CG Courtesy: USGS/Wikimedia
6 August 2020

Geospatial shutter control for India

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.

CIGI Courtesy: Press Information Bureau
6 August 2020

India’s geopolitical time has come

In the past five months, India has seen great change: ambitious economic reforms, billions in U.S. digital investments and a determined military and digital push back against China. India is now using the strategic and market weight of its 1.3 billion population and openly taking geopolitical sides to achieve its desired positioning, namely, to be a reliable partner in a more equitable global supply chain of virtual, physical and geopolitical elements.

shutterstock_1752673730 Courtesy: Shutterstock
30 July 2020

A New World for India and the United States

The recent rush of U.S. capital into India’s digital future, and India’s recent structural reforms, is the impetus for an attractive collaboration between the U.S. and India. To really succeed, the U.S. will have to support India with the same kind of technical assistance and best practices in areas like regulation, distribution, and innovation, that it gave China. The alternative is for India to follow Europe’s regulatory model, which places less of an emphasis on job growth and innovation.

shutterstock_599147537 Courtesy: Shutterstock
23 July 2020

India readies for digital manufacturing

The world is experiencing two simultaneous transformations: a decoupling from China and the building of an alternate supply chain, and the creation of new, cutting-edge industrial process called digital manufacturing. It is part of the larger wave of Industry 4.0, an integration of industrial processes with the Internet of Things. India already has some of the key elements in place, and some successes to build on.

RB_1 Courtesy: B20 Saudi Arabia/Twitter
23 July 2020

The B20: Riyadh and beyond

The COVID crisis compelled a change in the Business20 (B20) focus areas to reviving health, health facilities and business activity in 2020. India must start work now to give the B20 even greater responsiveness and relevance as the prospective G20 chair in 2022.

India-Canada Energy Cooperation Courtesy: Gateway House & CIGI
14 July 2020

Attracting Green FDI to India

India can attract greater foreign direct investment through green bonds – a climate finance debt instrument that addresses environmental and climate-related challenges. These issuances have been linearly increasing over the years, driven by institutional pressure, provided in part by the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s regulation, and by the informal advocacy of market stakeholders.

BF_Final Courtesy: Uday Deb/Times of India
12 July 2020

Chinese 5G: Kiss of death

After the strategic digital pushback against Chinese investments and apps, India should turn its attention to the biggest Chinese domination tool – 5G. This is the mother lode that enables the efficient gathering of data, which when mined, results in product enhancement and pricing benefits to products listed in China 2025 and helps China set global standards. There is an urgency for alternate suppliers of 5G equipment and other technologies to avoid relying on China.