Best of BS Opinion: The impact of Wuhan crisis, women in command, and more

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

So far, India’s slowing growth was largely Made in India, the result of serial mis-steps by the prime minister. Now any green shoots that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was hoping to see are likely to wilt under the Coronavirus epidemic from China. On Monday, global rating agency Moody’s said India’s economy is likely to expand at a lower pace of 5.4 per cent in calendar 2020 than the earlier estimate of 6.6 per cent as a result of the disruptions to global trade networks caused by the virus. As Akash Prakash points out in his column here, the health risks of the coronavirus outbreak will become clear next week but its impact on the global economy is already evident and it is considerable. In other opinion, writers examine the weaknesses of liberal democracy, the guidelines for audit firms and the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement on women in the military. Kanika Datta sums up the views:

Why is liberal democracy so fragile? Why do demagogues and majoritarian rule flourish even in traditional bastions of democracy? Pranab Bardhan assesses the Achilles’ heel of liberal democracy. Read it here

The top edit says the ministry of corporate affairs’ discussion paper on enhancing the independence and accountability of auditors addresses conflict of interest issues but questions whether changing regulation alone will inspire trust. Read it here

The Supreme Court’s decision on allowing women a permanent commission in the military was long overdue and overturns long-held patriarchal views, says the second edit here 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

‘Physiological features of women have no link to their rights. This mindset must change’

Supreme Court Justices D Y Chandrachud and Ajay Rastogi, who delivered the landmark judgment granting women right to permanent commission and command in the Indian Army