Kalyan Ram

Kalyan Ram, a financial journalist, co-founded Cogencis and now leads BasisPoint Insight.

The MPC Must Show the Way Back to 4%

Monetary Policy

Benign core inflation supports the case for waiting, but the MPC must say how long headline inflation may remain above 4%.

Kalyan Ram

August 5, 2026 at 8:36 AM IST

Poonam Gupta/LinkedIn

RBI Has Bought Time; India Must Now Earn Its Dollars

The RBI has bought stability with borrowed dollars. India must use this costly reprieve to boost growth, raise exports, retain capital, and restore investor confidence.

Kalyan Ram

August 4, 2026 at 4:27 AM IST

iStock.com

Big Mac at 40 Explains What Currencies Really Buy

Briefing

The burger made PPP tangible. Forty years on, it still shows why a cheap currency need not be mispriced or poised for a rebound.

Kalyan Ram

July 31, 2026 at 11:45 AM IST

iStock.com

Fed’s Warsh Says Play the Ball, Markets Call Foul

Warsh wants investors to trade the data rather than the Fed. The post-meeting yield curve exposed the cost of asking markets to price policy without a visible reaction function.

Kalyan Ram

July 30, 2026 at 3:19 AM IST

US Fed

When an Exam Protest Becomes a Political Test

India’s NEET protests have outgrown the exam, exposing a deeper crisis of youth opportunity, political accountability and trust in institutions.

Kalyan Ram

July 25, 2026 at 5:06 AM IST

Via WikiCommons

The Ghost of FCNR(A) Was Invited Through the Swap Window

FCNR(A) has not returned in law. But the RBI has revived its most dangerous instinct: putting private currency risk on the public balance sheet.

Kalyan Ram

July 17, 2026 at 6:25 AM IST

RBI is Forward-Looking About Growth, Not Inflation

Opinion

Growth gets preventive care; inflation must first materialise, spread and bring witnesses. The June minutes preserve the case for rate cuts while making hikes clear a far higher bar.

Kalyan Ram

June 19, 2026 at 2:39 PM IST

linkedin.com/Poonam Gupta

Dollars Now, Rates Later

Monetary Policy

RBI's June policy separated tools and timing: BoP stress got an immediate response, while inflation must clear a higher threshold before rates move.

Kalyan Ram

June 5, 2026 at 2:23 PM IST

Is India’s Energy Shock the Same as the Pandemic Shock?

Opinion

The RBI appears willing to look through the oil shock, but inflation risks are structurally different from the COVID-era disruptions that justified prolonged accommodation.

Kalyan Ram

May 19, 2026 at 3:01 AM IST

India May Need an Outside-In Economic Reset

As the global economy changes shape, India may benefit from an independent economic rethink led by a credible outsider with institutional gravitas.

Kalyan Ram

May 17, 2026 at 6:07 AM IST

iStock.com

India Finally Spoke Honestly About Its External Risks

The CEA’s unusually candid speech acknowledged a reality markets have privately discussed for months: India’s external-sector vulnerabilities are becoming structural.

Kalyan Ram

May 12, 2026 at 2:56 PM IST

RBI’s Malhotra May Be Preparing the Ground for Calibrated Rate Action

Focus on second-round effects and expectations hints at shallow, signalling-led rate hikes.

Kalyan Ram

April 21, 2026 at 7:47 AM IST

RBI

When Policy Turns to Risk Management

Monetary Policy

The April policy does not extend the prior arc. It alters how the Reserve Bank frames risk when the problem itself has changed.

Kalyan Ram

April 8, 2026 at 8:09 AM IST

RBI May Look to Hold Its Nerve as It Buys Time on Policy Calls

Monetary Policy

Markets may test the RBI on rupee, but the MPC is likely to keep its focus narrowly on monetary policy

Kalyan Ram

April 6, 2026 at 9:16 AM IST

RBI Tweets

India’s Liquidity Surplus Masks a Structural Shortage?

India’s liquidity looks ample on paper, but thin reserve buffers and weak deposit elasticity reveal a deeper structural strain.

Kalyan Ram

February 18, 2026 at 12:32 PM IST

Baby Steps, Festina Lente, and RBI’s June Policy Misstep

MPC Review

RBI once prized gradualism. A slower easing path may have aligned markets and transmission better than June’s big-bang move.

Kalyan Ram

February 7, 2026 at 10:51 AM IST

iStock.com

RBI and the Bond Market Are Living in Parallel Worlds

MPC Review

Bond yields now reflect supply pressures, not policy signals. Until that changes, the RBI and bond markets will continue to operate in parallel worlds.

Kalyan Ram

February 6, 2026 at 10:37 AM IST

iStock.com

Why the RBI Chose Optionality Over Precision

MPC Review

With inflation benign and borrowing risks rising, the RBI opted for flexibility over flourish, signalling support without locking itself into specifics.

Kalyan Ram

February 6, 2026 at 6:29 AM IST

Silence Is the RBI’s Strongest Signal This Week

MPC Review

With rates on hold and markets already speculating far ahead, the Reserve Bank’s best contribution may be to resist the temptation to explain the future.

Kalyan Ram

February 5, 2026 at 2:29 PM IST

Coconuts, Birdwatching and the Lost Art of a Free Sunday

Budget 2026

A Budget rich in coconuts, corridors and birdwatching trails, but thin on demand. A long Sunday spent tracking schemes instead of birds.

Kalyan Ram

February 1, 2026 at 9:44 AM IST

The Bureau

Nifty Down on Uncertainty Over Crude Supply; Rupee Ends Lower for the Week

Russia Now Supplies More Than Half of India’s Crude-Oil Imports, Says GTRI

India July WPI inflation eases marginally to 9.78% as fuel price pressure moderates

RBI advances FCNR(B) swap window closure to August 31

Women Are Entering India’s Boardrooms. But How Far Have They Come?

Fitch Affirms India's BBB- Rating; Pegs 2026-27 GDP Growth at 6.4%

Merchant Fees Should Not Be levied On UPI Under External Pressure

RBI Allows Banks to Restrict Loan-Financed Phones, Other Devices After Default

UPI & RuPay Payments May Soon Cost You: — Here’s What Could Change

The Foster Mother of Lodhi Garden