7295_Mars-MarCO-InSight-Lander-CubeSats-Illustration-PIA19388-full2 Courtesy: NASA
29 November 2018

Emergence of the interplanetary telecom industry

The NASA InSight mission has demonstrated that cube satellites can, after all, endure interplanetary travel. Such miniaturisation of technology looks set to disrupt the obsolete 20th century approach to space exploration. It will give rise to an interplanetary telecom industry, which is indispensable for the support of human presence on Mars

b52-bomber-over-ocean-600x400 Courtesy: Competitive India
29 November 2018

Maritime security: a decade after 26/11

Ten years after the 26/11 terror attack, India’s maritime security is much stronger, with better inter-agency coordination and improved security structure. The Indian Navy was made responsible for maritime security overall, but no fool-proof and unambiguous command and control structure exists as yet.

NTNU_blacksmokers_800x300 Courtesy: NTNU
22 November 2018

Oceanic Industry 4.0

The emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution depends on the availability of rare- earth minerals, which occur extensively on the ocean floor of the Indo-Pacific. The technology to exploit this is available only to some countries currently: the global agreement on this must be fair and safeguard India’s future interests, says the author of this blog

Capture Courtesy: Swarajya
3 October 2018

Putting an Indian on the moon

A grand achievement is a series of smaller, well-defined, and precise accomplishments. If the vision of putting an Indian on the moon has to materialise, it should be preceded by several smaller projects and diverse institutions meeting definite targets. What would these targets be? Where does India’s scientific community stand in meeting them as of this day? What kind, and how much, additional capacity needs to be added to the Indian science sector to put an Indian on the moon?

global-commons-870_0 Courtesy: Global Environment Facility
15 August 2018

India in the Global Commons

Since Independence, India has been consumed by its domestic priorities. Now, with increasing integration with the world and a huge stake in global stability, it is time to focus on the global commons. India has a seat on the hightable to design and shape the rules for the governance of the global commons. In this special Independence Day Briefing, Gateway House examines India’s engagement with four global commons – technology, outer space, cyber and the oceans – and makes recommendations on how best they can be governed for our collective future.

Cyber-paper-cover-709x1024 Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
15 August 2018

India’s lead on cyber space governance

Cyber space is a new global common that defies formal governance. Its interconnectedness makes it full of opportunity, yet vulnerable. Attempts to regulate it have seen setback due to the differing visions of major powers and developing countries. India, an emerging economy with a sophisticated technology industry, is well positioned to shape the governance of this global common

Fort Cochin, India Courtesy: Wikipedia
9 August 2018

How India can keep the oceans prosperous

The notion of the oceans and seas as a global common is under severe test. National and regional interests are winning over the urgency to maintain their well being while competition to exploit the many commercial opportunities they present is ever increasing. The task at hand is to stop ocean decline – and India can play a transformative role in this

SEI_Lunar_Base_Concept01 Courtesy: NASA/SAIC/Pat Rawlings
9 August 2018

Geopolitical territoriality on the moon

Ownership of lunar artifacts – objects left behind by space missions – will become a vexing issue as the international footprint on the Moon grows. Such archaeological objects may be designated ‘national heritage’, but the site on which they exist ought to remain ‘a global common’, and not become a point of territorial contestation. The Moon needs to be managed by global consensus, prudence and realism.