Best BS Opinion: Resilience needs many moving parts to work together

From monetary policy and aviation to foreign investment, climate action and public health, today's editorials examine why complex challenges need coordinated solutions

Complex systems rarely yield to one decisive move. A central bank can hold rates, but it cannot alone repair a balance-of-payments problem. An airline can expand capacity, but it cannot by itself create a healthy aviation market. A trade or investment reform can help, but foreign capital looks at the whole state. An electric-vehicle policy can reduce pollution, but only if charging, scrapping and public transport work together. Even the fight against disease is rarely the story of one scientist or a single breakthrough.

 

Our first editorial today, “Sustained uncertainty”, looks at the meeting of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee amid continued global and domestic risks. The fragile US-Iran ceasefire has not held, the Strait of Hormuz is blocked again, crude oil remains a risk, and El Nino could affect the monsoon and food prices. Yet the MPC is unlikely to change the policy rate because the present uncertainty cannot be addressed through monetary policy alone. Inflation has been contained partly because oil companies have absorbed losses, while pressure has shown more clearly in the forex market. The editorial argues that the deeper balance-of-payments challenge must be addressed by the government through policies that attract stable, long-term foreign capital.

 

 

The second editorial, “Dominating the sky”, applies the same lesson to aviation. IndiGo’s two-decade journey is a remarkable Indian business success, but its dominance — along with the consolidation of Air India under the Tata group — has left Indian aviation close to a two-player market. The sector needs more competition, not another monopolistic arrangement. But competition alone will not be enough. High ATF taxes, airport charges, blocked international routes, pilot shortages, and regulatory issues around pilot fatigue and flight duty time limitations all affect the industry’s health. A growing aviation market needs a fuller ecosystem of reform.

 

Ajay Shah and Shubho Roy’s column, “Six issues impeding foreign investors”, says there is no silver bullet. India’s retreat from internationalisation cannot be reversed by one investment-promotion scheme or subsidy. Foreign investors evaluate capital controls, taxation, expropriation risk, trade barriers, domestic finance, and the rule of law together. Production-linked incentives and promotional agencies may help some firms, but they cannot replace functioning institutions. India needs progress on all six fronts if it wants durable foreign direct investment.

 

Sunita Narain’s column, “The economics of survival”, turns to climate. Delhi’s electric-vehicle policy is bold and potentially important for reducing air pollution, but its success will depend on obsessive followthrough. Scrapping old vehicles, building reliable charging infrastructure, improving public transport, and making mass transit convenient and affordable are all essential. Climate action cannot be separated from urban planning, livelihoods and everyday mobility.

 

“Rivals of the polio vaccine”, David Oshinsky’s review of Karen Torghele’s Albert Sabin draws our attention to public health. The story of polio is not the triumph of one vaccine over another. Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin were rivals, but both their vaccines remain part of the endgame.

 

When uncertainty persists, as these pieces show, systems need coordination, not single-point solutions.