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How can Asia’s democracies bring the Indo-Pacific to life?

As India reconfigures its China policy with the Indo-Pacific at its core, India-Russia ties won’t be able to escape this strategic reality

Our 20 most–read commentaries this year.

The India-Japan partnership has matured into an important component of the new security and economic architecture of the Indo-Pacific region. For a long time, the partnership was centered on economic matters. But it has diversified to cover a wide spectrum of interests including security, counter terrorism, sea-lanes, UN reforms, energy security and climate change.

The Indian parliamentary delegation's visit to Sri Lanka was not expected to fast-track a solution to the ethnic issue. Yet, it has facilitated continued Indian engagement on the subject with various stake-holders, the Government, the TNA and the UNP Opposition.

Even before the Opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) could celebrate its victory in the recently-concluded by-elections, Myanmar is facing its first test as a nascent and evolving democracy.

The Philippines continues to be embroiled in the overarching regional dynamics of Southeast Asia influenced by the intensifying power competition between its traditional ally, the United States and its largest immediate neighbour, China. Such geopolitical configurations have put significant pressure on the current administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to steer the Philippines through turbulent waters. Thi

India remains an essential anchor in the Indo-Pacific

As natural calamities in the Indian Ocean Region become more frequent, India’s regional security role is likely to grow.

Nawaz Sharif's return as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in early June this year marks a signpost from where a more meaningful relationship between India and Pakistan could be forged. The bilateral relationship had of late been mired in mistrust and often meaningless rhetoric. The previous civilian government in Pakistan was paralysed by its own ineptitude. An equally incoherent position in New Delhi has allowed the crucial relationship to drift.

Confusion and vacillation have been the marked features of the Andhra Pradesh government¿s policy towards the Naxalites of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), which it proscribed on August 17, along with seven of its front organisations in the wake of the killing of nine persons,

Saying ecological knowledge is the demand of the 21st century, Prof. Jayanta Bandyopadhyay of the Jawaharlal Nehru University has called for better ecological knowledge to be put in practice as he felt that ecological economics is facing a dampener due to the weakness in ecological knowledge application.

Though GDP growth in India may be less than China's, there are not so many problems that the government is facing except perhaps the latest problem of accelerated insurgency by the Maoists. Like China, India should also be worried about reducing the glaring inequality of incomes and balanced development between the rural and urban areas.

The Centre's much touted 'Sarva Shiksha Abhyan' Programme has failed to meet its initial ideals because of many reasons, mainly "low teacher-to-pupil ratio in several States and "Minorityism" and "irregular monitoring of the facilities", according to former Vice-Chancellor of Bharatidasan University, Dr S Muthukumaran.

Speaking about the domestic challenges that Nepal has been facing on the path towards drafting a new constitution, Nepal's Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay sought India's support in helping Nepal structure its democracy.

Nepal is no stranger to Constitution drafting, having gone through six such rounds since 1948, with the seventh culminating in September 2015. is recent exercise, however, was unique as it was conducted, for the rst time, without the oversight of the monarchy. Certain populations of Nepali society had specic stakes in a new Constitution. For many of Nepal's marginalised communities such as the Madhes is, for example, the new Constitution oe

For a nation such as India, which is among the countries most affected by terrorism, this is a time to take the lead in continuing to keep the spotlight on the menace of terrorism

While the state continues to exercise its regulatory capacity over digital spaces — a task it will likely keep in the coming years — the internet has magnified the rights and responsibilities of the private sector and end users across the world.

Bhutan's honeymoon with democracy seems to be facing its first challenge, that too from unexpected quarters. For a nation that boasts of measuring its national wealth in terms of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and not conventionally in GDP.

What the US gets wrong – and India gets right – about the Indo-Pacific

National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on March 5 released the book "Samudra Manthan: Sino-India Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific", authored by Dr. C. Raja Mohan, Head of the Strategic Affairs Programme of Observer Research Foundation.

Countries like India are in the phase of a transition where the public policy challenges presented by overnutrition are in addition to those posed by undernutrition, instead of replacing traditional challenges of undernutrition.

Obama's China policy, motivated by an increasing level of interdependence, will involve constructive engagement with China. However, simultaneously, the US will also seek to ensure that their image of being a great power in Pacific-Asia does not change, according to US scholar Prof. Ronald W. Pruessen.

A week ago, oil giant Chevron-Texaco's Nigerian unit decided to keep its production of 23,000 barrels a day shut till its oil facilities attacked and damaged by members of the Ijaw tribe are found to be in order. Disruption of oil operations, hostage taking, inter-ethnic clashes are not new for Nigeria¿s oil-rich Niger Delta.

One does not need a historiographer's findings to understand the central problem that the Indian state is facing in its defence procurement in current times. It lies with intentions, structure and accountability.

The study urges urgent action to improve the state of sanitation and demands facilities comparable to those at airports

सर्वेक्षण के साथ अंतरराष्ट्रीय मामलों में सजग भारतीयों की रुचि यह दर्शाती है कि भारत के समक्ष चुनौतियों को लेकर उनमें और खासकर युवाओं में गहरी समझ है. आने वाले समय में उनके

The second meeting of the ORF-PCIP Task Force on India-US Relations was held at Los Angeles on September 13-14, 2004. The first such joint Task Force between an American and an Indian think tank, it is a Track II initiative between Observer Research Foundation, India?s first multi-disciplinary think tank and the Pacific Council, a leadership forum based at Los Angeles and rooted in the American West.

Over the last 30 years, digital innovation has been met with vacillating opinions on whether technology is emancipatory or tends to benefit those with political and/or economic power. In the context of innovations in AI in the early 2020s, this brief tackles the question: In a digital age, what is new in who exercises power over whom? It focuses on the power of States in relation to both citizens and territory, and outlines four areas where funda

In May 2016, the Health Secretaries of the States and Union Territories of India gathered in the capital and issued “The Delhi Commitment on Sustainable Development Goals for Health”. Among others, the document acknowledged the need to invest in health data collection, analysis and research so that these can properly inform government policies and strategies necessary to address the various challenges facing India’s healthcare. Such commitm

पाणबुडी निर्मितीसाठी भारताने सर्व अडथळ्यांवर मात करणे आवश्यक आहे. देशहिताच्या दृष्टिकोनातून P75(I) या कार्यक्रमात संस्थात्मक पातळीवर पुरेसे प्रयत्न करणे आवश्यक आहे.

Pakistan, over the past six decades, has been the recipient of repeated bailout packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 2024 IMF programme is the country’s 24th. While the loan provided temporary financial relief, Pakistan failed to use the opportunity to implement structural reforms, such as expanding the tax base and addressing chronic political instability. Austerity measures, as required in the IMF bailout plan, have only e

In well-functioning democracies where those who lose elections live to fight another day, the forthcoming general elections in Pakistan is a battle for survival for many of the main political players in the country. To begin with, the brazen intervention by the military establishment in the political process has left the polls little credibility. In many ways, the elections will set the future trajectory of politics in Pakistan. While the deck se

Pakistan is facing an acute energy crisis. In times such as these, when energy resources are an important marker of future prosperity of a nation, Pakistan's grip over its energy resources is loosening day by day. The country has been facing major deficit in power supply over the last two years, forcing citizens to resort to violent protests on the streets.

Of the many pressing challenges and crises facing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the one which is perhaps the most difficult to address is the sectarian blood-letting that has been tearing the social fabric of Pakistan for decades now.

After Operation Sindoor, India has established new conditions for dialogue with Pakistan, focusing solely on terrorism and PoK. As a strategic partner, New Delhi expects Washington to acknowledge these conditions and avoid hyphenating India with Pakistan

World's two major democracies are getting better at riding through the bumps

The demand for India¿s active engagement with the Sri Lankan peace process has been building up for the past couple of years following the gradual erosion in the credibility of Norway as an impartial ¿facilitator¿. With the election of President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is in New Delhi this week, this demand has gained momentum; more so because of the fast deterioration in Sri Lanka¿s internal peace.

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

Recent years have highlighted the global headwinds against China's increasingly aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Vulnerabilities associated with an overdependence on the country for several critical goods, including electronics, have exacerbated prevailing anti-China sentiments. This has provided the impetus for diversifying electronics supply chains, an opportunity India is well positioned to leverage. This brief assesses Ind

Government agencies at the city, state and central level are paying greater attention to sustainable transport as the way forward for India’s mobility sector. However, for sustainability measures to have lasting outcomes in policy and practice, institutional reforms are urgently needed. The National Urban Transport Policy, which governs India’s urban mobility policymaking, was amended in 2014 to create city-specific, low-carbon mobility solut

The Bay of Bengal has emerged as a key arena for Sino-Indian competition due to its proximity to vital sea lanes, rich resource potential, and strategic geography. This paper analyses how China and India employ port development initiatives in the Bay littorals—Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar—to secure their economic interests, extend geopolitical influence, and mitigate strategic vulnerabilities. Through case studies, the paper highlights