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The NDA II government seems to be displaying a controlling streak rather early in its tenure. Across the land, the word 'ban' seems to have become the leitmotif of its governance style and its personnel seem determined to tell the citizen what he must eat and when, what he can watch, hear or study.

A neutral, international framework is needed to manage cross-border requests related to the cyber sphere, says Bertrand de la Chapelle, director of the Internet & Jurisdiction Project.

In a fast-changing world, it is incumbent on the leaders of India and Nepal to start a new era of understanding and cooperation that take cognisance of the changing dynamics of economic and power relations in the region.

There is a need for a new regional arrangement in South Asia to tap water as it is a regional common issue that should be handled collectively rather than dividing it.

There is a need for a new regional security architecture that reflects the changed geopolitical realities of the region. This suggestion was made during an interaction between senior Japanese and South Korean journalists and Indian scholars at ORF.

India needs to restructure the administrative set-up at the Centre and in the States. There is a need for separate Fisheries ministry with an independent minister. In Tamil Nadu, fisheries is a separate ministry with an independent minister, but there is no separate secretary.

All over Europe, the new mantra is austerity. Though India's exports have been doing well since last month, this may not be sustained in the future if our big trade partners are busy tightening their belts and trade credits dry up.

The Republic of Korea will be carefully scrutinising the up-coming Abe's August statement commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Koreans expect Abe to come out with a clear statement that expresses Japan's contrition and proposes a new framework for reconciliation.

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.

There is a lot of disturbing news regarding the Indian economy today which is likely to spoil the outlook for 2012. One of them is regarding the rise in inequality.

India is in need of both FIIs and FDIs, to grow at the targeted 7.5 to 8 per cent growth. They go to countries with high growth potential and laws that are flexible and allow greater investor freedom. India is constrained by certain important considerations related to the rights of the people and protection of the poor.

Considering the importance of Lines of Credits in India's development cooperation programme, ORF has undertaken a study of the system and process of LOCs. Early results point to need for improvements in the system.

The recent shrinking of the trade deficit to $6.7 billion in September (from $10.9 billion in August) has cheered the UPA government. However, we need to be cautious about favourable signs like a reduction of the trade deficit. Because though it is going to reduce one of the disturbing parameters that are slowing down growth, it could also be indicative of slack industrial activity.

Participants at an interaction at ORF Chennai called for a multi-disciplinary task force to investigate scams of the kind of 2G, rather than individual investigating arms of the Government, like the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Income-tax and other authorities undertaking parallel and separate investigations.

Experts say mere compliance with an international cyber security standard does not ensure that a product being used in a CII is protected from invasion. Threat analysis, mitigation systems and assessment practices need to be adopted to attain total protection of CII.

With the good news from the 17th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) meeting in the Maldives about the future effective implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area agreement, trade relations among member-countries will get a big boost.

The very day a trial court in India, New Delhi to be precise, denied bail to the accused in the 2-G scam case, another in distant London was awarding sentences to three Pakistani cricketers for match-fixing at the end of an equally much-publicised trial.

Once the general elections are over in India, it may be time to look inward at the existing processes and revise certain provisions to make them more meaningful and sustainable. If timely cure is not injected, it could damage the firmament of our democratic scheme.

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.

An interaction at ORF Chennai felt that since the all-India services forms an integral part of the country's bureaucratic machinery, it cannot be eliminated. But what needs to be done is its re-invention and the task should be assigned to an independent body like the UPSC.

The demand for quick resolution of the Teesta issue is becoming louder in Bangladesh. The visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September this year lost its sheen as it failed to conclude a deal on sharing of water of the Teesta River.

Globally, there is an upsurge of sectarian movements and informal community-based organisations that affect the daily lives of the urban poor in the way they provide for their need of tangible goods and services.

At a discussion on "Conversations on Kashmir: Socio-political and economic aspirations of J&K" at ORF, panellists insisted upon the need for truth and reconciliation which, however, can only be possible after the admission of guilt by the parties concerned.

Even if GDP growth rises in India, there will be growing inequalities unless there are strong policies aimed at the uplift of the vulnerable sections and the rich are taxed in an efficient and judicious manner. There should be some insurance against unemployment and sickness which will enable low income families to live with dignity.

The military preparedness and security benefits are critical in the North-east region given the long-standing border and territorial issues with China. The government could consider setting up a nodal agency such as a Strategic Border Infrastructure Board under the PMO to oversee projects on a periodic basis.

Nepal Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, by choosing to go to Bihar, has reinforced the point that States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are vital for maintaining a cordial Indo-Nepal relation.

It's heartening to note that the two rounds of talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Government on finding a political solution to the vexatious ethnic issue have gone off well over the past weeks.

Given the emerging geo-political tensions in the region, the need of the hour for India, South Korea and other nations is to integrate and stay united, according to Mr. Anil Wadhwa, Secretary, Government of India.

With the Supreme Court directing the Centre and the State Governments to create a National Police Commission and State Security Commissions to improve and monitor the functioning of the police system, and seeking a time-bound compliance scheme, time is ticking away for the Executive branch. The Supreme Court 'directives' of September 22, 2006 were contained in the judgement in the case of 'Prakash Singh vs Union of India and Others'.

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.

To make India an attractive destination for investment for both Indians and foreigners will require quick implementation of all the pending major infrastructure projects and to see that some important Bills are passed in Parliament.

Sectors such as oil and gas, non-renewable energy, natural resources, agriculture, etc. hold tremendous potential for cooperation between India's North-East and the BCIM region. There was a need to ensure seamless movement of goods, services and people across borders to promote trade.

To become a major industrial nation by 2030, as predicted by a Washington think-tank recently, India will require many changes in the economic structure of the country in which efficient and viable small and medium enterprises coexist with the big factory-based organised sector and with a middle class bigger than that in the US and Europe combined, to support it with their demand.

A former Ranji cricketer and writer has suggested regulation of betting through a comprehensive legislation to clean up fixing-scarred cricket. He has also voiced the need for converting the BCCI into a corporate entity along the lines of Cricket Australia.

The Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, managed to present a fairly balanced Union Budget. There were no big unforeseen surprises and it was relatively measured given that we are in a pre-election year. It is hard to ignore that the global economy continues to be in turmoil.

Elections-2011 was noted for the way the Election Commission attempted to check the use, misuse and abuse of money-power and political power. It may not have succeeded fully, but there was no denying the presence of the Commission in every nook and corner of the poll-bound States.

Big ticket reforms promised by Mr. Narendra Modi are likely to resume stalled projects and revive business climate. However, if India is to return to its erstwhile double digit growth, the importance of banking sector reforms cannot be overstated.

There is an urgent need to focus on key legislations in the real world; expanding internet access in India by ensuring social and technological growth go hand-in-hand; and the complexity of bridging divides between various factions on the issue.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had taken a bold step in 2006 when he constituted five working groups on Jammu and Kashmir to grab the initiative for ushering in a phase of development by creating conditions of permanent peace in the troubled state.

The day and age of centralised and linear town planning approaches are over. Conceptually, the urban planners, architects, designers, builders and policy makers have to make a conscious efforts to humanise urban planning to make it part of the larger ecosystem of social sciences.

Terror attacks cannot be avoided, whatever be the security grid. But repeated major attacks send a signal about our preparedness and abilities. Capabilities must be enhanced and sharpened to make the adversary pay a price. The army and security forces must introspect how such attacks take place.

Prof.K.R.Singh, formerly visiting professor, Chair of Maritime Studies, University of Calicut, initiated an interaction on 'Maritime Dimensions of Internal Security' at an Interaction organised by the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research foundation on 23 February 2008.

There is a need to restructure the Ministry of Defence in order to ensure better co-operation between the civil servants and the military officers, according to Lt-Gen. V R Raghavan (retd), former Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO).

Even today, the ownership of the Bretton Wood Institutions (BWIs) continues to reflect the realities of 1943-44. Giving more voice to emerging economies will require ratification by the US Congress that has so far shown no sign of progress.