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Best of BS Opinion: India must heed the warning signs from without
Hello and welcome to BS Views, our daily wrap of the newspaper's opinion page. India's economy and technological prowess are on a steady path, but it faces external challenges in the form of both policies and nations, something that needs serious consideration.
The final quarter of the financial year ended March 2025 saw a burst of economic activity, pushing GDP growth to 7.4 per cent for the quarter, and 6.5 per cent for the full fiscal. Private consumption also saw an uptick, and the central bank is expected to cut rates this cycle by 50-100 basis points, given a good monsoon and already-benign inflation. However, our lead editorial cautions, the main risk to the India story lies in the external environment, given global trade and economic uncertainties unleashed by US President Donald Trump. How the country navigates this and implements reforms to improve the business climate will shape its medium-term growth arc.
India's indigenous Bharat Forecast System is a step forward in modernizing its capabilities, notes our second editorial. Given the country's diverse geography, such a system will help governments handle multiple challenges in the face of changing weather patterns and the rise of extreme weather events. More than that, accurate
forecasts can radically improve the country's disaster preparedness and agricultural planning, helping farmers to make better planting and harvesting decisions. But first, the government must ensure timely dissemination of forecasts, community awareness, and last-mile connectivity, besides strengthening local institutions to act on them.
Our lead columnist Ajit Balakrishnan looks back at the evolution of revolutions, and wonders if this is the time to think about a new model of technological or industrial change, one that puts the human condition front and centre, instead of pushing humans into poverty and starvation for the sake or profit. He invokes Mahatma Gandhi's exhortation at the time of the second industrial revolution, and recalls that the technological part of it was minor compared to the dehumanization of vast swathes of people, both in India, and the black slaves in north America. In short, he calls for revisiting history so that the next industrial revolution is more humane and equitable.
Our columnist Debashis Basu writes on the rise and rise of China as a global power in its own right. In fact, it is no longer a prediction but a reality, thanks to sustained state ambition, disciplined execution, and a vast mobilisation of resources. In many sectors, in fact, it is already a global leader, but its technological and economic might poses challenges for India. Online, too, China is winning a propaganda war, projecting itself as a beacon of social order and techno-competence. India has the ingredients to grow like China, but lacks serious intent and goal-orientation. Perhaps India could take a page out of Xi's book, and start with a crackdown on corruption.
Sanjeev Ahluwalia reviews David C. Engerman's book 'Apostles of Development: Six Economists and the World They Made', a close look at six eminent South Asian economists, all of whom graduated from Cambridge University, and shaped the region as per their own academic and political proclivities. The term 'apostles' is a riff on a 19th century secret society - the Cambridge Apostles. Lal Jayawardene of Sri Lanka, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Jagdish Bhagwati and Manmohan Singh from India, Mahbub Ul Haq of Pakistan, and Sobhan Rehman of Bangladesh all find a place in the book, and how they helped shape outlooks towards economics and finance in their home countries.
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Mint
30 minutes ago
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Major League Baseball Is Too Silent on Immigration Raids
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Last week, at the height of the immigration protests convulsing Los Angeles, federal agents showed up at Dodger Stadium, seeking access to the parking lot. Up to that point, the Dodgers had refused to comment on the Trump administration's immigration sweeps and their effect on the city's Latino community. The silence stoked complaints that the team had turned its back on some of its most passionate devotees. By some accounts, Latinos comprise over 40% of Dodger fans. But the morning agents came, the Dodgers finally acted. The team denied them access to the parking lot and a day later announced a $1 million pledge to help immigrant families harmed by the ongoing raids. That's a modest show of support for an organization worth an estimated $7.7 billion, and it hasn't satisfied everyone. But satisfactory or not, it's a clear indication of whose side the Dodgers are taking. Major League Baseball and its 29 other clubs, on the other hand, aren't following the Dodgers' lead, preferring silence. If this is their way of not drawing the ire of President Donald Trump, it's an awkward strategy. Immigration has been essential to baseball's history and continues to fuel its growth. In America's early years, baseball was a new sport for a new country. For immigrants, making a mark on an organized team was an indicator that the player — along with his ethnic group — was upwardly mobile and, finally, an assimilated American. Superstar shortstop and national sensation Honus Wanger, a son of German immigrant parents, was a prime example of this during the late 19th and early 20th century. He uplifted the German-American status, and in his community, he was an icon for making it big. Three-quarters of a century later, Fernando Valenzuela, a Mexican pitcher for the Dodgers, repeated the feat. In 1981, he electrified Los Angeles and his community with a dominant season, including seven complete games and five shutouts, which netted him Rookie of the Year and Cy Young honors (still the only player to win both in the same season).'Fernandomania,' as his early to mid-80s heyday is recalled, was a cultural phenomenon that diversified and drove attendance upward. In 1981, the Dodgers drew an average of 7,500 additional fans when he pitched at home, and an extra 19,000 when he started on the road. Mexican-Americans were an estimated 10% of the team's supporters when he joined the team; now the Dodgers — affectionately known across LA as Los Doyers — are a unifying institution for the city's Latinos. More fans, inevitably, means more kids playing baseball, both at home and abroad. Though there are a range of factors responsible for the growth of baseball internationally, the increase in Latin American and other international players has certainly contributed to the expansion and development of deep international talent pipelines. For MLB teams, bringing that talent to US shores is only constrained by their ability to scout. During the 1930s, a period of notoriously tight immigration restrictions and mass deportations, less than 1% of MLB players were foreign-born. Thankfully, in the post-war period, America decided to open its borders. The result? The number of foreign-born players in the league has seen steady growth over the decades. In 2025, nearly 28% of MLB players are foreign-born, and it's simply impossible to imagine baseball without stars such as Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. Those international stars, in turn, are leading a surge of interest in the game and the business of baseball. MLB is on track for its third straight year of attendance growth, and viewership in the US and Japan is surging in 2025. Of course, other factors are in play too, but does anyone seriously think a less international game would be as well-played, entertaining, and lucrative? Trump's immigration policies put that success at risk. For example, under the terms of his recently enacted travel ban, the issuance of new visas to Cuban and Venezuelan nationals is severely restricted. Dozens of players from both countries — Hall of Famers like Tony Pérez and current players like Jose Altuve — have made prominent contributions to MLB for decades. The new policies will make it far more difficult for teams to bring new signees from either country to the US. But even if loopholes are found, the message to players and their families in these baseball hotbeds is hardly welcoming. So far, MLB has chosen to remain silent on these changes, just as it has clammed up over the deportations that are running through its Latino fanbase. Perhaps the league and its teams believe that quiet diplomacy is the best way to approach the Trump administration on immigration-related matters. But if so, there's little public indication that doing so has achieved anything other than damaging relations between the Dodgers and their fans. Meanwhile, other sports are acting. In mid-June, the players associations for the Women's National Basketball Association and the National Women's Soccer League issued a joint statement of support for immigrants experiencing hardship due to the raids. Angel City FC of the NWSL took it a step further and distributed 10,000 T-shirts to fans and players emblazoned with 'Immigrant City Football Club' on the front. Proceeds from sales of the shirts go to an organization offering legal assistance to immigrants. Of course, no team or sport will convince Trump to change his course on immigration. But by showing solidarity with their fanbases, players and teams strengthen the community connections that are critical to growing sports, and the commerce around them. That's a legacy that can outlast any executive order. It's time for Major League Baseball to step up to the plate. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of 'Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale.' More stories like this are available on
Time of India
43 minutes ago
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Trump claims he spared Khamenei from an ugly death — now wants a thank you from Iran
Donald Trump asserted that he spared Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a recent conflict, despite knowing his location and obliterating Iran's nuclear sites. Trump claims he prevented a devastating final strike by recalling Israeli jets heading to Tehran, expecting gratitude for averting further casualties and offering potential sanctions relief. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Donald Trump Claims He Spared Iran's Supreme Leader During US Strike Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Accused of Lying About Iran's War Outcome Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Trump Says He Saved Khamenei Trump Says Israeli Jets Were Recalled After His Intervention Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Operation Midnight Hammer Targeted Key Nuclear Sites FAQs US president Donald Trump said that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be thanking him, not boasting about victory, following the recent 12-day war between Iran and Israel, as per a writing on his social media platform Truth Social, claimed that he had chosen not to target Khamenei during US and Israeli military operations, even though he knew where the Iranian leader was hiding, as per the Independent pointed out that the octogenarian cleric who has headed Iran's religious fundamentalist government since 1989, had boasted publicly of having won that short conflict, calling the Iranian leader's claim 'a lie,' as reported by the US president wrote on Truth Social, saying, 'As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie. His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,' as quoted by the READ: Despite airstrikes, Trump officials quietly courted Iran with $30 billion nuclear deal and sanction relief He highlighted in his post that, 'I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH, and he does not have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!,'' as quoted in the US president also indicated that Khamenei should have expressed gratitude for the Trump's role in pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to recall Israel Air Force fighters in the hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Iran went into effect earlier this week, as he said that those planes 'were heading directly to Tehran, looking for a big day, perhaps the final knockout!,' as quoted by the Independent said, 'Tremendous damage would have ensued, and many Iranians would have been killed. It was going to be the biggest attack of the War, by far,' as per the READ: Trump says Iran warned of missile strike at Al Udeid base: 'They asked if 1 o'clock was OK — I said fine' He continued the post by claiming that he had spent 'the last few days' working on how to lift longstanding — and in his words, 'BITING', the US sanctions on Tehran to enable the country to have 'much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery,' as quoted by the Independent further said that Khamenei's 'statement of anger, hatred, and disgust' had caused him to have 'immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,' according to the US president ended his Truth Social post, saying, 'Iran has to get back into the World Order flow, or things will only get worse for them. They are always so angry, hostile, and unhappy, and look at what it has gotten them - A burned out, blown up Country, with no future, a decimated Military, a horrible Economy, and DEATH all around them,' and added that Tehran's leadership had 'no hope' and things would 'only get worse' until they 'realize that you often get more with HONEY than you do with VINEGAR,' as quoted by the Independent public outburst against Iran's leader came after the US B-2 stealth bombers dropped more than a dozen 30,000 pound bunker-busting bombs onto three Iranian nuclear sites, and he had claimed that the bombing 'obliterated' the Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan nuclear facilities as part of what American officials called 'Operation Midnight Hammer,' according to the claimed he knew Ayatollah Khamenei's location during the conflict but chose not to have him says his decision to prevent a deadly final strike saved Khamenei's life and spared further Iranian casualties.
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an hour ago
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Trump says rolled back idea to remove sanctions on Iran because Tehran's ‘anger, hatred and…'
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