5460 results found
Neighbours India and Bhutan have shared five decades of friendly ties. Using as a backdrop Bhutan’s transition from a monarchy to democracy beginning in 1998, this brief makes an assessment of India’s role in Bhutan’s economic development in the past 20 years. It looks at India’s contribution to Bhutan in terms of trade, hydropower enrichment, and development cooperation. The brief argues that India and Bhutan’s relations have endured
US Congress passes 4 crucial bills; govt keenly aware of geopolitics in Indo-Pacific.
The government’s promises on jobs and farmers’ incomes have fallen flat, so it may look to fill the gap with ‘sound and fury’.
The Bay of Bengal is highly prone to extreme weather events, many of which result in massive disaster. The sub-regional grouping, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation), took a long time to begin nurturing their collective capabilities in disaster mitigation. It was only after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which caused overwhelming devastation in the region, that BIMSTEC identified the area of ‘Envir
After a hiatus of almost two decades, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) appears poised to once again assume significance in regional affairs. The renewed vigour has already resulted in a fresh agreement on tangible areas of cooperation and ways of resuscitating the organisation. This brief examines the role that will be played by technology and digital skilling in BIMSTEC’s goals toward
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is standing on the threshold of a new inning, as it marks its 25th year in 2022. The past months have been momentous for BIMSTEC, as it adopted a charter at the fifth Summit Meeting in March to outline a clearer purpose for the organisation. During the summit, BIMSTEC rationalised its 14 diverse sectors of cooperation into seven core areas of inte
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has gained more importance recently because of the many hurdles that have come in the way of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) since 2016, mainly due to issues between India and Pakistan. This brief explores the possibilities of stronger trade and investment ties between the BIMSTEC nations by expediting the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (F
An audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden was aired on the Arabic network Al-Jazeera on January 3,2004. This is the third message exclusively relating to Iraq attributed to him since before the US-led invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces. The first, called a special message to the Iraqi people, was aired on February 11,2003, and the second
There was a massacre of hundreds of Shias of Gilgit in the Northern Areas (NA) of Pakistan (before 1947 called the Northern Areas of Jammu & Kashmir) in 1988 following a demand raised by them for the creation of an autonomous Shia state to be called the Karakoram State, consisting of the Shia majority areas of the NA, Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
Severe inequality in the allocation of public finance is a primary reason for rural impoverishment.
India's 16th general elections, billed as the most expensive elections ever, are witnessing an unprecedented flow of black money into country's electoral process. Analysts claim that a mammoth 400 billion rupees, roughly 0.35 percent of India's GDP, has been pumped into the democratic process.
The slow pace of rail track construction in India is a total contrast to the development across the border. China has already built a 1142 km-long electrified railway line from Golmud to Lhasa. Now it has plans to extend it to Shigatze and Yatung, reaching almost Nathu La pass.
Under the Vibrant Villages Programme nearly 3,000 villages selected along the 3,400-km-long border are set to get better infrastructure facilities
Like Trump’s campaign style, Bolsonaro has launched an effective social media campaign to reach out to ordinary Brazilians.
This year marks the 15th year since India and the European Union (EU) agreed on a Strategic Partnership in 2004. Over the years, despite robust bilateral relations between individual European states and India, the EU-India relations have largely been in the area of potential rather than accomplishment. This brief evaluates the emerging security partnership by focusing on three key areas, viz. peacekeeping, nuclear issues, and maritime security. I
India has enhanced arms purchases with other countries over the last two decades. But it will be several years before its dependence on Russia ceases if its domestic industry truly flourishes
British officials have been signalling that Brexit could augur well for trade ties between India and the EU as the two nations would find it easier to conclude a free trade pact without the involvement of the entire panoply of EU member states.
China has twice broached the matter of expanding the membership of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa): first, at the 2017 Xiamen Summit, and again, more recently, at the 14th BRICS Leaders’ Meeting in June 2022 convened virtually under the chairmanship of Beijing. With China and India locked in a stalemate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Chinese proposal has raised concerns in New Delhi. This brief examine
The major achievement of the recent BRICS Summit was the decision to create the long-awaited (BRICS) New Development Bank. The bank can be seen as a growing influence of the BRICS which together represents 18% of the World trade and accounts for 40% of the global population with a combined GDP of $ 24 trillion.
Ambitious expansion meets internal divisions as the bloc strives to redefine global power dynamics.
The current gap in global adaptation finance for developing countries is estimated at US$194-366 billion per year. This brief highlights the critical role of domestic public funding in driving adaptation initiatives. While international climate finance mechanisms exist, their effectiveness is limited by slow disbursement processes and regional disparities in fund distribution. Public finance management systems can act as catalysts for mobilising
Samir Bhattacharya, Caroline Kathure Gatobu, and Raymond Onuoha, “Bridging the Gender Digital Divide: Africa’s Imperatives,” ORF Special Report No. 238, December 2024, Observer Research Foundation.
An era of Taliban rule, followed by the 18-year-long war between the United States and the Taliban, has left Afghanistan in massive disorder: the country’s infrastructure is dilapidated, the quality of life is poor, and basic amenities such as healthcare are absent. While the post-Taliban Government of Afghanistan has tried to rebuild the healthcare system, it remains largely dependent on foreign aid. Over the years, India has tried to help reb
This brief underlines the immense potential for increased cross-border trade, tourism, and people-to-people interactions between India and its Southeast Asian neighbours. In particular, it evaluates the importance of India–Thailand relations, emphasising the present state of the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway (IMT-TH). Although India and Thailand share a maritime boundary along India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Th
The NBSA process needs to keep pace with the fists of fury that politicians are unleashing on each other. Particularly so as the level of unsubtantiated allegations is getting worse as we're getting closer to the General Elections 2014.
The macro-economic situation at this point of time is indisputably negative and the Budget for 2013-14 should set realistic spending allocations with the aim to reduce the fiscal deficit to sustainable levels.
The focus on delivery of various schemes is missing in this budget. Each year, public money is being poured into them, but things remain the same unless there are dynamic state ministers monitoring everything. Some provision for effective monitoring should have made in budget 2013-14.
The revenue from the Central Goods and Services Tax remains significantly below the target of Rs 6 trillion.
Structural issues like partial utilisation of allocated funds, slow implementation of projects, and short-staffing pose a major challenge to the successful implementation of the budget
The accompanying politico-administrative changes apart, Elections-2004 has caused the mid-course review of the economic reforms, seeking to introduce the missing "human face", about which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had begun talking about while in the Opposition.
In terms of the existing institutional mechanisms, South Korea somewhat lags behind Japan, but one should remember that India-South Korea partnership is only about 40 years old and during this rather short period, what the two countries have achieved is quite remarkable.
The ORF-hosted BRICS Academic Forum's recommendations to the 4th BRICS Leaders Summit, to be held in New Delhi on March 29, seek to set the agendas for global governance reforms and sustainable development and map out a new geography of cooperation.
India’s power sector requires sustained efforts to achieve the power generating capacity target of approximately 1.2 terawatts by 2047. It needs such capacity to meet the demands of economic growth and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of providing universal electricity access. At the same time, the country also needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to meet commitments to global climate action agreements. This paper revi
In July 2024, United States (US) President Joe Biden signed into law a bill espousing the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination. The spirit of this law, ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’, stands in contrast to historical US recognition of Tibet as a part of China. This brief examines the evolution of US policy towards Tibet, beginning in the 1950s when its primary concern was the alleged human rights violations
India’s February 26 attack can be seen as more of a signalling of intent than a counter-terror operation
The essence of any democratic system is the healthy functioning of political parties and consequently free and fair elections. Free and fair elections imply not only a legal institutional framework for the conduct of elections and a transparent electoral process.
ASEAN and India will need to adopt a more inclusive and pragmatic approach towards Myanmar — one that involves all key stakeholders
The elections in Sweden are maybe a last reminder that the EU needs to renew its foundational narrative.
Cooperative federalism must be maintained as an immutable Indian agenda.
Despite New Delhi’s continued hopes and some encouraging signs, significant challenges remain.
