shutterstock_363517736 Courtesy: Shutterstock
5 September 2019

From Interkosmos to Gaganyaan

On his visit to the Russian Far East this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured Russia’s assistance in training India’s human spaceflight crew ahead of the launch of Gaganyaan in 2021-2022. French assistance for India has come in the form of its specialised knowledge of space medicine. Gaganyaan has thus become an India-Russia-France megaproject, a symbol of India’s futuristic space diplomacy

shutterstock_1023930217 Courtesy: Shutterstock
22 August 2019

The Telegram phenomenon

The tool used to sustain and coordinate protests is a young, encrypted messaging service called Telegram. Its unique privacy and security features and resistance to the state has made Telegram more popular than its larger rivals, WhatsApp and WeChat. What is this communication phenomenon?

MethaneEconomy_Cover(A4) Courtesy: Gateway House
16 July 2019

The Methane Economy

The United Nations’ 2015 Paris Agreement called for the immediate sequestration of atmospheric anthropogenic greenhouse gases to help avert serious environmental degradation. India can take the lead in this because it is the second largest emitter of methane. Of all the natural greenhouse gases, methane is the hardiest. Technological advances are making it possible to crack methane into gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon on a commercial scale. Methane cracking can provide a steady supply of hydrogen for futuristic transportation and solid carbon materials — graphene, carbon nanotubes, synthetic diamonds — which are integral to the marine, aerospace and space industries. The commercial benefits apart, methane cracking will also go a long way in meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate change mitigation objectives. This paper offers some concrete recommendations that can help the government of India shape national legislation and global geoeconomic strategies

shutterstock_765921106 Courtesy: Shutterstock
11 July 2019

Making India a Methane Economy

India is the second largest emitter of methane in the world. But methane-cracking has enormous economic potential. It can help India become a high-technology manufacturing powerhouse by producing a steady supply of methane-derived, advanced carbon materials and hydrogen-energized transportation

Mainimage(2) Courtesy: Gateway House
4 July 2019

Decoding data localisation

Data localisation, or the practice of physically storing data on servers located within a country, has become a subject of robust debate after India introduced data localisation provisions in its domestic laws. India’s position is not unique; China and Russia too have similar laws. It has pitted countries against each other. This Gateway House primer explains the complexities of data localisation and its elements

MzExMjcwMA Courtesy: IEEE Spectrum
6 June 2019

BECA and the 5G-weather clash

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 on imaging in the agreement overlooks the likelihood of a clash between the telecom and meteorological technologies, which can hurt India’s crucial capabilities in space-based weather forecasting and disaster management

regan Courtesy: Pacom
11 April 2019

Canada in the Indo-Pacific

Canada, which has been slow to respond to a changing trans-Pacific neighbourhood, can join India and the ASEAN member states to embark on a trilateral dialogue on the Indo-Pacific’s importance in terms of political, strategic and other domains. An alignment in outlook can strengthen the security and prosperity of a region, currently mired in U.S.-China rivalries

e comm Courtesy: Medium
4 April 2019

A critique of India’s Draft National e-Commerce Policy

The Draft Policy, issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in February, is a welcome step for India and globally, but its all-inclusive definition of a fast, click-and-buy world requires some refining: is it intended to be an internet policy or a specific e-Commerce policy?