Sreedev Krishnakumar
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sreedevkkumar.bsky.social
Sreedev Krishnakumar
@sreedevkkumar.bsky.social
280 followers 360 following 130 posts
Data journalist from India. Works at Hindustan Times. Previously with Moneycontrol.

Other bylines: The Hindu, The Print, The Citizen and LiveWire

https://sreedev98.github.io/
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From tariffs to visa curbs, Trump’s US has been closing its doors to goods and people, all in the name of 'making America great again'. But a new NBER paper by @econgaurav.bsky.social shows US growth has long been powered by Asian immigrants. Today's Number Theory explores this.
The A that made America great By Sreedev Krishnakumar From tariffs to curbs on H-1B visas, the US under Donald Trump has been closing its doors to movement of goods and people. All of this, Trump and his supporters claim, is towards the goal of Making America Great Again or MAGA. While the ill-effects of tariffs on the US economy have been highlighted by many economists and institutions, a recent National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working paper by @econgaurav shows that the American skilled work force has gained a lot from Asian immigrants and this process is inseparable from the American growth story as well as positive spill-overs in countries which sent such migrants. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on the free HT app)
November 12, 2025 at 4:41 AM
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Every Diwali, India’s stock markets open for an hour of Muhurat trading, a ritual marking a new Hindu calendar year (Samvat). It’s seen as a moment of prosperity and new beginnings. But do the markets live up to the optimism? Today's Number Theory takes a look.
Diwali and significance of Muhurat trading By Sreedev Krishnakumar Every year, on Diwali evening, India’s stock exchanges open for a special hour of trading known as Muhurat trading, a ritual that marks the start of the new financial year (or "Samvat") for many trading communities. This year's Muhurat trading session will take place on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. Considered an auspicious time to invest by many, it draws both seasoned investors and first-time traders who believe it heralds prosperity for the year ahead. How have the markets actually performed on Muhurat trading sessions in the past? Does the optimism of Diwali sustain itself in the weeks and months that follow? The charts below explore these in detail. (The full text is too long to be posted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on HT app)
October 20, 2025 at 4:59 AM
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Gold is amidst an extraordinary run, crossing $4,000 an ounce globally and doubling in India in just a few years. Today's Number Theory dives into this gold rush in detail.

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Inside the surge: Gold's record rally explained By Sreedev Krishnakumar Gold is in the middle of an extraordinary run, crossing the $4,000 an ounce mark earlier this month in the international markets, while its domestic price has doubled in recent years. The rally has outpaced many equity benchmarks, raising the question how gold compares with stock market returns both globally and in India. At the same time, the surge has tested the resilience of Indian demand. The charts below explores gold’s record run in detail. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the post to read it on HT app)
October 13, 2025 at 4:34 AM
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Bihar is among India’s poorest states yet it hasn’t seen protests or a change in govt in decades. The incumbent CM Nitish Kumar has ruled the state for nearly 20 years. We tried to explore the reason behind this apparent contradiction using unit level data from RBI CCS.
Biharis are poor, but bullish on sentiment By Sreedev Krishnakumar and Roshan Kishore That Bihar is among the poorest states in India and Biharis among the poorest people is well known. However, what is also remarkable about the state is that there have been no large-scale protests or even a change in government for a long time in the state. The incumbent chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has now been in office for almost 20 consecutive years. What explains this apparent contradiction? The translation between economics and politics is never as straight as some assume it to be. However, at least one set of statistics published by the Reserve Bank of India could throw some light on the issue: consumer sentiment in Bihar is quite high when compared to its poor income and consumption levels. Here is what the numbers show. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here, please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on HT app)
October 10, 2025 at 4:59 AM
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A decade after Bihar’s liquor ban, the picture is mixed. An analysis by @roshankishore.bsky.social, Abhishek Jha, and I found very little evidence of reduced spousal violence, and drinkers may simply have switched to other substances. But the revenue loss for the state is unmistakably clear.
Prohibition’s hangover in Bihar By Roshan Kishore, Abhishek Jha and Sreedev Krishnakumar It is now almost 10 years since Nitish Kumar imposed prohibition in Bihar. Its stated objectives were to prevent crime, abuse of women by alcoholic male family members, and divert money spent on alcohol towards more useful purposes. Nitish Kumar was in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) when he imposed prohibition and has changed sides thrice since, allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2017, jumping ship to join hands with the RJD in 2022, and going back to the BJP again in 2024. The fact that prohibition has continued through these flip flops, suggests that it has the support of all three major parties in the state, namely, the Janata Dal (United), the RJD, and the BJP. As Bihar heads into its second assembly elections after imposing prohibition, it is a good occasion to ask how effective the policy has been in the state. Here is what the data shows. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in this thread to read it on the HT app)
October 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM
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India’s skies aren’t just for metros anymore. Non-metro towns are claiming a bigger share of the aviation map, proof that growth is spreading, even if flying is no longer the luxury it once was. The numbers speak for themselves.

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Non-metro cities take off in India's aviation boom By Sreedev Krishnakumar That India’s post-reform growth story has been an unequal one is a well-accepted and commented upon fact. However, this inequality does not mean that growth has been the preserve of just a handful of places. In fact, there are enough signs that even as inequality persists, opulence is also spreading across India’s geography. Among the most important proofs of this is the growing share of non-metro towns in India’s aviation map, albeit with the caveat that air travel is no longer seen as the luxury it once was. The numbers speak for themselves. (The full text is too long to be pasted here. Please click on the link in the app to read it on the free HT app.)
October 6, 2025 at 4:37 AM
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Art as investment is in a slump: Sotheby’s losses doubled to $248m in 2024, while Christie’s sales fell 8%. Auction house growth has stalled for years. Today's Number Theory looks at the global downturn in the art auction market.
The rich are not buying expensive art like before By Sreedev Krishnakumar At some point of time in the history of capitalism, acquiring art also became an act of investment for some people. This market seems to have entered a bear phase at the moment. Sales growth has been stagnant for the biggest auction houses for years now. Global auction giant Sotheby’s saw its losses double to $248 million in 2024, FT reported earlier in September. Christie’s, the other global giant, saw its sales fall 8% in 2024. What is happening? Here is what the numbers tell us. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on the free HT app)
October 4, 2025 at 5:56 AM
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China will no longer claim "developing country" perks at the WTO, a nod to its economic heft and a bid to be seen as a champion of the Global South and multilateral institutions. I looked at its rise as a exporting giant and how its trade dominance compares to its still modest income levels.
Developing country to export superpower: China’s journey By Sreedev Krishhnakumar China has announced that it will no longer seek for itself the special and differential treatment provisions reserved for developing countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The move reflects not only an acknowledgement of its growing economic weight, but is also an effort to present itself as a constructive force in multilateral reform. The charts below trace China’s rise into a global exporting powerhouse since joining the WTO and examine how its trade dominance contrasts with its still modest income levels. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it for free from the HT app)
September 26, 2025 at 4:50 AM
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Consumer sentiment is a key economic gauge, but how objective is it? More and more data raises concern that partisanship may be increasingly colouring people's economic outlook. Today’s Number Theory digs into this further using data from UK, US and India.
Is economic sentiment real or imagined? By Sreedev Krishnakumar and Auhona Mukherjee Consumer sentiment is often a key metric to ascertain the state of the economy. There are private and institutional estimates of the measure across countries. In India none other than the RBI conducts the survey. How objective are such measures? More and more data, including one released recently for the UK shows that people’s reporting of consumer sentiment might have to do more with their political partisanship than objectively determined. A comparison of data for the UK, USA and India shows that the confirmation bias in the Indian survey might be lower than in other two countries. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the next link in this thread to read it on HT app for free)
September 15, 2025 at 4:51 AM
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The US debt has reached levels it was previously not expected to reach till the next decade. This raises questions such as who owns this debt? When will it mature? And how does US compare against other advanced economies? Today's Number Theory explores all this in detail.
Four charts which explain US’s national debt By Sreedev Krishnakumar US national debt surged past the $37 trillion mark in August, years ahead of the Congressional Budget Office’s 2020 estimate which had not expected the milestone to be reached until the next decade. Who owns the debt of the US? How soon will it mature? And how does the US compare on these parameters against other countries?
September 12, 2025 at 4:14 AM
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Using art to narrate history. A recent study by economists Clément Gorin, Stephan Heblich & Yanos Zylberberg looks at more than 630,000 paintings over the last 625 years with the help of LLMs, to classify them into 8 emotions. Today's Number Theory looks at the results of their work.
Using art to narrate history, with help from AI By Sreedev Krishnakumar The real aesthete can spend hours in front of a painting in an art gallery and wax eloquent on the intended message and context. What if somebody trained a computer programme to look at 630,000 paintings from 1400 onwards and told a story of what influenced the artists and their art when they were produced? A June 2025 research paper by economists (and perhaps also aesthetes) Clément Gorin, Stephan Heblich and Yanos Zylberberg has done exactly that. It classifies art works by eight different emotions; four uplifting (awe, contentment, amusement and excitement) and four dark (fear, sadness, anger and disgust), and then tries to find a larger relationship between art and social, political, economic and even ecological circumstances of the day. The results are pretty understandable even for philistines.
September 6, 2025 at 4:20 AM
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India-China ties are thawing. As Asia’s giants call themselves "partners, not rivals," it is worth examining their trade matrix. How much does China trade with India and what share do they hold in each other's global trade? Today's Number Theory explores this in detail.
The trade matrix between India and China By Sreedev Krishnakumar China is the world’s largest exporter. It is also the largest source of imports for India. Beyond these two well known facts, what does the India-China trade matrix look like? Here are the numbers that matter. (The full text is too long to be posted here. Please click on the link in the next post in this thread to read it on the free HT android/iOS app)
September 5, 2025 at 4:27 AM
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The 1st part of HT's 2-part series on evolution of India's foreign trade traced its trade in goods & services over time and against major economies. This 2nd part dives deeper into the disaggregated picture of India’s foreign trade.

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The changes in India’s exports and imports By Sreedev Krishnakumar The first part of this series looked at the importance of exports and imports in India’s economy overtime and also compared it with other major economies. The concluding part will look at India’s goods and services trade in a more disaggregated manner. (The full text is too long to be pasted here. Please click on the link in the post to read it in full from the free HT app).
August 19, 2025 at 3:41 AM
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Rising trade tensions and growing protectionism in advanced economies have cast doubt on exports as a growth driver for India. In a 2-part series, HT explores the role of trade, exports, and imports in shaping India’s growth story. Here's the first part by Roshan Kishore and me.
Why trade matters for India's economy | Number Theory By Roshan Kishore and Sreedev Krishnakumar India’s recent trade tensions with the US and the gradual but steadily rising protectionist tide in the advanced economies has raised questions about the viability of exports as a driver of India’s economic growth. While India is often not considered an export success story in the recent past, especially in comparison to countries such as China and even smaller economies in south-east Asia, exports or trade as a whole are far from insignificant in India’s macroeconomy. This two-part series will lay down some stylised facts around India’s exports and put them in the larger context. The first part will look at the importance of trade in India’s overall economy and the second will look at the country’s exports and imports in detail. (The full text is too long be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it in full from the free HT app)
August 18, 2025 at 5:24 AM
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UPI transactions hit ₹25 lakh crore in July 2025, up from just ₹38 lakh in its first month in 2016. Less than a decade old, UPI has transformed India’s payments space. What do Indians UPI on, who do they UPI to, and how does it compare to other payment modes?
Breaking down the UPI revolution in India By Sreedev Krishnakumar The value of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in India was ₹25 lakh crore in July 2025. Given the fact that UPI came into being less than a decade ago — it was launched in July 2016 — and had transactions of just ₹38 lakh in its first month, this is a huge revolution in India’s payments space. What do Indians UPI on? Who do they UPI to? (Yes, it’s now a verb that can be used in several contexts, that’s how popular it is) . How popular is UPI compared to other retail payment methods? Here are three charts which answer these questions. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on HT app)
August 14, 2025 at 4:13 AM
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Trump’s 25% tariffs on India were bad enough, but now he’s added another 25% over Russian oil buys. Both the Indian government and the people have not seen relations with the US and Russia as an either-or choice. Today's Number Theory explains why. www.hindustantimes.com/editors-pick...
Can India preserve its multipolarity? By Sreedev Krishnakumar Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on India were bad enough for bilateral ties, but the US president has made it worse with an additional 25% on account of India’s oil purchases from Russia, which Trump now sees as the aggressor in the Ukraine war. Both the Indian government and public opinion have not seen relations with the US and Russia as an either-or choice. Here are three charts that explain this argument. (The full text is too long to be posted here. Please click on the link in the post to read it on the free HT app.)
August 11, 2025 at 5:16 AM
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Nvidia hit $4 trillion in the second week of July, the first company to do so. Which are the most valuable companies in the world? What sectors do they operate in? Where are they located? We looked at data on the world’s top 10 companies since 1980 to answer some of these questions.
Tracking the world’s most valuable companies By Sreedev Krishnakumar Nvidia soared past the $4 trillion in market capitalisation milestone on July 9, becoming the world’s first company to cross this threshold. Which are the most valuable companies in the world? What sectors do they operate in? Where are they located? HT has looked at data on the world’s top ten companies over a 45-year period to answer some of these questions. Since historical data on market value of companies across the world is not readily available publicly as a single database, it was compiled from multiple sources including Bloomberg, FT Global 500 lists, companiesmarketcap.com, and reports from CNBC as well as Swiss-publication Organisator. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on the free Hindustan Times news app)
July 31, 2025 at 4:43 AM
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From Ukraine to Gaza, broken peace deals—Minsk, Oslo, JCPOA—show how fragile peace agreements can be. Others, like the Good Friday and Israel-Jordan treaties, still hold. What makes some peace agreements endure while others unravel? Today's Number Theory explores this in detail.
The treaties that couldn't 'cease fire' By Sreedev Krishnakumar Conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East persist in part because once-promising peace deals have unravelled. The war in Ukraine has endured despite successive Minsk agreements, just as the Israeli-Palestinian strife persisted even after the Oslo Accords. Renewed tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions followed the collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (Iran-US nuclear deal). Yet not all treaties founder: the Good Friday Agreement has largely silenced decades of violence in Northern Ireland, and the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty remains steadfast. How significant are peace agreements? What is the cost of their failure? And why do they often fail in the first place? HT has looked at the numbers in detail. (Click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on HT app as the full text is too long to be copied and pasted here)
July 2, 2025 at 4:39 AM
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The Iran-Israel-US conflict saw those within the US and Israeli dispensation calling for the orchestration of a regime change in Iran. US has since wavered, but it has long engineered regime changes globally. Here's a look at 75 years of US-led regime changes and their aftermath.
What data tells us about regime changes By Sreedev Krishnakumar The latest flare up in conflict between Iran and Israel, and later the US, saw those within the US and Israeli dispensation initially calling for the orchestration of a regime change in Iran. While US President Donald Trump has since turned ambivalent on the issue, the US is no stranger to orchestrating regime changes. HT looked at the numerous US-backed regime changes across the world over the last 75 years to see what kind of governments were overthrown, and how those countries fared after. (The full story is too long to be posted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read it on the free HT app)
June 30, 2025 at 4:53 AM
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How Iran will respond to US strikes on its nuclear facilities remains unclear. However, its economy was already reeling from decades of geopolitical strife even before the latest escalation. Today’s Number Theory explores this in detail.

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Iran's economic state predates latest crisis By Sreedev Krishnakumar The US attacked Iran’s nuclear installations early Sunday morning. The military consequences of the attack in terms of Iran’s response and whether this triggers an escalatory cycle remain to be seen. But Iran’s economy has been paying for the geopolitical strife around the country for decades now and things were pretty bad even before the latest escalation. Here are three charts which explain this in detail. (Click on the link in the post to read it in full from HT app as the full text is too long to be copied here)
June 23, 2025 at 4:33 AM
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Lee Jae-myung won South Korea’s presidency decisively, boosted by backlash against his predecessor's failed martial law move. But with a trade tensions and economic woes, governing might not be as easy for Lee. Today’s Number Theory looks at what's ahead for South Korea.
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June 6, 2025 at 12:45 PM
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China and Pakistan’s alliance has long hinged on countering India. But with shifting geopolitics and growing internal strains, what does the future hold for ties between both? Today’s Number Theory breaks down why the ties may be fraying.
Future tense: The China-Pakistan relationship By Auhona Mukherjee and Sreedev Krishnakumar China has traditionally been a strategic ally of Pakistan. The latter’s utility as an adversary to India, the only country that comes close to competing with China in Asia, has always been a major driver of the China-Pakistan strategic alliance. What exactly is the future of this relationship apart from trying to corner India in the subcontinent? Here are three charts which explain why its future is unlikely to be good. (The full text is too long to be posted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read on HT app)
June 5, 2025 at 4:18 AM
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Trump’s 'One Big Beautiful Bill' proposes a 3.5% tax on remittances sent to other countries, impacting Indian Americans. If passed by the US Senate as well, sending money home could get costlier. Today's Number Theory explores the Indian impact of US remittance tax in detail.
The Indian impact of US remittance taxes By Sreedev Krishnakumar Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill", which was recently passed by the US House of Representatives, could have significant implications for India. Running over 1,000 pages, the legislation includes a new 3.5% tax on money sent abroad as remittances by non-US citizens. Among those who will be affected are H-1B visa holders and permanent residents—many of whom are Indian professionals who routinely remit part of their salaries to families in India. If passed by the US Senate as well, the sizeable Indian population in the US would find it more expensive to send money back home. How much does India get as remittances every year? What is the share of US in India's remittances? What will impact of the remittance tax? The charts below explores these questions in detail. (The full text is too long to be copied here. Please click on the link in the post to read it fully)
May 28, 2025 at 4:22 AM
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After Moody’s downgraded the US credit rating, IMF has now flagged America’s rising debt burden. Such critiques are common for non-advanced economies, but IMF's latest warning on US is out of the ordinary. How dire is the US fiscal outlook? Number Theory breaks it down
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Is the United States in a fiscal talespin By Sreedev Krishnakumar and Roshan Kishore Days after Moody’s downgraded its credit rating for US from AAA to AA1, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has flagged what it sees as the “ever increasing” debt burden of the world’s largest economy. “The US fiscal deficits are too large and they need to be brought down,” Gita Gopinath, IMF’s first deputy managing director, told the Financial Times. While IMF has been known for making critical observations about the fiscal health of smaller economies, especially those outside the advanced economy realm, its remarks about fiscal health of the US are clearly out of the ordinary. How bad is the US fiscal trajectory? What does the future outlook look like? Here are four charts which answer this question. (The full text is too long to be copied and pasted here. Please click on the link in the next post in this thread to read it on the free HT app)
May 22, 2025 at 5:21 AM
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Pope Leo XIV is younger than his last two predecessors at the time of their elections. He’s also the first modern pope with a math degree. Today's Number Theory explores the men ruling the Catholic church. Are they getting younger? Do they live longer? And what should one study to become a pope?
The material traits that define a pope Byline: Sreedev Krishnakumar Robert Francis Prevost who took over the leadership of the catholic church as Pope Leo XIV is 69 year old, significantly younger than his predecessor Pope Francis (76 in 2013) and Pope Benedict XVI (78 in 2005) when they became popes. Leo XIV is the first modern pontiff to hold a degree in mathematics. These anecdotal observations raise some broader questions: are popes getting younger or older? How long do their tenures last? And how have their educational backgrounds evolved? The charts below explore each of these in detail. (The full text is too long to be posted here. Please click on the link in the next post in the thread to read in full)
May 17, 2025 at 8:50 AM