4+ hour, 7+ min ago   (471+ words) Definitions matter. A conventional middle-class band of ₹5-30 lakh a year captures the middle of the population, according to economic research organisations like PRICE. India’s middle class population is estimated at roughly 432 million people, which accounts for about 31% of the total…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago   (802+ words) Sri Lanka’s gross national income per capita touched $4,670 in 2025, crossing the $4,636 threshold for the upper-middle-income status under the World Bank classification. The reclassification confirms the recovery in average income. It says little about whether families have regained the purchasing power…...

2+ day, 21+ hour ago   (808+ words) The RBI interest rate pause reflects uncertainty over oil prices, a weaker rupee and whether fuel inflation will spread across the economy. The Monetary Policy Committee therefore voted unanimously to retain the repo rate at 5.25% and continue with a neutral…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago   (771+ words) Easier FDI rules: India’s foreign investment numbers flatter to deceive. Gross FDI rose 17 per cent to a record $94.5 billion in 2025-26. Net FDI, after profit repatriation and overseas investment by Indian companies, was $7.7 billion. That was an improvement on the paltry…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago   (651+ words) In India, fiscal policy cannot be confined to demand management. It finances roads, railways, power, schools, health, nutrition and transfers. That gives the Union and state budgets a developmental role. It also makes the quality of spending as important as…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago   (866+ words) WPI rebasing will track producer costs better, but it cannot reflect household inflation. WPI rebasing: India’s wholesale price index entered a new series on June 15, with the base year shifted from 2011-12 to 2022-23. The government had approved the revision on May…...

1+ mon, 4+ week ago   (1079+ words) The West Asia conflict has lifted energy prices, raised freight and insurance costs, and exposed India’s vulnerability to the Strait of Hormuz. The government has responded with fuel price increases. That has eased some pressure on public sector oil marketing…...

1+ mon, 4+ week ago   (743+ words) Global public debt: Global public finances have entered a dangerous phase. The IMF’s April 2026 Fiscal Monitor, titled Fiscal Policy under Pressure: High Debt, Rising Risks, says gross government debt worldwide rose to just under 94% of GDP in 2025 and is set…...

2+ mon, 4+ hour ago   (1028+ words) French economist Thomas Piketty has revived an old question with new urgency: can countries such as India reach developed-world living standards if rich nations keep expanding consumption as before? The provocation comes from the World Inequality Lab’s Global Justice Report,…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago   (660+ words) The RBI has held rates, but its latest policy statement signals a tougher inflation-growth trade-off ahead. The latest monetary policy statement comes at a difficult moment for the global economy. The Monetary Policy Committee has held the repo rate at…...