Reform Compass

Reform Compass

Reform Compass is a column by former senior officers of Income Tax, GST & Customs focused on reforms in policy and tax administration.

India’s AI Strategy Is Quietly Shifting From Ambition to Use

AI threatens India’s IT services model yet the same technology could become its next growth engine as companies deploy AI across industries worldwide.

Reform Compass

March 9, 2026 at 5:52 AM IST

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Budget Promised Customs Overhaul, Delivered Repackaging

Budget 2026

The Budget 2026 has delivered an extension of old reforms, reflecting a propensity for cautious and incremental change.

Reform Compass

February 4, 2026 at 2:48 PM IST

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Spaghetti Bowl: You Have Been Served

The Trade-Off Paradox: How India could have leveraged market access to optimise FDI and domestic manufacturing

Reform Compass

January 27, 2026 at 6:57 AM IST

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Are Tariffs the Termites in the Customs House?

India’s complex structure of tariffs has been compounded by FTAs deeply impacting domestic manufacturing - breeding discretion and incentivising evasion.

Reform Compass

December 23, 2025 at 8:13 AM IST

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iStock.com

Government’s Planned Bold Reset Could Make Indian Customs Future-Ready

The Budget can fix the maze of rates but the devil is sitting deep in the business processes and systems.

Reform Compass

December 10, 2025 at 5:39 AM IST

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PIB

Why Faceless Customs Is Failing India’s Trade System

India’s faceless customs regime is colliding with the physical realities of ports and intermediaries, revealing deeper cracks in the clearance system.

Reform Compass

December 2, 2025 at 10:19 AM IST

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The Bureau

New GDP Data: Problem Fixed, Or Made Worse?
Learning to Shoot: I Tried to Fly Before I Could Walk
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