Space is turning into an operational arena where economic control, military leverage, and geopolitics merge, and the US and China are setting the agenda and pace. Where does that leave India, underpowered and slow-moving?
The deals were flashy. But the ground reality? Overcrowding, long lines, and a city clogged solid. India wants to lead on AI, but it just has not figured out the basics yet.
And unless the country decides whether it wants to make chips and infrastructure or just consume apps and content, the AI moment will pass like the G-20 photo ops.
It describes virality and visibility but hesitates to rethink meaning, legitimacy, and the self in an Internet that we cannot understand with old beliefs.