The space economy is central to India’s global connectivity aspirations, and Mumbai is integral to this equation. Since the Indian government’s 2020 space sector reforms and the subsequent National Space Policy 2023, the state governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Gujarat have drafted their respective
The United Nations India and O.P. Jindal University had invited me to speak on ethics of artificial intelligence, as these two institutions were exploring pluri-perspectives on it during the summer of 2021. I did what was told, offered them a perspective of an Indian natural scientist. Sharing my excerpts
As global powers race for space autonomy, the US faces hard lessons—balancing monopolies, budgets, and its own vulnerability in a shifting cosmos. The game of tariffs, cancellations, and sanctions has reached its climax in Washington, where the chickens have come home to roost. Today, commercial space companies and financiers
By fast-tracking Starlink’s entry, Bangladesh’s government has opened the door to a potential satellite-driven conflict in a region already fraught with poverty Under the leadership of the Chief Advisor to the Interim Government, Mohammad Yunus, Bangladesh has taken concerted steps to operationalise Starlink. On 20 May 2025, Faiz
In the fight against terrorism, preventing the misuse of civilian-commercial technologies by terrorist groups should be the priority In 2020, the hand-to-hand combat reported between Indian and Chinese armed forces sparked significant media interest in pinpointing the exact location of the conflict—Galwan in Ladakh. This interest led to the
India must move beyond symbolic MoUs to forge a meaningful and mutually beneficial space partnership with the African Union On 20 April 2025, the African Space Agency (AfSA) was formally inaugurated, with its headquarters now established in New Cairo City. The AfSA headquarters are located near the Egyptian Space Agency
NAINA, Maharashtra’s upcoming smart city, can draw insights from China’s Guiyang and emerge as India’s science data capital. With the first phase of the Navi Mumbai International Airport soon to become operational and the launch of a new mega-smart city, NAINA, the Government of Maharashtra is progressing
Undoubtedly, the ongoing missions to the Moon are coming up through civil-military integration. Science is a distant third in priority after military and economic goals. India's space planners have lessons to learn, especially from Japan's beckoning. The world is gearing up to send humans to the
Just as India asserts its stakes in the Security Council, it must expand its patent office to join the IP-5 club. India has successfully managed the COVID-19 global pandemic domestically and helped numerous countries worldwide. Having developed strong socio-economic credentials in the comity of nations, India is now in a
We must achieve the civilizational goals set for 2047, known as Amrit Kaal. We could then become accustomed to setting and achieving targets for 2072, the 125th anniversary, and 2097, the 150th anniversary of Independence Day. Independent India never stopped the struggle to find the best models suitable for its
The Indian government views space tourism as a natural progression of the Gaganyaan mission scheduled for 2023-24. Space tourism is known as a luxurious pursuit for billionaires. But, the vigorous commercialisation of astronautical, sub-orbital, orbital, and cis-lunar activities demands a more excellent supply of trained spacecraft crews. India should explore
With most of India’s neighbours sinking into one economic crisis or another, it behoves us to help them out of their quagmires, including through science and technology (S&T) interventions. Many countries across the globe are in severe economic distress, and unfortunately, many of them are in our