Growing India-U.S. Relationship from Strength to Strength
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Takshashila Dispatch. Given that this is a significant week for India-U.S. ties, we have published an issue brief on the India-U.S. relationship and articles on the semiconductor agenda for the iCET and the proposed deal for manufacturing General Electric jet engines in India.
Meanwhile, a lot is happening around China. We cover our work on its security-first approach to development, narratives put forward at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, the assessment of PLA’s capabilities in its Western theatre, and the tussle between India & China on journalists.
In addition, we offer some insights into how the free transport for women policy must kick off reforms in public transportation to make it successful, and the state of women officers in the Indian police forces.
We also have an exciting in-person discussion on Nitopadesha at the Bangalore International Centre coming up!
Growing India-U.S. Relationship from Strength to Strength
Ahead of Indian PM Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the United States later this week, the latest Takshashila Issue Brief highlights our research on the goals India must pursue and how those can be achieved. The current state of the India-U.S. relationship, within the larger geopolitical order of the day, gives India ample opportunity to engage with the U.S. on economic and strategic issues to its advantage. For the naysayers, we scrutinise oft-repeated arguments against closer ties with the U.S. and assess their merit or the lack of it.
We argue that among other things, India must seek a closer relationship with the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific region, expand defence purchases, and seek collaboration in space and critical and emerging technologies. This must be accompanied by an ambitious goal of achieving bilateral trade targets of $500 billion and $1 trillion by 2030 and 2040, respectively.
A Road Map to Propel US-India Chips Push
A prominent agenda during PM Modi’s upcoming visit to the U.S. is strategic technological cooperation, under the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET). In an opinion for the Hindustan Times, Pranay Kotasthane & Douglas Fuller write on how the iCET could take shape:
This article proposes a way forward on one of the main pillars of iCET: Resilient semiconductor supply chains. iCET’s readout explicitly mentioned enhanced cooperation in three areas: Supporting the development of a semiconductor design, manufacturing, and fabrication ecosystem in India; promoting the development of a skilled semiconductor workforce; and encouraging the development of fabs for mature technology nodes and packaging in India. Using iCET’s vision, we propose cooperation options in the three archetypal stages of the semiconductor supply chain: Design, manufacturing, and Outsourced Assembly and Test (OSAT).
On the face of it, the India-US connection is already a crucial arm of the global semiconductor design ecosystem. The chip design stage requires large numbers of skilled engineers, which is where India’s strength lies. India’s Silicon Valley in Bengaluru took off with an American semiconductor firm, Texas Instruments, starting its design centre there in 1985. Today, the top 10 American semiconductor firms by revenue have design centres in India.
GE Jet Deal is Critical to India-U.S. Trust
Recent reports suggest that the defence deal on manufacturing General Electric F414 jet engines in India will be accompanied by tech transfer. In his column for ThePrint, Lt. General Prakash Menon writes that the likely announcement underscores the trust between the countries:
The safeguard rails can logically be expected not to permit sharing of intellectual property rights of core technologies. For a complex product like a jet engine with several thousand parts, it would ensure that dependency on the US is maintained in the long run too. For example, it would not transfer technology related to critical materials used in thermal contact parts, such as turbine blades, which are vital for developing thrust in jet engines. Also, the F414 engine is now over 30 years old and has undergone several upgrades. The version under consideration now should indicate whether it is the latest and the best available. Notably, most US fighters use more advanced engines today.
The shadow of anxieties surrounding the protection of intellectual property rights can only be diminished by the strategic benefits expected to accrue to the US interests. If an advanced jet engine deal comes through, it would indicate that the shadow has shrunk due to changes in geopolitical considerations and expectations.
Bengaluru International Centre Event | Nitopadesha Book Discussion
Nitin Pai, director, and co-founder of Takshashila Institution will be in conversation with Roopa Pai, author, on the ideas of the duties, morality, and practice of citizenship from the Nitopadesha.
The scope of the conversation will cover how citizens can achieve happiness, well-being, and prosperity for themselves and future generations by properly exercising their power as ordinary citizens. Unlike the Arthashastra and the Panchatantra, which are texts meant for rulers & princes, the stories from the Nitopadesha are meant for citizens of all ages.
Unpacking China’s ‘Developmental Security’ Approach
Mintz, Bain & Co, Capvision, and now, Micron - China has ramped up the crackdown on U.S. tech and consultancy firms operating in China on the grounds of national security. In an Explainer feature for The Hindu, Amit Kumar unpacks the motivations behind China’s actions:
Beijing has justified each of the above-discussed actions using national security concerns. However rhetorical as it may sound, the reality is that threat to security has become a ubiquitous concern in all aspects of governance in China.
Under President Xi Jinping, Chinese discourse on national security has repeatedly underlined that the idea of ‘development’ cannot be isolated from that of ‘security’. On numerous occasions, including at the 20th Party Congress last year and the Two Sessions (the annual plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress and of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) this year, Mr. Xi emphasised the need to balance development with security.
At the recently concluded meeting of the Central National Security Commission (CNSC), Mr. Xi said, “it is necessary to ensure the new development pattern with the new security pattern, actively shape a favourable external security environment for China in order to better safeguard its opening up and push for a deep integration of development and security.” It is fairly evident that Mr. Xi wants the developmental agenda to be qualified by security.
Chinese Narratives at the 2023 Shangri-La Dialogue
China presented strong views on the global security architecture at the recently concluded defence discussions at Shangri-La Dialogue. Since understanding China’s perception of its role as a security provider in the region is necessary to navigate its rise, Anushka Saxena unpacks the Chinese narratives in a blog post:
The concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’, in Li’s words, is at the forefront of America’s bloc confrontation tactics, and a means for it to form exclusive military alliances against an “imagined threat”. Li, who rather preferred to use the term ‘Asia-Pacific’ for the geographic expanse in question, also warned that the imagined threat may become a reality and a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, if the US and its allies continue to escalate confrontation through such alliances. This warning also has implications for Indian national security interests, considering it is part of alliances such as the Quad, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and the recently announced India-US defence technology alliance ‘INDUS-X’.
All of these are ideals China has regularly propagated in one form or another (while, ironically, also playing an active role in their subversion), in an attempt to undermine the US’s preponderance in the Indo-Pacific region, which China considers its backyard. China also prides itself in being a regional power, with no intentions to challenge or displace the US or the existing international order.
Capabilities of the PLA Western Theatre Command
Three years since the deadly military clashes in Galwan, the Indi-China relationship is yet to recover. In an opinion for WION, Anushka Saxena analyses the capabilities of China’s People’s Liberation Army in the region and the offensive that the Indian armed forces need to prepare for:
In order to build a world-class fighting force by 2050, Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated reforms of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in 2015, and a cornerstone of said reforms has been the switch from Military Regions (MRs) to Theatre Commands (TCs). Of the five theatre commands created, the Western TC is the one assigned to take care of mountainous/high-altitude offensive and defensive campaigns, and other mobilisation endeavours on the India-China border front.
The focus of each theatre command is to become adept at conducting Multi-Domain Integrated Joint Operations (MDIJO). This indicates that the ground, air, naval, and rocket forces assigned to the command have to seamlessly combine their individual strengths across all frontiers of warfare (including electronic, cyberspace and outer space), to realise the goal of victory on the battlefield. And even though no naval brigades have been assigned to the Western TC (given its land-oriented posture), between 2019 and 2022, there has been a steady increase in its deployment of infantry divisions and brigades, border defense brigades, and missile units on China’s borders with India, Nepal and Bhutan.
The ‘News’ Tightens on India & China
India and China have almost completed expelling each other’s journalists. Why is this happening and what impact will it have on how Indians and Chinese perceive each other? In an episode of All Things Policy, Manoj Kewalramani talks to Aditya Ramanathan about how the lack of on-the-ground reporters could hamper the aims of both governments and increase the spread of misinformation.
Free Public Transport for Women
In his column for the Mint, Nitin Pai argues that the Karnataka government’s decision to offer free public transport in buses to women in the state can prove to be a game changer if accompanied with the right set of policies for the transportation sector:
First, the Karnataka government must back the scheme with a policy to quadruple the number of its public buses. If Shakti is to succeed, public investment in buses, bus stops, public toilets and accessibility must rise.
Second, urban and long-distance road transport must be deregulated. Not only will private operators increase supply and tap new market segments, they will also push public bus companies to gain efficiency. If public service fares are kept down, private competitors could push service standards up. Deregulation is the key. To govern the sector, Karnataka needs an independent transport regulatory authority.
Third, incentive structures for transport corporations must be designed to promote accountability and efficiency. Currently, the government plans to reimburse them on passenger-kilometres. This is insufficient. Apart from competitive pressure, they need to be held accountable for timeliness, quality of service, crowding and safety; again, it needs a specialized regulator.
Women in Policing: Representation, Prejudices & Police Culture
Women officers make up only 10-11% of police forces on average across states in India.
In today’s episode of Police Chowki - a limited series on All Things Policy, Shrikrishna Upadhyaya hosts Javeed Ahmad & Sutapa Sanyal (ex-IPS officers) to discuss the interface between women and police on the one hand and the lives of women serving in the police forces on the other.
They discuss the representation of women in police forces, the effectiveness of gender-based reservation policies, and challenge prejudicial notions surrounding women in police workplaces.
Navigating Career Paths from Life Sciences to Public Policy
Are you considering making a career change to public policy? Shambhavi Naik, Head of Research at Takshashila Institution spoke to Scisoup about her switching career paths from life sciences to public policy and shared some valuable insights from experience.
That’s all from us this week. Take care!