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As the Biden administration grapples with the intricate interplay of domestic pressures and international obligations, particularly in the midst of an election year, there is a palpable sense of urgency to confront a myriad of challenges.

The Central Asian Republics (CARs) have, in recent years, implemented multifaceted foreign policies to achieve strategic autonomy and limit China’s influence and Russia's traditional sway. But domestic uprisings in the CARs, the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan, and now the Russia-Ukraine conflict have given China new opportunities to strengthen its presence in Central Asia. This brief investigates China's increased engagement with the CARs

If the U.S. partners with India for more efficient industrialisation and supports an "India exception" in global climate talks, it could be the kind of investment that cements ties between these two countries. From the perspective of a stable international order, it would be a big deal; from the perspective of climate talks, it is the only realistic path forward.

Under the new Trump administration, the Indo-Pacific is likely to retain prominence but with a sharper focus on hard power dynamics

The global effort to meet the targets set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals will depend crucially on reforming the structure of development finance. Mobilising private capital will be an essential part of this effort, and existing development finance institutions, led by the complex of multilateral development banks (MDBs), will have to re-orient their strategies and functioning to prioritise this mobi

India began investing in Space science and technologies in the 1960s, putting in place an administrative structure similar to that for Atomic Energy. However, unlike the atomic energy domain which came under the 1948 Atomic Energy Act (revised in 1962), the country’s space activities are yet to be regulated by specific legislation. India’s space agency, ISRO, has historically viewed space technology applications primarily for societal develop

The US Congressional Staff was pointed out that though Pakistan's political machinery is willing to work with all parties, including India, on Afghanistan, the army apparatus and the ISI still remains a liability. These factors must be taken into account while US deals with Pakistan.

Uncertainties will mutate for a long time.

India’s aspirations to become the third largest economy in the world by 2027, and a developed country by 2047, need to be backed by a liquid, deep, and well-functioning debt market—something that the country does not have. Banks in India typically lack the ability to sponsor long-term projects because their liabilities are of a relatively shorter tenure. An efficient Indian corporate bond market with lower costs and faster issuances could pro

The authors propose an 'India exception' in global climate talks as the only realistic pathway to a global climate deal, which could also be a key tool in cementing stronger ties between India and the US, two critical actors in the evolving international order.

This report explores the economic and geopolitical impacts of climate change, highlighting the mitigated energy crisis in Europe, inflation trends, and global monetary policies. It discusses investment opportunities in sustainable travel and emerging markets, particularly in Asia, amidst the evolving energy landscape and consumer behaviors post-COVID, in the year 2023.

Nuclear states are clearly planning for the long-term future of their nuclear capabilities.

India must bolster its weight in the digital marketplace, commensurate with the number of current and potential netizens. This would be possible only by creating capabilities and an environment where private businesses, SMEs and individuals can access and exploit this medium gainfully.

This brief assesses the growth of Armenia’s defence deep-tech landscape, and the geopolitical ramifications of its development for India, in particular. Tracing its historical development and current status in light of the current strategic volatility in the South Caucasus, the brief highlights the scope for closer cooperation between Yerevan and New Delhi in the deep-tech domain, shaped by such factors as issue-based convergences, Armenia’s

Logistics is meaningless if it cannot do what is central to war—fighting. In order to bolster the logistical capabilities of all the major service branches of the Chinese military—including the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), PLA Air Force (PLAAF), and the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF)—the People’s Republic of China (PRC) under President Xi Jinping established a Joint Logistic Support Force (JLSF) in 2016. To what extent does the JLSF

India requires a “consensus” — a new proposition that will not only guide its own trajectory for the better part of the 21st century, but one that appeals to communities around the world.

As China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to undertake significant organisational reforms, the asymmetric inequalities between the Indian military and PLA are set to widen.

India and China should focus on maritime commonalities and challenges rather than incongruence. After all, the sea unites while the land divides.

Assembly Elections 2023: There is justice in the poll promises that political parties are making to women voters, whose assertion at the polling booth in terms of turnout and independent choices is only too evident to these parties.

In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the picture remains unclear, with no party or no combination of parties being assured of forming the next government in March.

The report examines India's urbanization, highlighting rapid population growth, metro rail expansion, sustainable transport policies, and financing challenges, while assessing efforts in localization and revenue enhancement for metro systems.

While it cannot match the Indian Navy’s strength, the Pakistan Navy’s focus on asymmetric capabilities & growing synergy with the PLAN pose a significant challenge for New Delhi.

The European Union’s (EU) and India’s paths towards becoming “cyber powers” could hardly be more different. The EU has a long tradition of protecting personal privacy rights and patents, while urging to enhance multilateral norms on cyberspace. India’s thinking on cybersecurity has continuously been boosted by the cyber threats emerging from China and Pakistan. It has further been shaped by India’s domestic Information Technology indu

Cyber-sanctions have emerged as a preferred tool for Western governments to deter cyberattacks emanating from their adversaries’ territories. As they implement such sanctions, however, these states face various challenges one of which is the difficulty in attribution. Moreover, the sanctions have only partially curbed the malicious cyber activities. Yet, the regime continues to expand, and many allies of the United States are emulating its prac

China is building nuclear submarines at an estimated rate of 4.5 to six per year. These are in addition to the two or three conventional submarines it has been commissioning each year. Submarines in general and nuclear boats in particular, apart from being expensive to construct and maintain, require highly trained crews to operate. It is therefore imperative for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy to invest in such capabilities to be able

Russia and China have been concerned about the US’s growing technological lead particularly in missile defence and conventional global precision-strike capabilities.

Curiosity drew me to the Yasukuni shrine during a recent trip to Tokyo. When I lived in Beijing in the Nineties, I had been struck by the close attention paid by the Chinese authorities to every visit by a Japanese minister to this Shinto place of worship.

Senator Chris Evans visited the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi on July 22 and spoke on the close cultural ties that have been forged between the two countries, the safety of Indian students in Australia and migration prospects in the future.

Australia would be holding a skills Expo in India next year which would inform prospective migrants about the employment and lifestyle opportunities available in Australia

Over the last three decades, Australia and China have established mutually beneficial economic ties. However, Australia’s decision to ask for an independent enquiry into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has led to a backlash from China. This brief examines the more important developments since 2015 that persuaded Australia to take measures aimed at protecting both its open economy and its democratic polity against China’s sys

This Report, based on the Australia India Roundtable, presents a distillation of ideas and observations intended to help leading decision-makers in both countries to make the most of the opportunities ahead.

India’s outreach to the Taliban isolates Pakistan further

Farooq and Omar Abdullahs are not sufficiently "provincial" to manage a province. They are cosmopolitan men with considerable potential on the national turf - and we are short of such personalities on the national stage.

BRICS has made strides in developing a digital agenda that promotes the use of digital technologies for development while trying to counter digital harms. The grouping has prioritised areas such as agritech and digital agriculture, technology for education, digital health, technology for climate action, and the use of data to further the development agenda. Additionally, bridging the digital divide, promoting cybersecurity, and furthering the rig

While existing literature provides solid documentation of conservation policy and legislation, coverage of civil society's perceptions and role within conservation schemes is relatively sparse. This paper presents the under-represented perspective of modern Delhi on the policies and realities of heritage conservation.

India’s multi-pronged strategy of using various instrumentalities of power — legal, diplomatic, economic and military — seems to have had some effect in shaping Pakistan’s behaviour.

The decision by the Pakistani and the Chinese authorities to cancel the programme for the formal inauguration of the newly-constructed Gwadar port by the Chinese Prime Minister Mr Wen Jiabao during his recent visit to Pakistan gave a clear indication of the further deterioration in the situation in Balochistan.

Several thousand Baloch men and women nationalists are known to have gone missing, and, as usual, the authorities have unleashed sectarian terrorists in Balochistan to discredit the nationalists by injecting their reliable hit men from the ASWJ, the successors to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. They have repeatedly killed Hazara Shias in Balochistan.

Delivering the 4th RK Mishra Memorial Lecture, Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Dr Dipu Moni, called for a Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basin Regime, going beyond the boundaries of Bangladesh and India, to address the common realities of our region.

Though the Hasina Government is pursuing an active counter-terrorism programme and has succeeded in controlling the activities of various radical organisations in the real world, it has failed to curb their activities in the virtual world.

The future of Bangladesh’s RMG sector is intertwined with the resumption of economic activities in Europe and the US, and a surge in demand.

Cherry-pick the BRI and look for business opportunities that can be fruitfully exploited

West Bengal is conducting a massive, potentially historic eight-phase state legislative assembly election between March and April 2021. This paper gives a historical account of the different factors that are influencing the conduct of the elections, including the economic challenges facing the state, unabated political violence, and the plight of religious minorities. It also examines so-called ‘Hindu nationalist’ and ‘Bengali sub-n

Europe’s relationship with China has transformed in recent years, with Chinese behaviour and actions now increasingly at odds with European values and interests. As Europe adjusts to new global realities amid a full-fledged war, the European Union (EU) and its member states are recalibrating their strategies and relationships with China. This paper aims to decipher these evolutions by assessing the EU approach and those of certain key European

Against the backdrop of the Pulwama suicide bombing and the Balakot air-strikes, national security has acquired a political salience that it might not have otherwise. This is reflected in the manifestos of both the main national parties, the BJP and the Congress.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has served as a laboratory test to assess the effectiveness of Cyber Warfare (CW) capabilities. It would be misleading, however, to extrapolate sweeping conclusions from this conflict about the relative ineffectiveness of CW. Rather, diligence should be exercised by Indian strategic and military planners in assessing the CW capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) and enhancing