FATF Greylist- The global terror financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has added Turkey, along with Jordan and Mali, in its revised list of “jurisdictions under increased monitoring”. The FATF is an inter-governmental body that works to “set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system”. There are now 23 countries in the FATF grey list, officially referred to as “jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies”. From India’s, and most of the rest of the world’s perspective, the most important country on the list is Pakistan. Myanmar is also on the list — and now, Turkey. In essence, in the assessment of the FATF, all these countries have failed to prevent international money laundering and terrorist financing, and are, therefore, on a global watchlist. Source; indianexpress.com India looks West. The foreign Ministers of India, Israel, and UAE along with the US secretary of State on 18 October met virtually leading to huge speculations of the formation of a new Quadrilateral or Quad group. Israel in the last couple of years has built some serious engagements with many Middle Eastern countries and India already has good relations with most of them. Such coordination between an important gulf country, Israel, and the US can prove to be a game-changer in the political and economic relations within and outside the region. It is particularly this decision that is leading to speculation regarding the formation of a new quadrilateral group among these members. If this happens, this could lead to greater cooperation among these influential countries in the region. India and the US along with Australia and Japan are already part of another Quad group. Source indiatimes.com https://youtu.be/ckP49ssiW6U Pakistan's Worsening Economic Crisis- A report in the Economic Times stated that Pakistan needs an infusion of $51. 6 billion in the two-year period (2021-23) in order to meet its financial obligations. The article quotes a conservative estimate of the IMF which mentions that Pakistan’s “external financing requirement stands at USD 23.6 billion in 2021-22 and USD 28 billion in 202223.” In case talks fail with the IMF, funding from other sources including the World Bank and Asian Development Bank remain at risk. As much as 28 per cent of Pakistan’s debt is owed to China, which was 9 per cent in 2013. This will only grow. Simultaneously, China demanded $38 million as compensation for loss of lives of its nine engineers, employed on the Dasu hydropower project, in a terrorist strike. At the current exchange rate it works out to Rs 73 crore per individual. China has stated that work on the project would only recommence once the amount has been paid and additional security ensured. Pakistan has constituted a committee to deliberate on the Chinese demand as also negotiate with China on the amount. A Pakistani media report last month stated that as per the State Bank of Pakistan, the government’s debt increased to Rs 39.9 trillion, of which 14.9 trillion was in the past three years of Imran Khan’s reign. This has been accentuated by large public borrowings during the Covid pandemic. There was some relief with the IMF handing over $2.75 billion under a Special Drawing Rights programme for battling Covid. The World Bank included Pakistan in the top ten nations with largest foreign debts. Added to these miseries is the fact Pakistan will continue to remain on the Grey List as it has failed to fulfil FATF’s basic requirements. In a paper titled, ‘Bearing the cost of global politics — the impact of FATF grey-listing on Pakistan’s economy,’ Naafey Sardar states that the impact on GDP of Pakistan being in the Grey List from 2008-2019 has been $38 billion. Source thestatesman.com
YT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTzKE0XFPJk
Recently, Afghanistan was struck by a deadly terror attack. Around 200 people died in it. US Pres. is dumbstruck at it. It was quite visible at the Press conference he held that very day. This is not the first time the US has been humbled. During the Vietnam War as well, the US pulled out its troops hastily and a lot of lives were gone. However, in Vietnam there was no issue of Terrorism as it is in Kabul. There is the looming threat of ISIS, who is said to be the mastermind behind this attack. Also, there is Pakistan and the support they provide to the Taliban of Afghanistan. Someone rightly pointed out that Pak’s intention is that they do not want peace and stability in their neighboring regions. India is the biggest example of this. Now, they are supporting Taliban, making statements like Afghans broke free from slavery of the USA. The irony is they are themselves going to be a colony of China.
What should be India’s take on all this? And should the allies of the US trust it when it comes to their security? The hosts have tried to answer it all.
In this episode we discussed about Brexit it is an abbreviation of 'Britain' and 'exit' and refers to the withdrawal process of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
This withdrawal process of the United Kingdom commenced following the referendum held on June 2016 and the subsequent notification to the European Council on March 2017.
The UK then entered an 11-month transition period in which to negotiate its future relationship with the European Union, ended barring an extension - on 31 December 2020.
Although the UK's withdrawal from the European Union took place on 1 February 2020, the Withdrawal Agreement came into force thenceforth, which regulated the orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
As from 1 January 2021, relations between the UK and the EU are based on the "Trade and Cooperation Agreement" - an ambitious agreement, but one that amounts to a major change for citizens, companies and public authorities in both the EU and the UK.
We further discussed about the pro cons of this very important event.
In the course of our discussion we agreed that the pros of brexit is short lived as brexit was poorly planned and implemented, This have further initiated cracks in United Kingdom.
Will London be able to cement its position as a global trading centre without the help of EU is a question of speculation.
00:30- Why does the Western press call India Quad's weakest link?
04:25- Why is Russia giving more importance to Pakistan than India on the issue of Afghanistan and Taliban?
09:40- Why Japan vowed to defend Taiwan against the Chinese invasion?
13:38- What are India's options against the Pakistan-Taliban team?
International Media Portrayal of India: https://open.spotify.com/episode/380deyxKWYNha8uPWpvPBx?si=a74ac016f17a482e
Quad: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aS1zI298w93oBDwxzM2cZ?si=b66d6db79e1a4dec
In this episode we conversed breifly about the history of afghanistan and its bleak future ahead.
History has seen that no foreign power has been successful in acquiring Afghanistan. The strategic location of the country is its biggest strength. "It is a doorway to Central, middle-east and south-east Asia"
In the 19th century the Barakzai dynasty gained control over Kabul. The growing rivalry between the expanding british and soviets complicated the geopolitics. :The Great Game" influenced the politics of Afghanistan to great extent.
Habibullah Khan, came to the throne in 1901 and kept Afghanistan neutral during World War I.
Charges of corruption against the royal family and poor economic conditions created by the severe 1971–72 drought, former Prime Minister Mohammad Sardar Daoud Khan seized power in a non-violent coup on July 17, 1973 but even this government could not remain in power for long as in April 1978, Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and Amin Taha overthrew the government of Mohammad Daoud, who was assassinated along with all his family members in a bloody military coup with the help of Soviet Union.
But the government in power refused to become a puppet government of soviets which infuriated the soviets. But the government in power was becomimg unpopular among the citizens because of its liberalist approach. This gave foreign powers to interfere in its regime
Soviets complete takeover of the Afghanistan infuriated the world and many countries like pakistan, saudi arabia etc started giving backing to small militias which later became taliban.
9 September 2001 about 3,000 people became victims of the September 11 attacks in the United States, and it marked the official entry of USA in Afghanistan.
USA might have won the tentative war but it lost the bigger war the moment it announced hasty withdrawal of American troops.
With US out of Afghanistan many contenders have emerged including China and Russia. But with shifting powers in Afghanistan the situation of the natives is worsening.
The power struggle has united the long foes Russia and US to some extent.
The stance of India is yet to be deciphered but one thing is very clear that if Taliban is able to quinch kabul it would lead to unexplained violence and bloodshed in the whole region.
In this episode we discussed about the deadly Pegasus attack in which more than fifty thousand numbers have been affected worldwide according to the Guardian and Washington post. India offers right to privacy guaranteed under article 21 of Indian constitution and this fundamental rights of the citizens are compromised due to Pegasus attack.
This act of the government is highly criticized and condemned as spying on the journalists and members of opposition is indeed a mockery of democracy.
Even the debate regarding banning this kind of spying software have significantly emerged but we conversed how such an act can be disastrous.
Keeping in mind that this kind of software are a necessary evil, the government should structure the process through which this can be utilized in an ethical way and the government should also bear in mind that the trust of the people is basic component of the power they enjoy.
The ideals of the nation should never be compromised in any circumstances.
Furthermore, Israel has formed a committee to review NSO.
In this episode we discussed about the diplomacy in ancient India. Most of us think that diplomacy as a practice started after the Westphalia treaty which is undoubtedly true, but some practices similar to modern day diplomacy cease to exist in ancient India. The first ever Greek ambassador to India was Megasthenes. He was appointed as ambassador after Chandra Gupta Maurya defeated Selecus Nicator (Greek governor left by Alexander). Megasthenes stayed in India for 7 years and wrote about Indian culture, history and society at that time in a book named Indica. The soft power of Indian kings increased manifold in Gupta empire and they use to send brahmans to china as ambassador. 3 ambassadors were sent by the tang dynasty during the reign of Harshvardhana. Wang Xuance is considered as the official diplomat of Tang dynasty sent to the court of post Mauryan king. Even during the time of Ashoka India had diplomatic relations with present day Sri Lanka. The diplomatic relations of India and south east Asia was at its peak during the 11th century CE. The Cholas are also famous for their democratic village assemblies. We also conversed a bit about the republican set up of Licchavis.
In this episode we talked about how US companies are licking the leg of Chinese authorities in order to survive and thrive in China.
Reasons behind their inclination towards China
China offers much lesser corporate taxes than most of the other developing nations including India, brazil, Mexico and other South American countries. The other major reason is its ease of doing business and infrastructure which cut logistics cost of these companies.
Additionally, China being a communist regime does not back their employees from being exploited by these western companies which adds as an advantage for them. The most debated 996 culture still exist in china.
The business environment in china is very much linked with "good relations with the government" without which it is impossible to operate in Chinese land.
We also discussed about how India should take advantage of these western companies shift from china to other developing countries. India should work on simplifying tax systems and also reduce the tax rates so that foreign companies are lurked towards India. We understand the need of "Aatmanirbhar bharat" but we also need the FDI in order to grow.
We wrapped up this episode by talking about the china's method of development and how it is flawed.
Musk's tweet https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1410413958805270533?s=20
Apt reply: https://twitter.com/gladstein/status/1410424227946139648?s=20
NY Times article on Apple: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/technology/apple-china-censorship-data.html
Bloomberg article on Tesla: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-01-13/china-loves-elon-musk-and-tesla-tsla-how-long-will-that-last
In this episode we discussed about the role of USA in both the world wars also how the great depression was a blessing in disguise for them, additionally how USA was the sole victor in the end. We also tried analysing its route through which it can remain a superpower and its major interest in the world affairs as a peace broker. Most countries are of the thought that imitating USA will make them a superpower too but we tried bursting this bubble. India itself tried imitating soviet union and USA at some point of time but in vain. We concluded by discussing its current agenda of decreasing china's influence in the Indo-pacific region and how groups like QUAD can be US's only chance at curbing China.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/TCOXNPODEaI
Everything you need to know about Quad: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aS1zI298w93oBDwxzM2cZ?si=38029ca6050e4858
0:00- Intro
0:50- US role in WW1
01:02- Supplying Grains, oil, weapons to France, UK
02:14- US during the WW1 03:07- Great depression
05:40- Laissez Faire State 06:42: Roosevelt Vs Wilson
08:10- Summary of How USA fared in WW1
09:18- Post WW1 and in WW2
10:18- Declining Europe
11:18- How countries came out of Financial crisis after WW2
12:28- How USA came out of their financial crisis
14:34- Summary of How USA fared during WW2
16:04- Post WW2 and Cold war period
16:27- How USA unified Europe against USSR under NATO
17:05- USA's high military budget helped it be a Superpower
19:19- Science and Technology spending of USA
19:40- Freedom of Speech
21:00- How it wants to be a superpower
21:15: dominating South Korea and Japan
22:09- Meddling in Middle East
22:55: Afghanistan
23:44- Fighting China under QUAD
28:00- Fighting Russia
31:31: Main motto of USA
31:46- Why they fight Communism
33:10- How communism is schooled among Americans
34:01- Stalin's communism
37:11- Should India follow USA to become a superpower
43:17- Sell Weapons not solve problems
44:08- Meddle with affairs of oil producing countries
44:26: To remain a superpower
45:42- Outro
In this episode we have discussed the much hyped IT laws which was recently amended by the government of India. The amendment is widely criticized for robing Indian citizens of their fundamental right: freedom of speech and expression mentioned in Article 19 (1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. We have discussed the shortcomings as well as suggestions that might weigh down the demerits.
Also we provided our views why we consider the new rules and regulation regarding the OTT platforms was the need of the hour. The increased use of foul language and explicit scenes in web series and shows premiered on OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and others have distorted the perceptions of the youth. India is believed to be the country of moral values and ethics and thus it is our responsibility to keep this heritage alive.
Find us on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmBlwJxYFjVR6JqdLIve2Kg
20ish podcast focuses on Geopolitical issues from Indian perspective. There are a lot happening in the world. We try to form opinion of it but do it too early. 20ish helps you see through all the facts and then come to a conclusion.
Also we believe to contribute towards India's soft power, citizens should take steps before the government. There are negligible podcast talking of Indian stance on Geopolitical issues. This podcast solves it.
In this episode, the hosts talk of how Bitcoin became El Salvador's currency. There has been a change in Israeli government too with Naftali Bennett in power now. How will all this effect India? Listen to this episode and find it out yourselves.
International media sells the negative side of India. It is now just serving one side of the agenda. We talked of many such small incidents and how it effects in the longer run.
Welcome to 20ish, an international relations podcast for the millennials focusing on the geopolitical issues concerning India.
Every Friday @ 9 PM
Skandh talks about Bollywood. How Bollywood can transform India's image in the world? It is the world of soft powers with Japan and South Korea being the biggest example. It is about time they realise how they can make India a soft power via their movies. They need to be relevant and as audience we need to stop idolising them. Salman khan and Shah rukh khan are the people why we are not progressing. They show entrepreneurs as evils and make movies like Radhe and Raees. It doesn't improve one at all rather degrades them. Also shows like Bigg Boss take recognition and credits. All it does is make people talk about other people and that too in a mediocre way. Indian audience can't be intelligent intellectually because of this. Shows like Shark Tank should be getting this recognition because Indian entrepreneurs always stay behind limelight. They deserve a lot. Thanks for watching. Check us out on YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmBlwJxY...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2MprO0O... 00:00 intro 02:35 Radhe trailer reaction and typical Salman khan movies 04:20 Commercial Vs Art movies in Bollywood 05:06 The concept of soft power 06:40 Indian actors need to do method acting 10:07 Types of movies matter! 11:36 India is the IT superpower 15:07 Movies and actors should be relevant 18:50 stop idolizing 24:10 Bollywood portrays entrepreneurship as an evil 29:35- outro
Watch here https://youtu.be/KykLw3iZVSE
Net zero emissions
Is it worth giving up development for net zero emissions especially for countries like india, African countries, etc
Most importantly how USA and European Union Countries deteriorate environment in the name of development.
Then there are countries like Brazil not doing anything for meeting the targets
Countries like Russia is gaining from climate change
Countries like india and Indonesia are not
Is this worth for india to join this net zero carbon emissions target