Bhaskar Nath Biswal

India stands at a remarkable crossroads in its journey toward economic democratization. Over the past decade, the country has witnessed a profound transformation in how millions of its citizens interact with formal financial systems. The latest data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) reveals an impressive surge in financial inclusion metrics. What was once a landscape marked by systemic exclusion, especially for rural populations and women, now shows near-universal...

AI generated image In the cultural fabric of India, the educator has historically occupied a space higher than the temporal world, encapsulated in the sacred maxim ‘Acharya Devo Bhava’, the teacher is akin to the divine. This guru-shishya parampara was not merely an instructional methodology but a spiritual covenant where knowledge was transmitted alongside a rigorous code of moral rectitude. Today, that revered pedestal is fracturing. The deeply unsettling revelations surrounding the...

While GST relief for individual insurance is welcome, but taxing group insurance at 18 percent weakens India’s largest vehicle for mass social protection. In a landmark reform, the Indian government abolished the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance, advancing its ambition of “Insurance for All by 2047.” By removing the 18 percent tax burden on retail policies, the state lowered the cost of financial protection for millions of households confronting rising...