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Rohit Chandra

@rohitreads.bsky.social
691 followers 159 following 29 posts

Energy, political economy and history. Indian capitalism through coal, power, finance & infra. SF fan.

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Reposted by Rohit Chandra
The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 25/08/2025
An M.I.T. study found that 95% of companies that had invested in A.I. tools were seeing zero return. It jibes with the emerging idea that generative A.I., “in its current incarnation, simply isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be,” johncassidysays.bsky.social writes.
newyorker.com
The A.I.-Profits Drought and the Lessons of History
Like the steam engine, electricity, and computers, generative artificial intelligence could take longer than expected to transform the economy.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
The FT story we were all waiting for but never expected. Lovely, but tragic piece.
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Gautam Bhatia @gautambhatia88.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Out this month: "Between Worlds: The IF Anthology of New Indian SFF" -- scroll.in/article/1084...
scroll.in
August fiction: From speculative to literary fiction, six new books to look forward to this month
An anthology of new speculative fiction writing, a crime fiction novel, a collection of Hindi short stories in translation, and more.
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The India Forum @theindiaforum.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
India's disaster management systems excel in saving lives quickly but are hamstrung in planning for risk mitigation and resilience. www.theindiaforum.in/climate-chan...
theindiaforum.in
The Evolution of Disaster Management in India
India's disaster management systems excel in saving lives quickly but are hamstrung in planning for risk mitigation and resilience.
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Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
‘The Blaft Book of Anti-Caste SF’ demonstrates the power of speculative and science fiction as instruments of the anti-caste struggle in Southasia, and these genres’ connections to the wide traditions of Dalit and Adivasi literature. Sreyartha Krishna:
buff.ly
The present and deep past of anti-caste speculative fiction
IN 1920, the Czech author Karel Čapek wrote a science fiction play called R.U.R. – short for Rossumovi Univerzalni Roboti, or Rossum’s Universal Robots. Credite
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The India Forum @theindiaforum.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
The career of M. Visvesvaraya, arch-technocrat and statesman, throws much light on how India embraced the idea of modernisation through industrialisation. Aashique Iqbal reviews Aparajith Ramnath's book www.theindiaforum.in/book-reviews...
theindiaforum.in
India’s Visionary Engineer
The career of M. Visvesvaraya, arch-technocrat and statesman, throws much light on how India embraced the idea of modernisation through industrialisation.
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The India Forum @theindiaforum.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
The 2023 Nobel winner’s story reminds us of the power of persistence, and teamwork in science. As science comes under siege in the US, the memoir underscores the need for a more inclusive scientific community that welcomes talent regardless of background or race. www.theindiaforum.in/book-reviews...
theindiaforum.in
What Katalin Karikó Teaches Us about Perseverance and Success
The 2023 Nobel winner’s story reminds us of the power of persistence, and teamwork in science. As science comes under siege in the US, the memoir underscores the need for a more inclusive scientific c...
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
As much of North India melts amidst a heat wave, great podcast with Aditya Pillai from @sustainablefutures.org by Namrata Raju on The Migration Story. open.spotify.com/episode/2jkU...
open.spotify.com
'Shade is an elite commodity'
The Migration Story podcast · Episode
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Gautam Bhatia @gautambhatia88.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Strange Horizons’ annual fund-drive is now live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/str... We are entirely community-funded, and this is our main source of income. Help us enter our 26th year?
kickstarter.com
Strange Horizons 2026
A free weekly speculative fiction magazine with a global perspective.
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Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Sign up for the second Himal Fiction Fest 2025 panel event, "Caste, gender and resistance in Southasian speculative fiction", held in partnership with the Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation. 🗓 Monday, 16 June ⌚ 7:30 pm IST buff.ly/kzL5ZID
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Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
📢 HIMAL FICTION FEST 2025: Celebrating Southasian speculative fiction 🔮 Join us this Monday (9th June) for the first panel event! Sign up here: buff.ly/AupIohy
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Rishika Pardikar @rishpardikar.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
A 'Coal in India' explainer for @drilledmedia.bsky.social. Historical roots to nationalisation & back to privatisation, worker issues, Adani & state favour, resistance by Adivasi communities & police action & underground mining. Context: non-existent energy transition drilled.media/news/india-c...
drilled.media
In India’s Coal Belt, a Window into the Challenges Facing Energy Transition
India’s reliance on coal is tied to a complex set of economic, social, and energy security factors; any successful energy transition plan will have to address all of them.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Great overview piece by Rishika Pardikar on the complexity of India's coal sector and the energy transition. With some valuable insights from the field. drilled.media/news/india-c...
drilled.media
In India’s Coal Belt, a Window into the Challenges Facing Energy Transition
India’s reliance on coal is tied to a complex set of economic, social, and energy security factors; any successful energy transition plan will have to address all of them.
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Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
📢 HIMAL FICTION FEST 2025: Celebrating Southasian speculative fiction ⏳ Join us this Monday (9th June) for the first panel event! Sign up here: buff.ly/AupIohy
buff.ly
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: The state of speculative fiction in Southasia - Himal Fiction Fest 2025. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Moderator: Gautam Bhatia Panelists: Usman T Malik, Karthika VK and Theena Kumaragurunathan
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Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
“The thing that protects you against substandard medicines is a good drug controller. Countries that don’t have that shield are suffering.” Write Vidya Krishnan & Arshu John
himalmag.com
How Bangladesh’s pharma revolution succeeded against the odds
This story is part of “Pills, Perils, Profits”, a Himal investigative series on Southasian pharmaceutical manufacturing and exports.Reporting for this story was
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The India Forum @theindiaforum.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
In the absence of timely data from official agencies, pvt org & researchers have turned to designing large data surveys, often promoted by global philanthropies. There are questions about the transparency, accountability & working conditions of the enumerators. www.theindiaforum.in/public-polic...
theindiaforum.in
Enumerators and the New Private Customised Survey Industry in India
In the absence of timely data from official agencies, private organizations and researchers have turned to designing large data surveys, often promoted by global philanthropies. There are questions ab...
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UBC Economics @ubcvse.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Listen to VSE Professor @nathannunn.bsky.social in two recent podcasts, one with @causalinf.bsky.social discussing his career beginnings and how he came to study Economic History and Development... causalinf.substack.com/p/s4e17-nath... (1/2)
causalinf.substack.com
S4E17: Nathan Nunn, Economic History and Development, University of British Columbia
Welcome to the Mixtape with Scott!
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Fantastic book review combined with broader reflection on the evolution of nationalism over the last century.
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Victor Shih @vicshih.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Very timely book by @fudaoge.bsky.social et al on contemporary state capitalism. Since it’s coming back into fashion, might as well read all about it www.cambridge.org/core/element...
cambridge.org
State-Owned Enterprises as Institutional Actors in Contemporary Capitalism and Beyond
Cambridge Core - Governance - State-Owned Enterprises as Institutional Actors in Contemporary Capitalism and Beyond
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
About a year and half ago, @sandeeppai.bsky.social , Suravee Nayak, Sree Harica and I started putting together a review article for WIRES Climate Change on India's complicated relationship with its coal industry.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Platforms may start with the intent of increasing competition, but we've seen many of them (including most of Big Tech) eventually move towards reducing competition and trying to undermine the very companies who used their platform to provide value.
indianexpress.com
The Zomato-Swiggy cartel: Bistro and Snacc further threaten the restaurant business
It is not just the small businesses and the swathes of restaurant workers that they employ (a number second only to agriculture) who bear the brunt of monopolistic behaviour from these digital platfor...
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David Graeber Institute @davidgraeberinst.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
As David Graeber explains, the Neo-Liberal myth that Free-Market policies will end bureaucracy, is well a Myth!
The idea that the market is somehow opposed to and independent of 
government has been used at least since the nineteenth century to
justify laissez-faire economic policies, but such policies never actually 
have the effect of lessening the role of government.
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In late 19th century England, for instance, an increasingly liberal 
society did not lead to a reduction of state bureaucracy but the opposite: 
an endlessly mushrooming array of legal clerks, registrars, inspectors, 
notaries, and police officials — the very people who made possible the 
liberal dream of a world of free contract between autonomous individuals. 
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It turned out that maintaining a free-market economy required considerably 
more paperwork than a Louis XIV–style absolutist monarchy. The same 
effect could be seen in America during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, or in 
Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, where, from 1994 to 2002, the 
number of civil servants jumped by some quarter million.
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  - David Graeber
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Amiya Bagchi's Private Investment In India was a fantastic book to read as a young PhD student interested in understanding Indian economic history. Managing agencies, banks, industrial geography, political economy and so much more in a single book.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Surprisingly honest inward reflection by former Harvard professors on why they left the university to work in the private sector (public health, drug discovery etc.). www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/01/harv...
harvardmagazine.com
Harvard Professors Leaving for Private Sector Research | Harvard Magazine
Three distinguished scientists on leaving academia to advance biomedical research
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eileen chengyin chow @chowleen.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
The work of Taiwanese sculptor Hsu Tung Han 韓旭東 - of wood sculptures carved as if pixelated and uploading [Via his Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/hsutu...
Wood sculpture by Han Hsu Tung of a hand in mid-pixelationWood sculpture by Han Hsu Tung of a terracotta soldier in mid-pixelation
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Samit Basu @samitbasu.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Paperback day!
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Ariel Ron @arielron.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
My colleague @MacabeKeliher just published this excellent article about the role of Taiwan Machinery Manufacturing Corporations, as SOE, in Taiwan's postwar economic development. Part of what he calls the "archival turn" in studies of the developmental state. Interesting stuff!
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Ashish K. Mishra @akm1410.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Our investigation into three share pledge agreements entered into by Adani Green subsidiaries shows they signed undertakings before March 2023—when AGEL first became aware of the FBI’s probe—to inform lenders of any such matters, which they haven't. themorningcontext.com/business/ple...
themorningcontext.com
Pledge agreements show Adani Green could have breached loan covenants
The US indictment alleging bribery for solar contracts by the company’s promoters and management has activated many potential issues in loan agreements signed by the renewables major.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Useful historical reflection by Harish Damodaran on business-state relations, the Dalmia-Jain incident and its meaning for the current moment post-indictments. indianexpress.com/article/opin...
indianexpress.com
In 1950s, when a business house stood in the dock
The Modi government’s apparent reluctance to act against Adani could be because it views, more than previous administrations, big business as a partner in nation-building and also serving the country’...
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 30/11/2024
Matt Shutzer has some interesting thoughts on India's fossil fuel history and its relationship with modern climate discussions. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/empire-to-na...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
‘Empire to nationalism, coal mirrors the 20ᵗʰ century — in India, it shows the West’s failure’ - Times of India
Matthew Shutzer teaches history at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Adding to this, his curation of the SBI archives, his multiple volumes on the evolution of SBI are also landmark works. Inspirational reading for any scholars looking to understand the political economy of finance in pre independence India. Truly a scholar for the ages.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Strong piece on the emerging issues with India's solar e-auctions m-economictimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/m.econom...
m-economictimes-com.cdn.ampproject.org
Amid Adani's scrutiny, bidding flaws threaten to dim India’s solar ambitions - The Economic Times
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Rohit De @itihaasnaama.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
Call for Papers for the Yale Modern South Asia Workshop, to be held June 7-8, 2025. Travel, accommodation, and meals will be provided to all selected candidates for the duration of the Workshop in South Asia. macmillan.yale.edu/southasia/mo...
macmillan.yale.edu
Modern South Asia Workshop
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Brutal realities of India's power market. Putting the generation cart before the utility finance and market design horse has its consequences. www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/rene...
thehindubusinessline.com
Renewable Energy PPAs for 55 GW capacity yet to find takers
Analysis of renewable energy projects reveals delays in signing PPAs due to surge in bids and mismatch in demand.
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Shahzad Gani 🍉 @shahzadgani.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
🚨 Advanced Aerosol Science Intensive Course 🚨 📍 IIT Delhi Sonipat Campus 📅 3–13 Feb 2025 A joint course by CAS, IIT Delhi and INAR, University of Helsinki. 🧪For Indian PhD students (2nd year & above) ⏳Apply by: 31 Dec 2024 🌐https://forms.office.com/r/DjA74Hm8RZ
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Shahzad Gani 🍉 @shahzadgani.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
I'm an Atmospheric Scientist at IIT Delhi. I work on Air Pollution, Atmospheric Aerosols, Climate Change, and Science Communication. #AirPollution #SciComm #ClimateScience #ClimateChange Please tag people who work on these themes.
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Hisham Zerriffi @hishamzerriffi.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
A view from India on the Adani indictment and what it means for much-needed investment in renewable energy in India: scroll.in/article/1075... #EnergySky #ClimateSky
scroll.in
Why the Adani indictment matters for India
India has been trying to sell itself as a destination for green investment. Its biggest infrastructure company should not become a liability in this effort.
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Some thoughts on the recent Adani indictments t.co/i6LWcrFTzs
t.co
https://scroll.in/article/1075918
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Gautam Bhatia @gautambhatia88.bsky.social · 22/11/2023
New issue of the Words for Worlds newsletter out: gautambhatia.substack.com/p/words-for-... feat. Silo and Philip K Dick, Blood in the Machine, new work by @architamittra.bsky.social, and a Palestinian fabulist novel. [Subscription link at the end of the newsletter.]
gautambhatia.substack.com
Words for Worlds - Issue LVIII
Hello everyone, and welcome to another issue of the Words for Worlds newsletter. What I’m Reading/Watching As a teenager, I had a Philip K Dick phase, and one of the books that I read out of his vas...
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 22/11/2023
Delighted to be a guest on The India Energy Hour podcast with Ann Josey. If you're in interested in the role of India's states in the energy transition, do have a listen. Thanks to Shreya Jai for hosting us. open.spotify.com/episode/7KF5...
open.spotify.com
Energy Transition: 1 Nation, 28 Pathways | ft. Ann Josey & Rohit Chandra
Listen to this episode from The India Energy Hour Presented by 101Reporters on Spotify. India's energy transition currently comprises a set of ambitious targets, the pathway for which is yet to be des...
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Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · 19/11/2023
The Hindenburg report lays bare many of the problems in business-state relations in India today. Our October 2020 issue of Seminar delved into the many systemic problems leading to lack of trust between businesses and the Indian state today. www.india-seminar.com/2020/734.htm
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