Can the AI Boom Sustain Its Own Ambitions?

AI investment is racing towards $1 trillion, but power shortages, debt risks and market volatility raise questions about the sustainability of the boom

Michael Debabrata Patra

October 12, 2026 at 3:09 AM IST

istock.com

India August industrial growth 8.0% on manufacturing, power boost

BasisPoint Insight

September 28, 2026 at 11:26 AM IST

The Small-Scale Opportunity for Indian Business

Technology is lowering optimal production scales, giving Indian firms new opportunities in manufacturing, green energy, and innovation.

Ashima Goyal

September 4, 2026 at 6:20 AM IST

iStock.com/triloks

The Real Price of Intelligence: Why AI's Race for Scale Cannot Ignore the Earth Beneath It

AI is not a purely digital product, but a physical one too - assembled from silicon, copper, rare-earth elements, cobalt, lithium and water. Countries and corporates that exercise resource discipline as a strategy will be the ones still standing decades from now.

Chirayu Sharma

August 7, 2026 at 8:42 AM IST

istock.com

Why Compute Is Becoming the New Constraint on Economic Growth

AI is making compute the new driver of economic growth, shifting policy priorities from traditional infrastructure to digital capacity and energy.

Anuj Agarwal

July 31, 2026 at 5:50 AM IST

istock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

The war in West Asia and the sharp increase in crude oil prices notwithstanding, demand for automobiles has continued to remain largely unscathed.

Datametricx

May 9, 2026 at 11:32 AM IST

Istock.com

Andhra's Data Centre Policy: What's New, What's Missing, What Can Be Fixed

Andhra’s experiment with letting a tech company act as its own power distributor is bold and quick. But the support infrastructure—water, grid stability, enforcement—needs to catch up fast.

Sharmila Chavaly

April 25, 2026 at 5:46 AM IST

iStock.com

The Age of Electricity Meets India’s Grid Test

Electricity is becoming the clearest signal of economic change, but India’s transition will hinge on grid strength, affordability and reliable integration of renewables.

Michael Debabrata Patra

April 15, 2026 at 2:59 AM IST

iStock.com

AI and the Global South's Next Leap Forward

The next phase of the clean-energy revolution will be led not by those who build more solar panels, but by those who modernize their grids, markets, and institutions accordingly. In fact, AI-ready grids will be as crucial to the Global South’s development as traditional infrastructure like roads and ports.

Nandan Nilekani and Ashish Khanna

February 16, 2026 at 1:58 PM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

High-frequency indicators in December pointed to some improvement in urban demand, even as rural demand continued to outpace it.

Datametricx

January 10, 2026 at 12:46 PM IST

Istock.com

Opinion

Coal India Chooses Ops Expertise over Strategic Transformation

The world’s largest coal producer appears all set hunker down on optimising coal infrastructure even as demand and supply turn towards renewables, abandoning transformation for managed decline

Dev Chandrasekhar

December 19, 2025 at 12:13 PM IST

iStock.com

Opinion

Malhotra Keeps Rate Cuts in Play, but Will He Move Again?

Governor Malhotra kept the easing cycle alive on Friday, yet his real objective may be to extract transmission rather than commit to another cut.

Kalyan Ram

December 5, 2025 at 11:06 AM IST

Poonam Gupta

Here Comes the Sun

India’s solar revolution accelerates amid global expansion, driving clean energy growth, grid upgrades, and innovation despite major challenges.

Michael Debabrata Patra

December 1, 2025 at 7:39 AM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Early data suggest a sharp uptick in demand in October following GST rate cuts — but can it last? E-way bills suggest otherwise.

Datametricx

November 8, 2025 at 8:33 AM IST

istocks.com

Infrastructure

Financing and Proving the Platform-Based Grid Model

The Implementation: The new architecture’s power lies in breaking the monolithic grid into distinct asset classes, each with its own risk-return profile.

Sharmila Chavaly

October 28, 2025 at 6:46 AM IST

iStock.com

Infrastructure

Architecting the Platform-Based ‘Arterial Grid’

The Prescription: A new grid architecture conceptualised in three distinct but interconnected functional layers, each with a clear role and economic logic.

Sharmila Chavaly

October 27, 2025 at 7:47 AM IST

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Infrastructure

The End of the Centralised Grid, the Dawn of a New Power Order

The Diagnosis: A one-way grid built for the industrial age can no longer power the digital one. The shift to a decentralised, adaptive network is already underway.

Sharmila Chavaly

October 24, 2025 at 5:44 AM IST

iStock.com

Europe’s Carbon Border Tax will Test the Steel of India’s Green Resolve

The EU’s carbon tariff is less a levy than a litmus test. India must choose whether to fight defensively or seize the moment to drive a green industrial shift.

Hemachandra Padhan

September 9, 2025 at 8:55 AM IST

iStock.com/JerryB7

GST Exemptions, Nil Rates and Other Smoke and Mirrors

GST relief looks big on paper, but gaps in input credit and energy taxes mean consumers will see less benefit than portrayed.

TK Arun

September 9, 2025 at 8:13 AM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers – Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

The GST reforms, slowdown in tax collections and the likely sops to protect the export sector from the US tariffs are likely to put pressure on government finances this year.

Datametricx

September 8, 2025 at 9:48 AM IST

Finance Ministry

Monsoon Mask Fails to Hide India’s Industrial Demand Weakness

June’s industrial slump goes beyond weather disruptions, exposing deeper cracks in consumer demand that policymakers cannot ignore.

BasisPoint Groupthink

July 2, 2025 at 12:55 PM IST

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The Bureau

RBI measures may lift rupee but raise costs for genuine hedgers

RBI announces special dollar window for PSU oil cos, regulatory measures for FX market

RBI Raises Repo Rate for First Time in Four Years, Shifts Stance to Tightening

RBI raises 2026-27 CPI inflation forecast to 5.2%, flags oil, monsoon risks

India's Balance of Payments to Remain Under Pressure, Keep Rupee Vulnerable - ANZ

RBI to Use Appropriate Mix of Liquidity Tools, Align WACR with Repo Rate

RBI Raises 2026-27 GDP Growth Forecast to 7.1%, Flags West Asia, Monsoon Risks

Two External MPC Members Dissent on Policy Stance, Favour Retaining Neutral

Is the RBI Behind the Curve?

In Search of the Lesser Florican

Maneet Pal Singh