Best of BS Opinion: From Trump's H-1B shock to Harris's short run

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

Confusion has gripped Indian tech workers after US President Donald Trump, in his second term, slapped a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications. While the White House later clarified that existing visa holders are not affected, the move has already rattled professionals and companies. Our first editorial notes that with India accounting for about 70 per cent of H-1Bs, especially among outsourcing firms that depend on low-cost staffing, the disruption exposes the limits of wage arbitrage at a time when artificial intelligence and tightening Western politics are rewriting the rules of the industry. 

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have signed a defence pact with a nuclear dimension, formalising decades of cooperation funded by Riyadh. Pakistan has signalled that its nuclear programme could extend to Saudi Arabia if required, a step driven by tensions ranging from Israel’s bombing of Qatar to fears of Iran-backed threats. While not directed at India, the deal shifts the Gulf’s security balance just as New Delhi deepens trade and investment ties in the region, highlights our second editorial. For Pakistan, it strengthens leverage and emboldens its diplomatic manoeuvres, nudging India to rethink its Gulf outreach. 

Mihir S Sharma writes that the H-1B fee is only the latest in a string of Trump-era measures that appear unfriendly to India, from tariffs on shrimp to the loss of the Chabahar waiver. Yet, as Turkey and Brazil voice similar grievances, it is clear India is not uniquely singled out. The deeper concern, he argues, is that the era of bipartisan American exceptionalism for India, cemented during the Bush-Singh nuclear deal, is over. 

Meanwhile, Debashis Basu notes that while outsourcing majors will face heavy costs, specialists in advanced fields may still justify the fee. He adds that the restriction, by curbing mobility for Indian professionals and remittances, will sting in the short run. Yet it could accelerate the rise of global capability centres in India, drawing multinationals to expand operations beyond Tier-I cities. Protectionism, he suggests, may end up catalysing India’s evolution into a deeper global talent hub. 

Finally, Jennifer Szalai reviews Kamala Harris’s 107 Days, her memoir of the 2024 presidential campaign. More chronicle than confession, the diary-style book portrays her loyalty to Joe Biden as both strength and burden. While moments of humour and sharp observation punctuate the narrative, the lack of deeper self-examination leaves the story of the “shortest campaign in modern US history” more record than reckoning. 

Stay tuned!