Opinion

Santosh Kumar Mohapatra The world today is witnessing an unparalleled concentration of wealth. Never before in human history have so few individuals controlled such vast economic resources. While technological innovation, globalization, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, and financial markets have created extraordinary opportunities for wealth generation,...

Rajdeep Sardesai Sequels in Indian cinema rarely work. Audiences have usually seen the original, the novelty factor is gone and the script feels stale. There are exceptions like the recent blockbuster Dhurandhar, of course, but most follow-ups struggle to recreate the magic of the first...

Adam Michael Bauer & Gernot Wagner   The AI race is already generating forces that are transforming the global economy. That makes it surprisingly similar to the green transition, given the potential of both to upend traditional industries, labour markets, and geopolitical balances. Both call...

Water governance rarely attracts public attention until scarcity, conflict, or drought exposes weaknesses in the system. Yet the institutions that manage water often determine whether investments in irrigation improve agricultural outcomes. More than two decades ago, Odisha attempted to address this challenge through an ambitious...

When the Prime Minister of India appealed to Indians that for at least one year, imports of gold into India (presently above $72 billion a year) may be avoided, he did so in the context of the great uncertainty that the country is faced with...

At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed America's Asian allies to spend 3.5 per cent of their GDP on defence, fueling anxiety across the region and beyond. His brow-beating call to arms may well bring about a regional defence...

Melvin Durai The FIFA World Cup 2026 is finally here, kicking off with a preliminary match on 11 June in Mexico City, and finishing with the final on 19 July. For more than five weeks, people around the world will be glued to TVs, computer...

Alessio Terzi & Stefano Marcuzzi When SpaceX lists a fraction of its shares on the Nasdaq later this week, at an anticipated valuation around $1.75 trillion, it will be the largest IPO in history. Investors are being asked to price a company that builds rockets,...

By Angela Huyue Zhang Hardly a week goes by without news of another American town or city pushing back against a proposed AI data centre in its backyard. Residents worry about the rising electricity costs, excessive water consumption, noise pollution, and other burdens their communities will...

By Ajit Ranade The latest Sample Registration System data should worry every policymaker. In 2024, nearly half of all recorded deaths in India occurred without medical attention from a trained professional. This is up from 18% in 2020. The proportion was even higher in rural...