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Building Rainwater Resilience in India’s Cities
Urbanisation in India Jul 03, 2025

Building Rainwater Resilience in India’s Cities

Extreme water events are affecting cities in various parts of the world. During rainy seasons or in the event of typhoons or cyclones, the sudden inflows of large volumes of rainwater into cities, combined with inadequate preparedness of administrative agencies, result in injuries, loss of ...

Post-Assad Syria’s Search for Its Place in an Evolving International Order
International Affairs Jul 02, 2025

Post-Assad Syria’s Search for Its Place in an Evolving International Order

Syria has been in turmoil since 2011 when the Arab Spring wave of protests spread across the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region, challenging President Bashar Al Assad’s longstanding, familial rule of the country which began with his father, Hafez Al Assad, who took over in ...

Understanding China’s Engagement with Afghanistan Under Taliban 2.0
International Affairs Jul 01, 2025

Understanding China’s Engagement with Afghanistan Under Taliban 2.0

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is now in its fourth year in power. While no country has yet to officially recognise the Taliban-led regime, many have established some sort of de facto relationship to safeguard their own strategic and security concerns. This brief focuses on ...

Between Engagement and Disengagement: Japan’s Myanmar Recalibration
Neighbourhood Jun 25, 2025

Between Engagement and Disengagement: Japan’s Myanmar Recalibration

Japan’s foreign aid policy towards Myanmar has been an important component of both, its broader approach to Southeast Asia and its Indo-Pacific vision. As one of Myanmar's largest development partners, Japan has consistently supported the country’s infrastructure development and democratic transition efforts, while also providing ...

Cash Transfers as an Instrument for Poverty Alleviation and Women’s Empowerment in India
Gender Jun 24, 2025

Cash Transfers as an Instrument for Poverty Alleviation and Women’s Empowerment in India

Cash transfers are popular globally as an instrument for combating poverty and achieving broader development goals. Both conditional and unconditional cash transfers that target women in low- and middle-income countries can enhance household well-being, food security, education of children, family health, and women’s empowerment. In ...

Beijing’s Middle East Playbook in a Changing Global Order
International Affairs | China Foreign Policy Jun 10, 2025

Beijing’s Middle East Playbook in a Changing Global Order

While Beijing’s foreign policy is not focused on the Middle East, its footprint in the region is expanding. Many of China’s short-term aims, such as securing energy, have remained unchanged since the Cold War, but the country’s rise on the global stage is increasingly creating ...

When The Tables Turn: The Global South in an Era of Instability
International Affairs Jun 09, 2025

When The Tables Turn: The Global South in an Era of Instability

Amidst the fissures in the Transatlantic partnership, heightened United States-China rivalry, and global trade frictions, commentaries of doom and gloom abound. This analysis offers a different perspective. While recognising the risks, it focuses on new opportunities that are emerging for the Global South. The brief ...

India’s Journey in Open Banking: Consent, Control, and Connectivity
Indian Economy | Economics and Finance Jun 03, 2025

India’s Journey in Open Banking: Consent, Control, and Connectivity

As data drives technological innovation in finance, open banking has gained global relevance. India has advanced in this domain through initiatives like the India Stack, as well as frameworks such as the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and the Account Aggregator (AA) framework. Additionally, ...

Charting a Path to Controlled Growth for India’s ‘Sunrise’ Space Economy
Indian Economy | Space May 30, 2025

Charting a Path to Controlled Growth for India’s ‘Sunrise’ Space Economy

Abstract India is aiming for an eightfold increase in its share of the global space economy by 2047. The Indian ‘sunrise’ commercial space sector is benefiting from the government’s reforms, though gaps remain. The exact size of India’s domestic space economy is unknown, and the export ...

Air Defence Mechanisms: A Primer on India and Pakistan
Neighbourhood | Defence and Security | Indian Defence May 29, 2025

Air Defence Mechanisms: A Primer on India and Pakistan

The importance of Air Defence (AD) in modern warfare has never been in doubt. It remains relevant, as “Operation Sindoor” demonstrated. AD systems have historically played a key role in the Order of Battle (ORBAT) of both India and Pakistan; they were put to the ...