Best of BS Opinion: 2025's promise of stability, sustainability, and change

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

As the clock struck midnight, the world erupted in celebration. For most, it’s toasts and fresh resolutions. Fireworks lit up the sky, resolutions were whispered with hope, and the promise of a better year filled the air. But beneath this glittering optimism, in a forgotten corner, a child bent over a pile of dirt, scavenging for scraps. For them, the new year is just another day of survival. As we step into 2025, let this year not merely be a marker of time but a true harbinger of change. Let the light of 2025 shine not just in promises but in action, as progress becomes a shared gift. 

  This sentiment resonates in the Reserve Bank of India's latest Financial Stability Report, which highlights the improved resilience of the Indian banking system. Our first editorial highlights how stability is no longer an abstract goal; it’s a lifeline, a step toward bridging the gaps that leave many behind. Resilient systems aren’t just numbers — they’re lifelines. 

Meanwhile, in Bundelkhand, the Ken-Betwa River Linking Project promises water security and power, but at a steep cost. Over 6,000 families displaced, 2.3 million trees felled, and endangered habitats submerged. The project exemplifies the paradox of development — creating streams of progress while eroding the soil beneath the feet of the vulnerable. Can we not find ways to nurture both nature and need? Read our second editorial to know more. 

India’s unfilled vacancies across critical sectors like health, judiciary, and policing are more than administrative inefficiencies — they’re black holes swallowing potential. Millions of pending court cases and understaffed hospitals slow justice and health. Prosenjit Datta writes in his column that filling these vacancies could uplift not just GDP but millions of lives. What better way to honour a new year than by reinforcing the pillars of governance? 

And as geopolitical tensions rise, India’s defence spending must pivot to address both external threats and internal vulnerabilities. Our columnist R Jagannathan writes that Budget 2025 offers an opportunity for a decisive shift — boosting investment in R&D, cybersecurity, and domestic defence production. 

In today’s book review of Najma Heptulla’s autobiography, In Pursuit of Democracy: Beyond Party Lines, Aditi Phadnis reminds us of bridges built across divides. Heptulla’s journey epitomises bipartisanship, inclusivity, and resilience.