On 15 July, the Indian space programme will achieve a feat with the Chandrayaan-2 mission. Two challenges lie ahead: the speedy construction of Chandrayaan-3 and the development of a public-private ecosystem of space capabilities. On July 15, India will launch its second mission to the moon – the
The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA), the last of the India-U.S. foundational agreements, will enable India to avail of U.S. expertise on geospatial intelligence and to sharpen the accuracy of weapons and automated hardware systems used for military purposes. But the over-emphasis
India’s human spaceflight programme calls for a strong symbiosis between the country’s private sector, defence, and civilian agencies. The focus should be on indigenous development to preserve strategic autonomy. At the inauguration of the Bengaluru Space Expo 2018, on September 6, France’s space agency Centre National d’
This is the transcript of a speech that the author gave at a seminar, ‘Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA): Framework for Effective Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)’, organised by the Maritime Research Center, Pune and Savitribai Phule Pune University. Good evening, everyone. It is a privilege to
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
This version of the Gateway House Map on China’s Expanding Global Telecom Empire identifies some more telecommunication assets – optic-fibre and satellite ground stations – that Beijing is working on in South and Central America, Africa, Myanmar, the Indian Ocean Region and mainland China besides the existing ones, such as
Modern astronomy will stimulate scientific, technological, economic and human resource development—all high priorities for India. New Delhi should exploit its proximity to the ‘Roof of the World’ to advance its geopolitical interests. India is located immediately to the south of the highest plateau in the world, the Himalayan Plateau,
China is steadily deploying state-of-the-art communications systems to connect its strategic and economic assets in Asia. It is then linkingthe Asian mainland to Africa, and Africa to South America. The investment spree is rapidly making Beijing a major player in global telecommunications – and ‘informationisation warfare’. When, in
The year-old UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme has mobilised India’s aviation sector, helping consolidate a domestic market for its indigenous commercial aircraft. It can similarly nurture strategic emerging industries – if a national transportation policy is put in place. The UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme was launched in 2017 to provide
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In order to march boldly ahead into the deep space, New Delhi must work towards building a station, boost its techno-economic planning and use the Indian Space Research Organisation smartly. The 2020s will be a decade of space stations. The well-established space powers — Beijing, Moscow, Washington, Paris, Tokyo
The two countries’ proposal to carry out a robotic sample-return mission to the Moon in the 2020s is a laudable attempt at catching up with Beijing’s rather more advanced lunar agenda. And there are many lessons that Japan can offer India. India and Japan took their deepening natural
India is missing from the new wave of industrialisation that the space powers – both well-established and new – are ushering in. New Delhi must use the Indian Space Research Organisation smartly to create a competitive industrial base of avant-garde technologies, not regard it a mere revenue generator. The 2020s