This is the twenty-first edition of weekly recommendations. Watch this space for facts, news, trivia and research around the world. Topics range from economics, public policy and psychology to finance, society and current affairs. Access all weekly recommendations here.
Singapore’s Manufacturing Sector Recovers
In 2005, Singapore’s manufacturing sector accounted for 27% of GDP. The share fell to 18% in 2013. But it is rising now. In 2021, the share of manufacturing has improved to 22%.
“Singapore is capital-intensive, it’s skills-intensive, it’s not labour-intensive,” said Bicky Bhangu, President, Rolls-Royce Southeast Asia, Pacific and Korea. Singapore has become attractive for different types of high-tech industries and techniques such as 3-D printing, semiconductor manufacturing, aerospace, vaccines, automated manufacturing processes, vacuum motors and electric cars. Companies like General Electric Co., Siltronic AG, United Microelectronics Corp, Hyundai, HP, Dyson, etc. have proposed to build capacities or already started manufacturing.
English-speaking population, low taxes, loose immigration laws, free-trade agreements between many nations, centrally located in Asia and the government’s support for automation have been the major catalysts in the manufacturing boom. Manufacturing has become a white-collar job and is now mostly operated by robots. Even with an increase in manufacturing GDP, the share of manufacturing employment has reduced by 18% between 2014 and 2021.
Singapore received more than $ 20 billion of investment commitments in 2020 and 2021. It is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of high-tech goods. All because of automation. In spite of this, the unemployment rate is steady at around 2%.
This is a major lesson for every country around the world. Automation will take away jobs, that is for sure. The main challenge is to make the country’s population more productive and highly skilled so that they remain relevant in such a competitive world.
Read the source article from Wall Street Journal here.
Russia Exacerbating Food Shortage
The Forbes article reported, ”A Russian missile hit a train near Donetsk, Ukraine, on Wednesday (15th June) that was transporting 34 pallets of food to be distributed by World Central Kitchen, chef José Andrés’ aid organization. The food never made it to the hungry Ukrainians.”
Railways have become the main mean of transport for food as Russia has blocked the Black Sea. It also stated that Russian officials want western countries to ease the sanctions in exchange for a safe corridor to export key agricultural exports like wheat and sunflower oil. These items are necessary as the current war has worsened the food shortage across the world. World Central Kitchen Executive Director Nate Mook said, “They’re trying to blackmail the world by saying, ‘We’re going to starve people to death around the world unless you release sanctions.’”
Attacks on food trains have increased over the past few weeks. Russian troops have shot missiles at grain silos, destroyed rail infrastructure and stole food grains from the occupied areas. Such acts have resulted in food shortages and pushed prices upward.
The article states, “If Russia doesn’t lift its blockade of the Black Sea ports, which typically ship some 30% of the world’s exported cereal grains, Ukraine would only be able to export as much as 2 million tons a month, or one-third of what it previously was able to ship monthly. Even if Russia does lift the blockade, there are mines across many of the ports, placed by both Russian and Ukrainian combatants, that still would need to be cleared before ships could pass safely.”
Onus of Family Planning in India Still on Women
According to the fifth National Family Health Survey, between 2019 and 2021, ~38% of women surveyed had undergone sterilisation, as against 0.3% of men who had undergone a vasectomy.
Studies have shown that vasectomies are much simpler and safer than sterilisations.
But myths around vasectomies result in lower turnout. An ASHA worker told an IndiaSpend reporter, “There is a general perception that men become weak after family planning procedures. We tell them that it’s a simple procedure and they would not even have to get stitches, but they still hesitate. Even the women feel their husbands will become weak if they would opt for it.”
India’s family planning campaigns, run by both its public health systems and civil society programmes, are focused almost entirely on women, found a study by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). Further, generally, men are the decision-makers for the number and timing of children.
Another reason for lower vasectomies is the lesser number of male healthcare workers.
On the other hand, facilities within healthcare centres are poor. Women are forced to sleep on thin mattresses on the floor due to inadequate beds.
– Swapnil Karkare
P.S.: Last week, I took a break for the first time from weekly recommendations after 20 consecutive weeks.