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The world is experiencing two simultaneous transformations: a decoupling from China and the building of an alternate supply chain, and the creation of new, cutting-edge industrial process called digital manufacturing. It is part of the larger wave of Industry 4.0, an integration of industrial processes with the Internet of Things. India already has some of the key elements in place, and some successes to build on.
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After the strategic digital pushback against Chinese investments and apps, India should turn its attention to the biggest Chinese domination tool – 5G. This is the mother lode that enables the efficient gathering of data, which when mined, results in product enhancement and pricing benefits to products listed in China 2025 and helps China set global standards. There is an urgency for alternate suppliers of 5G equipment and other technologies to avoid relying on China.
Courtesy: National Informatics Centre
Compared to many countries India’s digital initiatives to monitor and control the impact of COVID19 have been surprisingly successful and swift. Creating and implementing the deep IT infrastructure necessary for this success is the National Informatics Centre (NIC) - the government’s pan-India, digital backbone.
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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 immediately do away with Cold-War era, vintage whims of global commons.
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COVID-19 and remote working have resulted in a surge in demand for digital intermediaries, such as Zoom. Most of these are U.S.-based, with some having servers in China, which has aggravated privacy concerns. IT companies have responded quickly by fortifying themselves internally through a range of measures, but it is now time for India’s highly accomplished tech industry to devise secure, scalable platforms with India-based servers
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India’s has transited innovatively from a cash-based economy to one primarily reliant on digital payment systems. This has brought financial inclusion and transparency, but security threats too, such as data breaches. A look at the major vulnerabilities assailing India’s digital payment systems and ways to plug them.
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The recently announced New and Emerging Strategic Technologies (NEST) Division of India’s Ministry of External Affairs is timely. It can become vital for India’s national technosecurity in the imminent Fourth Industrial Age if a new Cabinet Committee on Futuristic Science and Technologies is established along with it
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India’s status as a key geoeconomic power calls for indigenous R&D of critical information-communication-technology infrastructure at least a generation ahead of time. India must activate the exploratory R&D phase on sixth-generation (6G) network technologies immediately to safeguard its strategic autonomy in the emerging era of informationalised warfare
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Digital black markets, which have always lurked in an opaque world, have now become hubs of illegal activity, selling prohibited goods with ingenious anonymity and resilience. India must sharpen its cybersecurity strategy for this new threat
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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?