FT on networked drones: “Shield AI is just one of dozens of companies that are working on ways to transform the way drones are used, turning them from piloted point-and-shoot flying cameras into self-flying computers that can work in teams and transmit data straight into the cloud. While there have been huge leaps in the designs and battery life of drones, the real innovations are coming not in hardware but in their computing capabilities.”
Swaminathan Aiyar on the jobs problem in India: “The unemployment rate has risen from 2% to around 7.5% in most of 2021, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. China’s demographic dividend was supposed to be ending even as India’s rose, but India’s labour force participation rate has plummeted alarmingly. Barely 40% of Indians seek work, and just 38.2% are employed according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey. In China 66.8% are seeking work and 63.5% are employed, dwarfing India. Female labour participation in agriculture has collapsed and has always been very low in urban areas. Social mores and urban crime discourage female workers. We see no light at the end of this tunnel.”
A record year for Indian startups. More investments than the last 3 years combined. More than $100 million every day in 2021.
