Best of BS Opinion: When everything is on the verge of boiling over

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

Picture this: You’re making tea, watching it bubbling in the saucepan. The heat builds, the mixture of milk, sugar, water and tea leaves rises, steam swirls — and then, just before it spills over, you rush to turn the flame down. But what if you don’t? That moment — where tension peaks and everything teeters on the edge — is where we find ourselves today. Let’s dive in.

 

Take the US economy. For months, markets have simmered under the heat of Trump’s erratic trade policies. Tariffs imposed, then withdrawn. Promises made, then muddled. Now, as recession risks climb to levels last seen before economic downturns in the 1970s and ’80s, bond markets are flashing warning signals. And yet, the administration shrugs, calling this a “transition”. The flame is on, but will the tea spill over? Read our first editorial for more.

 

Meanwhile, in India, another crisis is reaching a boiling point — though it’s not about dollars and tariffs, but diets and waistlines. With obesity surging — 10 million children already affected, 440 million at risk by 2050 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued a call for change. But like a cook who keeps adding sugar while warning against diabetes, policy contradictions persist, highlights our second editorial. Until policy decisions turn the heat down, we’re heading for a full-blown health crisis.

 

And if governance itself were a kitchen, India’s public consultation process would be that pot left unattended. MS Sahoo and Mallika Dandekar explore how the once-promising mechanism for transparency is now often ignored. Laws get rushed through without public input, leading to chaotic reversals. Experts argue for structured engagement, but without consistent adherence this threatens to spill over too.

 

The economy is no different. With GDP growth hitting a seven-quarter low, inflation high, and foreign investment cooling, India’s economic engine is overheating. The prescription? Exports, investment, and an outward-looking strategy. Abhishek Anand highlights that with protectionism on the rise and trade barriers piling up, the pressure isn’t easing. Will policymakers finally lift the lid and release some steam?

 

And Gautam Bhatia’s book The Indian Constitution: A Conversation with Power reminds us that even our foundational document hasn’t escaped this boiling-over effect. In his review of the book, Shreekant Sambrani writes that the Constitution has over time expanded state control at the cost of individual freedoms, reinforcing colonial-era governance. The book is a timely reflection on power, control, and whether we still have a say in how the heat is managed.

 

Stay tuned, and remember, the question is — who’s watching the stove?