Saturday, October 31, 2020

How emerging markets like India benefit from technology

Fwd: Retrospective-Prospective Series 5 - Webinar with Koenraad Elst



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: INDICA <info@indica.org.in>
Date: Sat, Oct 31, 2020 at 8:42 AM
Subject: Retrospective-Prospective Series 5 - Webinar with Koenraad Elst
To: <rajeev.srinivasan@gmail.com>


Namaste!
 
We bring you our next webinar in Retrospective-Prospective series, an important webinar on Dr. Koenraad Elst's work, Indic Academy's fifth installment in the series. 
 
Koenraad's Elst is an important scholar who belongs to the Voice of India school of thought, if one may characterize his work in that fashion. His exemplary work on Indian history is an important contribution to the modern Hindu Revival movement. He has published more than 30 books in a wide range of subjects from Aryan Invasion Theory to Hindutva politics. His books like "Decolonizing the Hindu Mind. Ideological Development of Hindu Revivalism", "The Saffron Swastika. The Notion of 'Hindu Fascism'" and "Negationism in India. Concealing the Record of Islam" are considered to have had a major impact on modern intellectual history.
 
This Sunday on Nov 1st, we welcome you to a discussion with Dr. Koenraad Elst on his works. We have put together a great panel of interlocutors who will interview him on his decades of work. 
 
Webinar date: Sunday Nov 1st, 2020
Time: 2:00pm - 5:00pm IST

 
Register Now
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Link
Website


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sent from xiaomi redmi note 5, so please excuse brevity and typos

Friday, October 30, 2020

Quick notes: Neutrino observatory | Electric buses...

  • Warning from Indian scientists: India will lose edge over rivals if neutrino project delayed by another year.. An underground laboratory proposed in Tamil Nadu has been a non-starter for years.. "After a year, other competitors will be ahead of us and there is no second prize for discovery in science. The detector technology which TIFR and related institutes built is unique in the world. We have a unique way to do the experiment with proven ideas that no one in the world can match." 

    China will complete the construction of
    Underground Neutrino Observatory by 2022. Other neutrino experiments, such as Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K) in Japan and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in the USA, are also under construction.


  • Karnataka can't keep China out of electric buses: India may have made rules to curb Chinese imports, but a look at transport corporations' efforts to procure 490 electric buses shows that there is no alternative to Chinese products for now, at least in the electric vehicle sector. . . . . world champs in history debates.


  • Project Hanson: How Chinese military contractor acquired Michigan dual-use manufacturer


  • First of five: China's first domestically built aircraft carrier to be combat-ready by year-end. Four more are in the works.


  • Lesson for India's massive solar farms: Managing vegetation should be among the first things to consider when developing large-scale solar. 


  • US grid-battery costs dropped 70% over 3 years: Future grids will be dominated by solar and wind with battery storage to smooth out the supply from variable generators. 


  • Rad’s E-Bike Disrupts America’s Pandemic Commute: Convincing customers that they can use the bikes to replace at least some car trips. 


  • Tern GSD Cargo Bike:



  • San Diego fraudster: Nimesh Shah, 37, was sentenced to almost four years in jail for defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs out of nearly $30 million


  • Interest from India and abroad: Tirupati's National Sanskrit University online courses evoke positive response from students 


  • Dictionary of Dravidian Languages: Unique dictionary covering 4 Dravidian languages ready


Ant IPO Sets Off $3 Trillion Scramble Among Small Investors - The Wall Street Journal.

IIMB's business summit Vista

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Quick notes: Desi drones | Globalization rethink...

  • Raising a swarm: India’s R&D spending on drone technologies is not even equal to the annual maintenance costs of the fleet of imported systems. The lack of a long-term acquisition plan or a roadmap, a version of the Integrated Guided Missile Development program for drones, means there is virtually no indigenous ecosystem for UASes. Worse, all the major components for lightweight drones, the auto-pilot or the brain of the machine, the battery pack, the motherboard and the propellers and motors, are imported, the majority from the world leader in drones, China.

    There is exactly one project which currently holds out a glimmer of hope for futuristic military projects, the Mehar Baba Swarm Drone Competition, an IAF-funded project for creating swarm drones. The winner of the contest to build a fleet of 50 drones to deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will bag a Rs 100 crore IAF contract. But such projects, which bring in the brightest in Indian industry, are few and far between... Unmanned surveillance gives us a huge tactical advantage on the seas, which satellite and aircraft-based surveillance don’t

    Developers point to Turkey, which has built up an ecosystem over the past 15 years and is now a world leader in armed drones. Turkish armed drones have tipped the scales in virtually every recent conflict in its extended neighbourhood, from Syria and Libya to Nagorno Karabakh. It might only be a matter of time before drones appear in our neighbourhood too, as a wake-up call.


  • Latest terror strategy: Pakistan using Chinese drones to airdrop weapons in Indian border areas. . . Army shoots down Paki quadcopter in Kashmir


  • JEE (Main) to be conducted in regional languages from 2021: “Top-scoring countries in PISA examination use mother tongue as a medium of instruction”.


  • VikAss is visible: “Look at, India, it’s so filthy, the air is filthy”.


  • Turns out, globalization wasn't such a blessing: Back in the ’90s, when the post-Cold War consensus was just emerging, economists tended to take a simplistic either-or view of trade—either you were a free trader or a protectionist—and forced people to choose sides.

    Paul Krugman branded just about everybody who questioned the rapid pace of globalization a fool who didn’t understand economics very well. Now Krugman has come out and admitted that his own understanding of economics has been seriously deficient as well. Many of these working-class communities have been hit hard by Chinese competition, which economists made a “major mistake” in underestimating, Krugman says.


  • The Economics Nobel Isn’t Really A Nobel: Technically, there is no Nobel Prize in economics. The Nobel Foundation doesn’t pay out the award or choose the winner, but it does list the prize on its website along with the Nobels. Members of the Nobel family have spoken out against the award.


  • Re-embrace the bicycle:

  • Living Without Ego: The Truth is not 'deep'. The Truth is 'Here'.



  • Rooftop solar isn’t shining in sunny India: Smart meters coupled with time-of-the day tariffs could be the answer.


  • Shenzhen SEZ: Lessons from the hardware capital of the world. “In India, SEZs are identified with tax and exchange control relaxations. But the Chinese SEZs were basically areas exempted from the application of various domestic laws, rules and procedures by giving each SEZ chief wide discretion to adapt international best practices.”



Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Quick notes: Manufacturing struggles | R&D spend...

  • VikAss ain't working: India’s manufacturing exports are declining big time, while raw material exports are going up. In contrast rivals like Vietnam and Bangladesh managed to post positive figures for their export of manufactures ranging from garments to light engineering.

    The next China? India first needs to beat Bangladesh: Even without the pandemic, India might have eventually lost the race to Bangladesh which is taking a leaf out of China’s playbook.. China held on to high GDP growth for decades by carving out for itself a far bigger dominance of low-skilled goods manufacturing than warranted by the size of its labor pool. However, India has gone the other way, choosing not to produce the things that could have absorbed its working-age population of 1 billion into factory jobs.


  • Anika Chebrolu: 14-year-old girl wins $25K prize for a discovery that could lead to a cure for Covid-19



  • Why Govt R&D Spending Does Matter: A 10% increase in govt-financed R&D generates a 5% to 6% additional increase in privately funded R&D resulting in productivity gains.


  • Anti-submarine warfare: DRDO’s SMART missile could be trump card against China’s submarines


  • Kerala's own 'Neem G' e-autos to hit streets of Nepal: Kerala Automobiles Limited, a public sector undertaking, has started exporting electric autos.



  • De-paving the streets: 800km of lesser-used roads in Sydney to be replaced with pedestrian networks, community spaces and market gardens.


  • Royal Enfield: An Indian-made motorcycle with a retro look is coming after Harley... In its last financial year, the company sold about 824,000 bikes globally. Harley, by contrast, shipped about 218,000.



  • Larry Summers: America would have saved trillions had it handled the pandemic as well as Pakistan 


  • Fair skin obsession: 'Name one dark-skinned superstar in Bollywood'.


  • Help the traditional goldsmiths:


  • Why a cyclist is a disaster for the economy: 😀
  • Does not buy a car and does not take a car loan.
  • Does not buy gasoline, does not need car insurance.
  • Does not use the services of repair shops and car washes.
  • Does not become obese.
  • Does not buy drugs.
  • Depends less on doctors.


Tuesday, October 20, 2020

arvind makes the case against biden

https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/trump-better-india-indian-americans-biden-harris

greg sheridan made a similar point in the australian, but that article seems to be firewalled now. good stuff if you can find it.

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sent from xiaomi redmi note 5, so please excuse brevity and typos

rajiv malhotra's New Book: Sanskrit Non-Translatables



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rajiv Malhotra


 

Sanskrit Non-Translatables

This book is the culmination of years of research in collaboration with Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji. In this book you will learn 54 Sanskrit terms that can not be translated into English because there is no English equivalent. We want you to start using these terms as part of your daily language. Purchase your copy today by visiting the link below. 

 

 

 Purchase the book here: CLICK

 

 

Watch On YouTube: CLICK

Please watch and post your comments.

 

 

To donate to Infinity Foundation's projects including the continuation of the research we do: DONATE

 

Regards,

Rajiv
 

Fwd: Book Announcement: Saraswati Civilisation - Paradigm shift in Ancient Indus history by Maj. Gen. GD Bakshi (Hindi edition, 2020)



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: kalyan <kalyan97@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 20, 2020 at 4:30 AM
Subject: Book Announcement: Saraswati Civilisation - Paradigm shift in Ancient Indus history by Maj. Gen. GD Bakshi (Hindi edition, 2020)
To:


(1:40:59)

FII held a Webinar on: "Saraswati Civilisation - Paradigm shift in Indian History" . Monday, 19th October 2020 at 1800 hrs. Guest Speakers: Dr. Subramanyam Swamy, MP Major General G.D. Bakshi (Retd.) SM, VSM , (Retd.) Deepak Jain Director General , FII For CVs of Spekaers: https://www.fii.org.in/speaker-profiles/ For Provisional Agenda https://www.fii.org.in/provisional-ag...  

Links:

Dr. Shailendra Vyas Vice President Federation of Indian Industry


RCT is a crock; medical fundamentalism is going to kill us all

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/science/articles/randomized-control-tests-doidge

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sent from xiaomi redmi note 5, so please excuse brevity and typos

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Quick notes: Perovskites | Harambee...

  • Solar is now king: A group of materials called perovskites are being used to create the next generation of solar panels.

    More coal plants have closed during President Trump’s first term than during the entire 8 years Obama was in office. Renewables will account for 80% of growth in global electricity generation. 


  • US politics: India better not take sides


  • Hybrid war: The PLA has been developing hybrid war strategies over a period of time. A Chinese data mining company had been tracking 'big data' of over 10,000 Indian individuals. China will probably in due course make experimental attempts to target a few Indian networks as part of its cyber capability. North East India and the Red Corridor remain vulnerable to Chinese manipulation.




  • Harambee: The law of generosity that rules Kenya... Indian migrants working alongside Kenyans called on Hare, the divine potency of God, and Ambe, the goddess of power, energy and invincibility. The Kenyan workers often joined in, and soon, this combined Indian chant of “Hare” and “Ambe” became a uniquely Kenyan rallying call of unification.


  • Bengaluru needs a million wells: Precious rainwater that could recharge the aquifers instead flows down the buildings and tarred roads of the city as surface run-off, choking sewers and inundating low-lying areas. If the city can dig a million wells, 50-60% percolation of rainwater can be achieved and urban flooding avoided.


  • Vegan Fest: Thai company is getting rich by turning Jackfruit into meat.


  • Rebuild the collapsed shikhara of the Konark Sun Temple":


  • Not one Big Bang: The universe goes through cycles of death and rebirth. There have been multiple Big Bangs, with more on the way.. Black holes hold clues to the existence of previous universes.


  • Koe Knuffelen: With immense mental health benefits, the practice of embracing cows has growing global appeal. 


  • Keerthana Vaidyanathan: Ksheera Sagara Shayana


<

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Fwd: Sabarimala



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Koenraad Elst
Date: Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 4:00 PM
Subject: Sabarimala
To: 

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sent from xiaomi redmi note 5, so please excuse brevity and typos

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

is paytm's superapp the big new thing in financial services?

let us note in passing that a superapp is perfect for surveillance, and that's exactly why wechat and alipay are popular with the CCP.

https://openthemagazine.com/columns/indias-first-superapp-paytm/

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sent from xiaomi redmi note 5, so please excuse brevity and typos

Friday, October 09, 2020

Quick notes: Phoren degree | App store...

Sunday, October 04, 2020

Fwd: FW: Directory Of Subject Matter Experts



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: P


 

From: STI India <sti-india@psa.gov.in>
Sent: 01 October 2020 13:43
To

Cc: 
Subject: Directory Of Subject Matter Experts

 

Dear All,

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Govt. of India, is collating a directory of Subject Matter Experts (SME) for knowledge sharing and collaboration with Industry. This is for Industry or Philanthropic organizations to jointly engage with faculty members to co-author technical papers, seek help in evaluating technologies and engage faculty in other knowledge sharing efforts.  

Kindly request the faculty to fill in their information on the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser's Portal at the link provided below.

Information on Subject Matter Experts: https://www.psa.gov.in/web/contact/subject_matter_expert

The information shared will be publicly accessible in a central repository on the PSA's portal under industry engagement for promotion of R&D through Industry collaborations.

 

 

Regards,

 

Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser

to the Government of India

 

 



--
thanks
rajeev

sent from xiaomi redmi note 5 phone, so please excuse brevity and typos

Friday, October 02, 2020

Quick notes: SEZ flop | Imported waste...

  • Why Indian SEZs failed: India's SEZ "reforms" largely centered around concessions to favored businesses--tax sops and cheap real estate—rather than a fundamental reset of India’s convoluted and restrictive rules for doing business. If low taxes were all that mattered for attracting investment, any poor country could entice global manufacturers by slashing taxes. Clearly, good governance and strong rule of law matter a great deal more to such businesses.

    Whereas the Shenzhen agglomeration alone sprawls across 2,000 square km, all of India’s SEZs put together occupy less than 500 square km. Larger zones benefit from several spillover effects: They attract clusters of businesses, encourage knowledge transfers from foreign to domestic companies, and spread employment, infrastructure and development to neighboring regions. India’s zones are too small to do the same.


  • Banned Chinese apps re-enter in new avatars: India is too lucrative a market to lose for Chinese companies and they would make every effort to return. “If the app ban doesn’t subside in a few months, banned apps in new avatars will crop up.


  • Battlefront at minus 40 Celsius: The Eastern Ladakh area witnesses the harshest winters where temperatures normally dip to minus 35 degrees in the night during winters coupled with high-speed freezing winds.


  • China's unmanned plateau helicopter makes maiden flight: The AR-500C drone will be used in missions including reconnaissance and communication relay, with optional functions including electronic disruption, target indication, fire strikes, cargo delivery, and nuclear radiation and chemical contamination reconnaissance.


  • Sri Lanka returns hazardous waste to UK: Several other countries in the region have recently begun to return waste imported from foreign countries.  In January, Malaysia returned 42 shipping containers of illegally imported plastic waste to the UK.


  • "Detox My Fashion": Textile dyeing is one of the most polluting aspects of the global fashion industry, devastating the environment and posing health hazards to humans. The discharge is often a cocktail of carcinogenic chemicals, dyes, salts and heavy metals that not only hurt the environment, but pollute essential drinking water sources.


  • Make these in India: Bollinger plans to make new electric Deliver-E van with 200 miles of range


  • EU's China weak spot: Germany had been particularly reluctant to speak out on Hong Kong repression as it hoped to secure an investment deal with China by year's end.


  • “We took a page from Big Tobacco’s playbook”: Tobacco companies initially just sought to make nicotine more potent. But eventually that wasn't enough to grow the business as fast as they wanted. And so they added sugar and menthol to cigarettes so you could hold the smoke in your lungs for longer periods. At Facebook, we added status updates, photo tagging, and likes, which made status and reputation primary and laid the groundwork for a teenage mental health crisis. To continue to grow the user base and in particular, the amount of time and attention users would surrender to Facebook, they needed more.


  • May his ilk grow: A ray of hope for the vernacular


Thursday, October 01, 2020

Fwd: An invitation - Nikkei Asia Exclusive webinar



---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Nikkei Asia <nikkeiasia@noreturn.nikkei.info>
Date: Thu, Oct 1, 2020 at 10:01 AM
Subject: An invitation - Nikkei Asia Exclusive webinar
To: 

Nikkei Asia

Dear Readers, 

 

As we celebrate our next chapter as Nikkei Asia, we would like to invite you to an exciting series of webinars covering key topics in business, technology and politics this autumn, because our evolution is not just about us - it's about delivering exclusive insights into Asia to you.

 

We will kick it off with what promises to be a lively discussion about the "megatrends" that will shape Asia over the next 20 years. The panel will be moderated by Charles Clover, our Big Story editor, and feature expert panelists including Parag Khanna, author of "The Future is Asian".

 

We hope to see you online at what we believe will be a stimulating series of webinars. Please take a moment to register now:

 
Nikkei Asia webinar: THE ASIAN CENTURY IN 2040

 

Date: Oct. 7, 2020 (JST)

 

Time: 19:30 in Tokyo; 18.30 in Singapore; 11.30 in London; 06:30 in New York

Duration: 50 minutes

 

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