Indholdsfortegnelse for January 13, 2025 i India Today

Global economic growth in the calendar year 2025 (CY2025) is currently projected to be unchanged from CY2024 at 3.2 per cent. Given that this is weaker than the growth in the prepandemic years, the gap between global incomes versus the pre-pandemic path is likely to widen further. That said, while forecast errors are common, the uncertainty on outcomes in 2025 is far more elevated. Disruption may start early, with the January 20 inauguration of the US President, who has a mandate to course-correct, if not disrupt, on trade, taxes, regulations, immigration and energy markets, among others. His pronouncements on trade and regulations appear to be starting points for negotiation rather than set policy preferences. The very public debate within the Republican Party on the issue of immigration also shows majorities…

Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency in 2025 fills much of the world with a great deal of uncertainty. Will he follow through on his promises and his threats? Will he pull the US out of international treaties and transatlantic alliances, subject neighbours near and far to tariffs and trade wars, and upend domestic politics, industries and communities through border closures and deportations? For Indian immigrants and Americans of Indian origin, life under the second Trump presidency is full of these and many other questions. It is difficult to predict exactly what might happen given Trump’s notoriously mercurial nature and the already chaotic makeup of his prospective administration. Yet we might look to what happened under the first Trump administration, the promises made on the most recent campaign trail,…

IT has been two years since OpenAI released ChatGPT into the wild, racking up the fastest-ever 200 million users, setting off a feeding frenzy in the tech world, and heralding the inevitable Age of AI. As 2025 dawns and the technology takes its baby steps into some kind of maturity, I believe there will be four megatrends that will drive AI to shape business and society in India and across the world. Apps to Agents: If 2023 was the year of ChatGPT, and 2024 was the year when multiple Large Language Models (LLMs) like Claude and Gemini bloomed into existence, 2025 will be the year of AI Agents, or Agentic AI. A prescient Bill Gates blog foresaw this in 2023. “In the next five years,” he wrote, “…you’ll simply tell your…

The outcome of the 2024 general election, especially the failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to secure a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, was seen as an ideological defeat of radical Hindutva. A section of political observers even hoped the decline of one-party dominance at the national level would defuse the aggressive anti-Muslim communal rhetoric. The post-election political developments, however, show that not much has changed. The Hindu-Muslim binary continues to survive as a powerful political reference point. The ongoing debates on a few legally disputed Muslim places of worship, especially the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Eidgah in Mathura, have intensified. A new set of petitions have been filed in various courts to evaluate the religious character of historic mosques, including the famous…

Manmohan Singh, prime minister of India between 2004 and 2014 and seen as the architect of India’s economic liberalisation, passed away on December 26 at the age of 92. His journey from a modest upbringing in Gah, Punjab (now in Pakistan), to becoming India’s 14th prime minister is a testa ment to his resilience, intellect and unwavering commitment to public service. Manmohan’s legacy is etched in India’s transformation from a struggling postcolonial economy to an emerging global powerhouse. Few people knew Manmohan Singh as intimately as distinguished economist MONTEK SINGH AHLUWALIA, who had worked with him when he was finance minister and then later when he was prime minister. In his book Backstage: The Story Behind India’s High Growth Years published in 2020, Ahluwalia brings out key facets of Manmohan…

When one poet translates another, a third is born. This is overwhelmingly true of Arvind Krishna Mehrotra’s English version of Vinod Kumar Shukla’s poem. In his Hindi writing, Shukla persistently refuses to burst into meaning or create drama or, indeed, provide any kind of aha! moment in his poetry. He examines his place in his immediate surroundings, observing with a perspective that offers no illumination, which itself becomes a way of looking at the world that the reader makes sense of. And Mehrotra, himself a poet laurate of the bare and the spare, both reflects and refracts this literature in English in a way that makes the reading of each poem a near-perfect experience. It takes fiction to make us see the world in ways we can scarcely imagine. The…

We’ve been using the Oppo Find X8 Pro for some time, and it’s safe to say this phone wants a seat at the big kids’ table. Priced at a cool `99,999, it’s challenging Apple, Samsung, and Google for flagship supremacy. More is More Oppo’s design screams “camera first”. The huge circular camera module on the back looks like a miniature DSLR lens. The premium matte-finish glass back and subtly curved edges feel luxurious in the hand. The protective case and the 80W charger are a refreshing break from today’s minimalist packaging trends. Bright, Bold, and Beautiful A 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED screen that’s bright enough to rival the midday sun? Check. Smooth 120Hz refresh rate? Absolutely. HDR content practically dances on this display, ensuring your Netflix binges stay enthralling. Fast becomes…

Price On request Availability Breguet.com BLUE MAY BE a colour traditionally associated with all things royal, but when it comes to haute horology, especially Breguet, the hue lends its own cues. Introduced as part of the Tradition collection, the Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 underlines precise short-time measurement, in line with Abraham-Louis Breguet’s vision of making technical innovation accessible. The “Breguet Blue” festoons the face of the Tradition Chronographe Indépendant 7077 and enhances its contemporary aesthetic. What’s more, the colour introduces stark contrasts to intensify readability as well as spotlight the technical architecture, offering an unfettered view of the dual balance wheels in action. Its geometric appearance, particularly the symmetrical design of its displays and dual balance wheels, is accented by the “Breguet blue”. While the hours and minutes are indicated by two…

AS the new year dawns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to face two challenges with great skill, speed and nerve. The first is on home ground, with the Indian economy yet again buffeted by powerful head-winds. The H1 figures for FY25 show a perturbing slowdown in GDP growth, the Q2 number dropping to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent. Already, rating agencies have shaved off an average of 0.5 percentage points from their earlier optimism of around 7 per cent growth for FY25. India will still be the world’s fastest growing major economy, but with a worrying duality. While one half of its citizenry seems to be doing well economically, the other half is lagging miserably behind. Sector after sector bears out this dichotomy of a K-shaped economic…

IT began in 2013 as a grand scheme that was going to transform the world. It was going to be bigger and more generous than America’s Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild Europe after World War II. China was going to build roads, railways, bridges, airports and ports across the globe. Ten years later, however, Chinese president Xi Jinping recast the BRI as ‘small and beautiful’—and said that the emphasis should be on smaller and less costly sectors such as energy and technology. Now, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become a financial disaster not only for the countries that have received Chinese loans which they cannot repay—money from Beijing means loans, not straightforward aid—but for China as well. Foreign Affairs reported in its…

Ladki Bahin, Ladli Behena, Lado Lakshmi, Gruha Lakshmi, Maha Lakshmi, Maiya Samman, Pyari Behna Sukh Samman… In 2024, India witnessed an explosion of cash transfer schemes targeting women. The actual amounts transferred are small, averaging about Rs 1,500 per month, but the reach is wide. Fourteen states are spending about 0.6 per cent of the GDP annually on the schemes, reaching 34 per cent women, according to estimates by Axis Bank. No political party will now risk the electoral battlefield without a cash transfer guarantee in their armour. In Maharashtra, the electorate had to wait a few extra weeks for election dates to be announced, in order for the cash benefits of Ladki Bahin Yojana announced in June to accumulate in the bank accounts. In Delhi, on the eve of…

IN 2024, climate change continued its seemingly relentless march. Once the data are in, 2024 will almost certainly be the warmest year on record, beating 2023. This is not an outlier; the 10 warmest years recorded have all occurred since 2010. Yet greenhouse gas emissions, which cause climate change, are still rising, not falling. Emissions grew by more than 1 per cent during 2023 even as scientists say they need to peak and then decline by 25 per cent to 40 per cent by 2030. What does this actually mean for peoples’ lives? Those of us who live in South Asia will almost certainly experience more frequent extreme heat events, floods and droughts, with substantial health and economic effects. Because human productivity falls when it is hotter, the International Labour…

The year 2025 marks an important moment in India’s pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A decade has passed since these ambitious targets were set, and our journey so far tells a story of progress and persisting challenges. We have made significant strides in reducing mortality rates and expanding healthcare access. But meeting the core targets of SDG-3, which is reducing premature deaths from non-communicable diseases and ensuring universal health coverage, requires innovative solutions and renewed commitment. The healthcare landscape we face in 2025 is more complex than ever and signals a shifting disease burden that will shape our health priorities for a ‘Viksit Bharat’ in 2047. Our achievements are notable—infant and maternal mortality rates have improved three- to fourfold since Independence, over 90 per cent of the population…

The Chandayan, a 14th century Sufi romance composed in Awadhi, is the most sumptuous offering of bound pages in 2024, both in content—the visuals and text—as well as the quality of production. The continuing ‘ishq between languages, cultures, and people’ that Marg’s general editor Naman P. Ahuja begins his lead essay with, continues with other scholars. This winter, rasikas won’t need to sit by the fireplace and warm their bodies and souls. The poet Da’ud’s observations and nuances, so well translated by Richard J. Cohen and accompanied by 530 illustrations from the Sultanate period, shall do it all. There are brilliant, multi-layered essays by Qamar Adamjee, who quotes Salman Rushdie, in ‘Wonder Tales’ on the ‘truth’ which gives longevity to such tales: ‘We find resources within ourselves we did not…

Elegant. Energetic. Effervescent. Adjectives that sum up these sparkling places that each shed their ineffable glow on the year 2024. While keeping heritage alive, they managed to embrace the present with as much fervour. Younger, edgier versions of themselves emerged, without overpowering their altogether epic past. Take Me to The Water, Athens, Greece Greece has been one of the most consistently googled spots for international travel in 2024. While its inexorable tug is one thing, the more obvious trend is for travellers to linger longer in historic Athens, before heading to the Greek islands that exert their evergreen siren call. Amid the reasons for longer stays in Athens, is the seductive call of its Riviera. Just 25-minutes out of the main city centre, this lush natural oasis, with its caves…

Meet the new iMac (2024); a rainbow-hued genius, sleek as a runway model, powered by Apple M4 chip and Apple Intelligence. It is ready to dazzle, delight, and dominate your digital life. Design Ever seen a supermodel at the gym? The new iMac is kind of like that: impossibly thin, vibrant in seven fresh colours, and completely unapologetic about it. It’s sleek enough to slide into any space without hogging attention, yet bold enough to claim the spotlight when it wants. Display Your eyes won’t know what hit them. The 24-inch 4.5K Retina display now comes with nano-texture, so glare is banished like an unwanted pop-up ad. It’s pure viewing delight, even if your living room is basically a greenhouse. Performance M4 inside means it’s as fast as a cheetah…

Each generation is convinced that it faces a more uncertain and threatening world than any before it, a crisis of unprecedented proportions, and that man’s very survival is at stake. We are no exception, judging by the commentaries in the media. And yet, mankind has not only survived but steadily improved its lot. More people live longer, healthier and more prosperous lives than ever before in history. One explanation for this paradox or contradiction between our objective condition and the way we perceive it is the idea of a world order. We have been conditioned into assuming that a world order is normal and beneficial by the bipolar Cold War and the subsequent unipolar moment, when first two and then one superpower dominated and ordered the world. One can understand…

The most significant development of the past year likely to have repercussions in 2025 and well beyond is the outcome of the US presidential election. President-elect Donald Trump, set to assume office on January 20, is known to follow a bilateral, transactional approach rather than a multilateral, rules-based one in most policy domains. It is no different for the US trade policy that has, over the past seven years, come to be defined by selective protectionism and politically motivated use of tariffs. A further intensification of these trends under Trump 2.0, particularly as regards the ‘country of concern’ China, will not be surprising. However, the recent announcement of higher tariffs on friendly allies like Mexico and Canada, both members of the North American trade bloc, presents an additional concern of…

The successful conclusion of negotiations between India and China on the disengagement of military forces in disputed pockets of east Ladakh after more than 48 tense months marks the beginning of a process that might, hopefully, arrive at a new set of arrangements to manage the boundary dispute. Aside from the practical difficulties involved in negotiating a broader de-escalation in east Ladakh that guarantees equal and mutual security, working toward a mutual agreement on a new framework for peace and tranquility would also be a priority in the year ahead. Absent real trust, this might seem a difficult task, but there is mature leadership on both sides to take this process forward. The normalisation of ties in other areas, including commerce and connectivity, has also been made possible by this…

“IS this where we sign up for jobs?” It was the last sentence I expected to hear in the rural hinterlands of Uttar Pradesh from a mother of two young children, one a toddler clutching at her saree, the other an infant in her arms. She had persuaded her husband to bring her to the village site where we were doing fieldwork. This woman was no exception, as we subsequently discovered over several months. Young or old, married or not, women—who now have at least middle school education—are eager to get into paid work opportunities, either via regular salaried jobs or via starting a small business of their own, or even gig work. This palpable willingness to work even at low wages and in poor working conditions—despite crushing constraints of domestic…

As E2Ws (electric two-wheelers) 2024 drew to a close, there was a discernible sense of excitement among India’s electric vehicle (EV) industry-watchers. By mid-December, total EV sales were up 35 per cent YoY and a whisker short of a new landmark—2 million units! Leading the charge, had largely kept up their growth promises. With legacy players weighing in, and the consequent rapid growth in penetration of the large urban markets, the ‘1 million+’ sales number became a reality. And E2Ws—including the low power products—are now estimated to account for more than one out of four scooters sold in the top 10 urban centres. E3Ws (electric three-wheelers) have had an equally impressive run, clocking a near 20 per cent rise through much of the year and rising above 600,000 units. The…

Over the past decade, the Indian entertainment industry has showcased remarkable resilience and an extraordinary ability to adapt. From my vantage point at Jio Studios, I have witnessed first-hand how rapidly evolving technologies, shifting audience behaviours and bold storytelling are reshaping how we create, deliver and consume content. The year ahead holds the promise of more significant opportunities—and challenges—as we collectively navigate a dynamic and evolving landscape that is witnessing a fascinating interplay of scale and intimacy. On the one hand, the bigger theatrical releases promise the revival of the film business in India. On the other hand, smaller, more independent films like Laapataa Ladies and All We Imagine as Light find audiences through a combination of film festivals, overseas markets, streaming and specifically curated theatrical releases. Balancing these forces…

It’s been my long-held conviction that Goa is a flamingo-land filled with pink designer birds standing on stilts dipping their beaks into the fertile mulch of its Portuguese mediated past. It was mostly in the spirit of enquiry that I picked up on the trail of Maddie/Madhur Chopra fleeing a fashion designer, copywriter lifestyle in a Delhi hit by the plague of Covid-19. Maddie descends on Goa in full throttle on a scooter with the peripatetic ambition of being a vlogger, targeting the natives. At first, it’s mostly encounters of the feni kind. It’s when the melancholy strains of fado, the deep dark side of the Goan experience, kick in, that Maddie has to transform her vlog-hood days into a whole new direction. Aside from sundry tips on how to…

What happens when two worlds collude in the realm of haute horology? Pure magic. Our watchlist proves that great collaborations aren’t just marketing stunts, but catalysts for creativity. When a cigar maker and a Swiss watch brand join forces, you get a gilded tribute to a legendary smoke. When a football club’s signature pink finds its way onto a classic chronograph, you get a bold, pitch-perfect statement piece. And when moonlit seas, rocket fuelled races, and pop art panache inspire watch dials, bezels, and straps, you get wearable stories that push the limits of design. We’ve handpicked these stunning cobranded models because they remind us that, in the right partnerships, one plus one doesn’t just make two, it makes for unforgettable style. Hublot Classic Fusion Chronograph Arturo Fuente Edition Hublot’s…

Is it really a good idea to flex one’s four-litre twin-turbo, V8 engine, pushing out 587 bhp of power and 850 nm of torque in Mumbai’s narrow, often crumbling streets? I guess not. But when you’re behind the wheels of the iconic Geländewagen aka the ‘G-wagon’ —which wields pop culture and social media clout like no other SUV—it’s all good. Today, I’m skirting the bends of Mumbai’s urban sprawl in the AMG version of Mercedes-Benz’s legendary G-Class SUV. And to say that this car’s unmistakable geometric, tall, boxy silhouette is a head-turner is saying too little. I do attract a lot of attention on the streets in this red G 63, embellished with the signature AMG badging, in an eye-catching red hue. The 22-inch AMG multi-spoke alloys with black…