Courtesy: NISAR
The highly space-capable Quad powers have agreed to share their respective satellite datasets for monitoring climate change, disasters and the use of natural resources. With global security encompassing armed confrontation to environmental damage, the Quad’s planetary collaboration will go a long way in protecting the green and blue environment.
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Gateway House and the Embassy of Italy in New Delhi co-hosted the India-Italy Round Table on Energy Transitions. Indian and Italian companies involved across in the energy ecosystem came together to discuss potential collaborations. India is energy dependent and Italy has an innovative energy industry. The two countries can partner on new technologies, trade, financing mechanisms and to update regulations for a new energy era.
Courtesy: C4i4
C4i4 is a part of the Government of India's Samarth Udyog initiative, and aims to hand-hold micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the journey towards digitisation. Though MSMEs account for 45% of manufacturing output and 40% of exports, almost 90% of them lack access to markets beyond their limited geography. C4i4 helps them scale productivity and quality, and compete in global markets.
Courtesy: Arctic Council Flickr
India has had big successes during its first stint as an observer in the Arctic Council. Since then, the country has made substantial progress in its climate action pledges and developed comprehensive strategies to mitigate climate change. With its re-election, India can now offer much more to the global organisation's role in promoting environmental stability in the polar region.
Courtesy: Piramal Glass
In Dec 2020, U.S. private equity firm Blackstone acquired a controlling stake in Piramal Glass, in recognition of its inherent business value and accelerated digital journey. The plant in Kosamba, Gujarat, is an export powerhouse which has adopted digital technologies like IoT and cloud, and is a lodestar for brownfield facilities looking to become globally competitive, data-driven, and Industry-4.0 enabled. Early digital innovation helped restore plant-wide operations within a week of the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst adhering to stringent regulatory norms and workforce restrictions.
Courtesy: ISRO
As the density of satellites increases in Earth's orbit, extreme space weather events like solar storms and radiation whiplashes threaten satellite constellations. A ‘whole-of-government’ approach is needed to address the challenges of space weather on India’s converging space and digital economies.
Courtesy: Twitter/Arctic Council
India’s pledge to the Paris Agreement gives it the flexibility to confidently place its climate action policies across various multilaterals. Although an observer of the Arctic Council, India can collaborate with the body's upcoming chair, Russia, to alleviate climate change concerns stemming from the Arctic. It is time for India to use its goodwill with the Arctic Council members to develop a national Arctic policy.
Courtesy: Shutterstock
As part of our weekly series of podcasts in the run-up to the U.S. elections, in this episode on the last 2020 presidential debate, Ambassador Neelam Deo, Director and Co-founder of Gateway House, on U.S’ national security, opposite views of Trump and Biden on the Paris accord and climate change and if South Block needs to pay attention to President Trump’s statement on our air quality.
Courtesy: Gateway House & CIGI
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.
Courtesy: Gateway House & CIGI
India’s energy future needs to be low-carbon, climate-resilient and protected against price fluctuation. It can meet these needs by investing in Canadian oil companies, given the country’s political stability and rule of law. India can also attract greater foreign direct investment at home through the issuance of green bonds, a climate finance debt instrument that addresses environmental and climate-related challenges. This paper explores the regulatory perspective of the green bond market.