Search

The New Year of 2022 has come with intriguing messages from China, not in the least for India.

From Europe, India is viewed as a balancing power in terms of the economy and global harmony, according to Dr. Medgyessy, former Prime Minister of Hungary. He says India is ideologically closer to Europe and the US than the other BRICS countries.

If Obama's mandate is any guide, America is about to move to a softer, more socialised capitalist framework in which the people's welfare will be at the centre of policymaking. In a sense, America may be heading the European way in terms of pursuing social market policy.

India’s engagement in the Arctic has evolved from a primarily scientific focus to one increasingly shaped by geopolitical and strategic considerations. However, this shift highlights an inconsistency in India’s strategic decision-making: while New Delhi seeks to help shape a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific by working with like-minded democracies, its Arctic strategy remains largely anchored in cooperation with Russia, whose actions in U

This report builds on the discussions during the 5th ORF Kalpana Chawla Space Policy Dialogue 2019 organised by ORF. The report has three sections: the first covers questions of strategy in space; the second discusses policy dimensions; and the final one explores the role of private enterprises in the space domain. While some sections may include global perspectives, the report views the various challenges in space primarily from an Indian standp

India should put its Eurasian ambitions on hold for a while and focus on its immediate neighbourhood.

India should know that the OBOR scheme is not about CPEC and Pakistan; but in fact its primary goal is to integrate the rich European economy with that of China’s.

The euphoria of the new leadership in Sri Lanka towards the northern Indian neighbour may have set the right tone and tenor for further betterment of bilateral relations as in regional and international contexts.

India's decision to go for the European option in the 42000 crores MMRCA deal is going to hurt India in politico-strategic terms compared to any possible significant gains. Not just numerical superiority and costs but more importantly the strategic benefits should have been the guiding factors in making the decision on MMRCA.

India will be there at the G-7 to remind the West once again that it is playing an important role in the global oil market.

The Western Indian Ocean connects North America, Europe and Asia, and as such is of global strategic importance. Its rich natural resource profile has pushed global players, including India, to view the region with increasing interest in recent years. Although for a long time, much of India’s political attention was directed towards its eastern neighbourhood, in recent years, the country has begun giving more attention to maritime security in i

The 41 km India-Nepal pipeline, designed to supply cost-effective and environment-friendly petroleum products to the landlocked the nation, is the first trans-national pipeline in the SAARC region. This initiative represents a win-win outcome for both the countries which will also enhance regional connectivity and economic development across the region.

Economic ties between India and Russia have remained the weakest link in their bilateral relationship since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both countries have set out to correct this in the past two years, making efforts to diversify their relationship beyond the defence and energy sectors as they navigate a changing world order. This brief analyses the developments in India-Russia relations since the May 2018 Sochi informal summit and the 201

India’s relations with Russia have made little progress since they got stalled following the end of the Cold War. Today their bilateral ties—officially labelled “special and privileged strategic partnership”—focus heavily on defence cooperation, while the economic partnership remains listless even as the respective relations of the two with other states have grown rapidly. This paper analyses the ebbs and flows of India-Russia relations

Despite multiple crises in Europe and the Middle East, the 2+2 strategic dialogue demonstrated that Washington has not entirely lost sight of what needs to be done in the Indo-Pacific.

The dynamics of the India-US relationship under the Trump administration bear significantly on the two countries’ security partnership. This relationship, however, is being challenged by President Donald Trump’s increasingly apparent transactional worldview. As witnessed in the case of the United States’ relations with its allies and partners across Europe and Asia, Trump has often linked US defence commitments and partner nations’ securi

India needs to find money to put into strategic investments and projects across the IOR -- whether it is Myanmar, Iran, Sri Lanka or Mauritius. The way to do it is not governmental schemes which are all running late, but to draw strength from India's entrepreneurial class and the private sector.

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

While Non-Congress parties spare no opportunity to accuse the Congress Party of psychophancy and a feudal culture, regional parties are not far behind. In fact, they have perfected the art of dynastic politics, beating the Congress Party.

The deep-seated contradictions among member states on regional security and terrorism, combined with growing Chinese influence, have compelled New Delhi to perform a strategic balancing act.

The United States (US)-China trade war and the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered global trade patterns, revealing critical supply chain vulnerabilities. US tariffs pushed companies to shift manufacturing to more favourable locations, accelerating “friendshoring” to countries like India and Vietnam. The “China plus one” strategy has bolstered domestic manufacturing and attracted foreign investment through Production Linked Incentive

Over the past few years, there is noticeable amongst India watchers an inescapable feeling of disappointment at what has been seen as a perceptible rolling back of many of the much vaunted reforms that had been the face of the country's efforts to integrate with world energy markets through the turn of the century. With an import dependence of over 70%, and increasing with each passing year, the petroleum sector had been the obvious choice to mov

India’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is a key driver of the country’s economic and social development by fostering entrepreneurship and generating substantial employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital costs. However, inadequate access to finance is one of the most crucial barriers to the sector’s growth. Recent developments in digital public infrastructure in India could present new solutions to boost MSM

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.

This paper explains Russian co-option of India into the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) at a high level of participation in September 2019 and the range of agreements involved. It argues that the co-option was the result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dissatisfaction with the economic outcomes so far for the Russian Far East of “northeast Asian regional cooperation.” Moscow related this behaviour to skewed priorities of East Asia’s �

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

All insurgencies are political movements supported by the local population and can only be resolved through political means. The military establishment can only ensure that the rebel movement is sufficiently neutralised and violent action curtailed.

While the EU has been engaged in bilateral, regional and global efforts to enlist greater support for its Code on ICoC, one cannot say with certainty that the result has been totally satisfactory. There are still many countries that see the EU-proposed measure as problematic owing to a number of issues.

Mainstream debates on European investment in India do not consider the full and diverse impact of investment on economic and social life, and therefore narrow the terrain for crafting richer, alternative investment policies and strategies. This paper examines three misguided—and recurring—ideas that arise in investment debates: (1) consumption growth as an inevitable effect of investment liberalisation; (2) efficiency in fresh food retail as

Iran and the major powers have reached a very preliminary and extremely vague agreement on principles for an agreement, released in the form of a brief joint statement of less than 500 words. Whether this 'agreement about an agreement' would lead to an actual deal is anybody's guess, but it's not going to be easy.

This year, India's and China's crude oil imports from Iran has risen sharply - up by 43% year-on-year basis and 36% year-on-year basis respectively, according to a Reuters report. World's oil giant companies have also shown interest to return to Iran. Do these indicate that Iran has turned the bend and worst phase of sanctions is over?

It may not be the story that Paul Bremer or Iyyad Allawi would want to muse over for their grandchildren: ¿I was among the handful there...¿ Yet, that¿s truth about power-transfer in Iraq, America¿s testing-ground for western democracy in the feudalistic Gulf Arab region living in a decadent past.

This report discusses India's economic resilience, investment opportunities, and growth amidst global turmoil, highlighting foreign investment, sectoral reforms, and geopolitical factors influencing India's status as a top emerging market.

The IS, despite its defeats on the battle field and losses suffered from air attacks, is far from neutralised and is probably gaining volunteers internationally. The problem with the international community's approach is that it has projected the group as a purely terrorist organisation.

Israeli president Reuven Rivlin has offered his country's expertise to India to make the world safe.

Israel’s strike on Qatar has upended regional alignments, forcing neighbours and allies alike to reassess their choices.

Prime Minister Gentiloni underlined the need for economic inclusion for all-round growth, stability and peace.

Almost 150 countries have joined China’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—a project central to Beijing’s global prestige as well as President Xi Jinping’s persona and legacy. Italy, which joined in 2019, was the only G7 and major European Union country to join the BRI. Less than five years later, in December 2023, Italy formally exited the BRI, making it the first country to do so. This paper contextualises the drivers behind Italy

For all his claims that he can settle the conflict in 24 hours, Trump’s challenges in ending the Russia-Ukraine war are growing by the day as he has to balance three conflicting pressures

India’s engagement with the Central European countries has historically been weak. It’s time for that to change.

S Jaishankar visit to Moscow ऐसे में सवाल उठता है कि क्‍या वाकई भारतीय विदेश मंत्री की इस यात्रा में जंग खत्‍म करने की पहल हो सकती है. अमेरिका व पश्चिमी देश भारत से इस तरह की उम्‍मीद क्‍यों कर �

Increasingly, many countries that have traditionally maintained a defensive and pacifist posture, like Japan, are having to reconsider their options.

Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Pakistan-Afghanistan region, India, Israel, South-East Asia, Russia and the USA would be the main theatres of jihadi terrorism of a strategic nature during the year 2005.There could be sporadic incidents of jihadi terrorism in other parts of the world¿¿such as West Europe and the Central Asian Republics¿¿but they would be more of a tactical than of a strategic nature.