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As the foreign secretaries from India and Pakistan try this week to sustain the peace process amidst growing mutual suspicion, the Siachen question offers one potential area where recent progress could be consolidated. Discussions on the demilitarisation of the Siachen conflict zone have been proceeding slowly but surely towards a political agreement, even though the pace is too gradual to satisfy pragmatic analysts in both countries.

While there was no question of any rapprochement between Bangladesh and Pakistan, there are Muslim diehard elements in Bangladesh who draw their inspiration from Pakistan. These elements aim to strike at the very basic concept of Bangladesh.

Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India on 25 October 1947, with Maharaja Hari Singh signing the Instrument of Accession as Afridi raiders reached Srinagar’s gates after burning the Mahura power station and forcing him to flee to Jammu in the night. In the power vacuum that ensued, Sheikh Abdullah, founding National Conference leader, emerged as the people’s representative to assume administration. After his dismissal in 1953, Delhi installed Baks

The system is configured to the military’s advantage, but Thaksin Shinawatra may hold the key

In recent years, a number of states have begun integrating their armed drones into collaborative drone swarms. Although global proliferation can be anticipated, drone swarm proliferation should not be expected to be even or immediate. Some states may race to develop massive, armed drone swarms, while others may never develop sophisticated drone swarm capabilities. This brief explores why some states pursue drone swarms, why others may not, and th

India's defence export policy did help in accelerating and convincing Manila about the merits of purchasing the BrahMos

Notwithstanding the euphoria, Alexei Navalny is unlikely to be the catalyst that will lead to ‘regime change’ in Russia

Beijing’s position paper, on its policy in Afghanistan, is reflective of its recent efforts to present China as a nation that is now heavily invested in addressing ‘international hot button issues’

The first few weeks of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's tenure has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity. The steps taken by him in the foreign policy domain give a clear indication of the new government's priorities.

The unspeakable tragedy of the floods in Pakistan, on a scale unknown to man, has dwarfed much else in the region: 100 shot dead in three days of political, ethnic and sectarian violence in Karachi,

NATO’s growing defence expenditure is poised to intensify a range of geopolitical dynamics.

This paper outlines the responses of the US Congress and European Union (EU) parliament to the Indian government’s abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and the surrounding events, including the communications lockdown in Kashmir. It notes contrasting responses: the US Congress showed a binary reaction of moderate and extreme calls to action, and the EU parliament honed a more expansive approach to address India’s apparent “democrat

The Indian Navy has a bevvy of planned engagements this spring,. including with the UAE and France.

Most central banks across the globe are today seized with the idea of cryptocurrency, with countries like Sweden and China already embarking on their pilot projects. This paper argues that most of the proposed architectures for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) are not designed to mimic the paper currency in its digital form. It proposes an architecture that largely retains all the properties of a paper currency, with only one limitation—i

The difficulties with traditional multilateralism is leading to a renewed focus on minilateralism. Expect more quads.

India is ready to take on a larger global role by being more nimble than ever in playing the great power game.

Efficiency of delivery by cutting red tape should be the top priority this year.

India presents more immediate potential for the "top line" obsessed Silicon entrepreneur. But Asian companies from Japan, China, and Korea in sunset industries, are better placed to be responsive to the fragmented Indian market than a Fortune 500 corporate, which survive on scale not agility.

India is still a net importer, but its momentum is in the right direction.

If Kashmiri parties boycott polls, they’ll be marginalised; if they participate, it will mean accepting new realities

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's address to the nation on July 22 - as the people of London reeled from a second series of blasts at underground train stations - betrayed a sense of anxiety, a clear shift to address the Islamic community and an unwitting admission of failure in the war on terrorism.Wilson John

The possibility of cable sabotage by a State actor is often overstated because the potential rewards are all too ambiguous.

This critique on the Draft Report on Integrated Energy Policy was serialised in Volume II, Issue 43-46, 50 of ORF Energy News Monitor. It has three sections, first, Concept level issues- identifies the gaps in the Planning Commission's draft report, second, Action plan- for filling those gaps and lastly, Conclusions.

Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) are highly vulnerable to disasters emanating from the impacts of climate change, geopolitical tensions, and fluctuations in global energy markets. To overcome this, the PSIDS have committed to ambitious carbon reduction targets, and to adopting renewable energy and low carbon emission initiatives. However, they must contend with critical barriers, such as the lack of finance, capacity, and te

Together, Russia, India and China occupy around 50 percent of Asia's landmass. The three countries constitute some of the largest economies in Asia. There are a lot of potential synergies among the three countries, making a compelling case for their collaboration.

This report examines India’s dependence on undersea fibre optic cables for its financial well-being. It explains the complexities involved in the laying and maintenance of these cables, lists the vulnerabilities of the existing network, and makes a series of recommendations to progressively address them. These include a phased increase in the capacity of space-based internet services. The report suggests that the opportunity provided by the rec

Government should take suitable steps to improve the share of rail transport in both freight and passenger segments

Victory wouldn’t solve all the economic problems India’s prime minister has thus far left unresolved.

Both the U.S. and India are exploring additional combinations of partnerships in the Middle East.

Afghanistan’s willingness to accept China’s offer to join its ambitious China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the possibility of Russian support to Chabahar lends a new nuance to the contestation brewing between India, China and Pakistan.

In the last four decades, however, attempts to assassinate presidents or presidential nominees had seemed relegated to the past.

Is India stepping into global and regional leadership mode?

US commitment to Asia-Pacific security is evident in the ‘Aukus pact’ that will see it share nuclear technology with Australia

Rising cases of leprosy among Adivasis call for urgent public action.

For Beijing, the coronavirus outbreak is more than a health crisis; it is a credibility challenge, domestically and globally.

US President Barack Obama's latest strategy will seek to responsibly end the longest foreign war that the US has ever fought. At the same time, the strategy calls for building an enduring partnership with a sovereign Afghanistan. Obama's message to the Afghan people is a simple one: "as you stand up, you will not stand alone."

What is the measure of success for the Space Code of Conduct, or more substantially what is different about this Code effort that distinguishes it from the last? If the Code of Conduct fails to attract signatures of key players will its success be taken into question?

Iran is being treated more like North Korea, even though it is one of the world's great civilisations, with major historical and scientific achievements. And, as anyone who has deeply analysed the personalities of Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Un knows, they don't look like one another. Or like one another.

As the 17th Army Chief of Pakistan, General Syed Asim Munir faces challenges in ensuring political stability and elevating people’s perception of the Army, while India needs to wait and watch

For the first time in 30 years, Elections-2014 has thrown up a decisive Parliament. The Treasury Bench does not have to do number-crunching all the time, to push policy initiatives, legislative initiatives and even budgets - which have more often than not been passed in the midst of din and dust.