Best of BS Opinion: India's tax overhaul, urban woes, and global turns

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

The sight of leaves falling gently to the ground carries a certain hush, the kind that makes you pause and notice how seasons change quietly before they settle. The yellowing edges, the drifting spiral, the soft crackle underfoot, all of them signal that autumn is near. It is not merely a shift in weather but in rhythm, a reminder that life cycles through growth and shedding, preparation and renewal. Today’s writeups mirror that slow but decisive turn. Each like a leaf, falling but never meaningless, pointing to what comes next. Let’s dive in. 

The GST Council’s next-gen reform feels like one such pleasant change in the season, heralding a simpler, more consumer-friendly tax landscape. By pruning away the 12 and 28 per cent slabs and settling into two broad rates of 5 and 18 per cent, the government has uncluttered a system long criticised for its complexity. But the Rs 48,000 crore revenue hit, coupled with the end of the compensation cess except on sin goods, means the treasury braces for leaner months, notes our first editorial. Like autumn’s cool air, the changes are welcome, yet they carry the inevitability of adjustment. 

But while taxes simplify, Indian cities remain overwhelmed each monsoon, their vulnerability feels like roots loosened by persistent rains. Our second editorial highlights that despite forecasts, cities such as Delhi and Gurugram still drown under preventable floods. Drains remain clogged, water bodies vanish, and green belts are lost to unchecked construction. As heavier rainfall lashes fragile Himalayan terrains, urban chaos spreads like rot beneath fallen leaves. A vision of “Viksit Bharat” risks withering unless city planning embraces resilience. 

The same idea of balance and accountability runs through global debates. T T Ram Mohan writes that Donald Trump’s dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has revived questions over the independence of central banks. Once shielded to fight inflation, today’s central banks make decisions with deep political implications. For reform, there are proposals for shorter terms (like the RBI) and stricter oversight which may be attempts not necessarily to strip away central banks’ autonomy but to align technocracy with democratic cycles, much like another leaf turning, hinting at a new order. 

Meanwhile, for India’s foreign policy, Sankalp Gurjar argues, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation offers only optics. Dominated by China, Russia, and Central Asia, it neither aligns with India’s economic needs nor addresses core security concerns. Real strategic dividends, he notes, lie with the US, Europe, and East Asia. The SCO, much like a dried leaf, rustles but brings little nourishment. 

Finally, Akankshya Abismruta reviews Sepideh Gholian’s The Evin Prison Bakers’ Club: Surviving Iran’s Most Notorious Prisons in 16 Recipes, where the Iranian activist transforms prison memories into a recipe book of resistance. Kneading dough becomes defiance, baking turns into solidarity, and storytelling prevents erasure. Each chapter, like an autumn leaf preserved between pages, carries memory forward, refusing to be forgotten. 

Stay tuned!