Nalin Mehta https://nalinmehta.in/ Award-winning social scientist, journalist and author Sun, 21 Sep 2025 08:52:03 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 https://nalinmehta.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/cropped-nalin-mehta-32x32.jpg Nalin Mehta https://nalinmehta.in/ 32 32 India eyes partnership with France’s Safran to power next-gen Tejas Mk2 jets https://nalinmehta.in/india-france-safran-tejas-lca-mk2/ Sat, 23 Aug 2025 08:44:09 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346966 India is exploring the possibility of a potential partnership with French aerospace and defence major Safran to enhance its engine-making capabilities for Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter aircraft and to develop engines for its next-generation Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-2 fighter jets, top defence sources have told Moneycontrol. US defence major GE Aerospace is [...]

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]]> Modi’s big middle class outreach, tax changes to put more money in pocket: 5 political takeaways from Union Budget https://nalinmehta.in/union-budget-2025-middle-class-benefits/ Sat, 23 Aug 2025 08:16:52 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346955 The Modi government has responded to a clamour of complaints from India’s middle class voters with a big bang outreach through tax cuts. If the last budget in July was about shoring up those constituencies where BJP saw an erosion of support in the 2024, this one is a statement of intent by a confident [...]

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]]> When Atal Bihari Vajpayee considered dissolving BJP: Story of how a young party found its footing https://nalinmehta.in/atal-bihari-vajpayee-bjp-story/ Sat, 23 Aug 2025 08:06:33 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346951 It is difficult to imagine now, but there was a time when Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as BJP president, actually thought of disbanding the party. The party, which had imagined itself from Day One as an ‘alternative to Cong (I)’105 had suffered a crushing defeat in 1984, winning just two parliamentary seats in that year’s national [...]

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]]> BJP reverses Lok Sabha dip, Brand Modi shines again: Five poll takeaways for national politics https://nalinmehta.in/bjp-reverses-lok-sabha-dip-modi-haryana-jk/ Sat, 23 Aug 2025 08:01:23 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346948 If the Lok Sabha results were interpreted by some as the beginning of the decline of Narendra Modi’s BJP, the Haryana and J&K assembly election result shows that such exultation was premature. BJP’s record third consecutive win in Haryana and its emergence as the largest national party in Jammu and Kashmir has significant implications for [...]

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]]> BJP juggernaut and national politics: Seven takeaways for 2024 elections https://nalinmehta.in/bjp-juggernaut-and-national-politics-seven-takeaways-for-2024-elections/ Sun, 03 Dec 2023 18:35:44 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346854 This  article  was first published on  moneycontrol.com |  December, 03, 2023 The 3-1 verdict between BJP and Congress in the state assembly elections set the stage for the road to the national polls in 2024. State and national contests often differ, of course, but several key indicators of the national mood stand out from the results in [...]

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]]> Exit polls: Five takeaways for national politics on road to 2024 https://nalinmehta.in/exit-polls-five-takeaways-for-national-politics-on-road-to-2024/ Thu, 30 Nov 2023 18:37:00 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346857 This  article  was first published on  moneycontrol.com | November, 30, 2023 Exit polls have been a critical weathervane in the political theatre that has characterised key poll contests ever since the American pollster Warren Mitofsky conducted the first one in 1967 for the Kentucky governor’s contest. Individual polls may get it wrong sometimes, for sure, but a [...]

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]]> Notes and Appendices: The New BJP https://nalinmehta.in/notes-and-appendices-the-new-bjp/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 04:50:23 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346845 Please download the PDF document titled “Notes and Appendices” from the link below.

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]]> Emergence of a powerful PM was a turning point in India’s digital revolution https://nalinmehta.in/emergence-of-a-powerful-pm-was-a-turning-point-in-indias-digital-revolution/ Tue, 31 Oct 2023 05:53:40 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346831 This interview was first published on firstpost.com | October 29, 2023 After India’s economic reforms that were initiated in the early 90s, the biggest revolution that India witnessed in the last few decades is its digital revolution. India’s Techade by journalist and author Nalin Mehta chronicles the trajectory of this revolution. Mehta’s last book was The New BJP: Modi and [...]

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]]> Numbers don’t lie: India’s success on the digital fronts sketched in celebratory detail https://nalinmehta.in/numbers-dont-lie-indias-success-on-the-digital-fronts-sketched-in-celebratory-detail/ Tue, 17 Oct 2023 05:57:00 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346834 Nalin Mehta’s views were featured by The Financial Express in this article on October 15, 2023 By Shivaji Dasgupta At a foundation level, Nalin Mehta’s effort is a case study propelled by staggering statistics. As an elevated opinion, it is undeniable evidence of the success of Indian democracy, as citizen-centric efficacy and not just emotive [...]

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]]> Rahul Gandhi has opened up a pandora’s box, you don’t know where this can go https://nalinmehta.in/rahul-gandhi-has-opened-up-a-pandoras-box-you-dont-know-where-this-can-go/ Tue, 10 Oct 2023 06:14:44 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346827 The post Rahul Gandhi has opened up a pandora’s box, you don’t know where this can go appeared first on Nalin Mehta.

]]> Debate Over Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi’s Editorial On Hinduism https://nalinmehta.in/debate-over-congress-leader-rahul-gandhis-editorial-on-hinduism/ Thu, 05 Oct 2023 10:30:48 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346824 The post Debate Over Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi’s Editorial On Hinduism appeared first on Nalin Mehta.

]]> Creating an Indian welfare state 2.0 https://nalinmehta.in/creating-an-indian-welfare-state-2-0/ Thu, 05 Oct 2023 10:08:08 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346821 This article was first published on orfonline.org |  September, 17, 2023 It takes just over 100 seconds. Lakshmi, a 58-year-old widow, shows her Aadhar card at the government-authorised services centre in Keelara, a village in Mandya in southern Karnataka. She does not have a bank card or a passbook. But once her Aadhar identification number is typed [...]

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]]> G20: India’s new soft power is digital public infrastructure https://nalinmehta.in/g20-indias-new-soft-power-is-digital-public-infrastructure/ Mon, 11 Sep 2023 04:15:17 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346815 This article was first published on The Times of India |  September, 10, 2023 UPI services for foreign delegates, a VR cycle depicting India’s digital journey and a showcasing of India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) like Aadhaar, direct-benefit-transfers and DigiLocker formed a key part of India’s diplomacy at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. India’s soft power was [...]

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]]> G20 Summit: 5 Charts on How India Got Almost Half a Billion People Into the Banking System https://nalinmehta.in/g20-summit-5-charts-on-how-india-got-almost-half-a-billion-people-into-the-banking-system/ Sat, 09 Sep 2023 15:02:37 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346781 This  article  was first published on  news18.com |   September, 08, 2023 In his maiden Independence Day speech as Prime Minister on August 15, 2014, Narendra Modi broke convention by speaking extempore for 65 minutes. Sporting a polka-dotted Gujarati red-and-green turban, Modi played the outsider card, explaining to a national audience how Delhi’s elites looked upon him as [...]

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]]> How UPI became bigger than ATMs and credit cards https://nalinmehta.in/how-upi-became-bigger-than-atms-and-credit-cards/ Thu, 07 Sep 2023 09:39:31 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346776 This article was first published on The Times of India |  September, 07, 2023 The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) crossed 10.58bn financial transactions in August, grossing over ₹15.76 lakh crore in total value of money transferred. These staggering numbers, the highest ever, reflect how fast the Indian economy is changing with fintech. What is so unique about [...]

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]]> Narendra Modi and the democratisation of G20: 3 key takeaways from PM interview with Moneycontrol https://nalinmehta.in/narendra-modi-and-the-democratisation-of-g20-3-key-takeaways-from-pm-interview-with-moneycontrol/ Wed, 06 Sep 2023 15:14:30 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346772 This article was first published on  firstpost.com |  September 06, 2023 The PM’s assertion about the democratisation of the G20 and how differently India has organised the event reflects not only a lasting legacy that India’s G20 presidency will leave behind in diplomatic terms but also a nuanced political approach to big events domestically Several key [...]

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]]> India has legitimate bragging rights for public-sector led UPI success https://nalinmehta.in/india-has-legitimate-bragging-rights-for-public-sector-led-upi-success/ Wed, 06 Sep 2023 15:07:26 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346767 This article was first published in moneycontrol.com September, 06, 2023 India has “legitimate bragging rights” on the strides made in the space of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) especially since New Delhi’s digital revolution is led by the public-sector unlike in the West wherein private sector plays a primary role, political scientist Nalin Mehta told Moneycontrol. [...]

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]]> Moneycontrol Decodes PM Modi’s Mega Exclusive Interview https://nalinmehta.in/moneycontrol-decodes-pm-modis-mega-exclusive-interview/ Wed, 06 Sep 2023 10:21:38 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346762 Moneycontrol  analyses PM Narendra Modi’s mega exclusive interview as he speaks on India’s war against inflation, its place in a multi polar world, India’s social safety net, freebies and India’s technology and human capital. Join in Shweta Punj with Nalin Mehta, Political Scientist & Journalist and Sanjay Kumar, Professor, CSDS.

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]]> You thought Indian UPI app BHIM is a homage to Mahabharata’s Bheem? It’s actually Ambedkar https://nalinmehta.in/you-thought-indian-upi-app-bhim-is-a-homage-to-mahabharatas-bheem-its-actually-ambedkar/ Sun, 03 Sep 2023 05:18:35 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346754 This article was first published in The Print  September, 02, 2023 It is not a coincidence that India named its State-run BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app, for easy digital financial transactions using UPI, after the Constitution-maker and visionary for Dalit rights, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. Few may remember today that Ambedkar, besides being an eminent lawyer, [...]

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]]> India’s Techade by Nalin Mehta I Book Review https://nalinmehta.in/indias-techade-by-nalin-mehta-i-book-review/ Tue, 29 Aug 2023 16:39:48 +0000 https://nalinmehta.in/?p=346742 The post India’s Techade by Nalin Mehta I Book Review appeared first on Nalin Mehta.

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