New Delhi: India and China relations are “still far from their pre-2020 normality” but entering a “new phase” as border stability allows the Asian powers to foster closer commercial ties, reports the Economist in ‘The epic bust-up between China and India could be ending.’
“Ask an Indian diplomat about relations with China and they will repeat a well-rehearsed mantra: there can be no return to normality until peace is restored on their disputed Himalayan border”, says the piece. However, it adds that “buffer zones” have helped reduce border tensions between the two countries.
Besides, India realises its ailing manufacturing sector, which is behind a lack of quality jobs and the BJP’s recent electoral setback, requires Chinese technology, investment and expertise, the piece asserts, pointing out “a softening of rhetoric on China from Prime Minister Narendra Modi” and eased restrictions on Chinese visas. China also realises India’s importance “amid trade barriers worldwide”, it adds.
A Financial Times report — ‘The young investors gambling on Indian stocks’ — discusses the explosive growth in investments in Indian equity markets. First-time investors, egged on by online influencers, are piling into shares and options despite warning bells from regulators, write correspondents Chris Kay and Benjamin Parkin.
The transformation has turned the country’s stocks into a favourite with global investors but is fuelling a speculative bubble resembling a local version of the GameStop craze among US retail investors in 2021, the report warns. With reports of investors suffering big losses, the Securities and Exchange Board of India is now trying to curb the excess in derivatives by instructing brokerages to include warnings, it adds.
A report in The Diplomat, ‘Supply chain disruption: A key trigger for India’s plea for climate change action’, by Shanthie Mariet D’Souza, a Fulbright-Nehru Visiting Chair in Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, delves into the impact of climate change on India’s economic aspirations and how it has begun affecting the government’s agenda or at least public pronouncements.
D’Souza discusses External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s exhortation for building resilient supply chains at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in the context of a looming global supply chain disruption such as witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also highlights the record-high temperatures in northern India, this summer, and the Reserve Bank of India’s warning of potential GDP losses due to climate-related labour disruptions.
Despite all this, India continues to fall short of meeting global climate action commitments and implementing domestic adaptation and mitigation strategies, writes D’Souza, advocating for a multi-stakeholder cooperative strategy.
Another story in The Diplomat, ‘Who is Engineer Rashid, one of Kashmir’s new MPs?’, focuses on new Baramulla MP Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, who remains lodged in Tihar jail over terror funding charges.
The report highlights that despite a late entry in the poll campaign and limited resources, Rashid secured a huge win, with 472,481 votes, defeating prominent candidates such as Omar Abdullah. His victory, it adds, marked a shift in Kashmiri politics, where new leaders are coming up through grassroots support, driven by people’s disillusionment with the established parties.
While critics say Rashid’s success can embolden secessionism, the report by authors Shiv Bhagwan Saharan and Liyaqat Nazir highlights that the new MP “is a democratic voice in a system that he sees as oppressive, and he seeks to change it for good from within”.
‘Xiaomi makes a comeback in India’s smartphone market, but shares top spot with Chinese rival Vivo’, a report by South China Morning Post, says that Xiaomi has made a comeback in India after 18 months of trailing behind competitors. Data released by analyst firm Canalys has shown Xiaomi and Vivo captured an 18 percent market share each in the second quarter of this financial year.
This marks Xiaomi’s return to the top spot after six quarters, driven by strong sales of its mid-range and premium handsets, says the SCMP report. Canalys attributed Xiaomi’s success to the Redmi Note 13 Pro series and the Xiaomi 14 Civi, which features enhanced designs and camera capabilities.
In Punjab’s rural village of Daulatpur, photographer Rajesh Vora stumbled upon a unique architectural tradition — rooftop water tanks designed as icons of personal aspiration. A CNN report, ‘The Indian villages with rooftop sculptures of planes, tanks and cars’, discusses Vora’s multiyear project across 150 villages to capture the fusion of art and utility. His work also explores how the unique water tanks are connected with migration stories and evolving cultural influences.
Global tech outage, internet shutdown in Bangladesh
A major Microsoft tech outage has hit industries, impacting airlines, shops and healthcare. To know more, follow the updates by BBC.
As violent protests over the allocation of government jobs continue in Bangladesh, internet and mobile services were cut off Friday, with local media reports saying at least 28 people were killed, this week. Read this France 24 report to know more.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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