Times of India | Why India must now prepare for lunar geopolitics as well

The successful Chandrayaan-3 mission not only marks India’s ascension to a tiny club of lunar states, it also marks the first time humans have conducted a controlled landing in the southern polar region of the Moon. Read the full article here.

Business Standard | Doing better than a competitive exam

The IIT JEE (Indian Institute of Technology joint entrance exam) is revered as the arbiter of merit. With industrialised coaching classes, it is less clear how the JEE selects the right people to attend an IIT. Simplistic measurement of marks in an exam is not how the entry barriers into most sensible institutions work. The high-powered incentive — attending an IIT — is damaging the learning process. We propose a two-part mechanism: A broad exam that filters for sound capability, and then randomised allocation. Read the full article here.

Deccan Herald | National Research Foundation: Old wine in a new bottle?

The Indian research community is looking to the formation of the National Research Foundation (NRF) to herald a new era — where research is one of the government’s priorities resulting in access to a reasonable quantum of funding disbursed in a timely manner. However, short of these two dramatic changes, the NRF would be reduced to just another funding avenue, riddled with the issues of the past. But even with the passing of the NRF Bill there is little clarity on whether either of these two issues will be resolved. Read the full article here.

ThePrint | Why Assam Rifles’ vilification is a calculated, conniving move for revenge

The Assam Rifles is a central paramilitary force responsible for border guarding and internal security in Northeast India. Also utilised as a combat force in times of conflict, it has been administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs since 1965 but is under the operational control of the Indian Army since the 1962 India-China war. The Assam Rifles’ rank and file is recruited by the MHA, but it is led by Army officers on deputation. India’s oldest paramilitary force, it was originally raised in 1835 as Cachar Levy, has had several designations and got its present name in 1917. Read the full article here.

Mint | How to govern the AI industry must be accorded high priority

The manner in which the world’s big artificial intelligence (AI) companies are scaring the world’s governments and asking for regulation reminds me of how incumbent telcos used to push ‘Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt’ (FUD) 20 years ago. We should suspect that the motives are similar: to use regulation to slam the gates shut for new entrants and use incumbency to acquire greater power over public policy. If OpenAI and Google are really worried that their products are dangerous and pose severe, unpredictable risks to public safety, they could stop developing them. It is reasonable, therefore, to suspect that their calls for regulation of so-called foundation models are partly motivated by the desire to lock-in their dominant market positions. Read the full article here.

The Times of India | Laptop licence: Why are failed policies being revived again?

In the 1970s and 1980s, a large country undertook a “market reserve” policy. The idea was to restrict imports, protect the infant computer industry, and give it a chance to become competitive. But after nearly two decades of restrictions, the country was far from achieving its desired goal of becoming a major international player in computers. Smugglers prospered as they found ways to get around the trade barriers. The local players that benefited from a closed market were so inefficient that many vanished as soon as the winds of globalisation swept in the 1990s. That country is not India, but Brazil. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | Three factors that prevent India and China from getting close

Both India and China lie at the heart of the geopolitical churn in the Indo-Pacific, with their bilateral relationship holding significant implications for the future of the world order. While India is pursuing a policy of multi-alignment, it increasingly seems to be caught between two emerging power centres. On one side is a rising China, which is seeking to actively reshape the international order to facilitate its rise to the centre-stage of world affairs; on the other is the US, which is working to boost domestic strength, revitalise old alliances and fashion new partnerships in order to sustain its preeminence. Read the full article here.

The Hindu | Learning from the CHIPS Act of the U.S.

The United States’ Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (CHIPS Act) completes one year as a law today (August 9). The Act authorises $52.7 billion over five years to boost American competitiveness, innovation and national security in semiconductors. While the jury is still out on the long-term effectiveness of the Act, what is important from an Indian perspective is to observe and learn from its implementation. As industrial policy has become a default policy of choice for nation-states, the Act provides a clear window into the capabilities and structures needed to execute such policies. Read the full article here.

Hindustan Times | An echo of licence raj in laptop import curbs

India’s abrupt decision to restrict the import of laptops and personal computers, though with a three-month lag, is a throwback to the 1970s, when such policies were commonplace. Presumably, the aim is to give a fillip to domestic manufacturing and is probably targeted at China, which accounts for 75% of the total $5.33 billion worth of laptops and personal computers imported by India in 2022-23. However, the government maintains that it carried out the move for the digital security of its citizens. The reason is obvious — national security is the one accepted condition in multilateral trade treaties for imposing import restrictions, whereas protectionism is frowned upon. Read the full article here.

The Hindu | Do we need a radical alternative to scientific publishing?

Scientific publishing is a necessary component of scientists’ efforts to establish a career in science for themselves. The process allows for scientists’ peers to enrich new findings by reviewing papers, curates research from scientists across the world, and signals the credibility of some scientific work. Read the full article here.

StratNewsGlobal | Limelight On Nobody: Qin Gang’s Removal

On July 25, at the fourth session of the 14th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (China’s top legislature), a major portfolio shuffle was announced in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)—Qin Gang, who was promoted to the post of Foreign Affairs Minister as recently as December 2022 was ‘removed’ from the post. In his place, Wang Yi, the Director of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission and former Foreign Affairs minister, was re-appointed. Read the full article here.

The Diplomat | China’s Draft Criminal Law Amendment Eyes Corruption in Private Firms

Amid the controversy surrounding former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s disappearance and subsequent dismissal from office, discussions by the Standing Committee of China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress, on draft amendments to China’s Criminal Law seem to have escaped the public eye. These draft amendments, which are open for public comments until August 24, propose the inclusion of private sector enterprises operating in China under the ambit of the Criminal Law’s anti-bribery and anti-corruption provisions. Previously, said provisions were applicable only to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and public institutions. Read the full article here.

ThePrint | CDS to DMA, Modi govt raised Indian military’s hope for a theatre command. It’s been 4 yrs

It was on 15 August 2019 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would have a Chief of Defence Staff. On 30 December, General Bipin Rawat was appointed the first CDS and the Department of Military Affairs was created in the Ministry of Defence. Among other issues, the DMA was mandated to facilitate restructuring of military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint/theatre commands. The CDS was mandated to bring about jointness in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services, within three years of assuming office. Read the full article here.

Hindustan Times | In the chip war, US has the edge over China

As a countermeasure to a series of US-led tech restrictions, China’s ministry of commerce and general administration of customs recently announced export controls on industrial products and materials containing two critical elements — Gallium (Ga) and Germanium (Ge). The export of these elements will now be subject to governmental clearance. The ministry justified the restriction on national security grounds, owing to the elements’ dual-use nature. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | Don’t rush to mimic Rajasthan gig workers law

The devil, as they often say, is in the details. And so it is with the The Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Act 2023, passed in the Rajasthan Assembly on July 24 to nearly universal fanfare. The need for some form of social security measures for gig workers was so acutely felt that this Act is currently lauded with messianic zeal just for the good intentions behind the law. There is a good chance that other states will follow suit and therefore, a closer scrutiny can instruct areas for improvement. Read the full article here.

Mint | Indian gig workers ought to get a well-crafted social security net

Rajasthan’s new law governing the welfare of gig workers has much to commend it. Not only is it necessary to support India’s growing 21st century workforce, it also offers us a way to reform our 18th century labour law regime. As Takshashila Institution’s Anupam Manur puts it, the term ‘gig work’ is a misnomer in our country—for most of the people driving taxis, delivering food or household services via online aggregator platforms, that is their main occupation. Employment in this segment is growing. The Niti Aayog expects 200% growth in gig employment by 2030. Based on possibilities I see emerging from what is happening in Bengaluru, I think that is a conservative estimate. While the fates of individual aggregator platforms may rise and fall, the gig model is an important part of how India creates mass employment. Read the full article here.

WION | The ASEAN's tryst with US-China contestation

On July 13 and 14, Wang Yi, the newly re-appointed Chinese Foreign Minister visited Jakarta to attend the 56th ASEAN Regional Forum and the 13th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meetings. During these meetings, Wang held several bilateral exchanges, including with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He also participated in an ‘ASEAN+3’ meeting, with representatives from the ten countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Japan and South Korea. His engagements aimed at assuaging regional anxieties surrounding China’s belligerent rise and its intensifying rivalry with the US. However, his meeting with Blinken said otherwise. Read the full article here.

Centre on Asia and Globalisation | Confronting Trade-offs for India’s Electronics Manufacturing Success

The improving performance of India’s electronics manufacturing sector has been a topic of intense policy interest in the country. Electronics exports saw a spectacular growth of almost 50 percent in FY23, reaching $25.3 billion. Electronics is now India’s sixth largest merchandise export, overtaking readymade garments. Encouraged by these successes, the Indian government is confident of achieving its target of $140 billion in electronics exports and 1 million new jobs by FY26. This sector’s success is now portrayed as a vindication of the Indian government’s flagship industrial policy instrument: the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Policy debates surrounding the PLI have primarily focused on its design, effectiveness, and potential pitfalls. But the elephant in the room is the crucial role of Chinese companies in India’s electronics manufacturing story. Read the full article here.

Hindustan Times | Qin’s removal reveals a messy portrait of China

The standing committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), China’s top legislature, on Tuesday, announced the removal of Qin Gang as the country’s foreign minister. The decision came during a previously unplanned and abruptly announced daylong meeting of the body. Conventionally, NPCSC meets on a bimonthly basis. Meeting dates and agenda are usually announced far in advance. This departure from set norms in a country where tradition and discipline are valued above all, and where small deviations and changes are all the signs one gets of upheavals within, has set off speculation. Read the full article here.

Indian Express | Internal Security in India: Violence, Order and The State reveals how most forms of violence are on a downward slide in India

Most of us rely on social media, television, newspapers and conversations with our friends to get a sense of what is happening in the world around us. News, however, suffers from a systematic negativity bias — the bad and the abnormal get more coverage than the good and the normal. In addition, our minds tend to confuse the frequency of news items with its actual prevalence. Then there are regular moral panics and outrage cycles, all of which end up giving us a distorted perception of the state of the world, often making us anxious, depressed and despondent. Read the full book review.