Author: Dr Chaitanya Giri

The current world geoeconomic and geopolitical order, which emerged after the Second World War, is likely heading towards its culmination. This should be known to all, including our Indian scientists, especially those working on crucial scientific programmes. My peers and the past five generations of Indian scientists worked in a very peculiar era that had a steep gradient of capabilities that their laboratories had with respect to the laboratories they visited in the West. That gradient has considerably plateaued; however, east of India has risen a scientific superpower ready to challenge the North Atlantic West. The financially well-off non-Western nations,…

On 14th July 2023, the news television channels in India had a busy broadcast day juggling between three significant events: the launch of Chandrayaan-3, the foreign sponsored-unrest in Manipur, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris as the chief guest of the French National Day celebrations. For many, including the news channels, these three events were disconnected. But then that is where the problem lies. Most ‘we-the-people’ never see science, diplomacy and national security in the same context. Like all of us, I am confident that Chandrayaan-3 will be a great technical success. Of course, our space agency will…

The chronicle of modern science in India is astonishing. It has been a collective effort of an ensemble of institution builders, scientists, academicians, diplomats, philosophers, seers, and strategists. This polymath ensemble ran a marathon for over two hundred years with a singular goal of unleashing India’s true scientific potential shrouded by colonial subversion. This marathon needs deep contemplation to support India’s present-day science diplomacy as it matures. India of the 1700s, as per the renowned economist Angus Maddison’s historical macro-economic trends, had the second-highest contributions to the global gross domestic product (GDP) at nearly 23%, behind China and a rank…

Time to Redefine Strategic S&T Sectors India’s scientific community spans various domains, disciplines, research with profit-making and not-for-profit interests and nurtures natural and applied sciences. They work under governmental ministries, special purpose vehicles, Section 8 companies, public-private enterprises, non-governmental private enterprises, and overseas entities. However, the Indian scientific community unassumingly splits into two peculiar categories: strategic and non-strategic. Many in India’s technocratic circles, including those in the government, often deem the science and technology (S&T) activities occurring in the Department of Space (DoS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as ‘strategic’. Whereas the S&T occurring…

A colossal volume of water has flown in the past 23 years since India began celebrating its National Technology Day on May 11. Since then, India’s economy and stature have grown tremendously. Although this day is intimately connected to atomic science and technology, the reason India decided to cherish it for ‘technology’ in totality is a reckoning fact. Over the years, India’s national security apparatus has witnessed the evolution of fifth dimension operations that our country needs to adopt and adapt. We have increasingly become appreciative of the axiom ‘Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty’, which in practical parlance…

Since India began experiencing lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prophylactic remedies, immunity-boosting supplements, and medicinal, agricultural commodities have witnessed tremendous attention. The market analytics, in terms of production volumes, sales, and demand, of these products are not available yet. However, as economic normalcy begins to set in in the coming months, consulting and market intelligence firms in India will undoubtedly study the trends. But well before such quantitative studies are undertaken, the growing interest in holistic wellness is relatively indiscernible. With a sixth of the world population and perhaps the largest diaspora globally, India has since antiquity shared its…

Since the 1991 economic liberalisation, India has made great strides to become a global information technology (IT) giant. Thirty years hence, Tata Consultancy Services is the largest IT company in the world. Today, India boasts of tremendous IT ecosystems in Gurgaon, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Navi Mumbai and Bengaluru. Our IT sector now is arterial to industries from pharmaceuticals to oil and gas to banking to telecommunication. With such a reckoning force at hand, an unorthodox question arises: why should India not go a big way with astrobiology? The IT sector has begun making prolific contribution in the areas of astronomy…