Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Early high-frequency data suggest that weakness in economic activity, particularly in the manufacturing sector, may have deepened in August.

Datametricx

August 22, 2026 at 7:14 AM IST

India July Enemployment Rate Falls to 5.1%; Edges up in Urban Area

BasisPoint Insight

August 17, 2026 at 12:07 PM IST

National Politics After Jantar Mantar: The Youth Question Returns

The NEET leak protests exposed a political landscape that is structurally imbalanced with an old guard leading a young nation. As parties in the opposition and in power scramble to address their young electorate, it is clear no one can afford to take the youth vote for granted any more.

Amitabh Tiwari

August 4, 2026 at 8:41 AM IST

@Cockroachisback/X

India Economy is Growing, But Data Gives a Reality Check on Youth Employment

Low levels of education, limited skills, and concentration in the lowest earnings percentile – these are only some of the issues that ail India’s youth. Further, the gender divide is real, and wide. These factors are keeping the youth from being meaningful partners in India’s growth story.

Smita Roy Trivedi

Abhiman Das

July 30, 2026 at 3:57 AM IST

istock.com

India’s MSMEs Need Ecosystems, Not Just Incentives

India’s 63 million MSMEs could become key engines for jobs and exports—if policy shifts from isolated firms to specialised industrial ecosystems.

Nilanjan Banik

July 23, 2026 at 5:41 AM IST

iStock.com/triloks

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

India's inflation measures rose in June, with retail inflation climbing above the RBI's 4% target for the first time in 17 months. Renewed hostilities in West Asia and the prospect of deficient monsoon rainfall point to further upside risks to inflation in the months ahead.

Datametricx

July 18, 2026 at 11:15 AM IST

istock.com

The Hidden Cost: Why Carbon Taxes Are Unpopular

Carbon taxes reduce emissions, true, but research shows they also hinder macroeconomic activity. Also, while the cost is seen immediately, the benefits take long to show effect.

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal*

July 14, 2026 at 7:24 AM IST

istock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

India’s WPI inflation and merchandise trade deficit remained elevated in May as the conflict in West Asia pushed up energy prices. Both are likely to ease if the ceasefire between the US and Iran holds and energy prices remain contained.

Datametricx

June 20, 2026 at 11:27 AM IST

istock.com

India’s Low-Equilibrium Growth Trap is the Real Stagflation Risk

India’s growth story is increasingly at odds with household realities. Weak incomes, falling savings and stagnant private capex, not merely oil shocks, are the bigger risks.

Dhananjay Sinha

June 1, 2026 at 5:13 AM IST

istock.com

Unemployment Tracker

Flat Jobs Data Masks a Labour Market Under Growing Strain

Unemployment stays at 5.1%, but youth and women, especially in rural India, face worsening prospects as participation dips and pressures quietly build.

Akshi Chawla

April 15, 2026 at 3:59 PM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

The sharp rise in crude oil prices and disruption in trade routes threaten to push India’s inflation trajectory and current account deficit off balance.

Datametricx

March 21, 2026 at 11:12 AM IST

WikiCommons

Unemployment Tracker

India’s Unemployment Eases, But Youth and Women Still Struggle

India’s unemployment rate eased to 4.9% in February, but persistently high joblessness among youth and women reveals deeper structural weaknesses in the labour market.

Akshi Chawla

March 16, 2026 at 3:18 PM IST

iStock.com

Unemployment Tracker

January Jobless Rate Ticks Up, Women Hit Harder

The government has described the rise in women’s unemployment as a short-term phenomenon. But a 1.5 percentage point jump in joblessness for a group where unemployment is already persistently high is not easy to dismiss as routine variation.

Akshi Chawla

February 16, 2026 at 3:44 PM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

New CPI series suggests that underlying inflation may be softer than previously assumed, even as headline print remains broadly similar with the old series.

Datametricx

February 14, 2026 at 10:43 AM IST

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Retail inflation edged up but stayed well below the RBI’s tolerance band, while automobile sales recorded their strongest growth in years.

Datametricx

January 17, 2026 at 12:54 PM IST

istock.com/natbits

Unemployment Tracker

Urban Jobs Are the Weak Link in India’s Otherwise Stable Labour Story

India’s unemployment rate remains below 5%, but December data shows a fragile urban labour market, with youth and women bearing the brunt despite rising participation rates.

Akshi Chawla

January 15, 2026 at 4:18 PM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers: Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Contradictions in India’s economic data persisted in November, with exports to the US rising sharply despite the punitive tariffs.

Datametricx

December 20, 2025 at 8:09 AM IST

iStock.com

Unemployment Tracker

Joblessness Hits Sub-5% after 8 Months; Youth and Urban Gender Gaps Persist

India’s unemployment dipped to a fiscal low in November, aided by rural hiring and women’s participation. Yet some divides remain.

Akshi Chawla

December 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM IST

IStock.com/paulprescott72

Unemployment Tracker

Festive Season Fails to Spur Jobs Market, Urban Unemployment Rises

National unemployment was unchanged at 5.2% in October, LFPR barely moved, and urban women and young workers continued to face the toughest tests in the job market.

Akshi Chawla

November 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM IST

iStock.com

Unemployment Tracker

India’s Job Market Stalls as Unemployment Creeps Up Again

After two months of mild improvement, India’s unemployment rate edged up in September, widening the gender gap and exposing the fragility of recent gains.

Akshi Chawla

October 15, 2025 at 3:34 PM IST

iStock.com

As Growth Decouples From Employment, the Fed Faces a Trilemma

Absent an astute and judicious response, the Fed could see challenges to all three elements of its (explicit and implicit) objectives: inflation control, maximum employment, and financial stability.

Mohamed A. El-Erian

October 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM IST

Federal Reserve

Fifteen Years After Pittsburgh, the Global Economy Is Still Out of Balance

Advanced economies evade discipline, BRICS build alternatives, and the IMF remains trapped between surveillance and sovereignty

Arvind Mayaram

October 2, 2025 at 6:08 AM IST

iStock.com

Week in Numbers – Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

Despite a sharp rebound in income tax collections last month, concerns remain about meeting this year’s ambitious direct tax target.

Datametricx

September 22, 2025 at 9:58 AM IST

Finance Ministry

Week in Numbers – Tracking India’s Economic Pulse

The divergence between Indian PMIs and hard data has rarely been wider, with the two indicators pointing in opposite ends.

BasisPoint Insight

August 25, 2025 at 11:42 AM IST

iStock.com

The Bureau

Market Wrap: Stock Indices Fall as HDFC Bank, Metals Drag; Rupee, Bonds Weaken

POLL: India April-June GDP growth seen around 7.4%, SBI most bullish at 8%

India April-June GDP Growth Seen at 7.5%, Above RBI View: Barclays

US targets Economic Blockade of Iran as Military Campaign Reaches Stalemate

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

The Foster Mother of Lodhi Garden