Search

If hydro power potential of 150,000 MW is to be realised by the end of 2030 as assumed in the Integrated Energy Policy 2006, the government must ensure that policies address the crucial stumbling block of regulatory, social and environmental instability.

One compelling reason for Japan to adopt the new energy policy was the Abe government's recognition that in the absence of nuclear energy, which accounted for 30% of the total electricity until recently, the country had to pay heavily for importing oil and gas from abroad.

India joins the regime at a time when export regulation of dual-use technology items have become increasingly complex.

Nawaz Sharif may have made friendly noises towards India, but two years of relative tranquility that the two countries have enjoyed along with Kashmir is threatening to become a casualty of the big power game. Some interested powers have begun to show inordinate interest in the Kashmir dispute all over again.

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 Russia-India-China trilateral meet is New Delhi’s attempt to overcome challenges in ties with Moscow and Beijing

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.

China’s growing interests, ambitions and military capabilities pose challenges for India. This paper examines China’s maritime interests and the dynamics of Indian responses at the maritime operational levels. The paper examines opportunities to counter China in the IOR, as well as options for the Indian Navy in the South China Sea. At operational levels, the Navy may need to think differently about ASW, carrier operations and power projectio

Maritime power projection, and not sea denial, is the answer to China’s creeping assertiveness in South Asia.

There has been two political developments in Nepal of high significance in the last few days. On August 28, vice-chairman of UCPN (Maoist) Dr Baburam Bhattarai became the 35th prime minister of Nepal by a majority vote of the legislature-parliament.

Amid the ongoing fundamental changes in the international order, such as the growing bipolar competition between the US and China and the promotion of multipolarity, middle powers may take more ownership of conflict points such as Afghanistan. To comprehend this possibility, it is important to trace the evolution of middle powers in the Persian Gulf. This paper looks at the complexities of the Gulf middle power states, with Afghanistan as the the

The Himalayan nation is far from resolving its governance woes more than five years after the democratisation and a change of elected government. If charges of corruption against government functionaries were not enough,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France, Germany and Canada beginning Thursday should help New Delhi consolidate three of India's very special relationships -with France, Germany and Canada. Modi's visit to Europe and Canada should help restore some balance to India's international engagement.

The new Prime Minister will also have to wrestle policy decisions out of the hands of the media panels at primetime. Less than 10% per cent of homes with TV sets watch news and less than ten per cent of those homes watch English news.Yet, anchors and media personalities claim to speak for the nation.

A decade of far-reaching defence reforms under Modi has transformed the Indian military’s reputation and capabilities

The process of reforms in the electoral system to ensure electoral integrity has began, but much remains to be achieved. Ultimately, electoral integrity could be restored only by the will of the people and it is in people's power to do so.

Among the many areas of cooperation and assistance between India and Nepal, a very important one is that of power. Nepal has a huge potential for generating hydropower but is constrained due to the lack of supporting infrastructure as well as its geography.

India's flagship economic diplomacy programme, the grant of Lines of Credit (LOC), has had immense success in expanding the country's development cooperation around the world. In the African region, for instance, countries have found LOCs to be appropriate alternatives to traditional development assistance. LOCs are a popular tool among countries looking to fund their development goals. Closer to home, Nepal has received more than $1 billion in d

The Iran nuclear deal could mark a strategic realignment between the US and its traditional Sunni allies in the region. The Arab countries have been vocal in criticising Washington's policies in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, which they say have given an upper hand to "Iranian allies".

PM Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Party has decided on retaining the Executive Presidency and ‘power-devolution’ under the existing ‘unitary State’ model

While the Modi government is settling down with a positive and constructive agenda, certain negative forces are raising their heads which tend to take away the shine from the Modi government. In Maharashtra, the Hindu Rashtra Sena has been active in promoting communal propaganda.

The next Russian nuclear reactor plant is likely to come up in Andhra Pradesh, according to Russian Consul-General at Chennai Sergei Kotov. Initiating a discussion on "President Putin's Visit and India-Russia Relations" at ORF Chennai Chapter on January 3, Kotov confirmed that the next plant will not be constructed in Tamil Nadu.

What the amendments to the Constitution by the National People's Congress have done is to tighten the Communist Party's grip over the governmental system in a seemingly legal fashion.

Around 300 million people in India’s villages are still without power.

Over the last 30 years, digital innovation has been met with vacillating opinions on whether technology is emancipatory or tends to benefit those with political and/or economic power. In the context of innovations in AI in the early 2020s, this brief tackles the question: In a digital age, what is new in who exercises power over whom? It focuses on the power of States in relation to both citizens and territory, and outlines four areas where funda

Pakistan Army is in the throes of a dramatic transformation both in its profile and approach but is no where near relinquishing its stranglehold over the political and corporate landscape of Pakistan. The office-cadre is much more conservative but not radical,

As tensions between Kabul and Islamabad threaten the fragile peace process in Afghanistan, the Taliban's role as a proxy for Pakistan's interests has come back into sharp focus again.

It may not have been pretty, but the finish-line is within sight for the Zardari-led coalition government in Pakistan. And the first democratic transfer of power is a significant milestone in the growth of democracy in the country.

Get away from the barter system of vote bank politics. Politicians need to rise above petty politics and show they haven't got feet of Vernacular clay. This will be the first step to prove to the world that we are a mature democracy.

Infrastructure investments are required to enable economic growth and provide the services required by a growing population. The infrastructure already available is threatened by climate change, damaging existing assets and reducing future productivity. Investment in new infrastructure has to increase to fill the gap; as this occurs, the operation and maintenance cost of infrastructure are also expected to rise. Furthermore, as resources are scar

India is experiencing a surge in power demand owing to an expanding economy. Even as the country has embraced the idea of transitioning to clean renewable energy, its current demand for electricity can only be met by addressing the concerns surrounding coal-fired power plants. The goal of going green might be a medium- to long-term strategy that should be diligently pursued to avoid future crises. In the short term, however, focus should

As India assumes the G20 presidency, it has the opportunity to further the cause of mutually beneficial, rules-based international trade at a time when the world is facing a series of multiple and overlapping political and economic crises. This paper opens by describing a confluence of factors that together open a window of opportunity for India’s presidency to advance pragmatic engagement on trade, specifically in shoring up the multilateral t

Left-wing extremists, Naxalites of the People's War Group (PWG), have traveled a long away from fielding hand-held, traditional farm tools as weapons. Their sagacity is, indeed, amazing. Perhaps, to state in a lighter vein, they would give a complex to India's defence technologists, if not put them to shame.

Former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Hussain Haqqani, has urged regional powers to begin dialogue to prevent Afghanistan from slipping into a civil war situation after the US pullout later this year.

The rise of new powers in Asia and the changing power distribution in the region is equally challenging for both the United States and its allies in the Asia Pacific region, according to Mr. Abraham M. Denmark, Vice President for Political and Security Affairs at The National Bureau of Asian Research.

The Supreme Court did award NCR's elected government due authority. But, by leaving reserve subjects with the LG, it contradicted a global governance trend.

While Australia-Indonesia ties are in limbo, it would make sense to deepen the Australia-India side of the triangle. Here the potential areas for action are maritime domain awareness, naval intelligence sharing, providing access to each other's naval facilities, and working together to improve the capacity of smaller states in the Indian Ocean.

By the standards of electoral practices in South Asia, incidents of violence in Bangladesh’s elections cannot be viewed as excessive. The allegations of malpractices cannot be dismissed outright since no election in Bangladesh has been free from these aberrations and violence.

Soft power's importance has increased in the context of globalisation and the growing disquiet over the use of military power for achieving foreign policy objectives. This paper focuses specifically on soft power in India's foreign policy

Despite being the ‘factory of the world,’ many of China’s industrial sectors are energy-intensive and have low value-add. At the same time, global firms are increasingly moving towards sophisticated low-cost manufacturing techniques for higher productivity gains. As a result, the Chinese Communist Party is keen to upgrade the country’s industrial base to compete in the more advanced segments, such as information technology, through the �

Of all the non-conventional renewable energy sources, small hydro represents highest density resource and stands in the first place in generation of electricity from such sources world-wide. It is also the most cost-effective energy technology to be considered for rural electrification and under the climate change scenarios.

In 2017, India launched a record 104 satellites into space. Barring one, the rest of the satellites that were launched were small satellites.