Whisky for Cotton: Who Really Won the India–UK Free Trade Deal?

By BPN News Desk July 23, 2025

Expert Opinions Opinion

The much-anticipated India–UK Free Trade Agreement, signed in July 2025 after years of complex negotiations, has been hailed as a historic milestone for both nations. The optics were perfect: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shaking hands with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, surrounded by

Op-Eds Opinion

GST vs UPI: How Bureaucracy Hijacked Digital India’s Crown Jewel

By BPN News Desk July 21, 2025

India’s digital economy was supposed to be a story of empowerment — of chaiwalas flashing QR codes, fruit vendors skipping change hassles, and small businesses riding the wave of UPI-powered inclusion. But just when the country seemed to be turning the corner on cash, the bureaucracy decided to remind everyone who’s really in charge. The […]

Expert Opinions Opinion

Preliminary Analysis of Dual Engine Shutdown in B787-8 VT-ANB

By BPN News Desk July 12, 2025

On 12 June 2025, Air India Flight AI171, operated by a Boeing 787-8 aircraft registered as VT-ANB, experienced a dual engine shutdown shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad. The aircraft was en route to London Gatwick and carried 230 passengers, 10 cabin crew, and 2 flight crew. The incident led to […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Speaking Hindi Won’t Pay the Rent: India’s Language Wars Have No Economic Logic

By BPN News Desk July 8, 2025

The language protests currently raging in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have been framed as spontaneous outbursts of regional pride. But scratch the surface, and you find a deeper, more cynical game afoot—one that has very little to do with economic progress and everything to do with political calculus. Let’s start with the basics. India’s […]

Op-Eds Opinion

From NATO to BRICS: Why Everyone Hates the U.S. President Right Now (and They’re Not Wrong)

By BPN News Desk July 8, 2025

If Donald Trump were to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize, it would surely be for services rendered to global instability, ego-centric diplomacy, and catastrophic blundering at an international level. His second term in office has not just solidified America’s isolation but managed to make the unthinkable possible: he has united the world, not through […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Grounded by Silence: How India’s Information Vacuum Hurt Dassault

By BPN News Desk July 7, 2025

Operation Sindoor was supposed to be a defining moment for Indian airpower. With deep-penetration strikes, the use of BrahMos cruise missiles, and long-range drones evading Pakistani air defences, the mission was a resounding tactical success. Among the many aircraft involved, the French-built Rafale fighter jet was presumed to have played a key role, striking targets […]

Editorials Opinion

From Sand to Silicon: A Strategic Blueprint for India’s Rare Earth Independence

By BPN News Desk June 23, 2025

India has finally woken up to the strategic importance of rare earths. The ₹5000 crore incentive scheme, IREL’s magnet facility in Vizag, and the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission show that the country is no longer ignoring this vital resource. But laying a foundation is not the same as building a house. China’s […]

Editorials Opinion

When the Beggar Sings and the Giant Sleeps

By BPN News Desk June 20, 2025

While the world watched a former pariah walk into the White House, Asim Munir, the chief of Pakistan’s army, took his seat across from President Donald Trump at a high-profile luncheon that felt more like a stage play than diplomacy. He smiled, praised Trump’s supposed role in preventing a nuclear war with India, and even […]

Editorials Opinion

With the West in Decline and China Distrusted, India, France, Japan, and Australia Must Step Up

By Editor - News Desk June 12, 2025

As the world drifts deeper into geopolitical fragmentation, it’s becoming painfully clear that the post-Cold War order is crumbling. The so-called liberal West, long seen as the steward of global norms, is retreating into protectionism, internal discord, and credibility deficits. On the other side, China’s authoritarian ambition, veiled under the Belt and Road rhetoric, is

Expert Opinions

Vidarbha’s ₹11,500 Cr Irrigation Potential

By Editor - News Desk June 11, 2025

Year after year, the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra finds itself at the center of grim headlines—farmer suicides, failed harvests, and cries for separate statehood. Yet few pause to ask why a region blessed with fertile black soil and ample monsoon rainfall continues to wallow in agricultural despair. The answer doesn’t lie in the skies—it lies […]