The Free Press Journal | Analysis: For Both Biden And Trump, It Ain't Gonna Be Easy

On Wednesday, February 28, the results of the Democratic and Republican primaries from Michigan state in the US were declared. Expectedly, both current President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party and former President Donald Trump, a Republican, won easily. Their victories, though, had a scratch card feel to them — you’d think you won a ₹100 cashback, but all you got was a 20% discount to a product you will never buy or is cheaper on Amazon. Read the full article here.

Firstpost | Implications of Chinese fishing boats in Taiwan’s ‘prohibited’ waters

Any plans China and Taiwan had for Valentine’s Day were derailed when, on 14 February, 2024, a Chinese fishing boat with four fishermen on board capsized near the Kinmen Islands, leading to the deaths of two of the fishermen. The incident occurred when the fishing boat became embroiled in a high-speed chase to evade patrol vessel CP-1051 of the 12th Patrol District of the Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration’s (TGCA) Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu branch. The chase reportedly lasted only five minutes but has highlighted the structural lack of meaningful communication in cross-Straits relations on basic issues such as fishing rights. Read the full article here.

CASI | Building the Yard: Policy Considerations for AI in India

Artificial intelligence (AI) has immense potential to enhance human capabilities and drive growth in several industries. It is projected to greatly improve governance, healthcare, and education outcomes. However, this potential may not be realized if the building blocks of AI remain concentrated in the hands of a few dominant companies or the countries in which they are located. Read the full article here.

Mint | Lessons on hyper-diversity from the people of Papua New Guinea

There are so many crises raging around the world that you can ask why I have chosen to bring the one in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to your attention this fortnight. So let me tell you the reason upfront: It is an example of why hyper-diverse societies can end up in deep trouble unless they develop the necessary social capital needed to govern themselves. The post-colonial state was carved out of an arbitrary chunk of the Melanesian archipelago (the region comprising the easternmost stretches of Indonesia and islands northeast of Australia). Its claim to fame is that it has the most diverse population on the planet, with over 850 languages and thousands of bands and tribes, in a population of over 10 million living in a country the size of Maharashtra and Gujarat combined. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | Multi-Contributor Social Security: Time to reimagine social security contributions

It was recently in the news that the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is considering extending its coverage to unorganised and gig sector workers. On July 24, 2023, Rajasthan became the first Indian state to pass a legislation aimed at providing social security benefits to gig workers. These are part of various attempts that governments have been making to extend social security beyond just the formal sector. Social security in India faces two main problems – coverage and financing. It covers mainly the organised sector, leaving out gig workers, unorganised sector workers, etc. Even within the organised sector, around 53 percent do not have any social security benefits, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report. In fact, more than 90 percent of India’s workforce is engaged in informal employment. Even the National Pension System (NPS), theoretically open to all, has very poor coverage – only around 6.2 crore subscribers as of March 2023.

By Arindam Goswami

Read the full article here.

ThePrint | Why some Navy veterans are opposed to the introduction of kurta-pyjama in the dress code

The kurta and pyjama, Central Asian in origin, have for centuries been popular in South Asia. It made its entry this month as an add-on to the list of the existing informal dresses in the Indian Naval officers’ messes and sailors’ institutes. Earlier in December, the Navy introduced new epaulettes which was publicised as being part of PM Modi’s political call for virasat par garv, pride in our heritage, and shedding ghulami ki mansikta, slave mentality. This article attempts to examine the military’s cultural value chain and identify the reasons for adverse reactions, especially on WhatsApp groups, the change in attire received from veterans in particular and civilians in general. Read the full article here.

Deccan Herald | States and tax shares: The fight for fiscal space

As southern states demand higher share in devolution of taxes, what can work in Karnataka's favour. Read the full article here.

Times of India | Why resource distribution is creating a North-South divide

Over the last few days, there have been calls to form an economic alliance of southern states for equal resource distribution. Chief ministers from states such as Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu held demonstrations in New Delhi to express their discontent. The Karnataka chief minister claimed that the current system for distributing resources among states puts states like Karnataka at a disadvantage while favouring states in the North with uncontrolled population growth. While the states’ concerns are valid, this focus on the horizontal distribution of tax resources is misplaced. Instead, the states should advocate for an enlargement of the divisible pool by calling for a curtailment in Union cesses and surcharges. Here’s why: Read the full article here.

Economic & Political Weekly | On Regulating AI

The article titled “India’s Approach towards Regulation of Artificial Intelligence: Utilising the International Experience” by Jawahar Bhagwat and S Y Boldyreva (EPW, 30 December 2023)identifies three primary concerns regarding the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in India: job displacement, proliferation of misinformation, and preservation of research integrity. While legitimate, these are not necessarily the top concerns with respect to AI. The article lacks comprehensiveness and portrays AI in a predominantly negative light. The proposed recommendations are likely to substantially impede India’s contributions to the development of AI and severely restrict its ability to use AI for its benefit. Read the full article here.

The Free Press Journal | Analysis: America Can’t Rein In Trump, And The World May Have To Pay

Last weekend, America’s 21st century version of pre-1933 Adolf Hitler (minus the military service) — Donald Trump — said at an election rally that he once told a NATO leader that he will let Russian President Vladimir Putin “do whatever the hell he wants” to any NATO member that does not pay its full dues to the Americans. You know, protection money. Trump, by his own admission, told the president of a NATO ally, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them (the Russians) to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.” Read the full article here.

ThePrint | India can be a major drone hub—if it learns to take risks, accept losses

The multiplicity of roles that drones can undertake has been battle-tested and their utility has been convincingly established. Depending on the role, drones come in various sizes. At the higher end of lethality are the American MQ 9-Reaper and at the lower end of surveillance is the Black Hornet weighing less than 1.2 ounces. India is in the process of acquiring 31 higher-end MQ9B Predator armed drones from the United States at an approximate cost of Rs 2.5 lakh crore. The deal was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in 2023. The Navy already operates two unarmed Predator drones, which are on lease, at the Rajali naval air station in Tamil Nadu. The new acquisitions will be apportioned to the three Services with the Navy getting the majority share. Apart from the political message of reliance on the US for major weapon systems, it also signals that Atmanirbharta is not currently feasible in this class of weapon systems. Read the full article here.

Defence & Security Alert | Navigating Personnel Costs and Capital Expenditure in the Indian Defence Budget

A year ago, in an article for the DSA magazine, Rakshith Shetty conducted a thorough analysis of the defence pension systems in India and the United States. This inquiry led to the identification of four crucial insights extracted from the intricate framework of the U.S. defence pension system. In the present discussion, he pivots towards a deeper exploration, shedding light on the challenges hindering the modernisation efforts of the Indian Armed Forces. Read the full article here.

The New Indian Express | Toll Plazas: Where FASTags have fallen short and why India's new dream might prove harder to realise

There was once a toll to driving through toll roads on highways. To help ease it came the pan-India rollout of a FASTag based system in December 2019. More than four years later, we are now talking of a next-gen Global Navigation Satellite System based toll plazas. But how much of a difference have we seen? I was wondering about this while being stuck at Mahasamudram Toll Plaza (MTS) on National Highway 4 (now renumbered as 69) in Andhra Pradesh. This is a key stop, located around 170 km east of the Karnataka capital on the Bengaluru-Chennai highway. With an ocean of vehicles waiting to pass, there was total chaos on January 13 during the Makar Sankranti weekend. Read the full article here.

South Asian Voices | Navigating the India-Maldives Diplomatic Spat

The Maldives, often depicted in the news as a tropical paradise, recently had a less idyllic appearance in the headlines. President Mohamed Muizzu’s government ruffled feathers in New Delhi by asking India to withdraw its military personnel by March 15, 2024, using their recent high-level core group meeting to deliberate upon a “mutually workable solution.” To persuade voters, Muizzu built on the “India Out” campaign, which portrayed the presence of Indian personnel as a threat to Maldivian sovereignty. He promised to remove Indian troops from the Maldives shores and balance trade relations with India, which he claimed were heavily tilted toward India’s favor. Muizzu’s new “Pro Maldives” strategy led to him win the elections with 54 percent of the votes in September 2023. Malé recently scrapped a key pact involving a water survey, and Muizzu chose China for one of his first overseas visits in January after becoming president. There, he signed 20 agreements, including one on tourism cooperation. Read the full article here.

Mint | Science fiction must escape its dystopic trap and foster hope

There was a big controversy in the science-fiction community last month when it emerged that the 2023 Hugo Awards, decided in October at the world convention in Chengdu, China, had inexplicably disqualified a few prominent entries from the list of nominations. Those quietly dropped included R.F. Kuang’s bestselling Babel and Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow, prompting suspicion that they might have triggered Beijing’s censorship filters. Even an entry by the legendary Neil Gaiman was disqualified. A couple of heads have rolled since then, but the mystery remains. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | GoI’s Rs 10,000 crore plan for a ‘sovereign AI’ computing infrastructure needs a rethink

The union government has recently announced plans for an ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing mission with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore. This initiative seeks to create a ‘sovereign AI’ computing infrastructure that can provide computing resources as a service to Indian startups, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, healthcare, and education. AI is undeniably a technology of immense transformative potential with many applications. However, the government's strategy to build the necessary computational infrastructure is not the best use of public funds. The aim of harnessing the benefits of AI for Indians will be better served if the government concentrates its efforts and resources on areas that are not typically addressed by the private sector. Read the full article here.

Fulcrum | India and China’s Volatile New Status Quo

In early January, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke at a symposium on the country’s foreign relations. The speech touched upon the churn in China’s ties with several countries. While India was not included in that list, the Sino-Indian relationship remained abnormal since their standoff in Eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020. It bears repeating that this would have repercussions for Southeast Asia and the wider region. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | Karnataka’s plan to fix prices for Uber-Ola cabs is going to boomerang badly

There’s ridiculous and then, there’s this! In a long list of antagonist policy decisions taken against cab-aggregators by Indian state governments, the latest one by the Karnataka government takes the cake. In a policy that plans to emulate the pricing structure of the city’s autos, the Karnataka government plans to fix prices for all taxis in the state. In the new fare structure, all taxis will be categorised into three segments based on the purchase value of the vehicle and the prices will be fixed for each segment. Read the full article here.

The Diplomat | India Has Good Reason to Be Concerned About China’s Maritime Research Vessels

In September 2019, the Indian Navy drove away the Shiyan 1, a Chinese research vessel that had been caught operating without authorization in India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This move was undertaken in line with Article 246 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which prohibits any country from conducting marine scientific research in the EEZ of a coastal state without consent. It also stipulates that such consent should be ideally granted in “normal circumstances.” But given the context – China’s research activities in the South China Sea, as well as the larger Chinese strategy of military-civil fusion, which has blurred the line between the scientific and military-related activities of its vessels – the circumstances were hardly normal. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | Why Budget 2024 will rank as a good budget

Ceteris paribus, a boring budget is a good budget and this one definitely fits the bill. The impressive part was the resistance on part of the government to introduce any big, populist measures aimed at strengthening their position before the upcoming elections. As the name suggests, this is an interim plan until the real deal in July 2024, which the Finance Minister seemed very confident of being the one to present. The interim budget speech by the Finance Minister for 2024-25 sounded largely like a report card of past achievements rather than a plan proposal for the upcoming year. Read the full article here.