Best of Business Standard Opinion: Satellite broadband, road safety and WTO reforms | Opinion Specials
WTO, World Trade Organization(Photo: Shutterstock)
Hello and welcome to Best of Business Standard Opinion, our wrap of the day’s editorial page.
India’s satellite broadband rollout is being held back by regulatory delays, despite licences granted to Starlink, Jio Satellite and Eutelsat OneWeb. Our first editorial says that prolonged security clearances, involving multiple government departments and agencies, create uncertainty and undermine the country’s ease-of-business and investment goals. While security checks must be rigorous, authorities should clarify approval procedures and timelines. The Union Cabinet must also approve satellite spectrum pricing, following the Digital Communications Commission’s recommendation of 5 per cent of adjusted gross revenue, with a lower rate for rural services. Better coordination is essential to bring connectivity to underserved regions without further delays.
The government’s plan to penalise road contractors for fatal accidents caused by construction deficiencies is a step towards accountability, but today’s second editorial argues that punishment after a tragedy is insufficient. Contractors face an opportunity to rectify defects, with fines for repeat accidents, yet stronger project appraisal, engineering oversight and independent inspections are needed to prevent flaws in the first place. India recorded over 183,000 road deaths in 2025, highlighting the urgency. Existing contracts already provide for quality checks and defect-liability periods. The government must therefore examine why these safeguards fail, particularly on national highways, where construction quality has life-or-death consequences.
Dammu Ravi makes the point that India should lead WTO reform by balancing emerging economies’ responsibilities with poorer countries’ needs. While global trade grew 4.2 per cent in 2025, unilateral tariffs and weakening multilateral rules threaten developing nations. India could voluntarily reduce some special concessions, shift farm support towards direct income transfers, and replace capacity-enhancing fisheries subsidies with targeted assistance. Ravi also urges reform of consensus-based decision-making, greater engagement in plurilateral negotiations, and restoration of the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism. With its economic weight and negotiating experience, India can help build a more inclusive trading system and strengthen the Global South’s collective influence.
The RBI’s aggressive intervention to stabilise the rupee risks depleting foreign exchange buffers without addressing underlying weaknesses, cautions Rajesh Kumar. Although FCNR(B) deposits helped mobilise $133 billion, India’s external vulnerability stems less from its current account deficit than insufficient capital inflows. Foreign investors have withdrawn over $26 billion from Indian financial assets in 2026, amid competition from artificial intelligence investments and attractive yields on developed-market bonds. Kumar warns that an AI-market correction could intensify global financial instability and capital flight. India must adjust domestic policies to changing global conditions rather than rely on currency intervention or hope for renewed inflows.
Akankshya Abismruta reviews Mihira Sood’s Courting Equality, which traces India’s women’s rights movement through landmark legal cases, political shifts and public protests. Sood examines how feminist activism brought violence against women into the public domain, challenged institutional impunity and shaped laws on rape and workplace harassment. The book also explores the Hindu Right’s appropriation of women’s rights issues and tensions between generations over legal remedies and #MeToo solidarity. Though some chapters are uneven and older cases may lose readers, Abismruta finds the work an illuminating account of a legal system that continues to deny women agency, while offering a framework for resistance.
First Published: Oct 22 2026 | 6:15 AM IST
Source: www.business-standard.com