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The international community has been engaged in negotiations around climate finance for three decades now, and working definitions continue to assign the role of funder to advanced economies, and that of recipient, to emerging ones. This brief makes a case for expanding such narrow definitions. It calls on countries such as India to re-imagine not only the idea of climate finance but also the mechanisms of raising funds and the channels f

For the new government, the task ahead is difficult, but not impossible. It will require new ideas and out-of-the-box strategies. Here, ORF presents a holistic and relevant agenda for the government, offering a diagnosis of the current problems and providing actionable recommendations.

The 21st-century governance challenge is to manage globalisation while preserving the sanctity of individual pathways that humans may choose to follow in pursuit of their dreams.

Concerns remain in the developing world that about whether the ICANN/IANA transition will create a truly plural process. This issue brief discusses three challenges 'multistakeholderism' must address from the perspective of the developing world: access, equity and sovereignty.

With the new government in New Delhi, there is a renewed interest in internet and internet governance in India, according Mr. Thomas Dukes, US Deputy Coordinator for Cyber Affairs. He said the Digital India initiative has been revived and the Government's interest and investment in furthering it is clearly visible.

India must remain invested in strengthening democratic institutions in the Maldives

Traditional development financing is proving insufficient to address overlapping global challenges, such as climate change and fragile contexts. This brief explores new thinking in development finance through two examples. The first is Islamic climate finance, which constitutes less than 2 percent of global Islamic finance. The brief identifies policy priorities and proposes dedicated Islamic climate-finance windows (e.g., in the Green Climate Fu

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

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is one of the most vibrant, distinct, intricate mountain systems in the world. An estimated 210 million people live within these mountain systems, and some 1.3 billion people who live downstream of the HKH rely on the freshwater obtained directly or indirectly from the rivers and tributaries of the region. Recent data shows that significant areas of glaciers in the HKH region are retreating at an alarming rat

Despite the call for a global paradigm shift in water governance—from the traditional reductionist engineering approach to the more holistic integrated river basin governance framework—a change is not yet perceptible in India’s water governance architecture. The hesitation to change has led to ecological problems and conflicts at various levels. This paper identifies the knowledge gaps that inhibit the paradigm shift and explores the lacuna

India will have to diligently craft its strategy when engaging with the U.S. on ICT matters. Any such strategy will have to be in sync with its economic interests (the outsourcing sector as well as the other domestic sectors) and national security interests.

With the rise of China as an economic and military superpower, the significance of Myanmar in the geo-politics of the region has assumed new dimensions. India therefore cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the country where till recently Chinese influence was allowed to grow unchallenged.

The India-France-Australia trilateral is only the latest of the many minilaterals that are taking shape in the Indo-Pacific region.

President Sarkozy's impending visit to India (December 4-6) should be seen in the larger perspective of India's rise and the external environment that has facilitated this.

Myanmar and Bangladesh are active partners in India’s Act-east policy, projects envisaging connectivity between the Southeast with South Asia and countering insurgency in north-east

Vaccine hesitancy among women adds to the risks to economic recovery by prolonging the pandemic.

The development is the latest indicator that the bilateral relationship is getting stronger.

While Russia is aware of Islamabad's role in fomenting international terrorism, it realises that any successful resolution of the problems associated with Afghanistan must involve Pakistan. A cancelled presidential visit cannot change the relevance of this, or of Russia's goal, in enhancing ties with Pakistan.

The absence of earnest multilateral discussions could send more states down the path of space weaponization, making access to space increasingly tricky.

Contrary to Western assessments that Russia’s military intervention in Syria would only deepen the economic crisis it is already facing in lieu of conflicts

The US wants to grab a major share of the Indian defence hardware market. But any imposition of sanctions will dampen chances of defence cooperation gaining further traction

In context of SAARC, the reality of the situation demands that India handles Pakistan separately. India also has to approach the rest of SAARC neighbours with a more accommodative mind-set. Such mind-sets cannot be confined to sharing history and culture, economic prosperity and development-spending.

The Russia-Ukraine war has raged for over 10 months now, and the expectation of an easy Russian walkover over Ukraine has been belied. The war is witnessing strong and determined resistance from the Ukrainian forces, with the support of Western countries through arms and other forms of aid, and sanctions against Russia. This report explores how sanctions are used in modern diplomacy and warfare, and their impact on the Ukraine war and the global

Observer Research Foundation (ORF) organised a brainstorming session on "Possible Approaches for India's policy towards Myanmar" on October 18, 2007. The meeting discussed a gamut of issues including India's Myanmar policy, sanction regime, the China factor, Myanmar's political transition, and international community's response to the recent uprising in Myanmar.

To understand the different aspects of the Iranian nuclear programme and its impact on the region, especially India, Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), organised a workshop on March 4, 2013.

India is facing a fiscal crunch, and Indians were not told. For this kind of mismanagement, more than a Finance Secretary ought to go.

The Supreme Court did award NCR's elected government due authority. But, by leaving reserve subjects with the LG, it contradicted a global governance trend.

As the frequency and impacts of climate events increase, demand for adaptation at the local level becomes urgent. The adaptation finance received from developing and least- developed countries is estimated to be less than USD 25 billion per year, which is exponentially less than the required amount of USD 215 billion per year. Further, the evidence indicates that less than 10% of global climate finance reaches the local level. Local communities l

The European Union (EU) and India should be “natural allies”. Faced with an authoritarian advance on their borders and globally, “the world’s largest democracies” should be collaborating more closely than ever today. But the tango that the EU and India have been dancing is a rather clumsy one. This brief delves into the causes for the limitations of the partnership and identifies critical miscalculations that have been made on both side

Shoba Suri and Subhasree Ray, Seas of Sustenance: Navigating ‘Blue Food’ for Indo-Pacific Food Security, June 2024, Observer Research Foundation.

After its successful maiden meeting last year, the Asian Forum on Global Governance will be organised again in New Delhi from October 14 - 24 this year. The nomination and application process is going on since March 15. The last date for submission of applications is June 1.

Tensions are on the rise again on the Horn of Africa, as Egypt, Somalia, and Eritrea discuss a potential collective security alliance against Ethiopia. This heightening of hostility could spawn proxy conflicts reminiscent of the Cold War

New Indian Ambassadors to a host of key countries have recently been appointed. Also a new Permanent Representative to the UN. These appointments reflected the stamp of the Foreign Secretary. Will the government do the same kind of tweaking in the case of domestic bureaucracy too?.

The report of a Chinese hypersonic missile vehicle test is yet another signal that the People's Republic of China intends to contest the hegemony of the United States across the spectrum.

China has considerably increased its investments in Pakistan. Given Pakistan's fragile IMF dependent economy, the idea of an economic rationale behind the substantial Chinese investments seems far-fetched.

The most important feature of the 17th SAARC Summit was the one pertaining to the promotion of maritime and rail connectivity among three of the region's eight countries.

India is developing appropriate capabilities to tackle the new and emerging space security challenges in outer space.

China¿s decision in the 1980's to supply to Pakistan nuclear weapons technology and missiles capable of delivering nukes over long distances was intended to bind India down in a south Asian strategic impasse and constrict India's larger role in Asia and the world. China achieved only partial success in that objective.