HTLS 2026 LIVE updates: Agreement with Trump isn't worth the paper it is written on, says economist Joseph Stiglitz

Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz speaks at HT Leadership Summit 2026.

HTLS 2026 LIVE updates: Geopolitics, economics, health, artificial intelligence and showbiz are among the key themes on the agenda at the 24th edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. Themed “New Rules. New Realities”, HTLS 2026 brings together influential voices to examine the forces reshaping how we live, lead and shape the future.…Read More

As the world grapples with rapid disruption and unprecedented change, the summit will explore how old assumptions are being challenged and new possibilities are emerging across economies, geopolitics, technology, business and society. It will also examine how leaders can navigate an increasingly complex landscape where certainty is giving way to adaptation.

Speakers include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Nobel Prize-winning Economist Joseph E Stiglitz, Artificial Intelligence Expert Stuart Russell, Chairman of Tata Trusts Noel N Tata, Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav, 71st US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken, Author Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Film Director Imtiaz Ali and Actor Ananya Panday, among others.

On Thursday, two virtual sessions featured VFS Global Founder Zubin Karkaria and Caltech Professor Anima Anandkumar. Karkaria said Indian students were increasingly looking towards Europe for higher education. Meanwhile, Anandkumar highlighted the importance of local languages in AI development and said India should look beyond language models to explore opportunities in areas such as space technology and engineering.

In the third virtual session on Friday, World Bank Executive Director Neelkanth Mishra said the Indian economy was on the cusp of structural transformation, aided by access to cheap capital and technology.

The Hindustan Times Leadership Summit was launched in 2003 to raise the level of discourse on critical issues, encourage interaction among leaders across key fields, and provide an international platform for thought leadership and solutions-oriented discussions.

Follow all the updates here:

Nov 14, 2026, 11:41:05 IST

AI, climate change and inequalities: Economist Joseph E Stiglitz on ‘big risks’ that need to be managed

Economist Joseph E Stiglitz listed artificial intelligence (AI), climate change and inequalities as the “big risks” that need to be managed.

“Inequalities will fuel a migration crisis and create more pressure, and we, as a global community, will have to address and combat these inequalities,” he said at the HT Leadership Summit 2026.

He added, “There has been a sharp growth of right-wing extremism in males under 35. Women of that same age group have remained more socially conscious and have not gone into that rabbit hole of dysfunctionality, and so the young women give me hope, but the young men I worry about.”

“I cannot imagine being married to someone who has that difference in ideology. Marriage cannot happen if one person is a MAGA person and the other is a moderate. And I worry that if women are marrying a man who is more MAGA, then what kind of world are we setting into.”

Nov 14, 2026, 11:35:42 IST

Managing economic momentum in changing world for India is going to be hard, says Economist Joseph E Stiglitz

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz was asked how a country like India will manage to keep its economic momentum in the face of the changing world.

“It is going to be hard. It will not be easy, and the way I tend to think about it is that economists think about demand and supply. On the supply side, I think that it will be important to manage the climate, and it will have very big effects,” he said.

Nov 14, 2026, 11:31:20 IST

Trump has really reminded us that borders really matter, says Economist Joseph E Stiglitz

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz was asked whether financial repression can be expected in response to the ongoing fiscal crisis.

He said, “The US has argued that it is working towards a world that has no borders, but that is a fantasy. The war has affected China, India, and other countries. And we are now at a stage where borders are very important to countries, and this was seen during the COVID pandemic.”

“For national economic sovereignty, one also needs to think of capital control. The US may not be able to do it, but emerging markets and countries may do,” he added.

“In India, this may be to encourage more investments. In Brazil, during its elections, this was reflected in Wall Street, which expected Lula to be defeated. But Brazilians said, “We should choose who the next president is and not Wall Street,” Stiglitz said.

Nov 14, 2026, 11:25:49 IST

Economist Joseph E Stiglitz says AI has the potential for superabundance

Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit, Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz said that artificial intelligence has the potential for superabundance, in which people are increasingly productive, and that it is a good thing in principle.

“It could help make our cities more livable, less polluted, and manage the green transition; the demand for more labour will go down. It’s all great news if we can manage it,” he added.

He said that the agenda for this means that if you have all these investments in what the public needs, the investments may be carried out by private companies. But you need government funding to make the transition, Stiglitz added.

Nov 14, 2026, 11:22:45 IST

Economist Joseph E Stiglitz talks about larger economies facing fiscal cliff and what it means for India

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, speaking at the HT Leadership Summit 2026, talked about whether larger economies are headed for a fiscal cliff and what it means for other countries like India.

He said that the US is reaching a debt-to-GDP ratio it has not seen since World War II, and that, during that time, the debt made sense. However, the current debt lacks justification, Stiglitz added.

Speaking about taxing the rich, Stiglitz said that people like Mark Zuckerberg manage to pay lower taxes than others in society despite their high incomes and profits. “If the rich were to pay their fair share, the US would not face a fiscal cliff,” he said, adding that even if the US faces one, it is because of its own decision not to impose taxes on the rich and billionaires.

In Europe, Stiglitz said there is a more legalistic structure which makes it difficult to respond.

“For India, there would be higher interest rates, and that would make it more difficult for countries that have been importing capital. The response is to generate more domestic savings,” the economist said.

Nov 14, 2026, 11:15:15 IST

India should be worried about AI, says Economist Joseph E Stiglitz

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, speaking at the HT Leadership Summit 2026, said that India should be worried about artificial intelligence.

He was asked why AI taking over jobs is important for India and whether the nation has more breathing space before it is hit by this wave.

“India should be worried. If you look at where AI has had the most impact, it has been in the tech sector. It’s an irony that AI became very good at becoming coders, and hence replacing people at jobs,” he added.

Stiglitz said, however, the main question is how one pivots from this. “The key difference between the US and India is that the US could tax the winners of AI, profits at companies and use that to support a ‘progressive AI agenda’ by sustaining society, making investments in people,” he added.

“But across the border, where the winners are in the US, that type of redistribution will not be occurring. That means you need to think more strategically about where you are placed in the global economy,” Stiglitz said.

Nov 14, 2026, 11:11:10 IST

Advertising of AI is very dangerous, says Economist Joseph E Stiglitz

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz said that the advertising of artificial intelligence is very dangerous. “We are making a product that is very dangerous and will kill you all,” he said.

“Either AI is going to have the cure for cancer, or it will kill us all,” he added.

Stiglitz recalled what his friends in the Silicon Valley told him about not using sunscreen. He said they told him that “if AI is going to kill us all, we might as well live to enjoy the Sun.”

Nov 14, 2026, 11:08:23 IST

AI bubble is not sustainable, says Economist Joseph E Stiglitz at HTLS 2026

Speaking about artificial intelligence at the HT Leadership Summit 2026, Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz said that the AI bubble is a bubble. “It will break and have very big consequences, with some links to the US economy and its push for big data centres,” he added.

“The AI bubble is not sustainable. There needs to be,” he said.

Stiglitz said that companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which came 2-3 years ago, have largely caught up. Further, he said that DeepSeek has not quite caught up with the current situation.

He also stated that there are many American companies that are joining the AI push by using Chinese models, such as DeepSeek, to train their model. This is because Chinese models are cheap, Stiglitz added.

Nov 14, 2026, 11:04:15 IST

‘Agreement with Trump isn’t worth the paper it is written on’: Economist Joseph E Stiglitz at HTLS 2026

Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz said that an agreement with US President Donald Trump is not worth the paper it is written on. Speaking about the size of the European economy, Stiglitz said that the EU is larger, but the US’ trade is larger.

“Ideally, Europe should have won, but since it was fractured and Trump came in as a boy, he ‘beats them up one by one,” he added.

Stiglitz said that manufacturing is down in the US. “He (Trump) does not understand what needs to be done. Taxing coffee will not help and make the US grow coffee; we don’t have the weather for it.”

Speaking about trade deals with the US, Stiglitz cited the example of the US-Europe deal, saying that Trump raised issues about digitisation after the agreement was signed.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:57:56 IST

China has to change its economic model, says Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz

Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit 2026, Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz responded to a question about China’s rise. He said that China has developed on the basis of its status as a manufacturing power.

“China has grown so much in the last 30 years. No one would have thought it would become such a strong competitor to the United States,” he added.

However, Stiglitz said that China has to change its economic model. “It needs to move to more domestic and generic demands, such as healthcare, creating livable cities, etc. China has found it difficult to adapt,” he added.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:54:16 IST

China’s growth has closed the gap with US, says Joseph E Stiglitz

Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz, speaking at HT Leadership Summit 2026, said that today we are moving towards a multipolar world. He said the most striking milestone occurred a decade ago, when China’s GDP, measured in PPP terms, exceeded that of the US.

Neither the US nor China advertised this, he said.

“The US did not want to say it became number two in the world, not the American style. China also, at that moment, did not want to say it was number one,” he added.

“Since then, China’s growth has closed the gap with the US. It is very difficult for the US to accept that it is no longer the largest economy. It is now much smaller in manufacturing, among other things,” Stiglitz added.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:47:14 IST

Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz speaks at HT Leadership Summit 2026

Dr Joseph E. Stiglitz, Economist and Professor, Columbia University, speaks at the HT Leadership Summit 2026. He is in conversation with Dr Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Executive Director, Artha Global.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:45:56 IST

We are a far more digitised society, says Jaishankar

Speaking on artificial intelligence, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that AI is much more complicated than questions about who has the chips, who has the energy, and who has the computers.

“India was late to AI but has embraced it in the past decade. We are a far more digitised society than many developed economies. A lot of it depends on how people built it into their lives and how they use it,” he added.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:42:24 IST

India in the 1980s missed the bus, says Jaishankar on China’s rise

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at the HT Leadership Summit 2026, said that the economies of India and China were of the same size when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi went to Beijing in 1988.

“But in the 1980s, China had huge modernisation. But India missed the bus,” he added.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:40:00 IST

Capability on the border with respect to Galwan is important, says Jaishankar

Speaking about the situation at the Galwan border with China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India’s capabilities there are important.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:37:00 IST

We have done it the painstaking way, says Jaishankar on India’s trade deals

Speaking at HTLS 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the challenge in trade deals is to find a landing point, which he stated cannot be done quickly and magically.

“We have done it the painstaking way. Having put in that effort, we have reached the finishing line. Bear with it, and hopefully, we will get it,” said Jaishankar.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:34:33 IST

FTAs in the last few years have been strategically assessed, says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also urged a broader perspective on the India-US trade deal by both sides.

“The games which people expected from those free trade agreements (FTAs) did not materialise. The FTAs done in the last few years have been strategically assessed,” he said.

“We have the trade deal with the UK, EU, the UAE and Oman. There are a few others. All of them are really leading with the fact that our exports are increasing. We at home are becoming more competitive. These are all showing results,” Jaishankar stated.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:31:10 IST

We have the bulk of the issues sorted out, says Jaishankar on India-US trade deal

Speaking about the India-US trade deal at HTLS 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the talks are in the final stretch, and that’s no secret.

“We really have the bulk of the issues sorted out. The last stretch of issues are there. In many cases, the concerns are not so much at our end. The hope is we should close it soon,” Jaishankar said.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:26:52 IST

At HTLS 2026, Jaishankar says today we have to build ourselves into a manufacturing power

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at HTLS 2026, said there has been a great deal of industrialisation and that we have to build ourselves into a manufacturing power.

“We will have to do the orthodox manufacturing and support small and medium enterprises. But also invest in semiconductors and upgrade life sciences. We have to address multiple levels to navigate the stormy seas,” he said.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:24:32 IST

Can’t have effective foreign policy without stronger national capacities, says Jaishankar

Speaking at HTLS 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that there cannot be an effective foreign policy without much stronger national capacities.

He further stated that, to a great degree, reforging relations in the minds of every country is also key.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:21:40 IST

There is a difference between foreign policy and social media, says Jaishankar at HTLS 2026

Speaking at HTLS 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that there is a difference between foreign policy and social media.

When asked what the new order looks like, Jaishankar said it won’t come out of the blue and will be an evolution of the current order.

“It will have a transition, and we are in the transition phase. We hope we have a much stronger influence from India and an Indian perspective. The new order would be more multipolar. Many more centres of autonomous decision-making.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:18:21 IST

Can’t say US-China turbulence is driving what’s happening in the Gulf or Ukraine, says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said at HTLS 2026 that in the coming years, the ongoing turbulence in the world will manifest in different ways.

“You can’t say that the US-China turbulence is driving what’s happening in the Gulf or Ukraine. There are multiple causes. But the US-China competition is a big part of the overall disturbance,” he said.

Jaishankar further stated that one part of it is when countries get caught in the middle.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:13:10 IST

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar says strong, steady leadership is key amid stormy seas

Speaking at HTLS 2026, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that strong and steady leadership is important amid stormy seas.

Describing the situation he termed as stormy seas, Jaishankar gave some examples.

“Five years ago, it would have been inconceivable that, in an age of such globalisation and interdependence, we could have a major war. We have now seen that war enter its fifth year.

Similarly, what we are witnessing in the Gulf would have been difficult to imagine. The idea that countries would actually be firing missiles at each other, targeting bases, cities, forces and leadership, would have been something that nobody would have anticipated. People would have rated the chances of such developments as being close to zero. And yet, they continue to happen,” he said.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:09:58 IST

S Jaishankar talks about West Asia conflict, situation in Central Africa, Sudan

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar mentioned the two conflicts in West Asia, saying they were aggravated after October 7. “If you look at Central Africa and Sudan, things are pretty grim. If we say interdependent world or globalised world, these are not phrases,” he said.

Nov 14, 2026, 10:05:59 IST

At HTLS 2026, Jaishankar says many of concerns deeply linked with what’s happening in the world

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in conversation with HT Editor-in-Chief R Sukumar, says that a lot of our concerns are deeply linked with whatever is happening in the world.

“If you look at the state of the world, it is hard to give a succinct explanation but a picture that I can draw is in a way of very stormy seas,” he said.

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