Strategic Economic Cooperation Between India & the US
Dear Reader,
We hope you have been doing well. In this edition, we bring to you our latest from the past week, including the publication of the Takshashila-Hudson Blue Paper on the Indian economy. Additionally, applications are now open for our special credit course on Gene Drive: Understanding the Policy and Technology.
Restarting the Post-Pandemic Indian Economy
In November and December 2021, The Takshashila Institution and the Hudson Institute, a think-tank based in Washington D.C., organised a roundtable series. The series brought together experts, policymakers, and academics from India and the United States to discuss opportunities for the two countries to collaborate in a fast-changing global order.Â
Aditi Pathak, Dr. Aparna Pande, Dr. Irfan Nooruddin, Dr. M. Govinda Rao, Pranay Kotasthane, Rohan Pai, Sarthak Pradhan, Sayem Raina, and Siddhidhatri Mishra contributed towards the blue paper based on the roundtable series. Here are some of the key recommendations from the Blue Paper, which touches upon the themes of trade, investments, technological cooperation and human capital movements between the countries:
India must continue with trade reforms and refrain from having retroactive policies. The focus should be on diversifying supply chains and not simply on shifting the supply chain hub to the US. India must focus on improving infrastructure, developing an open and trustworthy framework, and rationalizing its tariffs.Â
India should have investor-friendly policies and address the issues investors face when they deal with the bureaucracy. India needs to commit to no retroactive taxation.
States in India should have greater autonomy in attracting investments. India must attract FDI in labor-intensive sectors. There should be greater engagement between policymakers and investors.Â
A kind of cyber-NATO arrangement could help to align Indian and US data policy. Data extradition laws could allow US security agencies to investigate and act when India’s cybersecurity is compromised.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) should set up a fund for semiconductor supply chain resilience. The focus should be on enabling the growth of centers for excellence that focus on comparative advantages. Â
India should work on creating its own immigration policy that focuses on attracting talent from around the world. India should address its lack of skilled workers and can explore mechanisms like career finance bonds.
AFSPA Wives’ SC Petition
The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition filed by the wives of certain army personnel, stayed all legal proceedings against the army personnel involved in a counter-insurgency operation in Nagaland where 13 civilian lives were lost because the central government has not provided sanction for prosecution under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
In his weekly column for The Print, Lt. General Prakash Menon writes that:
AFSPA is effectuated in a conflict zone that brings together civil society and government machinery in a common geographic space. Civil society’s support for the government is the higher political objective to be achieved to deal with the conflict. Such support is weakened through incidents like the one that took place in the Mon district. But incidents can still happen. The Army’s legal framework is the best mechanism to decide culpability and speedy punishment. It is, therefore, important that such a legal process is speedily completed and the soldiers are either punished or absolved of blame. Delays punish the soldiers in particular and also keep the animosity of the civil society on the boil.
Lessons from the Agnipath Scheme
In his opinion piece for The Print, Pranay Kotasthane writes that regardless of the success of the Agnipath scheme, we can derive three meta-lessons for future attempts at reform:
Data secrecy makes reform difficult – without credible information, myths abound, distrust grows, and the cognitive maps of stakeholders get misaligned.
Ex-ante fiscal projections a must – we need an Independent Fiscal Council, which can help people and politicians understand the financial consequences of such plans before execution.
Pension reforms are like six-day test matches – all pension reform options can only tackle future employees, saving on the expenditure that would have been incurred after they retire.
Crisis-hit Pakistan Won’t Go the Lanka Way
Pakistan’s economy was tottering down the path of economic crisis for a while, but the deadly combination of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have caused it to hurtle towards a disaster. However, in his opinion for The Times of India, Anupam Manur argues that there are few factors which will prevent an all-out collapse like we saw in Sri Lanka:
The international community is wary of a Sri Lanka-styled collapse in a nuclear armed country. The threat of rogue players gaining access to nukes makes lenders a lot more lenient in issuance of fresh loans and repayment terms. Pakistan has renegotiated with IMF to restore a stalled loan programme and further extend it from $6 billion to $7 billion.
How Can an Optimist Create Jobs in Bihar?
Bihar’s per capita GDP is at the level of Sub-Saharan Africa and unemployment is double the national average. In the July 27, 2022 episode of our daily podcast All Things Policy, Sridhar Krishna talks to Dr. Sudhanshu Kumar of the Centre for Economic Policy and Public Finance in Patna seeking solutions to the huge unemployment in Bihar and bridge the gap.
Takshashila Alumni Meet-up at Hyderabad & Pune
The Takshashila Institution hosted two alumni meet-up events last week at Hyderabad (July 29) and Pune (July 31). While the event at Hyderabad was led by Lt. General Prakash Menon, Sowmya Nandan, Arjun Gargeyas, Mahek Nankhani and Ritul Gaur, in Pune we had Nitin Pai joined by Pranay Kotasthane in conversation with Ashish Kulkarni on coffee, spiritual guidance and public policy.
Apart from thought provoking discussions and exchange of ideas, a couple of book projects among the participants also materialised from the events. We plan to conduct many more alumni-meet ups across India in the coming weeks – so stay tuned for details.
New Special Credit Course
The Takshashila Institution conducts short and easy-to-digest special credit courses in niche areas. Applications for our latest Special Credit Course are now open:Â
Gene Drive: Understanding the Policy and Technology
Gene Drive is a new course meant for those who desire to understand this emerging technology and its potential use in India. The course will provide an introduction to the technical, regulatory, ethical and policy aspects of gene drives in India and across the globe.
The faculty for the course is Shambhavi Naik, Head of Research at The Takshashila Institution and the chairperson of the Advanced Biology programme.
Application Deadline - Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Programme Begins - Saturday, September 10, 2022
Programme Ends - Saturday, September 24, 2022
That’s it for this week. Take care, and stay safe.