India needs to invest in social capital, and fast
A New Public Policy Comic Book, Economic Freedom in India, A Framework for Lunar Governance and More
In December 2023, just about a month ago, something big happened at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B). The 1998 batch raised ₹57 crore for the institution as part of their silver jubilee reunion celebration.
More than 200 alumni contributed to this fund, which will be used to create sustainable and eco-friendly hostels for students, makerspace (interdisciplinary) labs which will include a new micro AI factory, and to fund projects at the Centre for Machine Intelligence and Data Minds (C-MInDS). The proceeds will also be used to disburse need-based scholarships and to create “the first-of-its-kind endowment fund”.
This is the highest combined contribution by a single IIT-B class. Earlier, the 1971 batch had raised ₹41 crore for their golden jubilee celebrations. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani had contributed ₹315 crore individually in 2023, adding to his previous grants totalling ₹85 crore. In August 2023, an anonymous alumnus contributed ₹153 crore for climate research through a green energy and sustainability research hub.
What is this all about? In contemporary sociology and anthropology terms, this is what is called the social capital derived from an Old Boys’ Network. As American educationist Chris Drew puts it, “old boys” networks act as sites where their members can socialize and get to know other members. The fact of belonging to the network acts as a currency, establishing trust among other members, which can lead to opportunities for personal and professional growth. Members see each other as belonging to the same in-group, which lowers the cost of social transactions.”
In short, this is what social capital is all about, and this is exactly what Takshashila co-founder Nitin Pai says India needs to build in order to complement the country’s growing per capita income.
He writes in his latest column for Mint:
“If we are to have a better India to go with a richer India, we must grapple with the question of why is it that our public spaces are ugly, dirty, poorly maintained and generally deteriorating. Else our efforts will be Sisyphean at best—a facelift here, an upgrade there, but always with regression to the shabby mean.
My argument is that all the symptoms we can see—corruption, incompetence, inconsiderate behaviour—stem from the same deep cause in the Indian psyche. The lack of a sense of ‘us.’ Public toilets are dirty, public buildings ugly, roads choked, forests ravaged and the environment polluted because these are not seen as ‘our’ common property. Rather, they are seen as freely available resources that ‘we’ had better exploit before ‘others’ do.”
Indian society is far more complex and heterogeneous than, say, European, Japanese or Australian. Therefore, social capital is as much a function of culture as it is of bonding and belonging.
Nitin explains:
“In our country, we have a further problem. Local ‘insiders’ usually do not see themselves as members of the community, and thus are not too interested in upholding norms. Local residents, restaurant owners, retailers, office workers tend to see each other as adversaries and not co-owners. Political scientists will say that local politics should emerge to consolidate the interests of various stakeholders. I am no longer impressed by such an argument. Local politics in India, even in urban areas, is organized along caste and sectarian lines.”
You can read his piece here.
Why economic freedom is key to prosperity
In one of his columns for The New York Times, back in 2004, the long-standing columnist of the paper, Thomas L Friedman, wrote this about America’s secret sauce:
“America is the greatest engine of innovation that has ever existed, and it can't be duplicated anytime soon, because it is the product of a multitude of factors: extreme freedom of thought, an emphasis on independent thinking, a steady immigration of new minds, a risk-taking culture with no stigma attached to trying and failing, a noncorrupt bureaucracy, and financial markets and a venture capital system that are unrivaled at taking new ideas and turning them into global products.”
He could have used just two words — economic freedom.
In their Republic Day commemorative column for The Times of India, Takshashila’s Anupam Manur and Pranay Kotasthane write:
“We celebrate the Republic because it prohibits any majority from running roughshod based on its numerical strength. The Constitution limits the power of governments and groups to protect the minority of One, i.e. every individual. The Republic grants fundamental rights to individuals to live, trade, work and protest peacefully. Yet, among these freedoms, the one that governments most readily and frequently trample upon — with little or no opposition — is the right to economic freedom. We can endlessly debate the current state of political or religious freedom and the decline of the freedom of expression, and that is partly the point — there is at least a debate. When the State encroaches upon these freedoms, there is pushback and widespread alarm. However, the freedom to pursue economic activity without any encumbrance is a forgotten ideal and is breached constantly with careless abandon by the State.”
Is Economic Freedom for the rich alone? Or only for the entrepreneur class? Or just for those who ‘create’ jobs or foster innovation? No, assert Anupam and Pranay.
“Economic freedom is mistakenly assumed to benefit the elite alone. It’s not only about an industrialist’s freedom to run a business but also about letting a farmer export his produce and not obstructing women from working at night in factories. Most of all, it’s about letting people take charge of their economic destinies. It’s no wonder that one of the first writ petitions asking the government to uphold his right to trade and profession was filed by a vegetable vendor and not by a wealthy builder or a politician.”
Economic freedom is not only fundamental to any democratic society but also the pillar on which progress is held aloft. You can read their column here.
And We Have Another Book On The Way
The redoubtable Khyati Pathak has collaborated with Anupam Manur and Pranay Kotasthane to publish a cartoon guide to active citizenship. Our very own Anupam announced on X (formerly Twitter) with these immortal words:
“Happy Republic Day folks! And on this most auspicious day, permit me to announce our new book "We, the Citizens" published by @PenguinIndia. This is something new — a cartoon guide to active citizenship!”
It is already the No. 1 bestseller in the Public Policy section on Amazon India. The book will be released on February 5, but make sure you have pre-ordered it from here.
Here’s a tidbit of what the book contains:
To commemorate the occasion, Khyati published a cartoon on Twitter. You can view it here.
The Lunar Governance Conundrum
Last Thursday, astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, published a new study in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on detecting water molecules in the atmosphere of a small, blazing-hot exoplanet 97 light-years from Earth. The planet is about twice Earth’s diameter, and it is the smallest exoplanet found to have water vapour in its atmosphere. It was discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope.
No matter which celestial body we decide to plan and execute humanity’s Plan B on, water seems to be the fundamental factor for life, according to biologists. Policymakers, on the other hand, would say that the second thing you’d need is a governance model. What, then, is the governance model for the moon if humankind ever has to establish its permanent presence there or even use it for resource farming?
Takshashila’s Aditya Ramanathan attempts just that in his latest research document titled ‘Understanding the Lunar Governance Challenge’.
To be sure, human activity on the Moon is set to spike over the coming decade as spacefaring states pursue ambitious projects for lunar exploration, habitation, and resource utilisation. Lunar activity is driven by scientific, political, economic, and even strategic considerations. International competition for prestige and technological supremacy will spur exploration of the Moon.
Aditya says that the present architecture of lunar governance consists of a mix of ageing treaties and informal agreements that have little to say about pressing issues such as deconfliction, heritage sites, and resource utilisation, and the Artemis Accords cannot replace the need for a revised multilateral, legally binding treaty governing human activity on the Moon.
How exactly do we tackle this conundrum, then?
Aditya establishes the problem statement before offering any pathway.
“Four developments in 2023 have made the challenge of lunar governance more urgent than before for India. One, in April, the Indian government released an ambitious space policy that allows non-governmental entities (NGEs) to mine asteroids and other celestial bodies including the Moon. Two, in June, India became a signatory to the US-led Artemis Accords, which lay out a series of principles for lunar activity. Three, in August, India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft conducted a successful soft-landing near the Moon’s south pole. Four, in October, India announced its intention to land one of its nationals on the Moon by 2040.”
The research document is fascinating in its breadth as much as in its depth. Read the entire PDF here.
More Op-Eds From Our Folks: American Politics, the Ukraine-China Calculus, and the India-China Rivalry
Sachin Kalbag continues his coverage of American politics with his latest Op-ed for a brand new website based out of Bengaluru called ‘Bol India Bol’. His latest Op-Ed, published on Republic Day is on the race for becoming Donald Trump’s running mate for the Republican ticket for the November polls. You can read it here.
Rakshith Shetty has a new column in The Diplomat on the Ukraine-China relationship in the context of the conflict with Russia. He writes: “It has been nearly 700 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, and it seems clear that Zelenskyy has been playing a diplomatic long game with Moscow’s top ally, Xi Jinping. Despite Beijing’s “no-limits partnership” with Moscow, Zelenskyy had good reasons for not antagonizing Xi.” Read it here.
Saurabh Todi from our Indo-Pacific Programme has a piece on the India-China rivalry. This article was originally published in French, Italian and Spanish by the Le Grand Continent. The unedited English version of the article can be found here.
Satya S Sahu & Pranay Kotasthane have a new piece out in The Hindu where they argue that an overhauled Semiconductor Design-Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme would fortify India’s comparative advantage and augment its forays into other stages of the semiconductor global value chain. Read it here.
Our Two Fave Podcasts of the Week
In the latest episode of the unique Police Chowki series, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya hosts Amitabh Thakur (IPS officer & Transport Commissioner, Odisha) and Javeed Ahmad (former IPS officer & DGP of Uttar Pradesh) for a conversation on India’s disaster preparedness and response capacity. Thakur highlights the Odisha disaster response model, its history, and best practices. They also discuss the role of National and State Disaster Response Forces, the role of local police in relief and rescue, and state capacity in this domain. Listen to this enlightening conversation here.
Our other recommendation is Satya Sahu’s chat with Shristi Srivastava (CEO and Founder, Infiheal) where they explore how AI is reshaping mental healthcare; its technological enhancements, challenges, and ethical considerations of integrating AI in medical settings. Listen to it here.
Wait, There’s More
The HGV Reddy Memorial Lecture at Takshashila was delivered this past week by India’s Chief Economic Adviser, Dr V Anantha Nageswaran. Those who attended found the speech not only illuminating but also one that did not shy from taking up contentious issues such as China. Some glimpses here.
The Book Lounge event promised last week delivered on its claims! It was a rockstar event. Some photos can be found here.
Our PGP Applications are Open
Details here!
That’s all from us this week. See you next.