Counterview

​By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*  ​Amid ongoing debates over the expanding influence of artificial intelligence, commercial developers are experiencing an unprecedented financial boom. Industry estimates suggest global AI revenues reached $229 billion by mid-2026, tripling year-over-year, with projections indicating a potential disruption of up to $4.7 trillion in enterprise profits by 2035.

By Tings Chak  The television series Asking the Vast Earth (问苍茫, 2023) opens with a scene of a young Mao Zedong swimming in the Xiang River, swollen from the heavy rains. A fisherman calls from the bank to the lone swimmer: ‘You fool, you’re asking to die! The river is raging after the storm—there are boats, why are you swimming?’ Mao laughs and calls back: ‘Never mind how fierce the water is. Once you understand its temper, you can handle it. Just like you with your fishing—where the fishing is easy, there are no fish. Where the swimming is easy, there is no joy.’

By Vikas Meshram*  Very few writers in the history of American literature have shaped not just the world of literature but the very direction of a society's thinking through their pen. Toni Morrison is one of those rare names. Throughout her life, she gave voice through her writing to the injustice, oppression, and marginalisation faced by the Black community. She is regarded as one of the most respected names in American literature. Over the course of her long literary career, she wrote eleven novels along with children's literature, plays, and numerous essays, mastering nearly every form literature has to offer. Her writing was never confined merely to storytelling; it became a living document reflecting the pain, resistance, and struggle for existence of an entire community.

Counterview News   On the eve of the 18th BRICS Summit, a new report has accused the New Development Bank (NDB) — the multilateral lender set up by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — of failing to deliver on its founding promise of people-centric, sustainable development, even as the harms from its projects mount and affected communities are left with no way to seek redress.

Counterview News  A citizens’ audit of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Y Block, Mangolpuri, has challenged the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s defence of deletions from the draft electoral roll, alleging that in four of six cited cases the official explanation rests on “an unrecorded, unnamed ‘local inquiry’ or oral statement” rather than documented evidence. The detailed response follows a four-hour public hearing on 5 September 2026 before a citizens’ jury chaired by Justice (Retd.) Madan B. Lokur, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India.

By Vikas Gupta   India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.

By Deepika*  On 10 September 2026, the Supreme Court refused to "entertain" a petition raising serious concerns about the government-run nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign for adolescent girls. The petition, filed by the Universal Health Organisation (UHO), sought suspension of the school-based component of the programme until a legally compliant informed consent protocol could be established.

By Vikas Meshram*  About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  The deaths caused by poisonous and adulterated liquor in six villages of Bunda tehsil in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district have once again brought the state’s excise system, police administration and allegations of political protection into sharp focus. Residents of Ghughra Khurd, Nauraaj, Bamura, Patan, Chauka and Dalpatpur fell ill after consuming poisonous liquor, and a series of deaths followed. As of the morning of September 7, the administration had confirmed 12 deaths, while local reports put the toll as high as 19. This discrepancy itself should be investigated. Around 30 people are reportedly still under medical observation.

By A Representative   Business sentiment in India showed notable improvement in July 2026, driven by a sharp recovery in sales expectations and a gradual easing in the proportion of firms reporting severely depressed profit margins. However, the latest Business Inflation Expectations Survey (BIES) from the Misra Centre for Financial Markets and Economy at IIMA also reveals that cost conditions remain mixed, while one-year-ahead inflation expectations have inched up marginally, accompanied by persistently high uncertainty among firms.