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In the past two years, India has been working not only to Look to its eastern neighbours but to Act with them, too. Indeed, the government's 'Act East Policy' has taken positive steps towards building closer relationships with India's partners. But how different has the policy been from its predecessor, the Look East Policy? This paper examines the motivations for launching the Act East Policy and what it has accomplished so far. It also describe

By declaring that his talks with Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri would produce nothing dramatic or drastic, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh might have robbed the event of the avoidable media hype, the like of which had attended on the ¿Agra summit¿ earlier. At the end of it, the two-day ministerial meeting in New Delhi was a cup that was not half-full. Nor was it half-empty. In turn, this indicated that the two Gover

It's easier to compare the Taksim Square protests in Turkey to an Arab Spring, or a supposed tale of religious dictatorship versus freethinking democracy. But what actually lies underneath is a nation going through a debate over several ideologies and multiple identities.

Two years after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the debates around whether the group remains intact or has become divided have surfaced once again. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Kabul in August 2021, there were speculations that the country could be going into a civil war or the Taliban would eventually come to a split. This brief analyses the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s resurgence in Kabul and weighs in o

Recent political developments suggest that the Taliban is taking measures to gain important political points while not committing to anything concrete. The US-Afghan rift has not only created confusion regarding the future of the country but also given the Taliban some breathing Space.

By all accounts, the new Taliban is more aggressive, well armed and trained, in collaboration with Al Qaeda and other terrorist elements, determined to take over, to begin with, southern Afghanistan, despite the presence of coalition forces.

The situation for most Afghans remains critical

Increased insurgent violence in Afghanistan since the start of the Taliban's 'spring offensive' in May has further deteriorated the country's state of security.

Relations between India and the Central Asia Republics (CARs) have matured over the past three decades, primarily in the areas of military technology, defence, counterterrorism, and economy, and culture. Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan and the resultant security, geostrategic, and geoeconomic challenges, India and the CARs must aim to strengthen their ties. This brief assesses the evolving situation in Afghanistan

In the midst of the chaotic withdrawal of the US-led forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban swept back to power in Kabul on 15 August 2021. Since then, the Taliban have repeatedly attempted to project a more moderate brand of governance. However, the Taliban leaders have yet to enunciate clear policies on issues such as women’s and girls’ access to education, employment, and political participation. Early indications nonetheless suggest that th

As the Obama administration debates the speed of its military withdrawal from Afghanistan between now and 2014, there is mounting pressure on all parties to find negotiated solutions.

The Nawaz Sharif government's offer of the olive branch to TTP seems more like an act of desperation than a serious attempt to bring about stability in the country. As the previous deals with militants have shown, the outcomes have favoured militants more than the governments.

Pakistan has not given up its dream of controlling Afghanistan. It gives Rawalpindi an incredible reach and influence in the region and a legitimacy at home which has been under severe strain since the Abbottabad raid. The Taliban office in Doha is the first step towards such a goal. In that sense, the Doha office is a breakthrough for Rawalpindi more than any one else.

The release of seven Afghan prisoners by Pakistan over the weekend has raised hopes, once again, for a formal dialogue between Kabul and the Taliban leaders under the protection of Pakistan.

Don't provoke China has been the mantra behind New Delhi's recent "go slow" strategy with Japan. At the very moment when many Asian countries are frightened by the prospect of China's non-peaceful rise and are looking to Indian leadership in constructing a stable Asian balance of power, Delhi seems trapped in strategic hesitation.

US President Barak Obama's visit to Myanmar late last year has opened the political space in the country for discussing amendments to the nation's Constitution. A day after speaking to Obama on 30 October,

The Indo-Afghanistan strategic partnership is also an important backup for the region because of uncertainties on account of the run upto the US Presidential elections in November 2012.

Curbing drunken driving requires that drivers, a small fraction of all travellers, be targeted. Most travellers are passengers.

As part of the 'Maritime Security Programme (MSP) which was launched by the then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash on 19th May 2006 at ORF Chennai, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), ORF Chennai Chapter conducted a day long seminar on "Tamil Nadu Coastal Development and Security: Challenges and Responses" on 5th May 2007.

The current education system in the schools run or funded/aided by the state government requires change.

The first industrial estate zones in India came up during the 1960s when R. Venkatraman and C. Subramanian were ministers under Chief Minister K. Kamaraj.

The proposed TAPI pipeline goes through Kandahar, enters Balochistan, passes through Multan reaching India at Fazilka, Punjab. Given the nature of Pakistan-India relations one would have little confidence about the ability or even the intention of Pakistan to ensure uninterrupted supplies.

The quad -- India, Australia, Japan, and the United States -- should take care to prevent the possible dangers in China's rise from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. It should use the wide menu of options for quadrilateral cooperation to bargain for diplomatic resolution of China's disputes with its neighbours.

Readers will recall the short history of corporate tax reductions under Modi 1.0.

As industries slowed to a near halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital economy received a boost—especially from consumers forced to rely on virtual means to meet their needs. Businesses turned to the virtual workspace, adopting new productivity tools to retain their workforce. This brief studies the case of Africa, where tech played a role in pandemic response, and e-commerce players reported increases in orders and custo

Reverberations of post-colonial themes of finding ‘voice’ fuse with the leapfrog of technology for cooperation in the emerging world on achieving sustainable development goals - a report from the Conference on Technology, Innovation and Society at Tangier in June 2019.

The world is facing a climate-change challenge that requires nothing short of atechnological revolution to address. Yet the current patterns of technology development anddiffusions are not transformative enough; nor are they happening at a pace, rapid enough.Actions at multiple levels engaging different actors are needed to reduce emissions whilemeeting the developmental needs of the global south. This paper summarises the mostinnovative ideas s

In his opening remarks Mr. Sunjoy Joshi, ORF Distinguished Fellow, said that pace of adoption & innovation was critical for mainstreaming climate friendly technologies

The emergence of the Tehrik-E-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) as the largest religious political party in the country has introduced a new, aggressive element in Pakistan’s polity. Although the TLP does not have an armed militant wing, it has demonstrated both its street power and the strength of its electoral base only six years since it was set up in 2015. Exploiting deeply emotional issues like the finality of Prophethood and Blasphemy against the Pr

As the Telangana issue shows, the principal driver now is politics. If it is electorally useful for a new state to come up, it does. However, this is not good for the country because there are no limits to the number of ways that the country can be further divided and subdivided.

Participating in an ORF roundtable on 'Telangana: Current Dynamics', Communist Party of India Deputy General Secretary Mr. Sudhakar Reddy said that the Sri Krishna Commission Report on Telangana should be rejected as its observations and recommendations were wrong and impractical.

As India’s landmark Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009 completes its decadal anniversary, the country continues to grapple with the problem of poor learning outcomes in schools. This brief argues that the RTE Act must now move beyond “easy to measure” metrics and focus on the quality of learning. Moreover, since states across India have varying requirements, the law must work towards increasing the scope for decentralisation. The brief take

In March, a "matrix" between the two Sudans set conditionalities and dates both countries must respect. It was an insurance against political vagaries and deep deficit budgets. But with oil revenues falling into Machar's hands, the entire ambit of monies and transit fee from Juba could come unstuck one more time!

The U.S. and Iran are muddying the waters with accusations and counter-accusations

The Ukraine crisis may have effectively ended the rapprochement between the USand Russia, and in turn affecting relations such as those of Japan and Russia. Prior to this crisis,and the subsequent Western sanctions on Russia, Tokyo and Moscow had been reaching out toeach other, and hope flickered for a resolution to the territorial dispute over the NorthernTerritories or Southern Kurils. This paper argues that with nationalist governments in powe

If India becomes a hotbed of conflicts - many think this may happen in the future - attracting FDIs will be a major problem. Even, our domestic investors are looking for investment opportunities abroad.

Increasing radicalisation and internal strife in Pakistan will destabilise the country and the region, said noted terrorism expert Major General Afsir Karim at a discussion in Observer Research Foundation on Jan. 23 in New Delhi.

The threat that is pre-eminent today is terrorism. And none of the counter terror efforts will succeed unless global powers deal effectively and consistently with the epicentre of terrorism -- Pakistan.

The Thai authorities continue to face difficulties in their efforts to bring the activities of the jihadi terrorist elements under control in Southern Thailand. The current wave of jihadi terrorist violence in the three Muslim majority southern provinces, which started in January last year, has already cost over 800 lives of Government servants, innocent civilians and suspected Muslim militants.

Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf is under pressure.For the first time since he seized power on October 12,1999, there are indications that he and some of his Lts.General, who constitute the real source of his power and not the people, are not on the same wavelength.

That is the latest position of the Government of Begum Khaleda Zia, the Bangladesh Prime Minister, in the face of growing international pressure spearheaded by the member-countries of the European Union (EU) to act against terrorist groups operating from Bangladeshi territory.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should take care when detailing the reasons why constitutional reforms are needed. While talking about the external threats, he should be very careful not to unnecessarily cause provocations to either China or North Korea.

The old objectives of 'denuclearisation' and 'reunification' have to be set aside. North Korea's nuclear capability will have to be accepted, at least for the foreseeable future.

Inaugurating a workshop on 'Role of Universities in Public Policy-Making', hosted by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, University Grants Commission Vice-Chairman Prof V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, on April 19, 2005, urged Vice-Chancellors and educationists to recreate linkages between universities and Government, research organizations, administrators and society, in order to render universities more relevant and help in enacting effecti

The Mullahs have found a fresh issue on which to trap General Pervez Musharraf. It has both religious connotations and a real possibility of a confrontation in which the General is bound to capitulate. The issue deals with school textbooks in Pakistan. A section of the society in Pakistan feels that textbooks cleared by the Federal Education Ministry's Curriculum Wing are regressive in nature and run counter to the objective of a progressive nati

The number of malnourished children in India has increased significantly between the time of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 (2015-16) and the fifth round (2019-2020), and the progress in the first half of the decade has been reversed. This paper tells the story of the Northeast region of India, where malnutrition is worse than the country average. It examines the policy landscape in the region, evaluates current programmes and initiat

General elections of 2014 could well be the most interesting election they will witness in their lifetime. Several developments suggest that the elections could mark a big shift of the political paradigm and, in that sense, they could well mark the true beginning of 21st century politics in the country.

The 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2022 and the subsequent leadership reshuffle gave a new mandate to a ruling elite that will sit at the helm till 2027. It happened at a time when the CPC is facing strong headwinds, among them a tech war with the United States (US) and a downturn in the domestic economy as a result of President Xi Jinping’s ‘zero-COVID-19’ policy. The CPC saw the protests that ensued a

In December 2020, the government released the results of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 for 2019-20, covering 22 states and Union Territories (UTs). Contrary to expectations, NFHS5 found an increase in the percentage of stunted children in 13 states and UTs, compared to the results of NFHS4. This paper analyses such reversal of the three-decadal progress that India had previously made in reducing stunting in children. It analy