International Monetary Fund IMF G20 seminar on financial innovation- Our Future in the Digital Age

The Next Steps for International Cooperation in Fintech

Opening Remarks by Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, IMF G20 High Level Seminar “Our Future in the Digital Age” Fukuoka, Japan

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2019/06/07/sp060819-lagarde-the-next-steps-for-international-cooperation-in-fintech

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), speaks at the Group of 20 (G-20) high-level seminar on financial innovation "Our Future in the Digital Age"

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned on Saturday that the increasing presence of technology giants using big data and artificial intelligence could cause a significant disruption to the world’s financial system.

The rapid development of financial technology fintech has increased access to cheap payment and settlement systems for low-income households in emerging countries where traditional banking networks are scarce.

But it has raised concern about the increasing dominance of big technology firms in mobile payments, which could force global policymakers to rethink the way they regulate the banking system and ensure financial settlements are executed safely.

IMF's Lagarde highlights potential disruptive nature of fintech

“A significant disruption to the financial landscape is likely to come from the big tech firms, who will use their enormous customer bases and deep pockets to offer financial products based on big data and artificial intelligence,”

Lagarde told a symposium on financial technology held on the sidelines of the G20 finance leaders’ meeting in Fukuoka, southern Japan.

While such innovation may help modernize financial markets, they could make the financial system vulnerable such by putting payment and settlement systems under the control of a handful of technology giants, she added.

“Over the last five years, technology growth in China has been extremely successful and allowed millions of new entrants to benefit from access to financial products and the creation of high-quality jobs,” she said.

“But it has also led to two firms controlling more than 90% of the mobile payments market.”

Addressing the pros and cons of financial innovation is among topics of debate at the two-day meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank heads that began on Saturday.

References : Reuters , IMF

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Why India can’t defeat Pakistan in a war? What is the Right time to Fight Pakistan? Explain.

At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary troopers were killed in the deadliest terror attack witnessed in three decades of Kashmir's insurgency. The surprise attack by a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) suicide bomber left the nation in shock and anger while Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave security forces a freehand to strike back with equal force.

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat welcomed India's decision to call off talks and said that it's time to "give it back" to Pakistan Army and terrorists, Pakistan Army has said that the nuclear-powered nation is "ready for war".

Pakistan Director General of Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor said,

"We are always ready and prepared for war. War happens when either side is unprepared for it."

One of the key arguments is that the political leadership has to improve their understanding of military matters and involve the views of defence forces while making critical national security decisions. Another provocative take is that the Indian Army is a bloated force and has to shed flab, by reducing the number of personnel at its disposal. They call for a review of both field force and non-field force in the Army in order towards professionalism. The Army to disengage itself from counter-insurgency operations, a task at best left to paramilitary forces, and regain its edge to do its primary task- fight the enemy.

Dragon On Our Doorstep could be a little misleading title since We are not only discussing the China threat but India’s defence strategy. In full play is Pakistan, Kashmir and the red menace, the greatest threat India is facing, as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put it. The authors Sawhney and Wahab say that in terms of threat, Pakistan is China and China is Pakistan, pointing out especially the ‘inter-operability’ that both military forces have achieved.

So despite the strongman Narendra Modi at the helm, why can’t India defeat Pakistan in a war? Pakistan has built military power, India a military force.

And Here is the explanation:

“Military force involves the mere collection of war-withal, that is, building up of troops and war-waging material; military power is about optimal utilisation of military force. It entails an understanding of the adversaries and the quantum of threat from each, the nature of warfare, domains of war, how it would be fought, and structural military reforms at various levels to meet these challenges.”

The political leadership which would decide the terms of war engagement understands neither nuclear weapons nor military power.

“Its responses would be slow, tardy, ad hoc and piecemeal rather than bold and substantive if the countries were to go to war.”

Attacking Pakistan will mean starting a World War III . Lets not forget that Pakistan is a country with sophisticated military and advanced missile delivery system with capable of delivering nuclear warheads. India attacking Pakistan will definitely trigger a nuclear war in that region. Pakistan is also in alliance with China and India and Indian relations are still considered not very friendly with China. The Indian military has acknowledged contingency plans exist for punishing Pakistan more severely in the event of a damaging terrorist attack. But all such plans carry the danger of retaliation and uncontrolled escalation. This fear is exacerbated by the fact that both countries possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan has repeatedly signalled it would not hesitate to use them.

Pulwama Attack on CRPF

What else makes Indian defence forces vulnerable? Since the defence forces are outside the government, they have little interaction with the political leadership in peacetime and little say in the acquisition of conventional weapons. The defence services have little knowledge and understanding of their own nuclear weapons and Pakistan’s nuclear redlines. As India does not have an efficient indigenous defence industry, war supplies are not assured. All these, for an average reader, sound pretty scary.

Indian Air Force has critical deficiencies in combat aircraft, training aircraft, simulators, air defence and network-centricity. “Most of all, the joint-ness in operations between the army and the air force, which is a critical requirement at the operational level for a short and swift, war is absent. This was obvious from the last localised Kargil conflict that the two services fought together. Instead of a single operation, the army’s operation was named Vijay, while the IAF campaign was called Safed Sagar.”

India’s foreign policy in relation to Pakistan and criticise Modi for his failure in not rising as a statesman prime minister to transform India into a leading power. Modi’s foreign policy is more optics than substance. India and Pakistan have many things in common besides food and music. India has blinded more civilians in Kashmir with pellet guns than any other regime in the recorded history of the world. Pakistan has abducted many of its own citizens and disappeared them for years. Both acted in the name of national security.

They say that ‘Act East, Think West’ policy is hampered by the perennial failures in strategic thinking and a lack of appreciation for military power. They pick on India’s foreign aid policy and say that if our neighbours are neither deferential nor deterrent there is something amiss. Aid is seldom given to fulfil the needs of the recipient. It is given to meet the requirements- strategic in the case of nations- of the giver. And if the requirements are not met, you increase the aid or diversify it. They also say that India is the only country in the world where foreign policy with nations having disputed borders- China and Pakistan- is made with regard to military advice. All these criticisms should rile the defence establishment and the bureaucrats who have straitjacketed India’s foreign policy.

The government of India should open unconditional talks with everyone alienated from the national mainstream, irrespective of their professed public positions. They caution that even the biggest of powers have not been able to withstand internal discord because they understand that the financial and military effort required to keep it in check debilitates the nation in the long run. if India is able to win over the tribal population of central India and the people from the northeastern states, it will be able to free up a substantive number of its soldiers from internal stability and counter-insurgency operations.

So in the end, the message is that set your home right, the world will follow you. May be Modi can take note.

References : BBC , TOI

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Who is Manikarnika? - The life of Rani Lakshmibai.

Manikarnika, better known as Rani Laxmibai, one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and her resistance to the British Raj. She was a reluctant heroine of the Mutiny, who happened to be at the wrong place at the right time.

Early life

The Rani of Jhansi was born as Manikarnika in the city of Varanasi. Sadly, her mother died before her fourth birthday. Her father worked for a court Peshwa of Bithoor district. The Peshwa brought her up as his own child. He even called her Chhabili, meaning playful. She studied fencing, shooting and horse riding.

When she turned 14, she was married to the Maharajah of Jhansi and was called Lakshmibai. Manikarnika was married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Newalkar, in May 1842 and was afterwards called Lakshmibai (or Laxmibai) in honour of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi and according to the traditions. She gave birth to a boy, later named Damodar Rao, in 1851, who died after four months. The couple adopted the maharajah’s nephew.

Forced into rebellion

After her husband’s death, the East India Company applied the Doctrine of Lapse stating that an adopted son cannot be heir to the throne. At that time, Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of India. The British did not recognise Damodar Rao as Laxmibai’s heir to the throne and decided to annexe Jhansi. In 1854, Dalhousie announced an annual pension. But the Rani was determined not to give up Jhansi at any cost The Rani went to a British lawyer and later filed an appeal in London, but all in vain. The English confiscated the state jewels and asked her to leave the fort after giving her a pension of Rs. 60,000. But Lakshmibai was keen on protecting the State of Jhansi.

The people of Jhansi lent their support in the fight against the kingdom’s independence from the British. The East India Company forces attacked Jhansi in 1858, only to face a stiff resistance by the Rani Laxmibai-led army. The fighting went on for more than two weeks before the kingdom fell.She strengthened its defences and rallied a volunteer army of 14,000 rebels. It is believed the Rani included several women in her unit and gave them military training. Jhansi Rani set up a foundry to cast cannon to be used on the walls of the fort.

Rebellion of 1857

The First War of Independence began in 1857 and the chaotic time ensured the British were focussing their attention elsewhere, and so Lakshmibai was left alone. The Rani’s reluctance to take on the British ended when Sir Hugh Rose laid siege to Jhansi.

The war of independence that broke out in 1857 shook the foundation of the British rule in India. The British administration was crumbling all over the country and became very shaky in Jhansi also. In the wake of this upheaval, Rani's rule was reestablished in Jhansi and she continued to rule for about 9-10 months. Then the trouble started for the Rani when the British offensive against her got under way, in March 1858.

An equestrian statue of Manikarnika / Rani Laxmibai from Solapur, Maharashtra. Source:Wikimedia Commons.

Siege of Jhansi

On 20th March 1858 General Hugh Rose reached Jhansi with a huge army. The Rani put up a heroic resistance and battled hard against the enemy for 12 days. Ultimately, the superior forces forced her to flee Jhansi. The Rani decided not to surrender. With her son strapped to her back she escaped on horseback by night. Sir Hugh called her, “the most dangerous of all rebel leaders”. On 4 April at night, the Rani together with her 8 to 10 thousand troops left Jhansi and reached Kalpi. The very next day the fort of Jhansi was occupied by the British.

Flight to Gwalior

In the battle for Gwalior she donned warrior clothes and rode into battleground. At long last, the Rani rode out of the battlefield with some of her followers and female attendants. The British soldiers pursued the rani and continued to fire shots at her. As a result of her getting mortally wounded, she fell off her horse and breathed her last. The British pursuers also arrived there soon after but only to find her horse standing alone and learned that the last rites of the Rani had already been performed. She died in battle on June 18, 1858, aged barely 30.

When the Indian National Army started its first female unit, it was named after the valiant queen of Jhansi.

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We are proud to be an Indian because We have the freedom to speak, write and protest against evil doings. We have the right to stand up and fight when we see human cruelty.India will be celebrating its 70th Republic Day on January 26, 2019. Republic Day is celebrated to mark the day when the Indian Constitution came to force. New Delhi: India will be celebrating its 70th Republic Day on January 26, 2019. We are going post series of articles on Indian Constitution & It's Implementation.

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