Best of BS Opinion: Too much of a good thing can ruin the broth too

Business Standard

27-06-2025

You know how it goes when you're cooking. A pinch of salt brings everything together but just a little too much, and the whole dish spirals into inedibility. The same goes for masalas, oil, or even coriander, each element has its moment to shine, but only when it's measured, balanced, and timed. We are usually reminded of this when watching someone in the family accidentally dump half a jar of turmeric into the dal. The dish was ruined, of course, but more than that, it strikes that how so much of life and policy is a version of this: well-meaning additions that, when overdone, wreck the mix. Let's dive in.
At Nato's summit in The Hague, Donald Trump tried just that balancing act, shifting from combative to collaborative by extracting a pledge from members to hike defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035. As our first editorial explains, it's a bold turn, especially as the US president reaffirmed support for Nato's core Article 5. But the question remains: will this steep increase, however well-intentioned, deliver deterrence or destabilise already jittery national budgets?
Meanwhile, India's latest shot at a national household income survey is another ambitious experiment in dosage. Past attempts have failed either due to mistrust or underreporting. This time, our second editorial notes, success depends not just on methodology, but on gaining trust, adding just enough innovation and transparency, but not so much as to scare away the very data it hopes to collect.
R Kavita Rao examines how tax collections are showing their own signs of imbalance. Although personal income tax is holding strong, corporate tax is faltering, and GST is losing steam. With global shocks, welfare pullbacks, and new regimes brewing, the tax system is a simmering pot. Add too many fiscal tweaks too fast, and we could see the whole mixture boil over.
Amit Tandon observes a different kind of excess: the Indian mutual fund industry bloated in AUM but lean in profit. Regulatory caps, fee limits, and indistinct product lines are squeezing returns. Yet investor appetite keeps rising. The danger? Over-spicing growth at the cost of long-term sustenance.
Finally, Chintan Girish Modi's review of Little Lhasa: Reflections in Exiled Tibet by Tsering Namgyal Khortsa, brings the metaphor home: exile, too, is an added ingredient. One never asked for, but if adapted to wisely, as many Tibetans in Dharamsala have, it can transform displacement into a crucible of renewal.
Stay tuned!