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Monday, February 2, 2026
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Opinion

India spooks investors instead of calming them

Union Budget brings home to markets the unpleasant reality of fiscal dominance where RBI ends up prioritising deficit financing over its primary function of inflation control.

India’s love-hate relationship with foreign capital holds it back. What Budget 2026 hints at

Reviewing Foreign Exchange Management rules is fine, but India needs to stop being so suspicious of foreign money to hit 10 per cent growth.

Indian-Americans are leaving Hinduism. We must reimagine faith

We need to give space to American Hindus to challenge, reform, and even get rid of practices that perpetuate harm.

From populism to productivity—why the Budget 2026 makes a structural turn

The Budget proposals seek to balance sustained high economic growth with fiscal discipline and structural transformation.

Budget 2026 squarely puts manufacturing at the centre of India’s growth strategy

The Budget’s emphasis on seven ‘strategic and frontier’ manufacturing areas is clearly not random. These are areas of high import dependence, strong employment, and rising geopolitical sensitivity.

Budget 2026 is deliberately boring. Given the global climate, it’s a smart decision

Budget 2026 does not seek to redefine India’s growth model; rather, it reinforces the existing framework characterised by fiscal restraint, public investment, and manufacturing depth.

Confident politics, anxious geopolitics. Modi govt’s Budget is an exercise in contrast

The Budget has indeed woken up the sleeping markets, just not the way the government’s fans would have expected.

Budget 2026: Push for India’s bond market needs the foundations fixed first

Corporate bonds are priced as a spread over the risk-free rate. In India, the reference risk-free rate is unreliable as large institutions are mandated to buy and hold government bonds.

A bride enjoying her wedding day is a radical act

They say a happy bride is the best bride. To me, this once felt like a redundant statement. It’s her wedding, duh. Of course,...

India-EU FTA doesn’t mean cars will get cheaper. Read the fine print

A manufacturer can’t just ship kits from the US or China, assemble them in Germany, France or Belgium, and then claim lower duties.

On Camera

China’s Motuo dam is coming. Assam has no buffer and no real-time data

China, which harbours ambitions to control the Yarlung Tsangpo, as the Brahmaputra is known in Tibet, is moving ahead with its mega hydropower project at Motuo.

Seafood industry welcomes Budget’s fisheries push. ‘Lays groundwork for becoming global player’

Exporters said the Budget’s proposals to increase duty-free import limits on processing, create 500 reservoirs and support fisheries startups will boost the marine industry.

More boots, bigger budget: Agnipath outlay jumps 58%, Army’s share the largest

With recruitments under Agnipath set to rise, the Union Budget has significantly increased spending, with the Army taking nearly 87% of the total outlay. 

Swiss report should now close Op Sindoor debate. Knowing when to stop the fight is key too

The key to fighting a war successfully, or even launching it, is a clear objective. That’s an entirely political call. It isn’t emotional or purely military.