Opinion

FMCG firms recalibrate approach as consumer market rewards speed over scale

5 years ago, Aashirvaad &Surf Excel could run one national television commercial and win. Today, the Zepto shopper in Bengaluru and the kirana buyer in Gidderbaha, Punjab, live in different economies

Brahmin unease could reshape Uttar Pradesh's political landscape

The tension between the Brahmins and Kshatriyas in UP since Yogi Adityanath, a Kshatriya by birth, became chief minister has been the BJP's worst-kept secret

Capital gains don't deserve a special tax privilege if labour doesn't

There are also social risks that accompany huge bets on labour-saving technologies like AI and robotics

Best of BS Opinion: G7 Summit delivers surprisingly constructive outcomes

Today's opinions examine the G7 summit, a changing US Federal Reserve, Karnataka's development priorities, India's infrastructure model and Indira Jaising's constitutional journey

India must be institutionally ready for private infra investment to return

After independence, the story unfolded across eight stages of private capital waning and waxing through India's infrastructure journey

Karnataka must move away from subsidies to growth-enabling reforms

The multicultural life of the young in Bengaluru today represents India's greatest cosmopolitan and sophisticated culture, surpassing that seen in even Mumbai in some respects

A new US Fed: Central bank aims to reform functioning as Marsh takes charge

Aside from the shifts, one of the biggest takeaways from the Fed statement and Mr Warsh's first press conference as its chairman was the firm commitment to price stability and the 2% inflation target

Bridges over Evian waters: G7 meet saw more convergence than controversy

By all accounts, Mr Modi led the discussions at the working session, endorsing the G7's call for partnerships rather than aid but also underlining support for developing countries

Best of BS Opinion: India needs to fix its many governance failures

Today's BS Opinion examines the NEET-UG paper leak, the delayed AI171 crash report, creditor rights under the IBC, urban safety failures and a global history of caste

Delay in releasing AI-171 crash report risks prolonging grief, speculation

Just before the preliminary report was posted on the official website last July, a report in The Wall Street Journal said the probe was shifting the focus to the senior pilot in the cockpit, prompting

Any Time Money: Why ATMs continue to matter in India's digital age

Despite UPI's rise, growing cash circulation and evolving consumer habits ensure ATMs remain integral to India's payment ecosystem

The demographic buyback solution: Why a lower fertility rate may help India

Rather than a crisis, India's falling fertility could boost per capita prosperity if AI-driven productivity offsets a shrinking workforce

Delhi's recurring tragedies reveal a failure of urban morality

We have built an economy that can deliver everything - from iPhones to biryani - to a doorstep in 10 minutes, but it cannot deliver a fire engine through a lane in 20

India's IBC gives lenders too much power, sidelines operational creditors

A basic principle of game theory separates the power to divide a pie from the power to choose a slice. The IBC collapses the two

Banning Telegram will not fix the deeper flaws in India's exam governance

By invoking Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, now to block Telegram, the government has marshalled heavy legal machinery

Best of BS Opinion: Why India must confront deeper economic risks

Today's opinions explore India's external vulnerabilities, the concentration of global capital in US technology, energy reforms, disclosure norms, and a nuanced portrait of Kashmir through the Chenab

AI strengthens, not weakens, the case for quarterly reporting of results

As AI lowers reporting costs, the SEC's proposal to allow semi-annual disclosures sparks debate over transparency, accountability and investor protection

India must use West Asia respite to pursue overdue policy reforms

An end to the West Asia conflict augurs well for India, but it should not lull the government into policy inaction

Why India's employment question now turns on permanence and retention

India needs nearly 7.85 million non-farm jobs annually; the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana seeks to boost formal employment through incentives and retention

Soaking up capital: US stock markets may create new forms of risks

SpaceX's record IPO highlights how global capital is gravitating towards US tech giants, raising concerns over funding, innovation and market depth elsewhere