This is Nitin Pai's cyberspace.

What I’m up to now: pursuits, talks, engagements.
Contact: @nitin.

I’m interested in coffee, philosophy, sharp objects, public policy, tech and stationery.

You are in the structured section of my domain where I have my blog posts, newspaper columns, updates on my teaching and research, and other things you had always been warned about.

▸ Check out my book: The Nitopadesha: Moral Tales for Good Citizens.⭐

▸ I have recently been writing about: ☼ information agehyperdiversityliberal democracyeconomicsCovid-19philosophy and everything else

▸ In these columns: ☼ MintDebates with my DaughtersSakalThe PrintThe HinduPragatiPax Indica

▸ Other stuff ☼ Raw NotesNow

The Acorn
Estd 2003
Recent posts:

Only social movements can save the environment in India
Neither judicial diktats nor government action can lift the smog unless Indian society builds the necessary social capital | 2nd Dec 2024

Trump’s moves to contain China will be contained by his other moves
China will look a lot more attractive, not least because America's shine is dimming fast. | 18th Nov 2024

Cautious optimism to start the post-Galwan phase
Diplomacy and military preparedness should go hand-in-hand in dealing with a disdainful China | 4th Nov 2024

India must sharply boost its military strength
There could be a case for an immediate surge in defence expenditure | 21st Oct 2024

Monopolisation of space is bad for the world
Global governance must catch up with the pace of technological development in spacefaring and satellite communications | 7th Oct 2024

Bad traffic is anti-national
For how can a society were people are angry with each other be a nation? | 23rd Sep 2024

Why has it become necessary to stage public protests for justice?
Indian society needs a new commitment towards strengthening law enforcement | 9th Sep 2024

Why independent India has not produced great political thinkers
We do not have political thinkers because India does not encourage free thinking | 26th Aug 2024

Why should public money be spent on sports?
Where we uncover one basic reason against and a three big reasons in favour of government spending on sports | 12th Aug 2024

Upholding the Constitution for the wrong reasons is dangerous for the Indian Republic
The Constitution is neither about quotas nor is it a holy book. It would be dangerous to treat it as one. | 29th Jul 2024

How to choose a National Security Advisor
Some basic principles in the design of the national security advisor's office and eco-system | 14th Jul 2024

Fixing entrance exams won’t suffice - higher education needs radical reform
Upgrade universities across the states, massively expand the number of seats and reduce the salience of entrance exams | 1st Jul 2024

India needs 20 million jobs per year
The 2024 election has brought the case for mass employment to the surface of the political discourse | 17th Jun 2024

Carbon emissions of war put humanity’s right to exist at risk
In the face of the climate crisis, war is no longer only a moral crime against humanity. It is a material one against the survival of the species. | 20th May 2024

The constituents of America’s strength are under severe strain
The United States stands to lose global influence if it continues on the current trajectory | 6th May 2024

There are costs and risks to an amazing missile defence shield
Technology creates time and space for politics; it does not substitute it. | 19th Apr 2024

To address the water crisis, India must price water
Water conservation requires multi-dimensional action -- but only pricing will create strong incentives for it | 8th Apr 2024

India cannot afford Piketty’s prescriptions
India should not be distracted from pursuing a sustainable high-growth path | 7th Apr 2024

The West’s disregard for global norms is endangering the world
Why should the rest of the world trust the West on climate and other global issues? | 25th Mar 2024

Power flows from the pins of microchips
Taking a step back to understand why national security types are concerning themselves with semiconductors | 11th Mar 2024

Hyperdiversity hardens Papua New Guinea’s challenges
Unless hyperdiverse societies develop a sense of higher-level imagined communities, they will underprovide even the most basic public goods. | 26th Feb 2024

Science fiction must escape the dystopia it has trapped itself in
We create the future we imagine: so it is important to imagine the future we wish to create. | 12th Feb 2024

Narrative Dominance, Information Warfare and the Freedom to Think
This policy brief offers a framework to analyse information warfare and underlines the importance of cognitive security | 1st Feb 2024



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