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Business Standard
07-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: US trade deal or not, India must cast its net wider
Hello and welcome to BS Views, your doorway to today's opinion page. The deadline for US-imposed higher tariffs is almost upon us, and yet there is little to suggest that it has reached a trade deal with India, notes our first editorial. Reports suggest that the US is seeking greater market access in agricultural commodities and genetically-modified (GM) foods, which India is uncomfortable with. One thing is clear, though: the US will have much higher tariffs, increasing friction in global trade. While India and the US might yet reach a deal, the former must seek deeper engagement with other partners. This is necessary also because of China's arm-twisting: it recently recalled some of its engineers working in India as a means to disrupt India's growing strength in mobile manufacturing. Doing all of this won't be easy, but ways must be found to advance engagement with multiple trading partners. Vehicle pollution needs structured solutions, argues our second editorial, as shown by the recent ban - and withdrawal soon after - on selling fuel to overage cars in the national capital. It might have been well-intentioned but was inherently impractical solution to the issue Delhi's toxic air pollution. While the science and law was behind the ban, inadequate monitoring equipment has made a mockery of the directive. Then there was the public outcry, which had political implications. A more structured approach towards vehicular pollution, such as accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and offering more rigorous testing standards, would work better. Sunita Narain writes on behalf of a cohort that grew up in the post-colonial era and witnessed a world order that was intensely inequitable but still seemed capable of reform. She rues the changing world order, where countries can take unilateral action to bomb another, and the world stands by, helpless and silent. Her lament is in the context of the Israeli bombing of Iran, which is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (unlike Israel, which is suspected of having a covert nuclear programme), and was under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The attack on Iran is, she argues, about the future of a world order built on rules, or even the future of multilateralism. All this adds up to crisis of the commons, and one that can only be solved by consensus and trust. Our columnist Ajay Shah argues that China's recall of some of its engineers to stymie efforts by Foxconn to shift globalised manufacturing to India reflects its weakness, not strength. While this may delay movement of high skill activities from China to India, it increases incentives for global firms to do less in China. Globalised manufacturing is a high wire act, requiring building complex firms and deep knowledge, which is available in many places other than China. What's more, China faces two key issues: first, its foreign policy is one of strategic autonomy but at a much lower scale than, say, the US; the second is a lack of intellectual leadership. India's firms need to redouble their efforts at obtaining frontiers knowledge from abroad, rather than just mobilising factory workers into shifts. That is quite a journey ahead. Megan Greenwell's BAD COMPANY: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream maps the rise of private equity, one of the most powerful forces in America's, if not the globe's, financial and corporate world. Jennifer Szalai says the book emphasises the human costs of private equity, but offers stories that are textured, not one-note tales of woe, stories of tentative hopefulness followed by a rude awakening. The author, herself the editor of an online magazine that was taken over by a PE firm and then run into the ground, notes that she wrote the book not out of spite but of curiosity towards how powerful private equity had become. The catch is that PE firms charge fees and benefit from tax breaks that delink risk and reward. The book points out how abstractions like 'consolidation' and 'efficiency' have given cover to real betrayals.
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Business Standard
06-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Choking China+1? Chinese govt actions against Apple, Foxconn won't deliver
The Chinese elite has traditionally had a lofty disdain for India. You could argue that being five times bigger is a vast degree of superiority Ajay Shah Listen to This Article The Chinese government has introduced barriers to the Taiwanese company Foxconn shifting globalised manufacturing to India. This reflects China's weakness, not strength. At a tactical level, it delays a greater movement of high-skill activities from China to India. But at a strategic level, it increases the incentives for global firms to do less in China. Two things are simultaneously true: World-class manufacturing requires deep knowledge, and that knowledge is available in many locations beyond China. The best organisations in India need to redouble their efforts at obtaining frontiers knowledge from abroad. Let's look at imports of goods into the United
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Business Standard
23-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: Startups get a boost, higher education needs a leg-up
Hello and welcome to BS Views, our newsletter that sums up today's opinion page. From Sebi's bold moves to the crisis in higher education, and from sustainability issues with rice farming to Iran's nuclear ambitions, today's pieces touch upon key issues that policymakers must grapple with. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) board last week approved a co-investment vehicle (CIV) framework under the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) regulations, amended rules governing Real Estate Investment Trusts (Reits) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), and eased the delisting process for certain types of public-sector undertakings (PSUs). It also clarified norms on the issuance of employee stock ownership plans (Esops) in start-ups that plan to go public — a move that has brought relief to founders. These reforms, our first editorial argues, will make Indian markets more attractive for listings, improve the business environment for AIFs, and facilitate delisting for eligible PSUs. The latest QS World University Rankings show that India's higher education sector has recorded its best-ever performance on the global stage. Notably, seven of the eight new entrants from India are private universities — a sign of shifting dynamics in the country's higher education architecture. However, our second editorial cautions that quality remains a concern, and centres of higher education continue to face challenges such as faculty shortages, inadequate infrastructure, and underfunding. It calls for fast-tracking the regulatory frameworks recommended under the National Education Policy (NEP), strengthening public institutions, and addressing gaps in industry-academia linkages. Ajay Shah highlights a core principle of political science and international relations — the distinction between the principal and the agent, or the interests of the people versus those of the regime. In this context, he criticises the devastation caused by the Khamenei regime's pursuit of pride and nationalism in Iran. With no existential threats, Shah argues, Iran does not need nuclear weapons. Instead, the country must end state violence, focus on institution-building, and create conditions for peace and prosperity. Surinder Sud welcomes India's rise as the world's largest producer and leading exporter of rice since 2012. While newer rice strains have contributed to this growth, he warns that rice farming severely strains water resources and harms environmental sustainability. He recommends practices such as direct seeding and alternate wetting and drying of paddy fields, which can reduce water use by 30–60 per cent, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and cut fertiliser, pesticide, and labour requirements — all without sacrificing yields. Scaling up such technologies is critical for sustaining long-term rice production. Charles Finch reviews Leigh Claire La Berge's Fake Work: How I Began to Suspect Capitalism Is a Joke, calling it an early autopsy of a post-capitalist world. He observes that younger generations increasingly view capitalism as unsustainable. The book is a sustained meditation on the experience of corporate life — both its weakness and strength. Finch finds it earnest, repetitive, and at times wooden, but notes it is resolutely committed to its thesis. It offers a vision of a different life beyond the workplace — though the implication, he adds, is that only an apocalypse might make that fresh start possible.
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Business Standard
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
The essence of great leadership: Rising above pride and nationalism
By doing this, we sign on to the interests of the regime. There is a small matter of the interests of the people Ajay Shah Listen to This Article Most of us have settled into a warm cynicism about governments. We expect the regime to act through a combination of pride and nationalism. So we think, of course the Iranian government will hit back, of course the Iranian government will try to rival Israel's military power, of course the regime will continue on the slog of trying to get to nuclear weapons. By doing this, we sign on to the interests of the regime. There is a small matter of the interests of the people. The essential insight of political science and international relations is the distinction between the
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Business Standard
09-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: Economic shifts, environmental hopes, policy crossroads
Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today Abhijeet Kumar New Delhi In a significant move to stimulate economic growth, the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 per cent and the cash reserve ratio by 100 basis points in phased stages, injecting ₹2.5 trillion into the banking system. While inflation eased to 3.2 per cent in April, the MPC shifted its stance from 'accommodative' to 'neutral,' indicating limited room for future rate cuts. The GDP forecast remains at 6.5 per cent, but the RBI stressed that achieving higher long-term growth would require structural reforms beyond monetary tools. Launched on World Environment Day, the Aravalli Green Wall Project aims to restore 700 km of degraded terrain across four states. Inspired by Africa's Great Green Wall, the plan involves reviving native flora and water bodies to enhance India's carbon sink. However, challenges remain due to ongoing illegal mining and encroachments. As our second editorial highlights, without stronger governance and interstate coordination, experts warn the project could falter, repeating past mistakes seen in the Western Ghats conservation efforts. In his column, Ajay Shah writes that India's economic prospects depend not just on rate cuts but on five strategic levers: trade liberalisation, soft monetary policy, structural reform, capital account liberalisation, and a weaker rupee. He notes that weak private investment and capital controls have stifled India's global competitiveness. While India benefits from geopolitical realignments like the China+1 shift, FDI inflows remain low. Trade deals with the UK and potential pacts with the US and EU offer an opportunity, but without bold reform, India risks falling short. Meanwhile, Sunita Narain cautions that India's EV transition is progressing too slowly to meet its climate and urban mobility goals. While electric three-wheelers show growth, adoption in other segments lags, and urban congestion worsens. She stresses that counting electric vehicles is not enough, cities must expand public transport, reduce private vehicle use, and align EV policy with air quality and mobility planning. Finally, Ted Widmer reviews John Hancock: First to Sign, First to Invest in America's Independence by Willard Sterne Randall, a biography that revives the legacy of the often-overlooked Founding Father. The book underscores Hancock's role in financing and steering the revolution, while also exploring the complexities surrounding his political and social legacy. Stay tuned!
