Daily Briefing: Decoding the Economic Survey

🚨 Big Story

The government tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26, an annual review of India’s economic performance, in Parliament yesterday. Here’s what you should know:

👉 Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran has flagged the adverse impact of geopolitics on the rupee’s stability. He noted that India’s “strongest macroeconomic performance in decades” has collided with a “global system that no longer rewards macroeconomic success with currency stability, capital inflows or strategic insulation.”

👉 The Survey flags the drying up of foreign capital inflows and subdued investor sentiment towards India. Proactive reforms may be needed to attract more foreign investment.

👉 It also pointed out the relative “lack of investment appetite” among Indian corporates compared to private corporations in post-war America, Germany, Japan and East Asia. It said that Swadeshi was “inevitable and necessary” in the face of a volatile global trading environment.

👉 The survey also makes several recommendations that could be among the focus points of the upcoming Union Budget, including: reducing government shareholding in listed public sector undertakings, further correcting inverted duty structures and focusing on input tariff neutrality.

We also asked two experts for their takeaways from the Economic Survey.

Subhash Chandra Garg, former Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary, writes that the Survey offers no analysis of even one government policy or programme failure. “ES-26 will adorn bookshelves, instead of being read and discussed.”

Meanwhile, Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist at Crisil, writes that the Survey has evolved from analysis to advocacy, and this year, it urges the private sector to scale up investment in infrastructure building.

⚡Only in Express

In 2018, the BJP government enacted the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act (UFRA) to curb “forced religious conversions”. In the nearly seven years since, several arrests have been made, but judicial scrutiny has often undercut the state’s claim. An investigation by The Indian Express into court records reveals that, so far, only five cases have gone to full trial, and all resulted in acquittals. Why don’t these cases hold up in court? Read Aiswarya Raj’s report.

📰 From the Front Page

Hold on: The Supreme Court has stayed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026 — the new rules addressing caste discrimination in educational institutions. The court observed that they raised pertinent questions, which, if left unexamined, could “divide society”.

But what has changed in the 2026 regulations compared to the 2012 guidelines? Mainly, there are differences in definitions. We explain.

🎧 For more on the UGC rules, tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

📌 Must Read

Divine questions: Twelve years ago, Ashutosh Maharaj, founder of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS), was declared clinically dead. Yet his body still lies at the sect’s vast Nurmahal ashram, kept “alive” under medical supervision. His followers insist he is not dead, but in a state of “deep meditation”. Some await his “return”. In the years since, their numbers have only grown. So, what’s keeping the dera chief alive all this time — faith or science?

⏳ And Finally…

Last year, Gujarat became the only state in India to house all three big cats, tigers, lions, and leopards. A lone four-year-old Royal Bengal Tiger was spotted in the Ratanmahal corridor, and the state intends to keep it. A breeding centre, which seeks to boost the prey (deer and sambar) population, is crucial in that effort. Read all about it.

That’s all for today, folks! Happy weekend,
Sonal Gupta

Business As Usual by EP Unny