Best of BS Opinion: Why policy must shelter everyone without favour

Business Standard

12 hours ago

It's that season again, when the rains surprise you. You step out without an umbrella, only to see someone near you pull one out, wide and sturdy but only for themselves. Or worse, they tilt it just enough to keep their shoulder dry while yours soaks. That's what bad policy often looks like. Advice or governance that shelters a few, but leaves the rest exposed. Advisory should be like a good umbrella; broad, responsive, and meant for all. Let's dive in.
Pan Gongsheng, China's central bank chief, wants to widen the global monetary umbrella, away from dollar dominance. With six foreign banks joining China's SWIFT alternative and ECB's Christine Lagarde echoing concerns, there's a visible push. But, as our first editorial notes, China's capital controls and credibility gaps mean the renminbi (Chinese Yuan) isn't a ready replacement. Instead, we may end up with a fragmented financial drizzle with more transaction costs and less shelter for all.
Closer home, Uttar Pradesh is building something more inclusive. The state is planning 15 MSME zones across 11 districts, using over 700 acres to energise small businesses. Programmes like One District One Product are reshaping exports, but the umbrella is still lopsided, argues our second editorial. Only one in three MSMEs are run by women, and agro-processing remains underscaled. For MSMEs to truly flourish, policies must unfurl beyond land to credit access, rural skilling, and logistical ease.
Air safety, argues K P Krishnan, urgently needs its own umbrella. India's DGCA is shackled, lacking autonomy, money, and modern recruitment. Global regulators like the FAA and CAA operate with real independence. India needs an Aviation Safety Authority through a full Act of Parliament, with financial muscle and legal teeth. After all, umbrellas shouldn't only open after the thunderclap.
And Vinayak Chatterjee writes of a nuclear pivot. From Small Modular Reactors to private sector entry, India's ambitious 100 GW goal by 2047 demands updated laws and new investors. But unless vendor liability rules, fuel security, and financing reforms come through, the umbrella will remain stuck at half-open.
Finally, in Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China, as reviewed by Gunjan Singh, Yuan Yang reminds us that in China too, the umbrella of reform has left many standing at the edge. Her portrait of four women reveals how revolutions may roar from the state but the everyday act of staying dry is personal, persistent, and quietly radical.
Stay tuned and remember, advisory shouldn't be weather-dependent or selective. Open it wide or what's the point?