Date: 14/02/2023

Relevance: GS-2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and affecting India’s interests; India-US relation, Space Cooperation.

Key Phrases: USA-India Relations, Space Cooperation, Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), SpaceX, New Space India, Artemis Program, Artemis Accords, Technology Transfer, Technological Capabilities, Robust Ecosystem of Innovation.

Context:

• India and the United States agreeing to advance space collaboration in several areas, under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) umbrella, comes at a crucial time for both countries.
  • This follows from the 8th meeting of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), which was held on January 30-31, 2023.

Key Highlights:

• During the Tokyo summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) in May 2022, US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the iCET to elevate and expand their strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of the two countries.

Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology(iCET):

• The iCET is a partnership between India and the US to work together in developing important and new technologies.
• The iCET involves collaboration in a range of areas including quantum computing, semiconductors, 5G and 6G wireless infrastructure, and civilian space projects such as lunar exploration.
• The iCET process will be monitored and driven from the PMO in Delhi and the White House in Washington.

Cooperation in Space Sector:

• USA is working for its Artemis Programme and India is preparing for its ambitious human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan.
• The two countries have also taken significant steps for advancing the private space sectors.
  • Together, these endeavors will shape and impact U.S. and Indian space policies and programmes over the next decade.
  • India could secure technologies and expertise by collaborating with an advanced spacefaring nation; the U.S. could strengthen its relationship with India on a matter that seems less controversial than others.
  • The U.S-India Space collaboration seems straightforward.
    • But it is not straightforward: certain structural factors limit the extent to which the U.S. and India can collaborate in the short term.

Constraints in Space Cooperation:

• Mismatch in Interests
  • The U.S. has committed to returning to the moon — and this time to stay there for the long term. Therefore, the USA has ambitions beyond the earth’s orbit.
    • Although the U.S. and its partners stress the importance of maintaining capabilities in low-earth orbit, their ambitions are firmly set on the moon.
    • In this regard, the Artemis Program, the Artemis Accords, and the Biden administration’s National Cislunar Science & Technology Strategy constitute the foundation for American ambitions beyond earth orbits.
  • Meanwhile, India’s scientific community focuses on building the nation’s capability in and under earth orbits.
    • This is not to say that India does not aim for the moon, Mars or beyond.
    • But India’s top priority is to substantially increase its satellite and launch capabilities in earth orbits and catch up with other spacefaring nations such as China.
• Asymmetry in Capabilities
  • The USA has a greater space capacity than India.
    • It has the highest number of registered satellites in space.
    • It also has a range of launch vehicles serving both commercial and national security needs.
    • Private entity SpaceX, for example, managed to achieve a record 61 launches in 2022, far higher than the number of launches undertaken by any other commercial entity or country.
  • The greatest challenge for India here is lack of capacity.
    • The country has just over 60 satellites in orbit and cannot undertake double-digit launches annually.
    • The Indian government also opened the space industry to the private sector only in 2020.
    • Since the U.S. already has an extensive network of partners for space cooperation, it has few technical incentives to cooperate with India.

Way Forward:

• Sustained Engagement
  • The standard solution to induce long-term cooperation is to sustain the engagement between academics, the private sector and state-led entities in the two countries.
  • It could also take the form of collaborating on highly specialized projects such as the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
  • But these solutions are slow and not entirely suited for the new space age, where diplomacy struggles to keep up with the rate of technological innovation.
  • So, India and the U.S. must find novel solutions to cooperate in the new space age to achieve a meaningful partnership.
• Partnership between state and private entities
  • One form of cooperation is a partnership between state and private entities; or, as agreed in the most recent meeting, a convention of American and Indian aerospace companies to advance collaboration under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Commercial Lunar Payload Services(CLPS) programme.
    • Such an arrangement could be taken further.
  • India could send its astronauts to train at American private companies.
    • This could help India reduce its dependence on Russia while ISRO builds its own astronaut training centre.
• Consortium led by NewSpace India
  • Another novel arrangement could be a consortium led by the government-owned NewSpace India Limited which involves private companies in the U.S.A.
  • This setup could accelerate India’s human spaceflight programme and give the U.S. an opportunity to accommodate Indian interests in earth orbits.
• Working together on new and important technologies can lead to more business between India and the US, which can help the economy grow as it will bring more investment and employment opportunities for both countries.
• The iCET will boost India’s technological capabilities with access to cutting-edge technology and expertise in areas that are critical and emerging in nature.

Conclusion:

• If implemented with speed and purpose, the bilateral Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) could lend a new strategic depth and breadth to the expanding engagement between India and the United States.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. “Even though the USA-India has a mindset to collaborate, the structural factors overpower diplomatic incentives to pursue long-term cooperation”. Critically analyze the statement and also suggest measures to overcome these factors. (250 Words).