Ashwin Prasad Rao

Beyond trade deals to building a new architecture

The Hindu · April 2026

Instead of forming large groups around vague shared values, India should build smaller, focused partnerships with a few countries in specific sectors

NavIC Is Not Dead, But It Is in Danger

India's World · April 2026

India possesses a strategic capability that it cannot rely on consistently, while its adversaries have access to a more reliable navigation system. However,…

Moon Race: Artemis vs China’s Lunar Ambitions

Deccan Herald · April 2026 · Read on Substack

Artemis Mission: Explore NASA’s Artemis II journey to the Moon and the strategic lunar race with China for economic and technological dominance.

Anatomy of India's 2026-27 Space Budget

Substack · February 2026

Moving past the headline numbers to address the absorption capacity problem that defines India's space programme.

Thinking about India's options amid global volatility

Substack · January 2026

The case for sectoral plurilateralism.

How does satellite internet work?

The Hindu · August 2025

Satellite internet revolutionizes connectivity, offering global coverage and transformative applications, but also poses security and regulatory challenges.

In the face of Washington’s tech shenanigans, New Delhi should choose collaboration over autarky

India's World · August 2025

Recent U.S. actions—from placing an embargo on the advanced chips that power AI to threatening tariffs on India-made iPhones—are sending a clear signal to N…

Fathoming America’s plan to manage AI proliferation

The Hindu · June 2025

The U.S.’s announcement of the rescission of its Framework for AI Diffusion has been viewed as a good thing but controls on AI are likely to persist

As Axiom-4 and Shubhanshu Shukla lift off, so does India

The Indian Express · June 2025 · Read on Substack

The excitement and chatter around the mission will help build popular support for space exploration in India

For India, a new frontier in satellite internet

Deccan Herald · March 2025

For India, a new frontier in satellite internet

Govt’s Rs 1000 cr fund for space sector has drawbacks. It should bet on outcomes, not ideas

ThePrint · March 2025

Government as an anchor customer provides a stable source of demand for space-based services, reducing uncertainties in the market. It can boost investor confidence in the Indian space sector, attracting investments from home and abroad.

Implications of the AI Diffusion Framework

The Hindu · February 2025

The Framework for AI Diffusion evaluates India solely by its technological capabilities in AI, while ignoring the strategic value of the India-U.S. partnership

Do the AI Diffusion Rules Mean India Cannot Get More Than 50,000 Advanced GPUs?

Takshashila Institution · January 2025

How Satellite Internet Can Bridge India’s Digital Divide and Expand Its Strategic Heft

Outlook Business · January 2025

India is at a disadvantage without its own satellite internet infrastructure. But a favourable ecosystem would have far-reaching benefits—reliable access in remote areas, economic opportunities and improved operational capabilities for the military

Deepening India’s steps as a key space-faring nation

The Hindu · December 2024

India must foster a strong ecosystem for the growth of a specialised industrial base that can cater to India’s needs and ambitions in outer space

‘Catching’ Innovation: What India Can Learn From SpaceX’s Latest Triumph

News18 · November 2024

Embrace risk, support long-term thinking, and create ecosystems that turn ambitious dreams into reality

A strategic thrust to space beyond borders

Deccan Herald · November 2024

As space activities grow beyond the traditional state-led programmes, policy is beginning to catch up.

A Silicon Curtain: Examining the Implications of US Export Controls on Chips

Takshashila Institution · October 2024

Private sector participation in LVM3 production could mean a space sector boom

Mint · June 2024 · Read on Substack

Technical knowledge transfer from Isro to the private sector will spread space expertise. Competition will play a key role and new skills could strengthen India’s supply of launch vehicles to meet growing global demand for launch services.

Agnikul’s first test flight: Time for private sector to be wings of Indian space industry

Firstpost · June 2024

Chennai-based space startup Agnikul has successfully carried out its maiden suborbital flight test

New guidelines could hamper India’s promising space industry

Deccan Herald · May 2024

The path to a burgeoning private space sector in India starts with the right regulatory environment.

Demand for Space Launch Services in India

Takshashila Institution · May 2024

China's Military-Civil Fusion Space Program

The Diplomat · April 2024

How private sector can propel a new wave of space revolution in India

Firstpost · March 2024

The government can sign long-term purchase agreements with the Indian industry. This will create a consistent and assured demand for space-based services in the Indian market

A Phantom Trade

Substack · November 2023

Harmonising with Nature's Flow

Substack · November 2023

Culinary Heritage and Nutritional Security

Substack · November 2023

Unfulfilled Promises and Ideological Moorings

Substack · October 2023

India’s quest to build a global space economy

ETEntrepreneur · September 2026

Quoted on ISRO’s changing role, the transfer of mature technologies to industry, and the domestic demand needed to help India’s private space sector scale.

India’s quest to build a global space economy

ETEntrepreneur · September 2026

Quoted on ISRO’s changing role, the need for a comprehensive space law, and why predictable government demand matters for India’s private space industry.

ISRO launches EOS-05: What are the different types of satellite orbits, and why do they matter?

The Indian Express · September 2026

Quoted on satellite orbits, how spacecraft reach geostationary orbit, and the trade-offs between persistent coverage, image resolution, and fuel requirements.

India’s space college broke its bond with ISRO. Not its dependence

The Ken · August 2026

The race for low Earth orbit: What the launch of Vikram-1 means for India

The Indian Express · July 2026

On the LEO land grab: orbital slots run first-come-first-served, and megaconstellations are as much about claiming orbital real estate as they are about connectivity — India remains 'a milestone space power that is lacking in scale.'

Starlink Must Wait For Reliance/Jio To Get Its Space, Satellite Act Together

StratNews Global · June 2026

Reliance Jio lacks the technological foundations to compete with Starlink on any meaningful level, given limited domestic satellite-manufacturing capacity and India's low launch cadence.

Pakistan's Satellite Surveillance Of India Has Expanded Thanks To China

StratNews Global · June 2026

Pakistan's new Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites can see through clouds and darkness without needing sunlight to observe assets, expanding its surveillance reach over India.

Pakistan's spy satellite network watching India has grown faster than ever in just 16 months

ThePrint · June 2026

A ground report on Pakistan's six new Earth-observation satellites launched since January 2025 — most built or launched with Chinese help — mapping Indian territory, particularly Kashmir, every two days or less.

India's Space Policy: Interests, International Cooperation and Conflicting Goals

SWP Berlin · June 2026

A research paper by Dr Tobias Scholz examining how India balances space-sector economic ambitions, security priorities vis-à-vis China, regional influence, and global status-seeking.

Above the Law: SpaceX's Orbital Data Centres and the End of India's Digital Sovereignty

Rising Kashmir · June 2026

Draws on Takshashila's April 2026 analysis of Starlink's operational risks to argue that orbital data centres could sit beyond the reach of India's data-sovereignty framework.

Did a Chinese satellite surveil US bases before Iran strike? Indian analysts verify

India Today · April 2026

Documents reviewed by the Financial Times indicated that the satellite acquired by Iran was developed and launched by Earth Eye Co, a Chinese company that provides “in-orbit delivery” services, where satellites are transferred to international clients after being placed in orbit.

India’s NavIC is not fully functional even after 27 years—military loses the most

ThePrint · March 2026

Last week, ISRO confirmed that the atomic clock on board the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System-1F—the first generation of the NavIC satellites—had stopped functioning.

Starlink fears grip Iran regime: Has satellite internet become new battlefield?

Firstpost · January 2026

As Iran’s theocratic regime faces its greatest challenge in five decades, it is confronting not only the fury of the people disillusioned by the Islamic Revolution’s unfulfilled promises but also Western technology. Rattled by Elon Musk’s Starlink, Iran’s regime now finds satellite internet emerging as a new weapon —and internet signals as the latest battlefield— that can be fired in the shadow war with the United States.

PSLV-C62 failure: What Indian start-ups say about trusting ISRO as a launch partner

ThePrint · January 2026

ISRO’s recent failures and lower launch cadence have led to questions about its reliability as a launch partner for private players.

Digantara, Pixxel are inspired by Elon Musk. This will drive India Inc. space dreams

ThePrint · January 2025

While Digantara Aerospace launched the world’s first commercial satellite, Pixxel became the first private company in India to have satellites that allow observation of the Earth in over 150 bands.

From a slow start to a concrete policy, how India has shaped space research with hits and misses

Firstpost · August 2024

In the past decade, India has soared past Mars, landed on the Moon, and has begun scientific missions to study the Sun and unravel the many mysteries of space, but a lot remains to be done in terms of planning and policy