Death blow to Indian defence industry

• Prof Bharat Karnad: Modi’s atmnirbharta policies are cementing India’s reputation as a classic sucker.
  
  “In a move that could severely undercut India’s domestic defence industry, the Modi govt is considering allowing wholly owned local subsidiaries of foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to qualify as ‘Indian vendors’ in defence procurement. This long-pending demand of multinational arms makers threatens to hand the lucrative defence market to global giants while sidelining homegrown firms.”
  
  That Modi cannot distinguish between “Made in India” — where the entire weapon system is designed, developed, and produced in the country, and “Make in India” where any foreign goods can be imported in disaggregated kit-form and screw-drivered, was pointed out by me when the PM first started talking about atmnirbharta. 11 years later we know what that means.
  
  Modi publicly disclosed what he meant by atm nirbhar — his “Make in India” policy, he said, involves “Indian toil”. So, for the PM it is enough that Indians employed in these Indian factories of foreign arms companies, being set up here in the hope of getting the exact bonanza they are getting now, will be screwdrivering vintage second rate military hardware. But, this policy wrinkle will simplify procurement by bypassing the “jhanjat” of tech transfer. Welcome to India — the dumping ground for antique Western weaponry!
  
  But this development seems in the mainstream of the Modi government’s recent initiatives that see nothing wrong in signing Free Trade Agreements left and right drawn up by that shortsighted commerce minister, Piyush Goel, and his bunch of babus, with provisions in them to permit British and European companies to bid for all Indian govt procurement contracts at the central, state and local levels worth $750 billion annually, which will void the Indian industry.
  
  There are other provisions in them that will bar Indian entities from demanding the transfer of source codes as part of sales deals to enable the re-engineering, say, of weapons and other systems for retrofitment on imported hardware and weapons platforms, to fit India’s needs and requirements.
  
  Hence, Dassault Avions’ refusal to part with source codes for the Rafale aircraft means that DRDO cannot integrate Indian designed and produced missiles and ordnance into the IAF Rafales. And even for the most minor modifications the IAF will have to go to the French company — an endless revenue stream for Dassult! Apparently Paris had alerted the French defence industry to New Delhi’s agreeing to such provisions in the soon to be formalised FTA with EU (and also with the UK and the US).
  
  



• India and China, a study in contrast: MNCs forced to do JV with locals in return for market access is at the heart of China model. In India, not only do we surrender our markets to MNCs, we also put up with their transfer pricing/royalty shenanigans

MNCs forced to do JV with locals in return for market access is at the heart of China model. It allows domestic firms to "absorb" tech and move up value chain
In India, not only do we surrender our markets to MNCs, we also put up with their transfer pricing/royalty shenanigans pic.twitter.com/49Uqi7bjul

— Diva Jain (@DivaJain2) September 5, 2025




• IAF and the French Defence industry: Recently, we learnt from defence minister Rajnath Singh that the French jet engine maker, Safran would help India design and develop its own jet engine — no, not by building on the Kaveri 35VS engine that produced 81 kiloNewtons (kN) of thrust in a dry test — which, incidentally, is some 9kN more than the 73kN thrust developed by the engines on the Rafales flying with the IAF currently. And, notwithstanding some Rupees 20 BILLION the country has sunk into the Kaveri project, including setting up the impressive jet engine facility at the GTRE, Bengaluru. But rather by forking over $10 BILLION to Safran for passing off the Snecma M88-4 engine with some tinkering, as some new fangled power plant for the Tejas 1A and Mk2.
  
  Except, the M88 is a design product of the 1970s, that is, it is an over 50 year OLD jet engine!
  
  The defence minister very proudly declared that the indigenous twin-engined advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) would be powered by this engine. Sure its power is going to be increased to 120kN but on the same old design. In other words, by the time the AMCA — a supposedly 5th generation aircraft is airborne realistically no earlier than 2040, the engine it will be outfitted with will already be 70+ years old!!!
  
  The Free Trade Agreement the Piyush Goel-led commerce ministry negotiated with the UK and is negotiating with the EU and the US, permits Western supplier firms to deny transfer of source codes for their wares!



• Blundering again: It takes a special talent in our politicians to make Leh’s Tibetan Buddhists so belligerent





• Forever dependent on phorenware: Do unto America what America does to China

Shouldn’t India do the same with Google and FB, not to mention X? pic.twitter.com/325v6OTAoI

— Sankrant Sanu सानु संक्रान्त ਸੰਕ੍ਰਾਂਤ ਸਾਨੁ (@sankrant) September 17, 2025

Emboldened Evangelists

Evangelists try to conquer Silicon Valley: Many in the tech-Christian nexus are vocal Trump supporters – or at least sceptical of the more excessive liberal tendencies of Silicon Valley.

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Christianity Was “Borderline Illegal” in Silicon Valley: To have two of the world’s richest technologists, worth a recently estimated $400 billion (Elon Musk) and $14 billion (Peter Thiel), speak admiringly about biblical teachings challenges the view that Christianity is anti-capitalist or even anti-intellectual.

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Antichrist, yeah! Peter Thiel, the gay billionaire Christian evangelist CEO of Palantir is spreading the word about the rise of the Antichrist. This week, Thiel launched the first of a four-part lecture series he’s doing about the Dark Lord.

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"Moral crisis in tech industry": The Silicon Valley Christians Who Want to Build ‘Heaven on Earth’

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Meanwhile...: AI Startup Founders Tout a Winning Formula—No Booze, No Sleep, No Fun... going San Francisco-sober to 'lock in' for 'grind mode'

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The Stupidity of GDP per Capita: What does GDP NOT tell us?

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Ye nahi sudhrega: India seeks people access in US trade talks after H-1B visa row. . . . . "the less Modi talks of the H1B visa the better. Everybody and his proverbial uncle in the leadership circles in the US and the West has about had it with the Indian PM’s pleadings to let in more Indian engineers and science grads as a way of pleasing his middle class voter base".

Modi’s effusive response to Trump sets India up for more humiliation

Quick notes: Agrivoltaics | Outsourcing tax....

• Farming under solar panels: "It reduces irrigation needs, shields crops from heat stress, and stabilizes incomes by diversifying revenue streams for farmers".




• Let MAGA eat soy: America’s latest farmer crisis is Government-Grown. Steep losses could fuel farm bankruptcies around the United States.
  
  
  



• Waiting for socialist bailouts: China’s snub of U.S. soybeans is a crisis for American farmers



• Forever dependent on foreign tech: India's IT sector nervous as US proposes 25% outsourcing tax. Navarro reposted a call from far-right activist Jack Posobiec for tariffs on services, not just goods.




Blaming AI for India’s IT woes is like blaming Uber for walking less. Truth is: we never built OS, chips or cloud because jugaad outsourcing was too profitable. Time isn’t the threat-our comfort zone is.

— Fropky (@fropky) September 6, 2025




• Trump attacks his cash cow: Hundreds of U.S. colleges poised to close in next decade. “Over the next decade, we’re going through a very painful but necessary re-balancing in supply and demand.”



• Ashtavakra Gita: The Perfect Spiritual Guide to Enlightenment




• Wi-Fi signals used to measure heart rate accurately: Signal variations caused by a beating heart enable determining beats per minute. The UCSC team, which included Professor Katia Obraczka, Ph.D. student Nayan Bhatia, and high school student and visiting researcher Pranay Kocheta, used a low-cost ESP32 chip and paired it with a machine learning algorithm to detect changes in the Wi-Fi signal caused by the heart. They then run it through a machine learning algorithm, which can estimate the heart rate with an accuracy of around half a beat per minute



• "Strength of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship": US firm makes a $500 million investment deal with Pakistan for critical minerals

Quick notes: China threat | MAGA backlash...

• Conjoined enemies: Lessons From Op Sindoor. "So far we used to say that look China would assist Pakistan during operations, during a conflict, etc. But I think this time it came out loud and clear that it is more like they are conjoined".
  
  
• Beware Of China Threat In North East: China is extremely proactive in politics in Shan state (and indeed in many other parts of Myanmar) as a study about China's overt and opaque role in South Asia reveals.
  
  
• India-China trade: Deficit widens to $99.2 bn. "India is an iron ore seller but not a high-quality steel exporter".
  
  
• Will BRICS boom under Trump's watch? "The dollar would stay "dominant for years, but parallel settlement systems in yuan, rupee and ruble will grow. This won't dethrone the dollar but will steadily chip away at its monopoly."
  
  
• Why the thriving Indian diaspora in the US is not an asset anymore: The excessive publicity about Indian success stories and their high income and wealth levels has begun to breed envy and resentment in non-elite sections of the American populace.
  
  There might be a campaign against H1B visas and even a gradual expulsion of persons stuck in a limbo with pending green cards and pending citizenship.
  
  The ground beneath our feet is shifting. And for the time being, the best strategy might be to stop crowing about us becoming a large economy (we are nowhere there in per capita terms anyway) or becoming a big power. We can lie low till our time comes.
  
  
• 'Is it time to pause H1-B visas?': Debate intensifies over Indian tech hires
  
  
• AI destroying careers: There is now clearer evidence AI is wrecking young Americans’ job prospects.
  
  AI is eating entry-level coding and customer service roles, according to a new Stanford study — junior job listings drop 13% in three years in fields vulnerable to AI
  
  
• Raag MARU BIHAG: Shehnai - Pandit S. Ballesh & Krishna Ballesh




• "Brahmins Profiteering...": Top Trump Aide On India's Russian Oil Trade. . . . . USA unhinged.. vinAshakAlE viparIta buddhi.
  
  
• We should target Meta, X and Netflix instead: From Pepsi To McDonald's, US Giants Face Swadeshi Heat Amid Trump Tariffs
  
  
• Trump faces MAGA backlash: Trump has opened the doors of American universities to six lakh Chinese students, even as his administration continues its crackdown on International students. "We're going to allow their students to come in. It's very important, 600,000 students. It's very important. But we're going to get along with China".
  
  
• Flip-flopping approach: How Trump Reversed Course on Chinese Students
  
  
• Imperialist: Meta's Zuckerberg pressed Trump on digital taxes before tariff threat. . . . Trump vows export curbs, tariffs in digital tax reprisal
  
  
• Era of US industrial policy: Investors worry Trump's Intel deal kicks off era of US industrial policy.. Intel did not need the money. SoftBank poured $2 billion into the chipmaker three days before the Trump announcement.
  
  
• Delhi pollution cutting life expectancy by 8 years: Delhi remains the most polluted city in the world, with average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels exceeding the WHO guideline by more than 20 times.
  
  
• Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS): Chinese expert hails India's new laser-based weapon
  
  

Quick notes: State capitalism | Fistful Of Dollars...

• Following Chinese model: A generation ago conventional wisdom held that as China liberalized, its economy would come to resemble America’s. Instead, capitalism in America is starting to look like China - 'State capitalism with American characteristics' - a sea change from the free market ethos the U.S. once embodied. . . . Trump reviving crony capitalism.



• Sounds like socialism: Trump says U.S. govt has gained 10% stake in Intel.



• Consumers paying for tariffs: Walmart says tariff costs are rising 'each week' and will continue



• India pauses plans to buy U.S. arms after Trump's tariffs: Discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs.



• Fistful Of Dollars: Rice for Vietnam farmers displaced for Trump Golf Club.



• Keep solar on rooftops and on canals: How is India's largest Solar Energy project threatening Ladakh Nomads and Pashmina wool.



• The Shipping Container That Might Replace Solar Farms: 0.59 acres per MW. As opposed to Solar PV's 0.97 acres per MW... How a Stirling Engine works




• AI pervert: Meta AI chatbots gave false medical advice and flirted with minors — now the company is restructuring its AI division again - fourth restructuring in six months.



• Raja Koduri is back in the GPU business: Unveils new startup, Oxmiq Labs, bringing 500 Years of combined experience via world-class GPU & AI architects



• China catching up in AI: Huawei is making its Ascend AI GPU software toolkit open-source to better compete against CUDA. . . Chinese censorship bias in LLMs



• Power hungry toy: AI's soaring energy consumption is causing skyrocketing power bills for households across the US — States reporting spikes in energy costs of up to 36%



• Milk may not help the elderly: People who live in countries with the lowest rates of hip fractures also tend to drink the least milk. Drinking more milk was not associated with lower fracture risk  



• India's ethanol drive imperils its push for edible oil self-sufficiency: Depressing oilseed prices and prompting farmers to plant more corn and rice in place of soybeans and groundnuts



• Think beyond cars:

"Urbanism works when it creates a journey as desirable as the destination." pic.twitter.com/mnepPaP5cX

— 𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇 (@grescoe) August 30, 2022

Quick notes: Neglected ally | Cow abuse...

• America returns to its neglected ally: For destabilising Iran, America needs land access. This is how the Pakistanis were used during the Afghan wars, targeting the Russians.
  
  From Iran's nuclear programme to Afghanistan's lithium reserves, Pakistan's unique positioning at the crossroads of America's most pressing strategic concerns has transformed it from a neglected ally into an indispensable partner. . . After 25+ years of progress, India-US ties take a U-turn, history repeats




• "The U.S. is not an ally of India": "The U.S. is absolutely uninterested in India based supply chains. Trump is uninterested in that. He is incapable of long-term strategic relations and any of that. India should not presume that the U.S. will do great favors to India. Thats is not going to happen". . . . listen to him, India. Stop being naive.




• Trump Wants Big Pie Of India's Economy: They want their companies like Amazon to have more facilities for operations. They want unlimited data flow for Google. So, it is beyond tariff, it is beyond trade. The US wants a big pie of the domestic economy.



• Experts warn Trump: Caving on Nvidia H20 export curbs may disrupt his bigger trade war



• Blessed to have engineers at the helm: China is developing nation-spanning network to sell surplus data center compute power



• Cow abuse: Coca-Cola under fire after undercover investigation reveals disturbing scenes at farm: 'A habitual offender'. Investigators also recorded pregnant and sick cows being whipped, punched, kicked, and beaten with metal objects, including shovels, wrenches, and pipes. The abuse was carried out by various staff, including owners, managers, and ranch hands. . . . blacklist coke!



• Shut humanities department in STEM institutions:

Recently at IIT Gandhinagar Muhammad Luqman won gold medal for ground breaking research on clothes worn by Sunni Ulema in Kerala. Yes.

Who was his guide? Prof Madhumita Sengupta. In her studies she researched colonial history, but instead of using it for decolonisation of India,… pic.twitter.com/1Y3S1pH9D6

— Eminent Intellectual (@total_woke_) August 2, 2025




• SEBI, Jane Street and India’s Regulatory Dilemma: Watch at 2x




• Evangelicals lobbied hard for this: Texas law will require Ten Commandments to be posted in every public school classroom