commercialising planetary exploration is imperative Courtesy: NASA
26 February 2021

Commercialising Planetary Exploration is Imperative

As more countries pursue missions to Mars, planetary explorations are evolving from being science-driven scientific pursuits to an economics-driven one. For India, commercializing planetary exploration must be a national priority. This demands more attention and contributions from the private sector - especially startups and innovative companies - to ensure a vibrant space program.

reiszed Courtesy: Shutterstock
4 February 2021

Drones: Regulation drives Innovation

Drones have become vital to the operations of many industries and government organisations across the world. With huge economic opportunity to be derived from the use, manufacture and sale of drones, the Indian government must refine policy and address regulatory lacunae to help boost both technology adoption and drone manufacture in India.

resized final mint Courtesy: Shutterstock
4 February 2021

A space sector bull run

The maturing private space sector in the U.S. has learned to raise money from the market in the form of sectoral equity-traded funds. Such financing mechanisms will keep the U.S. ahead in the global space economy, which is slated to grow manifold from $430 billion now to $4 trillion by 2040. India's fledgling private space ecosystem, financiers, and stock exchanges can learn from the U.S. and do the same for India's newly reformed private space sector.

resized intermediary liability Courtesy: Shutterstock
21 January 2021

Regulating Big Tech Intermediaries

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.

OneWeb Courtesy: Gateway House
24 December 2020

India, OneWeb and the Queen’s stake

Bharti Global’s stake in OneWeb has given India lateral entry into this lucrative and newly-competitive global satellite-based internet services market. India and the U.K., the two stakeholders in this company, can build and sustain this collaboration through a well-thought-out bilateral space diplomacy agenda.

3DP Ambika Courtesy: Shutterstock
15 December 2020

Regulations for 3D Printing

With India now considering the creation of a policy to promote additive manufacturing, it is necessary to look at whether this new industry has a conducive regulatory environment, both at the domestic and global level. A key element of additive manufacturing is 3D, rapidly becoming a critical element in industrial and national security. Suitable regulation will ensure that countries that are heavily reliant on China for manufacturing, will have a chance to build their own industrial base

iczMy34b_400x400 Courtesy: Twitter/Arctic Council
3 December 2020

Delhi to the Arctic via Paris

India’s pledge to the Paris Agreement gives it the flexibility to confidently place its climate action policies across various multilaterals. Although an observer of the Arctic Council, India can collaborate with the body's upcoming chair, Russia, to alleviate climate change concerns stemming from the Arctic. It is time for India to use its goodwill with the Arctic Council members to develop a national Arctic policy.

Parameters-for-developing-cross-border-infrastructure_Jyotsna-Bapat_2020_Final3508-01 Courtesy: Gateway House
3 December 2020

Parameters for Developing Cross-border Sustainable Infrastructure

Cross-border infrastructure has been influencing the geopolitics of Asia, specifically South Asia. Since 2014, India has been investing in trilateral and multilateral infrastructure projects, in its coastal and inland neighbourhood. This paper argues that making environmental security a parameter for developing cross border sustainable infrastructure, will provide a unique opportunity for India to develop norms for environmental and social security policy, training assistance, and capacity-building in the projects it funds abroad.