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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
A crisis though it is, it must also be seen as a gateway towards an opportunity to imbibe crucial learnings.
Editor's note: Pension is a tricky subject in most countries. Just look at the images from France where thousands took to the streets to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s unilateral decision to raise the minimum general retirement age—i.e. the age state pensions kick in—from 62 to 64. In the glorious French tradition that goes back to at least 1789, these demonstrations were vicious and violent. The provocation may be as mundane as high fuel prices, but the French zeal is always revolutionary. We are talking some serious numbers here. In 2020, France spent 13.6% of its gross domestic product on state pensions, says OECD data. To get a sense of that number, it is worth recalling that India’s total budget spending—including on health, education, defence, infrastructure, et al—hovers around 15% of the country’s GDP. But while India’s numbers may be smaller, the demand for pensions from some quarters is equally passionate. Government employees who had been moved to the contributory New Pension Scheme in 2004 are demanding a return to the old, pre-2004 system that had assured them a fixed payout. The old …
India is ramping up focus on defence drones, and the decade-old startup wants public money to seize the opportunity. But the track record of listed peers offers a cautionary tale.
The oil giant’s chief says the ongoing Mideast conflict and the consequent Strait of Hormuz disruption could have catastrophic consequences; a look at the conflict’s effect in Bahrain.
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia returns to Washington DC with big promises, but may be walking away with more.
