Best of BS Opinion: Edtech reality check, content boom, and IBC concerns

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

The Indian edtech sector is in doldrums. upGrad’s all-stock bid for Unacademy points to deal activity in India’s edtech space, but it does not signal recovery. As our first editorial notes, the sector has struggled since the reopening of schools exposed business models built for lockdown conditions. A funding winter since 2022, along with corporate governance concerns and a major industry collapse in recent years, has weakened investor confidence. The sharp fall in Unacademy’s valuation highlights the scale of correction and suggests future funding will come with significant promoter dilution, even as consolidation remains distress-led. 

Meanwhile, Netflix’s move to set up an Eyeline Studios facility in Hyderabad marks a shift in India’s AVGC sector towards higher-value roles in global production. Our second editorial highlights that integration into a global network reflects confidence in India’s technical and creative capabilities. With the media and entertainment sector expected to expand steadily and digital segments gaining share, animation, VFX and gaming are emerging as employment-intensive growth areas. Policy support through training infrastructure and the adoption of AI and immersive technologies are expected to strengthen India’s position in global digital content pipelines. 

 

Raghav Pandey and M S Sahoo argue that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is increasingly being used as a debt recovery mechanism rather than a resolution framework. They note that public discourse has focused heavily on recovery rates, overshadowing the Code’s core objective of reviving viable firms. Legal provisions and court rulings emphasise resolution, yet creditor behaviour and disqualification norms are pushing the system towards coercive settlements. This trend risks weakening the collective framework and reducing the Code to a negotiation tool rather than a restructuring mechanism. 

Amit Tandon writes that annual reports remain underutilised as strategic communication tools. While disclosures have expanded, clarity and usefulness have not kept pace. He highlights gaps in financial explanations, governance detail and risk reporting, particularly in emerging areas like AI and cybersecurity. Companies, he argues, need to move beyond compliance-driven disclosures and present decision-useful information that connects strategy, risks and performance, thereby strengthening investor trust. 

Finally, in his review of Adil Rustomjee’s Running behind Lakshmi, Sanjay Kumar Singh traces the evolution of India’s stock markets from early informal trading to a modern, regulated system. The account moves through speculative booms, institutional milestones and policy distortions, showing how markets developed through cycles of disruption and reform. The narrative highlights how expanding participation, regulatory changes and technological shifts have gradually made the system broader, more transparent and accessible to ordinary investors. 

Stay tuned!