The most important topic of analysis in our Editorial section in the past week was the India-US interim trade deal. The cut in US tariffs from 50 per cent to 18 per cent puts Indian labour intensive exports at an advantage compared with regional competitors. But there are issues regarding energy security that India needs to tread carefully, especially on the US conditions on Russian oil.
The ‘railway budget’, which is now part of the general Budget, was another issue dissected in our Editorial section. While the trend in railway capex is welcomed, the Editorial expressed concern over railways’ finances. The passenger fare hikes have not helped and freight revenue have also lagged. There is an urgent need to raise the share of non-bulk goods in freight traffic to boost revenues.
How India Inc managed to navigate the choppy waters of the third quarter, despite being buffeted by global uncertainty and tariff turmoil, was another topic of analysis. FY27 is expected to provide more macroeconomic stability, which is likely to give a solid platform for India Inc to perform better and invest more.
In his weekly column Line&Length, TCA Srinivasa Raghavan talks about why institutional reforms are important for India to achieve developed economy status by 2047 (Viksit Bharat). The greater challenge is to push for more economic rights without compromising on political ones, he argues.
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Madan Sabnavis, in his article argues why it is important to use cash reserve ratio (CRR) funds to provide liquidity, given the limits of RBI’s existing liquidity tools. Since CRR is no longer used to rescue banks in distress, Sabnavis makes a case for its cut.
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Brahma Chellany in his article titled. ‘Trump trade truce won’t restore bilateral ties’, looks at the interim trade deal between US and India through the lens of geopolitics and bilateral relations. He argues that while the tariff cuts may bring some benefits to Indian exporters, the destruction of trust by the Trump administration will be hard to restore.
Read more here.
Here’s our cartoonist Ravikanth’s take on the world of business and economics:
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Published on February 14, 2026