This daily column includes Gateway House’s Badi Soch – big thought – of the day’s foreign policy events. Today’s focus is on the $500 million fine levied on Ranbaxy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Often, many vital inventions are left incomplete or do not reach the market as information is locked up by numerous patent holders. How does this hamper innovation, and why is it necessary to overcome the attitude of ‘anti-commons’ and foster cross-fertilization of knowledge?
Courtesy: Prasar Bharati
Doordarshan, India’s national TV broadcaster, has been long known for its low production quality, and the lack of a global reach. With India’s steady rise as an economic power, there is increasing curiosity about India in the world. How can Doordarshan promote India’s interests in the global market?
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Though India’s approach to space has been pragmatic, it is hindered by a lackadaisical approach by policymakers. India must recognize the stagnancy and myopia of its space program and come up with a long-term vision.
Courtesy: PIB
If its space assets are used effectively, India could have a formidable fleet of five to 10 satellites dedicated for military use and dozens more for the advancement of its economy.
Courtesy: World Economic Forum/Flickr
The propensity of Africa’s leaders to seek medical treatment abroad illustrates the little faith they have in their own healthcare systems. Given how countless Africans don’t have the resources to follow their leaders’ steps, there should be increased political will to make affordable healthcare available at home.
Over the past four years, China has switched from being an importer of high-speed trains to the world’s largest manufacturer. Much of this can be attributed to the transfer of foreign technology to Chinese state-owned enterprises. How have Chinese government policies and economic heft aided this effort?
The recent death of the Ethiopean Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, in a hospital in Brussels highlights the trend of political elite in Africa availing medical attention abroad. It stirs yet another debate on the pitiable state of affairs of healthcare in the continent, and the lack of political will to improve it.
China has affirmed its status as one of the world’s leading space powers by sending three astronauts into space this week. Should India – which has one of the world’s six major space programs – take efforts to imitate its neighbour? Can it develop such capabilities? At what cost though, and for what benefit?
Courtesy: PMO
India will do well to expand its positive and trust-laden cooperation with Russia in commerce, technology, and education, into a broader regional one, and establish a more meaningful presence in Central Asia. This will also assist in the future acquisition of energy resources in the region.