Vivekananda International Foundation | Seeking Harmony in Diversity

Talk on Electronics, Trade and Geopolitics

As a part of Science and Technology (S&T) series, the VIF organised a talk by Shri Virat Bhatia, Managing Director, Apple India, who spoke on “Electronics, Trade and Geopolitics” at the VIF on 21 September 2023. The talk was followed by a discussion with government officials and strategic community. In his opening remarks, Director, Dr. Arvind Gupta underscored the growing significance of electronics, trade and the ongoing geopolitics around these. Currently, from decoupling to de-risking is taking place which reflects the changing world order where geopolitics comes in.

October 31, 2023 Event Report

VIF-FICCI Homeland Security Conference 2023: Cyber, AI & Data Analytics for Internal Security

There has been much contemplation on the development of new technologies and their role in the progress of our societies. It is widely observed that when a nation is on a progress path with new technologies, the security aspect has been the least considered component during the development of these technologies. As many technologies are like the double-edged sword, they can be used or abused. There is a need for us to switch into the ‘mission’ mode and work towards the management and security of the cyberspace.

October 05, 2023 Event Report

India’s Defence Exports: Recent Trends and the Way Forward

Dr Saroj Bishoyi, Research Fellow, VIF

In a highly competitive international defence market, India has recently made its mark and has huge opportunity to become a significant player. India’s defence exports have reached to an all-time high of approximately ₹16,000crore (US $ 1.94 billion) in the FY 2022-2023, a notable ten-fold increase from the FY 2016–17, when exports were merely ₹1,521 crore (US $ 184.59 million). This is a significant step towards India’s stated goal of exporting ₹35,000 crore (US $ 5 billion) worth of aerospace and defence equipment annually by 2025 and becoming a net defence exporter.

September 16, 2023 Paper

Discussion on India-US Space Engagements

The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi in collaboration with the Indian Space Association (ISpA), New Delhi, organised a roundtable discussion on ‘India-US Space Engagements’ at the VIF on 10 July 2023. Director General (DG), ISpA, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd) made the welcome remarks, while Director, VIF, Dr Arvind Gupta delivered the opening remarks. Senior government officials; representatives from private space companies and startups; and distinguished members from the strategic community participated in the roundtable discussion.

August 29, 2023 Event Report

The VIF Interaction with USISPF Delegation on ‘India-US Strategic Partnership: Focus on Technology Cooperation’

On 20 July 2023, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) organized an interaction with the visiting US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) delegation, which was led by President and CEO, Dr Mukesh Aghi. The interaction covered a wide range of bilateral issues, especially focused on the recent developments in the areas of critical and emerging technologies under the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) framework.

August 18, 2023 Event Report

Round Table Discussion on ‘Quantum Technology and the Changing Nature of Warfare’

Quantum Technology (QT) is an emerging field of quantum physics and quantum engineering that relies on the properties of quantum mechanics, especially quantum superposition, quantum entanglement, and quantum tunneling. The development of QT is going to profoundly impact and has the capacity to redefine certain crucial sectors such as communications, defence, space, business, banking and society in general. QT with its ability to process and transmit vast amounts of unhackable data, navigation capabilities, improved sensing and metrology has the potential to revolutionize future warfare.

July 11, 2023 Event Report

Legal Dimensions of Commercialisation of Space

Naval Jagota

(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.

May 04, 2023 Issue Brief

VIF-FICCI Conference 2022; Making India a Global Drone Hub

On 01-02 September 2022, the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) jointly organised a two-day conference on Making India a Global Drone Hub in New Delhi, India. The two-day conference brought together representatives from the Indian government, business leaders, academics, and researchers from various organisations to discuss India's expanding drone sector in depth.

November 01, 2022 Event Report

Roles and Tasks of India’s Defence R&D vis-a-vis USA’s RDT&E - A Preliminary Analysis

Vice Adm Raman Puri, PVSM, AVSM, VSM

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.

October 13, 2022 VIF Report

Ease of Doing Business with DRDO - New Initiatives

On 19th September 2022, Vivekananda International Foundation and DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) held the fourth edition of the talks by eminent persons from DRDO. In this edition the speaker presenting was Shri Sangam Sinha, O/S & DG R&M and his topic was "Ease of Doing Business with DRDO : New Initiatives". He covered the following aspects: (a) Initiatives by DRDO for facilitation to industry and ease of doing business with DRDO (b) Implementation of DRDO Procurement Manual 2020 with a focus on

September 19, 2022 Event Report