A conversation with Dr. Arup R. Dasgupta about the impact of US sanctions and ITAR on India’s space program, India’s focus on socio-economic development, India’s policy of non-alignment and strategic autonomy, ISRO’s cooperation with NASA, CNES, DLR, ESA and JAXA.
Biography: Dr. Arup R. Dasgupta
Mr. Dasgupta, retired from Indian Space Research Organisation as a Deputy Director, Satellite Communications and IT Applications Area of Space Applications Centre. Currently he is the Advisor, Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure in Geospatial World and an independent consultant. He has significant and original contributions in convergence of information and communications technologies in the area of geospatial systems and applications.
His current interests are Space Policy and convergence of space and information technologies for sustainable development of planet earth.
He is a recipient of the National Geomatics Award for Excellence for the year 2016 from the Indian Society of Geomatics, the Geospatial Lifetime Achievement Award in Geospatial Technologies for 2009, the National Geospatial Award for Excellence for 2005 from the Indian Society of Remote Sensing and the Astronautical Society of India Award for Space Science and Applications for the year 2000.
He is a Fellow of the Indian Society of Geomatics (ISG) and the IETE, India. He is a Life Senior Member of the IEEE USA and a member of several professional societies.
Prof Dasgupta is a M.E. in Electrical Communications Engineering from the IISc, Bangalore, India and has worked in the Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Government of India, from November 1970 to March 2005.
Recorded on 31 July 2025
What is Space for Diplomacy?
Space for Diplomacy™ is a podcast hosted by Dr. Susmita Mohanty, the trailblazing Director General of Spaceport SARABHAI, India’s foremost space policy think tank.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with former heads of space agencies, senior diplomats who have shaped international treaties, eminent legal minds advising governments, and leading technologists at the forefront of innovation — exploring complex, ever-evolving themes such as geopolitics, technology diplomacy, international cooperation, and all things space.
The podcast tracks the rise of eastern space powers, fractures in multilateral institutions, and the growing influence of private industry. Its mission is to critically revisit the 20th-century space narrative and craft a new one — balanced across hemispheres and attuned to shifting geopolitics, power realignments, and a new world order.