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This brief discusses the climate change challenges facing the member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the initiatives taken by them to mitigate the effects. The South Asian countries within BIMSTEC are particularly vulnerable to global warming-induced weather variations that cause economic damage and loss of lives. At the same time, BIMSTEC economies have achieved impressiv

Two decades since its inception, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has yet to truly succeed as an instrument of regional integration. The primary reason for the group’s slow progress is general inertia, or lack of interest amongst its members. There have also been more pressing national and regional issues that have overtaken the group’s development. This is set to change under the im

An audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden was aired on the Arabic network Al-Jazeera on January 3,2004. This is the third message exclusively relating to Iraq attributed to him since before the US-led invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces. The first, called a special message to the Iraqi people, was aired on February 11,2003, and the second

There was a massacre of hundreds of Shias of Gilgit in the Northern Areas (NA) of Pakistan (before 1947 called the Northern Areas of Jammu & Kashmir) in 1988 following a demand raised by them for the creation of an autonomous Shia state to be called the Karakoram State, consisting of the Shia majority areas of the NA, Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

It is not difficult to imagine that the Chinese will be uncomfortable with the current scenario. China is against any "outside power" being involved in the South China Sea, though its own forces are regularly operating in the Indian Ocean region.

If the BJP stands by its leader Arun Jaitley's illogic, it must necessarily oppose any negotiation of India's land boundary disputes with any of its neighbours, including China, Pakistan and Nepal. If this is a considered position of a party that is in striking distance of power, one shudders to think what the foreign policy of a BJP government might look like.

If Modi is a strong leader who is bringing greater purposefulness to India's China policy, Xi is even more powerful at home. He has conveyed a strong interest in transforming relations with New Delhi and is willing to explore opportunities with Modi.

India's 16th general elections, billed as the most expensive elections ever, are witnessing an unprecedented flow of black money into country's electoral process. Analysts claim that a mammoth 400 billion rupees, roughly 0.35 percent of India's GDP, has been pumped into the democratic process.

Nepali political leaders have missed a self-imposed deadline for promulgation of the country's new Constitution. Last year, in the wake of the election to the second Constituent Assembly (CA), the lawmakers had kept January 22 as the deadline.

Intelligence is the first line of defence in any war, be it a conventional war or a war against terrorism. The American security apparatus has readjusted itself well, in almost all the areas of modern warfare in the post cold war era. However, the recent American failures indicate that still much needs to be done in of the areas of modern day warfare, and that is intelligence gathering.

At least two people were killed and 50 others injured in a series of 300 simultaneous small bomb blasts in 50 cities and towns, including Dhaka, the capital, across Bangladesh on August 17,2005.

After Independence, none of the national parties - the Congress, the Janata Dal, leave alone the BJP - have ever had anyone other than a Hindu as their supreme political leader. The only recent exception is Sonia Gandhi of the Congress. But even her links into politics are exceptionally pucca, upper caste Hindu.

Terrorism, like almost every other human activity that involves production and creation of goods and services, needs money. Described by experts like Raymond Baker as Gross Criminal Product, this included illegal capital flight, narcotics trade, smuggling of arms and other goods, human trafficking, counterfeiting and computer crimes.

A constitutional court must not outsource its judgement on freedom of expression online to an industry association even if it convenes others to help make this decision. It must also avoid allowing the executive to take over this role, determining without any transparency what content is blocked.

Once a niche term, Blue Economy (BE) has matured into a popular concept in marine governance discussions in the Indo-Pacific region. As land resources reach their limits, governments in the region are keen to harness the ocean’s wealth for economic projects. Policymakers widely believe the blue paradigm allows marine activities to be earth-friendly and sustainable, and thereby guaranteeing a more equitable future. Recent developments, however,

Blue economy’ is the integration of ocean economy development with values of social inclusion and environmental sustainability, along with dynamic and innovative business models. For India, however, blue economy extends beyond being merely an economic and environmental proposition. It presents India with an unprecedented opportunity to meet its national objectives, strengthen connectivity with neighbours, and exert influence in the surrounding

The DRDO has done a commendable job as evident from the initial tests of the Missile Defence system, but its net worth as a truly viable option can only be assessed when the claims made about the system are realized and it is serial produced for active deployment.

The January 20, 2012 attacks in Nigeria's northern city of Kano, which left at least 185 police and residents dead, was the biggest attack carried out by Boko Haram, a Sunni extremist group which owed allegiance to al Qaida and called for an Islamist rule.

Having already replaced the United States as Brazil's largest trading partner, China-Brazil trade is set for further boost, with benefits to both the economies. However, the increase in trade, and also the huge trade gap between the countries, is becoming a major challenge for Brazil's policy-makers.

The slow pace of rail track construction in India is a total contrast to the development across the border. China has already built a 1142 km-long electrified railway line from Golmud to Lhasa. Now it has plans to extend it to Shigatze and Yatung, reaching almost Nathu La pass.

After the successful operation into Myanmar against Naga insurgents, it is natural for all Indians to feel thrilled at the valour and skill of our forces and show it. But, it is not so natural for a government to beat the drum in this fashion.

Unlike many other countries where China is making risky investments, Delhi is a more credible long-term economic partner for Beijing. If China is ready for a genuine consultative approach with India and is willing to facilitate serious tie-ups between companies in both countries, Modi should embrace President Xi Jinping's Silk Road initiative.

Under the Vibrant Villages Programme nearly 3,000 villages selected along the 3,400-km-long border are set to get better infrastructure facilities

The unanimous passage of the LBA bill through both houses of Parliament underlines the growing maturity of the political discourse on foreign policy in India. In particular, the larger political parties have shown that building consensus on India's foreign policy can increasingly be a bipartisan affair.

The twin bomb blasts during the Boston Marathon on April 16 present new counter-terrorism challenges for the US as well as other countries gearing up to face a rapidly mutating threat.

Given the US's counter-terrorism experience and security threat, it is in its interest to come out of its earlier bureaucratic deadlock and view the threat of terrorism more objectively and work to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation with countries such as India.

With the US already having made a strong base to deal with terrorist activities from external sources, it is time the US, and other countries develop mechanisms that tackle home-grown groups with vigour, but without endangering the principles of 'rule of law'. This is particularly important as the elements of home-grown terrorism are, in fact, the citizens of the respective countries.

In healthcare, one of the main rudimentary elements is health education which is lacking in India. Hygiene and cleanliness are very important as is emphasised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and if basic habits like washing hands before eating are inculcated in the people, a lot of diseases could be prevented.

In the last few years, the European Union has been developing alternative ways of digital governance. This 'European way' could represent a shared model for new players worldwide, or else, herald the beginning of the fragmentation of the World Wide Web. These developmentsfrom rulings of the European Court of Justice on 'the right to be forgotten' and on safe harbour, to record-breaking sanctions for violations of competition law, to standard�

Brazil's Ambassador to India, Mr Carlos Duarte, thinks that trade between Brazil and India should grow not just in absolute terms but also in qualitative terms.

Enabling greater free trade and removing NTBs should be undertaken with the goal of not just regional integration and growth but also development of communities, employment and poverty alleviation across South Asia.

As India's online footprint has increased, so has the role of e-commerce. The industry is expected to cross $6 billion in revenues by 2015, not including ticketing and travel, according to Gartner Research. It must then follow that e-commerce should be encouraged to play a key role in building requisite supply chain efficiencies across India.

Notwithstanding the fact that Arvind Kejriwal had to resign as Delhi Chief Minister because he could not get through the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly and BJP and Congress accusation that Kejriwal quit after creating an excuse for doing so, Kejriwal and AAP have not lost their popularity among the people of Delhi.

Smart Grid technology solutions can not only help India reduce its transmission and distribution losses, but can also help leap to the future by bundling major public utilities over one single grid.

Bangladesh has not only become the second-fastest growing economy in South Asia, it has also made significant headway in reducing malnutrition. This success owes, in part, to nutrition-sensitive interventions, including provision of diversified foods, improved sanitation, and women’s empowerment. The country’s strategy of a multi-sector approach that scales up health and nutrition programmes for women, in particular, has shown consistent resu

This paper explores the various opportunities and challenges of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC, a unique inter-regional grouping composed of aspiring member countries from South Asia and Southeast Asia. While the grouping has massive potential to contribute to regional cooperation, this paper explores the capabilities of the organisation in terms of meeting the expectations of renewed

BRIC or BRICs is an acronym referring to the fast growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The acronym is used increasingly by politicians and the mass media, reflecting the emergence of a new global reality.

It is apparent that panaceas such as debt write-downs only offer short term relief to the debt ridden Eurozone as long as structural imbalances persist. European leaders need to look for a multipronged approach to deal with the problems.

At this unique geopolitical moment, when India faces a multitude of challenges seeking its attention both towards the region and the global stage, BRICS provides a flexible platform to respond to both.

The major achievement of the recent BRICS Summit was the decision to create the long-awaited (BRICS) New Development Bank. The bank can be seen as a growing influence of the BRICS which together represents 18% of the World trade and accounts for 40% of the global population with a combined GDP of $ 24 trillion.

The BRICS leaders have accepted the report titled "Towards a Long Term Strategy for BRICS", the recommendations made by the BRICS Think Tanks Council (BTTC). Observer Research Foundation is the Indian representative at the BTTC.