Sunday, November 16, 2025

Quick notes: Dimmer skies | Tech talent...

  • Bye-Bye Blue Skies: India is getting dimmer. Sunshine hours have been steadily declining across most regions for the past three decades. Aerosols from sources like vehicles and industries block sunlight — a phenomenon scientists call “solar dimming”. Reduced agriculture yields and solar power output apart from damage to health.



  • Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country.


  • China rolls out its version of the H-1B visa: Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, a skilled IT professional who has worked in both India and the U.S., has been looking for work in China. Beijing's new K-visa program targeting science and technology workers could turn that dream into a reality.


  • Higher studies abroad: Parents burn fortunes, US gains skills, India loses both capital & talent.


  • "India is the dumbest IPO market" "The millions and billions of small investors coming in. Someone has to extract money from them, so these IPOs come and take money from you".


  • The world’s most expensive stock market: In terms of Shiller P/E (a long-term measure of valuation that uses 10-year earnings figures), India is the most expensive equity market in the world, surpassing even the US. . . Buffett Indicator.


  • Dhaaru haven: India to emerge as largest global scotch whisky market. Once the FTA with the UK becomes operative, it will see a variety of Scotch whisky coming into the country.


  • "India is just screwing the parts together": Are we truly manufacturing, or just assembling parts? We destroyed our electronics industry and turned to a 100% importing nation. The real state of ‘Make in India’.



  • Incentive wars: Why walking away can be wiser. Karnataka’s refusal to outbid Andhra Pradesh for Google’s $15 billion AI data centre may seem like a loss, but in game theory – and governance – wisdom often lies in knowing when not to play. Around the world, multinational firms have mastered the art of triggering incentive wars between governments, extracting concessions that can erode public value. . . . The Hidden Cost of Google’s $15 Billion AI Data Center in Vizag.


  • Defying China: Vietnam is building islands to challenge China’s hold on a vital waterway


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