The world is in flux with rapid geopolitical changes, accelerating competition, and ongoing conflicts across many regions. Amidst this backdrop, the recently released 2024 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) of the U.S. Intelligence Community gives a bird’s eye view of US perceptions and misperceptions about the various evolving threats to its national security.
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The aerospace industry has embarked on a rapid journey towards digitalisation, embracing the principles of Industry 4.0 by integrating emerging technologies into its industrial processes. Among the myriad of technologies, those showing the most promise for extensive industrial application include 3D manufacturing, robotics, augmented reality, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and digital twin simulation. The aerospace industry, being a high-tech sector, is best suited to reap multiple benefits from such emerging technologies.
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The year 2023 was very happening in terms of Chinese foreign policy as the country’s leadership followed a path of ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ and introduced several concept papers on foreign policy initiatives. Late last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over the ‘Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs’ on 27-28 December 2023.
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The youth of today exhibit a constant worry about the future of the labor market and the digital workforce that they will be entering, and with good reason, for we are witnessing stark changes brought about by AI, robotics, and other technologies advancing at breakneck speed. The economy of the future is one that leaves bewildering permutations open, and so as an economist, I am asked by the youth about what skills they should invest in to “future-proof” themselves and be ready for the decades ahead.
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As with any commodity, or commoditised corpus, knowledge too can be squeezed into the neoliberal matrix of microeconomic analysis, where knowledge is framed as a function of supply and demand. If one proceeds from this constraining prism, then one might surmise that the developing world as a whole, and a country such as Pakistan more specifically, suffers from a supply of knowledge. One may deduce this from the low literacy and numeracy rates, from low rankings of universities on international tables, from the percentage of GDP accorded to public and private education or R&D.
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The US government last month approved the deal of selling 31 MQ-9B drones to India for an amount of USD 3.99 billion. The agreement besides drones, also included 170 Hellfire AGMs, 310 GBU-39/B glide bombs, anti-submarine equipment, training kits and spare parts. As part of the transaction, the Indian military will get 16 Sky Guardian drones to be equally divided between the Indian Army and Air Force, whereas the Indian Navy will receive 15 Sea Guardian drones.
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The recent national horizon of Indian politics has significantly been characterised by the farmers’ protests since 13thFebruary. The farmers, hailing mainly from the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, initiated the ‘Delhi Chalo’ movement with their list of demands, in which assured crop prices are at the top.
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Ensuring military readiness to confront future challenges and uncertainties has always been imperative for the armed forces. The approach often requires a consistent and steadfast commitment to innovation and modernisation. Central to this concept is the acquisition and integration of new and cross-cutting technologies. The possibility of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) acquiring the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter has created a buzz recently.
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In recent times, the Indo-Israeli defence partnership has reached a fundamental juncture. The bilateral relationship between the two states has shown a significant growth over the past few years since the inception of their diplomatic relations in 1992. A crucial episode of this relation began when Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister ever to have visited Israel in July of 2017.
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Whether democracy is a precondition for development is a debate that continues to stimulate scholarly reflection till the present day. While this intellectual reflection is praiseworthy, the discussion could have been settled long ago when Amartya Sen redefined the concept of ‘development’ as ‘freedom’– a notion that strongly resonates with the human spirit.
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