Although Bill Clinton may have never said it publicly, the maxim “it’s the economy, stupid” has often been associated with his successful 1992 presidential campaign against incumbent George H. W. Bush. The maxim highlighted the primacy of economic considerations for American voters. Three decades later, this phrase aptly captures how Indians believe the country should navigate high-tech geopolitics. According to the Takshashila Institution’s recently released report “Technopolitik: A Technology Geopolitics Survey,” economic considerations have a bearing on how Indians think about national power, supply chain security, the space sector, atmanirbharta (self-reliance), and tech talent migration. Survey respondents rank economic power as the biggest contributor to India’s national power in the next decade (over tech and military power). They favour a nuanced supply chain policy instead of economically harmful knee-jerk reactions, and envision a greater role for the private sector in India’s space activities. Further, economic considerations motivate respondents to favour more collaboration with India’s partners instead of focusing on an inward-looking atmanirbharta approach. Lastly, respondents prefer a pro-market approach in dealing with talent in the age of tech warfare.
Economics above all
When asked which factor will contribute most to India’s national power in the next decade, most respondents (35.6%) chose economic power as their first preference, followed by talent power (21.7%), tech power (14.9%), military power (14.1%), and soft power (13.5%).
The emphasis on the economy also shows up in the context of supply chain security. Over the past year, there has been a shift from just-in-time and just-in-case supply chains to just-to-be-secure ones. India also faces cybersecurity concerns as it relies on foreign hardware and software in its critical sectors. In this scenario, respondents were asked how concerned they were about reliance on foreign-made hardware/software in terms of cybersecurity. Only 13.1% advocated a straitjacket reaction of placing controls on all foreign-made hardware/software. The majority of respondents (53.4%) called for sector-specific controls. Meanwhile, 31.3% believed that supply chain policy could mitigate the risks. Collectively, about 85% advocated a nuanced policy. Only a minuscule 2.2% did not find anything concerning about foreign dependence in terms of cybersecurity.
The preference for opening up the space sector for private participation is evident in public responses. Most respondents (60.8%) think the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the private sector should coexist and compete across all verticals. While 26.7% believe ISRO should only conduct R&D, while the private sector should focus on commercial space activities. Further, 7% believe ISRO is the best entity to lead the country’s space programme, and about 5.6% of respondents wanted the private sector to lead the space programme. The overwhelming majority sees some level of participation of the private sector in space activities, which is in line with the 2023 space policy released by the government of India.
