Best of BS Opinion: For whom Covid bell tolls, Defending pvt sector & more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong defence of the private sector even as he threw his weight behind the government’s agenda of privatisation has sent a clear message that the days of stealthy economic reforms are over. Replying to the motion of thanks on the president’s address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Mr Modi asserted that abusing wealth creators for votes was no longer acceptable, and that the bureaucracy should take the backseat in the running of factories and businesses. In this context, our lead editorial notes, as the role of the private sector increases, the government will have to develop capabilities so that no private enterprise can abuse the system in the absence of a proper regulatory framework or enforcement.

The strategy of financing higher government capital expenditure through asset sales is likely to have only limited success. We will have to find ways soon to raise the tax/GDP ratio, writes T T Ram Mohan
 

Given its size, numbers and established pharmaceutical industry, India could play a key role in curbing a disease that spreads so rapidly and insidiously that it will not be stopped until herd immunity extends across the globe, writes Sunanda K Datta-Ray

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“The new farm laws will destroy India's food security system; will hurt rural economy”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi