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Just within hours of the announcement of India-US trade deal, there arose a political storm in the Parliament of India on Tuesday that disrupted its proceedings. Opposition MPs raised strong objections in both Houses – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – demanding a full debate and clarity on the deal. They said Parliament must be taken into confidence and the full text or details of the agreement should be tabled.

The Sixteenth Finance Commission’s horizontal devolution outcomes have been widely read as a technocratic recalibration—one that finally rewards economic performance by explicitly recognising states’ contribution to national output—but beneath the arithmetic lies a more consequential political-economic shift, in which India’s federal fiscal contract is being re-engineered away from equalisation and towards conditional reward, even as the Centre continues to consolidate control over the tax base through instruments that remain outside the divisible pool.

India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled her ninth budget on February 1, a fiscal blueprint designed to sustain the world's fastest-growing major economy at 6.5% even as Donald Trump's tariff threats and global economic malaise force policymakers worldwide into a defensive crouch. The response from Western financial centers was decidedly mixed.

Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the military junta backed party won the Myanmar elections in what is widely perceived to be a "sham victory.' Pointers of democratic irregularity do not make the three phase elections be free and fair poll process. This is the first election after the military junta came to power by a coup in 2021. After the coup, the junta ruled the country after declaring a state of emergency.

NEW YORK: Yet another Frankenstein film has made its way to the screen. Despite critical acclaim and projected awards, it has little in common with Mary Shelley’s novel. Readers interested in Shelley’s political vision and the historical pressures that gave rise to the book are far better served by turning to the original text. To mark the 175th anniversary of Mary Godwin Shelley’s death, we revisit this novel.

The Union Budget’s political messaging has been read as carefully as its fiscal arithmetic, particularly in states heading into elections where expectations of targeted concessions were unusually high. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Parliament draped in a Kancheepuram silk saree, a gesture that appeared designed to signal a cultural and political bridge to Tamil Nadu. Symbolism, however, proved to be the most tangible nod. Beyond allocations that Tamil Nadu accessed only because it happened to be part of broader, pan-India or multi-state schemes, there was no bespoke fiscal attention that could be construed as an electoral olive branch to the state. In a political climate where budgets are often used to underline federal sensitivity and electoral intent, that absence has become the most discussed feature of the exercise.

The Union Budget 2026-27 clearly ignores core labour concerns of the country, though it speaks of the language of jobs, skill, and future readiness. The most worrisome aspect of the budget is that despite over a decade of contrary experience, especially since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it again assumes growth will automatically translate into creation of decent jobs. Neither the concerns of the organized workforce, nor of the informal workers have been addressed properly. The only right to employment available to rural workers in the country under MGNREGA has been abolished. Without protection for majority of the Indian workforce, they are expected to adjust silently.

When the Finance Minister announced ₹7.85 lakh crore for defence in Budget 2026-27, many of us probably thought—okay, that sounds like huge money. But let me tell you something interesting: spending more rupees doesn't always mean we're getting stronger. This is exactly what's happening with India's defence spending, and it's worth understanding.

As the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections approach, the main political parties feature two coalitions: the ruling DMK-led alliance with Congress and left parties, and the AIADMK coalition with the BJP and smaller parties. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin continues to lead the DMK, highlighting the importance of these alliances in shaping the election outcome.

When it comes to flagrantly violating the law and getting away with it, some Indian politicians seem to be in a class of their own!