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India has assured Maldives to extend all technical expertise to resolve the current water crisis. India pressed the button after Maldivian Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon called counterpart Sushma Swaraj soon after the seriousness of the crisis was known.

If the COVID19 situation does not reverse and dramatically so over a short term, India may have to redouble its current efforts and also increase supplies.

It is true that former President Nasheed and his party is hurt that India did not act as it may have anticipated. But the party may have to look inward to as to what might have gone wrong, particularly in terms of assessments of the emerging situation.

That the Maldivian Government of President Mohammed 'Anni' Nasheed has taken the economic reforms process seriously, risking its electoral future, has been known for some time now.

The unresolved India-China border dispute brings China closer to the Indian Ocean in every political and geo-strategic calculation of nations like Maldives and Sri Lanka, even though they are not as close to both the 'Asian giants' as the rest of India's South Asian neighbours.

In Maldives, the development following former President Nasheed seeking refuge in Indian Embassy after an arrest warrant from a local court has raised a number of issues -- legal, political and diplomatic. Presidential polls are due in the country in September this year.

India has been understanding of the Maldivian government’s new policy, but it expects the island nation to respect Indian sensitivities and equally uphold its commitment to bilateral ties

Under-nourished women, in all likelihood, became under-nourished mothers with a greater chance of giving birth to low birth-weight babies, perpetuating this cycle

Birds provide multiple benefits to the world’s ecosystems. In recent years, experts have raised the alarm about deteriorating bird populations, with some species becoming extinct and others threatened to dangerous levels. This decline in avian populations is primarily attributed to urbanisation. Concerted efforts are required to conserve birds and their habitats in cities. The Government of India, state governments, urban local bodies, non-gove

Both sides need to carefully manage this issue to avoid damaging the wider relationship.

Today, world powers are debating a regime to regulate outer Space activities. India cannot let itself be left out of any Space regime as happened over nuclear weapons. In order to be heard in the discussions of any new rule-making effort, India needs to demonstrate its capabilities in Space research and technology, something that the Mangalyaan amply did.

As the power balances of the 21st century shift, Indo-US defence partnership will not be solely about defence commerce. Instead this vital partnership flows from geopolitical interests. To sustain the momentum, both countries should undertake proactive measures to resolve the complex policy challenges.

The presence of almost nine million Indian nationals in the Gulf region makes India a key source of human capital for the six GCC nations. The majority of these Indians are blue-collar workers engaged in low-paying jobs. As countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) move up the technology ladder, they are increasingly seeking workers with specific, certified skills. This report outlines a pilot project for the mapping, harmonisation and accred

Maritime Asia is at a crossroad. Growing military activity, and rising non-traditional challenges in the littorals threaten the health of the oceans and the people who depend on them. Asia’s leading maritime powers must engage in a development alliance that can help deliver security and sustainable growth. This brief evaluates the prospects for a partnership between India, South Korea, and ASEAN in the areas of ocean governance, maritime connec

India’s geography lends itself favourably to the cultivation and expansion of maritime ties. Yet, for much of the country’s contemporary history, the country has overlooked these opportunities. As the world reengages with its vast ocean spaces, India too, has become more willing and capable of participating in the maritime domain. This paper outlines the evolution of the country’s maritime outlook as it shifts its largely continental-orient

The Indo-Pacific, often regarded as the ‘maritime underbelly’ of Asia, has emerged as the world’s economic “centre of gravity”. The home of vast geo-economic opportunities, and facing manifold security challenges at the same time, this maritime domain has attracted the keen attention of global powers in recent years. This births prospects for multilateral collaborations in maritime security, and justifies the significance of a �

In recent years, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) region have emerged as vital security and developmental partners in the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—thereby gaining prominence in India’s foreign policy priorities. This paper examines India’s bilateral and multilateral engagement with the SIDS of the SWIO region, and argues that India should consider the concerns of the

What’s on the agenda when Trump’s secretary of defense lands in India?

With Maldives veering towards China, Mauritius is emerging as a decisive factor in ensuring India’s dominance in the Indian Ocean Region

The growing US-India defence relationship would have been unthinkable in the past days of sanctions. Whether communication between the two countries' systems can be improved or not will be a key determinant in how far, and fast, it can go.

Goals 4 and 5 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focused a great deal on maternal and child health, which has now been carried forward to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While India made significant strides in reducing maternal and child mortality, the country did not succeed in achieving its health goals. This paper makes an assessment of the current state of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child health (RMNC

The South Asian region lacks a common plan of action to deal with the impact of climate change despite possessing common ecological habitat. Africa and Latin America fare a tad better on this front. India should take the lead to create elaborate policies for joint management of common resources and ecological preservation.

Combined with the Maldives government's demonstrated preparations for a face-off, the tone and tenor of the Opposition's preparations for the May Day rally, and their call for the civil society to chip in, indicate a possible repeat of the 'December 23 movement' protests (2011-12) that led to President Nasheed's exit.

Living conditions in fast-growing rural areas across India are deteriorating due not only to the impact of urbanisation but the lack of capacity of the local governments to manage such transitions. This brief makes the case for changing the administration status of such areas from “rural” to “urban”, establishing urban governance mechanisms therein, and making them resilient. For identification of such areas, the state government’s opin

While a combination of statutory regulation and self regulation is at work in the UK, India will find it very hard to improve the standard of its media industry through self regulation alone, according to panellists at a conference on "Perspectives on Media Regulation: Lessons from the UK".

India ranks 10th out of 46 top medical tourism destinations in the world, owing to its affordable healthcare facilities and capabilities in specialised treatment. This paper is focused on medical tourism as a pillar of India-Bangladesh partnership. Notable numbers of Bangladeshis seeking medical care visit India annually; of the typical destinations of these “medical tourists”, Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is among the most preferred.

The Indian railway is the largest passenger rail system in the world, yet it makes up just about 13% of India's transport sector

The Indian Ocean has seen a steady increase in the size and number of Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) or mega-ships equal to or in excess of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) from 2014 onwards. This has created economic and infrastructural pressures on Indian Ocean littorals. With mega-ships growing on the Asia-Europe route, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) will need to create flexibility in landside maritime infrastructure and hin

After 70 years of being constrained, following its defeat in two world wars and being partitioned into East and West Germany, a unified Germany is today poised to be a great power again, having overcome its historical legacy of militarism, and the Holocaust. And German Chancellor Merkel's visit underlines the changed dynamics of the relationship between India and Germany.

It may be too early to call it a ‘Middle Eastern Quad’, but the United States, India, Israel and UAE are in for greater cooperation and coordination in the region

India and Bangladesh’s relationship has been growing steadily over the past few years, especially since Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power in January 2009. In 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the relationship as being in its “golden era (Sonali Adhyay).” Indeed, Bangladesh is at the centre of India’s flagship ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policies, and has been crucial in ensuring peace

The Indian Ocean region is yet again witnessing another phase of strategic rivalries, with global powers including the US, China and India competing to create their own zones of power. The Indian Ocean has historical signicance as a key corridor for both trade and energy resources from the oil-rich Middle East to the big economies of East Asia. The nature of challenges facing the region are evolving. Economically, the Indian Ocean has become more

At a time when India flaunts its 'arms card' to woo global arms suppliers, its attitude towards strengthening its R&D base has been pathetic. Indian spending on R&D (less than $2 bn) is one-fiftieth of that of the US ($96 bn) and one-fifteenth that of China ($32 bn).

Indian decision makers face two hard choices: either reduce the size of the Indian Army or significantly expand the defence budget.

On November 26, 2008, 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai undid in less than 60 hours what governments of two sovereign nations had been struggling for over four years to achieve-peace and stability in the region. These terrorists were from Pakistan, recruited, trained and armed by Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), a terrorist group with visible presence across the country.

New Delhi’s approach to Southeast Asia within the wider Indo-Pacific region is strategically sound but has limits.

On March 9, 2004, Pakistan test fired solid propellant Shaheen-2 ballistic missile, which is supposed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead upto a range of 2500 kilometers. The aim of the test as stated officially was ¿to ensure the reach of the missile was sufficient to deter aggression and prevent military coercion¿. The speculations -or unstated aims- of the test were

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

This brief explores four scenarios of climate action for India using a systems dynamics model called the Energy Policy Simulator for India. It investigates policy trade-offs and co-benefits and estimates the costs of climate action. It finds that deep decarbonisation in the Indian economy is possible while also boosting jobs and GDP and avoiding millions of premature deaths due to harmful air pollution. The low-carbon transition will require mass

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions for climate action emphasises the creation of an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to three billion tonnes by 2030 by increasing the country’s green cover. At the same time, however, harmful human activities such as legal and illegal logging, as well as deforestation for development purposes seem poised to negate the impact of these climate-action plans. While steps are being taken to prevent t

This Special Report reviews the path towards the commercialisation of coal mining in India, in the context of the auctions of blocks held in the last two years, and makes an assessment of the challenges facing the sector in view of global events. It builds on discussions raised during ORF's roundtables on the subject.

Both countries are likely to focus on trade and economic issues in Mamallapuram, but the overhang of the growing political dissonance in their relationship cannot and should not be discounted.

Top leaderships in both countries are cognizant of the challenges that bedevil their relationship.

New Delhi is going through the motions of pretending everything is normal.

To foster India-Nepal relations, the focus should be on the 3Cs -- connectivity, communication and communities - according to Sujeev Shakya, Founder CEO, Beed Management and Chair of the Nepal Economic Forum.