Mint | Free public transport for women could well transform Karnataka

The Siddaramaiah-Shivakumar government’s move to provide free basic public bus services to women could be a game changer for Karnataka’s development, if it follows up to make the investments necessary to make the policy a success over the medium-term. The economic case for subsidized transport is that it has positive externalities—for growth, environment and social development—that are massive in the Indian context, and thus private players alone will not sufficiently provide. Sure, conditional cash transfers might have been a more efficient way to deliver this subsidy, but a policy that is politically feasible and empirically effective is far better than one that is merely elegant. Read the full article here.

The Hindu | Implications of the AI Diffusion Framework

The Biden-Harris administration unveiled a flurry of policies in their last week in office. The most extraordinary among them is the Framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Diffusion. It has many goals: preserving U.S. hegemony in AI technology, balancing innovation and national security, and deterring U.S. adversaries from harvesting the strategic rewards of AI. These goals signal the U.S.’s strategic vision for AI, heralding its transformative potential to advance economic prowess and military dominance in the coming years.

By Ashwin Prasad

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Firstpost | Creative insecurity: What India can learn from Chinese DeepSeek saga

DeepSeek benefitted from a supportive structural Chinese research and development ecosystem that existed for several decades. Also, Xi Jinping’s vision for a ‘Chinese Dream’ and national rejuvenation is rooted in technological supremacy

By Arindam Goswami and Shobhankita Reddy

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The Hindu | The U.S.’s immigration blocks as a self-defeating path

What do we see in the bustling corridors of Silicon Valley, the research labs of Boston, and the biotech hubs of San Diego? Skilled immigrants do not just fill jobs; they create them. They launch startups, file patents and drive innovation, expanding the very foundation of American employment.

However, to understand this, we need to challenge our most basic assumptions about how labour markets work in knowledge economies.

The debate over H-1B visas in the United States seems to hinge on a seemingly very intuitive argument: that restricting skilled immigration will translate into more jobs for native workers. On the contrary, extensive research has shown that this approach is flawed and, in fact, counterproductive to innovation and job creation.

By Arindam Goswami

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The New Indian Express | Is China's mega dam project a geopolitical weapon under the guise of development?

Given the ecological, social and geopolitical impacts of the project on the Yarlung Tsangpo, known as the Brahmaputra in India, China must commit to international norms for equitable resource sharing and data exchange.

By Y Nithiyanandam

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The Diplomat | Y Nithiyanandam on the Risks of China’s Ambitious Yarlung Tsangpo Project

“Without greater transparency on the part of China and cooperative frameworks, this dam could become a flashpoint in an already delicate regional equilibrium”

By Y Nithiyanandam

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Deccan Herald | A River Beyond Borders

Alterations to Brahmaputra’s flow can adversely affect the dependencies on Teesta – its major tributary – which originates from the Khangtse glacier in the northeastern Himalayas of India.

By Swathi Kalyani

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Deccan Herald | Delimitation and its complex play of disparities

The past few decades have brought drastic changes in states’ populations, leading to two main problems – a high population/MP ratio and dramatic variation across states. Addressing this will require a package of solutions rather than a single silver bullet.

By Miheer Karandikar

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News18 | Opinion | Atal Innovation Mission: Building An Ecosystem For Technological Diffusion

AIM focuses on accelerating innovation; the path to that is not just via capturing first-mover advantage, but also by creating linkages to enable cross-sectoral adaptation of technologies

By Arindam Goswami and Bhaskari J

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Deccan Herald | DPDP Rules and a missed opportunity

The draft DPDP Rules fail to address many of the ambiguities and concerns surrounding the DPDP Act. Additionally, some provisions in the rules appear to undermine rather than protect individual privacy, raising further doubts about their effectiveness.

By Anwesha Sen

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Outlook Business | How Satellite Internet Can Bridge India’s Digital Divide and Expand Its Strategic Heft

Recent events in India highlight the growing prevalence of satellite-based internet technologies. In the Northeast state of Manipur, Indian security forces recovered a Starlink dish and router with weapons during a raid. This is not an isolated occurrence; another Starlink device was recently found in a drug-bust off the Andaman coast. Authorities suspect that these devices were smuggled in from Myanmar, where Starlink is reportedly active despite lacking regulatory approval. It is likely being used to circumvent government-imposed internet restrictions there. These incidents highlight the potential as well as the penetration of space-based technologies like satellite internet.

By Ashwin Prasad & Rakshith Shetty

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Deccan Herald | Soaring over traffic

The rise of eVOTL technology demands new governance structures distinct from conventional aviation. This includes rules for aircraft certification, urban operations, pilot training, and vertiport construction. For a growing economy like India, seizing this opportunity early is vital to realising the potential benefits of eVTOL technology. The country must address regulatory gaps with air traffic management and pilot training rules and develop a roadmap to support eVTOL technology and infrastructure for building a robust urban air mobility ecosystem.

By Avinash Shet

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Moneycontrol | COP29 hyped nuclear energy but it won’t last

The hype surrounding nuclear energy in the aftermath of the COP29 would only translate into growth of the nuclear industry if the theoretical solution to highly-radioactive nuclear waste — deep geological repositories — translates into reality. A safe answer which has been adequately tested is not yet available.

By Lokendra Sharma

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The Federal | China’s super dam on Brahmaputra: Why it's a geopolitical challenge and concern for India

With the region already prone to landslides and floods, the massive project undertaken by China could prove catastrophic, says Geospatial expert, Dr. Y. Nithiyanandam, Head of Geospatial Program at the Takshashila Institution.

By Y Nithiyanandam

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The Hindu | India’s reliance on China for critical minerals

Does China have unparalleled dominance in the critical minerals sector? How was it able to do so? What are the minerals for which India is heavily dependent on China? Why has India not been able to excavate the lithium reserves found in Jammu and Kashmir?

By Rakshith Shetty

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Deccan Herald | AI and data centres: Misplaced focus in the energy demand

The narrative linking electricity demand growth to artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres has been exaggerated, diverting attention from more significant drivers of energy consumption. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) analysis presents a sobering reality check: data centres are projected to account for only about 5 per cent of global electricity demand growth by 2030. This modest contribution is dwarfed by other sectors, yet media coverage and public discourse often inflate its significance.

Read the full article here.

Life of Soldiers | Anti-Submarine Warfare: Doctrine and Capabilities of the PLA Navy

At the recently concluded Zhuhai Airshow in Guangdong, China, a new unmanned combat vessel of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), the ORCA, made its debut as part of the Asian giant’s naval arsenal. As official sources highlighted, this 500-tonne displacement high-speed stealth unmanned surface combat vessel, equipped with a diesel-electric dual-mode propulsion system, is capable of performing a host of tasks including Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) fire strike, and air and missile defense. But perhaps what is most interesting, is its reported ability to perform anti-submarine search and strike autonomously. If true, the PLAN may just be ushering in a transformed era for China’s undersea warfare capabilities.

By Anushka Saxena

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Hindustan Times | Power shifts in China’s defence establishment

Xi’s anti-corruption campaign aims to consolidate power and ensure loyalty within the PLA but has inadvertently exposed factional divides.

By Anushka Saxena

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The Print | Short-term work visas, long-term gains—How India-US can tackle immigration woes, boost ties

With a large pool of engineering graduates entering the workforce annually, India has the potential to meet the growing demand in the US semiconductor sector.

By Aparna Pande and Sarthak Pradhan

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StratNews Global | China’s R&D Engine: Technology Diffusion Seamlessly Across Sectors

China's giant strides in developing cutting-edge technologies and ensuring these are disseminated where they are needed, is a tribute to the scientific eco-system they have evolved.

Massive investment, a deliberate alignment of, and removal of barriers between military and civilian research, and a clear commitment to becoming the global leader in critical technologies are vital characteristics of China’s S&T ecosystem.

It is a whole-system approach, which also focuses on building the requisite skill infrastructure, and recognises the capacity of General Purpose Technologies (GPTs) to increase economic productivity, and thereby, military prowess, by the process of diffusion into pervasive use in a wide range of activities and sectors.

By Arindam Goswami

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