Fixing the Asymmetry

The fact that an action which should have ended in three weeks has stretched beyond a year, is an indication that when it comes to territorial conflicts, unfortunately the brute force of war becomes the inescapable recourse to decide the outcome.

Prof. Arup Dasgupta arup@geospatialworld.net Managing Editor

While the Ukraine-Russia conflict has grabbed headlines, there are other covert wars involving salami slicing and outright terrorism. Thus, all countries are forced to invest in assets to detect and thwart overt and covert moves to forcibly enforce asymmetric territorial claims. The desire for global domination also leads to conflicts through proxies.

In this situation, a peaceful country like India has no choice but to commit limited resources to building up a defensive deterrence mechanism encompassing land, sea, air, and now space. Till recently, India eschewed joining military alliances but current events have led it to join the Quad to protect its interests in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and along the Western, Northern and North-eastern land borders.

What strength does India bring to the Quad?

The US has 200 to 300 satellites in orbit for supporting military operations globally. China, the main concern of the Quad, has a similar number. India has ten to fifteen satellites dedicated for military use. It also uses civilian satellite resources as well which may add another five to ten satellites. India is very weak in ELINT and SIGINT, having launched only two experimental satellites.

While the US and China have thriving industries that are able to manufacture and deploy these resources on a continuous basis, India is solely dependent on ISRO and its supporting industries.

US has a dedicated military organization, the Space Force, While China has the PLA Strategic Support Force. In contrast, the Indian Defense Space Agency and the Defense Space Research Agency were set up in late 2019, but still continue to be works-inprogress.

While there is a very good understanding of what the needs are for establishing a space based defense system, the problem lies in the lack of the necessary infrastructure to design, build and deploy the components of the system.

The missile systems are manufactured by Bharat Dynamics, but when it comes to satellites, the DSA looks to ISRO which does not have a military mandate. It is imperative that with the New Space Policy regime, the private industry needs to get into the act and become a major supplier to the military services.

ISRO LAUNCHES NEXT-GEN NAVIC SATELLITE

weighed a staggering 420 tons. At 10.42 a.m., it took off into the sky, successfully escaping the strong pull of Earth’s gravity. This significant launch would guarantee that NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) services will continue to operate.

NavIC is an Indian regional satellite navigation system similar to GPS that provides accurate and real-time navigation in India and a region that extends to 1,500 kilometers around the Indian mainland, reported IANS.

The positioning of NavIC signals are intended to be better than 20 meters and timing accuracy is intended to be 50 nanoseconds.

The primary mission of the 51.7 -meter-tall Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle is to deploy the navigation satellite NVS-01 weighing 2,232 kg.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the second-generation Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), about 130 km from Chennai on 29th May.

The powerful GSLV rocket which had three stages, stood tall at a height of 51.7 meters and

The NVS-01 carries navigation payloads L1, L5 and S groups and in correlation with the past one, the second-generation satellite would likewise convey an indigenously created rubidium atomic clock.

The satellite with a mission life of 12 years is powered by two solar arrays and lithium-ion batteries capable of generating up to 2.4 kW of power during eclipse. The NVS series of satellites will maintain and enhance NAVIC with advanced features.

CDS CALLS FOR DUAL-USE PLATFORMS WITH FOCUS ON INCORPORATING CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY

nologies to boost India’s military space capability and plans. He also highlighted that increasing weaponisation of space has led to the war in space.

He further drew attention to explore the field of miniaturization of satellites and reusable launch platforms to mitigate cost, and challenges and accelerate the pace of augmenting India’s space-based capabilities.

At the Indian DefSpace Symposium 2023 which was organised by the Indian Space Association, Chief of the Defence Staff,

General Anil Chauhan pointed out the need for building dual-use platforms with special focus on incorporating emerging tech-

Chauhan said that the need for creating a dual-use platform could be used in future both by the military and by the private sector. There is a need for India to enhance offensive and defensive capabilities in space domain. The most technologies in space are dual-use technologies, but to use them, they need to be adapted in a definite way, he asserted.

INDIA, EU TO COLLABORATE ON PLETHORA OF DIGITAL ADVANCEMENTS

India and the European Union have agreed for bilateral cooperation in a host of sectors such as AI, Semiconductor, Telecom, and Digital Infrastructure.

Both sides have agreed to collaborate within the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelli- gence (GPAI). This collaboration will include responsible and trustworthy AI activities in research and innovation, according to the India-EU joint statement.

Additionally, the two sides will also look to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by September 2023 which will pertain to coordinating and strategizing policies for the semiconductor sector.

For IT and Telecoms Standardization, both India and the EU will collaborate on making interoperable standards the key priority. The importance of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for developing an open and inclusive digital economy has deepened and both sides recognize it. To further the cause, the two sides have decided to work together on enhancing the interoperability of their respective Digital Public Infrastructures. They will jointly promote and preserve security solutions for the betterment of developing countries.

L&T ESTABLISHES DIGITAL TWIN CENTRE WITH SIMULATION SOFTWARE FIRM

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) and Ansys have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the LTTS-Ansys Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Digital Twin technology.

The CoE will help in demonstrations, proof of concepts, and easier adoption of the Digital Twin technology which the Mumbai-based engineering service company LTTS looks to showcase. Moreover, simulation software firm Ansys’ Twin Builder platform will allow LTTS to expand its share in the Digital Twin market.

The government of India will also work with LTTS to extend wider reach, better interopera- bility, increase awareness, and development of forward-looking solutions. Additionally, improved manufacturing and supply chain processes will also be introduced.

Currently, the Digital Twin market is valued at $6.5 billion. It is expected to reach $125.7 billion by 2030 with a growth rate of CAGR of 39.48%. This collaboration will help LTTS get a good foot-hold in the Digital Twin growth expedition.

CABINET APPROVES BILL TO CREATE GOA’S GEOSPATIAL DATA

essential data across government departments and also regulate the usage of geospatial data.

Delhi cabinet approved a draft of the Delhi Geospatial Data Infrastructure (Management, Control, Administration, Security, and Safety) Bill, 2011. The Bill will help to reduce the time to share

A senior official from the information technology (IT) department said they now have data available for both, above the ground as well as 10 meters below the ground, collected through aerial photographs and using sophisticated systems to study the underground system.

The bill aims to create, update, manage, monetize, disseminate, and share Goa’s geospatial data including road, water, sewerage, electricity, telecommunication, internet services, and other service utilities.

The IT department intends to provide a reliable and robust GIS-based decision support system to the state authorities and citizens.

Chandigarh To Monitor Climate Change Via Gis

To make the city prepared to address climate change, UT administration will soon start GIS assisted monitoring of air, water, forest and urbanization in the city, as reported by TOI. With the help of satellite data and fieldlevel monitoring the impact of climate change will be monitored.

The work is being done under