Geo-Politics, Geo-Economics, Technology, Business Strategy

  Image Credit: www.huntingfishing.com In my previous and first article on this topic (Rare Earth Metals – “The War for World Domination”, dated July 24, 2022 ), I had focused on how China was galloping away towards the winner’s podium of the Rare Earth Metals Race . For those who missed it or wants a refresher, here is the link - https://industry4o.com/2022/07/28/rare-earth-metals-the-war-for-world-domination/ In that article I had however also concluded that “ It will be interesting to see how countries like the US, Russia, Japan, the EU, India, etc. ( in isolation or in alliances ) will play out their parts in this resource war. More on that, in another blog”. Well, I felt it is time for a follow-on article to take stock on how the race has been shaping up over the past year. In this second episode of the series on Rare Earth Metals Race, I will be focusing on India - the proverbial elephant who seems to be waking up from a deep slumber, and maybe a bit groggy still ? A...

  Image Credit: Sound Cloud To decode the phenomenon called Xi, one must travel back in time - a few centuries back! Till the 16 th century , the dominant trade between major nations then used to be based on the Ancient Silk Route , covering China, India, Persia (modern day, Iran) and Europe via Turkey (gateway to Europe). China (under the Ming dynasties) and India (under the Gupta, Maurya and Chola dynasties) were the 2 most important players and had the largest GDPs amongst countries during those days. Fast forward to 17 th and 18 th centuries , that era saw significant advances in ship building and maritime activities. While China and India continued their overall hold of the world trade share, smaller European nations like the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Spaniards and the English opened up new trade routes to Asia and Africa, and also led to the discovery of America! However, the biggest disruption came with the Great Industrial Revolution in the 1800s led by Great Br...

(This article was compiled by my wife (SABARI SARKAR), in memory of her uncle (Late VADM B R Choudhury). It is a well-known fact that INS Vikrant (India’s first aircraft carrier) played a pivotal role in the Indo-Pak War of 1971, that led to the Liberation of Bangladesh (then-East Pakistan). It’s mighty presence in the Indian Ocean through to the Bay of Bengal and the naval blockade of East Pakistan, ensured that Pakistan was not able to send replenishment of arms and soldiers to Bangladesh via sea routes. Below are some interesting facts regarding the INS Vikrant that has become part of Indian Navy’s folklore (and has been gleaned from the public domain): When Russia (then USSR) came to India’s rescue against the combined might of the US, Britain, China & Pakistan In 1971, as India faced an unacceptable refugee burden, it faced a dire situation. The US and Britain as well as China were on Pakistan's side in the upcoming conflict. As a counter-strategy, on August 9, 19...

Introduction While both Alliances & Partnerships serve strategic business objectives of companies, however many confuse the terms Alliances & Partnerships to be same/similar and interchangeably use them in an incorrect manner. Especially in the context of IT industry, wherein in most cases both are looked at through the narrow prism of Go to Market (GTM) strategy & planning, and not through a broader lens of being strategic growth drivers. This blog is an attempt to explore what are alliances & partnerships, their differences, which one works better than the other & in what contexts, etc. Definitions As per Investopedia , “a strategic alliance is an arrangement between two companies to undertake a mutually beneficial project while each retains its independence” , whereas “a partnership is a formal arrangement by two or more parties to manage and operate a business and share its profits” . Differences Let’s look at some key points that makes Alliances ...