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The management of fish stocks along the Bengal coast has traditionally relied on the formula of dictating where, when, and how much to catch of one particular kind of fish to mitigate the risk of stock depletion. This paper argues that this conventional approach is inadequate in dealing with the multitude of threats, both local and global, posed by anthropogenic interventions in the natural systems and processes. It builds a case for an Ecosystem

In April 2023, the Supreme Court of India advocated for the government to establish a "uniform national policy" on menstrual health and hygiene (MHH), spotlighting the need for comprehensive measures on a significant public health issue. This brief traces India's path to promoting MHH, highlighting key policy initiatives and their impact on period product usage. Using secondary data from the National Family Health Survey-5, this brief introduces

Text of the keynote address delivered by Prof. K. V. Kesavan in the symposium Changing Perception of Japan in South Asia in the New Asian Era: State of Japanese Studies in India and other SAARC Countries

Digital spaces are becoming increasingly vital for public deliberation on issues of shared interest, including during electoral campaigns. This brief examines the types of discourse on social media platforms that electoral candidates engage in. It studies the content of the online campaigns and their potential impact on voter education, and recommends countermeasures against the threat of uninformed and unethical online narratives that only

Policy clarity is needed to deal with the idea of a weapons system that surrenders life-and-death decisions to machines. ICRC is an independent humanitarian organisation set up in 1863, that has been playing an active part in discussions around the subject of AWS

Democracy costs a lot of money. To fight elections and run their routine activities, political parties in India seek donations from all possible sources including ‘illegal’ and ‘interested’ money. This has serious ramifications in preserving the integrity of Indian democracy. An increasing number of countries, meanwhile, have taken the path of public subsidies and direct funding of parties and political activities — aiming to reduce dep

The application of emerging technologies will play a key role in the performance of India’s armed forces. All three services understand the significance of these technological innovations in modern warfare, although their development has been uneven across the branches. This analysis provides an overview of how far the three services of the Indian armed forces have gone in integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyber technology, and

In 2019, the Indian Railways (IR) recorded zero fatalities from accidents caused by operational errors. However, many people continue to meet with train-related mishaps that are beyond the IR’s control; many of these accidents result in death. The IR’s experience in preventing deaths in accidents caused by operational errors (technically called “consequential accidents”) offers lessons on minimising all railways-related fatalities. This p

A common thread that runs through TPP, TTIP and CETA deals is the Investor-state dispute settlement system (ISDS), an opaque supranational court that decides disputes, bypassing the domestic courts and national laws. Now, the fear is that these trade deals might just end up producing managed rather than free trade.

India-Russia relations have gone through a number of phases since their formal establishment in April 1947. Despite repeated projections of its decline following the end of the Cold War, India and Russia’s strategic partnership has persisted, and indeed in some areas has deepened. This brief argues that this could only mean that there is plausible geopolitical logic for both countries to persevere in strengthening their ties. It gives a histori

The pace of Indian infrastructure building along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) bordering China has historically been slow due to financial and doctrinal constraints, but has accelerated in the past 20 years. Construction has become more efficient owing to bureaucratic changes and the infusion of greater financial resources. This paper attributes these changes to strategic compulsions brought about by Chinese actions—both diplomatic and on-th

India has recorded notable progress in maternal and child health in the recent years. The state of Madhya Pradesh (MP), however, has performed sub-optimally compared to most states and union territories (UTs) of India. MP’s annual reduction in maternal mortality rate (MMR), for example, is at 5.8 percent, compared to the national average of 7.5 percent; the yearly drop in neonatal mortality rate (NMR) is at 0.6 percent, far below the national a

This paper creates an index to track the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation) across India’s states. The SDG 6 index incorporates both supply-side indicators and demand management variables, as well as institutional interventions. In this paper, state-wise indices are constructed to identify their respective performances in the domains of access to clean water and provision of sanitation facilitie

With both India and the US having differing domestic and national priorities, these countries are bound to compete and conflict on trade issues. But these must not be allowed to overshadow the larger gains that bilateral trade has brought to each country.

The biggest battle ahead for Xi Jinping is to protect the country's grand industrial strategy called 'Made in China' which Donald Trump is targeting.

The Saudi monarchy is facing challenges on many fronts but will brazen it out, fully confident of the unstinted support of its powerful patrons in Washington. Some changes, however, may occur in the Saudi government as a sop to the growing clamour for accountability.

This report explores the role of water credits to incentivise conservation, optimise allocation, and integrate sustainability into corporate and agricultural water use. Modelled after carbon credits, water credits incentivise stakeholders—including agriculture, industry, services, and households—to offset consumption by investing in water conservation and efficiency measures. The study examines economic and ecological valuation models and pri

For starters, trade talks between the two countries resumed after a hiatus of nearly three years. The talks were suspended following the Mumbai attacks. But the thaw emanating from the latest bout of 'cricket diplomacy' has paved the way for cooperation in the sphere of trade.

By using the markets, developed countries still have a lot to offer the international community, particularly the developing world. However, this would involve a fundamental recast of traditional aid into a wider framework.

TRAI has its work cut out in framing additional regulations — the regulator will have to enumerate on what constitutes reasonable traffic management practices and lay out supplementary disclosure requirements for service providers.

Cross-border migration poses security challenges for the modern nation-state, as the influx of populations exert massive pressures on a country’s resources and governance ecosystems. The undocumented migrants, for their part, not only struggle for their livelihood but often face fundamental crises of identity and belonging. Using the case of India’s eastern borders, this paper problematises the phenomenon of migration against the dich

The run-up to the upcoming presidential polls in the Maldives will determine the shape of things to come in the future, with far-reaching implications for India, for bilateral relations between the two countries and the Indian Ocean region. This became evident at the end of a candid discussion that a high-level team of the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had with a section of Indian intellectuals at Observer Research Foundation (ORF),

A free and fair election is critical for Pakistan to face the mounting challenges the country is grappling with, according to Mr Saad S Khan, a bureaucrat and scholar from Pakistan.

After the United States and its allies left Afghanistan in 2021, analysts expected Russia to fill the vacuum caused by the withdrawal. As far as Moscow itself is concerned, it would like to establish full diplomatic ties with the Taliban regime while it urges Western countries to take accountability and fulfil their responsibilities towards the Afghan people. Indeed, Russia’s desire for security and regional hegemony compels it to selectively e

On January 22, 2021 the TPNW will enter into force. But will it matter?

The size of the Indian Diaspora is a force to reckon with. Though 'brain-drain' is the main problem flowing from migration, the migrant talent has been very successful in promoting the nation's image in the host countries.

Speaking at an interaction on 'Trends in Indian Foreign Policy', organized by Observer Research Foundation (ORF), ORF Mumbai Chapter, Prof. S D Muni of Jawaharlal Nehru University, ... more

Given Kenya's recent diplomatic, financial and trade advancements in the international community, observers anxiously await the verdict in the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto at The Hague and the reactions of Kenyans to it.

Two months back an observer had noted that "without India wanting to make it so, an impression is gaining ground that our American commitments seem to insist on intruding on India-Iran relations."

The revival of the trilateral mechanism between China, Japan and South Korea only forms the first important step in the long journey to reconciliation in Northeast Asia which calls for mutual understanding and accommodation of each other's interests, and statesmanship of the highest order on the part of the leaders at the helm.

Most Indian Ocean economies such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar have maintained a balanced diplomatic stance while dealing with China, on the one hand and with the US and India on the other. The key potential of the Maritime Silk Route, as touted by Beijing, would be to harness the economic strengths of littoral countries and create a thriving maritime economics.

Since the Telangana Rashtra Samiti is likely to win most of the 17 Lok Sabha seats in the Telangana region on its own, its unwillingness to share the seats with the Congress party is understandable. In such a scenario, the Congress party's prospects in the general elections in the whole of Andhra Pradesh, including Telangana, are indeed bleak.

Internally, Trump has already indicated his administration will differ markedly from his prior one. Many key figures from his first term, such as John Kelly and John Bolton, have either distanced themselves from him or openly opposed his leadership, suggesting a fresh team with potentially distinct policy goals. This shift could result in notable changes across domestic and foreign policy fronts. The entry of people like Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswam

Trump’s election will push US policy inward and have significant implications for the world order

US is now the quintessential revisionist state, economic leverage driving its foreign policy.

By creating a “hub and spoke” model to counter international terrorism, the US today has a veto on its legal regime, its proscribed actors and use of military force.

The exact nature of what these events lead to is shrouded in uncertainty. Trump though has unambiguously exacerbated the crises by pushing a region, thus far teetering on the edge, off the cliff.

‘Bizarre’ has become the new byword in Washington under Trump

The solipsistic Trump “revolution” is unfolding on fantasies about economic growth.

Phone calls are making waves with Nawaz Sharif and Tsai Ingwen - showing there is no indicator on which way US will go under new presidency

While the Republican Party is becoming more firmly entrenched in the rural, mainly white parts of the country, the suburban areas are going in the Democratic direction

A year since the announcement of the new South Asia strategy, an attempt to break from the recurrent continuum has been evident. At least on two of the three accounts — with respect to Pakistan and India, the Trump administration has spurred a break from the past.

Trump's belligerence towards the Paris accords may ironically become its undoing.

US President Donald Trump’s new Afghanistan strategy for America’s longest war has potential to drastically alter existing regional relations. The policy, announced after an exhaustive eight-month-long review process, attempts to give a new direction for future US involvement in Afghanistan. Becoming president at a time when old alignments are undergoing transition, Trump’s task has not been easy. Given the constraints, however, Trump’s A

Under President Trump, the United States seems to adopting an unprecedented antagonistic stance against the institutions, commitments, and unpronounced precedents alike, of the liberal world order that the US itself put in place in the aftermath of the Second World War.

How South Asian countries will cope with the Trump administration, even as they balance China and India, is yet to be seen

The US's plan of reducing troop strengths abroad would be counter balanced by the new kinds of deployments. The trend now is towards intelligence weapons systems with precise missions that are network centric, capable of swift decision and superior performance in all echelons with fewer casualties.