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The Manmohan Singh government will sponsor a $5.4-billion policy to provide free generic drugs - a decision that could change the healthcare woes in India for millions of poor people.

For a country that has faced repeated betrayals from Pakistan, it is another historical blunder for our government to again place faith in it.

New Delhi requires partners both outside and inside Afghanistan to protect its presence and interests in the war-torn country.

Carbon-intensive assets are a financial time bomb.

Occasional concerns about corrupt defense deals are merely the symptoms of broader structural issues that need to be addressed.

ISRO recently announced its plans to undertake a mission to Venus in the early 2020s and has also invited international proposals for scientific payloads.

Budget woes are unlikely to ease. The Chief of Defence Staff and the Army leadership are likely come under pressure to seriously think about downsizing the Army.

The problem is that no political economy sensitive plan to implement these reforms has emerged.

In 2015, the Indian government launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) as a response to the perennial challenge of shortage in urban housing. As of June 2021, 11.2 million houses have been sanctioned under PMAY-U, of which 4.8 million have been completed. However, various analyses indicate that PMAY-U dwellings may be insufficient in quantity, and that some of them may be either unaffordable or unviable for those who need them the

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 (caused by the novel coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2) has exposed glaring gaps in India’s domestic laws. Absent a rationally structured legislation to fall back on, the Union government in March advised states to invoke the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 to tackle the pandemic in their jurisdictions. The 123-year-old colonial law, however, does not even define what a disease is, let alone an epidemic or a pandemic. Ind

Aspiring to become a US$30-trillion economy by 2047, surrounded by hostile nations, and leading the idea of multipolarity in a bipolar world, India needs to articulate a grand strategy that has been missing in its statecraft. With the necessary conditions for such an endeavour in place, it is time for Bharat, under Narendra Modi’s third term as prime minister, to thread the three core aspects of executing such a grand strategy: articulating the

India introduced its e-tourist visa (eTV) policy in November 2014. Despite initially impressive results in terms of increased arrivals, there is no indication that such modest success will create a significant impact on tourism, or prove to be sustainable in the long run. This paper finds that the policy’s very design-and the various weaknesses in its modalities-make it less attractive to travelers, compared to the ‘traditional’ tourist

India’s interest could be more than economic, spilling over into the domain of strategy.

The Indo-Pacific construct is now at the centre of strategic jockeying in the region and the three nations — Japan, America and India — have been trying to define the exact scope of their engagement.

The Bay of Bengal region is more than a channel for commerce — it has become an arena for power projection.

While a recent test is no doubt historic, New Delhi has much work left to do to address the challenges that remain.

With a modern diplomatic history going back to Gandhi and Nehru, India views its role in the Middle East as a supporter of multiple powers. But how long can India’s commitment to a multipolar Middle East continue?

In recognition of ASEAN’s limitations, New Delhi must also continue to strengthen its ties with other institutions, frameworks, and countries as well.

The Indian prime minister’s national security credentials are poised to have benefits at the polls.

While India rhetorically endorses the idea of the Indo-Pacific, three issues prevent actual operationalisation of the concept for New Delhi.

India’s silence on developments in the South China Sea is highly unlikely to win it a lasting friendship with China but has the potential to do it some lasting damage.

India and the US may have policy differences on Russia and Iran, but keep big-picture focus on defense cooperation

India’s back-to-back moves to boost relations with Japan and Russia, particularly in security matters, appear to indicate it wants a bigger naval role in the contested South China Sea to counter a rising China. The reality is far different

The establishment of a new private institution has spotlighted New Delhi’s ongoing efforts to build out the commercial aspect of its space program.

Delhi wants to remain an Eurasian power, swinging between East and West according to its priorities. Its military ties with Moscow. The economic importance of Beijing. America as a strategic counterweight – as long as it works.

Nine months after the surgical strikes, what is the verdict on the efficacy to deter Pakistan from its sub-conventional warfare?

From elections in India to Trump running the Presidential show on his terms, to Brexit — here is a wrap of what to look forward to in 2019.

As voting begins, the world’s biggest democracy should realize that its rise isn’t inevitable and will require greater courage from its next government.

This paper projects the nationwide and state-wise size of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market under various GDP growth scenarios. The market sizes under these scenarios are expressed in monetary values at the scale of both sub-national units and the Indian economy as a whole. With the help of transactions and market share data from Phonepe, a UPI company, the paper estimates the national and state-wise base case scenario market volu

It is likely that Indo-Israel ties will expand in the political, economic and strategic realms. Israel's Ambassador to India, Alon Ushpiz, stressed that the bilateral relationship has surpassed a "buyer-seller relationship," and Israel's long experience of working jointly with Narendra Modi has yielded tangible results.

The process of rapprochement between India and Pakistan began during the SAARC summit at Islamabad in January 2004. The two estranged neighbors set aside the bitterness of the recent past and decided to work together for peace and stability. That such a beginning could be made is itself a major achievement.

Since January, 2004, there has been a wind of change in Indo-Pak relations for which credit has to be equally shared by Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, the former Prime Minister, and Dr.Manmohan Singh, the present. Rhetoric has given place to seeming reason and confrontation to conviviality.

As part of the Indo-Pak Composite Dialogue process, the two countries will hold official-level talks in nuclear confidence building measures (CBMs) on June 19-20, 2004. This is a welcome development since the last round of such discussions was held at the ill-fated Lahore summit in February 1999, even though the CBMs agreed upon were rather general in nature and, at least in spirit, the Pakistan army was not a willing party to them.

There is very little doubt that there would be a change of Government in Delhi from June, 2014. It is also most likely that the new Government will be that of the National Democratic Alliance. The BJP is the largest single party among the NDA constituents who will present the new Prime Minister.

As a precursor to the wider project of energy cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia, India and Pakistan must take baby steps towards energy trading as part of their ongoing trade liberalisation. Petro-products delivered by Indian refineries in the north and west to Punjab and Sindh regions would save Pakistan at least $14 per barrel of oil.

Indonesia’s upcoming general elections will see a rematch between incumbent President Joko Widodo (commonly called ‘Jokowi’) and his long-time rival, retired lieutenant general Prabowo Subianto. This paper examines the potential impact of the elections on Indonesia’s foreign policy, especially on the country’s maritime relations with India and other major powers. In the 2014 elections, the Visi-Misi (or election manifesto) of the incumb

India must honour its treaty commitments over a resource that everyday lives depend on.

Organ and tissue transplantation suffers from a large gap in supply and demand, with less than 10 percent of annual demand being met globally. In India, the problem is exacerbated by persistently anaemic organ donation rates, although the numbers have more than doubled—albeit, from a low base—since 2014, when the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) was set up. Until recently, analysis was hampered by the lack of comprehe

Sri Lanka has remained a fractured country for the major portion of its existence due to the ethnic divide between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. Today, it is again at the crossroads as it awaits the results of the snap general elections, due on April 2, 2004, following the dissolution of Parliament on February 7, 2004 in the wake of seemingly irreconcilable differences between President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister R

Under its International Terrorism Watch Project, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) organised a one-day Workshop at New Delhi on October 20, 2004, on the theme: "Recent Intelligence Failures in the USA, the UK & Russia: Their Lessons for India".

ORF organised an interaction on the extent and security risks of 5G spectrum technology and the role of Huawei as a provider of 5G technology and equipment. The discussion was led by Harold Furchtgott-Roth, chaired by Kanchan Gupta.