Best of BS Opinion: Staring at tax shortfall, India's options are tough

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

Why the government's questionnaire to e-commerce is bad for business and how India can innovate in its climate change action. Pallav Nayak sums up the views.

The finance ministry reckons the tax shortfall in the ongoing fiscal year will be around Rs 2 trillion. The shortfall would mean either raising revenue from non-tax sources, curtailing spending, or missing the fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of GDP. None of these is a palatable option, says our first edit.

The BJP-led government has asked Amazon and Flipkart to furnish details of their top five sellers, investments, and commission agreement with vendors. A party that promised a departure from the Congress’ economic management appears to be copying its worst practices straight from the bad old days of the licence-permit raj, says our second edit.

Business history is replete with examples of big, successful firms being trumped in their own backyard by uppity new entrants. That could be happening in the EV race too. Tesla comes to mind here, not the duo of General Motors and Ford, or Toyota, writes Shailesh Dobhal.

India takes climate action seriously, but its development options get constrained if other countries don't act. India’s low-carbon transition must be linked to broader sustainable development priorities. It is time to experiment with price and quantity nudges to drive innovation and climate leadership, while remaining competitive, write Arunabha Ghosh and Vaibhav Chaturvedi.

Quote Of The Day

 

"(The) internet has emerged as a potent tool to cause unimaginable disruption to the democratic polity." 

-- The government before the Supreme Court as it sought time to curb hate speech on social media.