Best of BS Opinion: When pressure finally breaks into possibilities

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

There’s a moment of victory in every kitchen, when your grip finally overpowers a lid that was refusing to budge. It’s tiny but triumphant. The jar gives in with a gentle pop, and suddenly, what was locked away is yours. That’s exactly how today’s stories feel. From trade truces and satellite internet to India’s media stalemate, the tension is starting to ease. You can hear the lids shifting, can you? Let’s dive in. 

After months of tension, the US and China have agreed to a 90-day trade truce, scaling down their tariff war. Stock markets sighed in relief, and the global economy got a breather. But behind this pop is a tightening coil of uncertainty — Donald Trump may have blinked, but his next twist is anyone’s guess. Our first editorial notes that for India, it’s time to diversify trade bets while watching this uneasy détente unfold. 

 

Meanwhile, India’s digital divide jar has begun to loosen. Trai’s greenlight to satellite broadband isn’t just paperwork, it’s a potential game-changer, highlights our second editorial. Starlink finally got its letter of intent, and Trai’s spectrum rules may open rural skies to fast, reliable internet. If Cabinet nods follow soon, millions may hear their own version of that satisfying click, especially in the remotest corners of India. 

India’s FTA with the UK, writes Ajay Srivastava, carries a louder, more complex pop. Tariff walls are tumbling — auto imports, whisky, and chocolates will come in cheaper. But the real twist is deeper: India has conceded ground on patents, procurement, and policy. Critics worry the lid came off too easily, threatening local industries and medicine access. The deal is bold, but is it wise? 

In the media world, the jar hasn’t popped yet, just wobbled. Vanita Kohli-Khandekar compares India’s $2.5 trillion M&E sector to Ted Lasso: full of potential but held back by neglect. Despite a massive audience, bad policy, and low investment keep it underperforming. With just six cinema screens per million people, the bottleneck is real. What this jar needs is a full twist from bold investors and smarter governance. 

And finally, A K Bhattacharya’s review of PMO – Prime Minister’s Office Through the Years by Himanshu Roy, tracks how power in India shifted from the Cabinet to the Prime Minister’s Office — not suddenly, but with each leader’s slow, deliberate turn of the lid. Nehru began the tightening, Indira Gandhi sealed it, and today’s PMO reigns supreme. The book captures the pop, but misses the mess it left behind in India’s bureaucracy. 

Stay tuned!