Latest news with #ProsenjitDatta
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: When ignored threats begin to shape the future
There's a certain kind of threat that thrives in silence, not because it is invisible, but because it is ignored. Like shadows in the corner, these risks expand in scale and consequence the longer they remain unattended. Often, they are not new. They simply wait, growing sharper in the background, until the cost of looking away becomes undeniable. Let's dive in. Consider Ukraine's recent drone offensive inside Russian territory. What might once have seemed improbable, a smaller nation infiltrating the airspace of a nuclear power, was executed with precision and audacity. Ukraine used first-person-view drones disguised as construction supplies, launched from trucks masquerading as commercial deliveries. As our first editorial notes, the strike may have damaged a third of Russia's strategic bomber fleet. But beyond the military feat lies a deeper alarm: the rise of asymmetric warfare using cheap tech and commercial infrastructure. For countries like India, the shadow here is a soft underbelly, critical sites and industrial zones vulnerable to attacks that no longer require missiles, just logistics and intent. Meanwhile, the 'missing middle' of India's economy — its medium enterprises — faces a quieter, systemic neglect. As a Niti Aayog report reveals, these firms are crucial to exports and innovation but receive little targeted support. Sandwiched between micro units and large corporations, they fall through policy cracks, unable to scale or modernise. Left unchecked, this oversight could dim India's manufacturing future, as incentives continue to reward staying small and informal, argues our second editorial. Ajai Chowdhry cautions of another expanding shadow: data insecurity. Despite India's digital rise, sovereignty over data remains elusive. Foreign tech giants exploit legal loopholes, storing Indian data offshore and evading domestic regulations. As AI systems reshape global power structures, India must act decisively to retain control over its digital assets—before the opportunity slips too far. In the green economy too, delays carry weight. As Prosenjit Datta notes, India's EV sector now feels the pinch of China's export restrictions on rare earth magnets. The crisis highlights a broader vulnerability: a lack of urgency in mining and processing critical minerals at home. Without bold intervention, the country's clean energy transition could falter under imported dependencies. Even the Constitution, as reviewed by Shreekant Sambrani in Shashi Tharoor's latest book called Our Living Constitution: A concise introduction & commentary, is framed as under ideological siege. Yet the analysis itself suffers from imbalance, offering more alarm than insight. In trying to confront one shadow, it casts another. Stay tuned, and remember, some corners remain dark not because light can't reach them, but because no one bothers to switch it on!
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Business Standard
India's critical mineral challenge threatens its 2030 economic goals
This is a vulnerability that a country expected to be the third-largest economy by 2030 cannot afford premium Prosenjit Datta Listen to This Article Indian electric vehicle (EV) makers are beginning to feel the impact of the curbs imposed by China on rare earth magnet exports. Rare earth magnets are critical inputs for electric motors and other auto parts. On April 4, China placed restrictions on rare earth exports, and newspaper reports suggest that Indian auto component and automobile companies are close to exhausting their current inventories of rare earth magnets. A delegation from the industry is apparently planning to go to China to see if it can negotiate a solution to the new procedural bottlenecks that are choking supplies. Indian EV companies are
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
US vs China: India's high-stakes economic trade walk toward self-reliance
The US wants trade partners who can supply goods that were earlier sourced from China Prosenjit Datta Listen to This Article As many commentators have pointed out, India's manufacturing sector stands to gain from the US–China trade war. What is less discussed is that this opportunity will require a tightrope walk by Indian policymakers. That's because both the US and China are increasingly following the principle of the enemy's friend also being an enemy. The US wants trade partners who can supply goods that were earlier sourced from China. But it is also clear that it will scrutinise the 'country of origin' very strictly. It does not want products that are fully — or even mostly — made in China to
