Hindustan Times
Is it possible to measure happiness? My conversation with KL Mukesh suggested there is. And that’s what lies t the heard of this piece in Hindustan Times.
As always, feedback will be appreciated. One more thing: All rights to this column vest with HT Media
Now that the General Elections are done with, the debate is all about Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and whether or not it can be hacked. All thanks to the co-creator of EVMs in India, I am now of the view nothing was rigged. On why is the theme of ‘First Principles’, my column in Hindustan Times today.
This weekend, my column First Principles, in Hindustan Times, dipped into the world of sustainable fashion. I got to know how even the most expensive, branded clothing have surprisingly short lifespans. And that the term 'sustainable' in the fashion businesss is thrown around loosely. While there is an increase in eco-friendly practices and a growing consumer base for sustainable fashion brands, challenges persist. This includes the high costs of sustainable garments and the significant carbon footprint of India's textile industry.
A shout-out to KL Mukesh for helping me think this through.
Copyright: Vishal Kumar
Back in December 2022, it appeared like China might upset the Americans and wrest control of the semiconductor (also called chips) business. But as things are, it appears the Americans have regained the lead. Chips power practically everything in modern electronics and both countries would go to war to control them. These chips, which are now thought of as a resource like oil, are manufactured mainly in Taiwan.
While geographically Taiwan is closer to China than the US and a Chinese takeover had appeared imminent, the Americans were swift to move their men and machines into place to resist any such move. American allies like South Korea and Japan too were kept in the loop. This jostling for control is so that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) stays unfettered.
President Joe Biden also reached out to the Dutch government says Chris Miller, author of Chip Wars: The World’s Most Critical Technology. The Netherlands is home to Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography (ASML) and is the only company in the world that has the tools and technologies to create the latest semiconductors. The Americans wanted to prevail upon the Dutch to stop supplying these to the Chinese and eventually had their way.
While this ‘blockading’ is one of China’s current problems and explains the current worldwide chip shortage, it is a harbinger as well as a pointer to what can go wrong with India’s current ‘Make in India’ policy that hinges on an ambitious $300 billion electronics manufacturing goal. But it does not explicitly focus on critical technologies or supply chains.
Take telecom, where there are global concerns about security stemming from China’s dominance, especially as the world moves toward 5G. In India, telecom is one of six identified “critical infrastructure” sectors. Healthcare was added recently after the devastating 2022 cyberattacks on AIIMS and other hospitals.
A ‘national security directive’ was issued after June 2021 by telcos that only “trusted equipment” and “trusted products” be used. This certification process is so complex that even two years later, there are few products that fit the bill. For instance, the process insists on a list of the actual manufacturing address for every active component (like chips). It’s practically impossible to comply with this requirement. “How will a vendor to a telecom company know which specific plant did Intel or for that matter any other manufacturer manufacture a certain component in?” asks a technology consultant at a firm hired by the government of India to review protocols in critical sectors.
On top of that, only interim “trusted product” certification is being given by the National Cyber Security Co-ordinator (NCSC), with instructions to change “supply chains” for components sourced from China —for which there may be no alternate suppliers. It’s clear that this directive is less about cybersecurity and more an attempt to reduce dependence on China for semiconductors. But this attempt has specifically not been backed by the ‘Make in India’ initiatives.
So, where does the problem lie? To begin with, despite a somewhat frosty relationship with China, trade with China has now ballooned to over $100 billion from $69 billion in 2021. What it means is more money is being spent to import from China, including critical electronics. This shows an increasing dependence on China no matter what the political rhetoric is.
The consultant who does not want to be named, then goes on to explain how the infrastructure to manufacture chips is created in globally spread-out ecosystems where teams collaborate and work 24/7. To highlight his point, he points out that when a modern chipmaker is at work on a chip design or software, a team in Bengaluru may hand over the same project at the end of the day’s shift to a team in Dublin or Tel Aviv. That team in turn may hand over to teams in Boston or Portland. It’s a complex effort and “arm-twisting companies to set up fabrication plants in India won’t work in the long run.”
His point is that China took the route to manufacture everything and now risks being seen as a global pariah, with the world desperately working on alternative supply chains. While the DoT-NCSC directive is well-intentioned and aims to protect the country’s security interests, it has underlying geopolitical aspirations as well. “We cannot afford to isolate ourselves and insist companies build everything here, when the world operates in a collaborative mode. Nor can we afford to count the domestic share of every product like software. Should we care exactly how many of the original lines of code for Windows were written in India for instance?”
This column was first published in Hindustan Times in March 2023. All copyrights vest with HT Media
In the first week of December 2022, this column pointed to the fiercest battle playing out since World War II. Back then, it appeared like China might upset the Americans and wrest control of the semiconductor (also called chips) business. But as things are, it appears the Americans have regained the lead. Chips power practically everything in modern electronics and both countries would go to war to control them. These chips, which are now thought of as a resource like oil, are manufactured mainly in Taiwan.
Chips power practically everything in modern electronics and both countries would go to war to control them.
While geographically Taiwan is closer to China than the US and a Chinese takeover had appeared imminent, the Americans were swift to move their men and machines into place to resist any such move. American allies like South Korea and Japan too were kept in the loop. This jostling for control is so that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) stays unfettered.
President Joe Biden also reached out to the Dutch government says Chris Miller, author of Chip Wars: The World’s Most Critical Technology. The Netherlands is home to Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography (ASML) and is the only company in the world that has the tools and technologies to create the latest semiconductors. The Americans wanted to prevail upon the Dutch to stop supplying these to the Chinese and eventually had their way.
While this ‘blockading’ is one of China’s current problems and explains the current worldwide chip shortage, it is a harbinger as well as a pointer to what can go wrong with India’s current ‘Make in India’ policy that hinges on an ambitious $300 billion electronics manufacturing goal. But it does not explicitly focus on critical technologies or supply chains.
Take telecom, where there are global concerns about security stemming from China’s dominance, especially as the world moves toward 5G. In India, telecom is one of six identified “critical infrastructure” sectors. Healthcare was added recently after the devastating 2022 cyberattacks on AIIMS and other hospitals.
A ‘national security directive’ was issued after June 2021 by telcos that only “trusted equipment” and “trusted products” be used. This certification process is so complex that even two years later, there are few products that fit the bill. For instance, the process insists on a list of the actual manufacturing address for every active component (like chips). It’s practically impossible to comply with this requirement. “How will a vendor to a telecom company know which specific plant did Intel or for that matter any other manufacturer manufacture a certain component in?” asks a technology consultant at a firm hired by the government of India to review protocols in critical sectors.
On top of that, only interim “trusted product” certification is being given by the National Cyber Security Co-ordinator (NCSC), with instructions to change “supply chains” for components sourced from China —for which there may be no alternate suppliers. It’s clear that this directive is less about cybersecurity and more an attempt to reduce dependence on China for semiconductors. But this attempt has specifically not been backed by the ‘Make in India’ initiatives.
So, where does the problem lie? To begin with, despite a somewhat frosty relationship with China, trade with China has now ballooned to over $100 billion from $69 billion in 2021. What it means is more money is being spent to import from China, including critical electronics. This shows an increasing dependence on China no matter what the political rhetoric is.
The consultant who does not want to be named, then goes on to explain how the infrastructure to manufacture chips is created in globally spread-out ecosystems where teams collaborate and work 24/7. To highlight his point, he points out that when a modern chipmaker is at work on a chip design or software, a team in Bengaluru may hand over the same project at the end of the day’s shift to a team in Dublin or Tel Aviv. That team in turn may hand over to teams in Boston or Portland. It’s a complex effort and “arm-twisting companies to set up fabrication plants in India won’t work in the long run.”
His point is that China took the route to manufacture everything and now risks being seen as a global pariah, with the world desperately working on alternative supply chains. While the DoT-NCSC directive is well-intentioned and aims to protect the country’s security interests, it has underlying geopolitical aspirations as well. “We cannot afford to isolate ourselves and insist companies build everything here, when the world operates in a collaborative mode. Nor can we afford to count the domestic share of every product like software. Should we care exactly how many of the original lines of code for Windows were written in India for instance?”
After much bickering with friends on a WhatsApp group over the inflammatory content of a forwarded message that seemed clearly manipulated, I exited the battle. It was clear they wouldn’t consider any evidence I presented if it stood in the way of the alternative “facts” they subscribed to. The version of events presented in the forward aligned with an ideology and came from a source that they considered infallible. Their minds had been manipulated. I realised I would need an altogether different toolkit to prove this to them.
A war had to be waged. But how was it to be won? It occurred to me that few stories carry greater credibility than those that appear in a newspaper. That settled it.
It took 10 minutes to look up an online tool that allowed me to create a news clipping. Another 10 minutes to compose a story that insinuated it had appeared in The New York Times. The final output stated that I’d been shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
I sent it out on the WhatsApp group with the comment: “Feeling overwhelmed. Thank you for your support guys over the years. Love you all!”
A stunned silence greeted my post. This was going to plan. I was messing with their heads. Eventually, the first message came in. Grudgingly. “Boss! You’ve made us proud!”
“Thanks man! Will call. Fielding too many calls right now and juggling work.” I responded.
A deluge of congratulatory messages from members of the group followed.
What I hadn’t anticipated was how quickly this would backfire as well. Happy with the clip I’d created, I shared it with my wife, daughter and some close friends who understand the news business. I assumed they’d see through it right away. My family knows I try to pull a fast one every once in a while, and if anyone in the news business with a sharp eye looked at it closely, they’d spot it as a fake. But in this case, almost no one did.
As I stepped out of my room a little later, a teary-eyed wife hugged me tight and the older daughter looked all proud of her dad. She couldn’t wait to show off to her friends! Not just that, they’d shared it over WhatsApp with others in the family. I could see messages from friends trickling in on my phone now. They desperately wanted me to get on a call to begin celebrating.
It broke my heart to begin telling everyone it was a fake. And hard to see those around me struggle to hide their disappointment — at having nothing to celebrate, at having been so wrong, and now feeling foolish. That’s when it hit me. People see and hear what they want to see and hear not just because they’re stubborn or incapable of admitting error. It’s also because it’s so much easier to dig the self in deeper than dig the self out of a hole. As with so many things, take enough turns in the road, and it’s almost impossible to turn back.
Those who craft fake narratives understand this intuitively. That is why, as a thumb rule, I don’t take any narrative on social media platforms at face value, even if they originate in people I know.
Why did friends who are ideologically opposed to me, then, buy into my Pulitzer nominee story? And why have they started to consider my opinions on all things more seriously?
Let me put it this way. Humans have fickle memories, and minds that are easily swayed. The story I crafted didn’t attack their ideology. Instead, it was something they wanted to be a part of. Suddenly, what they could see was a friend they grew up with, not an ideological opponent.
I haven’t bothered to clarify with them that it is a prank. But I will, eventually. When we argue as we often do around ideology, and they decline to consider evidence that does not fit their worldview, this clipping will be deployed to demonstrate how easily minds can be manipulated.
This piece was first published in Hindustan Times. Copyrights vest with HT Media
