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Afghanistan is facing its most complex humanitarian crisis yet, resulting from the cascading impacts of four decades of conflicts and endemic poverty, and in more recent years, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and chronic foreign aid dependency. Today, 97 percent of all Afghans live below poverty line, and one in every three Afghans (or 14 million) face severe hunger. This report seeks to understand the complexities of Afghanistan’s human

The Russia-Ukraine war has confounded observers, as much as it did the Russians themselves. Since erupting in late February, the war has not shown signs of abating any time soon. This brief argues that by its very nature, the war has lessons not just for the adversaries, but also the NATO alliance that is backing Ukraine, and even geographically distant China and India. For one, the war has both elements of the old eras—such as the mass

The Haqqani Network, operating out of Pakistan's North Waziristan, with vast training and material resources at its disposal, is likely to step in as a 'service provider' to the groups re-launching terrorist activities in Kashmir.

COP29 announced the full operationalisation of the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund, a long-awaited step for developing countries, including small island states, least-developed countries, and African nations. This milestone marks persistent advocacy for climate justice. However, the fund’s current framework has notable gaps. This paper highlights key concerns in the existing framework, including the lack of a clear and comprehensive definition,

The various incidents involving the LTTE during 2003, its continued confrontationist attitude and the demand for the recognition of its ¿Sea Tigers¿ wing as a de facto navy showed that the LTTE continued to attach importance to maintaining its military capability unimpaired and was unwilling to renounce its military option while continuing to adhere to the cease-fire.

The Madrid Bombings is a clear indication of how horribly skewed and wrong the War on Terrorism has been. It would be convenient to accuse the United States for the manner in which the War was planned and executed as a personal agenda of an American President whose sole footnote in history has been to sow the seeds of a global religious divide.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia is to be complimented for his vision and initiative. The vision that something was seriously amiss within the comity of Muslim nations, and the initiative to call them together in an extraordinary summit of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) to cogitate on the seriousness of the situation and to come forth with meaningful remedies.

Mr Narendra Modi's decision to invite the Head of Governments of India's neighbouring countries for his swearing-in was appreciated by Dr Sanjaya Baru, former Media Advisor of Dr Manmohan Singh. Modi's emphasis on the economy was also noted.

Under the PAT scheme, the market based mechanism created for achieving energy efficiency seems to be inherently flawed. While the market for energy efficiency is about 74,000 crores, it is unlikely that this potential can be tapped by the mechanism envisioned.

On 14 February 2025, Kathmandu was informed of the freeze on all payments related to the US$500-million Nepal Compact of the US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation. This followed the executive order passed by the Trump 2.0 administration in January, putting a 90-day pause on all foreign assistance programmes of the United States. During the years prior, the MCC Nepal Compact had been mired in political controversy since its signing in S

In earlier days, the journalist had to seek a professionally fruitful and ethical equation only with the governmental establishment. Today, the TV journalist /star is also entrepreneur, worried as much about news as about TRPs, Ads, Corporates, whose money is often keeping the channel buoyant.

Skyscrapers are typically constructed to meet the housing needs arising from increased urbanisation, but they may also fulfil national ambitions to display economic might. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of building skyscrapers to establish key learnings for India.

In the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, this paper explores the changing dynamics of the European Union (EU)-Central Asia relationship. It emphasises the growing significance of the Middle Corridor—also known as Trans-Caspian International Transport Route connecting South East Asia with Europe—as a potential alternative route for both the EU and Central Asia, particularly in the context of compliance issues, with sanctions on Northern Rout

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush proclaimed that the victory in the Gulf war presented an extraordinary opportunity to settle the Middle East conflict. This led to the Madrid conference, secret parleys between Israeli and PLO negotiators in Norway and then to signing of what came to be known as the Oslo accords in a grand ceremony at the White House in 1993.

The use of oral history of Partition days was critical in learning about the compassionate stories of how innocent people were saved by both the religious communities, because they are individual experiences. Such individual experiences have not been sufficiently documented in written scholarship.

In the past, the British intelligence was never well-disposed towards the Labour Party and other political leaders and intellectuals to the left of the political spectrum. During the Cold War years, it used to project the Labour Party as riddled with KGB agents. It even reportedly suspected that former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson was a KGB agent.

To what extent could Vasili Mitrokhin be considered a trustworthy source with access to sensitive details regarding the KGB's operations abroad, when he was in service?

Vasili Mitrokhin was born on March 3, 1922 in Yurasovo, in Central Russia. After completing his school education, he entered an artillery school of the Soviet army. While serving in the Army, he joined a university in Kazakhstan and graduated in History and Law.

By opposing 'unilateralism in international affairs' and evincing a 'common interest' in the evolution of a multipolar world based on 'cooperative security order' while in Moscow this week, Prime Minister Vajpayee has addressed issues going beyond bilateral ties and regional politics in South Asia. To the extent, Vajpayee and India have been consistently focussing on multipolarism, particularly after the US war in Afghanistan, and on Iraq.

The strong showing of the six religious party¿s alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) in the October 2002 general elections in Pakistan has led to apprehensions among the tribe of Pakistan watchers worldwide about the inexorable slide of a nuclear-armed Pakistan towards ¿talibanisation¿.

Modi himself is on record saying that it would take him 5-7 years to fulfil his agenda. That is a reasonable amount of time. The issue, however, is not how much time he deserves, but how much he will actually get, and no one can forecast that.

The real test for any government is elections - both state and central. The Narendra Modi government faces one later this year when elections will take place to the Bihar.

The Chinese understanding about the border has changed many times and while a swap agreement would be a feasible solution to the issue, the Chinese have asked for more concessions on the East, says Dr. Manoj Joshi

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have not really been travelling a lot since the Covid pandemic but they manage to find time for each other amidst the fragmentation of the global order

It is clear that Myanmar wants to deflect international pressure. The details of the criteria for the return of the Rohingya refugees have not yet been spelt out; nor is there any clarity on the legal status of Rohingyas upon return, or any guarantee that they will not be subjected to further violence.

Despite the complexities, the international community must play its role by pushing for the sustainability of this deal

In government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to disrupt the lethargy of the Lutyens communication machinery by introducing some of his young campaign team into the mix. He needs to reinvent and revitalise #NaMo in his new role as PM.

Narcoterrorism—or the trafficking of illicit drugs by terrorist and insurgent groups—has long threatened India’s national security. Security agencies are attempting to address this challenge, which involves various groups like Khalistani terrorist organisations, Kashmir’s separatist militants, and insurgent groups in the Northeast; their efforts have achieved mixed results. This brief examines recent trends in drug trafficking and narcote

India should not lose sight of the fact that it needs strong regional partnerships if the challenge of China’s rise is to be managed effectively.

The growing interdependency of India and China through border trade may lead to de-securitization and demilitarization in the border areas with significant implications in these areas.

The National Rural Livelihoods Mission was launched in June 2011 to create institutional platforms for the rural poor, enabling them to increase household incomes through livelihood support and access to financial services. This brief evaluates the achievements of the programme in its first 10 years. It finds that the Mission has met with some successes in improving the lives of rural women, who are the backbone of the programme, and consequently

Policymakers and practitioners are leading the emerging consensus on the need to fundamentally reassess assumptions

With the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal announcing its final award, water, in general, and inter-State river water issues, in particular, are once again in the national focus. There are varying concerns about the socio-political fallout of the Tribunal award in the riparian States, with Karnataka and Kerala expressing unhappiness to differing degrees, and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, respectively, expressing 'relief' and 'satisfaction'.

Both the spread and speed of the internet in India will have a direct impact on India's economy. India's e-government schemes will find faster delivery of services. Sectors like e-commerce will be able to grow. And India's IT and ITES sectors will also remain in the race to be a sure avenue for employment and income generation.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) must account for the possibility of interstate migration, rapid urbanisation and possible changes in the social fabric as populations react to new job opportunities.

India is not alone in facing slow growth because all the other BRICS countries too are facing slower growth and this slow growth would knock off half a percentage from US growth rate as well. The US is not going to grow over 2 percent this year, according to IMF.

It’s up to India’s policymakers to effectively make use of the opportunities provided by growing concerns about the Chinese project to make India emerge as a net provider of regional connectivity.

The failure of global finance to create a bridge between savings that earn low returns in the global north and the projects that would create much-needed infrastructure in the global south has caused a crisis that needs the attention of global regulators. Among the multiple causes of this crisis is the stringent regulatory response to the 2008 financial crisis, including new lending norms for banks; the tardy response of institutional investors t

Without a strong internal capability, New Delhi will be unable to influence the international debates on regulating cyberspace at the UN General Assembly and the International Telecommunications Union. Even more important is India's bilateral engagement with both the US and China on cyber security issues.

Climate change presents significant risks to long-term economic growth and socioeconomic development in developing economies. Thus the response to climate change necessitates major revisions around how economies are structured and how they function. The Observer Research Foundation organised a symposium on the subject, “The New Economy of Climate Change”, on 15 March 2016. This Special Report builds on the key themes presented by the panellis

The September 26 death of Amjad Farooqi, Pakistan's most wanted terrorist, reveals the new face of terrorism taking shape in the backwoods of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Killed after a five-hour gun battle with security forces in Sindh, Pakistan, Farooqi had a bounty of Rs 20 million (436,205 USD) on his head.

The Chinese economy's has been facing serious structural problems for some time now. Premier Li knows it, and he is making sure that the legislators attending the parliament session also get the message and pass it on.

Notwithstanding certain areas of confusions and its share of shortcomings, some of them very serious in nature, the new land acquisition bill is a long overdue and must move quickly with doses of amendments to see the daylight.