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The future of Indian cities will be good if planning starts now in all earnest. Every big city in the world has gone through the phases that Indian cities are currently experiencing but each managed to come out of that stage and eschewed stark human deprivation, though many still have ghettos.

It seems that the distinctive workforce model that the sharing economy touts as vital to its existence may eventually be the reason for its downfall.

Modi and Obama need to focus less on India's near-term carbon emissions and find ways to boost its use of renewable energy like solar and wind. Such an approach will address Delhi's need to grow its economy and Washington's desire to lessen the weight of coal in India?s energy mix.

China, Japan and South Korea have a long way to go in their trilateral free trade agreement. The road to an agreement is going to be long and complex. However, how this trilateral venture is going to be viewed by the US is to be watched with care and interest.

Given the ground realities - where China's power exceeds ours by orders of magnitude - we need allies. That is where relationships with the US, Japan, ASEAN and Australia come in.

Prime Minister Modi has come to symbolise an aspirational India who has been chosen as "an agent of change rather than continuity." Experts think it is unfair to judge him in such a short time. His success depends on whether the rhetoric of the elections would translate into governance.

Modi's strategy to navigate the impossible trinity of US, China and Europe-Russia is clear. Engage with the US, Japan and Germany aggressively and integrate into their value chains. Keep expectations low but exchange lofty targets with the Chinese and the Russians.

For any nation, development of infrastructure is essential to ensure growth. India has lagged on this front for some time now and the Modi government plans to give a major push to infrastructure. The government is in the process of preparing an ambitious infrastructure programme for the next 10 years.

Dr. Manmohan Singh's recent successful visit to Japan and his sixth annual summit meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister formed one more significant milestone on the road to strengthening and consolidating India's partnership with Japan.

As Manmohan Singh meets Myanmar's President in the sidelines of the Bimstec summit, this will give an opportunity for the two leaders to further deepen bilateral ties. As part of the two neighbours growing relations, a border security pact is expected to be signed during Dr Singh's visit.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit, his sixth bilateral summit with the U.S. leader in nine years in office, will not be of great significance because the circumstances of what go into a successful summit do not exist. That has to do with the paralysis of governance in New Delhi, but equally the distemper that afflicts Washington.

To convert Modi's vision of more governance and less government into a quantifiable experience requires a change in the prevailing mindset of electronic governance as an exclusive issue of hardware and connectivity. The approach has to be reoriented towards intelligence, analytics, real-time data points, interlinked cross-tabulation and smart solutions.

Starting with the challenges faced by Indian petroleum sector in its hydrocarbon discoveries, the scenario remains to be unimpressive even after nine rounds of NELP bidding. Out of sedimentary basin area of 3.14 million km2 only 22 per cent has been well explored, while similar percentage is poorly explored.

Recent years have highlighted the global headwinds against China's increasingly aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Vulnerabilities associated with an overdependence on the country for several critical goods, including electronics, have exacerbated prevailing anti-China sentiments. This has provided the impetus for diversifying electronics supply chains, an opportunity India is well positioned to leverage. This brief assesses Ind

This paper examines the various constraints faced by India’s small and marginal farmers, which severely affect the productivity of their lands, and thus their incomes. These obstacles cover the gamut of farming activities, from production to storage, and accessing markets. A recent government survey has said that four of every ten of the country’s farmers disliked farming, and would prefer another occupation if given a choice. While the gover

Government agencies at the city, state and central level are paying greater attention to sustainable transport as the way forward for India’s mobility sector. However, for sustainability measures to have lasting outcomes in policy and practice, institutional reforms are urgently needed. The National Urban Transport Policy, which governs India’s urban mobility policymaking, was amended in 2014 to create city-specific, low-carbon mobility solut

It is easy to be cynical about the elections in Iran to choose a new president. After all, the elected president does not dominate Iran's complex political system. That privilege belongs to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This does necessarily mean the current elections are inconsequential.

Russia recently witnessed the re-election of its long-serving president. A constitutionally mandated term limit suggests this would be Vladimir Putin’s last presidential term. As Russia enters a period of power transition, it is likely that a number of political actors will become relevant during this phase. This brief looks at the groups that form the opposition—those operating within the formal institutions and the major players outside it�

While India’s malnutrition rates have improved over the recent years, the country is still home to the largest number of stunted and wasted children in the world. To combat the dismal state of nutrition in the country, the government launched the Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan (‘movement’) in 2017, a flagship mission that aims at a convergence mechanism for the country’s response to malnut

The Electric Vehicle (EV) segment in India has gathered momentum in recent years, but a mismatch in intent and action has resulted in limited on-ground adoption of EVs. However, the expected growth of the automobile sector (especially in the personal-mobility space), due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and people’s increased understanding of vehicular emissions, creates immense scope for the exponential growth of the EVs industry in India. Ess

Instead of restructuring its existing combat forces, the army is merely tinkering around with the problem by shaving off marginal costs.

Infrastructure investments are required to enable economic growth and provide the services required by a growing population. The infrastructure already available is threatened by climate change, damaging existing assets and reducing future productivity. Investment in new infrastructure has to increase to fill the gap; as this occurs, the operation and maintenance cost of infrastructure are also expected to rise. Furthermore, as resources are scar

This issue brief explores the prospects and problems for the new government in Afghanistan with respect to: the two new leaders and their respective positions; the Taliban; and the regional countries China, India, Iran and Pakistan.

As Rwanda commemorates 1994 genocide, now it has become a global example of successful post-conflict reconstruction. A talk at ORF by Rwandan High Commissioner Ernest Rwamucyo focussed on post-genocide Rwanda's unique story where ownership and innovative "home-grown solutions" helped re-construct the nation.

It is high time that enlightened Pakistanis realize that the real threat to the existence of the Pakistani state comes from their own army which has usurped authority due to debilitated political institutions and geo-political concerns of western powers.

This paper examines the pre-pandemic slowdown, and subsequent contraction, in Indian economy. Utilising an analysis of broad macroeconomic and sectoral fundamentals, the paper argues that a notable lack of consumption and investment demand had already persisted before the pandemic; COVID-19 heightened those trends. Henceforth, India’s economic revival will be crucially dependent on demand generation by direct government fiscal intervention. The

The historic election verdict offers Narendra Modi an unprecedented opportunity. A truly transformative election that was fought on the issues of leadership, economy and governance has raised unprecedented hope and expectations among ordinary Indians. This is a verdict for change and Modi represents the face of that change.

South Asia comprises of eight countries-Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Except for India and to an extent, Pakistan given our obsession with it, we know very little about other countries of South Asia.

Experts at the event opined that it is a win-win situation for India and Bangladesh to have a functional river, rail and road network.

As ASEAN, China and India already share a high volume of trade and have common borders, an integrated ACI (Asean, China, India) region might be able to contribute to a more balanced and resolute Asia, argues an expert.

Nearly 100 million people are said to have been lifted out of poverty in China since 2012, coinciding with President Xi Jinping's reign as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Indeed, closing the income gap is a stated goal of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and part of the CCP's objectives till 2035. As resentment of the rich has grown, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi has encouraged the wealthy to embrace austeri

The next round of bilateral summit entails a US presidential visit to India. Should Modi become Prime Minister, then he and his Govt would expect the visiting President to lend greater clarity than Ambassador Powell's meeting now would entail.

Covid crisis won’t affect India’s rise. Forego partisanship, bring in expertise.

This brief explores the work of the Bengali diplomat and academic Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya, whose book, The Making of Indian Foreign Policy (1970) is considered a classic in Indian scholarship in International Relations. It analyses Bandyopadhyaya’s distinctive contribution to IR theory, especially his attempt to craft a “hybrid” approach derived from Gandhi and Mao, on the one hand, and behavouralist systems theories, on the other. It

The Congress-led United Progessive Alliance government in its just released CMP has done the unexpected vis a vis power sector reforms. The Manmohan-Chidambram combine which was expected to resolve the nitty-gritty¿s of the Electricity Act 2003 has instead decided to review the entire Act itself.

Many people think Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity with his famous kite flying experiments in 1752, but electricity was not discovered all at once. After various developments world over, Italian scientist Alesandro Volta made a great discovery in 1800.

Sri Lanka is considering a power-sharing mechanism at the Centre, said Prof. G.L. Peiris, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister, while delivering the second R.K. Mishra Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.

Agriculture remains the primary sector of the Indian economy. While it accounts for merely 16 percent of the country’s GDP, approximately 43.9 percent of the population depends on it for their livelihood. In recent years, indebtedness, crop failures, non-remunerative prices and poor returns have led to agrarian distress in many parts of the country. The government has come up with various mechanisms to address these issues: insurance, direct tr

The Chinese say that their interests in the East China Sea are what bother them the most because of their proximity to the Chinese heartland. The South China Sea, they insist, is not a problem area of the same dimension. Beijing's unambiguous goal is to isolate Japan, divide the ASEAN and befuddle the United States.

Hybrid warfare is an emerging global challenge, with military and non-military elements. This has given rise to the need to develop national capabilities to combat amorphous adversaries by utilising intelligence, information, cyber, electronic, conventional, and unconventional warfare techniques. This paper discusses the nuances of hybrid warfare, explores the hybrid warfare capabilities of India’s key adversaries (Pakistan and China),

Pakistan seems ready to expand its counter-terrorism strategy. But such a break from the past needs time, and a sense of ownership. Patience, therefore, will yield greater long-term returns. So, repeated public admonishment by the US will serve to be only counter-productive.

The Indian President's presence at the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in World War II in Russia on May 9 is in part about extending New Delhi's solidarity with Moscow at a time when many Western leaders have decided not to show up in protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin's policy in Ukraine.

President Medvedev's recent visit to India (December 21-22) has contributed to retrieving some of the ground being lost in India-Russia ties. A perception has been growing that the relevance of Russia to India has declined in the context of the changed international situation,

The challenge for the US is to sell its ideas in a region which views Trump as a non-serious leader and Xi as seemingly visionary.

The prevalence of malnutrition—encompassing both undernutrition and overnutrition—is an important indicator of a country’s health. Those who are either undernourished or are obese underperform in various aspects of life, missing out on opportunities to become productive members of society. India is among those countries in the world with the highest recorded numbers of undernourished. As the country aspires to fulfil its economic and social

Advances in technology, the shifting sands of the global nuclear energy market, and the extant standards and practices surrounding the monitoring of radioactive materials raise important questions about the future of nuclear security. Technological advancements have enabled the retrieval of radioactive materials from unconventional sources and made fuel fabrication easier. The emergence of new players in the nuclear energy market also flags conce

The February 2017 order by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for fixing the price ceiling for cardiac stents—a device that normalises blood supply to the heart—brings to fore the old debate on the influence of business in healthcare in India. In view of the increasing number of catheterisation laboratories in the country, and the rise in the use of cardiac stents, this article discusses, inter alia:  (a) the role of price

On 1 January 2020, the Ministry of External Affairs announced the establishment under its wing of the New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies (NEST) division. This marked a welcome addition to the government’s organisational capacities in an era increasingly being characterised by the interplay of technology, trade, security and geopolitics. This brief outlines the global and domestic context that will surround the operations of the NEST divis

Long before Snowden, it was suggested that the best way forward was to abandon 'the Internet' and embrace multiple internets, essentially privatising networks. The splintering of the Internet is one possible consequence of viewing Internet rights through the prism of private property.

CyberSpace is a free-wheeling mind- Space at the cutting edge of innovation precisely because of the absence of sovereignty and artificial barriers. Declaring sovereignty here is as absurd as extending one's jurisdiction deep into the minds of others.