Maharashtra’s EV Push Is a Template Other States Must Copy

By BPN News Desk January 24, 2026

Op-Eds Opinion

Maharashtra has taken a practical step that deserves appreciation: it is not just announcing an Electric Vehicle policy, it is funding it and executing it. The recent clearance of ₹60 crore for EV incentives and toll waivers is not a headline-grabbing mega number, but it is exactly the kind of

Op-Eds Opinion

Public Health Victory or Policy Gamble? Odisha’s Tobacco Ban Explained

By BPN News Desk January 24, 2026

Odisha’s decision to impose a complete ban on gutkha, pan masala, and all tobacco products deserves clear recognition as a public health-first move. In a political environment where revenue considerations often dilute health policy, the state has chosen to prioritise long-term societal well-being over short-term economic convenience. That choice matters. But while the

Op-Eds Opinion

Bombay High Court Is Right on Air Pollution, MPCB and MMRDA Must Also Be Held Accountable

By BPN News Desk January 24, 2026

The Bombay High Court’s decision to openly question the failure of civic authorities to control air pollution, and its warning that salaries of top municipal commissioners could be stopped, deserves clear appreciation. In a system where air pollution has been normalised as a seasonal inconvenience rather than treated as a public health emergency, judicial intervention […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Why the West Pressured India on Russian Oil Without Wanting Supply to Stop

By BPN News Desk January 24, 2026

Western capitals have spent the last two years telling their publics that sanctions are choking Russia’s war machine, and that the rest of the world is falling in line. India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, became a prime stage for this storyline. The pressure on New Delhi to cut Russian crude has been loud, constant, […]

Op-Eds Opinion

From Soybeans to Pulses: The Self-Inflicted Wounds of US Trade Wars

By BPN News Desk January 23, 2026

The damage to American agriculture did not begin with India’s pulse tariffs or China’s soybean bans. It began when the United States decided that unpredictability was a negotiating tactic and that global trade could be strong-armed without consequences. Under President Donald Trump, tariffs became less an economic instrument and more a political performance. Farmers were

Op-Eds Opinion

Why Bangladesh Lost by Copying Pakistan’s Cricket Politics

By BPN News Desk January 23, 2026

Bangladesh’s flirtation with skipping the T20 World Cup in India was projected at home as an act of patriotic firmness. Outside its borders, however, it landed very differently. To the global cricketing establishment, it looked like a recycled tactic, familiar, predictable, and ultimately hollow. This was not Bangladesh asserting sovereignty. It was Bangladesh borrowing a

Op-Eds Opinion

Trump’s Peace Board Sidelines the UN and Rewards Pakistan

By BPN News Desk January 23, 2026

Donald Trump’s announcement of a so called “Board of Peace” was presented as a bold diplomatic initiative, but it immediately raised a basic and uncomfortable question. Why create a new peace body at all when the world already has an established framework for conflict resolution? The answer lies less in global necessity and more in […]

Op-Eds Opinion

Trump’s Tariff Circus and the Audience That Refuses to Leave

By BPN News Desk January 21, 2026

The spectacle has always been loud, theatrical, and wrapped in patriotism. Tariffs were unveiled like a traveling circus, complete with fiery speeches, national flags, and a simple promise repeated endlessly: foreign countries will pay. China will pay. America will win. The audience cheered, the show rolled on, and almost no one asked the only question […]

Op-Eds Opinion

If the System Was So Biased, Why Did It Make You a Star

By BPN News Desk January 21, 2026

In recent weeks, two celebrated public figures chose the closing phase of their careers to level serious accusations against the very systems that elevated them. Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja, announcing his retirement, spoke of racial stereotypes and described Australian cricket as “still very white.” Around the same time, India’s most globally recognised composer,

Op-Eds Opinion

₹14.5 Lakh Crore on Paper: How Indian States Inflate Davos Investment Claims

By BPN News Desk January 21, 2026

Maharashtra’s announcement of ₹14.5 lakh crore worth of Memorandums of Understanding at the World Economic Forum in Davos was celebrated with predictable chest-thumping. Politicians posed, headlines screamed “historic investment”, and job numbers were casually thrown around as if cheques had already been signed and factories were ready to break ground. But strip away the