ERTF

Economic Research and Training Foundation

Global coal demand set to slow gradually

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

As traditional feedstock, coal is the cornerstone of electricity generation in many countries. Same time, it is the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions globally. This combination places

Comments - 0

Key Macro Themes for 2026

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

Marked by geo-economic and geopolitical headwinds, the current year 2025 is on its way out; but a plethora of challenges will continue to haunt the global economy in the upcoming year 2026.
The ne

Comments - 0

Nutrition Programs Deliver Positive Outcomes

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

India’s poor nutrition status is well-documented. Pervasive malnutrition / under-nutrition especially in rural parts of the country is actually a hidden or unaccounted cost the country pays.
Under

Comments - 0

LEAD MARKET OUTLOOK 2026 AMID GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC SETTING

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

The 2020s has been a disruptive decade so far. The world has faced multiple headwinds and challenges since early 2020. Covid-19 pandemic, two wars (Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas), elevated levels o

Comments - 0

USA Threatens Tariff on Indian Rice

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

The hot topic in the market for the last two days is the threat of tariff imposition on India's rice exports to the US on the grounds of 'dumping'. Already Indian rice exports to the US are burdened

Comments - 0

Gold's future trajectory

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

According to a report by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the rise in gold prices since the beginning of September has been amplified by speculative purchases by retail investors, thereb

Comments - 0

INDIA’S NUTRITION CHALLENGE

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

For a country aspiring to reach a $5-trillion GDP and already the world’s fastest-growing major economy, India’s nutrition status leaves much to be desired.
The country is not food-insecure, but

Comments - 0

METALTRENDZZ Webinar Precious Metals Market Dynamics 2026 Q1 December 6, 2025

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

Disclaimer

Precious metals – Gold, Sil

Comments - 0

WGC Gold Outlook 2026

Gold has experienced a remarkable 2025, achieving over 50 all-time highs and returning over 60%.1 This performance has been supported by a combination of heightened geopolitical and economic uncertai

Comments - 0

Why Credit Access Remains a Statistical Mirage for Small Manufacturers

Sanket Kapadnis, Founder, ThinkSDG Advisors

Introduction: The Invisible Cash Flow CrisisIn India’s manufacturing landscape, the story of small enterprises often begins and ends with cash. Consider a medi

Comments - 1

Playing’ the palm oil price game

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

In the basket of global vegetable oils that comprises oils of soy, rapeseed, sunseed, cottonseed, groundnut, coconut and a few more oil crops, palm oil stands out for its dominance. Palm oil represen

Comments - 2

Government Announces Implementation of Four Labour Codes to Simplify and Streamline Labour Laws

Four Labour Codes Herald Transformational Change: Better Wages, Safety, Social Security & Enhanced Welfare for India’s Workforce

Comments - 0

Advance Estimates of Kharif 2025-26 crops production inexplicably delayed

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

It is past mid-November and yet there is no sign of the ‘First Advance Estimates of Production’ of foodgrains, oilseeds and other commercial crops for the 2025-26 Kharif season. It is unclear what is

Comments - 0

India’s Cotton Outlook Brightens: CAI Projects Higher Closing Stocks for 2025–26 Season

Krishna Shah

India’s cotton sector is set for a stronger supply position in the 2025–26 season, with the Cotton Association of India (CAI) projecting a 54% rise in closing stocks by the end of September 2026. The

Comments - 0

SEBI Press release dated 8 November 2025, on Digital Gold

Bhargava Vaidya

“Digital gold” is a relatively new product, which has been in the market for about a few years.So, what is digital Gold? Digital gold is a way to purchase gold electronically through an online

Comments - 0

Gold may consolidate after sharp correction

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

After a remarkable 60 percent increase since the start of the year and nine-week winning run to reach a record high of $ 4380 a troy ounce, the gold bull run took a breather 10 days ago with a shar

Comments - 0

Forging the Future of India’s Stainless Steel Industry

Krishna Shah

India’s stainless steel utensil industry stands as one of the country’s quiet manufacturing triumphs — built on ingenuity, driven by micro and small enterprises, and respected across global markets

Comments - 0

Boxed Emotions: Packaging for the Eco Generation

Bhushan Yengade

What Gen Z Really Wants in Packaging: More Than Just a Box Packaging today is no longer just a protective wrapper, it’s a storyteller, a sustainability statement, and a silent salesperson

Comments - 0

Manifesting a Better Bharat with AI

Sanjay Mehta

India today stands at the threshold of a historic transformation, empowered by the strength of its digital revolution. With more than 950 million internet users, the country represents the second-

Comments - 0

Gold’s enduring value for global economy

Sanjay Mehta

Gold has been a cornerstone of the global economy for centuries, serving as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a hedge against financial uncertainty. While no longer the official basis of

Comments - 0

Caution warranted in current bullion market

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

Gold and silver prices have reached record levels in the international market. Gold recently crossed the psychological $ 4,000 a troy ounce mark gaining nearly 50 percent since the start of the ye

Comments - 0

Changing Crop Choices: Why Indian Farmers Are Moving Away from Cotton and Oilseeds in 2025

Krishna Shah

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the total area sown under Kharif crops until September 26, 2025, has reached 112.073 crore hectares. This represents an incre

Comments - 0

Production Outlook for Key Kharif 2025 Crops

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF

IMC-ERTF (Economic Research and Training Foundation) is pleased to announce it Kharif 2025 crop production outlook following the gradual withdrawal of southwest monsoon. The report is resear

Comments - 1

The Indian Manufacturing MSME Paradox: Backbone Without a Growth Spine

Sanket Kapadnis, Founder, ThinkSDG Advisors

IntroductionIndia’s manufacturing MSMEs are the quiet workhorses of the economy. They contribute roughly 30% to GDP and account for nearly half of the country’s

Comments - 0

Five mega trends set to drive commodities

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, ERTF

It is well recognized that India’s growth over the next two decades or so will be largely driven by a variety of commodities including energy products (conventional and non-conventional), metals (i

Comments - 0

Wheat: not by MSP alone

G. CHANDRASHEKHAR, Advisor, IMC-ERTF

What will the hike in minimum support price (MSP) for wheat for crop year 2025-26 (marketing year 2026-27) approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs achieve?
For the upcoming harvest

Comments - 0

How to Measure Sustainability

G. Chandrashekhar

The earth’s risk profile is changing. Global warming / Climate change is now a recognized real risk to human welfare. The world has taken cognizance of this risk.Across the world, policymakers, busin

Comments - 0

GCCs can help build resilience against uncertainty

G. Chandrashekhar

The world is currently going through VUCA conditions – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Multiple headwinds buffet the world and create unprecedented and unforeseen turbulence. Slowi

Comments - 0

Reimagining GCCs: Building India’s Resilience against Tariffs and Layoffs

India is facing a dual disruption: exporters struggling under steep tariffs and IT professionals experiencing layoffs despite record industry profits. Though from different worlds, both share a commo

Comments - 0

Unlocking the Potential of FPOs to Achieve Food & Fibre Security for India

Manish Daga

India’s journey toward food and fibre security is at a critical juncture. With over 6.5 million cotton farmers and millions more engaged in food crops, the stakes have never been higher. Climate chan

Comments - 0

When dependency becomes vulnerability

G. Chandrashekhar

Trump’s 50 percent tariff (basic 25% plus additional 25%) on Indian exports to the US has generated panic not only within the government circles but also in labour intensive export sectors like texti

Comments - 0

Trump threatens India with punitive tariff for buying Russian oil

G. Chandrashekhar

India is facing a double whammy from the US President Donald Trump despite the fact that the two countries are currently negotiating a bilateral trade agreement intended to achieve ambitious outcomes

Comments - 0

Unilateral Tariff Imposition of 25% by President Donald Trump, USA

Mr. Suresh Kotak

IMC-ERTF a quick research response has made a brief preliminary observation of the Unilateral and additional Ad Valorem Tariff Duty @ 25% form 1st Aug’25. This measure additionally compounded by pena

Comments - 0

India should tie up with the US for critical minerals

G. Chandrashekhar

The proposed India-USA Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) is still under intense negotiation. While, it is widely believed the US is keen to open up India’s farm sector (soybean cotton, corn, chicken le

Comments - 0

For Vietnam, India can be a reliable partner

G. Chandrashekhar

At the recently concluded Asia Agri Food Conference in Ho Chi Min City, several ideas to cement India Vietnam partnership in the area of agriculture and agribusiness came to the fore.The remarkable g

Comments - 0

India’s steel sector: are we ready for the big leap?

G. Chandrashekhar

Steel is a critical industrial metal for growth and development of several sectors including infrastructure, construction, defense, mobility and so on. No wonder, there is a strong positive correlati

Comments - 0

Modernizing-cotton cultivation through tech infusion is imperative

G. Chandrashekhar

Cotton is an important cash crop for our country. It is not merely an agricultural crop but an industrial commodity too as it has multiple uses, food and non-food. Cotton represents 5F – Fibre, Food,

Comments - 0

Contours of India UK FTA set to boost economic opportunities

G. Chandrashekhar

After over three years of negotiations that began in January 2022, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was recently concluded and formally announced on May 6, 2025. Yet, there is a road ahead to

Comments - 0

USA – India BTA and scenario of possible outcomes

G. Chandrashekhar

The US faces the problem of ‘twin deficit’ that is fiscal deficit and trade deficit. The policy of free trade or liberal import – intended to support consumers – has resulted in trade deficit.Over th

Comments - 0

The Present and Future of AI

Raj Nair

Have you heard of Gemma 3, Sec- Gemini v1, DeepSeek, Gemini 2.0, etc.? Don’t worry because more 95% of the people around you have not heard of about these AI models, let alone know anything about the

Comments - 0

Trump, Tariffs, Tradewar and Turmoil

The much-awaited US reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2 have jolted the world with a few countries in Asia becoming the target of Trump ire (China, Vietnam, Thailand) while the blow to India is r

Comments - 0

The Allure of Glittering Gold

Background: In pursuance of the decision to run blogs on topical subjects, ERTF chose Gold Market as the subject that could potentially elicit interesting yet different shades of opinion from domain

Comments - 0

Blog

Global coal demand set to slow gradually

Key Macro Themes for 2026

Nutrition Programs Deliver Positive Outcomes

LEAD MARKET OUTLOOK 2026 AMID GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC SETTING

USA Threatens Tariff on Indian Rice

Gold's future trajectory

INDIA’S NUTRITION CHALLENGE

METALTRENDZZ Webinar Precious Metals Market Dynamics 2026 Q1 December 6, 2025

WGC Gold Outlook 2026

Why Credit Access Remains a Statistical Mirage for Small Manufacturers

Playing’ the palm oil price game

Government Announces Implementation of Four Labour Codes to Simplify and Streamline Labour Laws

Advance Estimates of Kharif 2025-26 crops production inexplicably delayed

India’s Cotton Outlook Brightens: CAI Projects Higher Closing Stocks for 2025–26 Season

SEBI Press release dated 8 November 2025, on Digital Gold

Gold may consolidate after sharp correction

Forging the Future of India’s Stainless Steel Industry

Boxed Emotions: Packaging for the Eco Generation

Manifesting a Better Bharat with AI

Gold’s enduring value for global economy

Caution warranted in current bullion market

Changing Crop Choices: Why Indian Farmers Are Moving Away from Cotton and Oilseeds in 2025

Production Outlook for Key Kharif 2025 Crops

The Indian Manufacturing MSME Paradox: Backbone Without a Growth Spine

Five mega trends set to drive commodities

Wheat: not by MSP alone

How to Measure Sustainability

GCCs can help build resilience against uncertainty

Reimagining GCCs: Building India’s Resilience against Tariffs and Layoffs

Unlocking the Potential of FPOs to Achieve Food & Fibre Security for India

When dependency becomes vulnerability

Trump threatens India with punitive tariff for buying Russian oil

Unilateral Tariff Imposition of 25% by President Donald Trump, USA

India should tie up with the US for critical minerals

For Vietnam, India can be a reliable partner

India’s steel sector: are we ready for the big leap?

Modernizing-cotton cultivation through tech infusion is imperative

Contours of India UK FTA set to boost economic opportunities

USA – India BTA and scenario of possible outcomes

The Present and Future of AI

Trump, Tariffs, Tradewar and Turmoil

The Allure of Glittering Gold