Indian ASAT

India recently announced it is developing an anti-satellite capability. The nation has a quickly developping economy, and is one of the few nations to acknowledge it has nuclear weapons. It also has a strong unmanned space program that has just completed a successful first lunar mission, and has made noises about starting a manned program. India, in short, is a nation on the rise; by landmass and population, it should be one of the major nations and a force in international affairs.

Attaining that position seems to be a goal of the government, and the decision to pursue anti-satellite technology should likely be seen in that light. So far, China and the United States have recently demonstrated an anti-satellite capability, and it's assumed Russia also has that capability. For India to develop it, therefore, would put the Indians in another elite club. Doing so would also match China. Those two huge nations will likely vie for supremacy in Asia over the next few decades, if not this entire century. Getting a capability China already has, as well as a means to hurt China, and other major powers, may be the motivation behind India pursuing ASAT. Also worth noting is the fact that India announced its intent before it has developed the technology. That might suggest New Delhi sees this effort at least as a potential bargaining chip in some future negotiation with, say, Beijing.