All Newspaper editorials in one place – January 20, 2024

by | Jan 20, 2024 | Current Affairs & GK Question Answers | 0 comments

 

All Newspaper editorials in one place – January 20, 2024

 

 
 

THE HINDU

January 20, 2024

Gearing up for change

India needs region-specific plans to improve climate resilience

 

Earlier this week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD), entered the 150th year of its existence. While at present, it analyses the entire spectrum of climate and weather, from cyclones to fog, it was conceived, in colonial times, to probe the mysteries of the southwest monsoon. The needs were practical. The British administration, concerned about revenues, was intimately aware of the influence of the monsoon on harvests and thus extremely invested in determining whether past observations of wind, rain and sunshine could be used to predict future torrents and droughts. In the years since then, the IMD has collected gargantuan stores of meteorological data that underlie its forecasts of the monsoon. One such analysis of this data by researchers at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) examines monsoon trends at the sub-divisional (tehsil) level, from 1982-2022.This finds that monsoon rainfall is increasing in more than half, or 55%, of India’s roughly 4,400 tehsils. About 11% of them saw decreasing rainfall. In those tehsils, about 68% experienced reduced rainfall in all four monsoon months, while 87% showed a decline during the June and July — crucial for the sowing of kharif crops. Most of these tehsils are in the Indo-Gangetic plains, which contribute to more than half of India’s agricultural production, northeastern India, and the Indian Himalayan region.

 

The study also found that 30% of India’s districts witnessed several years of deficient rainfall years and 38% many years of excessive rainfall. Some tehsils in Rajasthan, Gujarat, central Maharashtra, and parts of Tamil Nadu that historically were dry were also getting wetter. There were also changes underway in the northeast monsoon, which sets in during October, November and December but primarily impacts peninsular India. The northeast monsoon rain has increased by more than 10% in the past decade (2012-2022) in approximately 80% of tehsils in Tamil Nadu, 44% in Telangana, and 39% in Andhra Pradesh, respectively. The southwest monsoon accounts for nearly 76% of India’s annual rainfall, with about 11% from the north-east monsoon. That India’s monsoons are increasingly prone to long, dry spells and punctuated by torrential wet spells is well documented though how much of it can be explained by natural variability and how much from global warming is an active area of research. While revenue extraction guided colonial interest in weather at the regional levels, such analyses have a new, contemporary relevance. This is to make region-specific plans to improve climate resilience and channel necessary funds and resources. Prioritising regional and sub-district forecasts over national ones, would be a commendable step forward by the government.

 

 

 
 

THE HINDU

January 20, 2024

Distant goal

Rahul Gandhi needs to do more than project himself as PM Modi’s challenger

 

The theme of the second edition of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s cross-country journey is on justice, while it retains the call for harmony of the first. Labelled the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, it began in strife-torn Manipur and will conclude in Mumbai on March 20 after covering 6,713 km across 15 States. Mr. Gandhi hopes to walk a few kilometres every day to interact with people, with the rest of the distance being covered in a bus. The yatra takes 11 days in the northeast region, once a stronghold of the Congress but now dominated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. It will cover nearly 900 km in Assam — a State that the Congress lost to the BJP in 2016 after an uninterrupted 15-year rule — before entering Bengal. In Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Gandhi will drum up support for his social justice plank by reaching out to Other Backward Classes (OBC) around the demand to conduct a caste census. At a time when the BJP’s campaign hinges on the opening of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Congress is trying to wield its newfound plank of caste justice as a counter. There is no better place than Uttar Pradesh to test the potency of social justice as a currency for political mobilisation, and Mr. Gandhi will also be confronted with the question of contesting from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency that he lost in 2019, or any other in the State.

 

Mr. Gandhi’s hope is that public attention will focus on inflation, lack of jobs and the alleged marginalisation of social groups such as Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and minorities. He and the party want to dissociate the yatra from any immediate electoral calculations for the impending Lok Sabha election, and to imagine it as part of an ideological challenge to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-BJP combine. While it is true that politics tailored solely to win elections can be costly for society in multiple ways, the other extreme of disregarding electoral contests is counterproductive. After all, elections are also a test of ideologies. The first leg of the yatra that traversed the country vertically, from the south to the north earned Mr. Gandhi goodwill and possibly helped the Congress win Telangana in a surprise turnaround of its fortunes. But the party lost to the BJP in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the ideological battle is sharp. Through this yatra Mr. Gandhi will have to reinforce his position as the most credible challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but that is not sufficient to forge a viable electoral strategy for the Opposition. The question is whether Mr. Gandhi can cover that distance.

 

 

 
 

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

January 20, 2024

The wheat test

Keeping import window open without resorting to export and stocking controls is what’s required in all agri-commodities

 

Wheat stocks in government warehouses are at a seven-year-low of 16.4 million tonnes (mt) as of January 1. That, by itself, is not cause for concern. The present stocks are more than the minimum buffer of 13.8 mt to meet the operational requirements of the public distribution system, plus a strategic reserve, for the next three months. By then, the new crop would start arriving in the mandis. Besides, the government has sufficient rice stocks to more than compensate for any shortfalls in wheat. That should keep both cereal and overall retail food inflation — at near double-digits now — somewhat under control, at least till the national elections scheduled in April-May. The measures taken so far — banning wheat and non-basmati white rice exports, not permitting large retailers and traders to hold more than 1,000 tonnes of wheat, and selling grain from the Food Corporation of India’s stocks in the open market — are good enough for that.

 

The problem, if any, would be after the elections. If the current wheat crop, due for harvesting only from March-end, turns out not too good, it’s the next government that will have to deal with the ensuing supply challenge. The Narendra Modi government, to its credit, has been proactive in supply-side management with regard to pulses and edible oils; imports of these have been allowed at nil or low duties till March 31, 2025. The same alacrity hasn’t been seen in wheat, rice and sugar — perhaps because the growers of these crops are politically more organised than pulses or oilseeds farmers. While exports have been restricted, along with curbs on diversion of cane juice and intermediate-stage molasses for ethanol production by sugar mills, the Modi government has refrained from opening up imports. But given the finely balanced supply situation — the new 2023-24 sugar season, too, has begun with six-year-low stocks and no clarity on actual production — imports may be inevitable sooner than later.

 

Ideally speaking, keeping the import window open (like in edible oils and pulses) without resorting to any export and stocking controls (going against the letter and spirit of the Modi government’s now-repealed farm laws) is what’s required in all agri-commodities. India’s farm sector, unlike industry and services, has suffered the most from lack of policy stability and predictability, impacting investments in processing, warehousing, marketing and research. The preoccupation with short-term goals has meant deploying the sledgehammer approach in response to every inflation event in onions or pigeon pea — and not doing anything when prices crash. It has taken the focus away from long-term policy that is in the ultimate interest of both producers and consumers. A strategic vision for Indian agriculture, going beyond food inflation, should be a priority for the next government.

 

 
 

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

January 20, 2024

Costs of cave-in

Removal of Tamil film Annapoorani from Netflix points to a disturbing trend of capitulation to whims of the moral police

 

THE REMOVAL OF the Tamil film Annapoorani from OTT platform Netflix and the apology from its makers point to a disturbing trend of capitulation to the whim of the moral police, whose opprobrium regularly threatens to cramp the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. At the heart of director Nilesh Krishna’s film is an upper-caste Hindu woman who harbours an innocuous dream — to follow her father’s vocation, but to do it her way. This means stepping out of her conservative family home and into the wide world, where she will have to master the art of cooking items that are anathema to her strictly-vegetarian, devout household — non-vegetarian food. Support comes in the form of her Muslim love interest, who helps her conquer both the kitchen and her own prejudices.

 

A storm of “hurt” religious sentiments at the film’s purported promotion of “love jihad” and non-vegetarianism saw its removal from Netflix. But what the withdrawal essentially does is to cede ground to the prejudices of a faceless mob. It also points to the blind spots and limits of the OTT “revolution” that had arrived with the promise of greater openness and choice. It was a win-win for directors, producers and viewers in that it freed them from the constraints of access and certification boards and made room for content that was original and diverse and catered to a wider demographic. But, from the web series Tandav on Amazon Prime in 2021 to Annapoorani on Netflix, the increasing weaponisation of “hurt sentiments” that results in legal action, calls for boycott, and raises the spectre of violence, has seen global new media behemoths protect their commercial interests by caving in to majoritarian demands. At a time when social media amplifies messages of polarisation with alacrity and when there seem to be insufficient protective safeguards, their first instinct is to limit the damage.

 

The challenge, and the pushback, lies closer home. Any possible solution will involve all stakeholders to come together to thwart the mob’s sway. Creators of content must hold their ground if spaces in which they can give free rein to their imagination have to be protected and widened. The onus is also on audiences to reclaim their freedom to watch what they want and steer clear of that which they find offensive. If diversity and freedom of expression are threatened into submission, the only one poorer for it are the people.

 

 

 
 

THE INDIAN EXPRESS

January 20, 2024

Something about dogs

South Korea has banned slaughter of dogs for meat. What makes man’s best friend different from goats and pigs?

 

What’s the difference — from an objective moral lens — between pigs and goats and dogs? They all walk on four legs, they were domesticated by humans. As far as intelligence and emotion are concerned, the jury is out — pigs, especially, can be quite bright. The answer, perhaps, lies in what Jules Winnfield (Samuel Jackson) said to Vincent Vega (John Travolta) in Pulp Fiction: “… dogs got personality, personality goes a long way.” It may well be that the undeniable charm of the Canis Familiaris has led to centuries of culinary tradition being upended in South Korea. Earlier this month, the country passed a law banning the breeding, slaughter and sale of dog meat.

 

Over the years, there has been much international criticism of South Korea’s consumption of dogs. The culinary practice, though, has been on the decline, limited now largely to older people, nostalgic for a traditional meal. Activists have highlighted the cruelty dogs bred for meat are subjected to, from unhygienic living conditions and life in cages to disease and deprivation. There have also been high-profile supporters of the ban. President Yoon-suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon are family to many fur balls and made their opposition to the consumption of dogs well known.

 

Yet, is there a germane difference between the cruelty that canines face in South Korea and other animals bred for food? The answer is important, especially in contexts where policing dietary choices is often a weapon against the weak. The difference between dogs and cows, pigs, goats and sheep, is that dogs were not domesticated — at least not widely — for food. In fact, there is research to show that humans as we know them — with language and emotion — evolved with and even through dogs, in a sort of emotional symbiosis. Or maybe that’s just what people tell themselves as they stare into puppy eyes while enjoying lamb chops.

 

 

 
 

THE TIMES OF INDIA

January 20, 2024

Class Struggle

Too many exams, hence too much coaching

 

Union education ministry’s guidelines to regulate coaching centres will be seen as correctives but taken together, they’re simply band-aid. Here’s why.

 

Define it again? | By existing rules, difference between coaching institutes and schools is the absence of “counselling, sports or creative activities” in the latter. New guidelines say coaching centres must organise classes for co-curricular activities for “holistic development”, mental wellbeing, etc. Where is then the differentiator from a school?

 

Necessary evil? | NEP 2020, new India’s vision document for education, emphasises need to wean away from exam-led assessment, “resulting coaching culture…and its harmful impact”. Given that, rules for “fair and reasonable fees”, or putting an age-bar of 16 or saying classes should be beyond school hours can only trigger a black market of fee-deals, and stress students further by restricting age and time. Where are the measures towards removing coaching culture?

 

Exams galore | NEP speaks of “reform” in entrance exam systems “to eliminate need for coaching classes”. For that, number of exams must be slashed. More “fair and reasonable”-priced colleges are needed – especially government institutes, and scholarship-based, not loans-led fee systems in private colleges. Government must know its pan-India online CUET has spawned more coaching centres.

 

Road to future | Coaching centres were once instrumental in helping students from non-privileged backgrounds “crack” entrance tests across strata. They set up shop and flourished in a competitive market created by gaps – poor schooling and a shortage of colleges and job opportunities. Desperate parents and hapless students still find in coaching centres’ “guarantees” the only jab at a future with an income –all entrance exams have coaching institutes as feeder agencies.

 

Rules such as minimum space per student, ventilation, lighting, drinking water, detail basic minimums. These are also a depressing recognition that coaching centres are often sweatshops. Even a 16-year-old could have figured out all this.

 

 

 
 

THE TIMES OF INDIA

January 20, 2024

In-laws As Outlaws

Courts should strongly come down on bahu abuse

 

At what age is an Indian woman free to make her own choices about where to live and work? Never ever, too terribly much of our society seems to think. Just this week SC was listening to the liberty cry of a 25-year-old. From Bengaluru, not the boondocks. Her parents do not approve of the job or the relationship she wants, so they forcibly detained her for months. As badly as this beti has been treated, it’s a common experience for many, many bahus.

 

In a fairer society, when daughters-in-law are the primary caregivers of in-laws, it would win them tons of extra love and appreciation. Instead, doing this priceless service gets coded as being of serf status. And like cult drama Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi underlined, this coding is typically pressed upon women by other women. Of course ‘the mother-in-law from hell’ trope isn’t unique to India. Princess D found herself in a similar mess. But our arranged marriages mean an extra lowering of daughters-in-law’s bargaining power. They have to bow to endless demands. Don’t wear jeans. Give a grandson. Ditch the office picnic. Hand over 99% of your salary.

 

By law and even custom, marriage is between two individuals. They are the rightful gatekeepers of their wellbeing. When in-laws are despots and their interventions cross over into illegality, courts should not waste empathy on this. Too many of them are still advising women to accept abuse from in-laws as the necessary ‘wear and tear of married life’. Stop. Marriage is not misery. Bahu has a mind of her own. Get with it.

 

 

 
 

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

January 20, 2024

Shaping Children in A ‘New Parents’ Era

Agency and learning are earlier, wider today

 

In 1690, philosopher John Locke posited the idea of the blank slate — tabula rasa— that humans are born without any linguistic information. This idea of having no ‘preconceived notions’ was extended to all knowledge systems, including morality (right and wrong), biases (a roster of -isms), and beliefs and tastes (culture). For Locke, ‘experience’ — through interactions radiating from the circles of family and society — over time alone moulded and madea person. Some 300 years later, cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker, in his 2002 book, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, challenged aspects of this ‘nurture over nature’ theory, arguing that biology also shapes our behaviours and personalities a great deal. In his 1959 review of B F Skinner’s 1957 work, ‘Verbal Behaviour’, Noam Chomsky — in his core avatar as the ‘father of modern linguistics’, rather than the political activist he is known as today — placed ‘learning’ somewhere in between. For Chomsky, language is innate, and is simply developed. To put it in computer lingo, humans come with a preloaded OS, picking up and ‘running’ programs along the way.

In this context, ‘development’ of an infant into a final ‘product’ has undergone a drastic change. The earlier functions of family members like parents or grandparents as Jedi-like guides are being replaced by easy and better sources of knowledge and experience-generators. In a globalised, tech-plugged world, the notion of ‘mother tongue’ — a language one first picks up from closest influencers — makes little sense, since today’s young come in close regular verbal contact with variegated sources, offline or online, from a very early age. Human agency, thus, begins far earlier than it did before.

 

For a child, all languages sound the same, in the same way she or he remains ignorant of biases and -isms until latching on to some later. Which makes new ‘experience’ pathways like Google or ChatGPT the new ‘parents’. The ‘traditional’ parents’ job now is what a government’s should be: to only provide opportunity and access.

 

 

 

 
 
THE ECONOMIC TIMES

January 20, 2024

What Making Music Can Teach Business

 

Doing business and doing music have a lot in common. Both require, in equal measures, skill and passion. Both use legacy and, at the same time, plan to lose the baggage to create something new — innovate. The late David Bowie provided a precious tip in this respect: ‘I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfil other people’s expectations. If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little bit further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.’ This is the mantra not only for innovation but also for scaling up, whether for nimble startups and SMEs, or for behemothic conglomerates. Go to the deep end.

 

The notion that an entrepreneur needs to be a Bowiean artist in constant innovation mode may not seem to fit at first. But the comparison is apt. ‘Hard’ skills, whether playing instruments or sound production, are akin to money management. The ‘soft skills’, whether producing music to encapsulate emotions or producing products and services and connect with the market, is the real business of business.

 

Music, like any product or service, is ultimately made for consumption. There are no new notes, yet there are infinite variations. One heavy hint that music — whether Bismillah Khan’s evaporative notes on the shehnai or Bowie’s generous soundscapes — provides to business is that one needs to put the horse of song/music or product/service before the cart of marketing it. Music-making and ‘businessing’ are, therefore, consumption procedures. And the market always waits for new sounds.

 

 
 

THE HINDU BUSINESSLINE

January 20, 2024

Hidden leverage

RBI’s move to control State govt guarantees is correct

 

The debt in many States has been edging up to alarming levels in recent years. The problem is compounded by the guarantees given by State governments to banks and financial institutions to make them lend to State utilities and other enterprises, which may not figure in the fiscal deficit numbers. Given the weak finances of most of these entities, possibility of these liabilities exploding in the future is quite high.

 

Latest disclosed numbers show that outstanding State government guarantees have exceeded ₹9-lakh crore towards the end of FY23. The report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) working group on State government guarantees is therefore timely. Its proposals are quite sound and need to be implemented soon to check the surge in this hidden leverage. The most important proposal of the working group is to cap the incremental guarantees to 5 per cent of the State’s revenue receipts or 0.5 per cent of its GSDP annually. This is in line with the ceiling of 0.5 per cent of GDP on additional guarantees given by the Central government in a year. This check is necessary because States such as Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan had outstanding guarantees which are over 7 per cent of their GSDP towards the end of FY23. Imposing a limit on additional guarantees will check sudden surges in these contracts based on political exigencies, such as need to spend more ahead of elections. Linking guarantees to revenue receipts is a good idea.

 

The other significant recommendation is the classification of the projects or activities for which State guarantees are given as high, medium and low risk and assigning risk weights to them. This categorisation will enable the State to stay alert to the default risk they face and enable them to make adequate provisions. Asking the borrowing entities to pay a guarantee fee to the State, which will be a minimum of 0.25 per cent per annum will serve the twin purpose of acting as a deterrent as well as providing some revenue for the State. This guarantee fee should be significantly hiked in case the borrowing entity has high risk weight or if it has defaulted on its repayment in the past.

 

The suggestion of the report that all States should set up a guarantee redemption fund (GRF) which accounts for at least 5 per cent of the outstanding guarantees should be made mandatory. As of now, the creation of GRF is voluntary, because of which it has been set up by only 19 States; Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Bihar are not even members of the scheme. The outstanding amount in the GRF at ₹10,839 crore towards the end of March 2023 is far from adequate, accounting for only 1.1 per cent of outstanding State guarantees. This fund will be useful if the economic cycle turns adverse. As for banks, the RBI should ensure that its guidelines for vetting loans to these State PSEs are followed. States should also be mindful about the viability of a project while ‘guaranteeing’ it.

 

 

 

BUSINESS STANDARD

January 20, 2024

No Editorial

 
 

FINANCIAL EXPRESS

January 20, 2024

Budgeting for farmers

Doubling PM-Kisan will make for both good politics and economics if done for all small and marginal farmers

 

Considering how the women’s vote decisively favoured the Bharatiya Janata Party in three out of four major state elections recently—especially in Madhya Pradesh that ran a popular cash transfer programme for women—the ruling dispensation is reportedly mulling similar measures in the interim budget for 2024-25 to cater to this powerful vote bank. Doubling the income support for landowning women farmers under its flagship scheme, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, is one such measure that is speculated to be under consideration. PM-Kisan annually provides `6,000 in three installments to 110 million small and marginal farmers. Hiking it to Rs 12,000 for 20-odd million women farmers who have operational holdings entails an additional tab of Rs 12,000 crore, which is not expected to have a significant impact on government finances as it constitutes only a marginal fraction of a Rs 45-trillion budget. While this makes for good politics, whether it also makes for good economics is a different matter.

 

While PM Narendra Modi refers to the poor, youth, women and farmers as the “biggest castes” whose well-being is his priority, the big question is why single out only women farmers for higher PM-Kisan income support? Ahead of the four major state elections, the ruling dispensation considered in fact hiking income support by 50% for all small and marginal farmer households. Nothing came of this measure although implementing it would have made for better electoral politics and economics as well. As this support has been fixed in nominal terms, the proposed increase ensures that this is not eroded by inflation. The narrative of agrarian distress affects men and women farmers alike as cultivation at the margin is getting increasingly unviable. Small and marginal farmers continue cultivation on holdings that are diminishing in size as there are limited possibilities to move to urban areas due to the lack of opportunities in industry. Higher PM-Kisan support for all small farmers would therefore be welcomed by the 110-million strong electoral vote bank.

 

Questions are of course bound to be raised whether higher PM-Kisan support is affordable. The additional hit to government finances if a doubling is implemented for all small and marginal farmers is Rs. 66,000 crore which is over five-times larger than doing it for only women farmers. Since this flagship scheme’s inception, more than Rs. 2.81trillion has been provided to small and marginal farmers till last November. Enhancing PM-Kisan is necessary to supplement their stressed incomes as an increasingly unpredictable southwest monsoon and climate change impacts cultivation. The reality is that an average small farmer is now more of an agricultural labourer than cultivator. Their indebtedness is high. Their income is low relative to those of non-agricultural workers.

 

On the wage front, the situation is indeed grim as the average annual growth of 5.5% in daily wages for agricultural workers has been eroded by inflation of 4.9%, implying a sluggish real increase of only 0.6% during the last nine years according to RBI’s Handbook of Statistics for States. Doubling PM-Kisan support calls for greater political will to raise the required resources by scrapping or reducing subsidies and social welfare programmes which are not effective in bringing down rural poverty. The minimum support price (MSP) issue also should be revisited. Cost-plus MSPs that are oblivious to demand conditions distorts farmers’ production decisions, resulting in the oversupply of some crops and an under-supply of others.

 

 
 

FINANCIAL EXPRESS

January 20, 2024

TSMC thanks you for your love of chat bots

 

Last year’s fast uptake of generative artificial intelligence looks set to continue, which is the kind of good news that will convince Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. that the worst is over for the global chip sector. All it needs now is for us to keep chatting with bots, create Al-generated cat videos, and let computers write school essays.

 

Global semiconductor industry revenue will climb at least 10% this year, Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei told investors Thursday, a turnaround from a 2% drop last year. TSMC will do even better, with full-year growth of more than 20% versus a 9% decline.

 

A slowing global economy, military conflict in multiple locations, and weaker demand for consumer devices like smartphones and computers hurt the entire industry in 202 3.The Taiwanese made-to-order chip foundry couldn’t avoid the fallout, despite the buzz that drove sales of the expensive number-crunching chips crucial to AI.

 

Building AI models and churning out results to user requests are intense tasks. They also burn a lot of electricity, forcing chip designers to come up with more powerful, yet more efficient, semiconductors. TSMC’s major clients including Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. head up the competition here, and no rival to TSMC has yet shown they can manufacture the components better.

 

That means weakness in AI would spell bad news for TSMC.

 

Dozens of generative AI products have popped up since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, including websites that can create photos and videos based only on text input. Until now, most of those tasks were undertaken in massive server farms stacked with chips manufactured by TSMC at its factories in Taiwan.

 

This year marks the start of a new phase.

 

“Generative AI is only in its nascent stage,” Chairman Mark Liu said during the earnings conference. “We have only seen the tip of the iceberg.”

 

TSMC is betting that more of the AI work will be done directly on consumer devices like smartphones and PCs, the very sectors that slumped last year.

 

Samsung Electronics Co. offers a good example. The company this week announced it was targeting double-digit growth for its latest flagship phone series, and expects to get there by stuffing the device with artificial intelligence features such as live voice and text translation, and enhanced image search.

 

Apple Inc. is also working on a large-language model, the backbone of text-based generative AI, with a view to bringing advanced features to products like iPhones, Bloomberg News has reported.

Whichever company wants to offer AI, on whatever product, TSMC expects to be there making the needed chips.

Yet TSMC’s optimistic outlook extends well beyond the company. A forecast for double-digit industry growth this year indicates there’s likely to be many winners, and we can see that in its balance sheet. Stockpiles at the firm fell to S5-days of inventory, the lowest since 2021.That gives us a hint that not only are its own clients ready to start putting in orders for new chips, but the wider sector is in the healthiest shape in more than two years.

Now that inventories are low, and growth has returned, TSMC’s robust year ahead is likely to be a bellwether for a strong rebound in the chip sector. On the provision we all keep talking to our devices.

 

 

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