Interpreting India

In the realm of space exploration, there's a growing focus on extracting resources from celestial bodies like the Moon and asteroids. This calls for a strong governance framework to ensure responsible and sustainable practices. International laws such as the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement provide the foundation, while initiatives like the Artemis Accords support commercial ventures. The UN's COPUOS Working Group is dedic...

The recent war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East have provided valuable lessons when it comes to the nature of future military modernisation and defense innovation. While traditional warfare remains relevant, we are seeing a shift towards multi-domain operations that are more kinetic and are increasingly utilizing autonomous weapons. 

As India seeks to boost its defence exports, its domestic industry will h...

South Asia is a region of remarkable diversity, encompassing countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. Typically, India has been considered the power most capable of exercising its influence in the region. Yet, in recent years, there has been another power that has laid claim to South Asia as part of its periphery and has sought to expand its influence in the region. For the ...

One of the guiding norms that has shaped the internet over the last few decades is that of online free speech. This norm is protected in many countries by exempting online platforms and intermediaries from liability for the user-generated content published on these platforms. For example, in India, Section 79 of the IT Act of 2000 protects intermediaries from such liability. However, over the last few years, these exemptions have b...

In this episode of Interpreting India, we delve into the often-overlooked history of India's early relationship with China. Author Vijay Gokhale former Indian Foreign Secretary, takes us back to the 1940s and 50s, exploring pivotal moments like India's quick reaction of the People's Republic of China and its involvement in the Taiwan Straits crises. Beyond familiar narratives of border disputes and Tibet, Gokhale sheds light on a "...

India has seen superlative progress in electrical connectivity, achieving 96.7 percent connectivity to the grid as of 2020 from around 67 percent over a decade ago. For context, the electricity sector can be broadly split between generation, transmission, and distribution. Despite recent progress, electrical connectivity is still racked by problems such as irregular supply and voltage fluctuations, and distribution companies face l...

There are similarities between the UN’s efforts to pursue a disarmament strategy for nuclear weapons and the regulation of the military applications of AI. Given the multiple parallel initiatives on this issue, inputs would also have to be gathered from a range of stakeholders already working on the issue, such as the REAIM participants, the United States, and other countries, in order to regulate AI in the military domain. The pri...

With the onset of winter, severe levels of air pollution have reemerged as a concern in North India. Various factors have been put forth to explain this malaise: stubble burning in farms, vehicular pollution, and pollution due to the construction sector. But even outside of the winter months, the National Capital Region maintains poor air quality, with an AQI of over 200. Can clean transportation help?

To speak of clean transportati...

The last publicly available nation-wide caste census in India was conducted in 1931. Now, a state-wide caste census has become available from the government of Bihar. Even though we know the Indian state collects data on a variety of markers and indicators, whether socioeconomic or health-related, there seems to be a reluctance when it comes to collecting data on caste. 

What is the reason for this? What are the complexities involve...

One of the most visible signs of India’s economic development in the past seventy-five years has been the growth of its cities. Some of them are now among the largest on the planet, both in terms of area and population. However, Indian cities are far from perfect. They’re often not well planned, coping with problems of rapid growth and inefficient use of land and other resources. Indian cities are also plagued by a lack of basic am...

The U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) was launched during the Quad Summit in Tokyo in May 2022. The purpose of the iCET was to expand partnerships in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors. 

As part of the iCET, the Semiconductor Industry Association and India Electronics and Semiconductor Association agreed to undertake a “readiness assessment” to identify near-term industry oppo...

Even though India and France have had a strategic partnership for twenty-five years now, the bilateral relationship between these countries has received substantial impetus recently. The relationship spans common interests in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific, a robust military and defense partnership, cooperation in high-tech areas such as space and nuclear, and, of course, a growing economic and trade relationship. 

Wha...

In the last decade, there has been a growing convergence of global powers in the Indo-Pacific, evident from the proliferation of multilateral initiatives in the region. It has also emerged as an arena for geopolitical competition between China and the United States. As the competition intensifies, how does China see the Indo-Pacific? How has Beijing's understanding of this region changed over time? What can India learn from the way...

The past week has been momentous for those awaiting the enactment of a legal framework for data protection in India. India’s parliament passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the law has now also received the assent of the President of India. This law has been enacted after multiple rounds of deliberations and consultations. Multiple committees have submitted reports on the proposed legislation, and three previo...

The role of the private sector in facilitating the climate transition journey of our world has been much talked about recently. While many corporations, including those in the fossil fuel sectors, have started drafting out their own journeys to “net zero,” Ajay Banga, the newly appointed president of the World Bank, has also emphasized the need for active private sector finance in the climate transition. There is a growing realizat...

Defense cooperation is central to the India-U.S. partnership, and it has served as a key enabler for stronger collaboration at the multilateral level. While defense ties between the two countries have gone from strength to strength over the last two decades, defense-industrial cooperation has notably failed to take off thus far. However, of late, the two countries have made a renewed push toward furthering defense-industrial cooper...

In recent years, international indices and rankings such as the Democracy Index and the V-Dem Index have downgraded India’s democracy. Although there are significant differences in the degrees of downgrading, most major indices suggest that Indian democracy is backsliding.

Meanwhile, India is witnessing an increase in voter turnout, and people continue to participate actively and vociferously in politics. What is the reason for this...

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act was introduced in 2016 to protect consumers who had invested in residential real estate projects from malpractices by real estate developers. After the law was passed, most states established real estate regulatory authorities to register and oversee the conduct of real estate developers. 

What changes did this act try to bring in, and how has this regulatory change benefited consumer...

The iCET was launched on the sidelines of the Quad Summit in Tokyo in May 2022. Both U.S. President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the launch of this initiative, which was to be spearheaded by the National Security Councils of the two countries to expand partnership in critical and emerging technologies. Is the iCET more than just a deal? What is the case for comparisons between the iCET and the landmark Ind...