Best of BS Opinion: Agri-markets, air taxis, and affordable housing

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

Ever wondered how one misplaced stroke could have turned the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile into a grimace? Great art, like great policies and innovations, thrives on precision but teeters on the edge of missteps. Today, we examine stories that reflect the meticulous process of creation and the looming risks of casual oversights. Let’s dive into the gallery of today’s masterstrokes — and their potential misfires. 

India’s National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing aims to craft a masterpiece — modernising the country's agri-marketing system. Like da Vinci labouring over the Mona Lisa, the government’s vision is painstaking — barrier-free trade, digital platforms like e-NAM, and farmer-consumer markets. But here’s the catch: Over 7,000 APMC-regulated markets exist, yet many are mere skeletons of their intended purpose. Our first editorial today analyses how infrastructure gaps and fears of monopolisation could turn this well-intentioned smile into a misunderstood smirk. The policy’s reliance on private sector involvement mirrors a brushstroke that’s bold but could soon become blurry too. Can cooperative federalism and state-level competition refine this canvas before the colours fade? 

Meanwhile, affordable housing in India is a canvas that screams potential but suffers from unbalanced strokes. While urbanisation adds vibrancy, the lack of affordable units — exacerbated by pandemic ripples and developer focus on luxury — distorts the picture. A shortfall of 31.2 million units by 2030 looms like an unfinished portrait. Policies like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are promising outlines, but financial infeasibility and rising costs risk smearing the effort. Satellite cities, repurposed public land, and robust governance could sharpen this masterpiece. Will India get the proportions right, or will this painting remain skewed? Read our second editorial here to find out. 

On the global front, Donald Trump’s potential return to the US presidency resembles an artist abandoning subtle shading for bold, chaotic strokes. His foreign policy — pulling back from wars while favouring Russia in Ukraine — could redraw the geopolitical map in broad, unpredictable sweeps. On the economic canvas, his tariff-focused strategy might aim for a renaissance of American manufacturing but risks redrawing global trade norms in the image of a Jackson Pollock. With protectionism as his palette, Trump challenges the polished frames of globalisation. Will these strokes resonate as visionary or veer into reckless abstraction? Professor T T Ram Mohan’s column gives a sneak peek into the answer. 

On the other hand, India’s drone ecosystem is shaping up to be a futuristic mural, with air taxis as its crowning detail. The Drone Rules of 2021 laid a sturdy foundation, but taking off toward a functional urban mobility solution requires second-generation reforms. Former Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar highlights how automated unmanned traffic management systems and liability frameworks are essential to keep this dream from crashing mid-flight. It’s a masterpiece in progress, but the risk of turbulence remains. Can India convert this airborne canvas into a reality where sky’s the limit? 

Meanwhile, in the gallery of geopolitics, China under Xi Jinping emerges as a bold, unconventional canvas painted with strokes of Marxist nationalism. In today’s book review, Professor Gunjan Singh explores Kevin Rudd’s On Xi Jinping:How Xi’s Marxist Nationalism is Shaping China and the World, a deep dive into this transformation, portraying a leader who wields ideology like an artist’s brush, reshaping both domestic and international orders to reflect his vision. Read more to find out.

 

As we step back to admire, or critique these efforts, remember that the line between genius and misstep is as thin as the Mona Lisa’s smile. Whether it’s agriculture, housing, geopolitics, or air taxis, the stakes are high, and the margin for error is slim.