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INDIA - The New Kid on the Block

India’s Swing-State Moment: How a Quiet Strategy Reshaped a Global Conflict For more than a decade, many of the world’s major think tanks – from Carnegie and Brookings to the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Lowy Institute – described India as a “potential swing state,” a country whose independent choices could one day shift the balance of power between warring blocs. This idea sat comfortably in policy papers, academic journals, and commentary platforms, but it remained largely theoretical. India was rising, yes. Its economy was expanding, its diplomatic weight was growing, and its strategic autonomy was celebrated in New Delhi as a point of civilizational pride. And yet, in most global crises, India was seen as an observer rather than a participant - a country whose position mattered symbolically, but rarely substantively. All of that changed with the Russia–Ukraine war. When the conflict began in early 2022, India was barely considered a stakeholder. In tele...
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The One Rule of Cricket Leadership: Only the Captain Can Be the Gunda

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India’s Fortress Has Fallen Today isn’t just a bad day for Indian cricket — it’s symbolic. India at home was a myth, a constant, an identity. One of the last remaining certainties in world sport. And that aura cracked today. Twitter is blaming Gambhir. TV panels are recycling old narratives. But the problem is far deeper, and far simpler. Cricket Has One Eternal Leadership Law It was said best in Chak De India: “Har team me ek hi gunda ho sakta hai… aur is team ka gunda main hoon.” That line explains everything happening in Indian cricket right now. In this setup, Gautam Gambhir is the gunda — the dominant personality, the intensity, the fire, the aggression. Gill, meanwhile, is young. Soft-spoken. Not yet an alpha. This mismatch breaks the natural order of cricket. Cricket ≠ Football Football thrives on coaching ideologies. Managers dictate tactics, systems, and pressing triggers. But cricket is different. Cricket is built on: dressing room chemistry inv...
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Modi's Balancing Act at G20 Johannesburg: Two Tracks, One Strategy

1. Introduction – India's Multi-Vector Moment Between November 22 and 23, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi executed one of India's most intricate diplomatic performances at the G20 Johannesburg summit. Across two days of densely packed bilateral and trilateral meetings, Modi engaged leaders from Japan to Brazil, Canada to South Africa, Italy to Malaysia. But beneath the ceremonial handshakes and joint communiqués lay a calculated strategic architecture: India was simultaneously deepening ties with democratic technology allies while consolidating its leadership position among Global South nations. This wasn't diplomatic hedging—it was institutional multi-alignment at scale. Modi's Johannesburg agenda revealed a two-track strategy designed to maximize India's optionality in an increasingly fractured global order. 2. Track A – Allied Engagements The first track materialized through Modi's engagements with established democracies and Indo-Pacific partners. His ...
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AI: Bubble, Supercycle, or Something in Between?

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A Deep Dive on Valuations, GDP Math, and the Real Productivity Question Introduction The world’s biggest financial debate today isn’t about interest rates, inflation, or geopolitics. It’s this: Is the AI rally a bubble? In just three years, AI-linked companies have added $10–12 trillion in market cap. The Magnificent Seven alone now equal ~14% of global GDP by valuation. History tells us such concentration usually precedes trouble. It sits somewhere between the dot-com buildout and the electrification cycle — speculative in pockets, but rooted in real, deployable technology. But AI isn’t a typical financial mania. This artic le breaks down the math and the logic that mainstream commentary misses. 1. What Exactly Is “Bubble-Like” About the AI Rally? 1. Concentration In 2010, the top 7 firms formed ~5% of global GDP (by market cap). Today: ~14%. No period in modern markets shows this level of dominance. 2. Valuations Running Ahead of Earnings Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and...
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China's Robots Are Keeping India's Prices Down

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The Underrated Reason India’s Inflation Is Low: China’s Ageing Factories and the Global Deflation Loop They Created India’s inflation has been surprisingly soft this year. CPI has held steady despite global volatility in oil, shipping, and commodities. Yes, domestic supply chains have improved dramatically. But there is another, underrated, global force at play. To understand it, you have to look not at Mumbai or Delhi, but at China’s ageing factories. This is the quiet, structural story behind a large part of global goods disinflation—and one that will shape India’s economic trajectory in the decade ahead. 1. China’s Demographic Shock: The Starting Point China’s working-age population peaked a decade ago. The country is ageing at a speed normally seen in rich nations - except China is not yet a rich country. This created an unavoidable problem: Fertility rate ~ 1.1 Shrinking labour pool Rising manufacturing wages Fewer young workers entering factories Europe and Japan faced this probl...
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Across Empires and Evenings: A 15-Day Journey Through Central & Eastern Europe

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Written soon after our June-25 Europe trip. Posting now, as I finally revisit the journey with fresher eyes. Framing the Journey: Why It Began, and How It Ended  This wasn’t our first time to Europe — but it was the first time we traveled with a story in mind.  Our earlier trip had been a classic — Mykonos, Athens, Rome, Florence, with a dreamy detour to Tuscany. It was beautiful, yes, but it followed the well-trodden path of postcards and travel brochures.  This time, we wanted something more… diverse, personal, and layered. So we built the itinerary around two anchors:  A long-overdue reunion with my college roommate Dilip, now living in Budapest with his wife and their dog.  And a cinematic farewell in Dubrovnik, because we’re both deeply invested Game of Thrones fans, and walking the real-life King’s Landing was non-negotiable.  Everything in between was curated for contrast — imperial cities and sleepy towns, forests and coastlines, street food and hom...
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