Best of BS Opinion: From fiscal transfers to a world without rules

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

The Sixteenth Finance Commission’s report arrives at a delicate moment for India’s federal structure, with Centre-state relations unsettled by disputes over governors, delimitation and shrinking fiscal space. Its decision to keep the states’ share of the divisible pool at 41 per cent avoids fresh friction, while the revised formula, adding a criterion for contribution to GDP, corrects the long complaint of productive states such as Karnataka and Gujarat that growth was being ignored in tax sharing, highlights our first editorial. The panel has also drawn a firm line on fiscal discipline, warning against off-budget borrowing and urging deficits to stay near 3 per cent of GSDP, signalling continuity with earlier reform priorities. 

The Union Budget for 2026-27, however, rests on an optimistic bet on disinvestment and asset monetisation, projecting Rs 80,000 crore in receipts despite a history of missed targets, notes our second editorial. Strategic sales have moved slowly for years, constrained by litigation, market volatility and political hesitation, and recent collections have depended largely on minority stake sales. Yet the fiscal logic is hard to dispute: high capital spending must continue while the Centre seeks to lower its debt ratio towards 50 per cent by 2031. Whether the target is met will depend on a credible transaction calendar and renewed commitment to privatisation rather than favourable markets alone. 

Meanwhile, D K Srivastava questions the architecture of transfers proposed by the Commission, arguing that tax devolution has become a mechanical exercise since the ratio was fixed at 42 per cent and later 41 per cent. The removal of revenue-deficit and sectoral grants, he notes, narrows the tools available to address genuine differences in state needs, while reliance on dated population and income data weakens fairness. The new weight for GSDP contribution may reward stronger states but risks widening gaps for fiscally weaker ones, suggesting that a post-devolution review could have balanced equity with incentives. 

Sunita Narain places these domestic debates within a fractured global order where power politics has replaced rules and cooperation. The US-China rivalry now shapes technology, energy and supply chains, leaving climate action as collateral damage even as the scramble for copper and rare-earths accelerates. Melting Arctic ice opens trade routes while deepening ecological risk, and countries are pushed towards protectionism and reshoring. The emerging world, she argues, offers opportunity but little assurance that growth will be either fair or environmentally sustainable. 

Finally, Jennifer Burns reviews Hated by all the right people by Jason Zengerle, a biography of modern American conservatism itself. From a conventional writer welcomed by liberal editors, Carlson evolved through the incentives of television and online media into a central voice of grievance politics. His fall from CNN after the Jon Stewart episode, the founding of The Daily Caller and later his elevation by Fox News show how outrage became a profitable business model.  

Stay tuned!