Rohit Chandra
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rohitreads.bsky.social
Rohit Chandra
@rohitreads.bsky.social
680 followers 160 following 29 posts
Energy, political economy and history. Indian capitalism through coal, power, finance & infra. SF fan.
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rohitreads.bsky.social
Rohit Chandra @rohitreads.bsky.social · Feb 4
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.
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
newyorker.com
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.
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.
www.newyorker.com
August 25, 2025 at 2:43 PM
rohitreads.bsky.social
The FT story we were all waiting for but never expected. Lovely, but tragic piece.
kaspartamsalu.bsky.social igrim @kaspartamsalu.bsky.social · Aug 2
Little fires everywhere; the Financial Times writes about Disco, ZA/UM, and all the offshoots.

www.ft.com/content/5ae5...
Screenshot of the headline of a Financial Times article: The curse of ‘Disco Elysium’, the greatest RPG ever made. Underneath the title there is an illustration by the artist Anton Vill depictin a bespectacled man’s face that has split open to reveal piles of bodies
August 3, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
gautambhatia88.bsky.social
Out this month:

"Between Worlds: The IF Anthology of New Indian SFF" --

scroll.in/article/1084...
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.
scroll.in
August 3, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
theindiaforum.bsky.social
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...
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.
www.theindiaforum.in
July 16, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
himalmag.bsky.social
‘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:
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
buff.ly
July 15, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
theindiaforum.bsky.social
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...
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.
www.theindiaforum.in
July 1, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
theindiaforum.bsky.social
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...
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...
www.theindiaforum.in
June 23, 2025 at 4:07 AM
rohitreads.bsky.social
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...
'Shade is an elite commodity'
The Migration Story podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 16, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
gautambhatia88.bsky.social
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?
Strange Horizons 2026
A free weekly speculative fiction magazine with a global perspective.
www.kickstarter.com
June 8, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
himalmag.bsky.social
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
June 12, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
himalmag.bsky.social
📢 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
June 6, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
rishpardikar.bsky.social
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...
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.
drilled.media
May 23, 2025 at 2:44 AM
rohitreads.bsky.social
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...
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.
drilled.media
June 6, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
himalmag.bsky.social
📢 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
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
buff.ly
June 4, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
himalmag.bsky.social
“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
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
www.himalmag.com
April 3, 2025 at 5:19 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
theindiaforum.bsky.social
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...
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...
www.theindiaforum.in
March 21, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
ubcvse.bsky.social
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)
S4E17: Nathan Nunn, Economic History and Development, University of British Columbia
Welcome to the Mixtape with Scott!
causalinf.substack.com
March 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
rohitreads.bsky.social
Fantastic book review combined with broader reflection on the evolution of nationalism over the last century.
ericstorm.bsky.social Eric Storm @ericstorm.bsky.social · Feb 25
Long review essay of my book in Foreign Affairs by Pratap Bhanu Mehta: "impressive and erudite" ... "Storm’s rich and engaging account traces how nationalism became inescapable in almost every part of the world".
www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/indi...
Indispensable Nations
The fall and rise of nationalism.
www.foreignaffairs.com
February 26, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
vicshih.bsky.social
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...
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
www.cambridge.org
February 19, 2025 at 7:39 AM
rohitreads.bsky.social
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.
February 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM
rohitreads.bsky.social
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.
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...
indianexpress.com
January 14, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
davidgraeberinst.bsky.social
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. . 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. . 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. . - David Graeber
December 28, 2024 at 2:40 PM
rohitreads.bsky.social
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.
December 21, 2024 at 2:43 PM
rohitreads.bsky.social
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...
Harvard Professors Leaving for Private Sector Research | Harvard Magazine
Three distinguished scientists on leaving academia to advance biomedical research
www.harvardmagazine.com
December 19, 2024 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by Rohit Chandra
chowleen.bsky.social
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-pixelation Wood sculpture by Han Hsu Tung of a terracotta soldier in mid-pixelation
December 19, 2024 at 1:25 AM