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Terror training schools, teaching hundreds of new and young recruits in suicide missions and use of sophisticated weapons like AK-47, Mi-5 and Surface to Air Missiles (SAMs), have been active in many parts of Pakistan, including Punjab, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Waziristan and Pak-occupied Kashmir.

India is particularly vulnerable to collateral damage on its energy security.

Battlefield conditions and operational realities will decide terms of Russia-Ukraine peace settlement

The contours of the fledgling peace process with the People's War Group (PWG) Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh are gradually emerging. It is the second attempt in as many years. The Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh, K Jana Reddy, announced on June 29, 2004 that the government has requested S R Sankaran, a retired Secretary to Government and Andhra Pradesh-cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS),

India’s tilt towards Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE is not a risk-free move.

India will continue to be seen as an important partner for the UK post-Brexit. Boris Johnson is fond of India and considers Narendra Modi a “political phenomenon”.

The most important question that comes to mind after China has lifted its hold on Masood Azhar’s designation as a terrorist under UN rules is: Why now? Why plumb in the middle of the general elections?

While technocentric threats pose evolved security problems that need to be addressed, overhauling the police force is essential to move forward.

Starting with the challenges faced by Indian petroleum sector in its hydrocarbon discoveries, the scenario remains to be unimpressive even after nine rounds of NELP bidding. Out of sedimentary basin area of 3.14 million km2 only 22 per cent has been well explored, while similar percentage is poorly explored.

On March 13, 2006, the Union Home Minister announced a 14-point policy on Naxalism in the Lok Sabha as outlined in a booklet, 'Status Paper on the Naxal Problem'. In an effort to counter political criticism and allay the oft- repeated concerns of knowledgeable and informed circles,

Government agencies at the city, state and central level are paying greater attention to sustainable transport as the way forward for India’s mobility sector. However, for sustainability measures to have lasting outcomes in policy and practice, institutional reforms are urgently needed. The National Urban Transport Policy, which governs India’s urban mobility policymaking, was amended in 2014 to create city-specific, low-carbon mobility solut

The BJP, which benefited the most from the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi temple dispute catapulting it to power in 1998, would be faced with a serious dilemma in either case of the two possible judgments of the Allahabad High Court on September 24.

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, announced on November 14, 2003 that the forthcoming mid-term elections to the State Legislature would be fought on the issue of ¿crushing¿ the Naxalites. He declared in Hyderabad, in the presence of the national media, that Naxalite violence was hampering development and progress in the State.

With the decisive verdicts in these Assembly elections, and more Assembly elections slated in Uttar Pradesh and a host of others States before 2014 general elections, the voter has put Governments and leaders on notice, when it comes to performance and accountability.

Syria has been in turmoil since 2011 when the Arab Spring wave of protests spread across the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region, challenging President Bashar Al Assad’s longstanding, familial rule of the country which began with his father, Hafez Al Assad, who took over in 1971. In December 2024, the Assad family’s power grip over Damascus ended, paving the way for Ahmed Al Sharra of the Hay’at Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) militant group to tak

As Rwanda commemorates 1994 genocide, now it has become a global example of successful post-conflict reconstruction. A talk at ORF by Rwandan High Commissioner Ernest Rwamucyo focussed on post-genocide Rwanda's unique story where ownership and innovative "home-grown solutions" helped re-construct the nation.

Nearly 100 million people are said to have been lifted out of poverty in China since 2012, coinciding with President Xi Jinping's reign as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Indeed, closing the income gap is a stated goal of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and part of the CCP's objectives till 2035. As resentment of the rich has grown, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Xi has encouraged the wealthy to embrace austeri

Agriculture remains the primary sector of the Indian economy. While it accounts for merely 16 percent of the country’s GDP, approximately 43.9 percent of the population depends on it for their livelihood. In recent years, indebtedness, crop failures, non-remunerative prices and poor returns have led to agrarian distress in many parts of the country. The government has come up with various mechanisms to address these issues: insurance, direct tr

A few days before President Obama's Indian visit, the US will witness midterm elections. If the opinion polls are anything to go by, the Democratic Party appears to be in trouble. However, Obama can utilize the polls to retool his strategy and win back the voters as Bill Clinton did in 1994.

The voyage highlighted Riyadh’s role in the balance of ties between the three states and India’s continued concerns on that front.

Sohini Bose, Ed., “Priorities for Prime Minister Hasina's New Term in Bangladesh,” ORF Special Report No. 225, May 2024, Observer Research Foundation.

This paper evaluates the impact of various policy reforms, including the economic reforms of the 1990s, on India’s manufacturing sector. Covering the priority sectors relevant to the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, the paper analyses the productivity of registered manufacturing units from 1974-75 to 2012-13. It offers empirical evidence on the growth of productivity in the organised manufacturing sector through an inter-tem

The Observer Research Foundation hosted an exciting, in-depth interaction with Nepalese Maoist leaders Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai on November 18, 2006. Addressing their first international audience together from the same platform, the Maoist leaders put before the distinguished gathering, which included political leaders, former diplomats and members of the academia and media, their vision about a new Nepal which they would like to bui

Japanese are leaders in global technology dealing with energy efficiency and energy savings. As a result, Japan has lowest energy intensity amongst all countries. This situation was brought about in a dramatic change after the 1974 oil shock.

Terrorist attacks of this nature do not happen overnight. They take time to organise and plan.

When more than a third of the world's population does not live to see 40 on average, it is clear that securing the right to life for these people should be the only priority of global developmental processes. Can there ever be any shared values, if there is no agreement on the fundamental right to life?

India's new GDP data speaks of robust growth (6.9%) rather than of policy paralysis and industrial decline in 2013-14. But even Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian is not convinced by the new data. Because, other indicators do not seem to corroborate the high rate of growth, especially when imports actually declined last year.

Governments chose the G2G route to avoid the perceived malpractices of an open competition, this route raises issues around possibility of malpractice in the commercial advantages to single vendors and the elimination of competition. Several revelations have emerged from the controversy over the Rafale order.

The political ambitions of a few could potentially derail the Indian defence purchase mechanism for a long time to come. This will delight our nation's adversaries.

The 1974 JP movement was to replace a left lurching Indira Gandhi. Hazare-Ramdev ball is being tossed up for political parties to smash it on a deft and durable Mayawati.

Now thanks partly to Paul's bid for the Republican nomination, Libertarianism has become popular in American politics again. Tens of millions of Americans today are fiscally conservative, socially tolerant and sceptical of American military intervention abroad.

This paper follows the proceedings of a workshop organised by ORF in August 2014 to re-examine India's nuclear doctrine. The workshop explored the challenges posed to India by Pakistan's introduction of battlefield nuclear weapons or Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNWs), New Delhi's interest in acquiring a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system, and the growing threat perception from China.

The current conventional wisdom now being voiced among American analysts is that the 2004 election is evidence of a conservative revolution in American politics. According to this view, the U.S. is now in the midst of a long-term shift to the right and the creation of an enduring Republican majority, akin to the Democratic majority coalition forged during the 1930s and the New Deal by Franklin Roosevelt.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to America indicates that the India-US strategic relationship has the potential to become the defining partnership of this century

This brief examines the reciprocal relationship between science fiction and real-world technological, geopolitical, and policy developments throughout the 20th century and into the 21st. Beginning in the 1940s, the analysis explores how the genre has evolved amid historical events such as the World Wars and the Cold War, and the rise of digital technology. The brief gives particular attention to the role of science fiction during periods of criti