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In a groundbreaking speech in August this year, US President Donald Trump laid out his government’s policy for South Asia, authorising more American troops to Afghanistan and insisting that Pakistan must either “do more” to restrain Islamist militants, or face consequences. Indian and Afghan governments have welcomed the new US policy approach. The major components of Trump’s Afghanistan strategy — recognising Pakistan’s role in provi

Uttarakhand devastation would not have been so furious but for years of human greed, administrative and political connivance. We greedily ravaged nature beyond its tolerance and without any rules. When nature responded with a kind of pent up fury, our response was sluggish and confused.

The recent suicide bombings in Uzbekistan that killed more than 40 persons, mostly policemen, reveal an emerging pattern of terrorism in the region.

Wealthy nations have turned towards subsiding their own pharmaceutical companies and locking in vaccine supplies for their population.

The issue of valuing water is contentious because of its physical, political and economic dimensions. Yet, it is an important debate, as valuation is key in estimating the benefits and costs of different management options. An effective valuation supports better informed decision-making in the allocation and use of the resource, as well as in the implementation of SDG6, i.e. to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanita

Results of the 2004 parliamentary elections have generated a serious debate among scholars and analysts following the unexpected ouster of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the victory of the Congress-led coalition. Some see it as ¿the revenge of the poor against the pro-rich image of the government¿ and there are many who ascribe this to ¿the supposed maturity and ingenuity of the India voter¿.

Releasing ORF's latest book on China, the Vice President of India, Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, called for introspection and change of mindset to address the issue of India lagging behind China in the field of science and technology.

The Vice President of India, Shri. M. Hamid Ansari and the Union Finance Minister, Shri. Pranab Mukherjee, remembered the contributions of late Shri R.K. Mishra, ORF Founder Chairman, while releasing 'A Brahmin Without Caste: Remembering Rishi Kumar Mishra' -- a volume contributed by 56 personalities from different walks of life.

Indian Army Vision 2020, the new publication of Observer Research Foundation, was released in Delhi on Tuesday (April 29, 2008) by the Vice President of India, Mr. Mohammed Hamid Ansari.

Possible maritime cooperation with Vietnam and the US - a collaboration unimaginable until very recent times - will strengthen India's current approach to multilateral engagement to secure its strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.

The India-U.S. Joint Vision and the mention of the South China Sea is India's strategic response to the growing Chinese naval profile in the Indian Ocean Region. In this context, US outreach to Vietnam and India's Act East policy are symbolic of India-U.S. cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

Hanoi's decision in granting oil blocks to New Delhi could make China uneasy as Chinese foreign policy, especially towards the South China Sea and the East China Sea, has undergone a major shift in the last few years.

As an ASEAN member, Vietnam has worked hard to secure peace and reconciliation among Southeast Asian nations, which were once deeply divided by war.

The South China Sea dispute is today at the centre of the emerging geopolitical game in the Asia Pacific region. The growing US-Vietnam friendship will have a strong bearing on the direction of the changing regional security dynamics.

Indian Navy's reported lack of enthusiasm in increasing the number of participating ships and aircraft reflects the susceptibility of the Indian establishment to cave in to Chinese sensitivities. From a peak contribution of eight warships in 2007, the number has dropped to four this year.

The string of financial fraud and chicanery that we have faced over decades has made the innocent suffer the most. We must make sure that public sector institutions are no longer the private entitlement of politicians.

Cyber security threats have amplified significantly in the last decade, creating security concerns across the globe. Media reports during this period have highlighted how information network systems have been exploited by cyber criminals-as well as States-on numerous occasions for espionage and intelligence gathering. In this backdrop, this Paper focuses on cyber security concerns related to Social Engineering.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are being increasingly used by the military for training, operations, and even medicine. VR allows soldiers to experience realistic combat scenarios without the risk of actual harm, while AR enhances their perception of the battlefield by overlaying vital information onto their view. The Indian Armed Forces are also increasingly utilising VR and AR technologies for training, wargaming, and enhancing

Visit of Pakistan Prime Minister to China - An AssessmentD.S. Rajan

It is highly likely that the voices from within Pakistan that want greater cooperation with India and greater economic integration with the South Asian region in general will be marginalised.

The expansion of access to affordable drugs will play a central role in addressing present and future global health challenges. Given the vast social implications of increased access to medicines, the Indian patent system has historically maintained a pro-public health stand. However, the international political community is increasingly advocating for stricter patent regimes and India can no longer continue to ignore the pressure exerted by deve

Unlike the BJP, the focus of the AAP's campaign was not on lofty slogans, such as making a Delhi a 'smart city', but on issues that mattered to the public. No wonder it is commonly said that one should never underestimate the power of the common man.

There is no doubt that the armed forces personnel need some form of indemnification for killing or injuring non-combatants who get caught in the crossfire when the armed forces are acting in good faith in a counter-insurgency campaign.

The sheer magnitude of Vyapam has stunned people. The Bharatiya Janata Party, in power in Madhya Pradesh for the duration of Vyapam, is clearly answerable for the mess. Its government and chief minister have a lot to explain.

Aircraft carriers for India have been somewhat of a waiting for Godot. By the time the elusive Vikramaditya joins the Indian fleet, India's lone and ageing Viraat would have completed nearly 60 years of service and reached the stage to retire.

This paper aims to analyse the reasons for the rise of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, its characteristics, the primary drivers for the growing menace and international responses; it also compares the differences in modus operandi between Gulf of Guinea and Somalian piracy. Till the early 1980s, piracy was often dismissed as being “archaic Tand folklore of the past”, rarely entering the main maritime discourse. But true to its nature, ‘moder

It is time for the European Union to wake up to the world they actually live in and now move towards the more workable paradigm of "Shared Interests and Shared Prosperity", acknowledging that beneath every façade, nations and societies share only one common value, that of 'self-preservation' based on 'self-interest'.

Twenty-six persons were killed and over a hundred injured by two explosions in Dimapur, the only railway station in Nagaland in India's North-East, on October 2, 2004, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The same day, in a series of co-ordinated attacks in different places in Assam, also in the North-East, involving the use of hand-held weapons, hand-granades and explosives,19 persons were killed.

In spite of its modest economic weight in the initial years, the New Development Bank (NDB) can change the ethos of development finance irreversibly. Rather than replacing or supplanting existing development finance institutions, the NDB will seek to supplement existing resources.

In the war against ISIS, the picture is gloomy. The ISIS is unlikely to be pushed back as long as the Coalition's War against it remains only aerial. The Iraqi troops battling them were trained by the Americans, who after spending billions of dollars on their training find they are not up to the task.

The 9/11 Commission Report has been made public and has, since then, witnessed intense scrutiny and commentary in the international media. The Indian media and analysts have been exceptionally vocal about its findings on Pakistan¿s possible linkages with the 9/11 attackers and conspirators.

The bombings in Russia bring into notice the challenges which India also faces in tackling Islamic militancy. In fact, the Chechen insurgency has in the past been compared to the insurgency in Kashmir.

If India continues to act rigid, it will result in the failure of the Doha round and bring misfortunes for small countries and tragic outcomes for all the members of WTO. India shouldn't get carried away and link its food security and subsidy issues to the Trade Facilitation deal

The December 16, 2014 attack on an Army run school in Peshawar by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has caused global outrage. The attacks led to over 148 deaths of mostly children and some school staff.

The latest White House assessment of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan submitted to the US Congress has questioned Pakistan's commitment towards degrading and defeating terrorist groups like al Qaeda and Taliban.

India is keen to join the world's export control regimes, all four of them including the Wassenaar Arrangement, as part of its efforts at integrating with the global non-proliferation architecture. While the Wassenaar Arrangement's predecessor, the Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls, was established to control transfers of advanced dual-use technology in the North-South and East-West context, the Arrangement's objectives have

Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is essential for maintaining good health and well-being. However, empirical studies undertaken in several Indian cities reveal deficiencies in the quality of water and sanitation services provided by city governments. This brief focuses on the state of water and sewage systems in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, which contains India’s capital city, New Delhi. The brief highlights that many qu

The seminar held in ORF Delhi called for a paradigm shift in understanding the various dimensions of the water crisis facing India

Water security is a growing concern in South Asia today. Growing population, expanding urban centres, widespread pollution and mismanagement are pushing several countries in the region towards a water crisis. Mr. B. G. Verghese, well known journalist, author and expert on water issues, calls for better understanding and cooperation among the countries in South Asia to address the challenge of ensuring adequate and equitable availability of water

Initiating the discussion on "Water Security in South Asia", eminent water expert and noted writer, Mr. B. G. Verghese felt that while water is the key to cooperation in the region, climate change is the most important issue for all South Asian countries.

This paper highlights the importance of water valuation and pricing for sustainable and efficient water allocation and management in India. An efficient water-pricing mechanism could be a tool to address the impending crisis of water scarcity, which necessitates a robust, objective, and holistic valuation technique. Every unit of water consumed for economic purposes has an ecological footprint, and this opportunity cost or externality factor need

Information and knowledge gaps are largely responsible for creating an environment of mistrust among riparians and the various stakeholders in the river systems.

In a recent interview, former Punjab chief minister and current Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala said India's move to export wheat seeds to Pakistan in 1978 played a considerable role in thawing the relations between the two countries.

Water futures trading can be an important tool for water-scarce economies. This paper argues that it can help reduce the scarcity value of water (defined here as the value that can be generated if the limit on water availability is relaxed by one unit), even without a physical market. ‘Scarcity value’ measures the degree of deprivation and creates the basis for disputes. The paper argues that water futures trading reduces the scarcity

The Finance Minister can at best provide an enabling environment through the Union Budget and other policy frameworks that lie in his domain. The political and bureaucratic class need to pull in the same direction over the next few years to reverse some of the structural weaknesses.

Could there exist identifiable ways of thinking that are distinctive to the Indian and Chinese psyches, and if so, what might the implications reveal? Could they throw light on some frequently asked questions like: What explains the Chinese prowess in infrastructure and manufacturing? Will China ever become a democracy? Will China and India be friends? The author ponders on these questions, revealing some fascinating insights that could pave the