The politics of Bihar must move from patronage to performance

Rajesh Shukla November 11, 2025

Bihar needs to make governance, not giveaways, the basis of its politics to uplift its people and catch up with other big states. Every election season, Bihar is promised a new dawn. Each campaign paints development as its central theme, yet the state continues to rank near the bottom of India’s economic and social tables. Since Independence, politics has flourished but...

India’s consumption story finds a new rhythm

Rajesh Shukla November 8, 2025

Younger Indians, especially those aged 18-25 years, are leading this shift toward experience-based spending. They spend on dining, travel and entertainment as expressions of identity rather than indulgence. Women, too, are central to this change. With growing financial independence and digital fluency, their...

GST cuts, and the Big Bang reforms we need now

October 16, 2025

Many of us are hoping that the tax reform is a signal that the government is intent on big-bang structural reform. If that does happen, and only if that happens, will India have the correct policy mix for scaling Viksit Bharat...

Gold above ₹1 lakh per 10gm: An old love must confront new risks

Rajesh Shukla October 7, 2025

India’s love of this metal endures, but the laws of economics still apply and buyers mustn’t get tempted into a speculative trap. Gold has always held a singular place in India’s social and economic imagination. It is ornament, investment, inheritance and informal insurance...