Eight years ago, India rolled out its biggest ever tax reform: the Goods and Services Tax. This marquee tax reform collapsed 36 tax jurisdictions and subsumed 17 to productionise the idea of ‘One Nation, One Tax’. As a result, tor the first time, the country was economically unified. But the journey since, has been anything but smooth. Creeping acquisition of control by ‘baburaj’ and the consequent introduction of complexity and compliance headaches, have undermined the initial idea. Political brinksmanship only made a bad idea worse. https://youtu.be/0_RHFM7U6zY Belatedly, India is gearing up for GST 2.0. This reboot promises to rationalise rates,…
Author: Anil Padmanabhan
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On Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to rollout hard-nosed and long overdue economic reforms to enable India realise its audacious ambition to become a developed economy by 2047. Two days after his speech, the PM convened a meeting of experts to work out a plan, suggesting that his government is willing to walk the talk—something that eluded previous regimes, all of whom had made similar claims on implementing second generation economic reforms. https://youtu.be/DtLjtJ_GsB0 The sad reality is that today overregulation and tax overreach force employers to redirect resources away from potential growth and job opportunities to meet compliance…
India is building big. It is rolling out highways, metros, ports, tunnels, bridges, like never before. A concrete expression of its economic ambitions. While we celebrate marvels like the arch bridge over the Chenab, cracks are appearing. Literally so. From collapsing bridges to newly built roads giving way in the monsoon. There is a pattern And it points to a deeper problem other than corruption, bad contractors, or tight deadlines. It begins in the classroom schooling civil engineers. https://youtu.be/ODHBKW6JWko India is not generating sufficient quality civil engineers. This begs the question: Is India’s civil engineering education system not keeping pace…
A few weeks ago, President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law. The acronym stands for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins. It is the first major crypto legislation approved by the US Congress and sets the stage for the formal adoption of stablecoins and their regulation. https://youtu.be/EwgKN1nvYCg Unlike bitcoins, stablecoins are fully backed digital currencies and hence less volatile. Their usage, including in cross-border transactions, has grown rapidly in the last few years. Stablecoins are potentially disruptive, especially to the legacy financial system. How will this then play out for the world economy? What about countries…
Last week India and the United Kingdom inked a Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (FTA). It is not India’s first such trade agreement and neither will it be the last. At a time when the world economy is fragmenting due to geopolitics, the business, composition and direction of trade is being reinvented. The earlier mantra of identifying the cheapest product and locating the fastest route is no longer tenable. https://youtu.be/LicLHJHoGrs What will be this new geometry of trade? How will India traverse this new world trade order? To answer all this and more, StratNewsGlobal.Tech spoke to Harsh Pant, Professor of International…
India is undergoing another profound demographic shift. While it is often celebrated as a young country, India has started aging—much faster than what was thought so far. Declining fertility, atomistic living associated with rapid urbanization and improving age longevity are accelerating this phenomenon. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the population aged 60 years and above in India is projected to grow to over 347 million by 2050. In other words, a fifth of the population will be a senior citizen. https://youtu.be/muWy58RnymQ Is India prepared to deal with this demographic transition, which will unleash profound social and economic…
Trumpian economics and fluid geopolitics notwithstanding, Indian companies are poised to raise over $2 billion from Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in July alone. In fact, the country’s share in global IPO listings has risen from 17% in 2023 to 30% in 2024—the highest in the world. https://youtu.be/lYRRTK9vkNY A subtext of this phenomenon is the contribution of the Indian retail investor. For long they were considered risk averse, preferring safety over returns. No longer. Their growing risk appetite is the subtext of this IPO boom. To unpack India’s makeover from a saver to an investor nation, StratNewsGlobal.Tech spoke to Pranav Haldea,…
Under President Donald Trump, the United States has become a diplomatic challenge for adversaries, allies and friends. Especially, in the backdrop of President Trump’s frequent policy flip-flops. This is leading to a piquant situation. While no country can afford to delink from the US, staying engaged is exacting a cost. https://youtu.be/XHoG7vfZF-o To hedge their bets in these circumstances, countries are now exploring a US-plus strategy. Stay anchored in the US for security, tech, and trade, but hedge their bets with other global powers too. This geopolitical diversification has acquired a moniker: A US-plus strategy. What does this mean for the…
India is engaged in a decisive battle with Left Wing Extremism or Naxalism. Over the last month and more we have been reading about how the Naxal leadership has either been eliminated, captured or have surrendered. The government has stated that the threat of red terror will formally cease by March next year. Will this then spark a new beginning? Will the new dawn, mainstream development in the region? https://youtu.be/gtg6tiON0fQ Remember, for seven decades a swathe of land stretching across the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, had been denied the benefits of state sponsored development. To…
The spectacular success of India’s defence forces in Operation Sindoor has put the spotlight on the country’s defensive and offensive capabilities that few knew about. It also highlighted the success of inducting the private sector as a key stakeholder in manufacturing defence equipment—a hitherto no-go area for anyone other than government companies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mc8aamwo8k The obvious question: Has this changed the rules of the business of defence? Will this incentivize more private sector players, entrepreneurs to embrace investments? To answer all this and more, StratNewsGlobal.Tech spoke to Sanjay Bakshi, Managing Partner, ValueQuest Capital LLP. Besides being a world class value investor…