Best of BS Opinion: How the world is composing a new playlist for progress

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

Some weeks feel like shuffling through an old playlist that contains familiar tunes, predictable drops, and the same chorus on repeat. But this week, the world hit refresh. The mood has shifted, the bassline is heavier and melodies are sharper. Economists are composing new theories for growth, policymakers are remixing old reforms, diplomats are testing fresh harmonies, and somewhere in Tamil Nadu’s heartland, the political soundtrack of identity is being remastered. The vibe is unmistakable of a new playlist for a new mood. Let’s dive in. 

The first track on this week’s list is a deep, bass-heavy note from India’s power sector of a song decades in the making. Since the 1990s, this track has looped endlessly with high generation, low delivery, and discoms’ accumulated losses. But the Centre’s proposed Electricity Act amendments promise a remix of transparent subsidies, fair tariffs, and shared networks that could finally bring competition and light to every corner, notes our first editorial. If executed well, this reform could turn the power grid’s static into a steady, humming beat of growth. 

Then there is the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, which hums with the spirit of reinvention. Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt have been recognised for exploring how economies grow not by repetition but by remixing the old into the new. Aghion and Howitt’s modern take on Schumpeter’s “creative destruction” offers the percussion of progress. Mokyr, the historian among them, reminds us that innovation needs cultural chords in societies that embrace risk over routine. Our second editorial cautions that their symphony warns India too — if reform drags and research remains underfunded, our tempo could stall. 

Over in cyberspace, writes Nitin Desai, the internet’s own orchestra is searching for a conductor. From its open-source beginnings to the corporate crescendos of artificial intelligence, digital governance now faces its trickiest composition yet of balancing innovation with accountability. As the UN’s Internet Governance Forum reconvenes, the task ahead is to write global rules that make sense in a world where data moves faster than diplomacy. 

And speaking of diplomacy, Harsh V Pant and Vivek Mishra observe the quieter, hopeful tune playing between India and Canada. After a year of sour notes, both nations seem ready to hit play on a new collaboration track. With a leadership change in Canada, and Anita Anand’s India visit, Ottawa and New Delhi may soon find harmony in trade and security, tuning down old discord for shared melody. 

The playlist closes with a slower, more introspective song with Aditi Phadnis’ review of The Dravidian Pathway: How the DMK redefined power and identity in South India by Vignesh Rajahmani. The DMK’s journey from a social movement to a political powerhouse plays like an anthem of identity and self-respect. Rajahmani’s narrative of padipakkam reading rooms and grassroots awakening captures how a chorus of voices reshaped Tamil Nadu’s politics and how that sound still echoes in India’s democratic pulse today. 

Stay tuned!