| Monday, 29 December 2025 |
What India is doing, will do, and should do—to not just survive but thrive in the chaos unleashed by Trump Subscribe here
Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
What does “growth” truly mean for a country? Does it simply mean more money? If so, in whose hands? Does it mean greater accessibility? Again, who is left out?
When a nation makes a decision that affects everyone and the economy, yet glosses over the fine print, that is where journalism must spotlight the asterisk—the real story lost in polished PR-speak.
Make India Competitive Again, launched this spring, is our commitment to bring out the nuance behind the asterisk.
Trumpism was a great wake-up call for many economies, including ours. We saw the urgent need to keep you informed of the rapidly shifting global landscape and India’s reactions to it. But, as you know, our promise evolved. Just like India has grown beyond relying on the US for healthy export numbers.
Landing in your inbox at 7 a.m. every Monday, this newsletter will continue to bring you the voices of our writers and their insightful perspectives on the macroeconomic forces shaping the bordered area we live in.
Today, however, I want to update you on what we have delivered so far over 36 editions, to help you catch up on the diverse and high-stake stories we covered.
For a country that has never placed a strong emphasis on research and development, the topic is now at the forefront of everyone’s mind—from business tycoons to central and state governments.
The National Science and Technology Survey, which conducts research to measure the health of R&D in India, had set a deadline of 30 September to collect responses for the 2024–2025 edition. However, it faced a hitch in receiving responses from the private sector. Here’s the latest data we have on the progress:
As of September, 73% of government R&D institutions had shared their data but only 35% of industry bodies (registered with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research) and 9% of multinational companies had shared their responses, according to data shared at the forum.
In that same article, Arvind Kumar, the person in charge of the survey, said, “We will likely extend the date till November 30 and publish the results within a month.”
Well, he has had to eat his words. If you check the website now, it shows the deadline has been extended once more, this time to 31 December.
Seema Singh’s detailed analysis of the sorry state of the private-sector’s R&D spending helps explain their delay in filling out the survey.
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