Courtesy: UAE Space Agency
After successfully developing Dubai and Abu Dhabi as aerotropoli or cities around an aviation hub the United Arab Emirates aims to become an astropolis, a hub of space tourism and human spaceflight. There is ample scope for UAE to cooperate on this with India, which is also its comprehensive strategic partner.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
The Bay of Bengal is a natural bridge between South and South-East Asia, which New Delhi seeks to optimise. But progress on India's Act East policy has been slow, creating a space for China's Belt and Road Initiative to step into. While India cannot match China’s cheque-book diplomacy, it can use its start-up industry to pursue a combination of physical, technological and financial projects to improve regional connectivity.
Courtesy: ClairViz
ClairViz offers products and services that help manufacturing companies digitally transform their factory floor. It uses its project engineering, design, electrical, automation and software skills to transform them into modern, data-driven facilities. This start-up smartly benefits from government programmes: housed in a state-supported incubator, clients are public sector enterprises mandated to use small and medium entrepreneurs in their supply chains.
Courtesy: Charles Platiau/Reuters
Schneider Electric’s domain expertise in hardware and software has helped it create a proprietary and comprehensive suite of Industry 4.0 solutions. The company is now deploying these in all of its eight manufacturing facilities spread across India with favourable results: 30% reduction in energy costs, 10% improvement in mean time to repair and 5% improvement in logistics. Schneider intends to make these Lighthouse network facilities, thereby setting the standard for other manufacturing MNCs in India.
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Swiss bankers, long perceived as smart and the epitome of security, have lately projected themselves as venturesome players in a global theatre of high risk. It didn’t pay off, their involvement with Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital, resulted in major financial losses and a loss of cachet.
Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
The recent 15th India-European Union (EU) summit held virtually in July 2020 reflects a bilateral that is gearing for a boost, with both sides trying to move closer in a variety of ways. A serious effort will be required to properly reconcile strategic, trade and investment interests.
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs
COVID-19 unified G20 leaders at an extraordinary summit last week. An idea given a nudge by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, here was an opportunity for all participants to put together a plan and make a pledge for international cooperation, focusing on four main themes. Next, will they be able to turn words into action?
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The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an inter-agency body which reviews in-bound foreign investments for their impact on national security. The Treasury Department recently proposed draft regulations, strengthening it. An analysis of the effect these amendments have had – and their applicability in an Indian context
Courtesy: GoaVilla
India’s traditions are finally getting their due – with a Geographical Indication tag. This opens up a world of soft power for India. The first GI tag was given to Darjeeling tea. Now, after over a decade, the first ever GI store has opened at Goa’s airport. One of the Goan products on sale is feni, a popular local brew, which, with its new GI tag, can make a global splash
Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
The 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28-29, is the 14th meeting of the Group of 20 leaders. The G20 is the world’s most influential economic multilateral forum. It is the agenda-setting forum that develops and guides rules of global economic governance. Under the Japanese Presidency, this summit will be the first to discuss and establish the rules for the worldwide governance of data, including current hot-button issues like data localisation and data sovereignty. India has both a preparatory and a contributory role to play in the G20 this year. For in 2022, it will be the President of the G20. India must identify its agenda early on; its a weighty responsibility but also an opportunity to set the global economic agenda.