Best of BS Opinion: Securing fiscal health, rethinking aviation policy

Here are the top BS Opinion articles of the day.

The tax department recently decided to extend by three months the government’s deadline limiting the reassessment of tax cases from six to three years. As a result, companies, businesses and professionals, even retired ones, have been hit with notices. This move, writes Debashis Basu here, flies in the face of the government’s commitment for a “fair and just system” and is also a symptom of the arbitrary manner in which the tax department behaves.

Tamal Bandyopadhyay explains why we should expect no action from the monetary policy committee meeting this week. The focus, he says, is firmly on growth. Read it here

Ajit Balakrishnan points out that algorithms are increasingly acquiring the functions of the traditional “shoeshine and a smile” salesman in a range of goods and services. Read it here

The top edit argues that despite an improvement in the overall fiscal position, the government must prepare itself for medium-term challenges. Read it here

The second edit points out that the government’s decision to impose a price cap on air fares has proved counter-productive. Read it here 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

“The Congress party was the James Bond of spying when in power”

 

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Rajya Sabha deputy leader