Space Junk Crisis: Earth's Orbit Faces Kessler Syndrome Threat

The Hindu reports that Moving Tech Innovations, the Bengaluru-based company behind Namma Yatri, has acquired Netherlands-based Automicle Holding BV in its first international move, marking a direct push into the European urban mobility market.The deal, announced on March 26, gives Moving Tech a foothold on the continent with a platform that already works with European city authorities on digital parking systems and integrated public transport. Financial terms were not disclosed.The strategic rationale is straightforward: European ride-hailing remains dominated by platforms that charge drivers commissions of anywhere between 10 and 50%. Moving Tech's entire model is built around eliminating that layer. Across its Indian platforms, including Namma Yatri, Yatri Sathi, and Bharat Taxi, the company has completed over 150 million trips and channelled more than Rs 2,500 crore in earnings directly to drivers without taking a cut."When we built Namma Yatri, we put cities and their people first," said co-founders Magizhan Selvan and Shan MS. "These are not local solutions; they are universal principles. Cities everywhere are seeking a mobility model that is open and community-led."Automicle's co-founders framed the deal as a two-way exchange, with European expertise in parking and integrated urban transport flowing back to Indian cities alongside Moving Tech's open-network model heading west.The acquisition follows a pre-Series A extension round in which Namma Yatri raised Rs 39.75 crore, roughly $4.4 million, with participation from Juspay founder Vimal Kumar. The company also pointed to renewed momentum in India-EU Free Trade Agreement talks as broader context for the move.

EUToday reports that Eutelsat, Europe's main competitor to SpaceX's Starlink, is in active talks with the Indian Space Research Organisation about future satellite launches, as the company works to reduce its dependence on any single provider.Eutelsat CEO Jean-Francois Fallacher confirmed to Reuters that negotiations with ISRO are ongoing, though no deal has yet been reached. The push for diversification is partly a product of circumstance. The company lost access to Russia's Soyuz rocket following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and has since relied on SpaceX and Europe's Ariane rockets.India is a natural fit. ISRO had already launched 72 OneWeb satellites on its LVM3 rocket before Eutelsat's 2023 merger with OneWeb, which means there is an established track record to build on. Fallacher visited New Delhi in February as part of President Macron's delegation, meeting India's telecoms minister and regulators to discuss market access. Macron had previously framed European reliance on non-European launch providers as "madness."The commercial logic is straightforward. Eutelsat estimates its 440-satellite Airbus programme will cost around 2 billion euros by 2030, with launches typically accounting for 30 to 40% of total programme costs, making competitive launch options a significant financial variable.The company is fully financed through 2031 after a 5 billion euro refinancing that made the French state its largest shareholder. For India, the talks reinforce its growing standing as a serious commercial launch provider, with ambitions to grow its space economy to around $44 billion by 2033.

India Quietly Partners With Alibaba.com on Exports, Keeping Consumer Bans in PlaceTechCrunch reports that India's government has teamed up with Alibaba.com on an export-focused program through its Startup India initiative, enlisting Indian startups to help onboard small manufacturers and traders onto the Chinese B2B platform's global marketplace.The move is notable given the backdrop. India banned dozens of Chinese-linked apps in 2020 following a deadly border clash, including TikTok, PUBG Mobile, and AliExpress, which is also an Alibaba Group product. Those bans remain in force. The new Alibaba.com partnership, however, is being treated as a separate category of engagement entirely, focused on exports rather than consumer access.Micro, small, and medium enterprises account for nearly half of India's exports and about 31% of GDP, which explains why New Delhi is willing to work with a Chinese-linked platform when the commercial case is strong enough. Alibaba.com's B2B platform connects more than 50 million active buyers across over 200 countries and regions, giving Indian exporters reach they would be hard pressed to find elsewhere.Policy analysts quoted in the piece frame the distinction as deliberate. George Chen, partner at The Asia Group, noted that China itself bans foreign consumer apps while still allowing those same companies to serve Chinese exporters, and India appears to be drawing lessons from that model.The collaboration follows Alibaba.com launching its Trade Assurance program in India in June 2025 and comes ahead of an India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi where Chinese representatives are expected to attend, suggesting a cautious but real thaw in certain corners of the India-China tech relationship.