Akshat Jiwan Sharma

April 15 2026  I thank the global landscapes forum for inviting me to a digital conference on sustainable palm oil production. The panel discussion featured several leading experts in the industry brainstorming on what it would take to induce a paradigm shift in the palm oil production and how it could be financed.  Palm oil fulfills nearly 30-40% of global vegetable oil demand. It finds application in cooking,cosmetics,health and in several other related industries. Despite its huge demand roughly 80-90% of palm oil production is centred in South East Asia. Not only does this concentration create a significant geopolitical risk it also prevents efficient utilisation of land resources that could lift millions out of poverty.  Africa and LATAM present immense potential to diversify the production especially as cultivable land becomes more expensive in the SEA region. Yet there are several factors that could potentially be holding investment back. One reason is quite simple...

I thank the Department of materials science and engineering @IIT Delhi for organising a highly informative talk on refractory alloys and CMC materials by professor Rahul Mitra.  Prof Mitra presented 2 metallic systems Mo-Si and Nb-Si. Both material systems possess high temperature oxidation resistance exceeding 1000°C. Glassy SiO2 layer formed on the surface being the primary oxidation inhibitor in both cases. As glass softens beyond 1200c it loses some of its oxidation resistant  properties limiting material used in Ultra high temperature environments.  These systems work but suffer from low fracture toughness that doesn't meet the standards required for aerospace components. Additionally neither Nb nor Mb are easily available and their processing also requires some complicated setup due to the high melting points of these alloys exceeding 2000c. Therefore it becomes important to keep searching for new materials. Diborides of Zr and Hf are contenders for ultr...

Mediterranean Futures: Spain, Africa, and New Alliances 27 March 2026 A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to listen to Mr Juan Antonio March Pujol ,Ambassador of Spain to India at a conference in New Delhi where he advocated for growth of ties between India and Spain. About 70 thousand people of Indian origin live in Spain currently and spain is already among the most popular tourist destinations in the EU with nearly 2.6 lakh Indians visiting the nation in 2024.  Yet what Mr Juan seemed to be advocating was strengthening ties that go beyond tourism. A socio economic partnership that can create new opportunities for growth between the two nations. He highlighted improved aerial mobility which could be crucial because at present there are no direct flights between India and Spain.  India is rapidly moving towards upgrading its cities making infrastructure smarter,more suited to handle the needs of the future. Spain is no stranger to this. Barcelona is a prime examp...

10 Apr 2026  At electronica India 2026 I had the chance to connect with original equipment manufacturers in the semiconductor industry. The government of India is pushing hard to build a semiconductor ecosystem in the country and conferences like these give opportunities to manufacturers, researchers and investors to connect with each other and explore avenues for collaboration.  The entire electronics value chain is vast but one area that has been steadily gaining momentum is domestic manufacturing  of PCBs. Not just the raw substrates but also technologies higher up the value chain, by developing or acquiring tools that can copper clad ,do photolithographic circuit patterning followed by placing components on the pcb to actually make a functional device.  This process is not as demanding as the actual manufacturing of the IC using the advanced EUV lithography techniques but it is a good start for building domestic capability. A goal that is certainly ...

  8 Apr 2026 I thank the sustainable leaders development council for organising the 5th edition of green hydrogen India conference and bringing together policymakers, researchers and businesses to talk about one of the most important molecules upon which hinges the future of green transition — hydrogen.  The Hydrogen ecosystem is vast, numerous businesses have occupied a niche in its generation,transmission and distribution. Decades of research have optimised nearly all aspects of these processes yet hydrogen is facing difficulties in its adoption. There are a couple of reasons for this.  One is that fossil fuels are incredibly cheap. To the point that almost all of it is pure profit. You just dig it out of the ground and sell it in the market. This has helped propel entire sectors that have become multi billion dollar industries. Plastics,automobiles,fertiliser and to a large extent even steel. What this means is that even at a relatively cheap price of $5 pe...