The Kashmir Pulse

It appears that India's tech promise to rival China isn't going according to plan, and it has been labelled by some as a complete shambles. One of the main roots of the issue of why everything has fallen apart lies in India's startup ecosystem, where many faults are to blame.

Take a closer look right here at where and when it all started going wrong for India.

Why is India's tech promise to rival China collapsing?

India's promise to create web-based companies to rival some of China's biggest companies, like Tencent and Alibaba, has not gone according to the plan. To begin with, the initiative attracted several major global investments from Tiger Global and SoftBank, and money was flooding in.

According to reports released by Venture Tracker (an Indian data tracker), $4 billion was put into the program, comprising around 300 separate contracts, but it has all had very little effect.

The entire startup ecosystem in India is now facing difficult questions on things like expensive acquisitions, financial accountability and discipline, rash valuations, and whether investors overvalued India's total addressable market (aka TAM).

People losing their jobs has sky-rocketed in the past few months, and public listings have been delayed. Operations have been scaled back, and hardly any new startup backing funds are available to take the tech promise to the next level.

The Enforcement Directorate (the crime-fighting task force in India) even raided one of the BYJU's in Bengaluru buildings after they were suspected of breaking the rules set out by the Foreign Exchange Management Act. In the raid, incriminating documents are said to have been seized.

Are other tech industries, like the online casino industry, affected?

Today's best iGaming companies that operate in India are not licensed by the Indian government, and they are controlled by foreign companies who operate from outside of Indian borders, so they have not been affected, and business continues to grow for these companies.

If you want to see some of the latest tech developments from the iGaming industry and enjoy the best online casinos India has to offer in 2023, go to the official AskGamblers.com website for a complete list of sites that welcome people based in India.

They are controlled by some of the most trusted names from the iGaming industry, and they are packed with over 1,000 games from several of the industry's most innovative providers.

What have been some of India's biggest technological achievements?

Since India won its independence in 1947, the nation has made several major technological contributions. In 1950, India's Planning Commission established a clear five-year plan to develop key areas within the country, such as infrastructure, education, science, and agriculture.

Heavy investment was also put into scientific and industrial research. They also had the Green Revolution, which mainly focused on agricultural research.

Other milestones in India's achievements include contributions to DNA fingerprinting, the Chandrayaan-I mission to the moon, creating a Polio-free India, and developing Aryabhatta – India's first satellite that was put into space in 1975.

They also developed their first strategic missile – ASNI, in 1989. The country also embarked on its first-ever interplanetary mission in 2023 with the launch of MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission, which is also known as Mangalyaan).

Will India bounce back from the recent setbacks and continue pushing forward with startups?

Based on India's rich history of not wanting to fall behind in terms of its scientific and technological capabilities, the nation will no doubt continue to innovate in whichever way it can.

Despite the recent setbacks and the initial vision not going according to the plan, we will likely see more startups continue to pop up over the coming decade. The country remains one of the largest in the world for startup ecosystems.

At the time of writing, the 10 major sectors that have the best startup ecosystems are the following:

• Green technology
• Agriculture
• IT services
• Technology hardware
• Food & beverages
• Finance technology
• Professional and commercial services
• Education
• Healthcare & life sciences

India's unyielding pursuit for global recognition: A technological revolution in the making

India will always strive to seek global recognition. They are constantly looking for new ways to innovate and will steadily push forward and continue to develop all these major sectors.

They have a thriving younger population who are skilled in many areas and keen to take the country forward on the global stage. We must closely monitor the situation to see how India's technological revolution will progress over the coming decade.

They may have fallen behind on their promise to rival China, but they will surely bounce back and demonstrate to the world how serious they are about competing with other major global powerhouses, just like they always have done.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse

SRINAGAR — The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is stable yet unpredictable, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande said on Thursday, adding that India has ramped up infrastructure development along the border and deployed adequate troops and equipment deployed to deal with any contingency.

Addressing the media ahead of the Army Day on January 15, Gen Pande said both countries have been able to resolve five of the seven issues along the LAC and continue to hold talks at the military and diplomatic levels.

Talking about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the Line of Control (LoC), Gen Pande said the ceasefire agreement that Pakistan signed in February 2021 is holding well with a significant reduction noticed in violence parameters. He, however, added that cross-border support to militancy and militant infrastructure continues to remain an issue and this is more noticeable in areas south of the Pir Panjal range.

In the eastern sector, he said, there has been a slight increase in the deployment of Chinese troops, but the Indian Army soldiers, including reserves, have been adequately deployed there to take care of any situation.

Gen Pande said, in the same context, Indian soldiers deployed along the LAC have been able to prevent any attempts by the adversary to unilaterally change the status quo. He added the Indian Army is closely watching the situation in Doklam and monitoring Chinese activities there.

The Indian Army chief also emphasized the infrastructure development carried out by India along the LAC comprising roads, bridges, tunnels as well as heated shelters and habitats for its troops. He said Rs 1,300 crore has been spent on building infrastructure, including habitat, in eastern Ladakh in recent months.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse