Quick notes: Slowing AI growth | Falling fertility...

Google CEO: AI development is finally slowing down—'the low-hanging fruit is gone’

India's crisis in Engineering and management studies: Manufacturing sector has struggled to grow due to increased dependence on imports from China. On the other hand, the service-sector firms are either solving last-mile delivery problems or offering basic services -- sectors that don’t really need higher-order engineering and management capability.

BikAss ain't working: Why 7 crore new farmers in the last 7 years is bad news: The increase of people taking up farming in the last seven years is the highest in some of India’s poorest states, with usual suspect Uttar Pradesh leading from the front, along with compatriots Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.

Mohan Bhagwat on falling fertility rate: 'Population below replacement rate risks extinction,' says RSS chief.

Naidu & Stalin's push for more babies in AP & TN: A new population crisis with global implications

Why most Indians choking on smog aren’t in Delhi: According to Swiss firm IQAir, eight of the 10 most polluted cities in the world last year were located in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Delhi receives significant attention due to its position as the capital of India

Green Great Wall: China completes 3,000-km green belt around its biggest desert - 46-year campaign to encircle its largest desert with trees, part of national efforts to end desertification and curb the sandstorms that plague parts of the country during the spring

Salmon back in Klamath river: After 100 years, salmon have returned to the Klamath River – following a historic dam removal project in California. "Seeing the videos of the salmon returning home brought me to tears of happiness and relief".

Hans eating EU alive: German manufacturers warn of the sector's 'formidable crash'

Chinese Carmakers Are Trouncing Once-Unbeatable Japanese Rivals: Foreign carmakers used to make combined net profit of $21b on average every year in China, but this fell by one-third in 2023 and then halved again in the first six months

Significant edge in air combat: China’s 99% efficient afterburner tech could make it ‘unrivaled in air combat’

Banning kids from social media: What countries do to regulate children's social media access

Non-Christians be damned: Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools

Quick notes: Pedestrian hell | CATL batteries...

• What is Asif William Rahman doing in CIA? CIA insider leaked classified documents that described Israel's preparations for attack against Iran.



• India should not be pushed into joining trade blocs: It must assess existing FTAs, and should build a larger team of expert negotiators



• Why it is so difficult to walk in Indian cities: The main problem is that too much focus is given to solving the problem of car congestion on roads. "To improve the flow of traffic, authorities often narrow down footpaths or eliminate them entirely. It might seem counter-intuitive, but allowing the congestion to persist and focussing on improving infrastructure for pedestrians will help solve the traffic problem in the long run". Cities can also implement their own Non-Motorised Transport Policy (NMTP) to create better infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.



• Trump unpredictable, Modi dependable? On trade, it’s just the opposite.




• China's CATL open to building US battery plant if Trump allows: In an August interview Trump was open to Chinese firms building cars in the US



• CATL electric bus batteries set for 1M miles, megawatt charging: New-gen LFP bus batteries last 15 years, CATL claims—20% longer. CATL claims a 22% boost in energy density by volume, and 175 Wh/kg by weight



• Apple worked with China's BYD to develop EV batteries: Apple was seeking LFP batteries from both BYD and fellow Chinese firm CATL, with possible U.S. manufacturing.



• Huawei trying to poach TSMC employees with 3X salary: Desperate times call for desperate measures



• Anywhere but India: Chip makers expand in Vietnam — companies move to Southeast Asia as US-China tensions simmer



• Stranglehold on market, breach of Antitrust Laws: Zomato and Swiggy coerced restaurants into entering exclusive agreements that would deny them space to shift elsewhere if they wanted to join competing platforms to strengthen their stranglehold on market. Such “exclusivity” could become a barrier for smaller players to enter and expand.



• ED raids e-commerce sellers linked to Amazon, Flipkart: The livelihoods of small shopkeepers are at stake due to anti-competitive practices, particularly from quick-commerce companies.



• 2+ bacche ideal: AP govt tables bills to amend panchayat, municipal acts amid population decline. Individuals with more than two children will be eligible to contest local body elections hereafter as per the bills proposed.



• Mattias Eklundh: Stacking Multiple Rhythms With Konnakol:




• Booze alternatives take off: "Want to be able to socialize and look cool, feel part of the group, but not necessarily have to consume alcohol." Alcoholic beverage penetration among Gen Z consumers over 21 was the lowest among all generations.

Quick notes: Dhanteras | Demographic dividend...

• Putin-Modi parity? India brings back gold from London. Some day, the west may find an excuse to freeze Indian reserves like they did to Russia.



• Here you go: US sanctions 15 Indian entities for backing Russia



• Violating US export laws: Indian drugmaker exported Nvidia AI chips to Russia.



• Maintaining the demographic dividend: Chandrababu Naidu mulling new election law to boost population in Andhra
  
  Demographic crisis: South Korea sets world record with fertility rate dropping to new low
  
  'Uday' is Sanskrit, 'Nidhi' is Sanskrit: Stalin advises to give Tamil names to children



• Stand up to China: This Chinese advantage is only because New Delhi is not willing to play the game by the rules of strict reciprocity.
  
  China has had to pay no price in terms of, say, losing its access to the Indian market that the Indian govt generously affords it. Nor has Delhi insisted that Chinese tech companies, in particular, wishing to do business here, establish joint ventures and be required by law to transfer all the technology of the products they sell to the Indian people, to their Indian partners, and to manufacture every small sub-component and widget that goes into their products in India itself. Or, to get the hell out, and stay out! These are conditions, by the way, China insists on for any foreign company, including Indian firms operating in China.
  
  But no, the Indian govt has no such set of pre-conditions. The result: a humungous trade imbalance — just in the first six months of 2024, the trade deficit grew to $42 billion — the highest it has ever been! Meaning $42 billion of India’s wealth has been shifted to the Chinese khazana!



• Basically poison: Canola Oil is repurposed motor oil. How Canada convinced the world to eat engine lubricant... Not edible




• Displacing software engineers? Google now uses AI to write 25% of its new code



• Woke Mecca: Donations to Harvard’s Endowment Drop by More Than $150 Million



• AI BS: Linus Torvalds reckons AI is ‘90% marketing and 10% reality’
  
  - Baidu CEO warns AI is just an inevitable bubble.
  
  - Marc Benioff blames Microsoft for overhyping AI.
  
  - Son-in-law Zuck's gift: Chinese researchers develop AI model for military use on back of Meta's Llama
  
  - Social media platforms using your data to generate AI models. How to opt out



• Amazon goes nuclear, to invest more than $500 million to develop small modular reactors
  
  - Google will help build seven nuclear reactors to power its AI systems

Quick notes: Caliphate nextdoor | Largest casino...

• Sino-Pak script is working: Chaos in Bangladesh opens door to Islamic extremists. . . Students march with "ISIS Flags" in Bangladesh



• Largest casino in the world: India now accounts for 81% of all futures and options contracts in the world.



• Grand F&O casino: Where 93% Indians lose Rs 1.8 trillion but keep returning & the ‘House’ always wins.. Individuals trading in India’s derivatives market made a cumulative loss of more than Rs 1.8 lakh crore with 93 percent of the traders making losses over the last 3 years... Foreign Portfolio Investors siphoning off retailer traders' savings.
- Why India’s giant options market is a worry for regulators.
- New measures tighten F&O trading
- A Bubble in Indian Markets?



• "Lemon law" catches up: Ola Electric gets show cause notice after thousands of customer complaints.



• Modi sarkar's Make-in-China policy: India's finished steel imports from China hit 7-year high... Export iron ore to China, import finished steel.. ..
  



• Ten years of Make-in-India: Manufacturing growth has slowed to 5.5%, its GDP share remains stagnant at 15-17%, and employment in the sector has decreased




• Rotting rice fuels discontent about Modi’s food policy: Growers and food policy experts are calling for a full opening of outbound shipments to help clear rice stockpiles and boost prices for farmers.



• Maha govt raises salaries of madrasa teachers: "The state cabinet has decided to increase the capital of the Minorities Financial Corporation to Rs 1,000 crore".... No funds for Marathi-medium schools, though.



• Vietnam to build six semiconductor fabs: Country aims to become a major player in the semiconductor industry by 2050. . . . US spends CHIPS Act cash to explore Indian chipmaking collabs.



• Shadow-banning Chinese EVs from US roads: US to ban Chinese hardware and software for connected vehicles



• Rhythm with Konnakol: Mattias Eklundh Guitar Lesson .




• India's Pseudo-Satellite: Solar plane that can fly for 90 Days at a time. The National Aerospace Laboratories said the final version will have a wingspan which will be as wide as an Airbus 320, but weigh only as much as a regular motorcycle.



• China's Gigantic Hydroelectric Dam Has Earth-Shifting Capabilities: The giant dam is able to hold 10 trillion gallons of water. This shift of mass would increase the length of a day by 0.06 microseconds and move the pole position of Earth by about 2 centimetres.



• Major medical breakthroughs in China: In just the last year, independent teams have managed to reverse both diabetes and autoimmune diseases.



• Liberals didn't see this: Yazidi woman kidnapped and held in Gaza rescued after a decade.



• Oxfam network Of NGOs - acting on behalf of foreign powers? NGOs such as Samvad were chosen for funding as Affiliate NGOs on the condition that they would allow Oxfam India “complete freedom to plan the program and staffing in manner they want.”

Quick notes: Reality check | Plastic waste...

• Reality check: India's bid to match China's factory heft gets a reality check. Goods imports have surged 56% since the 2020 border clash while India's trade deficit with China has nearly doubled to $85 billion. China continues to be India's biggest source of goods and was the largest supplier of industrial products last year.



• Lagging: India’s share in global FDI falls to 2.1% in 2023 from 6.5% in 2020: Limited success in attracting FDI in manufacturing sector.



• Decline: India losing out to countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam in manufacturing. India's share in global exports of apparel, leather, textiles, and footwear has declined from 4.5 percent in 2013 to 3.5 percent in 2022. Direct employment related to exports fell from a peak of 9.5 percent of total domestic employment in 2012 to 6.5 percent in 2020.



• Speculator's haven: $5.5 trillion and ticking: Beware! The pressure is building in India's stock markets



• "Exploitation is rampant: I worked as a food delivery boy in Bengaluru. Guess how much I earned in a week




• AI’s massive thirst for energy: Mr ChatGPT and other AI power players are going to the White House to discuss AI’s massive thirst for energy. . . Oracle will use three small nuclear reactors to power new 1-gigawatt AI data center



• Nikah mut’ah: Sex tourism in Indonesia sells itself as Islamic temporary marriage. . . Taliban’s 'reforms' lead to 21,000 musical instruments destroyed in Afghanistan



• India leads the world in generating plastic waste: Producing 10.2 million tons a year (9.3 million metric tons), far more than double the next big-polluting nations, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often villainized for pollution, ranks fourth but is making tremendous strides in reducing waste.



• China’s Megadams Create Power and Destroy Homes on the ‘Roof of the World’:




• The Once-Dominant Tank Is Getting Humbled on the Battlefield: The rise of drones has prompted armies to change tactics and add defenses to the powerful armored vehicles.

Quick notes: Predactory MNCs | Thorium+Molten salt...

• E-commerce MNCs a threat to India: Amazon not doing India a favour by investing billions of dollars: Piyush Goyal.... “If you made ₹6,000 crore loss in one year, does that not smell of predatory pricing to any of you? Where did that loss come from?” The role of e-commerce in the Indian economy needs to be carefully evaluated and made citizen-centric to ensure there is no social disruption that may affect about 100 million small retailers across the country, the Minister said.




• Waqf through the ages: How Rs 1-lakh crore property owner board acquires land... Entire village's land snatched away overnight, shocking reality of Thiruchendurai



• Time To Shut Down Coaching Classes? Nobody wants to learn from the Chinese, but see how Xi Jinping addressed it in 2021. He demolished his entire tuition and coaching industry overnight. Reasons given: It was straining the finances of families, causing inequality, wasting families' time and taking young people away from more fun things. Everything, including coaching centres for China's famed UPSC equivalent, Gaokao, was banned. There was to be no tutoring for profit, no IPO listings, no share sales, limits on online learning, no mergers, acquisitions, foreign collaborations. End of story.



• China to launch world’s first thorium molten salt power station: Moving away from the water cooling model, this design significantly reduces the chances of meltdowns. Further, thorium reactors generatw less toxic and short-lived radioactive waste than uranium-fueled ones, thereby easing long-term disposal.




• AI's insatiable energy demand: Amazon's purchase of a data center campus adjacent to a nuclear power facility speaks to a broader issue that Amazon and other tech giants are grappling with: the insatiable demand for energy from AI... not just power, AI is guzzling water too.



• Beijing increases its influence in Nepal: Tibetans in Nepal not free to celebrate Dalai Lama's birthday.



• Foxconn: Southern states look to outfox each other in hunt for a Foxconn ‘city’



• Environmental concerns persist as Amaravati 'world city' rises: “Amaravati is likely to be an environmental disaster in making. There are a series of environmental issues involved, revolving around forests, water bodies, wetlands, floodplains and the riverbed. It is a flood-prone area. Flood mitigation measures are going to be expensive,”