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Original analysis, derived from public data. India-anchored.

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A smiling worker in a hairnet and blue uniform operates a sewing machine on a textile factory floor in India, with colleagues and stacked fabric behind her

Business

India's Factories Added 14 Lakh Jobs, but Output per Worker Rose Just 2 Percent

The 'growth without jobs' take fails for India's registered factories in 2024-25: 14 lakh people were added. The catch is that each added worker produced little extra, and the wage bill grew mostly because of headcount.

October 2, 2026

A man in a blue shirt and sunglasses walks along a tree-lined stone path in Surat, Gujarat

Health

India Has Regained Its Pre-Covid Lifespan, but WHO Cannot Say by How Much

WHO's new estimates say India's life expectancy is back above its 2019 level, ahead of the world. The 95 percent range around the 2023 figure runs 7.1 years, three times as wide as the 2019 range.

October 2, 2026

Oil tankers anchored off a coastline with a row of white fuel storage tanks behind them under a blue sky

Business

India Is Cutting Its Diesel Export Tax Just as America Hunts for Europe's Diesel

India's diesel export levy fell to ₹16 a litre on 1 October, the day Washington reportedly told Europe to release diesel stocks or face a US export ban. The levy is not a tax. It is a dial, and it is being turned toward the exporter.

October 1, 2026

Aerial view of rows of new SUVs parked in a large vehicle storage lot

Business

Maruti Beat the Forecast by Eight Points and Its Shares Still Fell Nearly 5 Percent

Maruti's September sales grew 24.4 percent against a projected 15 to 17, and its shares closed down 4.86 percent. September 2025 was a pre-GST-cut trough, so the growth was a base effect, and Bajaj's domestic sales show what is left once the base is stripped out.

October 1, 2026

Close-up of a single green wheat ear standing in a blurred field of young wheat

Geopolitics

Jaishankar Warns of a Food Crisis Though India's Grain Stocks Were Nearly Triple the Buffer Norm

India's foreign minister warned of a major food crisis the same day the Centre trimmed its foodgrain target. Rice and wheat stocks stood at 2.9 times the buffer norm in April, so the exposure sits elsewhere.

September 30, 2026

A tiled spread of Indian 100-rupee banknotes printed with the Reserve Bank of India name and a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi

Markets

India's Dollar Swap Window Fixed the Hedge at 1.5 Percent While US Yields Kept Climbing

The US 30-year yield has climbed to 5.56 percent since June. The rupee has lost under 1 percent. The RBI's swap fixed the price of the currency hedge, and NRI deposits, not corporate bonds, took most of it.

September 30, 2026

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