross GST collection increased by 8.1 per cent to over Rs 1.83 lakh crore in February, driven by higher import revenues and improved domestic sales. Despite some states reporting negative or below-average growth, experts see the overall trend as a sign of a maturing tax ecosystem and a confident domestic market.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
The story of Bihar's educational reform is a lesson for all reforms done halfway.
Sensitive issues remain. Water sharing of the Ganga and Teesta rivers. Treatment of minorities, particularly Hindus. Border management. Trade imbalances. Connectivity projects.What happens next will shape not just bilateral ties, but the balance of South Asia itself, points out Ramesh Menon.
Budget 2026 is an intentional and ambitious one - From manufacturing growth to services supremacy, from technology consumption to AI-powered transformation. This is the blueprint for a $7 trillion economy built on intelligence, not just scale.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
Tarique Rahman, after 17 years in self-exile, has led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to a significant victory, becoming the country's Prime Minister. This marks a major turnaround for the BNP after years of being targeted by the Awami League government.
India's retail inflation, which has stayed below the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) 4 per cent target in recent times, is likely to remain benign in the coming months, RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said in a speech, on Friday, which was uploaded on the central bank's website on Tuesday. Headline inflation dipped to multi-year lows of around 1.5-2.8 per cent in late 2025.
Benchmark lending rates unchanged with repo rate at 5.25%
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
India is already a heavyweight in global farm trade in pockets such as rice exports, but experts are urging a pivot from a subsidy- and procurement-driven mindset to a productivity and nutrition strategy that still shields farmers from volatility.
India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.
India and the US have entered a new phase in their relationship, marked by greater parity, point out Harsh V Pant and Vivek Mishra.
He was responding to a question on economic reforms in the country.
It is time to reset expectations as government will move with alacrity on social policy, not on economic reforms.
'Maybe he was wrong, but they believed he genuinely meant what he said.'
The Congress party has strongly criticized the Union Budget, calling it 'lacklustre' and 'disappointing,' claiming it fails to address the needs of farmers, unemployed youth, and other key sectors.
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe apologises after claiming the UK had been 'colonised by immigrants,' sparking criticism from political leaders.
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
Governments should move away from universal subsidies towards tightly targeted transfers, backed by stricter eligibility norms, sunset clauses and periodic audits to curb leakages and improve spending efficiency, a joint study by Asian Development Bank and PwC has recommended.
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Thursday, helped by a rally in blue-chip Larsen & Toubro and the Economic Survey projecting the GDP growth of 6.8-7.2 per cent for the next fiscal.
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