Author: R Suryamurthy
India’s surprise move to suspend import duties on cotton for 40 days is set to unsettle its cotton economy, pushing down domestic prices and squeezing farmers, while giving American exporters a valuable opening in a market where they have long struggled to expand. On 18 August, the Finance Ministry scrapped the combined 11% levy—5% Basic Customs Duty plus 5% Agriculture Infrastructure Cess–on raw cotton imports between 19 August and 30 September. The waiver, billed as a temporary step to help textile mills cope with high raw material costs, comes just weeks before the new harvest, raising fears of a sharp…
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has transformed from a niche experiment into the lifeblood of daily transactions, powering everything from street-side chai stalls to grocery chains. But beneath the dazzling surge in usage lurk structural challenges — fiscal strain on banks, over-reliance on a handful of apps, and gaps in data transparency. As the average daily transaction value nears ₹90,000 crore, experts warn that UPI’s triumph may be sowing the seeds of future vulnerability. UPI Adoption Surges, Redefining Payments New research from the State Bank of India (SBI) shows that average daily UPI transaction values climbed to ₹90,446 crore ($10.9…
New Delhi, Aug 15: Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his 79th Independence Day address on Friday to formalise a new principle in India’s national security posture: New Delhi will launch pre-emptive cross-border strikes against terror infrastructure without waiting for foreign clearance — and will do so with an arsenal built domestically. Delivered from the ramparts of the Red Fort just days after Pakistan’s top leadership issued hardline warnings on Kashmir and nuclear deterrence, the 103-minute speech positioned Operation Sindoor as the defining case study for this shift. The retaliatory strikes that followed the Pahalgam terror attack were carried out entirely…
The United States’ imposition of a sweeping 25% tariff on Indian imports may end up inflicting more pain on American households than on Indian exporters, according to a stark assessment by the State Bank of India’s research wing. The move, intended as economic pressure to deter India’s continued ties with Russia, could fuel inflation, erode US household incomes, and increase costs across multiple sectors, the report said. “The 25% tariff is a bad business decision,” said the SBI Research report, calling it a short-sighted trade action that could “[boomerang]” on the American economy. “In the absence of supply chain re-optimisation…
By R Suryamurthy India finds itself at a critical economic and diplomatic inflection point after US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports effective August 1, accompanied by an unspecified penalty targeting India’s continued purchases of Russian oil and arms. While the Indian government has not issued retaliatory measures, it has reiterated its commitment to a “fair, balanced and mutually beneficial” trade agreement with the US, even as economic analysts warn of significant downside risks to growth, profit margins, and bilateral trust. Exports at Risk: $81 Billion Under the Scanner The United States is…
By R Suryamurthy New Delhi, July 31: India is grappling with a significant and often overlooked public health crisis: nearly one in two Indians over the age of 45 suffers from chronic joint pain. Despite this widespread suffering, the vast majority do not seek timely medical care, leading experts to sound the alarm about a growing “silent epidemic” that demands urgent attention and structured intervention. A landmark study published in BMC Geriatrics reveals the alarming prevalence, with 47% of Indians aged 45 and above reporting joint pain, and over 31% experiencing persistent back pain. Even with these high figures, most…
By R Suryamurthy Mumbai, 28 July: Beyond his undeniable charisma on the silver screen, Bollywood powerhouse Akshay Kumar is increasingly making headlines for his astute moves in the high-stakes world of Mumbai real estate. The actor, affectionately known a “Khiladi Kumar”, recently demonstrated his sharp business acumen by selling two adjacent residential properties in Borivali East for a cumulative ₹7.10 crore, netting impressive returns of up to 99 per cent on his initial investment. These transactions, registered in June 2025 and first brought to light by property portal Square Yards through IGR Maharashtra documents, underscore a growing trend among Bollywood’s…
