Far from a grand bargain, the GST is an imperfect compromise constrained by a political culture with a limited commitment to the federal principle

India can take the discourse of development beyond instrumental power play—build solidarities across the emerging economies and bargain for equity.

Pakistan is likely to enjoy closeness with the US, China and Saudi Arabia. This is different from its relative isolation of recent years.

Even with the option of EU markets, China will have to be a significant part of India’s economic policy. But the difficult security relationship is an important complication.

The credibility of the Election Commission is in question. A recent survey by CSDS-Lokniti across five states and Delhi-NCR points to a significant drop in trust in the Election Commission. It is an important warning.

The Citizenship, Inequality, and Urban Governance (CIUG) Project, a collaboration between scholars at Brown University and Indian researchers, recently carried out one of the largest surveys of Indian cities, covering over 31,000 households across 14 urban centres. The study looks at how class, caste, and religion influence access to basic services, and how citizens exercise their rights in rapidly growing cities. It finds sharp inequalities in water, sanitation, housing, and civic participation, with class standing out as the main factor determining access to services.