Opinion

India-EU trade pact moves from promise to reality but challenges persist

India-EU FTA signals a strategic shift toward export-led growth, but without deeper trade, tariff and investment reforms, its full economic potential may remain unrealised

Modernising our society through education, skills and inter-caste marriages

Persistent caste inequality, limited inter-caste mobility and unequal access to quality education and jobs continue to slow India's social modernisation despite decades of economic growth

Unreasonable priorities: US wants Europe to help turn back the clock

From the perspective of their administration, it is not modern liberal political values that Europe and America share

Consumer awareness: Front-of-pack labels can reshape food choices

The Economic Survey 2025-26 has highlighted that sales of UPFs grew over 150 per cent from 2009 to 2023, which is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases

Best of BS Opinion: AI ambitions, Dhaka's shift, and trade realities

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

Vote for stability: Time for India and Bangladesh to rebuild relations

BNP's landslide win opens a chance for political stability in Bangladesh and a reset with India, but reform delivery and minority protection will test the new mandate

India's AI moment: Summit can pave the way for accountable AI at scale

As AI adoption accelerates, India's AI Impact Summit aims to shape global rules, attract capital, and offer a Global South alternative to US- and China-led models

Addressing nutrition along with hunger: Funding and policy push vital

High-yielding crops ended hunger, but often at a nutritional cost. New research shows modern grains lag traditional varieties, reviving the case for biofortification

Interpreting US trade deal: Focus on the gains from import liberalisation

Amid political criticism, the India-US trade pact highlights how lower tariffs and deeper reforms could lift productivity and growth, if intent turns into binding change

India-US trade deal: Transparency on constraints and commitments needed

As questions linger over Russian oil, tariffs and market access, clarity on India's constraints and commitments is key to managing perceptions of the US trade deal

India's data centre sector isn't fully sovereign as AI debate deepens

Soaring hardware investment masks deep platform dependence. True sovereignty requires moving beyond physical ownership to domestic control of technology

Sovereign Gold Bond issue: Why tax certainty matters for investors

The government is free to change the law for the future. But changing the tax outcome of past investments weakens confidence in the stability of the system

The story behind mis-selling: A byproduct of bank incentive architecture

Mis-selling is not an aberration but a structural byproduct of the current incentive architecture in most banks

Best of BS Opinion: Who holds power and who pays the price

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

Will democracy govern capitalism, or be consumed by it? Tax test looms

Under threat of retaliation from the US, G7 leaders pre-negotiated the new terms in June, and Inclusive Framework members rubber-stamped them last month to avoid picking another fight with Mr Trump

A new chapter in Manipur: CM faces law and order, infrastructure test

Mr Singh is seen as a neutral, non-controversial BJP leader with a long association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Do celebs make smart entrepreneurs? Many turn duds, some do it to save tax

Why do celebrities turn to entrepreneurship? In the old days an "after-career" was the big driver. But today most of them launch enterprises at their peak. Perhaps because it is an easy tax write-off

Leverage, time, and the long game: India and Europe find common cause

This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they'd seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe

Augmented truths: Three films rethink reality in the age of machines

Time and time again at the recent Sundance Film Festival, there were examples of non-fiction filmmakers using forms and techniques of fiction to make meaning

Towards a more responsive federalism: FC-16 calls for self-reliant states

The five messages of FC-16 put together reflect that states need to be more self-reliant in raising resources