Jammu & Kashmir’s (J&K) triumphant Ranji Trophy victory in the 2025-26 season marks a historic milestone – for them and for us. J&K clinched the title for the first time in the domestic tournament’s storied 90-year history. Led by captain Parvez Rasool and standout performer Aquib Nabi, who claimed a nine-wicket haul in the final against Mumbai, J&K defied astronomical odds – becoming only the second team after Tamil Nadu (1986-87) to upstage cricket’s perennial powerhouse Mumbai on their home turf at Wankhede Stadium. This was not just a win. It was a seismic upset. J&K, long overshadowed in domestic cricket amid regional strife, entered the tournament as underdogs with a modest budget and intermittent training disruptions. Their campaign turned out to be a gritty comeback story – a thrilling chase against Services, a bowling masterclass versus Kerala and a semi-final thriller over Saurashtra. Nabi’s all-round brilliance (over fifty wickets) and Rasool’s tactical nous turned a ragtag side into champions ending Mumbai’s quest for the 42nd title. The victory stunned analysts just because of the yeoman challenges the J&K faced – political instability post-Article 370 abrogation and player exodus resulting in thin talent pipeline. Yet youngsters like Vivrant Sharma and Abdul Samad shone, bolstered by BCCI’s renewed infra push (upgrading Srinagar stadium, for one). It underscores the remarkable resilience with local coaching and Kashmiri Pandit-Sikh-Muslim unity in the squad symbolising a quiet integration of sorts. Beyond sports, this portends a healing in an extremely polarised region. Cricket has long bridged divides – recall 2008 Srinagar matches drawing crowds amid militancy. J&K’s win fosters pride across the valley, potentially curbing radicalisation by channeling youth energy to sports and games. Does it signal normalcy? One does not know. Mizoram’s Santosh Trophy successes spurred North-East unity. The victory saw camaraderie among people, victory parades in Jammu and Srinagar, celebrations uniting Dogras, Kashmiris, and Ladakhis. Social media buzzed with #JKPride, transcending faiths. As Rasool noted, “This is for every J&K heart.” It could inspire school leagues, reduce stone-pelting through sports hostels, and model national integration proving cricket’s power to stitch a fractured society. In Trump’s era of global realignments, J&K’s feat whispers hope for internal harmony. For a person like me hailing from the tiny state of Kerala Sanju’s heroics on the cricket pitch and Aquib Nabi’s display of class bowling prowess do show something undefinable. You normally do not dare to dream about such outstanding feats. Well known author Swaminathan S Anklesria Aiyar in his column in The Times of India has written an article titled “Can J&K’s historic Ranji Trophy triumph heal old wound in the Valley?”. He concludes his article with these words. “Hurrah for Kashmir! Hurrah for India! Well Done boys – way to go!
India has recently joined Pax Silica, a US-led alliance launched in December 2025 to secure supply chains for semiconductors, AI infrastructure, critical minerals, and related technologies, reducing reliance on China. This move, formalised in February 2026 during the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, positions India as a key partner alongside nations like Japan, South Korea, and Australia. This group focusses on “trusted” supply chains spanning mineral processing, chip fabrication, AI hardware, logistics and energy infrastructure. It emerged amid US-China tensions over rare earths where China processes over 90% globally and India imports 80-90% of its rare-earth magnets from there. Members coordinate investments, policy alignments and projects like supply-chain mapping to enhance resilience in this critical space. India joining this group bolsters its strategic autonomy in tech amidst de-risking its position from China. With this, India expects to access capital, advanced tech transfers and markets for its semiconductor ambitions including ₹1.6 trillion in domestic projects. India’s status as a democracy inside the Global South lends credibility and legitimacy to the group and its members. It also prevents perceptions of Western elitism associated with such groups while its Indo-Pacific location aids logistical requirements. As a member of this group, India is looking forward to its defense modernisation, 5G rollout, and AI growth, potentially closing tech gaps via trusted partnerships. However, for India alignment with a US-centric bloc could strain ties with China and some non-members, imposing export controls that could limit diplomatic flexibility for us. India also risks substituting dependency on China with US-led vulnerabilities, especially if it remains in lower-end segments like assembly without making advances in fabrication. In the end, the success of Pax Silica will depend on whether its partners go beyond talks to build a real-world supply chain where raw minerals are mined, refined, turned into chips and used to power AI systems, all among the Pax’s members, creating a secure technology network that drives India’s economic growth while protecting the alliance from disruptions. India being the only member from BRICS in this group, it has a lot of balancing acts to perform as it navigates “geopolitically unwieldy” positioning in an extremely fragmented world order. The Pax Silica partnership’s focus on “trusted ecosystems” could also translate into rigid expectations regarding export controls and technology-transfer guardrails which could clash with India’s policy of not locking itself into alliances instead of pursuing what the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar calls “issue-based alignments.” Watch this space.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026, held from 16th to 21st February 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, marked one of the most ambitious global gatherings on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to date. As the first Global South host in the series of major AI summits, India positioned itself at the center of global AI dialogue, bringing together heads of state, leading CEOs, policymakers, researchers, and over 250,000 participants. At its core, the summit focused on the guiding pillars of People, Planet, and Progress, operationalised through seven thematic working groups addressing human capital, inclusion, safe and trusted AI, scientific progress, resource democratisation and broader social good. With over three hundred exhibitors across AI driven sectors – healthcare, agriculture and education – the accompanying AI Impact Expo highlighted real‑world deployments and ongoing innovations. One of the most significant outcomes was the signing of the New Delhi Declaration on Global AI Impact by eighty-eight countries, representing a broad global consensus on “AI for All.” The declaration outlined a non‑binding roadmap emphasising equitable resource access, workforce reskilling, energy‑efficient AI systems, and shared scientific collaboration. Deliverables included a Trusted AI Commons, a Global AI Impact Commons, and a Charter for Democratic Diffusion of AI – all aimed at reducing dependence on a few technology superpowers. Authorities, including the Indian government and international leaders projected an optimistic vision for AI as a driver of inclusive growth, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing a human‑centric approach and global CEOs advocating for responsible, democratised deployment. India also highlighted its aspirational role as a global hub for AI innovation with major technology executives such as Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman, and Jensen Huang in attendance. However, the summit also exposed some practical challenges, grounding the authorities’ expectations in reality. Unfortunately, reports emerged soon of logistical inefficiencies, overcrowding, unclear instructions and unexpected venue shutdowns due to security sweeps at the Exhibition. Delegates and startup founders publicly expressed concerns about accessibility to exhibition spaces, poor event coordination, and confusion around schedules. These issues served as a reminder that scaling global events – much like scaling AI systems – requires robust infrastructure, planning and transparent governance. From a policy perspective, while the declaration and discussions articulated bold ambitions, the non‑binding nature of agreements reflects the complex geopolitical landscape surrounding AI governance. Although the summit emphasised global cooperation, achieving genuine interoperability in standards, talent development and safety norms will require long‑term coordination that extends beyond aspirational frameworks. The summit’s shift from earlier editions’ heavy emphasis on AI safety toward more impact‑driven implementation highlighted a maturing global stance but also raised questions about whether governance mechanisms are advancing at the same pace as deployments. In summary, the 2026 summit succeeded in catalysing global collaboration, announcing ambitious frameworks and positioning India as an AI powerhouse. Yet the event also underscored the importance of grounding visionary expectations in operational reality – both in event management and in the broader governance of fast‑evolving AI technologies. The path forward will depend on how effectively nations can translate declarations into measurable, equitable, and secure outcomes for their populations. In the end, it remains to be seen if the Summit would be remembered for the lofty platitudes belted out from the stage or how dirty the vests that the protesters were wearing at the conclusion of the Summit.
India has introduced a new Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the base year 2024=100, replacing the outdated 2012 series to better reflect evolving consumption patterns and current economic realities. This update addresses the need for a more accurate inflation measure amid rapid urbanisation, rising services consumption, and shifts in household spending post pandemic. The old CPI (2012=100) had become unrepresentative due to structural changes in India’s economy such as declining food’s share in budgets and surging costs in housing, education and health services. It overemphasised food (nearly 50% weight), amplifying volatility from supply shocks like monsoons or farm issues which distorted monetary policy signals for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The fresh index ensures relevance of cost-of-living adjustments, wage revisions and fiscal planning, drawing from the latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24. Key changes include reduced food and beverages weight from 46% to 36.75%, elevating non-food items like housing (up significantly), education, health, and transport to capture urban pressures. The item basket is expanded with new inclusions like online services and eco-friendly products, based on fresh market surveys. Linking factors using the 2025 overlap year ensure continuity with the old series via back-calculated data. Price collection now integrates weekly online data alongside monthly rural-urban sampling. Innovative refinements reflect global best practices tailored to India: weights are dynamically rebalanced for rural-urban granularity, with plans for state – and city level indices to address regional disparities. Core inflation focus minimises food-fuel noise, aiding RBI’s rate decisions. Methodological upgrades like refined price quotes and HCES integration, prioritise representativeness reducing rigidity. Base revisions will occur every 3-5 years, aligned with HCES cycles (every three years), institutionalising regular updates per international norms. This prevents obsolescence, with the next revision expected around 2027-2029, ensuring that the index tracks a $5-trillion economy’s dynamism. This overhaul of the CPI should help policy-credibility with January 2026’s first reading at 2.75% inflation signalling an element of stability.
In a typical Demand and Supply paradigm in Economics, supply follows to fulfil a demand. That is classical economic theory. How about demand getting generated because of supply? This is counterintuitive; but true. In the theory of Economics this concept is known as Say’s Law! The act of producing goods and services (supply) by themselves generate the income necessary to purchase them (demand). This theory was conceived by a French economist by the name Jean-Baptist Say. When producers create output, they pay wages, rents, and profits. These payments then become purchasing power in the hands of households, which in turn fuels demand for goods and services. Say argued that economic growth stems from production, not from hoarding money. If goods are produced, they will find buyers because production creates the means to consume. In classical economics, markets are assumed to self-correct. Excess supply in one sector leads to adjustments in prices and wages, ensuring that demand eventually matches supply. John Maynard Keynes, the high priest of Economics, challenged Say’s Law during the Great Depression, arguing that demand can lag behind supply, leading to unemployment and stagnation. Keynes emphasised the role of government intervention to stimulate demand. New products often create their own demand (e.g., smartphones, electric cars). Countries that expand production capacity often stimulate demand domestically and internationally. In recessions, supply alone may not generate demand if consumers lack confidence or liquidity. “Supply creates demand” highlights the productive capacity of economies as the foundation of prosperity. While it underscores the importance of innovation and output, modern economics recognises that demand management is equally vital – especially in times of crisis. The tension between Say’s optimism and Keynes’s caution continues to shape debates on economic policy even today.
Thank you.
Venkat R Venkitachalam
