“Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.”
Monday, February 24, 2025
AI Dilemma
India stands at a critical juncture in the global AI race. With 15 per cent of the world’s AI talent, a vibrant start-up ecosystem, and increasing investments from major tech companies, the country has all the ingredients to become an AI powerhouse.
India stands at a critical juncture in the global AI race. With 15 per cent of the world’s AI talent, a vibrant start-up ecosystem, and increasing investments from major tech companies, the country has all the ingredients to become an AI powerhouse. Yet, despite these advantages, India is struggling to keep pace with global leaders like the US and China. The absence of a home-grown foundational AI model, limited research infrastructure, and inadequate government funding raise pressing concerns about India’s ability to lead in the AI revolution. While the government has promised rapid development of an indigenous AI model, the challenges are immense.
Countries like the US and China have spent years building robust AI ecosystems, investing heavily in research, academia, and military applications. The US has committed an astronomical $500 billion to AI infrastructure, while China has set aside $137 billion to establish itself as a global AI hub. In stark contrast, India’s AI mission is worth only $1 billion ~ a fraction of what is required to compete at a global level. Without significant state backing, it is unrealistic to expect Indian start-ups and universities to bridge this gap on their own. Another fundamental issue is the lack of high-quality, India-specific da – t asets. AI models require vast amounts of data to train, and India’s linguistic and cultural diversity add an extra layer of complexity.
Training models to understand and respond accurately in multiple Indian languages requires extensive resources, but little has been done to address this gap. Without access to well-structured datasets, even the most advanced AI models will struggle to be effective in the Indian context. Additionally, India’s AI sector faces a persistent brain drain. While Indian talent is sought after globally, many top AI researchers and engineers prefer to work in the US or Europe due to better funding, research facilities, and career opportunities. Unlike in China, where the government has built a strong academic and corporate AI research ecosystem, India’s research environment remains weak. Universities and private companies must work together to build long-term R&D capabilities rather than focusing solely on short-term commercial applications.
However, all is not lost. India has already demonstrated its ability to leapfrog technological gaps, as seen in the success of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The digital payments revolution was made possible through a strong partnership between the government, industry, and academia. This model needs to be replicated for AI ~ where state-backed initiatives provide critical infrastructure, private companies invest in innovation, and universities drive fundamental research. In the short term, India can accelerate its AI development by leveraging open-source models and existing global platforms. But in the long run, strategic autonomy in AI will require deep investment in semiconductor manufacturing, computational infrastructure, and local R&D. If India fails to act decisively, it risks becoming a mere consumer of AI technologies developed elsewhere rather than a leader in the field.
Source: The Statesman, 21/02/25
Early end: Editorial on the alarming spike in youth suicides in India
Shrinking of employment opportunities is another factor. A issue is the absence of adequate job security; the high prevalence of suicide among daily wage earners is a case in point
Young Indians are snuffing out their own lives at an alarming rate. Statistics bear out the grimness of the situation. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau data, India reported 1,70,924 suicides in 2022 — the highest in the world — out of which those aged between 18 and 30 comprised a staggering 35% and minors 6% of the total deaths. That is not all. Student suicides witnessed a spike of 4%, numbering 13,044 or 7.6% of the total figure. There seems to be a worrying overlap between the datasets pertaining to India and the world. According to the World Health Organization, suicide is the third leading global cause of death among those aged 15-29 years; a 2024 study published in Springer stated that suicide accounted for about 52,000 deaths annually in children and adolescents. Delving into the root causes of such deaths, as the recently-held National Suicide Prevention Conference attempted to do, is important. One of the factors that came up in the analysis is the rising stress of examinations. The relentless pressure to perform, driven by overambitious guardians, a score-based education system, coupled with the fierce competition for limited seats in premier educational institutions, places a formidable burden on students’ mental health. The rising cases of suicide at Kota, India’s principal coaching hub for competitive examinations, serve as an example of this: seven cases have already been reported in the first two months of this year. The shrinking of employment opportunities is another causal factor. A related issue is the absence of adequate job security; the high prevalence of suicide among daily wage earners is a case in point. Oppression due to caste discrimination is rampant, even in elite educational institutions, aggravating the sense of alienation among students from marginalised communities.
India must prioritise mental healthcare. The introduction of mental health in the school curriculum under the National Education Policy is a positive step. But this needs to be complemented by interventions in affiliated spaces — from improving the ratio between the number of therapists and modern treatment facilities and student populations to better employment opportunities for the youth to addressing the prohibitive cost of therapy, among other measures. But the shoots of change must begin at home. Indian families, overwhelmingly conservative temperamentally, need to understand that mental well-being matters.
Source: Telegraph India; 24.02.25
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Manipur Crisis
The imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur has reignited fierce debates about the state’s future, exposing deep ethnic and political fault lines.
he imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur has reignited fierce debates about the state’s future, exposing deep ethnic and political fault lines. While Kuki-Zo-Hmar tribes have welcomed the move as a long overdue step toward stability, the Meitei community sees it as an unjustified intervention that could further marginalise them. This stark division underscores the complexities of the crisis that began on 3 May 2023, when ethnic clashes erupted, leading to over 250 deaths and the displacement of more than 60,000 people. At the heart of the issue is whether President’s Rule will be a meaningful intervention or a temporary political manoeuvre. The central leadership of the BJP, which ruled the state, faces a difficult choice: allow President’s Rule to continue long enough to facilitate genuine reconciliation or use it merely as a stopgap measure until a new political arrangement is worked out among party MLAs in Manipur.
Given that President’s Rule was imposed after Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned, the concern is whether governance will truly be free from political interference or if this is just a tactical reshuffling of power. For over 21 months, Manipur has been caught in a violent impasse. The presence of buffer zones, paramilitary forces, and heavily armed groups ~ including armed Meitei underground factions and Kuki militant groups ~ has only solidified the divide. Even as some Meitei residents privately acknowledge relief at the removal of armed elements that had bullied and extorted them, civil society groups remain distrustful of the Centre’s intentions. The spectre of 6,000 missing weapons looted from police armouries in 2023 adds another layer of volatility to an already fragile situation. For President’s Rule to have any real impact, governance must be strictly neutral, insulated from political interests.
This requires an impartial administration, free from pressure by local factions, and a strong security presence that does not favour any community. The central paramilitary forces deployed must ensure law and order without becoming instruments of political manoeuvring. Perhaps the most critical opportunity that President’s Rule provides is a temporary truce ~ a moment where dialogue could become possible between the warring communities. Over the past two years, mutual suspicion, historical grievances, and hardened narratives have made any meaningful talks impossible.
The Governor, who must now play a crucial and bipartisan role in governance, must use this time to facilitate community engagement and encourage local leadership to participate in peace-building measures. The ultimate test, however, lies in Delhi’s political calculations. If the BJP views Manipur through the narrow lens of political control, the region could soon return to chaos. But if the priority is stability over electoral considerations, President’s Rule could be the turning point for reconciliation. Manipur stands at a historic crossroads. The decision now is whether to rebuild trust and peace or allow another cycle of violence to unfold.
Source: The Statesman, 18/02/25
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