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Focusing on financing sustainable development, in India and elsewhere, ORF organised a conference that explored the future of global financial architecture for development and highlighted the difference between financing and implementation.

Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with BRIDGE TO INDIA and Solar Energy Society of India, organized a round-table discussion on "Financing the Solar Projects under JNNSM" on 9th Aug, 2011.

The existence of an embedded financial network of militant organisations in Bangladesh will seriously undermine the global effort to neutralise global terrorist networks entrenched in the region.

The Mullaperiyar dam agreement commits only the waters of the reservoir to Tamil Nadu. It does not guarantee supplies if the dam fell into disuse. So, a new agreement with commitments from Kerala for fixed supplies would be in Tamil Nadu's interest too.

Financing of infrastructure in India will remain a big problem despite the fact that the government has issued infrastructure bonds with tax incentives. Finding external finance is thus very important because the amounts required would be in billions of dollars.

As Delhi and Washington try to develop separate, special relationships with Beijing, there is a danger of misreading each other's intentions. Both India and the US want a secure Afghanistan and moderate Pakistan, but their approaches are not always in sync. An honest conversation between Joe Biden and the Indian leaders is critical at this juncture to prevent misperceptions from derailing India-US security cooperation in Asia.

The crucial factor that can help transform India-China bilateral is Modi himself. For the first time, the Chinese will interact with an Indian leader who can be politically strong in safeguarding India's sovereign interests, while at the same time being very welcoming in embracing China economically.

A dedicated fishing ministry would be able to deal with fishermen's problems holistically. India can thus begin her correctives at home, and without reference to either the neighbourhood seas or the nations that own them.

With festivals fast approaching, time may be running out on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's self-set December deadline for her Government to host the third round of talks between fishers' representatives from the State and Sri Lanka.

US President Obama's top priority now is the crisis in West Asia, ISIS and Ebola, and India-US relations though, not inconsequential, is not on Washington's top priority now, according to Michael Kugelman of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC.

President Pervez Musharraf wrested power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup on October 12, 1999. In the five years since then, Pakistan has found itself increasingly enmeshed in sectarian violence, economic disaster, political collapse and diplomatic isolation.

For Modi, Nawaz Sharif's willingness to show up at the launch of his government is a political bonus. If Modi is luckier than Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he might make some sustainable progress with Pakistan.

The new undercurrent is targeting the notion of big business itself. India is angry, and rightfully so. But is there any problem being solved by targeting large corporates for accumulating wealth? It is not solving the investment drought or the fiscal deficit. It is also not solving the critical challenge of making Indian MSMEs globally competitive, or of creating jobs for the 12 million youth entering the workforce every year.

Now a mobile App for water management? And, the rapidly dropping price of wireless consumer technology such as WiFi and Bluetooth could turn these individual nodes into a data-rich network.

The devastating floods in Pakistan have not only destroyed lives and property across the country but also seriously undermined the civilian government's reputation among the people.

With the SAARC summit only days away, the focus should be as much on re-positioning India, both in the regional and emerging global context, as on terrorism and security. Prime Minister Vajpayee set the mood a fortnight ago by referring to a 'common currency' for, and hydro-power cooperation among member-nations.

The Union Finance Minister surprised many with his social sector-centric budget. No one expected the Modi government to go for enhancing the MNREGA by Rs 5000 crore or to have a huge kitty of subsidies ($37 billion) aimed at the poor. There seems to be a vision towards giving India a universal social security system for all and especially the poor.

In the Union Budget this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seems to have tried his best to address the numerous issues being faced by the micro, small and medium enterprises and to invigorate them. For this industry, the way forward is through a reformist social programme which will aid the weak and inefficient enterprises.

India-Bangladesh relations got a major boost following the meeting between India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mohammad Ali this week.

Why have the north-eastern States remained poor? This has to be looked into carefully. It has to do with inadequacy or inefficacy of development programmes for income generation. Why have some states like Bihar, UP and Chhattisgarh also not done well?

Neither Admiral Joshi nor Sinha, or for that matter the PM, RM and the President are culpable for the accident, whose causes are yet to be determined. They may share constructive responsibility, though, whether it requires their resignation is another matter.

Given that pilot training is solely based on an individual's ability to afford it, and his selection by airlines dependent not just on an assessment of his capabilities but also the question of supply and demand, we can be fairly certain that unless this aspect is given due consideration, incidents like that of Germanwings will continue to plague us.

AS THE Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan hold their first structured political dialogue in four decades, the question of building trans-border natural gas pipelines is likely to figure prominently in the bilateral agenda.

India is now being recognized as the fastest growing country in Asia. Even PM Modi recently said that Indian economy is doing much better now. But India's soft underbelly should not be forgotten -- India has the highest number of malnourished children under- five years of age in the world.

A number of initiatives have been recently undertaken to improve the tourism sector in India. These include the introduction of tourist police at key tourist sites in Delhi and the decision to set up an inter-ministerial group to facilitate better co-ordination between the tourism and civil aviation ministries.

India's smaller neighbours are not as concerned about the reach, if any, of outside powers in the region. In this sense, the neighbourhood?s concerns about India are distinct from India's own concerns.

In the case of trafficked children in India, excesses or oversights are commonplace. Gaping holes in the existing system of home enquiry lead to inaccurate assignations on the part of courts and concerned agencies.

Since September 11, 2001, Pakistan has been widely, and publicly, acclaimed as an ally in the Global War on Terrorism by the United States. Early this year, the Bush Administration presented a Bill titled Targeting Terrorists More Effectively Act of 2005 to the Congress for budgetary approval.

The luxury bus leaves downtown Cam hotel to Qassion mountains for a panoramic view of the world's oldest, continuously inhabited city, Damascus. The picture has to be sketched because outside Syria everyone is counting on the level of chaos we did not see.

In this crowded region of South Asia, we must find sufficient space to swim together, or we are doomed to sink separately.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could not have been more categorical when he said, in his Independence Day speech on August 15, that Pakistan was only making half-hearted attempts to dismantle terrorist infrastructure.

It is absolutely necessary that the central government must consult the state concerned, take care of its grievances, and take it on board while making a decision. At the same time an effective foreign policy requires that the Centre will be in a position to draw the line and assert that the national interest must trump any other interest.

Russia saw BRICS as an anti-Western grouping and it can be said that this Russian BRICS-view still persists. The main problem with this position is that BRICS was not crafted to be a foreign policy vehicle.

There is no doubt that federalism and the increasing role of states in foreign policy is a reality and not something detrimental. It is important, however, to deal with this reality in a mature and pro-active manner.

As President Barack Obama reaches the twilight of his first term, he has to enter the grind yet again, go all out to try and convince the voters that he deserves another term.

As the US Presidential elections unfold, Republican candidates would be thoroughly tested on their merit of thinking creatively on issue-based solutions to global challenges and exploring facets of diplomacy and non-military aspects of foreign policies in contrast to the focus on military interventionism and a hawkish vision of American policies abroad.

Delhi appears set for a regime change, probably by the BJP-led coalition. However, there is unlikely to be any major change in Indian Foreign Policy. There might be more rhetoric, but not much in substance and action. In all probability, it will be a foreign policy which is realist and pragmatic.

In not agreeing to have a parliamentary resolution against Sri Lanka, the Parliament has demonstrated where politics ends and policy-making on a sensitive area as external affairs and neighbourhood relations begin.

The most recent Tokyo Conference on the Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka was held at Washington D.C., on February 17, 2004, as a follow-up meet to discuss the international community¿s support for Sri Lanka¿s peace process.

Observer Research Foundation organised a lecture by Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary, Government of India, on "Indian Foreign Policy: The Challenges Ahead" on Tuesday April 10, at the ORF Delhi campus.

Launching the new book of Dr. C. Raja Mohan, 'Modi's World' on Friday, Indian Foreign Secretary Dr. S. Jaishankar explained the changes brought out by the foreign policy of the Modi government.