Elucidate the relationship between globalization and new technology in a world of scarce resources, with special reference to India.

Introduction

Globalization — cross-border flows of goods, capital, technology and ideas — and new technology are mutually reinforcing forces, and both now operate under a hard constraint: the scarcity of energy, water, land and critical minerals.

A mutually reinforcing relationship

• Technology deepens globalization: containerisation, ICT and digital platforms created global value chains; AI and cloud services now globalise even white-collar work.
• Globalization diffuses technology: FDI, licensing, global R&D networks and platforms such as the International Solar Alliance transfer know-how across borders.

The scarcity dimension

• Technology raises resource productivity: renewables, green hydrogen, drip irrigation and circular-economy models help decouple growth from resource use.
• But it creates new scarcities: lithium, cobalt and rare earths for batteries, chips and turbines are geographically concentrated, triggering export controls, resource nationalism and friend-shoring — a rewiring of globalization itself.
• Data centres and semiconductor fabs add fresh pressure on scarce water and electricity, making resource endowments a factor in where technology itself locates.

Special reference to India

• Services-led globalization: software exports and global capability centres plug India into knowledge value chains with a light resource footprint.
• Technology supplier: digital public infrastructure (Aadhaar, UPI) is being adopted abroad, from Singapore and the UAE to Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
• Resource efficiency at scale: the National Green Hydrogen Mission, PM-KUSUM, ethanol blending, 'Per Drop More Crop' micro-irrigation and one of the world's largest renewable-energy programmes.
• Securing scarce inputs: KABIL's lithium exploration in Argentina, the Reasi (J&K) lithium find, the National Critical Mineral Mission and the India Semiconductor Mission reduce strategic dependence.

Conclusion

In a resource-scarce world, globalization increasingly follows technology, and technology increasingly follows resources. India's opportunity is to convert its digital and green-technology strengths into resource-light growth — participating in globalization as a rule-shaper and supplier, not merely a dependent consumer.