Ownership of Digital Devices is Crucial for a Thriving Free Society

A few weeks ago, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that “Apple Inc. is working on a subscription service for the iPhone and other hardware products, a move that could make device ownership similar to paying a monthly app fee..”. Wall Street analysts and management consulting firms have been championing such a business model for some time, but my intuitive reaction upon reading the news was one of horror. And after further reflection and debate with my colleagues, I have no reason to change my mind: Hardware subscriptions are a bad idea for society. This business model must be challenged and subject to public and parliamentary debate. Public policy must exercise abundant caution and insist on regulatory safeguards.

Should India insist on large warships after sinking of Russia’s Moskva? The lesson not to take

On 14 April, Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, sank off the coast of Ukraine, in the Black Sea. A controversy immediately surfaced regarding the causes of the loss. The Russians attributed the loss to an accidental fire on board while Ukraine claimed that two of its Neptune Missiles had struck the vessel. US officials have backed Ukraine’s claims. Time should reveal the truth. But for now, the controversy is the poster for the escalation of the Ukraine war that suggests that the war is expanding in its reach, both physically and psychologically. The challenge in judging escalation is that while physical factors can be measured, the intangible nature of the psychological part is mystifying and debatable.

The Cascading Effects of Chip Starvation to Russia

The US and its allies like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Netherlands enjoy an elevated status in the global high-tech sphere. Much of the world’s production capacity and intellectual property (IP) related to micro-electronic and semiconductors chips are concentrated in the territory of the US and its allies. This strategic high-tech dominance ensures that the US can inflict major costs on adversarial countries like Russia and China and their economies. It is clear that the recently imposed sanctions and export controls on Russia and the resultant chip starvation will have increasingly detrimental effects on the Russian economy. With no hope to import chips legally, Moscow may turn to gray imports and smuggling.

Divide Forex Reserve Into Two Components

The United States (US), European Union (EU) and several countries have imposed a raft of punitive measures on Russia for invading Ukraine. One of the more serious forms of sanctions has been the freezing of the Russian central bank’s assets held in foreign-denominated currencies. When a country earns more foreign exchange (forex) than it spends, it moves the surplus into its reserve account for future contingencies. These reserves are not held in physical currency, but in different forms of financial assets such as gold and debt instruments (bonds and bills) of foreign governments. Countries prefer to invest in currencies that are liquid (easily convertible), widely accepted and trustworthy. The US dollar fits all these criteria.

From Libya to Afghanistan and Syria, Vaccination Rates in War-Torn Nations Are Alarmingly Low

Fear grips the lives of people in various disputed regions around the world. Fear of several years of war and destruction and now the fear of a fatal global pandemic. The already hobbled healthcare systems have further been overwhelmed with high infection rates of Covid-19. As newer variants continue to keep coming up, the best possible way out of the situation is to get the maximum possible number of people vaccinated. However, vaccinating people in crisis zones has been fraught with difficulties thus far. Many of these areas have not even partially vaccinated one-fourth of their population. Rapid and concerted efforts in the coming months are critical to closing the vaccine distribution gap.

Why India should pull Sri Lanka out of China’s ‘debt trap’ and take it closer to the US

On 12 April, Sri Lanka declared the default on all payments on its $51-billion external debt to buy oil and agricultural commodities. The alarming level of food scarcity in the country has mobilised the population to demand the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa with the slogans ‘Go Gota Go’ and ‘Go Home Gota’ echoing on the streets. His decision to impose a public emergency on 1 April intensified protests further, leading to its quick revocation four days later. On the same day, former President Maithripala Sirisena-led Sri Lanka Freedom Party decided to withdraw its support from the ruling coalition led by Mahinda Rajapaksa. Till now, 42 members of the Sri Lankan parliament have withdrawn their support from the ruling coalition, including 12 from the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, leading to the government’s loss of majority.

A Blueprint for India to Insulate Itself from Future Tech Sanctions

One interesting aspect of the conflict has been the use of tech sanctions by the West, its allies and even private technology companies to deny Russia access to critical technology components needed for the running its critical sectors, like space and telecommunications. This is the first time that specific technology sanctions have been levied against a single country. The impact of these sanctions can be absolutely devastating to the government and its strategic sectors, and even create inaccessibility to domestic consumers.

As Nepal Turns to the Indo-Pacific, China Worries

On March 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded his three-day trip to Nepal. During his visit, he held meetings with the country’s top leaders while also taking the time out for a hiking trip to Shivapuri. In his meeting with Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka on March 26, Wang outlined China’s “three supports” to Nepal. These include Chinese support in “blazing a development path” suited to the country, help in “pursuing independent domestic and foreign policies,” and participation in “Belt and Road cooperation” to “speed up [Nepal’s] development and revitalization.” Similarly, in his meeting with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Wang reiterated China’s support to safeguard Nepal’s “sovereignty and national dignity, exploring a development path suited to its national conditions, and pursuing independent domestic and foreign policies.”

Despite US Restrictions, it Took China Only 15 Years to Lead the Quantum Computing Race

2008. The world-renowned quantum scientist Pan Jianwei returned to China and was allocated a lab at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) to kickstart China’s quantum programme. Fast forward a decade and China is the leading power in quantum communications and making consistent leaps in other areas of quantum technology. While major technology giants have thrown their hats into the ring with their own in-house quantum computer programmes, states and their governments around the world are not far behind each having launched its own quantum initiative. The bulk of the funding of government policies related to quantum technologies is set aside for the development of state-of-the-art quantum computers.

Our Geo-economic Interests Lie with the West as Well as the Rest

Over the past few weeks, I discovered a marked difference in attitudes towards the Ukraine war between those of my friends who had spent time in the New Delhi establishment and those who hadn’t. The Delhiwaalas—diplomats, economists, journalists and veterans—were more likely to argue that reports of Russian losses were part of information operations, the West was to blame for provoking Vladimir Putin, we depend on Moscow for critical defence equipment, and that India ought not take any position that would hurt Russia. This was the case across the political and ideological divide: as long as they were Delhiwaalas, they more or less held this view. I was thus not surprised when opposition parties mirrored the government’s position on this issue, revealing a rare non-partisan consensus in these polarized times.

‘Agnipath’ scheme for military has good intentions. But Modi govt should conduct trials first

From the ongoing Ukraine war, some reminders are knocking on the doors of India’s statecraft and in particular, its defence reforms. Admittedly, the context of the war is different, and therefore, extrapolation would be an erroneous approach. However, since all wars imply the use of violence for political purposes, there is some scope that reveals lessons to inform the trajectory of India’s military reforms. For sure, in the course of time, the Ukraine war will be studied both globally and in India. We examine two issues relevant to the Indian context and immaterial to the future course of the Ukraine war — displacement of the civilian population and the management of military manpower. An examination of both these aspects would provide some useful insights into shaping and wielding India’s military power.

Merit Must be the Benchmark For Armed Forces’ Hiring, not Recruitable Male Population Index

In 2014, the Supreme Court dismissed a PIL alleging that the Army recruitment policy was discriminatory and based on caste, religion and region. The court accepted the Army’s justification regarding the existence of certain regiments that are based on classification related to social, cultural and linguistic homogeneity. The contention was that such homogeneity is considered to be a force multiplier, as a battle-winning factor. The assertion was accepted without challenge. Since 2018, and more recently in March 2022, some Ahir community leaders from South Haryana have been using the Army’s logic to demand the institution of an Ahir Regiment.

China’s New Focus on US Cyber Activities

In the last few years, Chinese companies have released several reports accusing U.S. agencies of cyberattacks on Chinese infrastructure. Although China has long released data on the numbers of U.S. hacking attempts, detailed reports were not a common occurrence. Recent reports indicate that Beijing is intensifying its efforts at narrative-building by focusing on malicious cyber activities of the United States.

Indians Don’t Believe in a China-led, Multipolar World

As the war continues to rage in Europe, India is maintaining an unrelenting focus on its Indo-Pacific engagements. Thus, on March 19, Prime Minister Modi hosted his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida for the latter’s first bilateral visit since assuming charge in October 2021. In the joint statement released after the meeting, both sides affirmed the “commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific”. Even the mention of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine occurred in the context of war’s “broader implications” for the Indo-Pacific region.

Similarly, though the joint statement released after a virtual meeting of the Indian and Australian Prime Ministers on March 21 mentioned the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, the emphasis remained on “broader implications for the Indo-Pacific.” Following the virtual summit, the Indian Foreign Secretary confirmed in the press meet that the two countries agreed that the Ukraine crisis should not divert the Quad’s attention away from the Indo-Pacific region.

Explained: The Implications of China’s Ever Increasing Defence Budget for India

China announced its annual defence budget of RMB 1.45 trillion (approximately $229.6 billion) in March 2022, a 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase over its 2021 budget of RMB 1.36 trillion ($209.2 billion). In 2020, China had increased its defence budget by 6.6 per cent to 1.27 trillion yuan (US$178 billion).

Atmashakti Over Atmanirbharta: Learn Right Lessons from Russia Sanctions

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions. This bias is visible in the Indian debates on technology following the West’s stringent export controls restricting the Russian state’s access to cutting-edge technology.

Some tech companies have gone far beyond the remit of these controls, suspending their operations or restricting access to Russian citizens. For those who seek tech self-sufficiency, this war appears to bolster their case for everything from data localisation to domestic social media platforms and home-made drones.

India, Japan, Australia Need Tech Alliance to Counter China and Huawei’s Monopoly

All three countries are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad along with the US, in which technology cooperation has been a key factor in bringing together the States. When discussing the Indo-Pacific, the role of China remains key to these countries formulating their responses and multilateral policies. It is evident that China has now reached the stage of expanding its technological sphere of influence in the region. The private sector, coupled with continuous state support, has managed to gain a foothold in some key technology areas that have served Beijing’s diplomatic ambitions well.

Charting a Course for India’s Arctic Engagement

India published its finalised Arctic Policy document on March 17. The document casts a wide net and explains India’s priorities, objectives and course of action for the Arctic in impressive clarity. A thorough examination reveals that the policy has benefited from the Government of India publishing a draft and inviting comments in January 2021. A clear imprint of similar publications from around the globe, most recently by the European Union (EU) is also visible.

In objective terms, the policy has almost all the elements of a good strategic publication, with largely no unaddressed areas of relevance to India’s national interest in the Arctic region except when it comes to encouraging private space sector companies. As the policy lays out, India’s interest in the Arctic is primarily scientific and meteorological, pursuits, which have direct implications for India’s development goals, economy, agriculture and food security.

Ayurveda to Unani—traditional medicine systems can’t run on anecdotal evidence. Need research

In the last few years, there has been a push towards traditional medicine. And interest in indigenous medicinal systems has witnessed a boom in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. A big reason for this shift in public opinion can be credited to the massive promotion done by the Ministry of AYUSH. AYUSH was once a mere department under the Union health ministry and got promoted to a full ministry in 2014. Although there has been some anecdotal evidence that suggests that ancient forms of medicine such as Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha are effective in treatment of a variety of diseases, there is dearth of reliable research to support such claims.

There have also been countless incidents that prove that harms caused by the traditional treatment are sometimes more than their supposed benefits. As we move towards achieving healthcare for all, it becomes extremely important that only evidence-based medicine is promoted and allowed.

Current Booster Dose Policy is Not Enough. India Needs More Booster Shots To Beat The Fourth Wave

India has not begun booster doses for all adults. This is after fourteen months of initiation of the vaccination campaign. Apart from this, India has nine approved vaccines in its basket. The imprudent policy for administering booster doses is putting millions of lives at risk. According to the current policy, boosters are only open to the frontline workers and those above the age of 60. Understanding that the recent surge in cases due to the detection of new variants can be a cause of concern, India should start allocating third doses for all people.