The regulator’s latest inspection findings point to systemic failures within some of India’s leading audit firms. Deficiencies in independence, documentation and fraud risk assessment are not isolated lapses but indicators of weakened audit discipline. Cases involving inadequate scrutiny of related-party transactions and delayed verification processes, including one that allowed a fake chartered accountant to participate, raises concerns about the robustness of internal controls. Our first editorial argues that as corporate structures grow more complex and firms face capacity constraints, audit quality cannot be left to incremental fixes and will require tighter governance, stronger oversight and more rigorous enforcement.
Meanwhile, our second editorial tracks a shift in India’s higher education landscape, where falling outbound student numbers are opening space for the country to position itself as a destination. As tighter visa regimes and rising costs reduce the appeal of studying abroad, policymakers are encouraging foreign universities to establish local campuses. This could expand access while lowering costs, but that infrastructure gaps, faculty shortages and limited research depth remain binding constraints. Becoming a credible global education hub will depend less on policy announcements and more on sustained institutional reform.
Writing on financial markets, K P Krishnan argues that India’s underdeveloped corporate bond market reflects political economy choices rather than technical gaps. A system built around captive demand for government securities suppresses borrowing costs for the state while limiting price discovery elsewhere. This crowds out private issuers and distorts risk pricing. Krishnan suggests that a deeper bond market would require the state to relinquish some control and accept higher costs, a trade-off that current incentives do not favour.
Vinayak Chatterjee examines the government’s attempt to reframe urban financing through market-linked mechanisms. The proposed framework linking regional planning with co-financing requirements and municipal bonds, aims to impose financial discipline on cities while expanding access to capital. However, weak revenue bases and limited institutional capacity continue to constrain outcomes. Without improvements in property tax systems, accounting standards and project execution, the risk is that these reforms remain partial.
Finally, Chintan Girish Modi reviews Scott Galloway’s Notes on Being a Man, a book that reflects on how expectations from men are shifting amid changing social and economic roles. The argument moves between responsibility, emotional openness and evolving definitions of partnership, suggesting that modern masculinity is less about authority and more about accountability, self-awareness and the ability to adapt. This transition, while uneven, is pushing a more deliberate and reflective understanding of what it means to be a partner, parent, and individual. Stay tuned!
