A Proposal for G20 on Combating Biological Threats
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Takshashila Dispatch. In this edition, we cover our work on the proposal for G20 to combat emerging biotech-related threats, China’s military diplomacy in Southeast Asia, abuse of Section 144 of Cr.PC (or the curfew provision), the state of U.S.- China ties, military R&D in India, opportunities in the blue economy, syllabus rationalisation by NCERT, and updates from Takshashila’s Academic Conference.
A Proposal for G20 on Combating Biological Threats
Given the fast-paced growth in biotechnology over the decades, the threat of advanced bioweapons looms large over the world. In a Policy Brief titled ‘BWC Scientific Experts Group to Combat Biological Threats’ authored by Saurabh Todi and Shambhavi Naik for Think20 (engagement group of G20), we propose the following:
Hon. Barry O’Farrell’s Farewell Dinner
The Takshashila Institution hosted a farewell dinner for the outgoing Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O' Farrell on June 2nd, 2023, at the Bangalore International Centre. The guest of honor was Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, entrepreneur, and chairperson and founder of Biocon.
Both, High Commissioner O'Farrell and Ms. Shaw, spoke about the extraordinary progress that the India-Australia bilateral relationship has undergone, across a wide range of domains, from education to defence cooperation. Diplomats from Germany, France, the U.S., and Australia, key industry persons, and policy analysts attended the event, along with members of the Takshashila community.
China’s Military Diplomacy in Southeast Asia
China is expanding its military outreach to Southeast Asian countries. In a detailed assessment published in The Hindu, Anushka Saxena offers a look at the activities of the PLA, the dangers for ASEAN, and worries for the U.S.:
Due to its intensifying geopolitical competition with the U.S. and its own security interests in the region, China is expanding its military outreach to Southeast Asian countries. China continues to face competition from the U.S. in its bid to establish a sphere of influence over Southeast Asia. The increasing proximity of the U.S. with the Philippines, with whom China shares a disputed maritime border in the Luzon Strait in the South China Sea, is worrisome for China.
China has structured the message around its exercises with Cambodia, Singapore, and Laos as a warning to the Philippines, with a Chinese military commentator Fu Qinghao saying that these exercises “make a model for other countries in the region, including the Philippines, which has been leaning toward the U.S.
Police Chowki Ep. 3 | Section 144 CrPC: From Curfews to Kite Flying
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is typically considered the provision under which the police issue curfew orders. In the latest episode of the limited series Police Chowki, Javeed Ahmad and Shrikrishna Upadhyaya discuss the findings of the study “The Use and Misuse of Section 144 CrPC - An Empirical Analysis of all the Orders Passed in 2021 in Delhi”. They delve into the routine use of Section 144 by the police far beyond the purpose and object of the section to achieve social and governance goals, as opposed to public order.
Are U.S.-China Ties Returning to Normalcy?
In an opinion for the Hindustan Times, Manoj Kewalramani argues that despite recent signs of a thaw, the U.S.-China relationship is still to recover after the balloon incident:
However, this resumption of formal bilateral dialogue has been accompanied by deepening friction and sustained suspicion. For instance, Chinese officials have repeatedly accused the US of duplicity and impinging on Beijing’s red line on Taiwan. In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping name-checked the US, accusing it of engaging in “containment, blockade and suppression of China.” In the past few months, Chinese diplomats have also intensified outreach to America’s European partners to reject what they describe as camp confrontation. The message to the developing world, meanwhile, has been framed in the language of rejecting hegemonism, unilateralism, coercion and power politics.
Military R&D and Defence Finance
Will India become a leader in military R&D from an imitator? In his column for ThePrint, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon takes a critical look at India’s state of military R&D, given its defence finance constraints:
Undoubtedly, several steps like the Innovations For Defence Excellence (IDEX) scheme have been initiated. But such programmes cannot be expected to develop state-of-the-art technology. It is a different ballgame altogether and would require a synergised national effort on a scale that certainly cannot be met by the total amount India spends on its R&D. According to GII 2022, this amount is 0.7 per cent of the country’s GDP and an area where globally, India ranks 53rd.
It is obvious that the national and defence R&D budget will require much more allotment if the defence minister’s call for becoming a leader from an imitator is to get anywhere near its realisation. With allocation challenges intact, any major increase in the defence budget seems unlikely in the near future. Therefore, Singh’s call to industry leaders to spend more on R&D is understandable, but whether the industry will rise to the occasion is a moot point.
Harnessing Opportunities in the Blue Economy
In last Tuesday’s episode of All Things Policy, Carl Jaison spoke with Ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, a Distinguished Fellow of the Foreign Studies Programme at Gateway House on India’s national efforts to harness Blue Economy sectors including the draft National Policy on Blue Economy, the role of the private sector, the opportunities and challenges in the key and allied sectors, and potential areas of collaboration for the G20 countries.
NCERT’s Curriculum for Science Needs Rationalisation Again
In light of the recent controversies over the deletion of chapters from CBSE textbooks, Nitin Pai writes in his Minit column on why India should embrace teaching science:
India, unlike Western and Middle Eastern societies, does not have a doctrinal problem with science. There is no holy book, word of god or scripture whose literality must be defended against new discoveries. I can understand why religious conservatives in the United States challenge modern biology and the evolutionary science it is based on, for it directly contradicts their article of faith. Darwin does not pose such a fundamental threat to religious conservatives of Indic faiths—the story of the origin of the earth and of humans is not a major concern. In fact, there are many different versions of the origin story, none of which are central to the practice of one’s faith, none of which matter to the conduct of daily life, and none of which get in the way of one’s pursuit of knowledge. Which is why the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) deletion of evolution from the Class X Science textbook is baffling.
Takshashila Academic Conference - June 2023
The Takshashila Institution conducted a two-day online Academic Conference for its 35th cohort of Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP) students on June 3rd and 4th, 2023. Over 200 students from the cohort attended the conference.
The keynote sessions were addressed by Anirudh Suri, Dr. Kajari Kamal, Shanti Raghavan, Jayraj Pandya, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon, and Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta. The conference also witnessed several breakout sessions delivered by various speakers on a diverse range of topics and student-led spontaneous order discussions.
That’s all for this week! Take care.