Monday, January 27, 2020

An Analysis Of The National Interest Of India Politics Essay

An Analysis Of The National Interest Of India Politics Essay National Interest is one of the important concepts for a country in International Relations. As a whole, it is defined as survival and security of a state. It mainly focuses on the countrys ambitions in cultural, military and economic backgrounds (Lavy, 1996). Although national interest of a country has different dimensions, we consider security and prosperity as considered as the primary goals. The other dimensions include economic development, advancement in military operations and retention of countrys culture in this modern world. The National Interest differs from country-to-country depending on their primary goals. National Interest is a process which prioritises the main problem in which the country should develop in. India is a country with a billion people population and has different dimensions of thoughts. The need for a particular state is of lowest concern for others. So it is hard and a complex job to prioritise the national interest for the people of India. In this ess ay, let us examine the history of National Interests and also the interests of India. HISTORIC EMERGENCE OF NATIONAL INTEREST: In the early 19th century, national interest was considered as important to that of a religion. This concept of National Interest was introduced by Niccolo Machiavelli but was first seen in practice during the Thirty years war by the French Chief Minister to reduce the increasing power of the Holy Roman Emperor. After these incidents, National Interest became a dominant term in European politics. During the Congress of Vienna, the government practiced the new concept of balance of powers which resulted in balancing the national interest in many countries. The consequences of the balance of powers were devastating and resulted in the First World War, so this concept was replaced by Collective Security. The concept of Collective Security was not successful because United States did not join the League of Nations and the concept was not in the borders of National Interest (Byrd, 1996). Realist and Neo-Realist concepts emerged during the Second World War due to the dominance of power in the world. League of Nations and its idealistic approach was considered as the reason for the formation of fascist states of Germany and Italy who were the causes of Second World War. Nowadays, the concept of National Interest is often related to policies which differentiate the idealistic policies. By differentiating the National Interest with idealistic policies, it paves ways for good foreign policy by relying on multilateral institutions. The term National Interest is used by many countries to prioritise the problems they had been facing in the past and also setting goals for future forecasts. These policies are more or like the ways or processes which have a positive notion for the particular country. Antonio states that National Interest and Law and Order are different from each other and have no importance when combined together (Byrd, 1996). NATIONAL INTERESTS OF INDIA: As the standard definition states that, survival of the state is important for the citizens to pursue happiness and prosperity. India adheres to the standard definition of National Interest. According the above definition, Indias national interest should be framed taking into account its territorial integrity, economic competition from other countries and ways to reduce those threats. The foreign policy of a country also depends on the national interests for its improvement (Venkat, 2007) Considering the Indias primary national interest as states survival, security and maintaining strong relationship with other countries, Indias national interests are Energy security, deals with the prolonged desire of nuclear fuel and nuclear technology. Securing unity and territorial integrity with China and Pakistan. During this process, India should maintain stability in government and peace for its fellow citizens. The conflict between India-Pakistan will be resolved only when the social-political changes occurs in Pakistan. Improving influence among the Asian countries by providing security and military intelligence to the smaller countries. Achieving greater freedom in the Indian subcontinent in trade and investment. These national interests are set to change from time-to-time according to its fulfilment. POST-INDEPENDENCE SECURITY: Territorial Integrity and Unity are considered as one of the important objectives to be fulfilled by India. The main aim in those perspectives is to settle the disputes of Indias long borders on LOC (Line of Control) of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with Pakistan and LAC (Line of Actual Control) with China. These borders of LOC and LAC are controlled by Pakistan and China respectively. The providence of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was invaded by Pakistan in 1947 and on the other hand, the China invaded the borders of Arunachal and Himachal Pradesh during 1956 and 1962. It is one of the important duties of a country to protect its current borders. So India should try for a best possible way to resolve the complex disputes with those two countries. India should consider implementing some strategies and tactics to overcome the problems in these regions because these are the primary concerns for India. Having fought many wars in LOC, Pakistans army and ISI have been aiding in removing the anti -social elements from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir providence (Parisar, 2010). As India is considered as one of the fastest developing countries in the world, it should be well equipped in terms of defence and military operations. In order to keep up the momentum going, India should come up with some policies which are helpful in reducing the poverty. In order to achieve these goals, India should maintain a good relationship with its regional countries and also with other countries like the countries in Middle East, Central Asia, Indian Ocean regions and South East Asia. This makes meaning as to why Indias stance on Non-Alignment serves as the core National Interest of the country (Parisar, 2010). The importance of Indias relationship with USA is important and cannot be undermined. Even though, USA had been hit by the worst financial crisis ever in the recent decades, it is still the most dominant super power in the world. India has always maintained a good relationship with US in the fields of trade, science and technology, security issues, energy security including nuclear and non-conventional energy sources. Secretary Hillary Clinton has also emphasized that the democratic political system of both the countries also serve as a binding factor for the close relationship. Political systems, values and other beliefs are considered as the important factors to maintain a close relationship with USA (Dutt, 2007). SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS: The first priority was given to the advancement of the social and economic sector after the independence in 1947 but due to the shortages in defence sector, the progress in those fields were reduced. There has been a continuous increment of economic growth over the past three decades and reduction in people below the poverty line. This change was only possible just because of the closing the gap of inequality in India. Essentially the main aim of the Indian government is to satisfy the progress in defence and development of the state as whole. Owing to a bigger surface area, free India did have a complex security situation which it failed to address it at full concern and allocating only 1.5 to 2.8 per cent of the GDP. As India is considered as one of the fastest developing countries in the world, it should look in reducing the poverty stuck people by improving the socio-economic conditions and creating more jobs for the people in the country. India is posed with the biggest challeng es in the development of social and economic sectors because it should consider the development of the middle class by eliminating the regional inequalities and social imbalances and also have a close look at the overseas Indian population. As we step into the 21st century, there are some factors from the other countries which influence the political, military and economic behaviour of India. They are: United States is ranked as the super power in the world. Its policies of creating alliance in political, military and economic sectors with other major countries have increased their influence in the international arena. This has helped the power of many countries to be rising when compared to India; India has also been influenced by China as it is growing rapidly and it is represented as the second most powerful country in the world. China will continue to follow its current political policy and represent the most powerful authoritarian state in the world; Japan should also be consid ered in this context as it is a techno-economic super power. Its policy of undermining its military power should be taken into account; Another major power which should be considered is Russia. Even though, it has been struggling because of the political-social crisis and the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has advanced in the production of nuclear weapons and encouraged its military capabilities. These features make Russia to be addressed as an important country which can make changes to this modern world; European Union is emerging as a major power as it is coordinating its policies with the alliance countries. This process will turn out to be a successful venture for India in the coming years. As we can see from the above factors that the world is turning towards the Asian land mass for its development. India has also inked in a historic deal with United States for the exchange of nuclear fuel and nuclear technology for the period of 10years in 2005. This historic deal will help reduce and fuel the growth of the industrialised India by 2020. This proves that the development in the coming years will be Asia centric (Nitin, 2007). CHANGING SECURITY CONCERNS: With advancements in the information technology and science, the world is ready for another military revolution. This revolution in the coming years could entirely change the nature of war as we know it in the present. India can be an important country which could play a role in ensuring regional and global peace around the world. The results of the cold war have not helped in reducing the mass destructive weapons and did not promote peace in many countries. In turn it made exclusive laws to retain these weapons for the protection of the super power countries to remain dominant over others. This has made the penetration of these mass destructive weapons to the small countries legally and illegally. The security concerns at this instance are deteriorating all throughout the world. So India should be more focussed on monitoring and analysing the security measures that it has taken to ensure a secure environment. These steps are considered very important for India because terrorism has involved into a biggest problem these days and are penetrating in many parts of the world. India has also partnered many countries in fighting terrorism to ensure a secure India to all the people. They have been spending 2% of their GDP for their military operations and developments. All these factors are considered as important challenges that India need to take it into account when constructing its military operations in the future. India should work with the ASEAN countries to address the security measures which are useful for the Asian regions as whole. It should also work with Non Aligned Movement countries to defend and provide solution for the international community and also keep good relati on with the major powers and main partners. India should provide a secure transfer of equipment and material that are important for Indias defence program (Venkat, 2007). Another major concern for India is that of its geographic location. India is placed just in the middle of countries which are well known for its arms traffickings and narcotics. India is placed between North West Pakistan and Afghanistan and Myanmar on the other side. The military training camps which fight the holy war against the world in the regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan should also be considered as the major threat for the security of India (Raman, 2011). The national security of India just cannot be taken for granted as it involved during the cold wars stages. The main reason for this is that of the advancement and sophistication of the weapons developed by many countries and the ways in which the wars are fought nowadays. The security that prevailed during the cold war stages only focussed on nuclear weapons and missiles but today the problems have become more complex and intense. There are many countries which have also opted out of procuring these dangerous weapons. Today countries have to build security measures which combat to the needs of political, economic and military needs in common. DEMOCRATIC MODEL FOR DEVELOPMENT: India is one of the biggest democratic countries in the world. Democracy proves to be an important tool to ensure that the benefits of the government are equally shared across the entire population without violence and exclusions. Democracy is also a process which guarantees rapid growth of power and wealth. In India, democracy has opened up to many peoples to stand for their rights. It is also stated that the other neighbouring countries after seeing the democratic model of India have ensured support and peace to all their citizens. For India, democracy should remain as a top priority in the future years to offer peaceful and proper guided country. Firstly, we need to recognise that the democratic model is never fast or easy as it is the complex combination of culture and policies. We also say that culture is not the destiny to get democracy. The countries with different culture, race, religion and different levels of development have promoted democracy and had been successful in it . In democracy, there is nothing which involves the cultural factors like Asian values, militarism or tribalism. India should promote and support democratisation by improving fair trade and investment from their citizens. The process of encouraging trade and bilateral investments also helps to improve democratic development. Political institutions should be given the power to enforce property rights to protect human rights and law. The main problem that comes into action is the corruption that takes place by the ruling party and others in power. These corruptions get unnoticed because of the fight in the corporate companies for corruption. The main strength of the present India is that of its well educated middle class population, it represents about 70 per cent of the total population. This advantage also creates new horizons for political movements and parties to establish a good government in the future. Trade also serves as one of the important issues for the development of the country, it not only helps us for the domestic economy but also for the foreign policy as a whole. Foreign cooperation with other countries, security developments and trade together helps India to be independent in the world. Promotion of democratic development is possible only when all of the above policies progress in the future (Bakshi, 2009). CONCLUSION: Even though India has been trying hard to maintain secure environment, it has failed to do so because of the threats from the anti-social elements. India has also increased their defence budget and has also acquired some war-heads and combat aircrafts from other countries. Indian government is also trying to make the better use of peoples money by updating their weapons and bringing confidence to the public as that of the Mumbai attacks. India as it goes by the roots, it takes democracy to attain peaceful and a secure country. As India is growing rapidly, it has to have a safe, secure and a stable neighbourhood. So India is ready to join and perform any security measures at the international level or regionally to bring stability and peace to the world. India should also provide security to citizens by reducing the riots in the country. It should also provide a secure environment and support for the people of India who live overseas. India owing to its multicultural society and a uni que democracy has ability to be considered as an example to many other countries to live peacefully. India in the recent years has opened its economy to foreign investors and is also providing rebates for their establishment. This has in-turn helped to boost the Indian economy from the FDIs and reaped good dividends from the markets. All these rapid developments and investments are only possible if India enhances its security and defence in the coming years.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Unbundled Business Models: Arm’s Focus on IP

This is my first not-technical blog post more towards the business side which I know very little about but still worth trying. I will be discussing the â€Å"unbundled business model† and why ARM is focusing only on designing IP cores. I came across the term unbundled business model in a book called â€Å"Business model generation† by Alexander OsterWalder and Yves Pigneur. Which is a fantastic book and they really take the reader through the entire planning process of a business or business model generation. As most electronic engineers will be aware, ARM holdings which stands for Advanced RISC Machines (Acorn RISC Machines at time of foundation) is a British Intellectual Property licensing company. So basically they license their proprietary processor cores to semiconductor companies like Apple, texas instruments, Freescale, Qualcomm, NVIDIA etc. These cores are specifically popular in mobile computing because of their low power consumption characteristics. In fact almost all of the recent smart phone processors are based on an ARM core. Err I guess we are diverting to electronics again, coming back to the company. So the company has a unique business model, unlike other semiconductor companies like Intel or microchip who design and manufacture their processors. ARM is specialized in designing the barebones of the processor, the core (which technically is a bunch of hardware synthesis files containing thousands of lines of Verilog code, or any other language) and gives out this code to semiconductor companies to let them manufacture their own customized processor. Unbundling Business Models: The term â€Å"unbundled corporation† was coined by John Hagel and Marc Singer and it suggests that there are three types of businesses: Customer Relationship businesses, product innovation businesses and Infrastructure businesses. These sectors require different skill sets are separate entities of a corporation or ideally a separate business itself. The role of Customer Relationship business is acquiring customer and building relationships with them. Similarly product innovation businesses are involved in development of new products and services, while the role of infrastructure businesses is to manage the platform for high volume, repetitive tasks like assembly lines, logistics etc. ARM can be effectively placed into the product innovation category; they are focused on development of their IP cores for which they are well-known for. This keeps the company’s operations aligned with the target which is to build low-power high performance cores. Their business is centered on engineers, talented and creative minds which design their products and keep them ahead of the competition. Customers are not their focus, well at least not directly, customer relationship are taken care at multiple levels by the chip manufacturer, the equipment manufacturer and then the end-user company. This is a win-win situation as the result is a better product and customer satisfaction. Another company which recently unbundled the business is Dell Inc. hich shifted its focus from manufacturing to customer relationship and marketing. Reason being contract manufacturers like Clevo produce computers more cheaply as their entire focus is on finding efficiencies in manufacturing. This means Dell can focus on the brand and building customer relationship which is a much more robust business plan. It is the basic question â€Å"What business are we in? † and finding what is the key business activity. If we try to manage activities across too broad a waterfront, we run a risk of losing our edge across more and more of his waterfront. The business model has worked out well for ARM and in year 2010, 6. 1 billion ARM based chips were sold. ARM’s goal is to have ARM-based processors in more than half of all tablets, mini-notebooks and other mobile PCs sold by 2015. Leave your comments below about what you think about the ARM business model and by the way check out my project Portoscope an open source mini oscilloscope, it runs on an ARM based processor

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Five Force Analysis Essay

The Bible says in Philippians 2:3-4 â€Å"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others†. The industry-based view of strategy is underpinned by the five forces framework, first advocated by Michael Porter, it was later strengthen by others. The five forces strategy forms the backbone of the industry-based view of strategy. Since its introduction in 1979, has become the framework for industry analysis. The five forces measure the competitiveness of the market deriving its attractiveness (Peng, 2009). Soft drink industry needs huge amount of money to spend on advertisement and marketing. In 2000, Pepsi, Coke and their bottler’s invested approximately $2.58 billion. This makes exceptionally hard for a new competitor to struggle with current market and expand visibility. (MBA lectures, 2010). The Coca Cola Company has little worries when it comes to threats of potential entry. The beverage industry there is no consumer switching cost and zero capital requirement. Coca Cola is a beverage but it is also seen as a brand. Coke has held a significant market share for a long and their customers are loyal trying new brands are not likely. Actions indicative of a high degree of rivalry include frequent price wars, proliferation of new products, intense advertising campaigns and high cost competitive actions and reactions (Peng, 2009). The intensity of the rival threatens firms by reducing profits. Currently, the main competitor Coca Cola has is Pepsi. Pepsi has a wide range of beverage products under its brand. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the predominant carbonated beverages and committed heavily to sponsoring outdoor events and activities. The market have other soda brands that are popular such as Dr. Pepper because of its unique flavors. The other brands haven’t been as succ essful as Pepsi or Coca Cola. Threat of existing rival is high among Coca Cola and Pepsi. Coke and Pepsi are primarily competing on advertising and differentiation rather than on pricing. Substitutes are products of different industries that satisfy customer needs currently met  by the focal industry (Peng, 2009). Microeconomic teaches the more substitutes a product has, the demand for the product becomes elastic. Pepsi is not a substitute for Coke because they are in the same industry. Tea, coffee, juice, and water are substitutes because they are beverages but are in a different product category. There are many kinds of energy drink, soda, and juice product in the market Coke doesn’t really have a unique taste it’s hard for many people to tell in a taste test which one is which. All the suppliers of these substitutes need massive advertising, brand equity, brand loyalty and making sure that their brands are effortlessly accessible to consumers (MBA Lectures, 2010). The bargaining power of buyers weather corporate or individual, firms in the focal industr y are essentially supplies. A small number of buyers leads to strong bargaining power. Buyers may enhance their bargaining power if products of an industry do not clearly produce cost saving or enhance the quality of life for buyers. Buyers may have strong bargaining power if they purchase standard, commodity products from suppliers. Buyers are just like suppliers they may enhance their bargaining power by entering the focal industry through backward integration (Peng, 2009). The most important buyers for the Soft Drink industry are fast food fountain, vending, convenience stores, restaurants, college canteens and other in the categorize of market share (MBA Lectures, 2010). The bargaining power of buyers for Coca Cola has low pressure. The individual has no pressure on Coca Cola. The consumer brand loyalty helps Coca Cola when it comes large retailers like Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart have power in bargaining because of the large order quantity. Bargaining power of suppliers are low for Coca Cola. Suppliers are organization that provide inputs, such as materials, services, and manpower, to firms in the focal industry. The bargaining power of suppliers refers to their ability to raise and reduce quality of goods and services. If the supplier industry is dominated by a few firms, they may gain an upper hand (Peng, 2009). The main ingredient for soft drink are carbonated water, phosphoric acid, sweetener, and caffeine. The supplier are not concentrated. Coca Cola is the largest customer for these suppliers. Supplier’s products are important input for the manufactures in this industry because these product are not substituted. Reference: Holy Bible Peng, M.W. (2009). Global Strategy (3rd. ed.) Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning Porter’s Five Forces Model of Coca Cola. Nov 25, 2010

Friday, January 3, 2020

Swarthmore College Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores

Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 9.5%. To apply, students can use the  Common Application, the Coalition Application, or the Questbridge Application. Swarthmore has an Early Decision program that can improve admission chances for students who are sure the college is their top choice school. A registered national arboretum, Swarthmore’s 399-acre campus is located just 11 miles from downtown Philadelphia. Students have the opportunity to take classes at neighboring  Bryn Mawr,  Haverford, and the  University of Pennsylvania. The college can boast of an impressive 8-to-1  student/faculty ratio  and a chapter of the prestigious  Phi Beta Kappa  Honor Society. Swarthmore consistently ranks near top of U.S. liberal arts colleges. In athletics, the Swarthmore Garnet compete in the NCAA Division III  Centennial Conference. The college fields nine mens and eleven womens varsity sports. Considering applying to this highly selective school? Here are the Swarthmore College admissions statistics you should know. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, Swarthmore College had an acceptance rate of 9.5%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 9 students were admitted, making Swarthmores admissions process highly competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 10,749 Percent Admitted 9.5% Percent Admitted Who Enrolled (Yield) 41% SAT Scores and Requirements Swarthmore requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 62% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 680 760 Math 700 790 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of Swarthmores admitted students fall within the top 20% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to Swarthmore scored between 680 and 760, while 25% scored below 680 and 25% scored above 760. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 700 and 790, while 25% scored below 700 and 25% scored above 790. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1550 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at Swarthmore. Requirements Swarthmore does not require the SAT writing section. Note that Swarthmore participates in the scorechoice program, which means that the admissions office will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. SAT Subject tests are not required, but Swarthmore will consider your scores if you submit them. Applicants interested in engineering are encouraged to submit SAT Math 2 Subject test scores. ACT Scores and Requirements Swarthmore requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 43% of admitted students submitted ACT scores. ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 33 35 Math 29 34 Composite 31 34 This admissions data tells us that most of Swarthmores admitted students fall within the top 5% nationally on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to Swarthmore received a composite ACT score between 31 and 34, while 25% scored above 34 and 25% scored below 31. Requirements Swarthmore College does not require the ACT writing section. Unlike many schools, Swarthmore superscores ACT results; your highest subscores from multiple ACT sittings will be considered. GPA Swarthmore College does not provide data about admitted students high school GPAs. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph Swarthmore College Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to Swarthmore College. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in  with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances With an acceptance rate of just over 9%, Swarthmore College is  one of the countrys  most selective colleges. However, Swarthmore has a  holistic admissions  process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. A strong  application essay  and glowing  letters of recommendation  can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful  extracurricular activities  and a  rigorous course schedule. All applicants will also need to write a supplemental  short answer essay  explaining their reasons for wanting to attend Swarthmore. An interview with an admissions officer is not required but is recommended, as is a campus visit and tour. Students with particularly compelling stories or achievements can still receive serious consideration even if their test scores are outside Swarthmores average range. If youre applying to Swarthmore College, you should  consider the school a reach  even if you have exceptional grades and standardized test scores. The graph above illustrates why. Many students with unweighted A averages and extremely high standardized test scores were still rejected by Swarthmore. All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and Swarthmore Colleges Undergraduate Admissions Office.