Best of BS Opinion: Jobs rising, cities stretching, climate urging action
Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today
India’s workforce is in the middle of a deep rewrite, as the India Skills Report 2026 shows employability edging up to 56.35 per cent and the country cementing its place as a global AI talent hub. With over 600,000 AI professionals and that number expected to double by 2027, the shift is unmistakable. The gig economy is swelling too, primed to touch 23.5 million workers by 2030. But beneath the optimism lie gaps that our first editorial flags. Gig workers without labour protections, uneven AI adoption between large firms and smaller businesses, and stubborn divides across gender and regions. An AI-shaped future will need hard policy graft to ensure that the next decade of jobs doesn’t deepen old inequalities.
The next file on our desk comes from health insurance, where our second editorial notes that Irdai’s Bima Sugam platform is set for a December debut. Digital upgrades like the National Health Claims Exchange, ABHA IDs, and Cashless Everywhere have already begun smoothing the system, yet claim settlements still leave much to be desired. In 2024-25, insurers processed 32.6 million claims worth Rs 94,247 crore, but payouts continue to fall short. With penetration stuck at 3.7 per cent of GDP and out-of-pocket spending still at 39.4 per cent, digital plumbing alone won’t fix trust.
From insurance we move to Belém where, Arunabha Ghosh writes, after a difficult COP30 week, global climate diplomacy still risks becoming a list of unkept promises. He argues the world needs a “Bank of Actions” built on credible finance roadmaps, fairer adaptation funding, just transition plans, and coalitions that deliver results rather than communiqués. India’s investment-led approach, he says, shows this path is possible.
Meanwhile, Amit Kapoor widens the lens to India’s cities. He argues that without human-centred design, India risks cementing car-heavy mobility, exclusionary zoning, and climate vulnerability into its 2050 infrastructure. Cities like Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Surat offer glimpses of what intentional design can do, but India still needs planning capacity, updated systems, and design thinking embedded into governance.
Finally, Subhomoy Bhattacharjee reviews Ani Dasgupta’s The New Global Possible, which explores why climate action often advances through decentralised, ground-level experiments rather than headline politics. With examples from nearly 90 Indian cities, from Raahgiri initiatives to 15-minute neighbourhoods, the book suggests that India’s slower urbanisation may actually be its chance to build greener systems before the old ones harden.
Stay tuned!