Peace at last

Trump’s declaration appears, in substance, to restore the broad strategic balance that existed before hostilities erupted. If so, one must ask whether the immense human, economic and diplomatic costs were avoidable.

For years, successive American presidents resisted being drawn into Israel’s long-standing confrontation with Iran. Ironically, the eventual outcome seems closer to their restraint than to the maximalist objectives championed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Israel, once enjoying broad international sympathy, now confronts a perceptible erosion of goodwill.

Meanwhile, the world economy has paid the price through disrupted trade, volatile energy markets and heightened uncertainty.

Whether this episode fundamentally reshapes international alignments, trade routes and regional politics remains to be seen. Wars settle far less than they disrupt.

R Narayanan

Navi Mumbai

AI and music

This refers to ‘Can an AI platform hold a music copyright?’ (June 16).

The article raises a question that Indian copyright law is not yet equipped to answer clearly. The existing framework links authorship to human creativity, which creates an immediate problem when AI platforms generate songs from minimal user prompts.

Who owns the composition — the platform, the user, or neither? The Delhi High Court case involving SUNO will likely force some judicial clarity, but legislation should not wait for case-by-case adjudication. Parliament needs to address AI-generated content explicitly within the Copyright Act, defining ownership thresholds based on the degree of human creative input.

Without that clarity, both creators and platforms operate in uncertainty, and the music industry’s legitimate interests remain inadequately protected.

M Barathi

Bengaluru

Critical resilience

This refers to the article ‘India needs a supply chain resilience fund’ (June 16). The article makes a compelling case. India’s import dependence on crude oil, critical minerals, and semiconductor components is not merely an economic vulnerability — it is a strategic one. The Hormuz disruption demonstrated how quickly freight costs, export competitiveness, and input availability can deteriorate when supply chains are stressed.

Korea’s Framework Act on Supply Chain provides a useful template.

A statutory Supply Chain Resilience Fund, with mandatory three-year rolling resilience plans for critical sectors, early warning systems, and co-investment requirements for semiconductors and EV inputs, addresses this systematically.

KP Muthukumar

Chennai

Published on June 16, 2026