Best of BS Opinion: A bold initiative or madcap idea, many elections & more

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

A more perfect democracy requires an active third layer with regular meaningful elections. If our roads and drainage don’t work, we should be able to vote out the person in charge, writes Mihir S Sharma. Read here

As studies in Finland, Ireland and Kenya have shown, Congress’ promise of Rs 1 lakh to below poverty line women may not just be an experiment in populism, writes Devangshu Datta. Read here

Central bankers no doubt aim to achieve their inflation targets, but they always need to be wary of their political masters. To maintain their independence under growing pressure, central banks will need to be flexible and occasionally make concessions, which could lead to a repeat of the post-pandemic inflationary surge within the next ten years, writes Kenneth Rogoff. Read here

More than any other business perhaps, cinema goes through seasonal cycles driven by lack of success due to bad films, vacations, major cricket tournaments or elections dominating media consumption, writes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar. Read here

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“We will continue to take decisive measures to strengthen and stabilise our banking system, ensuring banks’ support India's growth path to Viksit Bharat by 2047.”

 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman