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As new technological advances take place every day, India must keep up. While the U.S. is still a front-runner in defence technologies, China and Russia are catching up quickly. In order to counter this, India can insert itself into the pre-existing bilateral co-operation between the U.S. and Israel. Sameer Patil, Fellow, International Security Studies Programme tells us how.
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Individuals now generate copious amounts of personal data everyday – both online and offline. Devices and infrastructure extract data, which can be shared instantly across borders with diverse entities - without consent. It is imperative that countries come together to create regulations to protect individuals who are unable to control how their data is shared and processed. A model already exists in the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Big Tech wields considerable influence over commerce, speech, media, and politics. Mergers and acquisitions have been key to their burgeoning growth. Now it is clear that their power is buttressed by anti-competitive and predatory practices. Governments across the world are moving to redress this through regulation, but the task is complex.
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With the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill 2021 set to be introduced during parliament’s on-going budget session, India is now ready to introduce its own official digital currency—following in the footsteps of China and Russia. So far, Indian regulations prohibited the public from trading in crypto-currencies. However, the investor community has an interest in them, as an asset that is not subject to government devaluation, unlike regular fiat currency in circulation. This infographic traces the evolution of crypto-currencies since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009.
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Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have come under global scrutiny in recent months following their use to incite or misinform the public. For years, governments around the democratic world have not taken the responsibility to adequately regulate these platforms. Now that may be changing – and it won’t be easy.
Both India and Canada have interests in strong multilateral systems. WTO and other institutions help create a network of alliances and norms, essential to function in a global economy. India-Canada should collaborate on developing overarching principles, as neutral third parties to develop broad principles to guide the technology exchange across borders that could act as a beacon similar to the UNDHR document.
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India is ahead of the curve in considering the regulation of non-personal data. The July 2020 Report by the government-appointed Gopalakrishnan Committee evaluated several aspects of non-personal data including its monetisation. An analysis of the Report, however, reveals some lacunae and questions on the early nature of the assessment since India has yet not yet established rules on the governance of personal data.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated geopolitical changes. Countries around the world are becoming increasingly concerned about the nature of China’s global advances. China, at the urging of President Xi Jinping, is pursuing technological goals and investment programs to build a China-centric global model, not to mention its militarization of the South China Sea and its clampdown on Hong Kong.
Taiwan’s stellar response in containing the spread of the virus has been appreciated globally. Taipei is now in the spotlight, as it seeks global political equality and prepares its economy to become self-sufficient in everything from artificial intelligence to defence technology. Its changing global positioning has awakened its bilateral relationships, and India-Taiwan is one of them, with significant potential. In this episode of the Gateway House Weekly Webcast, Sameer Patil, Fellow, International Security Studies Programme, Gateway House is in conversation with Dr. I-Chung Lai, President, Prospect Foundation and Prof. M.D. Nalapat, Editorial Director, The Sunday Guardian and Vice-Chair of the Manipal Advanced Research Group to discuss Taiwan’s emerging global role.
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The recent use of geospatial analyses by Indian social and mainstream media for near real-time defence and military intelligence in Ladakh has been made possible because of the lower cost of earth-observation satellite construction, and thereby, easy access to satellite imagery on the internet. While independent analysis is useful, the same intelligence can be also used against the interests of a sovereign nation by an adversary, especially border imagery. India must find innovative methods to reduce this vulnerability of commercial satellite imagery.
