Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold more than Rs 2.9 trillion of Indian stocks this year, contributing to the Nifty’s 12 per cent fall, but domestic investors and strong IPO demand have helped sustain the market. India led globally in IPO numbers in 2025, while domestic institutions have bought over Rs 7 trillion in shares this year. With economic growth and corporate results holding up, global risk aversion is driving much of the foreign selling. Today’s first editorial recommends that the Indian government review tax policies to improve post-tax dollar returns for foreign investors and consider fairer tax treatment across investments. India’s cities need stronger, more autonomous municipal governments to manage rapid urbanisation and sustain economic growth, the second editorial says. With the urban population projected to reach 850 million by 2050, fragmented responsibilities, weak mayoral powers, delayed elections and inadequate municipal revenues hamper planning and service delivery. Infrastructure spending alone cannot solve these problems. States should devolve responsibilities along with funds, staff and decision-making powers, while cities improve property-tax collection and other own-source revenues. The editorial recommends beginning reforms in million-plus cities, where institutions and capacity are more developed, and extending them to smaller urban centres. India should not cut capital-gains taxes in haste to stem foreign outflows driven largely by global conditions, writes R Kavita Rao. Despite FPI selling, the economy is forecast to grow by more than 7 per cent and Nifty 50 firms have reported strong revenue and profit growth. Rao says policymakers should examine whether securities transaction tax is still justified alongside capital-gains tax, since it taxes trades rather than income. She cautions against crisis-driven concessions that may encourage round-tripping or prove hard to reverse, and calls for a stable, transparent tax framework serving long-term economic priorities. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should restore banks’ daily cash-reserve requirement to 90 per cent and use a higher overall CRR to absorb durable excess liquidity, says Janak Raj. The current 99 per cent rule has pushed the weighted average call rate above the corridor ceiling, while disrupting banks’ arbitrage in the call-money market and encouraging precautionary reserves and use of the MSF. Raj says durable liquidity measures would keep the operating rate aligned with the repo rate while preserving market activity. Raising the CRR from its record low could also share liquidity-management costs with banks and rebuild a prudential buffer. In her review of Brain Defenders: Harness the Power of Your Immune Cells to Protect Your Brain for Life, Neha Bhatt says David Perlmutter makes the case for preventing brain disorders by addressing underlying inflammation and the role of microglia. The book links brain health to metabolism, diet, sleep, stress and exercise, and presents emerging research in an accessible, if sometimes technical and repetitive, way. Bhatt finds its discussion of supplements and experimental treatments, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, more provocative, noting the safety and standardisation concerns. Overall, she calls it a thought-provoking guide to evolving neuroscience.A
