root

Author: Pavithran Rajan

In a much-needed policy initiative, the Government of India decided to redeploy military attaches to countries where they can help increase domestic defence exports. This will reduce the number of military officers stationed in countries where the country traditionally imports military equipment. Officials say the officers will focus on Africa, South-East Asia and the Middle East, where they will promote products from India’s private and public sectors. Arms exports play a crucial role in nations’ economic growth, technological advancement, and strategic relationships worldwide.

To facilitate successful defence exports, many governments leverage the expertise of both Defence attaches and intelligence agencies. While Defence attaches serve as ambassadors, forging relationships and promoting defence cooperation, intelligence agencies provide critical insights and risk assessments. However, the roles of Defence attaches and intelligence agencies in enabling defence exports and their contribution to fostering an innovation-based economy have long been ignored by India. Now that the decision to be AtmaNirbhar in its weapon platforms is taken, the role of Defence Attaches to help market them is thenext logical step . For this to be a coherent policy initiative, our external intelligence agency also needs to be tasked to assist the Defence Attaches. Selling armaments abroad is a highly competitive endeavour; this will require a cultural reorientation of both the military officers and our intelligence officials, wherein human resource management must incorporate deputation to the Indian industry as a viable career path.

Defence attaches are vital links between their home country’s defence industries and host nations. First, they help establish and nurture relationships with key officials, military personnel, and defence industry representatives in host countries. These connections foster trust, enhance understanding, and promote defence cooperation, paving the way for defence exports. Second, they help conduct extensive market research in host countries, identifying defence requirements, procurement plans, and potential export opportunities. Third, by analysing local market dynamics, they help defence exporters understand customer needs, adapt products to specific requirements, and align with local industry capabilities, driving innovation in the defence sector.

Defence attaches organise and participate in defence exhibitions, trade shows, and seminars, providing platforms to showcase their home country’s defence capabilities. As a result, they generate awareness, attract investments, and catalyse innovation within their home defence industries by demonstrating cutting-edge technologies and engaging with potential customers. Defence attaches bring their expertise and knowledge of local requirements to facilitate negotiations and secure defence contracts. They can assist defence exporters in navigating procurement processes, understanding local regulations, and addressing cultural nuances. Their presence and support enhance trust and contribute to successful export deals.

The Defence attaches play a crucial role in supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and fostering technology transfer. They can identify opportunities for collaboration between SMEs from their home country and host nations, facilitating partnerships, joint ventures, and technology-sharing agreements. This collaboration promotes innovation, stimulates economic growth, and creates an ecosystem favourable for an innovation-driven defence industry.

Professional intelligence agencies, on the other hand, help with vast resources and networks to gather valuable information on global defence markets. They comprehensively analyse potential export markets, identifying demand, key players and emerging trends. This market intelligence is a necessary aid for defence exporters in making informed decisions, tailoring their products to meet market requirements, and seizing export opportunities. One of the critical roles of intelligence agencies is assessing and mitigating risks associated with defence exports. They evaluate potential customers, partners, and intermediaries, ensuring compliance with export control regulations and safeguarding national security interests. In addition, intelligence agencies can help defence exporters navigate through complex geopolitical environments and proliferation threats while protecting sensitive technologies by providing thorough risk assessments.

Intelligence agencies play a vital role in protecting defence exports from espionage, theft, and unauthorised access. They assist in designing robust security protocols, encryption strategies, and counterintelligence measures to prevent technology leakage and safeguard intellectual property. In addition, through collaboration with defence exporters, intelligence agencies ensure the secure transfer of sensitive defence technologies to trusted partners. Intelligence agencies can provide strategic assessments and policy guidance to defence exporters and policymakers by analysing geopolitical landscapes and emerging security challenges. They help align defence export strategies with national security objectives and international obligations, ensuring that exports contribute to global stability while protecting national interests.

Intelligence agencies and defence attaches can collaborate to enhance market intelligence capabilities. Sharing information and analysis creates a more comprehensive understanding of global defence markets. This collaborative approach enables defence exporters to access a broader data pool, identify emerging trends, and capitalise on new market opportunities. In addition, the synergy between intelligence agencies and Defence attaches strengthens their ability to support defence exports and fosters an environment encouraging innovation.

Intelligence agencies’ insights on geopolitical landscapes and security challenges can inform and augment Defence Attaches’ diplomatic efforts. Armed with this intelligence, defence attaches can engage in targeted defence diplomacy, strategically promoting defence exports and fostering innovation. In addition, they can leverage intelligence assessments to identify potential partner countries, engage in dialogue on defence collaboration, and facilitate technology transfer agreements. This collaboration between intelligence agencies and Defence attaches enhances the effectiveness of defence diplomacy in driving innovation and economic growth.

Modern intelligence agencies should possess extensive knowledge and expertise in emerging technologies and global defence industry trends. By sharing this information with Defence attaches, they enable a proactive approach to identifying technological trends and opportunities for defence exports. Defence attaches can then engage with host nations, highlighting their home country’s technical strengths, promoting collaboration, and facilitating the transfer of advanced defence technologies. This proactive approach encourages innovation, strengthens defence industrial bases, and positions defence exporters at the forefront of technological advancements. In addition, intelligence agencies’ role in risk assessment and mitigation aligns with the responsibilities of Defence attaches. By collaborating closely, they can ensure comprehensive risk management strategies in defence exports. Intelligence agencies provide valuable insights on potential threats and risks, helping defence attaches assess the reliability and trustworthiness of prospective customers and partners. This collaborative approach helps safeguard sensitive technologies, protect national security interests, and maintain export control compliance, fostering an environment of trust and reliability in defence exports.

Intelligence agencies can also support Defence attaches in identifying opportunities for research and development (R&D) cooperation. By assessing host nations’ R&D landscape and technological capabilities, intelligence agencies can provide insights into areas of mutual interest and potential collaboration. Defence attaches can then facilitate partnerships between defence research institutions, universities, and industries, enabling technology exchange, joint projects, and innovation-driven defence exports.

In conclusion, the synergy between intelligence agencies and Defence attaches is pivotal in enabling defence exports and nurturing an innovation economy. Enabling this will require a reorientation of our policy and human resource framework. Indian officialdom still has to understand and internalise that private companies that create IPR are a valuable natural resource that needs to be treasured and guarded. Fostering an innovative economy is essential to generate employment and economic growth and is vital to ensure national security. The traditional understanding of national security linked to only guarding territorial integrity needs to be updated and will require a relook. New policy initiatives must be sensitive to unconventional ideas that break from tradition or challenge our existing ways of thinking and push us out of our psychological comfort zone. Generally, we don’t like things that challenge our habitual ways of working. By nature, people and institutions are highly risk averse, and the political leadership will have to closely monitor and empower the military and intelligence leadership to make these policies successful. Missteps and failures will be part of this change. Fostering an environment that can withstand failure and risk-taking is central to AtmaNirbhar.

Linux Command Line Cheat Sheet

Consultations between Germany and China used to demonstrate partnership. But rifts have emerged over China's "rock-solid" friendship with Russia, tensions with Taiwan and repression of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.

"Acting sustainably together" is the motto of the seventh round of German-Chinese government consultations, for which Premier Li Qiang and several members of his Cabinet are coming to Berlin on Monday. But the togetherness between Germany and China is less apparent.

This was evident during the recent encounter between German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore after reports came to light that former German air force officers were involved in a Chinese air force program to train pilots. Pistorius said the practice should end immediately.

Thorsten Benner, the director of the German Public Policy Institute, told DW that was a "sign that we have to be alert because Beijing is using every chance to gain access to crucial technologies or capabilities, to strengthen its own industrial and military base."

A brimming conflict?

There is increasing fuel for conflict between Beijing and Berlin on issues ranging from the Chinese government's insistence on maintaining its "rock-solid" friendship with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine to growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the repression of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. And China's rivalry with the United States, an ally of Germany's, only serves to exacerbate the situation.

Still, China was Germany's most important trading partner for the seventh year in a row in 2022. The exchange of goods amounted to about €300 billion ($329 billion) — Germany's massive trade deficit with China reached over €80 billion.

Official German documents simultaneously refer to China as "partner," "competitor" and "strategic rival." Germany's government used to emphasize the partnership aspect, as ongoing bilateral consultations since 2011 seem to demonstrate. This form of high-level dialogue is only conducted with particularly close partners. In 2014, the relationship was even elevated to the rank of "comprehensive strategic partnership." But the mood toward China has soured in Berlin and other EU capitals since. The weight has clearly shifted toward strategic rivalry.

'Common EU-China policy'

Barbara Pongratz, an analyst with the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, told DW that this year's consultations would be different. "The German government wants to say goodbye to 'business as usual,'" she said. There are signs that there will be "less grand orchestration," she added, and no major business contracts will likely be concluded.

The 2021 coalition agreement that united the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) had already indicated that Germany's China policy was going to change. China is mentioned 12 times, including under the subheading "Bilateral and Regional Relations," where the new partners write : "In order to be able to realize our values and interests in the systemic rivalry with China, we need a comprehensive China strategy in Germany within the framework of the common EU-China policy. We want to continue the intergovernmental consultations and make them more European."

Policy not announced

The German government has not yet announced its strategy for China. "A real discussion regarding the Europeanization of German-Chinese relations, of the China strategy or the government consultations does not really exist," Pongratz said. The policy is supposed to be based on the National Security Strategy, which has yet to be adopted because of differences of opinion within the coalition.

Eberhard Sandschneider, the director of the Research Institute of the German Society for Foreign Policy, said the fact that the release of the strategy has been delayed could be favorable for the talks. "If a paper had come out now that was overly critical of China, one might have to assume that China, in its self-confidence, would have canceled the consultations altogether," Sandschneider said. "The fact that there are internal disagreements in the German government is an open secret," he added. "The Chinese know it, too."

This is not surprising, given that the arguments are being fought out publicly, particularly between the Greens, who say they have adopted a tough values-based stance toward China, and the Social Democrats, whose focus is more on economic interests. While, for example, Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sought an open exchange of blows with her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, when she visited Beijing in April, the conservative wing of the SPD parliamentary group has published a position paper calling for policy to be pragmatic rather than hostile.

Though there might be a perception that there are major differences between Baerbock and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and that the current approach to China is characterized by party politics, Pongratz said, "if you listen closely, you see that there are differences in tone but their messages are not that different."

As Scholz will be chairing the government consultations, there might be a friendlier tone. Sandschneider said he doubted that there would be any tangible results, but he added that it is important that the talks are taking place in the first place, particularly after three years when there have been no large-scale face-to-face meetings. "I agree with the Chinese colleagues that I talk to," he said. "It's time for them to meet again, and not only in official sessions, but also in the famous coffee breaks so that they can exchange a few personal words with each other. That changes the atmosphere."

Russia confirmed Friday that it had started exporting oil to Pakistan and had agreed to accept Chinese currency as payment, clarifying that the South Asian country did not receive any exclusive discounts on the purchase deal.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Sunday that the first "Russian discounted crude oil cargo" had arrived and offloaded at the port in the southern city of Karachi.

Sharif touted the shipment as "the beginning of a new relationship" between Islamabad and Moscow. His petroleum minister later revealed Pakistan had paid in yuan for the first government-to-government Russian crude oil import.

Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said there was no reduced pricing for Pakistan.

"Oil deliveries to Pakistan have begun. There is no special discount; for Pakistan, it is the same as for other buyers," Russian state media quoted Shulginov as telling reporters on the sidelines of an international economic conference in St. Petersburg.

His remarks raised questions about official Pakistani assertions that Moscow had agreed to supply oil to Islamabad at a discounted price under a deal the two sides negotiated earlier this year.

"We agreed that the payment would be made in the currencies of friendly countries," Shulginov said when asked for a response to Pakistani assertions that the trade is taking place in Chinese currency. He also confirmed that the issue of barter supplies was also discussed, "but no decision has been made yet.”

Cash-strapped Pakistan earlier this month allowed its state and private entities to open barter trade with several countries, including Russia, in an attempt to ease pressure on Islamabad's rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves.

Shulginov said that the two countries had not yet reached an understanding on prices for the export of liquefied natural gas to Pakistan. He noted that "the discussion is about long-term contracts, but so far, we are talking about spot supplies, and spot gas prices are now high."

Pakistan has purchased 100,000 metric tons of Russian crude oil, of which 45,000 tons arrived earlier this week, said Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik. He told the media on Monday that the payment was made in Chinese yuan and said that there would be a reduction in local oil prices in a few weeks. But Malik did not disclose details such as pricing or the discount Islamabad received, as claimed by Sharif.

However, the deal in yuan marked a significant shift in the U.S. dollar-dominated export payments policy as Pakistan faces a cash crunch and default on external debt.

Energy imports make up the majority of the country's external payments. The foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank have dipped to around $4 billion, barely enough to cover a month of controlled imports.

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States for a state visit this week, officials in both countries expressed optimism about a trip that is being billed as a milestone in relations between the two countries.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/7112

Convinced that education would help some children avoid crime, a policeman in New Delhi took the unusual step of opening a school.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/7112

Convinced that education would help some children avoid crime, a policeman in New Delhi took the unusual step of opening a school.

Several parts of Europe had recorded their highest-ever temperatures in 2022. The United Kingdom experienced 40-plus degree Celsius heat for the first time ever, while Ireland had its highest temperature since 1887.

Learn Kubernetes with Google

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/6577

The Google Doodle today paid tribute to Indian biochemist Kamala Sohonie on her 112th birth anniversary. The search giant came up with a creative doodle for the first Indian woman to achieve a Ph.D in a scientific field during a time when Indian women were conspicuously underrepresented in scientific disciplines.

According to the Google blog, Kamala Sohonie was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on this day in 1911 to parents who were respected chemists. She wanted to follow in her father and uncle's steps, so she studied chemistry and physics at Bombay University. Kamala graduated at the top of her class in 1933. She also became the first woman to be inducted into the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

The director at the institute doubted her capabilities but later was so impressed by her that the IISc began accepting more women into their program. For the next few years, Sohonie studied the various proteins found in legumes and concluded they boosted nutrition in children. In 1936, she published her thesis on this subject and obtained her master’s degree, as per the Google blog.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/256166

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/256146

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Updated Lemmy.run UI to 0.18.0-rc.1.

This brings some improvements and most importantly it removes the dependency for the websocket.

This should stabilize and improve performance.