Just finished reading this masterpiece of a book. Saudi Arabia as an energy behemoth from SOCAL to Aramco to Saudi Aramco. A refreshing take on how the Saudis negotiated the best deal from the Americans; Bechtel, Oil Men etc. #SaudiInc

Post Pandemic, What was exactly’Smart’ in Smart City/Nation Projects?

Did it make healthcare for the most vulnerable free? Time to re-examine the vocabularies of governance.

Reading Saudi Inc.

1930’s Financial Governance was very straight forward.

Note the chitties, or vouchers which were used in India and Malaya as well especially by the bankers who were either the Chettiars or Banias.

There is a massive valley of miscommunication as so much excellent research is available from academia regarding migration and health such as Prof Mohan Dutta’s think tank CARE on dormitories, food, worker welfare. This research had been performed years back (full disclosure: I was apart of the food team), but this evidence was not read by policy makers. There needs to be some mechanism where empirical field research is translated to policy evidence, and that relevant policy makers read and not reinvent the wheel.

Academics too work for publication and impact factors, as the business model is different for them.
Working in silos, reduces resilience, work in ecosystems. There is no Nobel Prize to be won in working in echo chambers.