Opinion

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Tehran to Jakarta, water shortage is killing cities

Updated on Feb 08, 2026 07:29 pm IST

Water scarcity is connected to climate and environmental degradation. Along with the entire world, India too is witnessing a quick deterioration of the environment (AP)

India-US trade deal and international law

The larger normative question that developing countries face is whether to play ball with the US or champion the rules of trade multilateralism (AFP)

Published on Feb 08, 2026 07:16 pm IST

Balancing strategic alignment with economic nationalism

The US will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18% on a range of Indian-origin goods coversing sectors such as textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastics and rubber products, organic chemicals, home decor, artisanal products, and certain machinery (AFP)

Published on Feb 08, 2026 07:12 pm IST

Frankly, my dear, we all need therapy

Thanks to the challenges of modern living, the world of therapy is not unknown to most of us, our opinions on it notwithstanding (Shutterstock)

Updated on Feb 08, 2026 07:04 pm IST

What India can expect from the US trade deal

There is a promise that tariffs can go lower than 18% in the course of negotiations. This gives agency to India to try and improve the terms of the deal and not be wedded to it even if Trump kills it. (AFP)

Published on Feb 07, 2026 10:57 pm IST

Giving voice to sanitation advocacy through radio

In Mohanpura, Santi Damor was struck by one reality above all: Despite having a toilet, no one in her new home used it. It had become a storeroom, while the family used the fields for toilet purposes. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 07, 2026 10:57 pm IST

Seeing places anew, as a traveller of means

Paris will look and feel very different when you don’t faint buying bottled water, and can afford a taxi and don’t have to drag your luggage to the subway. (AFP)

Published on Feb 07, 2026 10:57 pm IST

The Shakespeare in our everyday speech

Shakespeare’s impact on English is so vast and wide that all of us end up quoting him, probably several times a day, without realising it. This also means that the simplest of things we say could actually have a rich and vaunted past. (Wikimedia Commons)

Published on Feb 07, 2026 10:56 pm IST

A potential flashpoint between Centre & states

A public debate on the apex court ruling is called for, in order to restore parity between the two entities. (HT Archive)

Updated on Feb 06, 2026 08:50 pm IST

Budget 2026-27: Ledger of missed opportunities

The middle class is taxed by silence. Perhaps the most glaring miss of this budget is what it refuses to say to India’s middle class. There is no income-tax relief, no slab rationalisation, and no inflation indexing. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

Published on Feb 06, 2026 08:49 pm IST

Xi’s ‘rejuvenating China’ vision hits demographic wall

The question before contemporary China is whether “self-forgetfulness” can truly be fostered in our age. The blunt answer offered by plummeting birth rates is no. (Bloomberg)

Published on Feb 06, 2026 08:49 pm IST

Taxing tobacco: The case for higher rates and wider coverage

Making products that kill people steadily less affordable is not a distraction from development. It is an important step towards Viksit Bharat. (Reuters)

Published on Feb 06, 2026 08:00 am IST

Reimagining India’s health system for future challenges

Programmes such as ASHAs, women’s self-help groups, and community action platforms have shown that informed and engaged citizens improve system performance. A reimagined health system must institutionalise their voice. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 05, 2026 09:33 pm IST

Why India needs a new gold standard

Gold stands apart simply because of the collective memory of it being an asset that has survived the pressures of time. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 05, 2026 09:33 pm IST

Trade route to closer relations with the EU

The income and livelihood concerns of small and marginal farmers and certain industry segments were uppermost in the negotiators’ minds. To be fair, the EU also demonstrated much-needed flexibility in this regard. (AFP)

Published on Feb 05, 2026 09:33 pm IST

EU-India: Beyond the deal, a stabilising global force

The EU-India force is here to stay as a defining component of the global system. The Indo-Europe Express has now been launched, and both sides will work to make it unstoppable. (AFP)

Published on Feb 04, 2026 09:05 pm IST

No reset to past, but reframing of future

Those sectors in India focussed on exports to the US and elsewhere can take a breath. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 04, 2026 09:05 pm IST

Tariffs tweaked, but customs reform remain

The Budget will benefit exporters in aviation, nuclear energy, clean-energy equipment, electronics, and health care. (AFP)

Published on Feb 04, 2026 09:05 pm IST

Compassion must guide policy on community dogs

Dogs walked this earth before we learned to name them. They stayed when they could have left. If they have chosen to live beside us, the least we can do is make space. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 03, 2026 09:35 pm IST

Washington blinks, New Delhi benefits

The trade deal with the US is undoubtedly a positive step forward that advances India’s national interests. But it is not a be-all and end-all. (AP)

Updated on Feb 04, 2026 05:57 am IST

In US, EU trade deals, a 1991-redux moment

The deal with the US is in the interest of both countries. For India, it provides an opportunity to access one of the most important markets in the world. (REUTERS)

Published on Feb 03, 2026 09:35 pm IST

The age of militarised middle powers is here

New Delhi recognizes the strategic opportunity in co-developing high-tech defense platforms with emerging, and militarising, middle powers. (PTI)

Published on Feb 02, 2026 08:24 pm IST

Budget implications for the agriculture sector

Beyond the conventional fruits and vegetables narrative, explicit mention of coconut, cashew, cocoa, almonds, walnuts, and pine nuts signals a push towards diversified, plantation-based and tree-crop agriculture. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 02, 2026 08:24 pm IST

Budget sets the course for making India competitive

Protectionism eventually trades growth for fragility; raising productivity can sustain export resilience and macroeconomic stability simultaneously. (AFP)

Published on Feb 02, 2026 08:23 pm IST

Mind The Gap: Why Indians fear love marriages

Man-made rules: a panchayat in session(Representative picture)

Updated on Feb 02, 2026 03:25 pm IST

Rare earths sector can do with recycling thrust

EV motors contain large quantities of rare-earth magnets. (Reuters)

Published on Feb 02, 2026 12:24 am IST

Budget ignores private sector’s lack of confidence in economy

By the time the government works out a trade deal with the US, a large number of workers in sectors such as textiles would have lost their jobs. (AFP)

Updated on Feb 02, 2026 12:23 am IST

Social sectors get the short shrift as tensions play out against global churn

Despite the promise of one girl’s hostel in every district, the department of higher education has seen a small jump. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 02, 2026 12:22 am IST

A budget for an uncertain world

The proposal to create five university townships near industrial and logistics corridors is timely and strategic. (HT Archive)

Published on Feb 02, 2026 12:21 am IST

Message from government: Growth leads consumption

Infrastructure spending remains the backbone of the budget. With over <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>12 lakh crore allocated for capital expenditure, the government is once again acting as the primary growth engine. (Reuters)

Updated on Feb 02, 2026 12:19 am IST

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