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Experts identified trade in hydrocarbons and uranium as the two important cogs of bilateral energy cooperation

In an important advance in the bilateral security cooperation between Delhi and Yangon, two naval vessels from Myanmar have arrived in Vishakhapatnam for joint exercises. While India's naval diplomacy with Myanmar is headed in the right direction, Delhi needs to step up the pace of cooperation.

At the Manmohan Singh-Nawaz Sharif meeting, it was agreed that the incidents across the LoC would be taken up by the DGMOs of both the countries. This seems to be the only worthwhile outcome of the meeting, though it remains to be seen how effective this arrangement would be. Sharif also assured the Indian Prime Minister that the most favoured nation protocol would be extended to India in order to facilitate trade between the two countries.

Ceasefire along LoC has not really solved any of India's problems.There exists a dire need to look beyond the existing CBMs of providing advance warnings for military exercises and ballistic missile tests which are relatively "high level" issues.

The insistent demands today that India adopt an inflexible and hard policy will only undermine the larger strategy. Were an alternative strategy and tactical mix on offer, it would be something worth considering, but the only items on the menu offered by the chicken hawks are jingoistic slogans and war cries.

The Kartarpur corridor, inaugurated in November 2019, is regarded as an important peacemaking measure between India and Pakistan. Various international organisations have welcomed the corridor, including the United Nations. Drawing from history, this brief argues that opening a pilgrimage corridor or renovating a place of worship, and other such attempts to bridge India and Pakistan using religious sentiment inevitably fail to address the deep-ro

The Paper makes a critical appraisal of India-Pakistan relations and explores their future trajectory in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attack of November 2008. The rising tide of terrorism within Pakistan after 9/11 and the importance of South Asia to the United States made Pakistan selectively withdraw support to terrorist groups. This, in turn, helped India's efforts to initiate the Composite Dialogue in 2004.

It is important for both countries to think outside the box and create constituencies of peace outside New Delhi and Islamabad, especially in the two Punjabs. While Punjabi tarka can not be the core of India-Pakistan relations, it must not be overlooked either.

India-Russia defence relations have already become mature which normally comes in alliance politics like anglo-saxon model or very special relationship like US-Israel. Very few parallel example can be found in case of other countries like the ones that Russia has developed with India.

Despite the kind words, emergency cooperation, and the defence relationship, there are longer term difficulties in the India-Russia relationship that are unlikely to be easy to resolve.

Economic ties were the cornerstone of Indo-Soviet relations. Even the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, which was essentially of a political-security nature, stressed upon “economic, scientific and technological cooperation”.[1] Although the India-Russia ties in general survived the upheavals of the early 1990s, economic relations began to cool in the post-Soviet period. Despite many ambitious targets set during various

The India-Russia military technical relationship has withstood the test of time. Despite strains since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relationship has remained highly critical both in terms of the level of trust between the two states and the imperatives of sustaining a military-technical relationship to counter the growth of Chinese power. A more synergistic military-technical is possible, and Moscow and New Delhi must explore ways to con

India’s relations with Russia have made little progress since they got stalled following the end of the Cold War. Today their bilateral ties—officially labelled “special and privileged strategic partnership”—focus heavily on defence cooperation, while the economic partnership remains listless even as the respective relations of the two with other states have grown rapidly. This paper analyses the ebbs and flows of India-Russia relations

India's Look East policy, launched in 1991, has made steady progress in widening its economic and strategic reach to Japan and South Korea. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to South Korea should be seen in the expanding context of India's Look East Policy.

Do the Modi government think that the worse was over for its bilateral ties with Sri Lanka, first with the exit of the LTTE, and later the electoral defeat of President Rajapaksa? If so, PM Wickremesinghe's interview should be seen as a lesson in the 'right direction' - though not necessarily on the 'right lines' as India would have wished.

India’s growing strategic importance as a balance to China in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as convergence between New Delhi and Washington DC about Beijing’s aggressive stance on emerging technology, have resulted in warming relations between the United States (US) and India. Indeed, in recent years, there has been a spur of cooperative agreements between the two sides on domains such as defence technology, 5G, and semiconductors. This br

The strong reactions to the non-inclusion of American firms in a major Indian military procurement tender, in the backdrop of proposed aggressive weapons sales by the Americans, paint a contrasting picture that could influence India-US defence relations in the near future. This Paper looks at the entire gambit of Indo-US Defence relations and, based on past experiences and ongoing deliberations, the challenges ahead.

This brief explores the factors informing the Donald Trump administration’s continuity on the US’s defence trade with India. The administration’s impetus to maintain US-India defence trade stems from factors like the ‘reverse revolving door’ policy that has increased the influence of US defence contractors, its ‘Buy American’ policy to boost US arms exports, and defence trade being construed as an incremental means to correct the bi

Bilateral ties between India and the United States have strengthened remarkably in recent years and nowhere has cooperation been greater than in the area of security. Despite certain divergences, both countries realise that there is a need for cooperation in combating terrorism to keep their homelands safe from extremist threats. Ever since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014, India has invested political capital in improving

The dynamics of the India-US relationship under the Trump administration bear significantly on the two countries’ security partnership. This relationship, however, is being challenged by President Donald Trump’s increasingly apparent transactional worldview. As witnessed in the case of the United States’ relations with its allies and partners across Europe and Asia, Trump has often linked US defence commitments and partner nations’ securi

As political India wakes up to a more complex security environment enveloping it, Delhi needs to demonstrate greater pragmatism in enhancing cooperation with Washington.

iCET will be led by the US National Science Foundation and Department of Science and Technology of India. Among its goals is an ambition to foster a partnership, joining six of India's technology innovation hubs to support at least 25 joint research projects with the US in areas such as AI and data science, and apply its gains to agriculture, health and climate, etc.

The dilemma facing ASEAN countries - economic benefits vs strategic balancing as they engage China - is nothing unique. This provides the context for India and the US to channel their efforts in establishing a firm partnership for enabling a stable Asian order.

Indians in large numbers are already working in the US in various spheres of technology. If the emerging Indian talent pool can be transferred to critical innovation projects under a specially created Indo-US Special Purpose Vehicle, it could go a long way in maximizing welfare in both societies.

The ties between Delhi and Washington seemed headed for the doldrums due to a policy error on Biden’s part, but the US reversal is a good sign for both nations

The next Indian government will have to reorder policies and priorities, without bureaucratic hindrance and with procedures that are streamlined and not subject to whimsical changes. The next decade is crucial for our young population; rights oriented populism will have to cede to growth and production oriented policies to attract investment.

In the last four decades, India’s geo-political identity has evolved from being the leader of the non-aligned movement - a representative of the developing poor nations of the world to becoming a member of the G-20, the world’s leading industrialized and emerging economies. The change has also been evident on its evolving position on climate change as it became a signatory to The Paris accord. However, the paper argues that key tenets of self

India may exceed the growth forecasts of the IMF and the World Bank but the task ahead is not easy, especially with 10 million jobs to be created, so much cleaning up to be done and so many disasters to be tackled.

Social activist Arvind Kejriwal announced on October 2 in New Delhi with lots of fanfare that a new political party has come into existence whose name would be decided later, but it has started functioning.

On June 14, the British newspaper, Times London, broke the story about issuing of British travel documents, on the recommendation of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in 2014,

To achieve all that Modi has promised, he needs a peaceful periphery and a stable world order. At home, Modi may be master of all he surveys, but abroad, there are other players, some positive, others inimical. There are issues, such as US-Iran tensions, US-China trade spat, rising climate of protectionism and Brexit, that he cannot control.

Wednesday, November 20, was a black day in the contemporary history of Indian media. It was on this day news about the owner-cum-Editor-in Chief of an investigative weekly - Tehelka - Tarun Tejpal's alleged sexual assault on one of his own colleagues in a lift of a five-star hotel in Goa,

The monsoon session of Parliament began on Monday August 1, 2011. The eigth session of the 15th Lok Sabha (Lower House) and the 223rd session of Rajya Sabha (Upper House) are expected to produce more legislative business compared to the performance of the two Houses in the recent past.

In next four months, there is going to be a new government in New Delhi. The upcoming general elections are likely to be one of the most bitter and hard-fought battles in country's over six decades of Independence.

Are national parties on decline? Can a non-Congress, non-BJP coalition come to power in New Delhi after the next General Elections due in 2014? Or even before, if a political crisis or coalition-accident leads to mid-term elections?

The civil aviation sector can create lots of jobs — India can expect four million people to be employed by the industry, by 2030.

This brief examines India’s defence procurement record for fundamental platforms, weapons, and systems, as well as planned acquisitions and projects under development. The new Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP 2020) assumes greater salience not only against India’s chequered acquisition history, but also the increasingly constrained resource environment and deteriorating regional security scenario. The brief offers a set of broad recommendat

Mismanagement at home and increasing protectionism abroad have ensured that India has dropped out of that group of fast-growing emerging economies

A host of issues that were crucial to the interests of developing countries, and to a large extent India's, were off the table at Bali. For instance, rich country farm subsidies. The US has still not budged from its position vis-à-vis farm subsidies, despite years of push from poor countries, including in Africa.

There is a lot riding on the relationship for both New Delhi and Canberra given that both have a inherent interest in balancing China and ensuring a stable Indo-Pacific strategic order.

The chief economist of BP Group, Mr. Christof Ruehl, says the industrial sector is less flexible in India than in China and that this could drive the energy demand in 2012-2035 period. He also predicts that China's industrialisation will continue even if it changes its economy structure.

Indian investments in Africa, from both public and private sector entities, have increased considerably in the last decade. Yet despite the growing importance of Indian investments in Africa, only a few empirical studies have been carried out on the subject. This paper undertakes a disaggregated analysis of Indian foreign direct investment outflows to Africa from 2008 to 2016, and presents three main findings. First, it confirms earlier analyses

Observer Research Foundation, with support from the Ministry of External Affairs, hosted the Indian Ocean Dialogue 2014. The event witnessed participation of delegates from the far corners of the Indian Ocean and beyond, capturing the vastness and diversity of the region.

Contemporary seabed warfare in Europe should be viewed as a warning for Indian Ocean littoral states, especially sophisticated regional maritime powers such as India and Australia. The Ukraine–Russia conflict has brought seabed warfare to the fore, as seabed critical infrastructure is once again the target of international conflict. This brief surveys European seabed warfare developments since 2021, how various European actors are responding, a

The Gorkhas, a Nepali military community, have long been recruited by the Indian Army into its Gorkha regiments. Gorkha youth are keen to join the Indian Army since its perks and payments are superior to those of the Nepali Army. However, India's new short-term military enlistment scheme, Agnipath, could alter this association. This brief discusses the impacts of the Agnipath scheme on military labour migration from Nepal to India, and on

This paper examines India’s role, and stakes, in the so-called ‘Arctic Paradox’: As the Arctic region witnesses an unprecedented rate of ice-melt because of global warming, new routes are being opened, paving the way for untapped hydrocarbon and mineral resources to be exploited. While India has been active in the Arctic for over ten years, it has not fully made use of its Observer status, and it must give new energy to its activities in th

In the face of geopolitical turmoil and a Chinese exit, India must negotiate its Indo-Pacific trade ties with caution

India has a role to play in global climate diplomacy, with its large population, fast-growing economy, and vulnerabilities to the consequences of climate change. Utilising a review of existing literature, this brief evaluates the country’s involvement in international climate forums in the past decade, its negotiation strategies and policy coherence, and their effectiveness. It finds that India’s strategy for climate diplomacy has aimed for a

The November 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai the commercial capital of an economically resurgent India?left a deep and indelible impact on the Indian security psyche. The attacks exposed the lackadaisical attitude of the Government, at both the Central and state level, towards coastal security and the sheer illpreparedness of the country to combat such terror threats from the seas.