Best of BS Opinion: Garg's unusual transfer, Andhra's 'breach' of contract

A warning against Andhra Pradesh's move to renegotiate private contracts, a celebration of multiplexes, and a defence of what liberalism means. Pallav Nayak sums up the views.

The transfer of Subhash Garg as Finance Secretary to the power ministry is unusual. Garg's ideas about regulators like the RBI and SEBI were controversial, but he surely had the government's backing for his statements. Clues to why he was transferred lie in two meetings he had on July 17 and 18, writes A K Bhattacharya.

More screens, consolidation and transparency have been good for India’s film industry. Almost 18 years after the first multiplex opened, the industry has grown over seven times, returns are better and there is variety in movies, writes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.

What is neo-liberalism? Deepak Lal argues it's a meaningless phrase used by the enemies of classical liberalism. Either one is in favour of liberty or against it, but one cannot be semi-in-favour or pseudo-in-favour of liberty.

Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy's government in Andhra Pradesh wants to renegotiate contracts the previous government had signed with private companies for renewable energy power projects. This is dangerous: investors will stop trusting state governments if Andhra Pradesh gets away by breaching contracts, says our first edit.

The home ministry’s order to state governments to set up at least one detention centre in a city or district raises discomfiting questions about the government’s broader social agenda centred on citizenship. The order will give the state security apparatus unwarranted powers over citizens, says our second edit.

Quote of the day

"I fought for a long time, but today I gave up." — letter attributed to VG Siddhartha, the missing founder of the Cafe Coffee Day chain.