Latest news with #ShyamSaran
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Business Standard
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: India must not bend the knee before Trump's tariffs
Hello, and welcome to the Best of BS Opinion, our distilled wrap of today's Opinion page. Our lead columnist Shyam Saran makes a forceful case for standing up to the United States' geopolitical arm-twisting using tariffs as leverage. Not resisting now will lead to bigger demands in the future, he warns, and could had long-term consequences for India's national security, credibility, and influence. There will certainly be a price to pay, and India should be prepared, not by closing off its economy but by making it more outward-looking. As it is, the US' tariffs will only have a modest impact on India's GDP, a price the country should be willing to pay. In fact, he says, India should follow its Look East policy more vigorously because that region wants India to be a counterweight to China. It should also become part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, where currently neither China nor the US is present. Insulating the nation from the vagaries of Trump's policies may be best served by this initiative, he says. It is not easy steering Indian democracy in live action: witness the often-raucuous scenes that play out on our screens when Parliament is in session. Yet, it is a role that Harivansh Narayan Singh has in the past played to near-perfection, writes Aditi Phadnis. As deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he was unerringly fair, always putting principle over party. It also helped that he was unfailingly polite. A former journalist who is credited with the turnaround of Bihar Prabhat, his politics hewed close to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, who was a major political influence in his life. With the Vice President's position falling empty with Jagdeep Dhankhar's abrupt resignation, political circles are abuzz with names of likely candidates for the second-highest position in the republic. It is no surprise that Singh's name is among them - a win would redefine his political career. India, and the rest of the world, is trying to figure Donald Trump out so as to survive him until the midterm elections in the US two years from now. Before that, India must look find ways to protect itself from his monumental irrationality. But first, we must also look within at the bipolarity within the Indian 'establishment' - which encompasses government and its multi-faceted support base, including social media and TV studio experts, write Shekhar Gupta. From being euphoric about our closeness to the US and India finally gaining its rightful place at the world table, the Indian establishment is now reverting to Cold War-level suspicion of Uncle Sam and playing hurt victim. The other element of bipolarity exists within the establishment itself, he points out: even as the Prime Minister and others are acting quietly and prudently, working the levers behind the stage, the support base is the exact opposite, in a constant state of anger and hurt. There is something about nostalgia that makes us want to revisit the past, no matter how long ago. We all go back at least once to our school or college or hostel, just to soak in our memories one more time. The recent box-office success of Indian movies upon a re-release seems to prove that point. Sandeep Goyal pulls on that thread and wonders if a rerun of brand campaigns that have had a successful first innings would work the second time around. Recalling some of India's most iconic ad campaigns - Gold Spot's 'The Zing Thing', Parle's 'Melody itni chocolatey kaise bani', and Tata Sky's 'Isko laga daala to life jhinga-la-la, to name just a few - he bats for a second coming of such memorable ads. There are caveats, though: Tinkering with the original might backfire spectacularly, as Cadbury's gender-reversed re-run of Dairy Milk showed. Chintan Girish Modi, pens a heartfelt ode - ironically, in prose - to the legendary Eunice de Souza, poet extraordinaire and teacher at the equally famous St Xavier's College in Mumbai. August 1, when this column was written, is also de Souza's birthday and is commemorated by the college as Poetry Day, a rare incidence of anyone celebrating either a poet or a teacher, or as in this case, both. Modi recites parts of her poems, and is struck by her distinctive voice, and even more by her freedom with - and within - the language, unencumbered by the need for obscure allusions and pretentious references.
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Business Standard
01-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
India must stand up to Trump's bullying ways, no matter the price
India must make its economy more outward-oriented but for its own Reasons - not to cater to Trumpian demands Shyam Saran Listen to This Article The past week has been a wakeup call for India. Optimistic assumptions of an upward trajectory in India-United States partnership during Donald Trump's second presidency have been rudely shattered by a 25 per cent tariff on his 'friend' India, threats of unspecified penalties for buying oil and weapons from Russia and petroleum products from Iran, and for being a member of Brics Plus. He has also disparaged the Indian economy as a dead weight bound to go down the drain, just as he expects his erstwhile friend Russia to do. This is no longer a trade and tariff war —
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Business Standard
16-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Best of BS Opinion: High drama, stark contrasts, and subtle turns
There's something timeless about watching old Bollywood films. The slow pans, dramatic lighting, and silent longing in a glance, everything was coded, layered, and deceptively simple. Unlike the flashy saturation of today's Instagram reels, those monochrome moments knew that complexity often hides in contrast. That's how the current world feels too. At first glance, it seems disparate: inflation numbers, a language row, China's strategic tone, income inequality debates, and a re-examination of India-Israel relations. But like the classics, each carries subtext, contradiction, and a black-and-white simplicity that only deepens with closer look. Let's dive in. Take India's cooling inflation. Vegetable prices dipped by nearly 19 per cent in June, pulling retail inflation down to 2.1 per cent. But under that calm surface, oils and fats jumped 17 per cent, and core inflation remains sticky. As the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee weighs holding the repo at 5.5 per cent, the script shifts from price control to long-term reforms, notes our first editorial. The good monsoon may play hero this season, but the central bank, ever the stoic lead, refuses to overact. Meanwhile, the three-language formula of NEP 2020 is sparking fresh regional drama. In Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, it's not just about learning Hindi, it's about identity, autonomy, and electoral posturing. The Centre's push is seen by some as cultural dominance, though the Madras High Court ruled that RTE funds can't be held back over NEP non-compliance. The debate is familiar, and like in black-and-white films, what's left unsaid often says the most, highlights our second editorial. Overseas, the dragon is rewriting its own script. Shyam Saran finds China's confidence growing despite economic stumbles, rooted in its reading of American decline. With PLA purges and renewed aggression towards India, Beijing is back to playing antagonist, but with a sharper edge, more willing to back Pakistan, and dismissive of Indian clout. India, Saran warns, needs to shift from reactive cameos to strategic lead. At home, Ram Singh challenges the popular belief that inequality is soaring. The World Bank's latest data suggests India now has one of the lowest consumption inequality rates globally. Critics cite missing elite data, but Singh argues that even flawed numbers show a trend: more equitable consumption, stronger welfare, and a rise in bottom-half income share. The story of India's poor isn't just poverty anymore, it's progress too. Finally, Chintan Girish Modi reviews Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance between India and Israel, where Azad Essa explores India-Israel ties not as new-age alignment but as a long-standing, pragmatic bond. Essa draws a line from secret arms deals in 1962 to the booming defence trade today, arguing ideology isn't the main glue, strategy is. Stay tuned!
Time of India
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Global Disorder': Ex-Diplomats Warn On US Strikes' Fallout For India & World
/ Jun 23, 2025, 10:15PM IST Former Indian diplomats have weighed in on the Iran-Israel conflict's impact on global and regional stability. Ex-Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran highlights a shift from global order to growing disorder, stressing the breakdown of diplomatic norms and rising violence. Former diplomat Anil Trigunayat criticises the U.S. for destabilizing the Middle East warning this could harm India and the world. Veena Sikri, another former diplomat, finds hope in America's statement against regime change and praises Prime Minister Modi's advice to Iran's president to prioritise de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy to resolve the crisis peacefully.#iranisraelconflict #middleeastcrisis #globalinstability #indianforeignpolicy #shyam saran #anitrigunayat #veenasikri #pmmodi #deescalation #diplomacy #dialogue #usforeignpolicy #geopolitics #indiandiplomacy #regionalpeace #worldorder #iran #israel #internationalrelations #crisisresolution #toi #toibharat
Business Standard
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Shyam Saran
Shyam Saran is a Honorary Senior Faculty and Member of the Governing Board at Centre for Policy Research. He is a former Foreign Secretary of India and has served as Prime Minister's Special Envoy For Nuclear Affairs and Climate Change. After leaving government service in 2010, he headed the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think tank focusing on economic issues (2011-2017) and was Chairman of the National Security Advisory Board under the National Security Council (2013-15). He is currently Life Trustee of India International Centre, Member of the Governing Board of the Institute of Chinese Studies, a Trustee at the World Wildlife Fund (India) and Member of the Executive Council of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011 for his contributions to civil service.
