Think Pieces reviewed and written by Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20250226-240675/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8464&pnespid=p.CNnYJSvrPI_rPsvBn_u.IV.BgH_TZqh1ArBkpurxGVRO62zDLGhDQGH5T6LFrkWleErQ Best Regards Seetha Ram

This new system has a new hierarchy. America is number one. Next are countries with resources to sell, threats to make and leaders unconstrained by democracy. Donald Trump has begun a mafia-like struggle for global power https://economist.com/leaders/2025/02/27/donald-trump-has-begun-a-mafia-like-struggle-for-global-power from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://youtu.be/pUnTvAZXaZo?si=9fYgMS8hPRkvbh8B Best Regards Seetha Ram

How the Trump administration wants to reshape American science https://economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/02/19/how-the-trump-administration-wants-to-reshape-american-science from The Economist It is research on climate change that faces the most pressing and concrete threats. Best Regards Seetha Ram

Another win for geology's Theory of Everything https://economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/02/19/another-win-for-geologys-theory-of-everything from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/original/donald-keenes-legacy/20250224-240281/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8464&pnespid=p.zIydZV_LaWrLGw_BCgpvkS7E0O_iJ9nAEyHhM6rxaVeZlb4JXYtGZZPGMJTFH5bRDCsw Best Regards Seetha Ram

One of the costs of "the lost three decades" was the so-called employment ice age. https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/political-pulse/20250222-239977/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8464&pnespid=q.6Xz4Nb76LI8.i3qxKosvxNuA8Rrjx_xlwrGBUvqleV9Cd0lonzwDenEjdwyn.AwLYtxw Best Regards Seetha Ram

One of the costs of "the lost three decades" was the so-called employment ice age. https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/political-pulse/20250222-239977/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8464&pnespid=q.6Xz4Nb76LI8.i3qxKosvxNuA8Rrjx_xlwrGBUvqleV9Cd0lonzwDenEjdwyn.AwLYtxw Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://japantoday.com/category/business/rich-in-cash-japan-automaker-toyota-builds-a-city-to-test-futuristic-mobility?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2025-02-23_AM Best Regards Seetha Ram

New research uncovers polygamy and intermarriage in ancient Eurasia https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/02/19/new-research-uncovers-polygamy-and-intermarriage-in-ancient-eurasia from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/n/nagaraja-rao-harshadeep-harsh-environment-and-natural-resources-global-practice-world-bank-group Best Regards Seetha Ram

Bureaucratic shock therapy will bring a lot of harm before it does any good. Donald Trump: the would-be king https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/02/20/donald-trump-the-would-be-king from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Bureaucratic shock therapy will bring a lot of harm before it does any good. Donald Trump: the would-be king https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/02/20/donald-trump-the-would-be-king from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

many developing countries will mortgage their future in a decade or two in terms of water security, by considering sanitation only in a very restricted sense of collecting and transferring the untreated sewage to another area thereby contaminating freshwater sources. https://ncrpb.nic.in/NCRBP%20ADB-TA%207055/watersupply/Sector-Review-ar-National-&-State-Level.html Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/28451/water-09.pdf

Elon Musk spells danger for Accenture, McKinsey and their rivals https://www.economist.com/business/2025/02/19/elon-musk-spells-danger-for-accenture-mckinsey-and-their-rivals from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

In January China released a plan to become an "education power…with global influence" by 2035. Not long ago that goal would have looked overly ambitious. Now, places like Zhe Da have made it look surprisingly likely. Behind DeepSeek lies a dazzling Chinese university https://www.economist.com/china/2025/02/19/behind-deepseek-lies-a-dazzling-chinese-university from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

In January China released a plan to become an "education power…with global influence" by 2035. Not long ago that goal would have looked overly ambitious. Now, places like Zhe Da have made it look surprisingly likely. Behind DeepSeek lies a dazzling Chinese university https://www.economist.com/china/2025/02/19/behind-deepseek-lies-a-dazzling-chinese-university from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.sanskrit.nic.in/vice_chancellor.php Best Regards Seetha Ram

"A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt, and so can a country," https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/budget-2025-govt-revenue-in-fy2024-lifted-by-various-taxes-clocks-6-4bn-surplus Best Regards Seetha Ram

"A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt, and so can a country," https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/budget-2025-govt-revenue-in-fy2024-lifted-by-various-taxes-clocks-6-4bn-surplus Best Regards Seetha Ram

"A country is no different from an individual, in that if an individual overspends, an individual can go bankrupt, and so can a country," https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/feb/19/elon-musk-says-doge-team-aims-cut-1-trillion-defic/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1891879821489193054.html Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02079-0 Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.sanskrit.nic.in/vice_chancellor.php Best Regards Seetha Ram

Rachel Reeves is not alone in inflating her résumé https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/02/17/rachel-reeves-is-not-alone-in-inflating-her-resume from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

With more brains and money, Chinese firms moved beyond copying Western drugs. Instead of waiting for patents to expire and making identical generics, they adopted a "fast-follower" strategy—taking known drugs and modifying them to improve safety, efficacy or delivery. It's not just AI. China's medicines are surprising the world, too https://www.economist.com/business/2025/02/16/its-not-just-ai-chinas-medicines-are-surprising-the-world-too from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

may be a simpler way: lower pay for remote workers. A new study indicates many would take the deal. When will remote workers see their pay cut? https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/02/06/when-will-remote-workers-see-their-pay-cut from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

    The Economist ⁦‪@TheEconomist‬⁩ If remote work is, like the provision of benefits, costly to companies but valuable to workers, wages should follow the same pattern. Yet in most cases so far they have not econ.st/4hi6PbH   17/02/2025, 05:49     Best Regards Seetha Ram

The secret to the success of "Saturday Night Live" https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/02/13/the-secret-to-the-success-of-saturday-night-live from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Digital textbooks have the advantage of being able to utilize video and audio, but there have been a spate of research reports showing that physical textbooks are superior for deep thinking and memorization.  https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/yomiuri-editorial/20250215-238800/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

New idea ! https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Travel-Leisure/China-State-Railway-to-entice-senior-travelers-with-silver-trains

AN ECOLOGICAL EQUILIBRIUM http://www.magzter.com/articles/5/1994492/5eqcRRzoK1739534405729?mg_pf=ios_newsstand&utm_ID=18913326

Do Unique Projects Actually Exist? The short answer is no. In fact, whenever we came across a project we thought was unique, it turned out not to be. Here's an example: In 2004 the top civil servant in charge of decommissioning nuclear power plants in Sweden needed a reliable estimate of how much that effort, which would take decades, would cost, as well as how expensive it would be to safely store nuclear waste, which would last centuries. https://hbr.org/2025/03/the-uniqueness-trap Best Regards Seetha Ram

One expert, Edagawa Yoshikuni, a professor of neuroscience at Ritusmeikan University in Kyoto, has one explanation. He argues young people are exhausting their brains through smartphone addiction. That leaves them with little mental energy left for basic self-care. https://unseen-japan.com/idol-bathing-cancel-clique-japan/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

But I still wonder what gets lost when we, as a society, rely on the philanthropy of a few wealthy men rather than demand a more transparent government to ensure equality for all?  https://janicegreenwood.com/2020/12/whats-inside-bills-brain-a-review-of-the-netflix-docuseries/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://janicegreenwood.com/2020/12/whats-inside-bills-brain-a-review-of-the-netflix-docuseries/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/noto-peninsula-earthquake/20250212-238059/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=31630&pnespid=4faInIdVuvCZ_qOyqBv1sflJ5A4dqzN4ywdwA1A_vB2Vch_Kct7Dzr4ThZ9UbDcSigOJCg "If it can be fixed, then you don't need to feel down about it, even if it's something precious that has broken," Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lonestars-data-center-is-ready-for-the-moon-intuitive-machines-and-lonestar-complete-final-installation-and-testing-of-lonestars-data-center-payload-302372021.html Best Regards Seetha Ram

What can the world's most walkable cities teach other places? https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/02/07/what-can-the-worlds-most-walkable-cities-teach-other-places from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.hitachihyoron.com/jp/pdf/2014/09/2014_09_05.pdf?copilot_analytics_metadata=eyJldmVudEluZm9fbWVzc2FnZUlkIjoiQUJyYVh5cUoxbXVkQ1dMSDFjSkxzIiwiZXZlbnRJbmZvX2NsaWNrU291cmNlIjoiY2l0YXRpb25MaW5rIiwiZXZlbnRJbmZvX2NvbnZlcnNhdGlvbklkIjoiTTEyUjVhdFR2UmZ1UTVhZmUyUHlFIiwiZXZlbnRJbmZvX2NsaWNrRGVzdGluYXRpb24iOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3LmhpdGFjaGloeW9yb24uY29tXC9qcFwvcGRmXC8yMDE0XC8wOVwvMjAxNF8wOV8wNS5wZGYifQ%3D%3D&citationMarker=9F742443-6C92-4C44-BF58-8F5A7C53B6F1

https://www.ertms.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ERTMSETCS-Levels-Updated-2024-Edition.pdf

https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/files/Publications/RDG-ETCS-GN-002-L2-L3ETCSPrincipleConsiderationsforDriverTraining-1.pdf

https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-punjabi?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app

https://anindecisiveindian.blogspot.com/2025/01/bullet-dreams-and-media-acrobatics.html Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/research/moynihan-institute-of-global-affairs/regional-centers/south-asia-center/engagement-with-k-12-classrooms/the-ramayana/moral-dilemmas-lesson-plan/dasaratha-s-choice

    Elon Musk ⁦‪@elonmusk‬⁩ Can you believe that universities with tens of billions in endowments were siphoning off 60% of research award money for "overhead"? What a ripoff!   08/02/2025, 09:29     Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/Flamboyant-old-Indian-mansions-spring-back-to-life

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Big-in-Asia/India-s-Kumbh-Mela-Nothing-can-match-festival-for-400-million-people

https://www.duskin.jp/servicemaster/pdf/SA_ServiceMaster_pricelist.pdf

https://www.albany.edu/rockefeller/faculty/jeffrey-d-straussman -- Best regards Seetha Ram "Life is a journey. The destination is within oneself."

https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/856887?display=b Best Regards Seetha Ram

Why India isn't winning the contest with China https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/02/04/why-india-isnt-winning-the-contest-with-china from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://www.rieti.go.jp/jp/publications/pdp/12p016.pdf

https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2021/03/20220301001/20220301001-2.pdf

https://www.jri.co.jp/MediaLibrary/file/english/periodical/occasional/2017/05.pdf

    Sidhant Sibal ⁦‪@sidhant‬⁩ Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck at Kumbh Mela pic.x.com/EB4LOnZ5IN   04/02/2025, 17:01     Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://unseen-japan.com/womens-toilet-lines-japan/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

Donald Trump's tariff threats defy geopolitical logic https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/02/03/donald-trumps-tariff-threats-defy-geopolitical-logic from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://esrp.rcast.u-tokyo.ac.jp/experts/experts-daisuke-kawai/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/editorial/yomiuri-editorial/20250203-236782/ Best Regards Seetha Ram

Heritable Agriculture, a Google spinout, is bringing AI to crop breeding https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/01/29/heritable-agriculture-a-google-spinout-is-bringing-ai-to-crop-breeding from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/Asia-goes-cashless-as-countries-push-for-digital-payments

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/05/07/sp-geopolitics-impact-global-trade-and-dollar-gita-gopinath

Donald Trump's economic warfare has a new front https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/30/donald-trumps-economic-warfare-has-a-new-front from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Are internet firms the problem, or are you the problem? https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/01/30/are-internet-firms-the-problem-or-are-you-the-problem from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Are ice baths good for you? https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/01/31/are-ice-baths-good-for-you from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Michelin launched the Green Star, given to restaurants that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. (So far only 608 have qualified.) Mr Poullennec notes that restaurants "are making a great deal of effort" to balance their menus with plant-based offerings to satisfy the 1.5bn vegetarians and 88m vegans worldwide. A top chef told him that, after winning a Green Star, his restaurant attracted a younger crowd who ordered vegetarian dishes. The Michelin Guide is no longer the only tastemaker in town https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/01/30/the-michelin-guide-is-no-longer-the-only-tastemaker-in-town from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

As adoptions collapse, demand for international surrogacy is soaring https://www.economist.com/international/2025/01/30/as-adoptions-collapse-demand-for-international-surrogacy-is-soaring from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

The burden of looking busy is often passed down to lower-level cadres, some of whom, at least, are getting creative. In one example highlighted by Ms Zhao, a group of them were required to hold two (unnecessary) meetings each day as part of an anti-poverty campaign. Instead they met once every three days, taking six photos per meeting with different outfits, lighting and seating. China needs its frightened officials to save the economy https://www.economist.com/china/2025/01/30/china-needs-its-frightened-officials-to-save-the-economy from The Economist

A recent paper by Leah Brooks of George Washington University and Zachary Liscow of Yale Law School gives a sense of how regulatory burdens can add up. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, they find, the cost in America of building a mile of highway rose from $8.5m in 2016 prices to more than $25m. Many governments talk about cutting regulation but few manage to https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/01/30/many-governments-talk-about-cutting-regulation-but-few-manage-to from The Economist

Tech tycoons have got the economics of AI wrong https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/30/tech-tycoons-have-got-the-economics-of-ai-wrong from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Why Taiwanese youth complain of becoming "housing slaves" https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/01/30/why-taiwanese-youth-complain-of-becoming-housing-slaves from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Cutting red tape will not necessarily send growth soaring. Even if Mr Musk is successful, Mr Trump's other policies, such as jacking up tariffs and deporting millions of workers, could easily erase the benefit. Effective deregulatory drives anger people who lose out, including those exposed to more competition and NIMBYs who dislike growth. But a boost to construction, business formation and innovation is worth ruffling a few feathers for. Many governments talk about cutting regulation but few manage to https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/01/30/many-governments-talk-about-cutting-regulation-but-few-manage-to from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram

Cost overruns and huge delays are now par for the course when it comes to infrastructure. Some big projects, including a high-speed rail system in California, will probably never be built, given how tied up they are in environmental reviews. Britain has a vast queue of planned wind farms awaiting the promise of a future grid connection before beginning construction. Many governments talk about cutting regulation but few manage to https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/01/30/many-governments-talk-about-cutting-regulation-but-few-manage-to from The Economist Best Regards Seetha Ram