Best of BS Opinion: India's new-age economy gets a data reset

Today's Opinion pieces explore a new data framework, the Bima Sugam initiative, the real impact of the GST rate cuts, and what the startup ecosystem really needs

The bedrock of understanding any economy is accurate data, something that has been the bane of those who study the Indian economy. Now, the government is all set to update the National Industrial Classification (NIC-2025) after a gap of nearly 17 years. This, our first editorial notes, is not a moment too soon, given economic shifts towards green energy as well as gig work that are not captured by the old framework. The 2025 draft promises to correct this lag by explicitly recognising new-age sectors from OTT platforms to electric vehicle charging stations. Moreover, aligning NIC-2025 with the International Standard Industrial Classification will help boost credibility and investor confidence. But there remain challenges: continuity with the past remains crucial as a sudden break in coding conventions could blur trends and reduce the comparability of past and present data. The National Statistics Office (NSO) must provide clear 'concordance tables' that could show how old codes match with new ones in easily-usable formats. 

The insurance regulator has created a new space for a public good - Bima Sugam, a digital insurance marketplace overseen by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai). Our second editorial says the new platform could be transformative as it seeks to bring efficiency, transparency, and trust to a sector known more for its complexity and opacity. India's insurance adoption continues to lag, something that Bima Sugam could democratise. There are, however, issues that the much-delayed platform must address if it is to succeed. For one, it must ensure visibility for all players, not just the big ones. Consumer issues, too, must be resolved, especially claim settlement. A robust data security framework is also essential, as is a targeted outreach to rural consumers to increase coverage. 

  Ajit Balakrishnan puzzles over how startups came to be the flavour of the season, mimicking a pattern seen over the decades - from the Green Revolution to public-sector-as-saviour to free markets to foreign direct investment.  He wonders if this is just another cyclical fad, like we see in the fashion world, driven largely by peers and icons. Do economic policy trends follow a similar graph, except on a grander, more global and intellectual scale?  Should we take our cues from the US, the world's most successful incubator of startups? He notes that the startup scene there is driven by venture capital and defence procurement of good ideas. Perhaps, we too need to step up our early-stage and VC ecosystem, besides pushing our defence departments to buy from domestic startups. The other hiccup is that, unlike in the US, family businesses dominate our business landscape. What India startups need to flourish is a policy framework that fosters the growth of Indian non-family business VC and private equity firms.  Our columnist Debashis Basu takes note of the GST rate rationalisation exercise. He points out that, in reality, the rate cuts will touch only about 11 per cent of consumption, while the projected spending boost will be a measly 0.2-0.3 per cent of gross domestic product. As proof of the pudding, he notes that the most FMCG and consumer durable firms saw barely any uptick in share price, while the main market index, the Nifty, also stayed flat. The answer to driving growth, he argues, is in a long cycle of booming exports. Unfortunately, India never made exports its top national mission. What it needs now is a series of dedicated, focused and goal-oriented steps at both ends of the value chain. What will win India respect, he says, is not defiance but large factories humming producing quality products for global markets. 

Spirituality, Wall Street, the Presidency, and a shot at Anglicisation: Victoria Woodhull's biography by Eden Collinsworth is all that, and then some. In her review of Collinsworth's 'THE IMPROBABLE VICTORIA WOODHULL: Suffrage, Free Love, and the First Woman to Run for President', Jennifer Szalai points out that the author uses a trial in a London court to establish the contrast between Woodhull’s bumptious life in America and her bid for respectability in England. In between, Woodhull lived an early childhood as a clairvoyant - thanks to her one-eye conman father - a spiritual adviser to Cornelius Vanderbilt, then one of the richest men in the US, and twice a Presidential candidate for the White House. Collingsworth wrangles all of Woodhull’s truth and lies into a coherent portrait, capturing her in all her contradictions.