(The following is a transcript of the presentation made by Dr Ranjana Kaul at the Vivekananda International Foundation during a joint roundtable with Indian Space Foundation on 18 January 2023) The world is moving towards contestation of the ‘Outer Space’ wherein efforts are shifting from exploration to ‘commercialization’. There are increasing efforts and investments by major space powers to develop cutting edge disruptive capabilities. At the same time, several new nations are showing increased interest in adopting space technology at a scale, not seen before.

While developing a range of products for the Armed Forces - covering electronics, sensors, weapons, missiles, armored vehicles, combat vehicles, aircrafts, unmanned systems, advanced computing systems and advanced materials – India’s Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) has been applying multi-disciplinary engineering, technology and scientific methods.

In the contemporary Information age, technology has become an integral and ever-present part of every nation’s society. Technology has empowered citizens in various ways, including ease of access to technology and States’ economic sectors benefit through businesses in digital space. It is the era in which technology can be utilised as a strategic tool for the nation to turn the wheels of growth while protecting its sovereign interests.

… improvements in semiconductor and related technologies would have direct impact on the security, economy, society, and human society ... chip dependent systems would contribute substantially towards the comprehensive power of the nations and would be the harbinger of ‘technological sovereignty’ ... a revolution is brewing up and India must be proactive ...