Best of BS Opinion: Navigating through tight but high-stakes openings

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

Have you ever tried, or watched someone else try, to step into a metro coach whose doors could snap shut any second? There’s that tiny moment of drama suspended in the air, of a half-step forward or a hesitant pullback. There are a million mental calculations going on in the head but of only two options: of risk versus reward. Do you time it perfectly and slip in, or let the coach glide away to avoid scraped shins, bruised egos, or worse, a delayed day? Today’s writeups are a glimpse of that same suspended tension where India is weighing whether to take the leap, pause, or rethink the ride. Let’s dive in. 

Take India’s post-Galwan economic rethink on China. As Rajiv Gauba’s committee weighs either scrapping Press Note 3 or easing it for investments with less than 10 per cent Chinese ownership, our first editorial notes how the country is essentially deciding whether to board the coach or step back. Total bans are unrealistic if India seeks deeper links with global value chains, but to open doors to sensitive sectors carry their own risks. What is needed is a structured framework that distinguishes strategic from non-strategic spaces, a way of timing the entry so the doors don’t close on opportunity or security. 

Water planning faces a similar threshold. As our second editorial argues, Niti Aayog’s Varuni-powered water budgeting exercise exposes deep deficits in some regions and wasted surpluses in others. With agriculture consuming up to 90 per cent of freshwater, India needs dynamic annual budgets, local capacity, and community-led governance. Much like choosing whether to board a crowded coach, planners must understand inflows, outflows, and pressure points before committing to interventions. Scaling the Varuni app nationwide could help India act before the doors close on scarcity. 

Meanwhile, in his column, Nitin Desai writes about Indian IT's next big step: from service-led exports to AI-driven innovation. The country’s billion-strong digital base has powered enormous growth, but the next coach is already pulling in, one where domestic models, research, and high-impact AI solutions define competitiveness. He argues that policies like the R&D Innovation Fund can help India grab the pole in time instead of missing the AI wave. 

Rama Bijapurkar explores why private investment remains cautious despite upbeat macro signals. Firms targeting only the top 20-30 per cent of households may be mistiming demand patterns, while foreign investors still struggle with “make for India.” Both need strategic recalibration before stepping onto the next growth coach. 

Finally, in Prosenjit Datta’s review of Snigdha Poonam’s Scam Lands, we are taken into the underbelly of Asia’s fraud networks, from Jamtara to Cambodia, where every scammer and victim misjudges a door that looks open but isn’t. Poonam’s reporting turns this world into a gripping, unsettling ride, reminding us that the wrong metro can take you far from where you meant to go. 

Stay tuned!