Best of BS Opinion: Licence raj returns, Opaque subsidies, and more

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

The government’s decision to restrict imports of laptops, personal computers, tablets, and other related items with effect from November 1 is hard to understand. The initial reason cited was “security risks,” though the solution of restricting relevant systems from specific countries, principally China, is available and, indeed, adopted by many countries. The bigger objective of this new licensing regime appears to induce greater participation in the productivity linked incentive scheme which has attracted few takers so far. But as the top edit argues, import restrictions and licensing do not result in higher domestic production; instead they undermine the competitiveness of a country’s exports and its ability to tap global value chains. Read it here
 

In other views:
 

The second edit explains how the government has reversed momentum in oil sector reforms by setting up a system to control prices at the pump while concealing the subsidies involved. Read it here
 

Ajay Shah and Maitreesh Ghatak argue that between treating gig work on a par with the informal labour market and imposing the burdens of the formal labour market upon it, the state should balance the legitimate need for better work conditions without impairing a relatively dynamic source of urban employment. Read it here
 

Sunita Narain explains why the window for coping with the impact of unpredictable weather patterns by reducing fossil fuel use is closing faster than we think. Read it here
 

QUOTE OF THE DAY
 

“MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity”
 

Message when Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon’s orbit successfully