My latest article in @NikkeiAsia argues for India to fully allow private sector in the nuclear energy sector. Budget announcement on SMRs and recent reports of private sector interest are encouraging. However, effective implementation is key. asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/It-s…

I oppose the defeatist framing that India does not have leverage against the US or China. Leverage is not a function of power, it is a function of interrelationship density. Power determines the extent to which you can bear costs after exercising leverage.

To expect the US to apologize for the killing of Indian sailors is naive. That country shot down an Iranian airliner in 1988 totally in error and then President Bush refused to apologize. Do not react in anger or haste. Remember. Never forgive. Adapt accordingly

Excellent and thought provoking thread on the severe limitations of so-called India-US partnership to contain China. 👇🏽

When empirics don't align with your theory, switch to another theory. Don't just wait and hope the empirics will eventually come around. In any case, after much waiting and hoping, the empirics still don't align, and India-US ties keep plumbing new depths. 8/8

Judge the US by its actions, not by words. And certainly don't simplistically apply structural realism and assume that the US and India have such a great common interest in balancing China that it will trump everything else. 7/8

... another day, it imposes steep tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. The US has these mood swings because balancing China's rise has never been its top foreign policy priority, despite some strategic documents stating otherwise. 6/8

Surely, that was not meant for China? Over the last year, the US has done the most to legitimize Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism against India. It is the same Pakistan that has very deep military ties with China. One day, the US asks India to buy Russian oil;... 5/8

And Washington's mood will keep swinging. It will suddenly decide Iran is the most acute threat. Someday, it will decide Venezuela's oil must be stopped, and some other day it should be purchased. Previously, it wanted Indian boots on the ground in Afghanistan. 4/8

... that it would tolerate New Delhi's demands of status and power projection in its own vicinity. The US wants to recruit India as a partner to contain China, but a partner that is completely subservient to America's demands and mood swings. 3/8

... have been bravely trying to ignore reality and encourage convergence, but it is not happening. The US does not see China as such a big threat as India would like it to. Even when it does, it does not see India as such a useful partner in containing China... 2/8

The strategic interests of India and the US do not converge. This has been clear for the last four years. Some people who believe in a simplistic application of structural realism, according to which both countries have a common rival in China,... 1/8

Brazil, 1975. Oil shock hits. Government launches Proálcool — a top-down program to turn sugarcane into vehicle fuel. By 1985, 96% of new cars sold in Brazil ran on ethanol. Every gas station mandated to have an ethanol pump. Tax breaks for ethanol cars. Guaranteed prices for farmers. Today Brazil produces 30 billion litres annually. Flex-fuel is standard since 2003. India's E20 push is essentially Proálcool, 50 years late. But with a harder problem — Brazil had surplus sugarcane. We're diverting food grains. I think E20 will work. But pretending we have Brazil's natural advantage is how we end up surprised by feedstock shortages in 2028.

CEA V. Anantha Nageswaran writes about the multiple possible causes for India's underspending in R&D. Significantly increasing this spending is critical for India. We need to look at all these factors and address them.

Also says a lot about our state and bureaucratic capacity that every major initiative needs direct intervention or supervision from the PM.

India had to abruptly abandon its energy sources abruptly many times over the last 15 yrs because of US foreign policy objectives. Be it Iran, Venezuela or Russia. While we have worked on some of it, but we ought to have aggressively addressed our energy import vulnerabilities.

Unfortunately, we’re going to see another exodus of really intelligent people in these frontier technologies away from India. Or at least forget about them coming back to India. The immigration scare won’t impact them anyway.

Imminent. And like Defence contractors, there will be a carve out for specific few dozen non-citizen individuals annually to accelerate their GC, get initial ITAR-ish clearance and then further.

Reminder, one of India's largest oil supplier used to be Iran and that was completely disrupted due to US foreign policy postures around JCPOA negotiations. And in the end, for nothing. Fact that it may be Russia on and off now is in part of Washington's own making.

While true, we need to stop saying this. A defence industrial base will mean you will sell in a hyper-competitive marketplace, sometimes to countries that may be at odds with your friends. Can’t get into this game with a moral high ground first and capacity second.

The @DRDO_India has successfully demonstrated multiple crucial technologies bolstering nations defence capabilities against different types of enemy threats. Three consecutive flight-tests were successfully conducted to demonstrate multi-layered defence against long range Ballistic Missiles and Anti-ship capability at medium range. Multi-layered BMD capability was successfully demonstrated. The interceptors successfully engaged their respective targets. The systems are designed and developed with latest technologies to address the emerging missile threats. These tests have put India in elite group of nations having Ballistics Missile Defence Capabilities to engage Ballistic Missiles up to ICBMs. Anti-ship defence at medium range was demonstrated during the maiden flight test of Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Medium Range. Congratulations to DRDO on successfully demonstrating these crucial technologies.