UPI Is National Infrastructure and a Strategic Asset

By BPN News Desk February 4, 2026

Op-Eds Opinion

UPI now moves more money every year than most national infrastructure projects ever will. ₹230 trillion in transactions is not a fintech milestone. It is the backbone of India’s retail economy, quietly powering daily commerce, household payments, small businesses, transport systems, and even

Op-Eds Opinion

The Underground Rail Plan Shows How India Is Finally Thinking About Security in Siliguri Corridor

By BPN News Desk February 4, 2026

The recent announcement to build an underground railway line through the Siliguri Corridor marks a quiet but important shift in how India is approaching one of its most sensitive security challenges. For decades, the Chicken’s Neck has been acknowledged as a vulnerability linking the Northeast to the rest of the country, discussed endlessly in strategic […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Rahul Gandhi’s China Statement Does Not Fit the Facts

By BPN News Desk February 4, 2026

The controversy that disrupted the Budget Session of Parliament in February 2026 was triggered by events from 2020, during the India China military standoff in eastern Ladakh following the Galwan Valley clash of June 15, 2020, in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred. Citing what he claimed were excerpts from an unpublished memoir of former […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Air India Must Stop Flying Boeing 787s

By BPN News Desk February 3, 2026

On February 2, 2026, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner operating a London Heathrow to Bengaluru flight was grounded after pilots reported that a fuel control switch moved from “RUN” towards “CUTOFF” during engine start. The aircraft was withdrawn from service, taken into a hangar for detailed inspection, and the incident was formally reported to […]

Op-Eds Opinion

How $48 Billion in Indian Exports and Small Businesses Benefited from the US Tariff Cut

By BPN News Desk February 3, 2026

For much of 2025, India’s export sector was pushed into a corner by an unprecedented escalation of US tariffs. In a phased move, duties on Indian goods entering the United States climbed from already elevated levels to as high as 50 percent. This was not a marginal increase. It was a shock that threatened the […]

Op-Eds Opinion

India Cannot Match China’s Money but Can Control Regional Security

By BPN News Desk February 2, 2026

India today is at an inflection point in its foreign policy, and the Union Budget numbers only make that clearer. Every year, debates erupt about why India’s foreign aid is so modest when China is pouring billions into ports, roads and power plants across South Asia and the Indian Ocean. As someone who watches these […]

Op-Eds Opinion

India’s Intelligence Budget Signals a Serious Shift

By BPN News Desk February 2, 2026

After the killing of Pakistani Army Lieutenant Colonel Imran Dayal in Dera Ismail Khan, the usual noise followed. Speculation, denials, confusion and the familiar phrase “unknown men.” In isolation, such incidents barely register beyond a day’s news cycle. But taken alongside India’s latest Union Budget decision to sharply increase intelligence funding, especially the

Op-Eds Opinion

Missing Children, Missing Accountability: Why Maharashtra’s Home Minister Must Answer

By BPN News Desk February 2, 2026

Mumbai’s recent spate of missing children cases has once again jolted public conscience. But the shock wears off quickly in Maharashtra, because this is not new. It is part of a disturbing pattern that has persisted year after year. Children have been going missing across the state in worrying numbers since 2021–22, and yet the […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Modi’s Budget Protected Government Finances, Not Middle-Class Households

By BPN News Desk February 2, 2026

For years, India’s middle class has been told to adjust, to endure, to sacrifice for a larger national good. We did. We paid higher fuel prices, accepted rising education fees, absorbed crushing healthcare bills, and quietly adjusted our household budgets again and again. We swallowed the bitter medicine in the belief that relief would eventually […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Selective Boycotts Are Not Protest: ICC Must Act Against Pakistan

By BPN News Desk February 2, 2026

Pakistan’s decision to boycott only its match against India while remaining part of the ICC tournament is not a political protest. It is a selective refusal that undermines the very structure of international sport. By granting permission to travel, accepting tournament participation, and remaining eligible for prize money and commercial benefits, Pakistan has already