India, Oct. 1 -- In these times of polarised social media warfare, and a mindset of either you are with us or against us, any writer needs to be prepared for brickbats from both ends of the ideological spectrum for an attempt to objectively analyse any issue. Hence, a balanced report card on the performance of the Indian economy in the first half of 2025-26 is bound to suffer the same fate. Even the visual with this piece will attract criticism. Please remember, it is only a representative visual to indicate what some sections feel: American tariffs will kill the economy unless alternatives are quickly found.

Nevertheless, while there can be a debate on whether the visual is necessary, it is important to evaluate what exactly happened wi...