Editor’s Note | Sharpening the Signal

FF

Founding Fuel

Oscar 2026: A Study in Extremes

Chaos, craft and the return of the auteur

RR

Ronaan Roy

Former Deputy General Manager, Mahindra

Oscar Predictions 2026: Who Will Win—and Why

My annual curtain-raiser: the likely winners, the dark horses, and the one film you should actually watch.

RR

Ronaan Roy

Former Deputy General Manager, Mahindra

How Iran Is Turning the Global Economy Into a Battlefield

As the conflict with the United States and Israel intensifies, Iran’s new leadership is signalling a prolonged confrontation—one that combines conventional warfare with pressure on global energy flows and supply chains.

VK

Vivek Y. Kelkar

Researcher, Analyst & Columnist on Geo-economics, Geopolitics and Sustainability

Beyond the Headlines: The Human Complexity of the Middle East

Books, films and cultural works that help us see the Middle East beyond the noise of geopolitics

FF

Founding Fuel

The US–Israel War on Iran: The Risks to India’s Strategic Hedging

Energy dependence, remittance flows and trade corridors reveal how deeply India’s economy is tied to stability in West Asia. Part II of a two-part series.

VK

Vivek Y. Kelkar

Researcher, Analyst & Columnist on Geo-economics, Geopolitics and Sustainability

The US–Israel War on Iran: Energy, Power and Regional Disruption

Energy chokepoints, proxy escalation and great-power recalibration are reshaping the Gulf and unsettling the global order. Part I of a two-part series.

VK

Vivek Y. Kelkar

Researcher, Analyst & Columnist on Geo-economics, Geopolitics and Sustainability

Your Life Is Already Long India. Your Portfolio Shouldn’t Be

Why global diversification is less about chasing returns and more about protecting your financial future from a single-country risk

AR

Abhishek Raghunath

Head of Content, Neil Patel Digital India

Tariffs Are the Noise. Realignment Is the Signal

Even if Trump’s tariffs disappear, the forces reshaping global trade—geopolitics, security concerns and reconfigured regional blocs—are here to stay

VK

Vivek Y. Kelkar

Researcher, Analyst & Columnist on Geo-economics, Geopolitics and Sustainability

When Data Is Right but Decisions Go Wrong

Strategy fails not from lack of information, but from outdated assumptions about what it implies

AB

DM

Arjo Basu & Debleena Majumdar

The Happiness We Keep Postponing

A reflection on joy, and why the ordinary day may be enough

HC

Haresh Chawla

Investor, Entrepreneur

The Blind Spots of India Inc

Disability inclusion, leadership imagination, and the limits of intent

NJ

SS

Nikunj Kumar Jain & Subhashis Sinha

India’s AI Moment

As major powers turn artificial intelligence towards science and national security, India must widen its AI vision beyond inclusion and productivity

PS

Pankaj Saran

Convenor, NatStrat

Redesigning Work—or Retreating to Control

Why the real risk in the return-to-office debate isn’t resistance, but the quiet erosion of judgement and capability

KA

Kavi Arasu

Leadership and Talent Development Professional

India’s AI Gambit: The Choices That Will Define Power

Speed is not strategy. The real battle is over sovereignty, science and state capacity

FF

Founding Fuel

India’s Trade Deals and the New Meaning of Strategic Autonomy

What India’s agreements with the US and EU reveal about power, policy space, and calibrated accommodation

VK

Vivek Y. Kelkar

Researcher, Analyst & Columnist on Geo-economics, Geopolitics and Sustainability

India Is Asking the Wrong Question About AI

Why India’s AI moment will be decided less by models—and more by how intelligence is applied, governed, and trusted

HC

Haresh Chawla

Investor, Entrepreneur

Anatomy of a Prompt

On prompting, intent, and the discipline of asking well

AB

DM

Arjo Basu & Debleena Majumdar

Trendspotting 2026: India Cannot App Its Way to Prosperity

Another 50 tech IPOs won’t build a middle class

HC

Haresh Chawla

Investor, Entrepreneur

Between Jugaad and Destiny: India’s Missing Medium Term

Why a civilisation that thinks in eternity still struggles to plan in decades

AC

Ajay Chacko

Director, Keya Foods International