India’s Universal Basic Income: Bedeviled by the Details

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SAKSHAM KHOSLA

The idea of a universal basic income (UBI)—periodic and unconditional cash payments to all citizens—has gained renewed attention amid growing concerns about technological unemployment in advanced economies.

SUMMARY

The idea of a universal basic income (UBI)—periodic and unconditional cash payments to all citizens—has gained renewed attention amid growing concerns about technological unemployment in advanced economies. More recently, economists have made the case for a UBI in the developing world, where cash transfers distributed to all citizens, rich and poor, may cut through layers of red tape and lead to outsize gains in poverty reduction.

India’s defence industry lacks fire power

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BIDANDA CHENGAPPA

The ministry of defence has to be lauded for its proposed move not to make any further investments in the state-owned defence production sector which has, over the years, become a drag on the economy. Today India is the largest arms importer in the world and spends annually on an average about $3.6 billion, which is more than the combined imports of both Pakistan and China. Over seven decades of nationhood, the state-owned defence industrial combine, except for missilery, communication systems and some low technology items, has not contributed notably to self-reliance in defence production.

India’s defence industry constitutes eight defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and 41 Ordnance Factories (OFs) besides 49 Defence Research and Development Organisations (DRDO) which were created to accomplish self-reliance in defence production. The decision to restructure state-owned defence was in view of their dismal performance; it should have been taken at least two decades ago.

India´s Response to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative

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By Christian Wagner and Siddharth Tripathi 

According to Christian Wagner and Siddharth Tripathi, the threat posed by China’s Belt and Road Initiative has induced significant shifts in India’s foreign policy. For instance, India has now adopted a willingness to cooperate with other states like the US within South Asia, meaning it has dispensed with its policy of viewing the region as its natural sphere of influence. Further, India is also addressing China’s challenge by intensifying its efforts to cooperate with other states across its extended neighborhood in Asia, something that could create new opportunities for Germany and Europe.

Pakistan asks Trump to help fund border fence with Afghanistan

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Patrick Wintour

Pakistan is building a fence along its border with Afghanistan, and it wants Donald Trump to pay for it – or at least some of it.

The 1,800-mile barrier being constructed will help end “the prolonged agony” of the Afghan war and reduce terrorism inside Pakistan, said Nasir Khan Janjua, the national security adviser to Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the prime minister.

Janjua said that Pakistan would like the US president to pay for the barrier – or at least the Afghan side – arguing that the $532m (£378m) price tag will be a lot cheaper than the $45bn annual estimated cost of the Afghan war.

America Has Turned a Blind Eye to the Taliban's Territorial Gains

Daniel R. DePetris

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There is a gap between the rosy assessments offered by U.S. commanders and the media reports that have trickled out of Afghanistan.

Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s Vietnam War, a ten-part volume diving into one of the most unpopular wars in American history, won plaudits from a lot of historians and film critics. The documentary was a modern-day investigation across multiple domains of the conflict, from the normal soldier from Missouri who enlisted in the military to the anti-war protester who campaigned to end America’s involvement.

Is This the End of the Two-Party System in Bangladesh?

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By K.S. Venkatachalam

Less than a year ahead of national polls, the leader of Bangladesh’s opposition party has been convicted of corruption.

Bangladesh’s democracy stands at a crossroads with the arrest and conviction of Khaleda Zia, chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party. Zia, twice prime minister, was recently convicted by a Bangladeshi court and sentenced to five years in prison in a corruption case. Zia was accused of transferring 21 million taka($252,200) from the Zia Orphanage Trust to her personal account from 2006 to 2008.

The China Reckoning

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By Kurt M. Campbell and Ely Ratner

The United States has always had an outsize sense of its ability to determine China’s course. Again and again, its ambitions have come up short. After World War II, George Marshall, the U.S. special envoy to China, hoped to broker a peace between the Nationalists and Communists in the Chinese Civil War. During the Korean War, the Truman administration thought it could dissuade Mao Zedong’s troops from crossing the Yalu River. The Johnson administration believed Beijing would ultimately circumscribe its involvement in Vietnam. In each instance, Chinese realities upset American expectations.

China's military modernization challenges US air power - report

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China is poised to challenge American air dominance and has already shown itself to be a formidable naval power, according to a newly published report.

In a press launch for its annual “Military Balance” report published on Wednesday, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) highlighted the rapid modernization of Chinese land and naval forces and described China's progress in aerospace defense as “remarkable.”

“China’s emerging weapons developments and broader defence-technological progress mean that it has become a global defence innovator and is not merely ‘catching up’ with the West,” Dr. John Chipman, Director-General and Chief Executive of IISS, said.

China’s AI Agenda Advances

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By Elsa Kania

In this Oct. 21, 2016, file photo, Chinese students work on a humanoid bipedal robot displayed during the World Robot Conference in Beijing.

As China throws state support behind AI development, major Chinese technology companies will remain integral players.

Are China’s ambitions to “lead the world” in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030 credible? China’s rapid emergence as an AI powerhouse is often hyped and sensationalized, variously provoking alarm and enthusiasm that can sometimes overshadow the reality of real progress. At the same time, critical challenges remain in China’s quest to become “the world’s premier AI innovation center” and build up an AI industry of 1 trillion RMB (about $150 billion) in the process.

The Military's Greatest Enemy Isn't Russia or China

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Robert Farley

A wise man once pointed out that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. Relative to the 1970s and 1980s, the United States is almost incomparably powerful and secure, enjoying presumptive military advantage over any opponent or plausible coalition of opponents. We sometimes forget, for example, that there is some history to the idea of Russian troops freely operating in Ukraine. And the point is not that the United States deserves some kind of comeuppance for its arrogance. Geopolitics isn’t a Shakespearean drama, or a morality play. Noting that Russia, China, and others have the growing capability to act independently in their regions does not imply that they will act justly, or that they have any special right to torture their neighbors.

China and Russia are catching up with military power of US and West, say leading defence experts

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Kim Sengupta

China and Russia are challenging the military supremacy of America and its allies and the West can no longer rely on the strategic advantage it has enjoyed until now, a leading think tank states in its annual report.

The Military Balance 2018 report, produced by the IISS (International Institute of Strategic Studies) warns that while war between the great powers is not inevitable, Washington, Moscow and Beijing are now systematically preparing for the possibility of conflict.

Japan and South Korea Consider Carrier Options

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Two East Asian countries are looking to modify some of their vessels so they can carry F-35B stealth fighters.

Due to the smaller size of each country’s navy, the modernization plans will be limited.

China will soon possess a much larger carrier fleet, including vessels with catapult-launch technology similar to U.S. vessels.

Japan’s North Korea Strategy: A Solid Defense

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By Phillip Orchard

Peripheral to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Japan is slowly building up military capabilities.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe isn’t having the best Olympics. Over the weekend, at a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in ahead of the opening ceremonies, Abe’s goal was to secure a commitment that Seoul would resume joint military drills with the U.S. after the Paralympics end in March and to sustain sanctions pressure on Pyongyang, while refraining from spiking a 2015 accord intended to resolve lingering animosity over Japanese abuses in World War II. According to South Korean media, Moon told Abe not to meddle in the South’s “sovereignty and internal affairs,” and essentially sent Abe to his room to think about Japan’s past bad behavior.

Russia’s Clash With the West Is About Geography, Not Ideology

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BY BENN STEIL

The Marshall Plan recognized the limits of U.S. power in Europe. To be successful, so must diplomacy with Moscow today.

At his dacha, standing before a map of the newly expanded Soviet Union shortly after Germany’s surrender in May 1945, Josef Stalin nodded with approval. The vast buffer he’d carved out of Soviet-occupied Eastern Europe would now protect his empire against future Napoleons and Hitlers. Stalin then took the pipe from his mouth, waving it under the base of the Caucasus. He shook his head and frowned.

Syria's War Has Never Been More International

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If the coming defeat of isis and rebel forces in Syria was supposed to bring an end to the seven-year conflict there, no one told Iran, Israel, Turkey, Russia, or the United States.

Consider the stunning events that have occurred in the last three weeks alone: Last month, Turkey, with Russian approval, launched a military offensive in northwestern Syria against Kurdish fighters it views as terrorists and America views as counterterrorism allies. Last week, the United States killed numerous Russian mercenaries who were advancing on a U.S.-Kurdish base in eastern Syria. Last weekend, Israel intercepted an Iranian drone in Israeli airspace and struck Iranian and Syrian military targets in Syria, prompting Syria to shoot down an Israeli fighter jet and Russia to reportedly pressure the Israelis into holding their return fire—for the time being at least.

The President and the Bomb

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By Richard K. Betts and Matthew C. Waxman

In November 2017, for the first time in 41 years, the U.S. Congress held a hearing to consider changes to the president’s authority to launch nuclear weapons. Although Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, insisted that the hearing was “not specific to anybody,” Democrats used the opportunity to air concerns that President Donald Trump might stumble into nuclear war. After all, he had threatened to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea, and he subsequently boasted in a tweet about the size of the figurative “nuclear button” on his desk in the Oval Office. 

Jacob Zuma’s last stand South Africa’s ruling party v the president

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NO ONE expected Jacob Zuma to go gracefully. But as South Africa’s ever-defiant president drags out his final days in office, even his allies in the ruling party have had enough. On February 13th the African National Congress (ANC) said that its national executive committee had “recalled” Mr Zuma as president “with urgency” (under the party’s rules, though not the country’s constitution, all government officials serve at the ANC’s pleasure). In response, Mr Zuma said he would leave office—in three to six months. He had already swatted away an appeal from the six most senior leaders in the party to resign a week earlier. This is in character: shameless and stubborn, he has, over the years, appeared unfazed by damning court decisions against him as well as mass demonstrations demanding that he go. A popular cartoon doing the rounds in South Africa shows a huge crowd of people outside his office. A party colleague says: “It’s the people. They’ve come to say goodbye.” An insouciant Zuma replies: “Where are they going?”

Artificial Intelligence Trends To Watch In 2018

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A look at 13 AI trends reshaping industries and economies.

China is racing ahead in AI. Deep learning is getting a make over. AI is coming to Cannabis tech. Artificial intelligence is changing the fundamental structure of every industry in areas ranging from agriculture to cybersecurity to commerce to healthcare, and more.

UK blames Russia for cyber attack, says won't tolerate disruption

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LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Britain blamed Russia on Thursday for a cyber-attack last year, publicly pointing the finger at Moscow for spreading a virus which disrupted companies across Europe including UK-based Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L).

Russia denied the accusation, saying it was part of “Russophobic” campaign it said was being waged by some Western countries.

The so-called NotPetya attack in June started in Ukraine where it crippled government and business computers before spreading around the world, halting operations at ports, factories and offices.

Where People Think The News Is Accurate

from Statista.com

by Niall McCarthy

The growing phenomenon of fake news has exacerbated fractured attitudes on the accuracy of the news media, especially on matters such as politics, current events and when it comes to the involvement of innocent individuals.

Reconciliation Statecraft: Eight Competing Principal Interests

By Nayef Al-Rodhan 

In this article, Nayef Al-Rodhan outlines his concept of ‘reconciliation statecraft’, which attempts to identify and accommodate the multitude of interests nations must address in the 21st century. More specifically, the eight key competing interests identified by Al-Rodhan relate to 1) individual well-being; 2) groups; 3) national interests; 4) regional concerns; 5) the management of cultural interests, involving cultural, linguistic or religious traditions; 6) concerns shared by a number or all states in the international system; 7) the planet, including the environment; and 8) morality.

The Army's next network strategy: halt, fix, pivot

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By: Mark Pomerleau 

The Army's new network modernization strategy outlines a three pronged approach; halt, fix, pivot.

The Army’s new network strategy is three prongs; halt, fix, pivot.

The Army submitted a report to Congress last month, as mandated by the 2018 defense authorization bill, that requested the Army’s strategy for “modernizing air-land ad-hoc, mobile tactical communications and data networks.”

Changing Europe revives interest in an EU military

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Early plans for a European army failed in the wake of World War II. EU states have since taken numerous small steps to integrate their armed forces, bringing the idea of a Europe-wide military ever closer to reality.

Military treaties for a joint European army were signed just a few years after the end of the Second World War. A defense cooperation pact laid out the details, from acquiring new uniforms to implementing a clear command structure. France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg would supply the European Army with soldiers. A European commissioner's office made up of nine representatives would send the troops to the front line, but officials would be monitored by a European assembly of MEPs from participating states.

Milley: Future wars will be long, they'll be fought on the ground, and spec ops won't save us

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By: Meghann Myers 

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley wants the American public to stop fooling itself when it comes to war, so he’s drawn up five ”myths” he says we need to let go of, pronto.

Milley shared his thesis with an audience at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, and his take on it has evolved since he first started speaking about four slightly different myths of warfare back in 2015. The myths: 

An unhappy Army?

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Unflattering information on the internal “atmosphere” in the armed services is seldom made public: the bad-for-morale argument serves to keep things under wraps. Yet occasionally the responses to questions in Parliament rupture the veil of secrecy, and it has just been admitted that “physical casualties” ~ the preferred euphemism for suicides, fratricides and traffic accidents have, over the last three years, cost the forces more lives than battle casualties. That is a truly worrisome situation, more than another cold statistic, given the “hot” conditions the Army faces while defending the frontier in Jammu and Kashmir, and countering insurgencies there as well as in the North-east. Information furnished to the apex legislature speaks of 425 suicides since 2014: with the Army losing nine officers and 326 soldiers, the Air Force five officers and 67 airmen and the Navy two officers and 16 sailors. Any suggestion that all of these were triggered by personal factors would be negated by the response to another query which revealed that during the same three-year time span 803 Army officers and 38,150 officers soldiers had sought premature retirement.