Bengaluru: Azim Premji Foundation has committed to giving ₹2,250 crore over three years to help more girls complete their college education, making it the country’s largest direct benefit transfer scheme by a not-for-profit private entity. Under the initiative, a girl who has completed her standard X and XII from a government school can apply for…
A recent report by an investment bank says that the three biggest areas of focus on the economic-policy front for the Indian government right now are striking bilateral trade deals, stepping up investments in strategic industries such as semiconductors and reducing the burden of regulation on firms as well as citizens. The new Economic Survey…
‘Evidence shows that health insurance is no elixir for developing countries’ | Photo Credit: Getty Images A little over six years ago, what has been proclaimed as the world’s largest health assurance scheme, namely, the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), was rolled out in the face of hitherto scarce evidence of…
The Indian stock market has had a difficult few months. The NSE Nifty 50 Index declined for 10 straight days recently—an unusually sustained dip. Policymakers in New Delhi tend to maintain a lordly indifference to turbulence in equities. But, on this occasion, they need to pay closer attention. America’s whipsawing tariff policies might have unsettled…
Schoolchildren at a stall in Vijayawada. The Indian Nutrition Rating system allows foods high in fat, salt and sugar, and ultra processed foods, such as biscuits, flaunt two stars on the packet when they might otherwise have four warning signals. Similarly, a soft drink that should have a high warning in sugar instead gets two…
To be sure, progress on India’s FTA with the European Union has not been insubstantial. Both sides have committed themselves to signing it by the end of this calendar year. When it happens, it will be the world’s largest deal of its kind. A trade pact between both sides will not just strengthen our trade…
India must democratize AI to establish itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence, AI experts deliberated at the Mint AI Summit 2025. They highlighted the need for collaboration across multiple sectors, including public-private partnerships, universities, and scholars. Currently, India lags in AI PhD holders and faces significant infrastructure challenges, particularly in energy supply and…
Dispirited by an economic slowdown and stagnant spending power, observers greeted finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s beribboned tax breaks with a combination of euphoria and hope. There was elation because tax breaks could mean more money to spend and save; there are also expectations that this time will be different, because past experience shows that good…
That the Indian economy is going through a difficult phase is no longer a matter of speculation. The Economic Survey not only made that clear, but went further by offering evidence of a decline in earnings of the self-employed in the last six years. For regular and casual workers, wages have been declining for almost…
Economic Surveys tend to have a short shelf life. This could be because they are seen as the handiwork of technocrats, led by the chief economic advisor, and often read like academic wish-lists, devoid of the political economy considerations that determine whether governments take their advice. It could also be because the Union budget follows…
