Blogs

India’s indirect tax journey reached an important milestone in 2025. With the completion of GST 2.0, the full removal of the GST compensation cess, and Parliament’s approval of a new excise framework for demerit goods, the post-GST transition phase can now be said to be formally closed. From a structural standpoint, this is a success….

Vietnam’s General Secretary Lam’s opening speech at the 14th National Congress on 21st January 2026 marks a strategic shift in Vietnam’s policies in all dimensions. It combines visionary long-term goals, implementation pragmatism, and an expanded view of security and international integration. This time, there is a sharper embrace of innovation, institutional reform, and global integration,…

The Bihar Education Department’s recent directive—restricting teachers from addressing anyone other than the Block Education Officer (BEO) as “Sir”—appears, at first glance, to be a trivial matter of administrative protocol. In reality, it is a revealing institutional signal. This is not about etiquette. Put bluntly: it is about power, incentives, and the failure of the…

This coming week, a unit of the European Delegation will march down Kartavya Path for the first time in history. The sharp January air will frame a historic picture: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Antonio Costa standing beside India’s leaders as Chief Guests. Their presence will be more than a…

On New Year’s Eve, more than 200,000 gig workers took to the streets across India to protest “10-minute delivery” promises, which the union labour ministry recently decried as responsible for unsafe and injurious driving practices. Major platforms subsequently rolled back explicit “10-minute” language from their apps and marketing, but the underlying competitive pressures remain unchanged….

Canadian PM Mark Carney’s widely acclaimed speech in Davos included this admission: “American hegemony in particular helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security…we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality.” Even more starkly, he conceded that “we knew the story of the international rules-based order was…

For some time now, judges of the Supreme Court in their public speeches have spoken of a culture of fear amongst the district judiciary when it comes to granting bail. They have, however, been silent on the source of this fear. This code of silence has been shattered by the court in two recent judgments…

There is a silent assumption underpinning India’s infrastructure boom. That no matter how extreme the climate becomes, the financial system will somehow absorb the damage. Roads will be rebuilt. Ports repaired. Power plants restored. Losses will be spread, insured, or written off. Growth will continue. But that assumption is starting to crack. India is building…

When Rama ascended the throne of Ayodhya, he became more than a king—he became an ideal. Rama-Rajya came to symbolize a just, progressive, and compassionate welfare state, where the dignity of even the weakest citizen was safeguarded. As a ruler bound by duty, Rama placed the collective good above personal desire, never allowing power or…

I live far, far away, in a different world—inside my heart. I call it my room—it is snuggled among the snowy mountains. How bewitching it is to watch these peaks have a romantic rendezvous with the misty clouds above! My window looks out onto a jasmine tree. A majestic Phoenix bird perches on it. It…