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This paper presents a status report of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) on two crucial development parameters—inequality and poverty—that have a significant bearing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; especially SDG-1 and SDG-10). The paper tracks the origins and movements of absolute and relative poverty, and income and wealth inequality in the BRICS economies over time, highlights the associated cha

The legacy cross-border payment infrastructure is replete with issues of high costs, limited access, low speed, and opaque structures, which have limited the potential of cross-border payments to enhance international trade and foster economic growth in emerging economies. The increased demand for transparent, accessible, faster and cheaper solutions in the financial sector has pushed the private and public sectors to accelerate investments in in

India’s power sector requires sustained efforts to achieve the power generating capacity target of approximately 1.2 terawatts by 2047. It needs such capacity to meet the demands of economic growth and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of providing universal electricity access. At the same time, the country also needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to meet commitments to global climate action agreements. This paper revi

Can Africa’s energy transition break the resource curse? With global aid shrinking, African leaders look to clean energy to boost growth, jobs, and autonomy

Bringing the private sector centre-stage requires a sea change in the manner of its participation and its role in nation-building.

This paper highlights the risks that emerging economies are exposed to given the extended use of Unconventional Monetary Policies in advanced economies. It also explores how financial resilience of emerging economies can be increased to ensure stable economic growth.

Cultural entrepreneurship promotes a country’s heritage, resources and creative talents through products, services, and experiences. It shapes the country’s cultural economy; enables economic growth, innovation, and sociocultural development; and, when exported, contributes towards building soft power. India, with a millennia-old heritage, indigenous knowledge systems, and practices, has the potential to become a leading cultural and

The BRICS is growing more relevant and increasingly institutionalised. Economic growth rates continue to outpace the rest of the developing world. According to the UNDP, Brazil, China and India's combined GDP will be greater than the combined GDP of the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy by 2020.

In October 2019, China’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Mauritius opened the Chinese market to Mauritian exporters and investors. Not long after, concerns arose that Mauritius might be lacking in the capacity to benefit significantly from the agreement and thus lose in terms of a trade imbalance that clearly favours China. This brief revisits China’s motivations for the FTA, and finds economic and geopolitical goals. Given Mauritius’s smal

China’s communist party has survived where others have failed — a testament to its capacity to adapt and reinvent itself with the times. Mao’s successors put ideology aside and focused instead on economic growth.  Yet today, under Xi Jinping’s leadership, there is much lip-service paid to the ideology of the communist past, even while key communist principles like collectivism are actively undermined. With a slowing down economy, communi

This paper revisits India’s contribution to institution building efforts in BRICS to suggest India’s keen interest in leveraging BRICS for fulfilling its national objectives on domestic economic growth and global governance. However, this paper notes, multiple competing imperatives of global governance and national interests within BRICS have led to asymmetric gains among members. BRICS suffers from weak cooperation in global trade, technolog

The Chinese are now seeking to finesse a situation where their continued economic growth requires them to open up their service and financial sectors in the world, while preventing their adversaries from using this to undermine the CPC control of China.

The COVID-19 pandemic can serve as an opportunity for India to redefine its approach to economic growth. The policy objective should be that once the threat of the current pandemic subsides, the country will not return to business-as-usual mode and rather build an economy for the future. The Indian government has declared that it is considering measures towards distress mitigation, relief disbursement, and a revival of growth. At the same time, h

India's reliance on outer space has become critical in its social and economic growth stories in addition to its transformative impact in the national security context. With growing reliance comes vulnerability to adversarial attempts to harm India's capabilities, particularly from the new threat of cyber warfare. Even as countries including India have debated the need to develop certain counter-space capabilities, such as demonstration of an ASA

An unshakable optimism about the long-term destiny of India's economy is counter-productive at moments of crisis

Hard work on inflation means there is monetary space in this crisis; but years of mismanagement means there is no fiscal firepower

Domestic climate of social peace and stability needed to turn the tide

India’s target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 might appear ambitious, but it is crucial as it will have a positive impact on the country’s economic growth, energy security and the fight against climate change. Financing is emerging as the key challenge to this vision, slowing down the pace of growth; as of December 2019, over 50 percent of the 2022 target is yet to be achieved. This brief outlines India’s existing

Beginning in 2017, the first Trump Administration steered United States (US)-China relations from engagement to competition. Thereafter, Biden largely built on this policy, while giving indications of moving towards a phase of “competitive co-existence”. Under Biden, the US sought to reassure China that it was adopting a strategy of “de-risking” and not “de-coupling,” and its goal was to adopt a technology export regime that would als

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the global health governance system has become a key area of concern for the G20 and other multilateral platforms. This comes at a time when the world has increasingly become volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. As a grouping of developed and developing countries, the G20 must prioritise addressing global health challenges by identifying its direct and indirect determinants. This brief

It is important to differentiate between physical capital as produced means of production in contrast to natural capital which is naturally endowed. The latter facilitates a host of ecosystem services[i] that flow through human processes, both societal and economic. Unlike physical capital, natural capital cannot be substituted easily. Therefore, this stock of natural capital processing into the flow of ecosystem functions need to be valued and

Gujarat has the required natural resources, human potential and entrepreneurial spirit to become the engine of India¿s economic growth and achieve a growth rate of 20%.

India’s online gaming sector is rapidly growing, surpassing other emerging digital sectors in the country. It contributes to GST revenue, creates jobs, and attracts FDI. The sector also promotes ancillary sectors, contributing indirectly to the economy. However, concerns persist around harms such as addiction, financial crimes like money laundering, and implications to national security. Regulatory uncertainty continues to hinder the sector’s

Household savings have merely moved from financial to physical assets, with an increase over time

Rather than having an ambition of $5 trillion economy that seems almost unattainable by 2024, it is now important that the next three years focus on the creation of better provisions of public goods and services like health.

Conventional investments cater to investors who intend to gain financial returns. Other investors whose aim is to generate a positive social or environmental impact at a decent rate of return, turn to “impact investments” for their purpose. Mobilised to finance social enterprises, impact investments assume three primary forms: embedded, integrated, and external. This paper discusses the ideas of impact investment and social enterprises, and o

The politics of Centre-State relations has been a powerful force in shaping India's foreign policy. India's rapid economic growth has furthermore given a new found influence to regional parties, leading to their disproportionate influence over the formulation of foreign policy.

For a decisive role in the region's future, India must accelerate its economic growth, build a stronger security partnership with Washington, contain the boundary dispute with China, and strengthen ties with key Asian middle powers.

With the labour force participation rate expected to rise significantly in the coming years in India, it is imperative that the government formulates a common policy on business development and regulation. India's high economic growth story cannot be taken for granted.

A digital revolution in MSMEs' access to credit might accelerate growth and prosperity - if policymakers focus on simplicity, access, and human capital.

In June 2015 the Modi government launched the Smart Cities Mission, a major urban development initiative designed to improve living conditions and achieve higher economic growth in 100 cities across the country. The Mission offers the State and city governments yet another opportunity to think creatively and work towards the betterment of their cities. Will India succeed in this venture, and would the future 'smart cities' be equitable and sustai

The virus is only going to make a growth slowdown caused by declining investment even worse.