Best of BS Opinion: AI ambitions, Dhaka's shift, and trade realities

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

The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi signals India’s intention to position itself as a serious player in global artificial intelligence and to amplify the Global South’s role in shaping governance frameworks. India is banking on its vast AI user base, established digital public infrastructure, low-cost data ecosystem and an evolving regulatory framework to attract capital, highlights our first editorial. Rather than pursuing expensive frontier model development, policymakers are prioritising sector-specific deployment in areas such as agriculture, health and governance. Whether it becomes a turning point will depend on sustained regulatory clarity and credible safeguards. 

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, the BNP’s decisive victory opens a new political chapter. The mandate suggests a public desire for stability after prolonged turbulence, though the ban on the Awami League raises legitimate concerns about electoral legitimacy, notes our second editorial. For India, the return of the BNP presents a mixed outlook. Ties were closer under Sheikh Hasina, particularly on security cooperation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to Tarique Rahman indicates an effort to reset relations,  but outstanding irritants include Hasina’s asylum in India, minority safety concerns, immigration pressures and the unresolved Teesta water-sharing agreement. 

Ajay Shah argues that criticism of the India-US trade agreement rests on outdated mercantilist assumptions. The economic gains from trade liberalisation arise primarily from cheaper imports and productivity improvements. Recent agreements with the US, EU and UK reflect gradual liberalisation, yet India’s stance at the World Trade Organization remains inconsistent, particularly on digital trade and investment facilitation. The current framework lacks binding commitments in areas such as regulatory harmonisation and non-tariff barriers. Hence, implementation of these frameworks will test administrative capacity and policy coherence. 

And Surinder Sud examines evidence that modern high-yielding crop varieties may contain lower micronutrient densities than traditional strains. While the Green Revolution secured food availability, malnutrition persists. Studies indicate declines in zinc, iron and magnesium levels in wheat and rice over decades, partly due to yield-driven breeding priorities. Polishing of rice further strips nutrients, he argues. Scientists are responding through biofortification and gene-editing technologies, developing varieties enriched with iron, zinc and protein. More than 100 such varieties have been released, but scaling impact will require research investment, policy incentives and farmer adoption. 

Finally, Brent Staples reviews Wil Haygood’s The War Within a War, which situates the Vietnam conflict within America’s civil rights struggle. Cultural expressions like the “dap” greeting were treated with suspicion, reflecting racial tensions within the military. The war intensified questions about fighting for freedoms abroad that were denied at home, influencing figures such as Muhammad Ali and artists like Marvin Gaye. Through the lives of nine Black Americans, Haygood documents both service and discrimination, reframing the war as inseparable from the broader struggle for racial equality. 

Stay tuned!