Sagari Gupta

As fertility falls below replacement level in several states, India faces a new demographic challenge: fewer workers, faster ageing and a growing economic cost of family formation. India’s fertility rate has fallen to around replacement level nationally, but that headline conceals a far more consequential regional divide. Tamil Nadu’s total fertility rate is 1.7, Maharashtra’s 1.8, while Sikkim remains at 1.1 in NFHS-5. India’s fertility transition is no longer a single national story. It is...

While better digital evidence can strengthen recovery, Indian lenders still face the deeper costs of slow adjudication and enforcement. AI generated image India has become remarkably adept at moving money, but far less efficient at dealing with what happens when a financial promise is broken. For a lender, the risk of default does not end with assessing whether a borrower will repay. It also lies in what follows: how easily a claim can be established, how quickly records can be produced, how...

The new anti-paper leak law rightly raises the cost of organised examination fraud, but protecting merit will need stronger institutions and better governance. Nearly two million students were forced to retake the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) in 2026 after the examination was cancelled over an alleged paper leak. The disruption extended well beyond delayed admissions. Weeks of nationwide protests, the resignation of the Union Education Minister, the constitution of a...