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At the release event of the report on India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges, participants stressed the need for leveraging the positive political climate and emphasised pro-active role of state governments in cross-border connectivity.

iCET will be led by the US National Science Foundation and Department of Science and Technology of India. Among its goals is an ambition to foster a partnership, joining six of India's technology innovation hubs to support at least 25 joint research projects with the US in areas such as AI and data science, and apply its gains to agriculture, health and climate, etc.

In the last four decades, India’s geo-political identity has evolved from being the leader of the non-aligned movement - a representative of the developing poor nations of the world to becoming a member of the G-20, the world’s leading industrialized and emerging economies. The change has also been evident on its evolving position on climate change as it became a signatory to The Paris accord. However, the paper argues that key tenets of self

To achieve all that Modi has promised, he needs a peaceful periphery and a stable world order. At home, Modi may be master of all he surveys, but abroad, there are other players, some positive, others inimical. There are issues, such as US-Iran tensions, US-China trade spat, rising climate of protectionism and Brexit, that he cannot control.

There is a lot riding on the relationship for both New Delhi and Canberra given that both have a inherent interest in balancing China and ensuring a stable Indo-Pacific strategic order.

There are calls for India to declare a net-zero year and offset its carbon emissions by various processes of absorption and removal of greenhouse gases. For India, such calls are irrational; despite international pressure, it has avoided making pledges or setting hard targets beyond its commitments at the Paris climate conference in 2015. This brief argues that “net zero” is not possible with India’s current levels of reliance on coal. Its

This report is part of the Observer Research Foundation’s “Financing Green Transitions” series which aims to find potential linkages between private capital, in all its forms, and climate action projects. The series will primarily examine domestic and international barriers to private capital entry for mitigation oriented climate projects, while also examining potential avenues for private capital flow entry towards adaptation and resilienc

India’s emerging urban moment is caught between two realities: inadequate systems in public transportation, housing, waste management, and access to sanitation and health; and a burgeoning ecosystem of enterprising individuals, communities and start-ups pushing innovative solutions to these very same civic issues. This paper examines India’s urban picture and understands how the urban narrative of crumbling systems and inadequate infrastructu

This brief probes the role of the current 116th US Congress in strengthening India-US relations in the realm of defence trade and technology transfers. The analysis is done in the context of the Trump administration’s relaxation of arms export policies, as well as a rise in conservative nationalism which abhors arming partner nations that prolong US conflicts overseas. Furthermore, as the Democrat-majority House of Representatives appropriates

‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’ is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day. This is a clarion call with particular resonance for India given the barriers to women’s economic participation. Imagine the extraordinary economic tailwinds that can be generated for India if these barriers are dismantled and women have access to capital and technology and supportive public policy frameworks

The Arctic region, with its vast reserves of natural gas, minerals, oil, and hydrocarbons, presents energy and economic opportunities for countries, including India. India’s Arctic Policy, released in 2022, signalled the country’s intent to expand its engagements in the region beyond its historical focus on scientific research and climate studies. While the policy acknowledges the region’s growing economic potential, however, it does not ad

The Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT) was imposed on non-agricultural commodity derivatives trading in India from 1 July 2013. This paper investigates the impact of the CTT on some of the efficiency parameters of the commodity derivative markets in India. The authors analysed daily trading data from January 2006 to December 2019 of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India for five non-agricultural commodities: aluminium, copper, crude oil, gold, and

यावर्षीचा IPCC अहवाल हा मागणीच्या पातळीवरच उत्सर्जन कमी करून हवामान बदलाची प्रक्रिया रोखण्यावर भर देतो. अशा पद्धतीने काम केलं तर 2050 पर्यंत आपण कार्बन उत्सर्जनामध्ये 40 ते 70 ट�

France and India have shared a common belief in the importance of multilateralism and have a common respect for international rules and regulations. These shared beliefs can form the basis for a cooperation agenda.

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

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

Amongst India’s stated priorities in its G20 Presidency are reforming multilateral institutions, climate action alongside energy transition, digital transformation and governance, sustainable economic growth, and women’s empowerment. In many of these concerns, countries in the Global North and Global South have serious divergences, thereby hampering progress towards consensus and unified action. To remove some of the deadlocks

India is the world’s largest rice exporter, making it a significant player in the global rice market. A global rice shortage is anticipated amid rising geopolitical tensions and commodity prices. To safeguard domestic consumers from exorbitant price shocks, India has banned the export of non-basmati white rice since July 2023. This paper examines the ban's implications, especially regarding welfare redistribution among basmati and non-basmati f

Climate change experts at a roundtable at Observer Research Foundation emphasised the need for maintaining a pragmatic attitude at the 20th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change at Lima. According to them, the goal should be to set reasonable expectations that can be achieved in Paris.

Observer Research Foundation organised a closed door roundtable meeting of Indian Non-Government Experts on climate change with Amb. Antonio Garcia, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Peru.

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

Sustainability requires, among others, adjusting and reorienting to a dynamic situation. In the context of urban areas, “dynamism” is seen in the population and economic growth characteristics. The constantly changing nature of urban centres calls for new and improved strategies to ensure sustainable and equitable development. Owing to population growth and, consequently, greater pressure on resources, there has been increased focus on smart

Task Force 6: Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda

The South Asian region lacks a common plan of action to deal with the impact of climate change despite possessing common ecological habitat. Africa and Latin America fare a tad better on this front. India should take the lead to create elaborate policies for joint management of common resources and ecological preservation.

A three-day Mekong-Ganga Dialogue has stressed the need for shifting thinking around river-basin development and climate change issues from narrow national security concerns to a regional perspective with ecological and social concerns.

This report is part of the Observer Research Foundation’s “Financing Green Transitions” series which aims to find potential linkages between private capital, in all its forms, and climate action projects. The series will primarily examine domestic and international barriers to private capital entry for mitigation oriented climate projects, while also examining potential avenues for private capital flow entry towards adaptation and resilienc

Nature-based solutions (NbS) harness the benefits of nature to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation while creating pathways for sustainable development. While NbS could generate substantial economic benefits, current private finance flows remain insufficient due to market and information failures. This brief makes a case for increased private investments in NbS, highlighting their cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

This brief explores four scenarios of climate action for India using a systems dynamics model called the Energy Policy Simulator for India. It investigates policy trade-offs and co-benefits and estimates the costs of climate action. It finds that deep decarbonisation in the Indian economy is possible while also boosting jobs and GDP and avoiding millions of premature deaths due to harmful air pollution. The low-carbon transition will require mass

India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions for climate action emphasises the creation of an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to three billion tonnes by 2030 by increasing the country’s green cover. At the same time, however, harmful human activities such as legal and illegal logging, as well as deforestation for development purposes seem poised to negate the impact of these climate-action plans. While steps are being taken to prevent t

The India-Japan partnership has matured into an important component of the new security and economic architecture of the Indo-Pacific region. For a long time, the partnership was centered on economic matters. But it has diversified to cover a wide spectrum of interests including security, counter terrorism, sea-lanes, UN reforms, energy security and climate change.

To those gathered in Marrakech to respond to what is inarguably one of the most important political and economic challenges of our times—climate change

चीनच्या दृष्टीने युरोपीय गटाचे राजकारण यावेळी इंडो-पॅसिफिकपर्यंत विस्तारू शकणार आहे.

The Indo-Pacific, which holds most of the world’s mangroves, faces serious risks from natural disasters, including those related to the long-term sustainability of coastal communities and valuable ecosystems. Mangroves uphold biodiversity, support ecosystem functionality, and sustain local livelihoods; however, financing their conservation is proving to be a massive challenge. This report examines the ecosystem services provided by mangroves, i

In the light of the economic climate and the government's spending capabilities, the Indian Navy needs to comprehensively review the performance of the systems it wants to acquire and its potential trade-offs, rather than accessing each technical requirement or performance need in isolation.

Biological weapons can come from naturally occurring microbes and viruses; but innovations in genomic editing are opening up new, potentially more threatening avenues for their development. These innovations can cause or spread disease or resist known therapeutic approaches. Addressing such threats of biowarfare requires obtaining reliable and informative taxonomies for the pathogens and timely and effective responses. This, in turn, calls for co

Big ticket reforms promised by Mr. Narendra Modi are likely to resume stalled projects and revive business climate. However, if India is to return to its erstwhile double digit growth, the importance of banking sector reforms cannot be overstated.