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In defining the term 'quality of life', there is no better way to give it a concrete shape than trekking in the woods of an alien land, traversing the streets and bylanes of its cities and staying with people whom you would otherwise never meet in your life.

The Indian Army’s (IA) difficulties with regard to the acquisition of light tanks are as much self-inflicted as they are a product of fiscal constraints. The Army has exerted only half-hearted efforts in developing its light-armoured capabilities—inconsistent with current Army doctrine and in disregard of history. Indeed, the IA has used light armour in high-altitude operations in the past. This paper argues that the IA is hobbled by an infan

Throughout the 1990s, the Anglo-US duo remained obsessed with India's nuclear plans and virtually refused any discussions on Pakistani assistance to terrorism in India. The US also did succeed in delaying our missile programme even as they equipped Pakistan with nuclear capable F-16s.

The NDA Government has launched a fresh gold monetisation scheme, but skeptics aren't convinced that this will succeed where others in the past have failed abysmally. Till the scheme is made much more lucrative and perhaps mandatory in some form, it is doubtful that this scheme will perform better than the earlier ones.

Media's increasing reach cannot be ignored and policymakers and policymaking has to adapt itself to this grind. Media, despite it many vices, serves as a medium for greater appraisal of government policies. But media should understand that sustained attention comes only with sustained credibility.

This brief examines the literacy landscape in India between 1987 and 2017, focusing on the gender gap in four age cohorts: children, youth, working-age adults, and the elderly. It finds that the gender gap in literacy has shrunk substantially for children and youth, but the gap for older adults and the elderly has seen little improvement. A state-level analysis of the gap reveals the same trend for most Indian states. The brief offers recommendat

The US Presidential debates might not change the election result, but the good thing is that the world now knows what exactly a Romney Presidency would look like from a foreign policy point of view and what Obama is likely to do if he wins a second term -with little substantial difference in their foreign policy positions.

Adapting health interventions to the social, economic, political, ecological, and cultural contexts of local communities increases trust and acceptability for policies and programmes. Locally led initiatives entrust local stakeholders with providing insights into grassroots-level realities and community-sensitive approaches. Global and country-wide evidence also highlights that granting authority and accountability to local stakeholders improves

Growing economic protectionism and recurrent geo-economic and geo-political tensions in recent years are testing the resilience of the global economic order. Erstwhile proponents of globalisation such as the United States and the European Union are themselves recoiling from the global value chains that are over-reliant on China. As the localisation of goods and services has become more critical, it calls to question the viability of a globalised

China’s failure to condemn the Ukraine war raised concerns on the future of the rules-based international order not only in the European Union (EU), but also in India and Taiwan. While their respective relationships with China and Russia are characterised by different complexities, the EU, India, and Taiwan are all vulnerable to authoritarian threats. All three recognise that China’s continued rise will have strategic implications for

This monograph makes an assessment of the prospects of India’s inclusion to the export control regimes. It begins by analysing the technical parameters for membership and whether or not India meets them. This includes an examination of India’s domestic export control system — both control list and legal framework. The next chapter delves into the political debates on India’s membership to the four export control regimes. This takes i

Despite last year’s quadrilateral Malabar exercises and the recent announcement of new working groups, Quad cooperation on naval interoperability, critical technologies, and Covid-19 had been manifest previously.

As China’s rise threatens the democratic rules, values, and institutions that have shaped the post-war world order, the United States (US) is increasing its outreach in the Indo-Pacific region. Distant South Asian island nations such as Sri Lanka are today receiving greater attention from the US. This brief seeks to bridge the gap in the literature on the US’s Sri Lanka policy and highlights how the current US government positions Sri Lanka i

As the Indo-Pacific region becomes an arena of strategic contestations, India and Australia’s interests are converging. Two large maritime states from two different continents, India and Australia were mutually indifferent for a long time. Today, however, their relationship is on the upbeat: not only is their bilateral trade on the rise, but they also have common concerns to balance an assertive China and uphold order in the region. By year-end

The importance of Xinjiang Province in China’s Eurasian connectivity initiative—the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB)—has received some coverage in the media. However, these news articles offer only a cursory view of China’s primary motive in pursuing the initiative, that is the ethnic unrest in Xinjiang. This paper argues that the conflict in Xinjiang is a main driving force to pursue SREB and that the initiative is congruent with a broader

Smugglers and security agencies face-off on the India-Bangladesh borders over illegal cattle trade

In the recent history of terrorism, there have been four instances of well-planned, well-executed and well-synchronised multiple explosions by terrorist groups causing large casualties. These are the explosions in Mumbai (Bombay) in March,1993, which killed over 200 innocent civilians, at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in February,1998,

The increase in the Muslim population since the last census has prompted alarmist coverage in some sections of the media.

Several misconceptions exist in India about Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. India’s knowledge of these countries is restricted to news coverage.

India as an external power is keen to play the role of a credible stabilising factor in the South China Sea region and cannot afford to be ambivalent. The advantages of taking a stand are many. Such a venture in the South China Sea will give India strategic leverage. Hence joining the fray is not an option but an imperative to safeguard our strategic interests and aspirations.

Now that the fate of the Lokpal Bill is hanging in balance, it may be a good time for the polity and the nation as a whole to take a fresh look at the legislation between now and the Budget session of Parliament.

Even as the Indian Air Force gets ready to welcome its new acquisitions, ad hocism should give way to strategic thinking

As Kashmir population becomes increasingly reliant on web, the Indian state ought to focus on addressing the deep-seated Kashmiri grievances.

Balanced urbanisation and rural development is an urgent requirement in China, if it has to fulfill its goals of sustainable development. For this purpose, budgetary allocations and farmers' support have to be tweaked, along with agricultural modernisation.

The next government must recognise that the Bay of Bengal is no longer a backwater but a strategic hub connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as China and the Bay of Bengal. Delhi must match its rhetoric on trans-border connectivity with much needed political will and administrative competence.

When a government yields to every pressure group at home, its capacity to pursue national interests abroad inevitably erodes. The UPA government's diplomacy in the final months of its decade-long tenure is a good example of the costs of violating this canon. The failure to clinch a commercial agreement on Kudankulam with Moscow is not a reflection on India's diplomatic skills.

The defence budget had grown by 17% in 2011-12 and 12% in 2012-13. A mere 1.79% of the GDP, it is a far cry from the stated goal of spending 3% of GDP on defence backed by the Parliamentary Committee on Defence.

Africa's longest running militia is back in focus. Lord's Resistance Army or LRA, active since 1988, has recently become a subject of United States interest as the Obama administration deployed 100 "combat-equipped troops" to Uganda.

The post of Director-General (DG) of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), believed to be the second most important post in the country's military set-up now, has a designated successor to the outgoing Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam.

By rebelling against supremo Prabhakaran in an unprecedented way, ¿Col¿ Karuna, LTTE¿s sacked commander for Sri Lanka¿s Eastern Province, has put the clock back in more ways than one. In a way, it has also put the LTTE at the crossroad all over again as never before, coming as it does after the historic Ceasefire Agreement with the Sri Lankan Government, but how far is too early to determine.

In the absence of clear norms on human accountability and attribution for autonomous weapons, we could see states like Pakistan deploy LAWS for operations outside their borders.

Macron has raised doubts about how serious France is when it comes to managing the negative externalities of China’s rise.

France has voted, Europe is relieved, and the French President needs to move fast to douse the flames of polarisation

If Macron loses control of the National Assembly in June, he may be forced into an uneasy co-habitation that will limit his policy options. He knows that.

The French President has rightly said that the bloc needs to assert sovereignty over its political and security decisions

The impact of terrorism on the oil and tourism industries and on financial institutions and "Democracy, Terrorism and the Internet" received considerable attention at the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005.

At the international summit on Terrorism, Democracy and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005, which I attended, the foremost concern in the minds of the participants was the likelihood of an act of catastrophic terrorism involving the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

They help investigation by facilitating interception of conversations and by providing a record of calls made if recovered intact after the commission of an offence.

Within a month of its announcement, India is poised to launch its MAHASAGAR initiative in collaboration with the littoral countries of the Western Indian Ocean Region.

MIRV is a complex technology, and India’s test this week puts it among a small group of countries that have managed to develop it.

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), recognised for its cost-effective and co-beneficial advantages, is seeing a global uptake. However, the number and scale of EbA projects remain limited compared to the opportunities offered by India’s diverse ecosystems and indigenous practices. While lack of funding is a direct cause, the small scale of existing EbA projects also fails to attract funding. Breaking this cycle requires addressing other mechanism

The seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. This challenge is acute in the African continent, home to large populations without access to electricity and clean cooking fuel. This brief explores the scope for cooperation between India and Africa in not only achieving SDG 7, but while doing so, also considering the targets set by SDG 5 to

Urban infrastructure projects using brownfield or greenfield development can cause damage to natural habitats. To achieve the Agenda 2030 goal of “leaving no one behind” while mitigating the destruction of habitats, an integrated approach towards infrastructure development must be adopted. This paper outlines the current paradigms of sustainable infrastructure provision, highlighting how and why sustainability outcomes are overlooked at diffe

The absence of a clear centre of power in Pakistan raises a serious question mark on the ability of the government in Islamabad to execute any agreement with India in letter and spirit.

All the major powers in the Asia Pacific region are ramping up their defence budgets and modernising their militaries. They are also building coalitions with each other through defence partnerships agreements and ports calls.

After a groundbreaking visit to India, which focused on strengthening the Indo-US ¿strategic partnership¿, US Secretary of State Colin Powell was supposed to take a tough message to Pakistan¿s Gen. Musharraf. Nuclear proliferation and Pakkistan¿s reluctance to clean up its tribal areas were slated to be on the cards in

The Henderson-Brooks report has focused on the Army's faults in handling the border issue. But, if we are to truly learn from the sorry history of the times, the government needs to throw open the archives relating to the actions of Prime Minister, his associates and the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence.

Rising traffic congestion is compelling cities around the world to look at the idea of congestion pricing on their roads. Some have already imposed it, and others are mulling over the idea. Traffic congestion has economic, environmental, physical, and psychological consequences. Since Indian cities rank among the most congested in the world, it would be prudent for elected representatives, administrators, and city stakeholders to give congestion