Tackling New SARS-CoV-2 Variants
Dear Reader,
We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well. Since we last wrote to you, our work at Takshashila has included a strategy to tackle new COVID-19 variants, the future of the Internet, and our thoughts on the 5th National Family Health Survey.
Tackling New SARS-CoV-2 Variants
In a new paper, Harshit Kukreja, Priyal Lyncia D’Almeida, Ruturaj Gowaikar and Shambhavi Naik outline a strategy to tackle new variants of SARS-CoV-2.
A new variant named AY.4.2 was detected in a few Indian samples in early November. The clinical manifestation of the former is similar to previous variants; however, its secondary infection rate is higher. Another variant called B.1.1529 (Omicron) with several mutations was first identified in South Africa and has been found in more than 25 countries, including a few cases in India as of 1st week of December 2021. This variant may have increased transmissibility and immune evasion properties, and its rapid spread worldwide have caused concern.
In addition to new variants, several European countries have also detected a surge in caseloads, and some have enforced lockdowns. In India, however, there has been a general easing of restrictions on economic and social activities as caseloads are showing a reducing trend.
Given the new variants, the authors propose a framework to permit economic and social activities. It is based on the extent of vaccination coverage and caseload in an administrative unit (state/district) to quickly respond to any surge in cases and prevent further lockdowns.
How Has Tibet Changed Under Xi Jinping?
In his recent discussion document, Suyash Desai traces civilian and military developments in Tibet under Xi Jinping. The paper details the changes in the civilian leadership, the construction of dual-use infrastructure, and border development villages across Tibet. It also documents changes in the military leadership and key military installations while discussing patterns in PLA’s exercises in the region.
The paper concludes with a brief assessment that these developments have enhanced the Communist Party’s control in Tibet and briefly discusses the implications of these developments from an Indian security perspective.
The Future of the Internet
In his fortnightly column in the Mint, Nitin Pai writes about the future of the Internet. There are three broad visions of the Internet’s future, he argues.
The first is a transformation into what Tim Berners-Lee calls “Web 3.0", a network that understands natural language and, depending on who you ask, will be open and ubiquitous, allow users to take back control from corporations and governments, and include billions of Things like sensors, robots and kitchen sinks. This vision is promoted by veterans and purists who believe that Big Tech’s dominance undermines open protocols that enable the internet, and also by many in the tech community who resent the market power of Google, Meta, Apple and Amazon.
The second vision, promoted by Meta (formerly Facebook), is that of the Metaverse, an immersive world of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). According to its proponents, the Metaverse will transform the futures of both work and play.
The third vision for the future originally sprang from a backlash against government control of the internet: peer-to-peer communications, blockchains, cryptocurrencies and ‘decentralised’ applications.
From a computer science perspective, the design of cryptocurrencies is clever and elegant but massively wasteful. Never in the history of the world has so much computing power been wasted on so little as it has in the mining of Bitcoin.
Nitin then identifies the challenges posed by each of the three visions from a public policy perspective. Read the full article to find out more.
Technology & Democracy
Arjun Gargeyas writes about the vital role of technology at the upcoming Summit for Democracy. The summit ostensibly seeks to bring together democracies of the world to discuss and deliberate the issues concerning human rights, corruption and countering authoritarianism. It excludes countries like China, Russia and Turkey, which the US deems ‘undemocratic’.
On the role of technology in the summit, Arjun writes:
However, the Summit is not just about democracy. It signals the intent of the Biden administration to unite the world’s democracies for protection of individual liberties. This brings us to the area of technology which is now at the heart of protecting democratic values. There is a need for global consensus among all democratic states to arrive at a common technology governance framework that is in line with the democratic rights of citizens. The summit will be a platform for states to find the right balance of governance with respect to regulation and freedom in the technology sphere.
Unpacking The National Family Health Survey (NFHS5) Report
What does the decreased total fertility rate mean? How should we read the decreased sex ratio? How does India fare on the nutrition front? What could be a few policy implications of these? Apurva Kumar and Suman Joshi try to unpack these and other findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS5) report on the 6th December episode of All Things Policy. Listen now:
Why you should take our Health & Life Sciences programme
The Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (Health and Life Sciences) Programme is for those who wish to understand the political economy of public health and life sciences. Admissions for the next cohort, beginning 15th January 2022, are now open.
The programme traverses a holistic path, analysing the interplay between the healthcare system and policies and webinars on Public Health, Gene Editing, Clinical Trials and Biobanking. Here’s what Madhura Lohia, an alumna of the programme, has to say:
The first five weeks focus on the core modules and is common to all GCPP specialisations. It covers the fundamentals of public policy, economic reasoning for public policy and effective communication.
The second half of the programme deep-dives into the Health and Life Sciences specialisation. The curriculum is carefully curated and vetted by Shambhavi Naik and her team at Takshashila to ensure relevant and engaging topics.
The highlight of the specialisation is the 2nd workshop, the Policy Simulation Exercise. It is meant to engage students in solving a real-life policy problem. During the three day workshop, the students are divided into teams that compete to propose viable policy solutions.
What We Have Been Reading
This week’s book is Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. Recommending it, Suman Joshi says:
Women account for nearly half the population, but the world seems to be designed for the other half. Through examples from spheres ranging from corporate life to policy and medicine and product design, the author explains how our inability to gather data specific to women harms women in more ways than we can imagine. In equal parts enlightening and frustrating, this is a must-read for everyone who wants to move the needle in making the world a more equal place!Â
That’s it from us this week. Take care and stay safe!