New Delhi: “India is in transition but not all Indians are able to prosper,” writes Andaleeb Rahman, research associate at Cornell University’s Tata-Cornell Institute.
Noting the widening inequality and economic deprivation in the country, Rahman’s paper, titled ‘The Evolution of India’s Social Welfare Regime and Future Challenges’, calls isolated welfare schemes in India a “band-aid” solution to the country’s multidimensional developmental challenges. He argues that social welfare programmes should be viewed as a “system” of support for an individual, which “ensures they do not fall below their developmental capabilities for no fault of their own”.
The paper, published by Center for the Advanced Study of India of the University of Pennsylvania, outlines India’s social welfare policy evolution from food security (Public Distribution System, Integrated Child Development Scheme) to diversified approaches like cash transfers (PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi) and health insurance (Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, PM-Jan Arogya Yojana).
Rahman takes note of the persistent challenges of corruption, distribution inefficiencies, and a historical focus on immediate poverty relief over systemic causes. In the paper, he recommends integrating isolated welfare schemes, ensuring that income security addresses food insecurity, and prioritising urban-focused programmes, health insurance and social pensions to foster sustainable development.
“The success of a social welfare system is reflected in a gradual reduction in the number of people who require such safety nets,” Rahman writes.
A Financial Times report — ‘AI industry races to adapt chatbots to India’s many languages’ — highlights the “lucrative” market in India, which the global artificial intelligence platforms and local start-ups are looking to tap into by focusing on the wide range of languages and industries in India.
Referring to the launch of Google’s Gemini AI assistant in nine Indian languages and the availability of Microsoft’s Copilot AI in 12 Indian languages, the report says that tech giants like Microsoft and Google, along with homegrown platforms, such as Sarvam AI and Krutrim, are targeting India’s diverse linguistic landscape and growing industries. These players aim to localise AI technologies for better relevance and utility in a complex market like India with the potential for global application.
“Investing in local AI companies is becoming more important as governments seek to develop ‘sovereign AI’ that is trained and stored within their borders,” correspondent Benjamin Parkin writes. The report notes, “India has 22 official languages, with Hindi the most widespread, but researchers estimate the languages and dialects spoken by its 1.4bn people rise into the thousands.”
Bloomberg reports that real-time dollar settlement in Gujarat’s financial hub, GIFT City, is expected to become operational by early 2025, enhancing India’s appeal to foreign investors. Calling it Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship event, correspondent Saikat Das writes that the upgrade “will cut down on times and delays”. Taxes and capital controls have been relaxed for this project “so that it can emerge as an alternative trading center to Singapore and Dubai”.
“Some foreign banks are already offering derivative products to investors who want exposure to India without necessarily having to set up shop,” the report reads.
Another Bloomberg report says that India is considering a “rare” tax cut on wheat imports to stabilise prices as domestic supplies tighten, and that a ban on exports stays intact. Rakesh Sharma and Rajesh Kumar Singh in ‘India Mulls Reducing Wheat Import Duty to Tame Rising Prices’ write, “Domestic rates for the grain have advanced by almost 6% in the past year due to hoarding by traders.”
According to the report, the rising prices, along with a forecast of “below-normal precipitation in June, triggering concerns over the output of water-intensive crops” and dwindling inventories, have raised concerns about the country’s otherwise robust wheat economy.
In a Nikkei Asia opinion piece, Toru Takahashi maps India’s economic trajectory and how ‘leapfrogging’ — a technique continually adopted by Indian governments — has focused on “capital-intensive heavy manufacturing rather than labour-intensive light industries”. The piece titled ‘Modi 3.0: Might a ‘leapfrogging’ strategy lead India astray again?’ describes leapfrogging as an approach “where a country seeks to skip the early stages of industrial development and jump directly to more advanced sectors”.
Unlike China, India did not build “low-skilled factory employment”, but “focus on higher education has certainly paved the way for the success of its IT industry”, according to the piece.
“Time is running out for India” — Takahashi notes that with demographic ageing, growth will be slow. The piece wonders if India will “ever catch up with China”. India benefits from China’s economic slowdown and global efforts to diversify supply chains amid US-China tensions. However, India’s reluctance to sign free trade agreements and the retreat of globalisation hinder its integration into the global economy, while ASEAN’s proactive trade promotion gives it an edge, Takahashi writes.
Julian Assange freed, Israel’s efforts to shape US discourse about Gaza war
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been released from a UK prison after striking a deal with the US to plead guilty to criminal charges. Read BBC‘s report to know more.
Israel has mobilised its public relations campaigns to dictate discourse around the Gaza war internationally, especially in the US. These aim to ‘target US college campuses and redefine antisemitism in US law’, a Guardian exclusive report said. Read here. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of an escalation at the Lebanon border.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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