Mihir Sharma

India's labour-intensive sectors such as leather, textiles and jewellery that face 50% duties from the US are concentrated in politically sensitive areas.

US tariffs are testing Modi’s fiscal frugality

Will the Indian prime minister leave businesses without enough support when Trump’s duties begin to bite?

Flags of the states which are also Asean members displayed in a conference room at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Building Complex in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei where the 22nd ASEAN Summit is being held.
THE BOTTOM LINE

India and Asean are growing apart. Blame tariffs

Officials in New Delhi worry the bloc is drifting towards China

The only thing that could push these diverse nations together is if the US makes a real effort to present itself to them as a shared target. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Trump apparently wants to do.
THE BOTTOM LINE

The developing world’s G7 would like a word

The real lesson of the Rio Brics summit is that it isn’t meant to be a forum to be anti-American, but a...

Workers sorting mushrooms at a food factory in Tongren, in China's southwestern Guizhou province.

Beijing’s success is a conundrum for Nobel winners

Prize-winning economists thought they knew what made countries rich – then China emerged

epa11651775 People pay tributes to Indian top business leader Ratan Tata, who died aged 86 in Mumbai, India, 10 October 2024. Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of Tata Group, died at Mumbai Hospital late on 09 October 2024.  EPA-EFE/DIVYAKANT SOLANKI

Ratan Tata’s vision should still be India’s

A true corporate titan, he always benchmarked himself and his group’s products against the world’s best. So should the rest of the...

Aiming for self-reliance does not make sense in a sector such as semiconductors, where even a giant like the US is just part of the global supply chain.
THE BOTTOM LINE

India has chip dreams. What it needs is a strategy

Aiming for self-reliance is a fool’s errand. The country should be looking to invest in areas where it has a comparative advantage

A memorial for Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh activist who was killed in Canada. Canada has accused India's government of sponsoring the murder.

India-Canada clash should be a wake-up call for countries that are home to diaspora communities

TO MOST of the world, the Indian government’s response to Canada’s charge that it may have sponsored the murder of a Sikh...

China's development story has been one of the world’s greatest economic miracles. Success comes with responsibilities, however.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Is China a developing nation? I don’t think so

It should be treated like the dominant economic power it now is

The Maiden Pharmaceuticals plant in Sonipat was sealed in 2022 following the deaths of more than 70 Gambian children from acute kidney injury that were linked to the company's cough syrups.
THE BOTTOM LINE

India needs to restore faith in the ‘world’s pharmacy’ 

The country will never be a true export power if customers cannot trust the safety and efficacy of its products

A Sept 2022 file photo of a nickel smelting facility in Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi. Many of the materials critical for the green transition are currently produced in far fewer areas than oil and gas are.
PERSPECTIVE

Trafigura scandal should be a US$577 million wake-up call

If traders try to keep up business as usual even as the value of critical metals and minerals skyrockets, they are going...