Best of BS Opinion: Railways, renewables and the limits of policy fixes

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

Indian Railways’ second passenger fare hike of the financial year, effective December 26, looks more like a signal than a solution. The increases are limited, protecting suburban commuters, season-ticket holders and short-distance travellers, while nudging up fares for longer routes and higher classes. The deeper strain lies in cross-subsidisation. Passenger losses are covered by freight revenues, even as the Railways’ freight market share has slipped to 27 per cent because of slow speeds and weak last-mile connectivity, highlights our first editorial. Ambitions to raise this to 45 per cent by FY31 remain uncertain, especially given the heavy reliance on coal freight, which faces long-term decline risks. Structural reform remains unavoidable. 

 

India’s wind sector, by contrast, had a strong year. According to BloombergNEF, about 6.2 gigawatts of wind capacity is expected to be added in 2025, the highest ever. India ranked third globally, behind China and the United States. Much of this came from delayed projects finally moving after transmission bottlenecks eased, notes our second editorial. Yet challenges persist, from slow power-purchase agreements to land and regulatory delays. Supreme Court restrictions to protect the Great Indian Bustard have added complexity in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. Meeting 2030 targets will depend on faster transmission build-out and clearer policy coordination. 

Mihir S Sharma argues that 2025 marks a major turning point shaped by trade, migration, capital flows and artificial intelligence. Trade policy is now driven by security, not efficiency, raising costs and fuelling political tension. Migration curbs threaten labour markets and innovation, while free-moving capital increasingly favours finance over workers. AI adds growth but also uncertainty, pushing the global economy into an unsettled phase that may last well beyond 2026. 

And Debashis Basu focuses on India’s bond markets, where heavy state borrowing is blunting the Reserve Bank of India’s liquidity measures. Despite large injections, yields remain high as state debt surges and revenues lag. Until state finances are repaired, monetary easing alone is unlikely to revive markets. 

Finally, Thomas Meaney reviews Captives and Companions by Justin Marozzi, a study of slavery in the Islamic world. He praises its narrative depth but cautions against over-reliance on older Western interpretations, contrasting it with Bernard Lewis’s work. The review urges readers to engage with this history without selective moral comfort, acknowledging uncomfortable truths across regions and eras. 

Stay tuned!