Best of BS Opinion: Through the maze of trade, debt, plastic, and policy

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

There’s something comforting about walking through a maze with a map, not because it guarantees a swift exit, but because it offers a sense of direction in an otherwise confusing route. Life throws us mazes daily, shifting economies, changing policies, unpredictable markets. But when we hold the map that carries insight, foresight, context, we’re less likely to panic at the next dead end. Let’s dive in. 

This week, that map feels particularly vital. In Washington, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s optimism about a trade deal with India may sound like progress, but a closer look reveals a more complicated path. Indian negotiators remain wary, knowing how the terrain can shift overnight with U.S. political winds. With a more rule-bound European Union pact on the horizon, India might be wiser to invest in partnerships that don’t tear at the seams every election cycle, argues our first editorial. 

Elsewhere, Bill Gates is drawing his own kind of map, a 99 per cent philanthropic pledge to Africa, aiming for maternal health, disease eradication, and poverty reduction in 2045, by when the trust is expected to be valued at $200 billion. While it's a powerful route charted against the backdrop of declining US aid, our second editorial notes that some remain skeptical of private capital’s ability to reshape public futures without also shifting power dynamics. Still, it’s a bold turn that reimagines legacy as impact rather than inheritance. 

Closer home, economist Ajay Chhibber believes the RBI may be reading the wrong map. Inflation is falling, yet the central bank’s cautious stance risks repeating past errors. With growth sputtering worldwide, India must look inward and strengthen domestic demand urgently and with more than 25 basis-point baby steps. 

Meanwhile, Jamie Dimon warns of cracks in the world’s largest financial corridor: the US bond market. With America’s debt ballooning, global tremors are inevitable, writes Rajesh Kumar. India, like many others, will have to walk carefully, eyes on both the curve ahead and the map in hand. 

And on World Environment Day, Saabira Chaudhuri’s Consumed: How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic offers a GPS through plastic’s entangled legacy. Chintan Girish Modi reviews that through India and America’s histories with plastic, the book shows how brands got us hooked and how hard it is to chart an escape. But with clarity, nuance, and honesty, she arms us with a better map for a cleaner future. 

Stay tuned!