Editorial Analysis

The 2026 theme of International Women’s Day as ‘Rights, Justice, Action: For All Women and Girls’ highlights the need to move beyond symbolic commitments and ensure concrete action toward gender equality, particularly in a world increasingly marked by armed conflicts, displacement and humanitarian crises.

Israeli pre-emptive strikes in Iran, with US support, have raised concerns about possible escalation into a wider West Asian conflict, impacting global energy security and geopolitics.

The RBI Bulletin has begun publishing data on invoicing and settlement of India’s exports and imports in rupees since January 2026, marking an important step in the long-term process of rupee internationalisation.

India needs to prioritise financing for resilience in its agricultural food production system to ensure long-term food security and protect the livelihoods of millions of small and marginal farmers.

After the six decades of establishment of the Food Corporation of India (FCI), India’s agricultural landscape has transformed, from scarcity to surplus, while food security remains non-negotiable, calling for a strategic recalibration of FCI’s role to ensure fiscal prudence, efficiency, and sustainability.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 witnessed large participation and high enthusiasm. However, controversy arose after allegedly imported technology products were showcased as indigenous innovations, raising concerns about the quality and authenticity of India’s innovation ecosystem.

India’s recent global trade strategy marks a decisive shift from cautious regionalism to proactive global integration, and it aims to position itself as a leading global trade partner while maintaining strategic autonomy.

A recent Science journal study quantifies India's high contribution to global pesticide risks via Total Applied Toxicity (TAT), urging reforms amid stalled UN biodiversity goals.

The reservation of women under Women’s Reservation Act, 2023 (106th Constitutional Amendment Act) will take effect only after the first Census conducted after 2026 and the subsequent delimitation exercise.

India has recently stepped up efforts to position itself as a global AI infrastructure hub, actively inviting international technology companies to build large AI-focused data centres in the country.