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The latest terrorist attack on Mumbai and careless comments by an Indian minister on the scrapping of aids by the United States may set back ties with Pakistan.

Going by Japan's response to the Ukraine crisis, it appears that Tokyo attaches more importance to its alliance with the US than to the prospects of a robust Russo-Japanese partnership. And, with President Obama scheduled to make a visit to Japan in April, Abe is keen to maintain full solidarity with the US.

With barely two weeks left, there is still no clarity on the details of the forthcoming elections in Nigeria. Will Nigeria hold Presidential elections on February 14 and the Governors of the States poll on February 28 as scheduled?

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani’s bold peace offer to the Taliban has aroused hopes of peace in the country torn by war for many years now. In a sweeping proposal made at the Kabul Process conference in February, President Ghani offered a ceasefire, the removal of sanctions, release of prisoners, the recognition of the Taliban as a political party, the conduct of fresh elections, and a review of the constitution. He repeated his offer in Mar

MEA budget reflects geoeconomic shift, but institutional challenges persist.

Sustainable finance emerged as a key issue to tackle climate change at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference and is spurring a global transition to net zero. A peculiar feature of the race to net zero is that it cannot be achieved unless all countries can meet their targets, and any positive step towards it will benefit all countries. The drive to achieve carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions needs to be targeted through a range of

High-density urban agglomerations may be sustainable in terms of the economies of scale their populations provide. Yet, as proven by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these same urban spaces are nearly defenceless in times of unprecedented disease outbreaks. A pandemic poses many risks to the millions who live in dense megacities, whether in wealthy countries or developing ones. The sheer density of the population of these cities provides an ideal e

As Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram go through the process of Assembly elections, ORF Urban Policy research team looks at development patterns in these States. Here is a preview of "Book of Charts", covering Delhi and Rajasthan, on the status and developments in such important areas as employment, education and infrastructure, etc.

Austin is set to land in India on Friday, for a visit that aims to deepen defense cooperation between the United States and India.

The Trump administration’s attempts to create another West Asia crisis should worry India.

Xi has highlighted ‘severe challenges’ arising out of America’s containment policy

It is time for the India-US security partnership to be more than a Voldemort -that whose name shall not be spoken. India is capable enough to secure its interests within such a partnership. The trade relationship will always be contentious, that much is clear.

There is no doubt that the armed forces personnel need some form of indemnification for killing or injuring non-combatants who get caught in the crossfire when the armed forces are acting in good faith in a counter-insurgency campaign.

The seminar held in ORF Delhi called for a paradigm shift in understanding the various dimensions of the water crisis facing India

The demand for basic infrastructure and services in Indian cities has increased phenomenally due to rapidly growing populations. Such unmet demands often adversely affect the quality of urban life, the economic productivity, as well as the process of sustainable development. The main purpose of this brief is to highlight the problems involved in improving access to water supply in Indian cities faced with a severe water shortage crisis. A case st

Could there exist identifiable ways of thinking that are distinctive to the Indian and Chinese psyches, and if so, what might the implications reveal? Could they throw light on some frequently asked questions like: What explains the Chinese prowess in infrastructure and manufacturing? Will China ever become a democracy? Will China and India be friends? The author ponders on these questions, revealing some fascinating insights that could pave the

As the US and China glare at each other and leave no ambiguity about their rivalrous intent, the rest of the world must watch these shifting dynamics closely for their potential implications

The trip produced a mixed outlook for New Delhi’s perceptions of Beijing’s inroads in the wider Indo-Pacific.

Indian counter-terror thinking needs strengthening from the ground up without care of international levers, FATF, and other multilateral security mechanisms

The Russian president, who will be in New Delhi on December 6, is not just coming to maintain the ‘special, privileged strategic partnership’, but to also deepen bilateral relations

The outcome of PM K.P. Sharma Oli's visit suggests relations between the two countries are in a reboot mode.

Kathmandu has repeatedly indicated that it wants to maintain a balance between India and China.

KP Sharma Oli, who is bitterly anti-Indian, is likely to return to the prime minister's office.

Strong Republican support for India in the US Congress, the new tensions in America's ties with China and Russia, and the unfolding geopolitical flux in Middle East and Asia, make it possible for Modi and Obama to boldly reimagine the bilateral partnership.

A politics of hand-outs hasn’t removed poverty from India. It has embedded it even more deeply. Narendra Modi was elected to end this politics. He is now following it.

Quang’s visit comes at a time when momentum for bilateral ties and India’s ties with Southeast Asia in general are at a high level.

To correct the trend of agglomeration of wealth, young economist Thomas Picketty has suggested an annual progressive tax on wealth. He also says it will be difficult to implement it because there will always be flight to tax havens. In India, any type of wealth tax would be hardest to implement because a huge amount of wealth is already stashed away abroad.

Political parties are the only entities which are not subject to any regulation or regulator. The phrase political parties has not been mentioned in India's constitution and post independence, the legislatures have not enacted any regulation or law governing the functioning of political parties.

India has nurtured good relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Bahrain, and will gain from peace in West Asia.

The visit of Begum Khaleda Zia to New Delhi, her first visit as the Opposition leader, suggests a change in the thinking of her party, BNP. And it is likely to turn into a major breakthrough in the India-Bangladesh relations, marking a new beginning in the relations.

The decade that began on January 1 will be Africa's decade. Unprecedented opportunities are opening up for India-Africa cooperation in Africa's rise in several areas, notably higher education, industrialisation and agriculture.

Citizens of India and Nepal enjoy mutual rights of residence, freedom of movement, ownership of property, and can participate in each other’s industrial and economic development without discrimination.

Gender disparities in economic participation and opportunities remain significantly large across the world. To bridge these gaps, G20 countries are working to advance women’s entrepreneurship through financial assistance, knowledge creation, and governance for supporting enterprise. India, in particular, has introduced a number of government schemes to promote entrepreneurship among women, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and the Prad

The indecision of the AAP since the announcement of the Delhi poll results has the potential for the national voter to prefer national parties or alliances, rendering regional parties minimal players with maximalist muscle-flexing.

Experts at a discussion on Indus Water unanimously agreed that a 'blue revolution' must follow the 'green revolution' so that the human possibilities for development are not compromised in the basin.

The 'multiple identities' of the Tamil-speaking people in the country have suddenly acquired an urgent need for mutual understanding between the State and the citizen. There are contextualised circumstances, which may not provide for a yard-stick to measure 'national interests' or prioritise them.

The trilateral maritime cooperation initiative by India, Maldives and Sri Lanka, and the Outcome Document signed recently by the NSAs of the three countries, has the potential for further improving naval ties in the shared Indian Ocean Neighbourhood.

पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी आणि श्रीलंकेचे अध्यक्ष विक्रमसिंघे यांनी UPI सेवांचे उद्घाटन केले.

There has been no credible evidence so far of any mastermind having orchestrated the various serious acts of jihadi terrorism reported during 2003, whether from Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq or Turkey. The available evidence indicates that all these incidents were planned and executed by local elements, which share the pan-Islamic ideology of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the International Islamic Front (IIF), b

Relations between India and Australia have reached a new maturity, based on deepening connections between their societies, economies, education sectors and policy establishments. This positions these two democracies well to work together to advance their interests in a shared Indo-Pacific region.

आफ्रिकेसाठी, रशियावरील महत्त्वपूर्ण आर्थिक अवलंबित्वामुळे रशिया-युक्रेनियन संकट हा एक संवेदनशील मुद्दा आहे.

The ability to partner with nations that are deeply divided by geopolitics has been a feature of Indian diplomacy since Independence. The India-Russia relationship serves not just the two countries in question, but the world

Washington’s hostility towards Beijing may bring benefits to India, but a breakdown in China-U.S. ties would be catastrophic for the world

Infertility, which impacts reproductive well-being and carries a social stigma, affects one in every six couples globally. In India, 28 million couples experience infertility, yet only a small proportion seek treatment. This report studies the case of Alwar, Rajasthan, where service unavailability, steep costs, and weak referral systems hinder early diagnosis and care of infertility. To bridge the data gap in infertility prevalence, the Mamta Hea

Shipbuilding capability has emerged as a key component of sea power in the contemporary strategic competition in the vast Indo-Pacific. Over the past few decades, there have been concerns that the United States (US) is falling behind in the competition, particularly in comparison to China. Meanwhile, US partners in the Indo-Pacific region with strong shipbuilding capabilities, such as South Korea and Japan, have risen as potential providers of sh

This paper evaluates the importance of a space military strategy for India against China. It argues that in light of China’s advances in space weapons, New Delhi needs to seriously consider developing at least a limited menu of space weapons and integrate them into India’s defence posture. It draws on conceptual literature on nuclear deterrence, air power and sea power to show that space weapons, at least some variants, are usable military in

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has underlined the emerging realities of states’ air defence needs, including those for medium- and long-range air defence missile systems. The most important facet in the domain of air defence relates to terminal air defence—or the defence of a single object or a limited area like a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. This report underscores the need for India to

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has underlined the emerging realities of states’ air defence needs, including those for medium- and long-range air defence missile systems. The most important facet in the domain of air defence relates to terminal air defence—or the defence of a single object or a limited area like a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. This report underscores the need for India to