Best of BS Opinion: The importance of exports, the power of youth activists

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

How India's recent slowdown is linked to its failure in strengthening exports and why climate change action depends on angry young people. Pallav Nayak sums up the views.

Almost all the talk at present is about import substitution and raising tariffs, but a fundamental reason for India's recent slowdown has been its failure to generate export momentum. Every country that has grown rapidly has been a successful exporter, writes T N Ninan.

It's a sight to see when independent institutions hold the powerful accountable. The UK Supreme Court told the prime minister that his plan to stay in power over the wishes of Parliament was illegal. In the US, the President risks being impeached following a government official's whistleblower complaint. Such restraints are central to liberal democracy, writes Mihir Sharma.

Facebook's cryptocurrency, Libra, is facing resistance from regulators and central banks. Facebook has formed an independent foundation to oversee Libra but regulators and central banks remain sceptical. Monumental frauds have been perpetrated by cryptocurrencies that promised advantages similar to Libra. Bulgarian OneCoin was one such fraud, writes Devangshu Datta.

Young people are rising up to the climate change challenge. The September climate strikes were the largest mass climate action ever. The youth-led movement is worried that we are leaving them with a mess. To paraphrase Greta Thunberg’s now famous speech at the UN climate summit: they are watching us, writes Rajesh Kasturirangan.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Chidambaram "is found to be tweeting or someone else is tweeting on his behalf. This shows it is an attempt to influence the case and the investigation. Influential people are trying to influence proceedings against them by using social media such as Twitter."

— Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before a court hearing the former finance minister's bail plea.