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Aspiring to become a US$30-trillion economy by 2047, surrounded by hostile nations, and leading the idea of multipolarity in a bipolar world, India needs to articulate a grand strategy that has been missing in its statecraft. With the necessary conditions for such an endeavour in place, it is time for Bharat, under Narendra Modi’s third term as prime minister, to thread the three core aspects of executing such a grand strategy: articulating the

New Delhi is increasingly positioning itself as a significant player in African peace, security and development. Examining the question of how India responds to state fragility in Africa, this brief finds that India’s engagement is mostly transactional: working around, rather than on, sources of political fragility. Development and security interventions tend to operate in silos, but might change if Indian commercial investments are threatened

This paper projects the nationwide and state-wise size of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market under various GDP growth scenarios. The market sizes under these scenarios are expressed in monetary values at the scale of both sub-national units and the Indian economy as a whole. With the help of transactions and market share data from Phonepe, a UPI company, the paper estimates the national and state-wise base case scenario market volu

Technology is vital to enabling accelerated socio-economic growth, effective governance, and relief delivery at scale. Many economies are adopting and developing technology-first frameworks to strengthen their population’s social welfare net, and support economic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed both the challenges and opportunities in India that can be addressed and driven by multidimensional technology frameworks. With the rebalancin

Amongst India’s stated priorities in its G20 Presidency are reforming multilateral institutions, climate action alongside energy transition, digital transformation and governance, sustainable economic growth, and women’s empowerment. In many of these concerns, countries in the Global North and Global South have serious divergences, thereby hampering progress towards consensus and unified action. To remove some of the deadlocks

Climate change and economic development are emotive subjects that are closely related: yet one is caused by the other. People’s lives are increasingly getting affected by the negative side-effects of climate change, particularly in developing countries which, at the same time, face enormous challenges to their aspirations for economic growth. Leading scientists agree that global warming is a reality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are requir

Sustainability requires, among others, adjusting and reorienting to a dynamic situation. In the context of urban areas, “dynamism” is seen in the population and economic growth characteristics. The constantly changing nature of urban centres calls for new and improved strategies to ensure sustainable and equitable development. Owing to population growth and, consequently, greater pressure on resources, there has been increased focus on smart

By transferring Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the RBI’s surplus funds, the government is determined to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of the GDP because doing that seems to be its top priority, rather than spending more on infrastructure, welfare programmes and centrally sponsored development schemes.

The best news in years is that India’s government finally seems to recognize the scale of the problems it faces.

Narendra Modi came to power with an unexceptional agenda: push economic growth; transform the infrastructure; bring about a social transformation. But this agenda appears to be in danger of being drowned out by a cacophony of voices from Hindutva organisations.

Indian industry stalwarts have welcomed the arrival of Narendra Modi. The first priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be to ensure the revival of economic growth, which has gone below 5 per cent in the past two years and also tackle food inflation and price rise.

Mr Modi was one of the first to warn the developed world that terrorism was a hydra which strikes rich and poor alike.

Development cooperation has gained further currency in a post-pandemic world amid staggered economic growth and an increasing gap in financing the Sustainable Development Goals. As a strategic geographic expanse, the Indo-Pacific has witnessed an upswing in cooperation programmes under different modalities (North-South, South-South, and triangular development partnerships). This paper explores the role of development cooperation as a tool of dipl

The government has been firefighting since FY 2019 using mostly Band-Aids of the cheapest kinds.

The demand for basic needs has outpaced supply in many cities of the world. This fact is observed in the urban housing sector. High economic growth along with urbanisation has created a huge demand for housing, and according to recent estimates, there is a massive shortage of dwelling units in many urban areas of the world.

It is also unclear to what extent the disaster is the outcome of over-exploitation of resources in the back-to-back construction of dams

Infrastructure investments are required to enable economic growth and provide the services required by a growing population. The infrastructure already available is threatened by climate change, damaging existing assets and reducing future productivity. Investment in new infrastructure has to increase to fill the gap; as this occurs, the operation and maintenance cost of infrastructure are also expected to rise. Furthermore, as resources are scar

This paper evaluates the impact of various policy reforms, including the economic reforms of the 1990s, on India’s manufacturing sector. Covering the priority sectors relevant to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the paper analyses the productivity of registered manufacturing units from 1974-75 to 2012-13. It offers empirical evidence on the growth of productivity in the organised manufacturing sector through an inter-tem

The US must balance its economic ambitions with environmental responsibility. With advancements in car­bon capture and renewable ener­gy, the scope of a balanced approach exists

The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India and the Stanley Foundation, USA co-hosted an international workshop on climate change on February 25-27, 2014 in New Delhi. The central objective of the workshop was to unbundle the different policy responses resulting from the multilateral negotiations thus far and their impact upon the evolution of existing and future multilateral frameworks. This Policy Brief aims to capture some of the salient per

As economic growth continues to slump around the world, it has become imperative for developing nations such as India to seek to strengthen partnerships with African nations. There is a growing consensus that Africa is the last remaining capitalist playground. With an abundance of natural resources and the lack of an institutionalised capacity to harness them, Africa's statesmen have sought to move beyond their dependence on foreign (mainly West

This Paper outlines the potential of renewable energy in addressing India's energy supply and access; it identifies challenges and provide a discursive overview of the various market and policy instruments developed to scale up renewable energy generation. India’s significant economic growth over the last decade has led to an inexorable rise in energy demand. Currently, India faces a Ichallenging energy shortage. To grow at 9 per cent over t

Global growth is expected to experience an uptick this year due to renewed economic activity in the emerging and developing market economies. These economies have large investment requirements for infrastructure development and maintaining a sustainable level of economic growth—for which they are dependent on international credit markets. With the growing need of economies to borrow capital abroad, the role of credit rating agencies—most of t

A perfect storm is gathering — of escalating external threats, a constrained space for economic growth with the slowing of the world economy and heightened protectionism.

India registered rapid economic growth over the past couple of years, with the GDP growing 7.6 percent in 2015-2016. While economic activity remains buoyant, however, the country still has a long way to go. The government must capitalise on the current economic momentum and use it to accelerate its reform agenda. One of the areas requiring regulatory attention is the property market. Despite a push for reform through the Digital India Land Record

India and South Korea stand as important middle powers whose influence in the Indo-Pacific region is expanding in their own ways. At the same time, their bilateral partnership today has even bigger potential to serve as a stabilising factor amid shifting regional geopolitical equations. The current year—the 50th since the two countries established formal diplomatic ties—is an opportune moment for harnessing their converging interests. This br

In its bid to dodge the American economic bullet, Uganda is seeking new strategic and trade partnerships beyond Beijing. In India, it may see one such opportunity

India’s robust economy has tremendous potential. But for sustained economic growth, it needs direct access to the Eurasian markets, backed by reliable, resilient, and diversified supply chains. Indeed, enhanced connectivity with Central Asia and the wider Eurasia is essential to promote regional stability and unlock economic opportunities for all countries in the region. This paper analyses the status of the key connectivity projects in the reg

Even this is optimistic and we could as well be seeing sub 5 per cent growth.

This brief tackles the crucial role of public diplomacy in enhancing India's global influence. It argues that India should exert effort to communicate its rich cultural heritage and economic growth story to foreign audiences, and recommends a roadmap that involves linking public diplomacy to national security, the establishment of a specialised public diplomacy agency, and creating the position of a chief public diplomat. A well-structured public

The African countries are set to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area or AfCFTA, the biggest free trade agreement in the world since the World Trade Organization was created in the 1990s. When implemented, the AfCFTA is projected to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by 2022, from 2010 levels. In turn, higher trade levels can facilitate economic growth, transform domestic economies, and help the countries achieve the Sustainab

Connectivity facilitates economic growth, social development, and people-to-people interactions. Recognising the imperative of connectivity in regional engagement, the Bay of Bengal Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in 1997 declared ‘transport and communication’ as one of its sectors of cooperation. In 2018, BIMSTEC drew up its Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, and subsequently updated the plan at the fifth BIM

Critical minerals have emerged as a vital resource for a state’s national security and strategic calculations. Consequently, like-minded states have attempted to establish alliances for mineral security to mitigate their vulnerability arising from overreliance on a single country, notably China. In the Indo-Pacific, the Quad has taken the initiative to work together on critical minerals. The Quad’s strategy aims to combine available resources

Recent geopolitical disruptions and India’s geoeconomic and geopolitical ambitions necessitate the building of new, more reliable multimodal trade corridors. This report examines the strategic importance for New Delhi of the ten-year agreement on Chabahar Port in Iran, and how it aligns with India’s ‘Connect Central Asia Policy’ and historical ties with the region. The Chabahar Port, along with the International North-South Trade Corridor

This study discusses three major mega free trade agreements (the TPP, TTIP and the RCEP) and attempts to develop a strategy for India to navigate the repercussions engendered by these groupings and thereby safeguard India?s trade and sustain its economic growth.

The Indian government’s “Smart Cities Mission” aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through “smart” solutions for the delivery of infrastructure and services. This is expected to transform living spaces, enhance quality of life, and provide employment opportunities, in turn helping reduce crime rates and promoting law and order. Among the challenges to the “Smart Cities” programme is terrorism—especially in ur

Economic growth has historically been dependent on fossil fuels. Climate change mitigation, therefore, is often an obstacle for developing countries. Although efficiency in the use of energy sources has increased dramatically over the last decades, GHG emissions remain at steep levels. This brief argues that developed countries should increase pressures on the Global North for more robust emission cuts and greater provision of aid related to clim

India can’t escape from the systematic challenge of large-scale reforms

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), known as India Stack, has not only had a profound impact on the country’s economy but also has potential significance for global economic integration. This brief elucidates how this framework has facilitated financial inclusion, spurred innovation, and propelled economic growth in India. It highlights the foundational role of the India Stack in transforming the country’s financial landscape, and

In recent years, startups have been receiving increased attention in many parts of the world. In India, the number of startups has increased fast and more support has become available in all dimensions. This paper analyses the current state of the Indian startup ecosystem and has three goals: to provide an understanding of the growth drivers and motivations of Indian startup founders; identify challenges facing these startups; and outline the pil