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What Colombo and Beijing are telling Delhi is that Chinese naval presence in Sri Lanka is now routine and India should get used to it. Delhi quite clearly will find it hard to digest. But, if Delhi wants to limit or reverse Colombo's strategic tilt towards China, it should start with a comprehensive review of its policy towards Sri Lanka.

The comfort levels between the West and the UNP, with shared perceptions of liberal democracy and market capitalism is mutual

After 9-11, many Americans remember Pakistani dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf¿s speech to Pakistanis in English, in which he explained his U-turn on the Taliban and Al Qaida. Faced with a ¿with us or against us¿ ultimatum from an angry America, Gen.Musharraf told his rich Pakistani elite brethren that Pakistan had to finally ¿shun extremism¿ and join hands with the US.

Two years after the Mumbai attack, and despite the intense global crackdown, one of the world's most networked, resourceful and dangerous terrorist group, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), remains operational in Pakistan, and ready to hit again.

How the country and its political establishment need to factor in exigencies and work efficiently and cohesively towards rejuvenating the prospects for India, was the focal point of the panel discussion on the occasion of the launch of the book 'Getting India Back on Track: An Action Agenda on Reform'.

The proposed Food Security Act will cost the government around Rs 100,000 crore a year. Though it is big money, especially when the economy is on downslide, when lots of money were spent on events like the Commonwealth Games and industry given huge tax sops.

China will have to act selflessly if it wants to build alternative institutional arrangements that look at development from the emerging economies prism. The BRICS will also have to be careful about what it regards as its core strength. So far, it has largely been perceived to be pushing for an alternative economic development paradigm.

The paper examines the role of political leaders, public and private agents (governments, private agencies, NGOs), and followers (public, citizens, community) in the war on COVID-19. It argues that the role of agents and followers is often underestimated; that while the leaders’ contributions are important and necessary, they are not sufficient. The success or failure of leaders will depend as much on these actors as on their own competence, co

For a government committed to 'minimum government, maximum governance' it is time that policy making in key economic ministries become far more open and consultative, its acts and actions predictable. In the long run, that is the only way to ensure that policies for the auctions of licenses, processes of tendering and award, and actions to ensure their implementation -- are not subject to capture by select coteries.

Wikileaks has not only knocked open the door on 250,000 secret diplomatic cables, it may also have inaugurated an era when audacious discourse will not be placed under the stifling blanket of that expression - "Conspiracy Theory".

A reworked bid gifts India the prospect of owning 110 medium-role combat aircraft. Nevertheless, the IAF may be down to 15 squadrons by 2032.

The successive torture and slaying of individual Americans in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf region has a new message for the civilized world. Whatever be the rationale behind the decision-making at the governmental-level, the average American is ready for a long engagement with terrorism and terrorists.

India’s increasing economic and political clout has prompted a spurt in the volume and complexity of its overseas development assistance. Looking ahead, the largest incremental capital for global development and infrastructure beyond what exists today will also come from India as the value of its economy grows from $2 trillion to roughly $7 trillion by 2030. However, the DPA – India’s development cooperation agency – is yet to assume an a

While the concept of UG research is fairly new in India, it is now taken as a given in many parts of the world.

Nations will not have common values, because nations themselves are a collection of diverse historical experiences and ambitions. However, there is no need to throw in the towel over global governance, for nations can have a vision for shared prosperity with different approaches to get there.

Indian polity is a prisoner of 'Luddism'. Left or right, it needs someone who can act as a change agent. Between the Congress and a confused BJP is the third force, the real Luddite socialists -- a conglomeration of SP, BSP, JD-U, TMC and a sprinkling of others. India unfortunately is caught between these forces, devastating its economic paradigm.

For Brazil, there are multiple opportunities within BRICS, not limited to the economic sphere. In many ways, the grouping brings Brazil from the left corner of the world map to the center, where the geopolitical theatre is most active; in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

Left-wing extremists, popularly known as Maoists worldwide and as Naxalites1 in India--have been gaining in strength and influence since some time. Today, the menace of Left-wing extremism is the single internal security threat that affects the largest number of States in India.

A number of legal frameworks and paradigms exist. But whether India's should be brought in from outside or adapted within the country to suit national requirements is a key decision to be made

The Election Commission's proposal for fixing eight per cent vote-share in Lok Sabha polls as the lower-limit for conferring the status of 'National Parties' is fraught with consequences that go beyond the constitutional mandate.

Even as India achieved statistical elimination of leprosy at the national level in 2005, the target continues to be part of the country’s policy documents. But what is “elimination”, to begin with? The policy documents are unclear of its operational definition, of whether it is at the national level, the state level or the district level. Despite lack of clarity, the political leadership has not failed to indulge in the rhetoric of “lepro

There are multiple concerns around the audit of CSR and a discomfort with the lack of audit and oversight required for CSR activities. "Comply or explain" simply has not worked in the case of other existing regulatory frameworks that deal with corporate governance issues. It is time to realise that in India, only a few are in a position to ask, while nobody is in any hurry to explain.

We can only speculate on the causes of their present westward shift in the Daulat Beg Oldi area. But one thing is clear: the central locomotive of Chinese policy remains Tibet. Despite massive investments in the region, large numbers of Tibetans remain disaffected.

BRICS countries have tried to move internet governance debates by taking strong stands at the global level. India too, has flirted with the idea, time and again. If nothing else, the biggest takeaway from this grouping needs to be the commitment to putting across new ideas to the global community.

The fragility of the Himalayan ecosystem was recently highlighted by incidents of land sinking in Joshimath, a small hill town in India’s Uttarakhand. This crisis has generated intense debate on aspects of development and environmental sustainability in the region, including the exploitation of Himalayan natural wealth and the strain placed on the vulnerable area by the tourism industry. This brief argues that the Himalayan region needs

No amount of advanced technology can compensate for low morale and training, weak command, poor tactics and strategy

Three quick lessons can be drawn from the recent coup attempt in Bangladesh. These are growing unrest among political and military circles against the Awami League government for its policies towards India and fundamentalism;

India's military leadership should look to Nepal to understand how insurgencies can be peacefully terminated instead of just looking for more potent ways of neutralising separatists.

In the backdrop of President George Bush's forthcoming visit next month and India's closer integration with the global economy, we need to start paying greater attention to the US economy, which has effectively functioned as the sole engine powering the global economy for the past decade and a half.

This paper examines two types of waste on which India can explore transboundary waste-trade opportunities and challenges: farm-produce waste and municipal solid waste. Using lessons learnt from trade between other countries, the paper argues that while India can augment its economy through increased waste exports or imports, certain conditions must be met for India to benefit from sustained international waste trade practices. The paper recommend

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba is more than likely to spearhead a reprisal attack to avenge the killing of its mentor and patron, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. The group will extend its focus to western targets, specially the US, in the days ahead.

India spends over Rs 400,000 crores every year on schemes, projects and programmes broadly falling within the category of social welfare. Embedding appropriate technology in social welfare programmes can give poor Indians a real chance of empowerment.

World over, uncontrolled fiscal stimulus had got a new legitimacy. And now everyone is standing on the edge of a fiscal cliff. The finance minister seems to have the full support of the UPA chairperson to cut wasteful spending this time around.

Even if the Centre's Rafale deal for the two squadrons comes through, it will only temporarily arrest the decline of squadrons for the IAF. The long-term answer may just lie in the home-grown Advanced Multi-role Combat Aircraft, being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency , Bangalore.

The visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India this week, so early in the Modi innings, is a good sign as both leaderships seem anxious to be able to better deal with the many challenges ahead. Clearly, China is challenging other major powers for a role in India at a time when its economy needs to grow at 10 per cent to recover from three years of economic slowdown.

The growing vulnerability of the elderly is evident from National Crime Record Bureau's recent move to tabulate data on crimes against senior citizens, beginning from 2014. Predictably, big cities have been found to be the most unsafe for them, with Delhi topping the list.

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba is rapidly expanding its presence and influence in the social media networks. The group is using these networks to recruit tech-savvy younger generation not only from Pakistan but also from the Pakistani diaspora.

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, the terrorist group behind the Mumbai 2008 attacks and operating from Pakistan, is likely to continue with its terror campaign against the security forces in India, according to a study on LeT done by Dr Subrahmanian and his team at the University of Maryland.

Jayashree Balasubramanian et al., “Leveraging Community Engagement in Swift and Skillful Disaster Response,” ORF Special Report, March 2024, Observer Research Foundation.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) constitutes 23.82 percent of the global disease burden but less than one percent of health expenditure.[1] The region has a severe shortage of trained medical personnel[2] and health delivery has low coverage. This brief outlines the most crucial challenges facing SSA’s healthcare system, and describes the footprint of Indian health companies in the region, especially in the context of the failure of the public sector t

Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South is being threatened by the mounting challenges facing developing countries due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, and receding aid from traditional donor countries. As the achievement of the SDGs remains more relevant than ever, this brief proposes the creation of a Global South Development Assistance Committee (D

The global macroeconomy has undergone unprecedented change in recent years, particularly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the G20 had an effective coordinating role in steering the global economy through the 2008 global financial crisis, its role in engineering an inclusive and sustainable recovery from the pandemic has been more mixed. Incomes in the advanced G20 economies are on track to return to pre-pandemic levels by end-2022 but have