Opinion

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s 86-minute Budget speech for 2026–27 tried to project reform and restraint. The markets saw something else. Within hours, Dalal Street delivered its verdict. The Sensex and Nifty slid after the government raised the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives, chilling trading...

Ajit Ranade India’s macro backdrop today looks unusually reassuring. Quarterly real growth has been firm, inflation is low, banks are reporting strong profits with low NPAs, and corporate balance sheets look healthier after years of deleveraging. That surface calm, however, is precisely why the Union...

By Piotr Opali ski Relations between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are currently among the most unstable elements of South Asia’s security architecture. Increasing border incidents, escalating political tensions, and growing activity of extremist groups indicate that the Islamabad-Kabul conflict has transcended the framework of incidental...

By Lekha Rattanani A sudden death of a top politician in an air crash naturally causes deep distress and brings big uncertainties in the political arena, particularly when the politician is in the saddle but placed uncomfortably in a difficult political alliance in a key...

By Antarjeeta Nayak and Ramakrishna Biswal Every February, the Union Budget acts as a national reflection. Ministries examine it for approval, sectors look to it for support, and citizens search for hope in the details. Departments like railways, agriculture, and education receive specific budget allocations,...

By JP Singh Among the more remarkable features of US President Donald Trump’s meandering speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos was his invocation of the cultural bonds that made the West so prosperous. But Trump obviously did not believe a word he said...

By Rajdeep Sardesai Long before the TV screen or mobile phone took over our lives, there was the humble radio. For anyone who grew up in the India of the 70s, the radio was our window to a wider world. This was my universe where...

By Chander Gupta Having retired from a Public Sector Bank after rendering service for 35 years as an officer, I am privileged to have grasped some of the fundamental concepts related to banking and finance. One such concept worth discussing about, for the benefit of...

By Debaraj Sahoo The growing mechanised harvesting of paddy in rural Odisha has significantly improved agricultural productivity. It has reduced dependence on manual labour, shortened harvesting time, and helped farmers cope with increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. However, in the absence of sustainable residue disposal and...

I’ve never been much of an athlete, but someday I’d like to wear an Olympic silver medal around my neck. I’d show it proudly to all my friends, saying, “It’s mine, all mine. Did you ever think I’d have an Olympic silver medal in javelin?”...