Best of BS Opinion: Water stress, IIP reforms, and the Quad's quandary

Today's BS Opinion examines India's deepening water stress, the revised IIP framework, Middle East-linked growth risks, the Quad's evolving strategy, and a review of The Liver Doctor

Hello, and welcome to Best of BS Opinion, our wrap of the day's Opinion page. 

 

Our first editorial argues that India’s worsening heatwaves and falling reservoir levels are exposing deep structural weaknesses in how the country manages its water levels, supply, and usage. Rapid expansion in water-intensive sectors such as ethanol, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and data centres is increasingly concentrated in drought-prone states, raising concerns over policy misalignment with ground realities. Urban systems in Delhi and Bengaluru, as well as rural regions in Rajasthan, illustrate the economic and social costs of groundwater depletion, poor storage, and weak infrastructure. With per capita water availability steadily declining, water stress could fuel inflation and disrupt growth unless cities strengthen conservation, recycling, leak prevention, and long-term resource planning.

 

 

India’s revised index of industrial production (IIP) marks an important step towards reflecting changes in the economy, says our second editorial, noting the updated series now includes sectors such as renewable energy, electronics, rare earth minerals, and waste management, while removing outdated products from the basket. The new, broader basket is expected to make the index more relevant for policymakers, businesses and investors. However, persistent weaknesses in data collection, informal sector coverage, digital reporting, and price deflators continue to limit reliability. The lack of a producer price index is also a major gap. Sustained institutional reform and stronger methodologies are essential if the IIP is to become a credible guide to India’s industrial transformation.

 

The current crisis in the Middle East, coupled with an adverse monsoon, may create significant economic headwinds for India, warns Kavita Rao, but notes that medium-term growth risks stem less from external shocks than from weak private investment incentives shaped by recent policy changes, while long-term growth prospects rely heavily on fixing the sluggish private corporate investment outlook. Regulatory reforms such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, unilaterally revised bilateral investment treaties, and higher taxation of capital income may have pushed corporate behaviour towards caution, deleveraging, and reliance on retained earnings rather than expansion. Rao suggests that while gross foreign direct investment remains resilient, rising outward investment by Indian firms may indicate domestic constraints. However, falling equity market returns and reduced foreign portfolio inflows may eventually redirect cash-rich companies towards productive investment in the real economy, reviving broader growth momentum that may once again attract foreign capital. 

 

Sankalp Gurjar points out that the Quad is attempting to regain strategic relevance by shifting its focus towards geoeconomics and economic security. The recent initiatives on critical minerals - which have emerged as a frontier of great power politics - energy resilience, ports, undersea cables, and digital infrastructure reflect growing concern over China’s dominance in supply chains and the vulnerability of Indo-Pacific economies to geopolitical shocks. The grouping’s proposed investments and infrastructure partnerships also seek to strengthen ties with smaller regional states. However, Gurjar cautions that the Quad’s credibility will depend on whether earlier promises translate into durable outcomes. The key challenge, though, will remain sustaining American engagement in the Indo-Pacific, given Washington’s strategic priorities continue to shift elsewhere.

 

In her review of The Liver Doctor: Stories of Love, Loss and Regeneration, Neha Bhatt finds Dr Cyriac Abby Philips stepping away from social media battles to deliver a humane and reflective memoir about medicine, mortality, and empathy. Better known online by his X handle '@TheLiverDoc', Dr Philips has built a reputation defending evidence-based medicine and attacking unscientific treatments, particularly Ayurveda, a stance that has earned him many an unsavoury epithet. Yet the book focuses less on controversy and more on patients confronting severe liver disease, addiction, poverty, and impossible medical choices. Bhatt praises the blend of clinical storytelling, mythology, and personal reflection, arguing that the memoir succeeds because Dr Philips treats the liver not merely as an organ, but as a symbol of endurance, fragility, and renewal.