Latest news with #AditiPhadnis'

Business Standard

Best of BS Opinion: Power plays, star turns, and fading languages

There's something magical about the air after a downpour. The way the city exhales, windows open, dust settles, and colours emerge brighter. It's a small pause, a crisp clarity that cuts through the blur of everyday noise. Much like today's columns. Each of them, different as they are, arrives like sunlight reflecting off of puddles on the road, revealing what was murky just moments ago. Whether it's the stormy shifts in India's political alliances or the clouded future of venture capital, they invite us to look again at what's settling, what's washing away, and what's beginning anew. Let's dive in. Start with Parmy Olson's sharp look at the evolving VC landscape, where tech giants are now acquiring AI startups not to scale them, but to quietly absorb their talent — a practice known as 'acquihiring'. While this helps companies skirt antitrust radar, it's leaving investors in the lurch and threatening the very business model that built Silicon Valley. The rain of regulation may have driven VCs to chase fewer billion-dollar exits, but in its aftermath, a more sustainable startup culture could just be taking root. Back home in Aditi Phadnis' analysis, clouds loom over the TDP-BJP alliance. The TDP's vocal disapproval of the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision hints at deeper ideological rifts, especially as the party attempts to woo its minority voter base. Yet, both sides tread carefully, bound together by mutual need. The monsoon session of Parliament could reveal whether these are just summer winds or signs of a larger storm brewing. In London, however, the skies were all flashbulbs and white linen. Sandeep Goyal writes about the Wimbledon 2025, where India's cricket royalty rubbed shoulders with global icons in a dazzling collision of sport, fashion, and fandom. But was it an organic presence or a curated spectacle? Either way, India's stars now shine far beyond the boundary ropes, both on and off the court. Shekhar Gupta decodes the gusts of Trumplomacy. Donald Trump's loud, erratic, ego-driven diplomacy unsettles many, India included. Yet, his direct outreach to Pakistan's military confirms what India has long argued, that Rawalpindi, not Islamabad, holds power. Trump's chaos, he argues, is more style than substance and with 2026 in sight, the real forecast is to wait out the storm. And Kumar Abishek writes about a more silent storm: the death of languages. Over 250 Indian tongues lost, hundreds more on the brink. As families choose Hindi or English for upward mobility, entire ways of seeing the world are disappearing. But here too, the downpour brings reflection and maybe a chance to preserve what's left before it vanishes completely. Stay tuned!