Best of BS Opinion: India's AI challenge and lessons for public banks

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

India’s plan to open leadership of public sector banks to private sector professionals signals a push to bring competition and managerial vigour to state-run lenders that still dominate over half the country’s banking system. The idea recalls the earlier experiment of lateral entry in the civil service, which faltered amid cultural resistance and institutional mismatch. However, our first editorial cautions that the contrasting aims of public and private banks (social welfare vs. profitability) could again prove difficult to align. Strong unions, modest pay scales, and rigid hierarchies make such roles less appealing to private bankers. The broader lesson may be that public banks benefit more from nurturing internal talent that understands their institutional culture. 

India’s artificial intelligence market has nearly doubled from $3.2 billion in 2020 to $6 billion in 2024 and could grow to $32 billion by 2031. Yet a new Competition Commission of India study warns that this expansion may become extractive rather than inclusive. Europe and the US are tightening rules on AI chips and data monopolies, while India still relies on voluntary frameworks, notes our second editorial. The CCI’s push for algorithmic audits, gatekeeper definitions, and data-sharing norms underscores the need for stronger ex-ante regulation to ensure fairness and foster AI sovereignty. 

And Andreas Kluth writes, Washington’s China policy remains erratic. The US-China conflict has widened from tariffs to a full economic confrontation, with both sides weaponising supply chains and technology. China’s grip over rare earth exports has exposed America’s strategic weakness, while internal discord within the Trump administration has deepened the policy vacuum. Experts say even if the meeting happens, little progress should be expected. 

Meanwhile, Rajeswari Sengupta notes that India’s drive to internationalise the rupee must rest on long-term reform, not imitation of China’s state-managed model. Sustainable progress will require deeper debt markets, gradual easing of capital controls, and freer currency movement. GIFT City could act as a test bed for liberalisation before broader adoption, helping align rupee internationalisation with India’s ambition of becoming a developed economy by 2047. 

Finally, Shreekant Sambrani reviews Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History by Rohit De and Ornit Shani, which traces how citizens, not just leaders, helped shape the founding document. Drawing on petitions, letters, and proposals, the authors reveal a participatory movement where people across India claimed ownership of constitutional ideals. Richly researched and accessible, the book reframes constitution-making as a democratic project that drew strength from diverse voices. 

Stay tuned!