The Space20 is the newest sub-forum of the G20 initiated by Saudi Arabia, with the support of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs. India, on its way to the G20 presidency in 2022, should set a comprehensive Space20 agenda for the democratization of outer space, whereby it
The US’ sway on the international interest for human presence and operations on the Moon has been reiterated with the initial success of its Artemis Accords. Eight of the US’ strategic partners – Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom – have agreed to formally participate
India has become the fourth country – after the United States, Russia and China – to inch towards operationalisation of scramjet-based hypersonic vehicles. On 7th September 2020, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the air-breathing scramjet engine of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) mounted on
As the world enters the Second Space Age, an Indo-Emirati space partnership can be a lodestar for others. However, it is only the people-to-people connect and the diversity of the innovation linkages between the Emirati and Indian diaspora, that can truly make it a success for science
COVID-19 has accelerated internet usage and is making digital infrastructure even more indispensable globally. India is actively laying this critical infrastructure on the ground, but is yet to work on the strategic ‘last-mile’ connectivity space-based ICT and 5G plus services. U.S. and China have fast-tracked
India is responding to the Chinese aggression on the entire Indo-Tibetan landmass, spanning from the Wakhan Corridor to Arunachal Pradesh, through various means. Our democratic, social, and mainstream media have begun reporting on the strategic conflict extensively. The country has not procrastinated this time in realising that China will
* The umbilical cord of India’s economic growth in the twenty-first century is connected to outer space. * The government must work on new space developments with the private sector allowing them to permeate in their realms. The industry, unlike governments, seldom uses the word reforms. Improvements in industrial processes
The industry, unlike governments, seldom uses the word reforms. Improvement in industrial processes has different definitions. The meticulous Japanese put impetus on Kaizen (continuous improvement) and Hansei (self-reflection). The assiduous Americans emphasise Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma (for reducing or eliminating errors). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
The launch of the U.S.’s Dragon-2 astronaut capsule by SpaceX has a resonance in India too. India’s future heavy-lift launchers, already under development, can be competitive if they are transformed to Two-Stage-To-Orbit and made reusable. The successors to Gaganyaan, Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan,
The Group of Seven (G7) countries have escalated their long-simmering techno-economic feud with China and its allies. They are prudently exercising strategies based on their suspicion about the latter’s deliberate miscommunication during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have persuaded their multi-national companies
Under the ‘Artemis Accords’ the U.S. is planning an international coalition to extract natural resources from the Moon. China is concurrently planning an Earth-Moon Special Economic Zone. India’s antiquated endorsement of the 1979 Moon Agreement is shackling its true potential for economics-driven space exploration. India must
Artificial Intelligence
Global artificial intelligence pursuits are expanding to artificial cognition, artificial consciousness, artificial sentience, and artificial sapience. India’s AI catapult depends on its ability to converge eclectic domains of classical Indian philosophy and natural sciences. The convergence rests on the premise that human understanding of natural intelligence must mature if