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The instability in Myanmar has created a conducive environment for human trafficking at the India-Myanmar border with IT workers being made victims to

The Kartarpur corridor, inaugurated in November 2019, is regarded as an important peacemaking measure between India and Pakistan. Various international organisations have welcomed the corridor, including the United Nations. Drawing from history, this brief argues that opening a pilgrimage corridor or renovating a place of worship, and other such attempts to bridge India and Pakistan using religious sentiment inevitably fail to address the deep-ro

This brief explores the factors informing the Donald Trump administration’s continuity on the US’s defence trade with India. The administration’s impetus to maintain US-India defence trade stems from factors like the ‘reverse revolving door’ policy that has increased the influence of US defence contractors, its ‘Buy American’ policy to boost US arms exports, and defence trade being construed as an incremental means to correct the bi

Wednesday, November 20, was a black day in the contemporary history of Indian media. It was on this day news about the owner-cum-Editor-in Chief of an investigative weekly - Tehelka - Tarun Tejpal's alleged sexual assault on one of his own colleagues in a lift of a five-star hotel in Goa,

India’s focus on inclusive health solutions, emphasis on collaboration, and dedication to research and innovation position it as a beacon of hope in

While the Indian Army’s emphasis on integrating advanced tools reflects a proactive response to evolving challenges, a broader transformation warran

The civil aviation sector can create lots of jobs — India can expect four million people to be employed by the industry, by 2030.

To ensure organic, responsible growth in 2024, India will have to implement a policy structure which is unique to a developing nation in the current g

Indian investments in Africa, from both public and private sector entities, have increased considerably in the last decade. Yet despite the growing importance of Indian investments in Africa, only a few empirical studies have been carried out on the subject. This paper undertakes a disaggregated analysis of Indian foreign direct investment outflows to Africa from 2008 to 2016, and presents three main findings. First, it confirms earlier analyses

As the bridge between the Global North and South, India has demonstrated that building cyber resilience will yield great dividends and contribute to c

India’s attempts at strengthening its intelligence infrastructure and capabilities have historically been reactive and incremental, rather than holistic and sustainable. This was seen, for instance, in the aftermath of the Kargil War, and following the terror attacks on Mumbai in November 2008. India has rarely undertaken proactive reforms and done little to implement corrective measures subsequent to these crises. This brief offers recommendat

Energy transitions in developing economies like India are complex processesinvolving substantial financial and technological resources as well as appropriate innovation.These transitions are central to the climate debate, where emphasis is placed on increasing theshare of renewables in the energy mix to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. Thispaper examines the historical attributes of energy transition and finds various critical fact

Lines of Credit (LOCs) are a widely used instrument in development cooperation, including for India. The projects funded by India’s LOCs attempt to achieve a trinity of objectives: economic benefits; effective project management and completion; and nurturing and enhancing diplomatic relationship and strategic interests with the partner countries. This brief explains how India’s LOCs function, and contextualises the performance of the

Global trends are evolving rapidly and major powers are re-defining their ties with each other to match their contemporary requirements. In light of these trends, New Delhi will also have to be diplomatically nimble as it seeks to engage major powers more substantively.

The government needs to invest in measures such as education and employment that can make the population more resilient in the face of a crisis

The paper examines how the Nuclear Suppliers Group has evolved over the years and the role the Group defines for itself. It also attempts to provide a more nuanced understanding of the consequences of India's NSG-membership.

Unlocking the economic potential of the LGBTQ+ community will enhance India’s economic progress by tapping into diverse talents, driving innovation,

India must upskill the rural youth through education programmes and skilling initiatives to enhance entrepreneurial abilities and employability.

Once synonymous with inefficiency and slothfulness, India's public service delivery system is finally being overhauled and put on the path of reforms. Ironically, these reforms are being spearheaded by a set of state governments. This paper attempts to capture the key trends of this impressive development which has far reaching consequences for democracy and governance in the country.

India must learn to quickly indigenise defence production to cut out both dependence on external sources and corruption that is endemic to the system and to provide employment to Indians along with a sense of pride. This will not happen overnight and there will be obstructions by vested interests.

Both India and Japan consider the visit of Emperor Akihito as a very significant landmark capable of giving further impetus to the growing partnership. The fact that the Imperial dignitaries make very rare visits overseas nowadays due to their health conditions, further heightens the importance of their forthcoming sojourn.

Despite unhappiness and disappointments in India over the repeated US failure since 1981 to call Pakistan to account for its sponsorship of terrorism against India in an attempt to achieve its strategic objectives, a consensus has developed since the terrorist strikes of 9/11 that the Indo-US Co-operation in Counter-Terrorism as developed since 1981 should be kept sustained and further developed.

As part of the Digital India movement, we see several initiatives in e-governance that are bound to transform India into a digitally empowered society

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) is one of several infrastructure megaprojects underway in India, intended to boost industrial modernisation and generate manufacturing employment for India’s young, largely unskilled workforce. Field research in DMIC investment sites in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh shows that its implementation is highly uneven across States and regions. The research, along with the literature, suggests that regional ind

To assert itself at a global scale, India must employ development cooperation objectives and utilise multilateral and plurilateral forums through a st

At a roundtable on "Understanding Contemporary Bangladesh", attended by vice-chancellors from nine universities of Bangladesh, the consensus view was that regional integration is not only beneficial for Bangladesh but for all of South Asia.

‘Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress’ is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day. This is a clarion call with particular resonance for India given the barriers to women’s economic participation. Imagine the extraordinary economic tailwinds that can be generated for India if these barriers are dismantled and women have access to capital and technology and supportive public policy frameworks

An International Workshop on Southern Silk Route: Historical Links and Contemporary Convergences was organized in Kolkata by the Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Calcutta from August 2-4, 2008.

The current legal regime governing internet shutdowns must be overhauled to place greater emphasis on transparency and accountability

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in India is enshrined in the Constitution and mandated under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009. Yet, its implementation remains tentative for many reasons, primary of which is the absence of a clear government guideline regarding which Ministry is tasked with policymaking and implementation. This brief attempts to offer an answer for the government. It examines

Not all is lost for Fonseka, as yet. He has every right to move the Supreme Court in every case against him, civil or military. The temptation for keeping the political pot boiling is also there, but that will not change the course of the legal and judicial processes.

China has been aggressively promoting its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through massive investments in participating countries, as a means to further its strategic, economic and political goals. Such a strategy bears striking similarities to its policies in the Xinjiang province. This paper attempts a comparative study between Xinjiang and BRI countries in South and Central Asia to highlight the issues these states will likely face in the coming

The mitigation of climate change will be successful only if water risks are factored in while drafting ‘climate-smart’ strategies.

Modalities of statecraft have abiding relevance. In a celebrated letter to Moghul Emperor Akbar, Shah Abbas the Great commented on a predecessor's misrule and said that "internal diversity of opinions made the foreigner covetous and caused anarchy in the country."

Going by the Sri Lanka-related events and developments on the global arena, it looks as if the international community has not learnt any lessons from the recent past in and of the country. Be it the Indian neighbour, or the distant Norway, or whoever had attempted to help resolve the ethnic issue, had to give up after a point.

Developing countries owe Beijing a lot more money than is commonly realized. This is how empires start.

Empirical data implies that increase in the income of lower income group directly translates into an increase in consumption. Therefore, the governmen

Although South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy is being touted as a sincere attempt to play a more dominant role in the region, will it truly make a d

Moving beyond the anti-China rhetoric, US has attempted to enhance its diplomacy efforts towards Southeast Asia as a whole.

Trump’s “toned down” stance on the South China Sea issue, his emphasis on “America first” policy and his soft attitude towards China have made many Japanese leaders suspect that the US is retreating from Asia.

In the last year, ISKP, through its violent attacks, has attempted to create instability in Afghanistan and beyond to trigger propaganda for its jihadi goals.

We need to do a few things to bring normalcy in Kashmir that go beyond tourism statistics. We need to keep Pakistan out of the equation. We need to genuinely empower the elected government and allow the State to be governed from Srinagar and not from Delhi.

Emperor Akihito is leaving behind a very important legacy for his successor, Naruhito.

India’s leap into the services and IT sector without first going through the appropriate growth models and methods of educating and skilling its ent

The unemployment rate is now around 10.1 per cent in the rural areas and 9.4 per cent across the nation. This means that around 40 to 50 million youth are without jobs. Unless they are given proper training, and higher education, they will not be fit to join the service sector or the manufacturing sector.

For the large mass of workers, a “formal” sector “good” job in the classic industrial sense of the term is becoming increasingly unlikely.

Pursuing a transition to cleaner cooking fuels could help achieve long-term goals of an environmentally sustainable economy, social inclusion, and emp

The abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 provoked intense diplomatic response from the international community. For the most part, India received widespread support for its decision. At the same time, however, there have been criticisms of the restrictions imposed in the region on communication and civil liberties. China and Pakistan, in particular, reacted with hostility and attempted to