The Emperor is Calling...What Do You Do?
When legendary Chinese hero Mulan hears that her elderly father, Fa Zhou, has been conscripted by order of the Chinese Emperor to join the Imperial Army, she is distraught. Moved by the fear of what fate awaited her father if he were to join a battle against the notoriously violent Huns at his advanced age, Mulan decides the only option is to disguise herself as a man and join the Army in his stead.
But what’s the first thing she does before beginning her covert quest? Cut her hair. She takes this bold action when she quickly recognises that what she was once lauded for, as a young woman visiting local matchmakers, would not serve her in her new context. So she pivots.
Far be it from me to inspire you to draw policy lessons from this 1998 animated Walt Disney hero (although I can make a case that we have a lot to learn from the delightful Mulan!), but I can nudge you to draw some lessons from our own resident policy heroes: Takshashila Deputy Director, Pranay Kotasthane and Chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme, Manoj Kewalramani, who make a case for why China’s story of decentralisation may not always work, particularly in the Indian context.
Three percent. This is how much city-level governments account for in government spending in India. In contrast, sub-provincial level spending in China accounts for 51 percent of government spending. Pranay and Manoj closely examine the history of decentralisation in China and astutely tease out the implications for India following a similar model, in their op-ed for The Hindu. Click here to read more.
We turn next from Indian decentralisation to Indian collaboration. Read on to see which bilateral partnership we recommend greater policy action on.
To the Next Orbit…and Beyond!
As we did in December 2021, Takshashila and the Hudson Institute hosted another roundtable series in March-April 2024 with a singular intention: advancing ideas to strengthen the bilateral economic partnership between the United States and India. The 2024 iteration of this roundtable series was centered around the theme, “Taking the India-US Economic Ties to the Next Orbit” and the series was successful in yielding recommendations for collaboration between both countries. Takshashila’s Anupam Manur and Sarthak Pradhan alongside Aparna Pande (Research Fellow & Director of Hudson Institute’s Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia) propose actions for policymakers in four key areas: trade and investment, ideas and human capital, technology, and methods and mechanisms. Click here to read an early preview of these recommendations housed in the Takshashila-Hudson Report.
While the Takshashila-Hudon Report is eagerly anticipated, we turn to less eagerly anticipated developments.
Bureau of Indian Standards: Bane or Boon to the Fastener Business?
In his recent op-ed for The Economic Times, Takshashila’s Yusuf T Unjhawala shares why he received a recent announcement from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) with consternation. He argues that the new mandate requiring a BIS certification for domestic and foreign fasteners is more bane than boon. He argues that the certification is “impractical”, “time-consuming”, “expensive”, may “risk international retaliation” and the list goes on. But worry not, he comes with solutions. Click here to read more.
Speaking of solutions, we may have a few when it comes to India’s proposed policy actions for its drone manufacturing industry. Read on to learn more.
Time to Stop Droning on?
India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has a few folks on edge. Who specifically you may ask? Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturers in India who are perturbed by a June 2024 letter from MoD, which recently resurfaced, warning against the use of China-made components in their manufacturing process.
What message does this send to domestic drone manufacturers? And more importantly, should India reconsider its drone components ban? Read this insightful op-ed by Takshashila’s Anushka Saxena and Satya Sahu in The Quint to examine these questions and more, particularly in light of the dual reality that China currently controls 80 percent of drone and drone component manufacturing supply chains and that the indigenous ecosystem for design, manufacture and assembly is underdeveloped. They present a case for what India’s ideal policy focus should be and what trends India must simply make its peace with.
Let’s traverse into less peaceful terrain: the dynamic presidential debates in the United States. Continue on to see what insights Manoj has to share on this.
Reading the tea leaves: United States Presidential Debates
Takshashila’s Chairperson of the Indo-Pacific Studies Programme, Manoj Kewalramani, was recently in conversation with The New Indian Express to help read the tea leaves (incidentally, tea pouring was one of the tests Mulan faced when her matchmaker wanted to test her suitability as a potential wife) following the recent Harris-Trump presidential debate. Click here to watch Manoj’s video discussion on the upcoming elections in the United States, including potential weakness with both candidates and the conceivable impact election outcomes will have on India.
US elections are not the only developments we’re watching closely, closer home, some industrial development plans have caught our eye too and we have thoughts to share if you read on.
12 industrial cities, Rs. 26,000 crores…and a partridge in a pear tree?
Could the Union government’s industrial city development plan be too ambitious? If we’re doing some wishful thinking, should we add a partridge in a pear tree to the list? Takshashila’s Miheer Karandikar closely examines the Union government’s recently announced plans to develop 12 new industrial cities with an allocation of more than Rs. 26,000 crores. The listed goals are: “economic upliftment, export growth, SME development, job creation, environmental sustainability and regional transformation”, however Miheer highlights challenges around financing, governance and the ‘walk-to-work model’ to make this vision a reality. Read more in his op-ed for Moneycontrol here:
“There is yet to be a consensus on allocation. The 15th Finance Commission laid out Rs 8000 crore as a ‘seed fund’ for eight new cities in the country. The announcement mentions the new cities will have planned industrialisation and infrastructure will be built "ahead of demand". Such development has yielded mixed results globally...”
“…Governance and planning challenges loom large. The announcement needs to be more transparent on which agency will be charged with developing and maintaining these proposed cities. The lack of clarity on nodal agencies and their responsibilities could lead to inter-agency conflicts, as seen in Gurgaon's development.”
“…In general, India doesn’t have a good track record of walkability in cities. While studies have shown the benefits of walkable urban spaces, implementing this in industrial settings is a novel idea. If the government means these cities to be purely industrial or include residential areas remains a question.”
Our next question is on jobs. How can India create more? If only we had a magical dragon like Mulan’s sidekick, Mushu, to aid us. But we do have some (dare I say, magical) insights from Sridhar if you read on.
It’s Raining Jobs…Or is it?
Watch Takshashila’s Sridhar Krishna on The Neon Show here where he carefully unpacks India’s unemployment-related struggles and presents a number of proposed interventions that would result in greater employment opportunities.
Another interesting item Takshashila researchers are watching are satellite images. What of? Continue on to find out.
Gleaning Geospatial Insights
A close analysis of new satellite photos have revealed the submersion of an area where a Buddhist monastery once stood. Takshashila’s Head of the Geospatial Programme Dr. Y. Nithiyanandam, adds his analysis on this recent development noting:
"The water levels have risen by nearly 100 meters [328 feet] above the previous regular flow, submerging the villages. It is difficult to predict at this time whether the water storage has reached its threshold or may continue to rise,"
Click here to read more.
Wait, There’s More!
We’re keeping a keen eye out for a new Assistant Programme Manager to join Takshashila’s Policy School. Know of anyone who has stellar organisational and communication skills? Who enjoys the thought of delivering an awesome learning experience to students making their first foray into the world of public policy? If the answer is yes, encourage them to apply here.
This edition of the Dispatch was written by Kripa Koshy, Programme Manager for Takshashila’s Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy.