Based in Singapore, Mei Lin Tan covers ASEAN, the Singapore financial centre, and the trade and technology corridor that runs from Delhi and Mumbai through Southeast Asia. She writes on markets with a narrative hand.
Recent work
A Worker Dies on a Bollywood Set. The Law Looks Away.
The death of a worker from an electric shock on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love & War has renewed calls for a Film Set Safety Act in India. Legal experts point to a patchwork of general labour laws that were never designed for the episodic, location-shifting, high-risk reality of film production. As Indian cinema expands globally through OTT platforms and co-production treaties, the regulatory gap is becoming both a reputational and a contractual liability.
India's Auto Parts Trade Flips: EV Growth Feeds a Chinese Import Surge
India turned net importer of auto components in FY26 for the first time in three years, with imports hitting $25.4 billion against exports of $24 billion. The reversal was driven by surging electric vehicle sales and low localisation in EV supply chains, with imports from Asia — largely China — jumping 19%. Export growth to North America slowed sharply amid U.S. tariff headwinds.
RBI's ₹34,000 Crore Auction Reveals the Architecture Beneath India's Borrowing Machine
The Reserve Bank of India announced an underwriting auction for ₹34,000 crore in government securities on July 3, 2026, re-issuing the 6.94% GS 2036 bond through its Primary Dealer network. While operationally routine, the auction illuminates the institutional plumbing that keeps India's sovereign borrowing programme running — and the yield signals it sends ripple from housing loans to infrastructure bonds across the economy.
India's Drug Registry Builds the Data Spine Its Pharmaceutical Ambitions Require
India has launched a centralised Drug Registry under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, standardising data for over 123,000 branded drugs and 10,000 generic medicines. The platform, developed by CDSCO and NRCeS, addresses decades of inconsistent drug naming across hospitals, e-prescription systems, and supply chains. Beyond domestic healthcare gains, the registry carries real weight for India's pharmaceutical export standing with US, EU, and WHO regulators.
India Reinforces Food Security Architecture as West Asia Tensions Test Global Markets
Despite West Asia conflicts creating global supply chain pressures, India's food prices remain remarkably stable. Wheat, rice, and pulses show minimal year-over-year changes, validating the country's strategic food reserves and domestic production capacity while global markets face inflation pressures.
Legal Sector Wages Surge as India's Capital Markets Drive Professional Premium
India's legal sector emerges as a standout performer with double-digit salary increases driven by robust IPO activity, M&A transactions, and geopolitical disruptions requiring complex compliance work. The premium reflects India's growing sophistication as a financial center.
India's Logistics Sector Absorbs Fuel Shock as Delivery Economics Face Reckoning
A ₹3-per-litre fuel price increase is pressuring Indian logistics and consumer companies to reassess delivery models and pricing strategies. Quick commerce platforms and long-haul freight operators face immediate margin compression, with broader implications for India's digital economy growth and inflation trajectory.
ECB's Energy Shock Lessons Hold Key Warnings for India's Rate Strategy
ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos warns that academic debates about inflation drivers delayed policy action during the 2021-22 crisis. His candid assessment of the central bank's mistakes provides valuable lessons for India's monetary policy as global energy shocks continue.
India's Sixth Place in IMF Rankings Masks Real Economic Momentum
India's drop to sixth place in IMF's nominal GDP rankings reflects currency weakness and base-year adjustments, not economic fundamentals. The economy maintains 6.5% real growth projections and third place in purchasing power parity terms.