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The slow pace of rail track construction in India is a total contrast to the development across the border. China has already built a 1142 km-long electrified railway line from Golmud to Lhasa. Now it has plans to extend it to Shigatze and Yatung, reaching almost Nathu La pass.

British polity is undergoing a churn unlike any in recent history and it will end up reshaping the nation’s political texture. Whether British politicians are ready for this change is a different matter altogether.

Given the US's counter-terrorism experience and security threat, it is in its interest to come out of its earlier bureaucratic deadlock and view the threat of terrorism more objectively and work to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation with countries such as India.

With the US already having made a strong base to deal with terrorist activities from external sources, it is time the US, and other countries develop mechanisms that tackle home-grown groups with vigour, but without endangering the principles of 'rule of law'. This is particularly important as the elements of home-grown terrorism are, in fact, the citizens of the respective countries.

Trump may spring surprises but there exists a broad outline that other policymakers could go by

After trade talks broke down, there seems to be no meeting ground, signaling a prelude to a wider fracture between the two countries.

As India's online footprint has increased, so has the role of e-commerce. The industry is expected to cross $6 billion in revenues by 2015, not including ticketing and travel, according to Gartner Research. It must then follow that e-commerce should be encouraged to play a key role in building requisite supply chain efficiencies across India.

Notwithstanding the fact that Arvind Kejriwal had to resign as Delhi Chief Minister because he could not get through the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly and BJP and Congress accusation that Kejriwal quit after creating an excuse for doing so, Kejriwal and AAP have not lost their popularity among the people of Delhi.

Bangladesh has not only become the second-fastest growing economy in South Asia, it has also made significant headway in reducing malnutrition. This success owes, in part, to nutrition-sensitive interventions, including provision of diversified foods, improved sanitation, and women’s empowerment. The country’s strategy of a multi-sector approach that scales up health and nutrition programmes for women, in particular, has shown consistent resu

This paper explores the various opportunities and challenges of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC, a unique inter-regional grouping composed of aspiring member countries from South Asia and Southeast Asia. While the grouping has massive potential to contribute to regional cooperation, this paper explores the capabilities of the organisation in terms of meeting the expectations of renewed

China has twice broached the matter of expanding the membership of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa): first, at the 2017 Xiamen Summit, and again, more recently, at the 14th BRICS Leaders’ Meeting in June 2022 convened virtually under the chairmanship of Beijing. With China and India locked in a stalemate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Chinese proposal has raised concerns in New Delhi. This brief examine

At this unique geopolitical moment, when India faces a multitude of challenges seeking its attention both towards the region and the global stage, BRICS provides a flexible platform to respond to both.

The BRICS-Africa partnership provides the potential for positive cooperation between developing nations in the future. It is this potential that delegates from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will be trying to cultivate and deepen over the next couple of days in Durban.

Has the emergence of BRICS had an impact on IBSA, was the question posed by Mr M Ganapathi, former Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India.

Perhaps, the most critical issue for the five BRICS leaders, who will meet at the sunny shores of Fortaleza, will be practical goal-setting. This will be an exercise in planning and coordination to maintain continuity as well as honing in on objectives for the long term. If there is an opportunity to be seized in cross-leveraging political and economic ties, it will be in the coming years.

The Fortaleza summit will represent the reboot of BRICS. Prime Minister Modi has the biggest political mandate among his BRICS counterparts, and also the weight of the largest expectations.

The recent G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, featured a pivotal change in the geopolitics of international finance. Emerging economies contributed billions to an emergency IMF (International Monetary Fund) fund designed to provide additional support to the Eurozone nations in case the debt crisis worsens.

New Delhi should also be aware that a US-China trade spat opens up new possibilities for India, both vis-à-vis Beijing and Washington, and it should not be hesitant to exploit them

China as the leader of the pack will use BRICS for control and dominance. The West will see this as a threat to existing arrangements and try to pull it down before it takes off. Indian presence will remain weak so long as our economic reforms and progress remain slow and our internal political and policy frameworks remain uncertain.

BRICS is an evolving process, and any exaggerated notion of it becoming a power bloc will be out of place. It might work towards "a multi-polar (or poly-centric) world", which a former Brazilian President had described as an important goal of BRICS, but in no sense it is a ganging-up against the US or the West.

The world of BRICS is expanding. Despite setbacks, this association of Brazil,Russia, India, China and South Africaall of them important, emerging-marketeconomiesremains relevant as it continues to comprise a big share of the world's population,its resources, and global trade. This paper describes the rise of BRICS and their growing mutualinterest in cementing their economic and political ties. It argues that while problems remain inpromoting coh

Ambitious expansion meets internal divisions as the bloc strives to redefine global power dynamics.

The digital divide is a manifestation of exclusion, poverty and inequality and continues to be exacerbated due to the effects of unemployment, poorly functioning digital skilling programmes and socio-cultural norms in some economies, depriving women equal access to digital services. Digital skills provide the poor a catalyst to break out of the cycle of poverty and empower themselves. A three-pronged digital skills strategy is required for develo

This report is part of the Observer Research Foundation’s “Financing Green Transitions” series which aims to find potential linkages between private capital, in all its forms, and climate action projects. The series will primarily examine domestic and international barriers to private capital entry for mitigation oriented climate projects, while also examining potential avenues for private capital flow entry towards adaptation and resilienc

The current gap in global adaptation finance for developing countries is estimated at US$194-366 billion per year. This brief highlights the critical role of domestic public funding in driving adaptation initiatives. While international climate finance mechanisms exist, their effectiveness is limited by slow disbursement processes and regional disparities in fund distribution. Public finance management systems can act as catalysts for mobilising

Any suggestion of a look west policy compels a comparison with India's much-celebrated Look East policy and presents us with a paradox. India's relationship with the Gulf is much denser than with Southeast Asia. Yet the Gulf does not resonate as much as Southeast Asia in Indian Foreign Policy discourse.

This brief discusses one of the most crucial challenges to effective global governance for development: bridging the financing gap for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It considers the role of the G20 in addressing this gap, and outlines a 10-point action plan for the grouping. The aim is to bolster the financing required to achieve the SDGs in the next six and a half years—serving as an update to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of 2015 in l

Climate change defined officially as 'a change in the state of the climate that can be identified among other things by changes in the mean and / or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer' is among major challenges facing countries.

This brief underlines the immense potential for increased cross-border trade, tourism, and people-to-people interactions between India and its Southeast Asian neighbours. In particular, it evaluates the importance of India–Thailand relations, emphasising the present state of the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT-TH). Although India and Thailand share a maritime boundary along India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Th

Post-Brexit Britain needs to move away from its China-centric policy and step up trade engagements in the region, which offers potential for win-win economic gains. London should also look to join its allies, including the US, India, Australia in the support of regional security to manage the risks posed by Beijing

British PM Theresa May arrived in India on her first bilateral visit outside Europe to reinvigorate India-United Kingdom strategic partnership post BREXIT

The revenue from the Central Goods and Services Tax remains significantly below the target of Rs 6 trillion.

The Finance Minister announced allocations for various sectors in the Budget. But these are a regular feature of every Budget. What was different in this Budget? Almost nothing except that there has been fiscal consolidation. Obviously, it is not going to satisfy the common man, farmers, industry or foreign investors.

The Modi Government's first real annual Budget is perhaps its most important test after flunking the Delhi Assembly examination. While businessmen will be watching it to gauge the intentions and determination of the Government to create a pro-business atmosphere, it will be equally eagerly watched by the armed forces community for its modernisation targets.

Structural issues like partial utilisation of allocated funds, slow implementation of projects, and short-staffing pose a major challenge to the successful implementation of the budget

The Finance Minister has chosen to walk the conservative path, hoping to stimulate investment and growth through small half-measures. Expect high rates of inflation in FY 13 and greater pressure on the fiscal deficit despite white paper on black money.

This was a budget without many surprises. Maybe we have evolved to being an economy, in which the budget is a mundane, technical exercise, of interest to economists and accountants, but of little immediate consequence for those who live in the real world.

While the coverage of Budgets in the media and research reports are mainly limited to high interest items like income-tax, sales tax, excise, inflation etc., the "Part A" of the budget, which is an indicator of government intention and priority, remains relatively under explored.

Most participants at an ORF conference on urban development and creation of 100 smart cities in India felt that creation of smart cities is an extremely challenging exercise and for this, careful planning and effective project implementation are required.

This brief tackles the challenge of mobilising India’s higher education system to build the workforce for India’s ambitious chip manufacturing vision. It argues that the challenge must be addressed by the manufacturers, the states in which they are located, the neighbouring states, and the country, considering the expanding global marketplace for such a workforce. Utilising a word-map to engineer plausible solutions, the brief offers pathways

The creation of a competent national indicator framework will be central to the tracking — and eventual attainment — of India’s sustainable development goals. Through an analytical study of India’s past efforts relating to the MDGs and its initial preparations for the SDGs, this paper identifies specific hurdles that must be overcome in building a health indicator architecture that is both globally relevant and aligned with national

In terms of the existing institutional mechanisms, South Korea somewhat lags behind Japan, but one should remember that India-South Korea partnership is only about 40 years old and during this rather short period, what the two countries have achieved is quite remarkable.

The seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims “to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030. Such quest for energy security is echoed in subregional strategies as well; in the BIMSTEC region, it is a key priority. As the gap in electricity supply and demand increases in the countries of BIMSTEC, trans-border cooperation can help diversify energy sources, reduce the average cos

Climate change, conflicts, and various crises have exposed the vulnerabilities of global food systems. Acute food insecurity and undernourishment have become more prevalent in recent times, and the imperative is to build more robust and sustainable food systems that do not adversely impact the environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has only underlined the importance of food security in times of crises. This brief explores the promise of clima

Recent global events have underscored the importance of economic integration even as they have exposed the fragility of global value chains (GVCs). The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, highlighted the systemic risks to the functioning of GVCs. This brief explores the factors that impact the creation of production networks and recommends key methods to make GVCs more stable and sustainable to withstand potential shocks.

‘Us vs. Them’ narratives fuel conflicts and make them thrive. This brief examines the role of such narratives in impeding the path to peace and stability in Kashmir, especially in the current era of so-called ‘new militancy’ that is aided by social media. This brief explores how India should build a broad, collective identity in Kashmir—one that will supersede radicalism and a desire for secession. It outlines a history of past and curr

As the Covid-19 pandemic began to unfold in February, India’s dependence on Chinese inputs for the production of pharmaceutical products was debated intensely. This special report argues that the narrow discussion has fallen short in capturing India’s crucial role in global health as a provider of health-related goods to many developing countries. The report analyses trade data on over 200 categories of health-related goods, and provides quan

India and the United States (US) galvanised their defence relationship with the signing of the 'New Framework for India-US Defence Relations' in June 2005. Subsequent years saw further developments, among them the US Congress decision to accord India the status of ‘Major Defence Partner’ (MDP) in 2016. In recent years, the four ‘foundational agreements’ signed between the two countries have expanded their spectrum of defence coope