Best of BS Opinion: Systems must build safeguards before crises hit

Disruption rarely comes without warning. Fiscal stress shows up first in opaque guarantees and off-budget liabilities. Geopolitical shifts announce themselves through new alignments. Cyber risks surface before they become national vulnerabilities. Weak measurement systems distort markets before trust breaks down. Artificial intelligence raises human questions long before the technology becomes impossible to govern. The challenge is not just to react to crisis, but to build safeguards while the warning signs are still visible.

 

Our first editorial today, “Improving fiscal credibility”, looks at state finances. The CAG’s latest reports show that several states have exposed themselves to future fiscal risks through guarantees, off-budget borrowings, unpaid liabilities and special-purpose vehicles that are not always reflected transparently in Budget documents. The issue is not just technical accounting. If public accounts do not present a complete picture, citizens, markets and policymakers cannot judge the real fiscal position. The editorial argues that states must adopt clearer reporting standards and disclose contingent liabilities more fully. Fiscal credibility depends on making hidden obligations visible before they become unmanageable.

 

 

The second editorial, “West Asia’s ‘Nato’”, takes stock of a new defence arrangement among Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. The grouping reflects a changing strategic landscape in West Asia, shaped by shifting American priorities, regional rivalries, and the search for new security partnerships. For India, this creates a fresh diplomatic challenge. New Delhi has important interests across West Asia, including energy, trade, remittances, security cooperation and its relations with Israel and the Gulf. The editorial’s warning is that India must watch these alignments carefully and prepare its diplomacy before regional shifts become constraints.

 

Akash Prakash’s column, “Cyber storm ahead”, is the most direct warning. AI is lowering the cost and skill needed to launch cyberattacks. Open-source models, automated code generation and AI-assisted hacking can make phishing, vulnerability discovery and malware development faster and more scalable. India’s digital economy, financial systems, public infrastructure and enterprises could face a surge in attacks. Prakash argues that the country urgently needs stronger detection systems, vulnerability fixing, patching discipline, cyber audits, regulation, and preparedness across both government and business. Cyber resilience cannot be improvised after an attack.

 

Vanita Kohli-Khandekar’s column, “The drama over ratings”, turns to media measurement. Television remains a major advertising market, but the credibility of ratings has repeatedly come under question. A weak or contested measurement system can distort advertising spends, programming decisions and trust in the media economy. The column argues for a more credible, independent and transparent ratings architecture, because markets cannot function well if the numbers they rely on are disputed.

 

“The human approach to AI”, Amarjeet Sinha’s review of Vineet Nayar’s Humans First Machines Second reminds us that technological safeguards must also be human safeguards. AI should not be judged only by what it can automate or optimise, but by how it affects children, work, relationships, learning and knowledge.

 

The message across these pieces is clear: Systems that wait for crisis before building safeguards are already late.