Articles

The first question set.

National questions about India, each written from local data artifacts and stored evidence packets. Browse by topic, or search for the one you want.

Economy

Why did India stay poor while the rest of Asia got rich? In progress -> How big is India's economy? Article -> What does India's vehicle boom really look like? Article -> How much gold does India have, and why can't we stop buying it? In progress -> Is foreign money really fleeing India? What FDI and FII numbers actually mean. Article -> How much money did Indians send abroad under RBI's LRS? Article -> How fast is India's economy growing? Needs data -> How rich is the average Indian? In progress -> Why does everything keep getting more expensive? Article -> How unequal is India? In progress -> How does India borrow? Article -> How does India compare with China, the US, and the world? In progress -> How much tax does India collect? In progress -> How does India trade with the world? Article -> Who does India trade with? Article -> Is India a services superpower? Article -> How competitive is India's trade with the world? Article -> Who actually pays income tax in India? Article -> Has India’s industrial policy surge paid off? Article -> How much does India spend on research, and is it enough? Article -> Has India ended poverty? Article -> Why does the rupee keep falling, and does it actually make you poorer? In progress ->

People

How many people live in India? Article -> Is India's population still growing? Article -> How old is India? Article -> What does India's population pyramid look like? Article -> Is India getting old before it gets rich? Article -> How many Indians are there, and where is the population heading? Article -> Why is India two countries when it comes to birth rates? Article ->

Health

How long do Indians live? Article -> Is India getting healthier? Article -> How healthy are those extra years? Needs data -> How many Indian children die before age five? In progress -> What kills Indians? Article -> What dementia costs India In progress ->

Energy

How does India generate electricity? In progress -> What powers India? In progress -> How dependent is India on coal? In progress -> Is India's electricity going green? In progress -> Do nearly all Indians have electricity now? In progress -> When does India actually turn the power on? Article -> Is India's electricity getting cleaner, or only in some states? Article ->

Society

How does India work? Article -> Who works in India? Article -> Does India really have the biggest jobs challenge in the world? Article -> How literate is India? Needs data -> How many years of schooling do Indians get? In progress -> How many Indians are in the workforce? Article -> Why is women's work participation so low? Article -> What share of Indians still work in agriculture? Article -> Do Indians have safe drinking water? Needs data -> What share of the world is India? In progress -> How connected is India? Article -> Why does India import so much edible oil? Article -> What happens to a state's budget when it grows old? Article -> When does India switch off the internet, and does it actually work? In progress -> How does India consume news? In progress ->

Climate

How bad is India's air today? Needs data -> What India's AQI Can See, And What It Can't Article -> Are India's big cities getting hotter? Article -> Are India's heat deaths being counted? Article -> How much CO2 does India emit? Article -> How much does India emit per person? Article -> Is India a big emitter historically? Needs data -> How is climate change changing India? In progress -> What does El Nino do to India? Article -> Is India's 2026 monsoon in trouble? Article ->
This Indian Life

One person dragging India's most important numbers out of stubborn PDFs and tired government portals, and putting them in plain language. The data comes from the World Bank, UN, WHO, Our World in Data, Ember and others — every page is static, sourced, and tied back to where the numbers began.

Sister project: Hope & Despair — is the world getting better or worse? The same approach, pointed at the whole planet.