EDITORIAL 1: The new techno-capitalism
Context
An important anniversary in India’s technological history passed largely unnoticed last week — the launch of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975.
A collaboration
- A pioneering collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), SITE used the American ATS-6 satellite to beam educational programmes in local languages to over 2,400 villages across six of India’s most underdeveloped states.
- The content included primary education, health awareness, agricultural practices, and national integration.
- SITE remains a landmark in the technological imagination of India’s developmental state.
- Following India’s 1974 nuclear test, Washington’s enthusiasm for technology cooperation gave way to non-proliferation anxieties. It would take three decades to overcome these disputes and rebuild bilateral trust.
- This effort culminated in the launch of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) under President Joe Biden in 2023, aimed at reinvigorating India-US cooperation in advanced technologies.
- Whether ICET can survive renewed political turbulence in the bilateral relationship — marked by differences on Russia, trade, and Pakistan — remains uncertain.
- Yet, a more structural challenge looms: The increasingly divergent trajectories of the Indian and American technology ecosystems.
The dynamic techno sector
- Over the past two decades, America’s dynamic technology sector has not only accelerated innovation but also given the US a strategic edge over its rivals.
- The US government continues to play a vital role — particularly in defence procurement and standard-setting — but increasingly acts as a catalyst rather than a controller.
- China, by contrast, has charted a different course. The Chinese state has pursued a centralised, mission-driven model of technological advancement.
- Despite starting later than India, China’s civilian space programme now competes with that of the US and is expanding its global footprint through initiatives like the Digital and Space Silk Roads.
India’s trajectory
- India’s own trajectory remains moored somewhere in between the American and Chinese models.
- Recent reforms have introduced greater dynamism into India’s space sector, but Delhi is still some distance from fully mobilising its private sector to secure a larger share of the global space economy or rejuvenating its higher education and scientific research establishments.
- While India finds its footing, the global tech landscape is being reshaped by dramatic developments in the US. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has unveiled two major initiatives — on AI and cryptocurrency — that symbolise a novel approach to techno-politics.
The Philosophy of techno-capitalism
- What emerges is a distinct philosophy of techno-capitalism: Unapologetically post-liberal, aggressively nationalist, fiercely deregulatory, and ambitiously expansionist.
- Trump’s 2025 AI policy prioritises dismantling regulatory barriers, building data infrastructure, promoting AI-led manufacturing, and mobilising hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private investment.
- Trump’s techno-capitalism also extends into financial innovation. The recently enacted “GENIUS Act” marks a decisive break from the Biden administration’s cautious approach to cryptocurrencies.
- The policy aims to reinforce the US dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency and counter growing calls for “de-dollarisation,” including from BRICS nations.
- Today, we are witnessing the rise of a new state-capital compact—a “tech broligarchy” in which Silicon Valley elites and Washington collaborate to pursue technological supremacy not for utopian ends, but for strategic advantage.
The scenario in India
- India cannot remain untouched by these shifts. The celebrated Indian IT sector— long a symbol of the country’s global economic integration and a major contributor to its GDP—now faces serious vulnerabilities.
- As AI begins to automate many of the services that defined India’s IT outsourcing boom, traditional jobs may disappear or become obsolete.
- Add to this Trump’s growing hostility toward H-1B visas, and the threat to India’s digital workforce becomes even more acute.
- India’s ambition to be a major exporter of tech talent could also be undermined by the West’s rising techno-nationalism and hostility to immigration.
- The alliance between American populism and Silicon Valley could unravel over time due to internal contradictions or commercial rivalries.
Way forward
- For India, the imperatives are clear. There is an urgent need to overhaul the domestic tech sector, expand investment in scientific research, and better integrate private enterprise into national innovation strategies.
- The country must also prepare its industry, workforce, and regulatory institutions for a new era of technological transformation.