Insights into Wages, Skills, and Informal Employment through the Lens of PLFS 2025 report using unit level data for the first time

SBI Research - May 08, 2026 

India’s labour force is undergoing structural transformation with share of agriculture in the workforce witnessing a modest 23% decline f

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National Cotton Mission – strategic sovereignty or statistical chimera

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - May 06, 2026 

Known as ‘white gold’, Indian cotton is a major cash crop that supports 6 million farmers and 40–50 million people in the downstream proces

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UAE exit will weaken OPEC; may encourage others to follow

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - May 06, 2026 

>In recent years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been consciously seeking to reduce its dependence on oil export revenue by diversifyin

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El Nino / monsoon deficiency threaten Indian Kharif pulses production

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - May 04, 2026 

India, the epicenter of the global pulses ecosystem, is currently in transition. From the 2025-26 season covering Kharif 2025 and Rabi 2026

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Hormuz Standoff Keeps Bullion Volatile; Caps Gains

Mr Gnanasekar T - May 04, 2026 

Teaser: Supported by a drop in oil prices and the weakening of the US dollar, gold increased marginally to around $4,600 on Friday, extendi

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Monetary policy in times of uncertainty requires inflationary expectations to be firmly anchored

SBI Research - Apr 29, 2026 

Monetary policy in times of uncertainty requires inflationary expectations to be firmly anchored…This directly implies the crucial import

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Hormuz Standoff Keeps Bullion Volatile; Caps Gains

Mr Gnanasekar T - Apr 27, 2026 

Teaser: Gold rose mildly after the Justice Department dropped its probe into outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, supporting both gold and sil

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GROWING GAP BETWEEN PER CAPITA CURRENCY HOLDING WITH PUBLIC & PER CAPITA ATM WITHDRAWAL REVEAL INCREASED PRECAUTIONARY MOTIVE OF HOLDING MONEY

SBI RESEARCH - Apr 24, 2026 

Currency in circulation (CiC), increased by 11.9% (vis-à-vis 6.1% last year), to reach the all-time high level of Rs 41.6 trillion during

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No need to panic on palm oil

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Apr 24, 2026 

Indonesian Agriculture Minister’s statement that his country will no longer import low-grade diesel fuel with effect from July 1 this year

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Who says India is a poor country?

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Apr 24, 2026 

India is touted as a US $ 4 Trillion economy and world’s fastest growing. The nominal GDP per capita below $ 3,000 places the country at a

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The Fire We Didn't See Coming

WING COMMANDER SONIKA TANWAR - Apr 23, 2026 

Pachpadra was contained. The next incident may not give us that courtesy - and the signature of a tampered valve looks identical to a fau

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Hormuz Closure Clouds Bullion Outlook Again

Mr Gnanasekar T - Apr 20, 2026 

Teaser: Gold jumped to the highest in almost a month after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” on Friday to commercial t

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Economic Outlook 2026-27: THE AUDACITY OF FLEETING HOPE

SBI Research - Apr 18, 2026 

The prolonged talks, mostly dead-locked and partially filled with a false semblance of hope at once, reminiscent of Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Naa

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Bullion Holds Base as Risk Premium Returns

Mr Gnanasekar T - Apr 13, 2026 

Teaser: Gold edged up to $4,780 per ounce on Friday, heading for a third straight weekly gain, buoyed by a weaker dollar and investor focus

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Modest Uptick in CPI Inflation

SBI research - Apr 13, 2026 

MODEST UPTICK IN CPI INFLATION: VOLATILITY FEARS MAY PLAGUE IMPORTED INFLATION EVEN AS FY27 TO BE A YEAR WITH BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL, THOUGH

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The watchword in this VUCA world is ‘Security’

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Apr 10, 2026 

We are living in a disruptive decade, having witnessed a series of catastrophic events last six years. Starting with the Covid-19 pandemic

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Fertilizer –move to smarter, greener, indigenous nutrients

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Apr 06, 2026 

The role of fertilizers as one of the three critical inputs for agricultural crops production and productivity is well recognized. For agra

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Safe-Haven Appeal Fades as Oil Spike Lifts Inflation Risks

Mr Gnanasekar T - Apr 06, 2026 

Teaser: Gold prices fell over 4% to $4,600 per ounce on Thursday, halting a four day winning streak, as the US currency and oil prices soar

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Crude, Crops and Currency (3 Cs) set to elevate India’s inflation risk

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Mar 31, 2026 

Into its fifth week, the ongoing military conflict in the Persian Gulf region does not show any clear sign of abating. Statements from play

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Rupee Needs Unambiguous Support to Hold the Forte as the Shock Takes New Dimension

SBI ERD - Mar 30, 2026 

Unprecedented times call for unequivocal, unprecedented and unambiguous supports. With parallels rife between 2013 and present in terms of

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Bullion Volatility Persists as Energy Shock Reshapes Market Outlook

Mr Gnanasekar T - Mar 30, 2026 

Teaser: Gold fell nearly 1% to around $4,450 on Monday, paring gains from the previous session as the Middle East conflict entered its fift

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Oil excise cut to shield customers from the vagaries of oil price jump

SBI Research - Mar 27, 2026 

Oil excise cut to shield customers from the vagaries of oil price jump… Centre to forego revenue of around Rs 1.1 lakh crore….time for the

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Such a Long Journey

SBI Research - Mar 23, 2026 

Global headwinds and proliferating series of exogenous shocks create a TINA (There Is No Alternative) syndrome for world currencies as unc

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Be wary of gold price correction

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Mar 20, 2026 

Precious metals in general and gold in particular enjoyed a stellar run in 2025 with the yellow metal reaching a record high price of $ 455

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Are Rabi 2026 crop estimates realistic?

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Mar 14, 2026 

Last week, the Union Ministry of Agriculture released the second advance estimate of crop production for 2025-26 covering mainly Rabi crops

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Energy price spike sure to impact import dependent countries

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Mar 14, 2026 

The ongoing military conflict in West Asia involving Israel and the US on the one side and Iran on the other has heightened the geopolitica

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Oil, Nerves and a Narrow Strait

Ms Upasna Bhardwaj, Chief Economist, Kotak Mahindra Bank - Mar 11, 2026 

India’s macro story had been looking comfortably “Goldilocks” until now, with growth holding firm, inflation moderating and external risks

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SBI research report, with credit given to the SBI Economic Research Department team

SBI Economic Research Department - Mar 07, 2026 

Should the raging conflict in Middle East proliferate asymmetrically across jurisdictions, asset classes and supply chains, the cumulativ

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Facts about India-US Trade Deal

Source: SBI Economic Research Team - Feb 12, 2026 

The trade deal with the US, back on the heels of wide arc of trade deals with EU & UK, catapults India to a unique strategic position

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Wheat crop faces looming risk of heat and moisture stress

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Feb 11, 2026 

Even as the upcoming wheat crop is in the process of maturing and gradually readying for harvest in the next few weeks, rising day temperat

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SBI Special Report (India to become an upper-middle-income country)

- Jan 19, 2026 

India set to transition to Upper Middle-Income Country by 2030 concurrently with becoming the 3rd Largest Economy in 2028..India at 95th pe

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Global coal demand set to slow gradually

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 09, 2026 

As traditional feedstock, coal is the cornerstone of electricity generation in many countries. Same time, it is the single largest source o

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INDIA’S NUTRITION CHALLENGE

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 10, 2025 

For a country aspiring to reach a $5-trillion GDP and already the world’s fastest-growing major economy, India’s nutrition status leaves mu

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WGC Gold Outlook 2026

- Dec 04, 2025 

Gold has experienced a remarkable 2025, achieving over 50 all-time highs and returning over 60%.1 This performance has been supported by a

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Why Credit Access Remains a Statistical Mirage for Small Manufacturers

Sanket Kapadnis, Founder, ThinkSDG Advisors - Dec 01, 2025 

Introduction: The Invisible Cash Flow CrisisIn India’s manufacturing landscape, the story of small

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Playing’ the palm oil price game

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Nov 27, 2025 

In the basket of global vegetable oils that comprises oils of soy, rapeseed, sunseed, cottonseed, groundnut, coconut and a few more oil cro

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Government Announces Implementation of Four Labour Codes to Simplify and Streamline Labour Laws

NA - Nov 21, 2025 

Four Labour Codes Herald Transformational Change: Better Wages, Safety,

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Advance Estimates of Kharif 2025-26 crops production inexplicably delayed

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Nov 19, 2025 

It is past mid-November and yet there is no sign of the ‘First Advance Estimates of Production’ of foodgrains, oilseeds and other commercia

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Forging the Future of India’s Stainless Steel Industry

Krishna Shah - Oct 30, 2025 

India’s stainless steel utensil industry stands as one of the country’s quiet manufacturing triumphs — built on ingenuity, driven by micr

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Caution warranted in current bullion market

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Oct 14, 2025 

Gold and silver prices have reached record levels in the international market. Gold recently crossed the psychological $ 4,000 a troy oun

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Changing Crop Choices: Why Indian Farmers Are Moving Away from Cotton and Oilseeds in 2025

Krishna Shah - Oct 14, 2025 

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the total area sown under Kharif crops until September 26, 2025,

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Gold’s enduring value for global economy

Sanjay Mehta - Oct 14, 2025 

Gold has been a cornerstone of the global economy for centuries, serving as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a hedge against f

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Manifesting a Better Bharat with AI

Sanjay Mehta - Oct 14, 2025 

India today stands at the threshold of a historic transformation, empowered by the strength of its digital revolution. With more than 950

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Production Outlook for Key Kharif 2025 Crops

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Sep 29, 2025 

IMC-ERTF (Economic Research and Training Foundation) is pleased to announce it Kharif 2025 crop production outlook following the gradua

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Indonesia India bilateral trade opportunities

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jun 10, 2025 

India and Indonesia, two major economies in the Indo-Pacific, share a long-standing relationship and possess significant unrealized bilater

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Union Budget FY 27 – Farm Policy Suggestions

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 20, 2026 

‘A bold peasantry, the country’s pride;Once destroyed can never

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India’s Cotton Outlook Brightens: CAI Projects Higher Closing Stocks for 2025–26 Season

Krishna Shah - Nov 13, 2025 

India’s cotton sector is set for a stronger supply position in the 2025–26 season, with the Cotton Association of India (CAI) projecting a

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SEBI Press release dated 8 November 2025, on Digital Gold

Bhargava Vaidya - Nov 11, 2025 

“Digital gold” is a relatively new product, which has been in the market for about a few years.So, what is digital Gold?  Digital gold

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METALTRENDZZ Webinar Precious Metals Market Dynamics 2026 Q1 December 6, 2025

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 10, 2025 

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LEAD MARKET OUTLOOK 2026 AMID GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC SETTING

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 15, 2025 

The 2020s has been a disruptive decade so far. The world has faced multiple headwinds and challenges since early 2020. Covid-19 pandemic, t

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Nutrition Programs Deliver Positive Outcomes

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 31, 2025 

India’s poor nutrition status is well-documented. Pervasive malnutrition / under-nutrition especially in rural parts of the country is actu

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Millets: Converting the mirage to meaningful miracle

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 19, 2026 

India is the world’s largest producer of millets. The year 2024-25 witnessed a record 18.6 million tonnes production of what we call nutri-

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Budget must focus on critical minerals

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 28, 2026 

The Indian economy is in an expansionary phase. Its future growth and national security are closely tied to its ability to secure and devel

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Gold's future trajectory

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 10, 2025 

According to a report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the rise in gold prices since the beginning of September has been am

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USA Threatens Tariff on Indian Rice

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 10, 2025 

The hot topic in the market for the last two days is the threat of tariff imposition on India's rice exports to the US on the grounds of 'd

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Disengaging with Iran only sensible way out

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 19, 2026 

‘In international relations, there are no permanent

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Key Macro Themes for 2026

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Dec 31, 2025 

Marked by geo-economic and geopolitical headwinds, the current year 2025 is on its way out; but a plethora of challenges will continue to h

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Case for customs duty hike on gold

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 28, 2026 

In July 2024, the government sharply reduced the total customs duty on gold import from a high of 15% to 6% (comprising 5% basic customs du

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Budget must raise customs duty on vegetable oil import

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Jan 28, 2026 

To meet the widening domestic supply shortfall, India imports annually 15-16 million tonnes of various oils (palm, soy, sun) valued at $ 17

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Boxed Emotions: Packaging for the Eco Generation

Bhushan Yengade - Oct 15, 2025 

What Gen Z Really Wants in Packaging: More Than Just a Box Packaging today is no longer just a protective wrapper, it’s a storyt

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Gold may consolidate after sharp correction

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Nov 03, 2025 

After a remarkable 60 percent increase since the start of the year and nine-week winning run to reach a record high of $ 4380 a troy ounc

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Gold, Silver Retreat as Volatility Overrides Dovish Signals

Gnanasekar Thiagarajan - Feb 17, 2026 

Teaser: Gold and silver ended lower on the week despite sharp intraday rebounds, with price action reflecting continued volatility and fr

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Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Commerce & Industry

- Feb 11, 2026 

The United States of America (United States) and India are pleased to announce tha

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Trump threatens India with punitive tariff for buying Russian oil

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

India is facing a double whammy from the US President Donald Trump despite the fact that the two countries are currently negotiating a bila

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When dependency becomes vulnerability

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

Trump’s 50 percent tariff (basic 25% plus additional 25%) on Indian exports to the US has generated panic not only within the government ci

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Unlocking the Potential of FPOs to Achieve Food & Fibre Security for India

Manish Daga - Sep 23, 2025 

India’s journey toward food and fibre security is at a critical juncture. With over 6.5 million cotton farmers and millions more engaged in

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Reimagining GCCs: Building India’s Resilience against Tariffs and Layoffs

- Sep 23, 2025 

India is facing a dual disruption: exporters struggling under steep tariffs and IT professionals experiencing layoffs despite record indust

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GCCs can help build resilience against uncertainty

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

The world is currently going through VUCA conditions – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Multiple headwinds buffet the wor

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How to Measure Sustainability

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

The earth’s risk profile is changing. Global warming / Climate change is now a recognized real risk to human welfare. The world has taken c

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Wheat: not by MSP alone

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF - Oct 03, 2025 

What will the hike in minimum support price (MSP) for wheat for crop year 2025-26 (marketing year 2026-27) approved by the Cabinet Commit

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The Allure of Glittering Gold

- Sep 23, 2025 

Background: In pursuance of the decision to run blogs on topical subjects, ERTF chose Gold Market as the subject that could potentially eli

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Trump, Tariffs, Tradewar and Turmoil

- Sep 23, 2025 

The much-awaited US reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2 have jolted the world with a few countries in Asia becoming the target of Trump

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The Present and Future of AI

Raj Nair - Sep 23, 2025 

Have you heard of Gemma 3, Sec- Gemini v1, DeepSeek, Gemini 2.0, etc.? Don’t worry because more 95% of the people around you have not heard

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USA – India BTA and scenario of possible outcomes

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

The US faces the problem of ‘twin deficit’ that is fiscal deficit and trade deficit. The policy of free trade or liberal import – intended

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Contours of India UK FTA set to boost economic opportunities

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

After over three years of negotiations that began in January 2022, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was recently concluded and forma

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Modernizing-cotton cultivation through tech infusion is imperative

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

Cotton is an important cash crop for our country. It is not merely an agricultural crop but an industrial commodity too as it has multiple

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India’s steel sector: are we ready for the big leap?

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

Steel is a critical industrial metal for growth and development of several sectors including infrastructure, construction, defense, mobilit

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For Vietnam, India can be a reliable partner

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

At the recently concluded Asia Agri Food Conference in Ho Chi Min City, several ideas to cement India Vietnam partnership in the area of ag

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India should tie up with the US for critical minerals

G. Chandrashekhar - Sep 23, 2025 

The proposed India-USA Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is still under intense negotiation. While, it is widely believed the US is keen to o

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Unilateral Tariff Imposition of 25% by President Donald Trump, USA

Mr. Suresh Kotak - Sep 23, 2025 

IMC-ERTF a quick research response has made a brief preliminary observation of the Unilateral and additional Ad Valorem Tariff Duty @ 25% f

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Five mega trends set to drive commodities

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF - Oct 06, 2025 

It is well recognized that India’s growth over the next two decades or so will be largely driven by a variety of commodities including en

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The Indian Manufacturing MSME Paradox: Backbone Without a Growth Spine

Sanket Kapadnis, Founder, ThinkSDG Advisors - Oct 06, 2025 

IntroductionIndia’s manufacturing MSMEs are the quiet workhorses of the economy. They contribute rou

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