Opinion

FY26 a Goldilocks year for Indian economy; can it be repeated in FY27?

Stronger-than-expected FY26 growth gives India a rare Goldilocks moment, but sustaining the momentum in FY27 will hinge on policy coordination amid global uncertainty

Budget 2026 must aim to fix the weak link in India's R&D ecosystem

Restoring weighted tax deductions and adopting a petty patents regime can foster firm-level innovative activity critical for competitiveness

Delayed civic polls are quietly weakening India's cities and villages

Globally, there are hardly any examples of well-functioning cities that developed without empowered, accountable local governments

India's 7.4% GDP growth looks solid but faces a narrower margin for error

In absolute terms at current prices, the economy is projected to attain the size of ₹357.14 trillion, which is marginally higher than the level assumed in the 2025-26 Budget

Section 29A and the cost of treating business failure as misconduct

The IBC must not conflate business failure with malfeasance, or an unfortunate entrepreneur with a fraudulent one

Best of BS Opinion: Governance gains risk stalling without deeper reform

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

Align skills to reality: Adult Skills Survey 2026 will inform policy

This exercise is timely, given that nearly three-fourths of India's workforce has only basic schooling, and graduate employability is just around 55 per cent

Fast-tracking infrastructure: Further reductions in delays are needed

PRAGATI has shown that some of these failures can be overcome through sustained oversight

How quick must quick commerce be? Rethinking the 10-minute promise

A hard stop at 10 minutes puts lives at risk even if the distance from the dark store to an apartment is a just a few 100 metres

Cloudy skies over US-EU trade deals: India prepares for headwinds

Amid political turmoil in the US and EU, India's hopes of quick trade deals face growing uncertainty, calling for realism and preparation for worst-case scenarios

Best of BS Opinion: US power plays and the limits of global order

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

Donald Trump's Venezuela gamble: Test of Washington's coercive power

After Maduro's extraction, Washington's next steps will reveal whether this was a one-off or a shift towards coercive power

Why India-US bilateral trade arrangement is taking so long to conclude

Security dependence, not trade policy, explains Washington's speed with others, and why India is holding its ground

Export promotion: Mkt access schemes need to be backed by coherent strategy

Mas risks becoming an enabling add-on rather than being a tool for enhancing competitiveness

Donald Trump's card in Venezuela: Invasion sets a dangerous precedent

With Europe pondering a coherent response, the global precedents that Mr Trump has set with this Venezuelan adventure are unambiguously dangerous

Best of BS Opinion: Duopoly risks, urban woes and global disruptions

From Vodafone Idea's AGR moratorium and concerns over telecom duopoly to urban governance failures, global trade disruptions and India's openness to capital, here is today's opinion newsletter

Strong start to year but deregulation holds key to competitiveness

From the finance ministry came a mix of revenue-raising and trade-defence actions. Taxes on tobacco products will increase from the beginning of next month

Somnath Swabhiman Parv: 1,000 years of unbroken faith

The year 2026 is significant for the Somnath temple. It has been 1,000 years since the first attack on this great shrine

Technology can aid unprecedented geopolitical risk mapping in 2026

Even though the AI bubble could be a challenge, emerging technologies are being used for risk modelling that can help manage unplanned changes

Governance deficit: Indore tragedy highlights systemic flaws

The Indore water tragedy exposes deep flaws in urban governance, revealing how capacity gaps and inequality persist despite funds, schemes, and "clean city" rankings