Opinion

Comprehensive support: PM-KISAN should include fertiliser subsidy

PM-Kisan's extension offers an opportunity to widen support to tenant farmers and use its DBT infrastructure to make fertiliser subsidies more targeted, transparent and efficient

Reforms for higher growth: India must capitalise on international trade

India needs faster tariff cuts, deeper trade integration and stronger investment treaties to boost exports, attract FDI and sustain the high growth needed to become a developed economy

Exim matters: Buyer's failure to pay should not undo export tax rebates

Export tax remissions should not be recovered when genuine foreign buyers default, as the goods have already left India and the underlying duties and taxes have been borne

Prosperity: The visible hand of leadership in driving sustained growth

Economic theories explain growth through capital, technology and institutions, but leadership may be the missing force that turns sound policies into sustained prosperity

Learning from self-help groups: Making small savings work for the poor

Policymakers may look at experimenting with a lower interest rate (thereby costs) for small retail repetitive savings in order to encourage the poor to save

Builder liable for defects despite society formation, consumer panel rules

Regarding limitation, the State Commission relied on Clause 7.4 of the agreement, which provided for the removal of defects noticed within five years

Trusted, trained and sometimes a threat: The risk within India's banks

Behind the forensics and policy responses lies a question that India's banking industry is asking itself today: How to deal with insider bank frauds

Lending a hand for easier, faster credit to MSMEs with receivables finance

Policy reforms are unlocking receivables financing, giving small businesses faster access to liquidity against unpaid invoices

When an algorithm silences a PM: The case for real platform accountability

PM Modi's deleted social media post highlights the need for transparency, due process and accountability from Big Tech platforms over content moderation

Bhagwat's Gen Z outreach signals a pragmatic reset for the RSS leadership

It's evident Mr Bhagwat was watching from a distance and was worried about the anger towards the Modi government. He demolished criticism of the GenZ protesters as anti-national

Best of BS Opinion: India must hold the line on climate action

Today's opinions examine India's climate diplomacy lessons, vaccine resistance amid medical advances, AI's real-world limitations, RSS outreach to Gen Z and the growing threat of cognitive warfare

India must hold the red line as global climate action continues to weaken

In a world of transactional inter-state relations, India must stay firm on issues of national interest, no matter the pressures

AI is transforming tech, but its wider revolution is still delayed

Despite its promise, AI remains a collection of narrow conveniences and hidden algorithms for most people

The Great Indian Waiting Game: Buffering… Please wait, patiently

India once waited for Doordarshan to wake up, photographs to develop, letters to arrive and telephones to ring. Today, 3 seconds of buffering is treated like the collapse of civilisation

US vaccine policy risks undermining use of tech to advance medical science

Flaws in US vaccine policy could make it impossible to leverage technology in optimal ways to advance medical science

Best of BS Opinion: Stock exchange closing auction system needs review

The day's opinion highlights flaws in closing auctions, the funding challenge in digital payments, humane KYC, cognitive warfare and everyday gender discrimination

Digital payments need a sustainable funding model for future growth

The Lok Sabha's tax amendment Bill opens the door for future UPI merchant charges, reigniting the debate on funding India's fast-growing digital payments ecosystem

Can the India-US tax treaty survive an AI-dollar deluge in the digital era?

India's AI ambitions demand a rethink of the India-US tax treaty to clarify taxation of cloud services, AI subscriptions and cross-border digital revenues

Short of expectations: New closing auction system on exchanges needs review

The new closing auction session has triggered price divergences in F&O stocks, raising concerns over liquidity, price discovery and its impact on investors

KYC: A safeguard, not a barrier

An effective KYC programme can make banking easy for genuine customers