Best BS Opinion: Quad Relevant

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to India was a deliberate attempt to improve strained bilateral ties after months of tariff disputes, immigration restrictions and renewed US engagement with Pakistan. Shyam Saran writes. The meetings reaffirmed cooperation on defence, technology and counter-terrorism, while indicating that the Quad remains central to Washington’s Indo-Pacific stance. Yet there is deep concern over the warming of US-China relations following US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing and his emphasis on ‘strategic stability’ between the two powers. Even small changes in relations between them – what Mr Trump calls the ‘G-2’ – could result in big changes for other partners on both sides. It may also have inspired Russian President Putin’s visit to Beijing shortly after Trump. Saran warns that if Washington starts treating the Quad merely as leverage against Beijing rather than as a sustainable strategic framework, the group could gradually lose relevance. Given that the US has sidelined the Quad once before to placate Russia and China, India would do well to remain alert to a similar possibility.

Ajay Tyagi tells Despite abolishing the administered pricing mechanism more than two decades ago, India’s petroleum pricing system remains caught between market economics and political compulsions. He says the government faces a trilemma: keeping domestic prices low, not losing tax revenue and controlling foreign exchange expenditure and current account deficit. Challenging times, such as the current one due to the West Asia conflict, are a serious stress test for the system. With dependence on oil imports increasing and fiscal space shrinking, artificially suppressing fuel prices incurs significant economic costs and delays essential market signals. A better model would be a rules-based framework under which governments reduce taxes during high global prices and raise taxes when crude prices are low. The government should also consider privatization of one of the major oil marketing companies (OMCs) to reduce some of the political pressure on it for fuel prices.

Gautam Mukund argues The proposed governance structure for SpaceX reflects a broader trend of unchecked founder control in corporate America. By concentrating voting power in the hands of executives like Elon Musk, companies are weakening institutional safeguards designed to improve decision-making and protect shareholders. Such an approach ignores hard-earned knowledge about what actually helps corporate leaders succeed. History, science, and management practice all demonstrate the value of disagreement, accountability, and constructive confrontation. Google started this trend, and Meta, Snap, Roblox, and Pinterest quickly followed suit, in fact, the failure of Meta Platform’s expensive Metaverse push is a prime example of the dangers of untouched leadership. Attempts to circumvent Wall Street’s short-termism by creating a corporate monarchy risks much deeper governance failures.

The rapid, almost surreal, rise of the meme-filled ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ reflects the deep frustration among young Indians over unemployment, inflation, compromised exams and distrust of political institutions. Devangshu Dutta writes. What began as a satirical response to the ‘cockroach’ slur – from no less than the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant – rapidly evolved into a widespread digital protest movement, fueled by a generation willing to circumvent online restrictions and be skeptical of establishment narratives. Attempts to ban or suppress the movement may only increase its reach through the Streisand effect. More importantly, the CJP’s popularity reflects a broader disconnect between mainstream politics and young voters, whose concerns center on economic insecurity driven by a lack of jobs, and this has been worsened by the mismanagement of the NEET exams as well as the easy hacking of the CBSE website, both of which have seriously damaged institutional credibility.