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The govt’s budget needs to expand by at least one-fourth to accommodate the necessary capital spend.

In the conventional escalation along the LAC, India cannot afford to ignore China’s expanding nuclear arsenal

Syria and Iraq are no longer just a do-and-kill struggle being enacted by extreme radical Islamists in their brutal search for a Caliphate. The Big Boys - US and Russia -- are now out in the open, the gloves are off and mind games are now being played.

The Bay of Bengal—home to a number of major ports that are lifelines for the economies and populations in India’s east coast that depend on them—is highly prone to extreme weather events. This brief examines the disaster-resilience of three of the ports on the Bay of Bengal: the ports of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The brief describes the destruction wrought on these ports

An urgent warning comes from a Harvard University study (bit.ly/3dthqiv), which establishes a correlation between long-term exposure to air pollution and Covid-19 mortality. The study finds that people living in polluted cities are more likely to have compromised respiratory, cardiac and other systems — and, therefore, are more vulnerable to Covid-19.

Rather than allowing events to drift towards a political or even military showdown, Maldivian President Mohammed "Anni" Nasheed has shown great fidelity to democratic principles in a country where none existed before him by stepping down from office with grace and poise.

The political landscape of Europe is steadily changing, and the sheen of Right-wing populism seems here to stay.

One can see the problem of illicit financial flow in a narrow view in terms of loss of tax revenue, but the more often missed out perspective is that these illicit flows create imbalances in the global economy that upset the efficiency of capital. Illicit financial flows cannot be curtailed without the collaborative effort of both developing as well as developed countries

The Brazilian economy is in a new period of transition. Its challenges today are of tax incentives in order to steer foreign investments towards the domestic shores and curbing rising inequality and urban-rural divide.

Tamil Nadu has a history of Dalit-centric violence, which has erupted independently in the southern districts, and also the western Dharmapuri belt, where Naxalites have thrived and revived from time to time.

The year 2022 saw the global economic outlook deteriorate amidst high inflation, fiscal tightening, and supply chain uncertainties arising from both the Russia-Ukraine war and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), after expanding by some 5 percent in 2021, contracted in the first half of 2022. This brief makes a case for gender lens investing (GLI) as a means to boost women’s participation in economic act

Both India and China seem to be fixated on a "status quo plus" option, in that each side wants something more than the current LAC. Clearly, much more work needs to be done. For the moment, incremental progress is better than no progress at all.

Is the United States in the process of creating a brand new Muslim bloc? If that be the case, it would know that the execution of the plan necessarily involves the cessation of Kosovo from Serbia in the name of "Self-Determination". This, Russia will not allow at any cost. Belgrade is Moscow's Slav ally. And, in a complex way, the Albanian-Serb and the Washington-Moscow stand-off links up with the global scramble for energy source

India-Israel ties are on course for further expansion under Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu, who have developed the personal chemistry needed to take it forward

The Communist Party of India (Maoist), which came into existence on September 21,2004, through the merger of the Maoist Communist Centre of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist--People's War ) ,

Since the toppling of the Taliban government in 2001, India and Afghanistan have witnessed a significant strengthening of their bilateral ties. As Afghanistan's stability is important for India's own, New Delhi has readily supported the growth of democracy in its neighbour, battered as it is by many years of conflict and instability. This paper maps out the nature of India's relationship with Afghanistan, focusing on the two nations' economic, po

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of healthcare systems and strained economies across the globe. India and countries in Africa have emerged as hotspots due to the dual burden of large populations and weak health infrastructure. This lack of infrastructure, coupled with decreasing investments in healthcare over the years, has left their societies and governments underprepared and potentially overwhelmed by COVID-19. As developing reg

Despite differences that remain, there is clear evidence of growing strategic convergence by both countries in the security realm.

India and Canada’s relationship is yet to develop to its full potential. This paper examines the ideological and strategic divergences between India and Canada that have shaped their bilateral engagement over the years. It argues how diaspora politics and the presence of Khalistan sympathisers in Canada has affected New Delhi’s interest in seeking a broader relationship with Ottawa. The paper points to the potential of economic relations that

Africa has emerged as a favoured investment destination on account of the high rate of growth experienced by many African countries and discovery of oil.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, India established official ties with the five former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; so did China. In recent years, both India and China have come up with different strategies to strengthen their respective ties with these resource-rich economies, collectively called the Central Asian Republics (CARs). China’s strategy is the ambitious Belt and Roa

The Doklam crisis of 2017 illustrates the increasing tension in India and China’s nuclear relationship. There are elements of stability and instability in such relationship, and this brief examines them. Stability, on one hand, is derived from a history of military and political restraint, ongoing institutionalised negotiations, and growing economic relations. However, the continuing border dispute and disagreement on a non-demarcated Line of A

This paper considers and explains the shifts and consistencies in India’s engagement with structures of global trade governance beginning from the Uruguay round of trade negotiations in late 1980s. It makes three major arguments. First, that although India has participated actively in global trade negotiations since the establishment of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) it was only under the present-day trade governance institut

India needs to do a more convincing job as a beneficial strategic partner of ASEAN by boosting its domestic economic reforms agenda, enhancing regional connectivity, and increasing its presence in regional institutions. ASEAN too should be more specific in its expectations from New Delhi.

Over the years, sanctions have emerged as a preferred foreign-policy tool for many States, especially in the West. Sanctions serve a number of purposes, including the application of economic and political pressure on specific governments with a view to change their stance on a particular issue. International organisations, throughout the 20th century, used sanctions to impose their positions. The League of Nations first imposed sanctions in 1921

A cyber partnership can be critical for India to meet its immediate goals in securing its cyber infrastructure and expanding opportunities for the country’s tech sector.

Common values and shared concerns provide a natural corollary for Indo-Israeli cooperation, according to experts. Highlighting the various avenues for cooperation, they especially pointed out defence and agriculture sector.

On the strategic side of things, Japan's economic cooperation with India is also a hedge against a rising China which is a direct threat to Japan as also India, if to a lesser extent.

Indo-Japanese relations have witnessed a paradigm shift since 2000 when both countries launched a global partnership in order to address a range of issues affecting regional and global peace and prosperity. Systematic efforts made by the leaders of both countries since then have strengthened their partnership. Until very recently, their interactions were mainly limited to economic issues, but today they cover a wide spectrum of subjects including

India and South America have barely managed to maintain minimal bilateral ties for the last several decades. Absent strong ties in geography, what India and South America have instead is a shared post-colonial history. Colonised by European powers for several centuries, both began their journey as independent countries under conditions of underdevelopment and having inexperienced polities with a limited foreign policy agenda. Today, it is not onl

The deepening of India-New Zealand after a lull in relations is important both in bilateral terms and also within the wider regional context.

North Korea's nuclear weapons capability and cooperative ties with Pakistan is a cause of concern for India. Amid reports of North Korea-Myanmar missile nexus, it becomes important for India not only to take stock of the situation but also to engage more with this reticent state.

As long as both sides focus on reassuring their domestic constituencies rather than contradicting each other’s version of events, the chances of conflict are paradoxically lower. The problem is that in this crisis like any other, facts inevitably intrude.

While there is common ground between India and the US in Afghanistan, the intricacies are complex, and for now only provide an ecosystem for New Delhi and Washington to work together on containing the Taliban.

Anti-Satellite (ASAT) technology continues to proliferate in terms of both weapons and dual-use technologies. The three major powers-the US, Russia and China-have proven ASAT capabilities while several other space-faring nations are working on securing such assets. This Paper assesses the implications for India. It argues that ASAT technology will give the country significant asymmetric capabilities and prove to be an effective deterrent against

Proactively taking advantage of China’s involvement in the Taiwan Strait to fight China in multiple theatres is something Indian military planners should think about.

The financial crisis across the globe and the ensuing responses by nations and non-state actors has dominated both public consciousness and political debate in the recent past. The discussion on suitable stimulus packages, the causes for the financial disorder and future restructuring of the financial systems has often been dominated by the rhetoric of specific constituencies serving individual interests even as it loses sight of the substantive

Worsening climate change will have impacts on global politics, creating new vulnerabilities as well as opportunities. India, given its emerging power status and high vulnerability to climate impacts, holds a key position in global climate action. This brief looks at the ways in which India has used climate policies to gain leverage. India has sought to incorporate the geostrategic uses of climate change into a wider shift in its foreign policy, i

Sri Lanka¿s new Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, has indicated the importance, and relevance of India to the Sri Lankan context, by visiting New Delhi within days of his being sworn in. His visit to India even before the conclusion of the Indian electoral exercise was testimony to the mood in Colombo for increasing New Delhi¿s role and involvement in the Sri Lanka peace process.

India has decided to adopt a wait and watch approach to the ongoing negotiations that aim to revive the trans-Afghan gas Pipeline (TAP) project. The proposed US$ 2.5 billion gas pipeline project is expected to transfer of 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas

India and the United States (US) have been cooperating in the health sector since the late 1960s. The cooperation has intensified in the past decade, riding on institutional structures established following the launch of the US-India Health Initiative in 2010. It has seen further expansion since the COVID-19 pandemic, and today covers a wide range of areas including disease prevention and combating infectious diseases, maternal and child

This primer offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of the India-United Kingdom (UK) bilateral relationship. It describes India-UK cooperation in the key policy areas of trade and investment, security and defence, technology and innovation, and migration and people-to-people ties. The paper also explores the divergences and tensions in this multifaceted partnership while forecasting a bright future for the bilateral.

Johnson needs to get Brexit done, sign trade pacts

Ignoring Chinese pressures, if both India and Vietnam stand firm, they could force Beijing to moderate its expansionist claims on the South China Sea and adopt a more conciliatory stance on other regional matters.

riangular cooperation is a growing trend in India’s global engagement. The term refers to development cooperation in which traditional aid donors work together with Southern partners to address challenges in developing countries. Largely absent from this type of cooperation in the past, India has gradually become a more visible partner. The current government’s endorsement of triangular cooperation in joint statements with key partners, as we

India has emerged as the focal point of global attention as the search for a new balance of power in the Indo-Pacific gathers steam.

India has asked scholars and experts from BRICS nations, attendng the Academic Forum meeting, to offer solutions and new ideas to meet global challenges.

India is on its way to becoming “the Saudi Arabia of data”. This brief argues that India enjoys unmatched advantages of demography, economy, and geography and could be a hub of the submarine cable network that would facilitate the transport of data across the Indian Ocean. India’s public and private sectors should leverage these advantages to push the country to the centrestage of connectivity across the region and beyond. India’s