Search: For - East Asia

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Breaking down hurdles to e-commerce
Feb 16, 2015

Breaking down hurdles to e-commerce

As India's online footprint has increased, so has the role of e-commerce. The industry is expected to cross $6 billion in revenues by 2015, not including ticketing and travel, according to Gartner Research. It must then follow that e-commerce should be encouraged to play a key role in building requisite supply chain efficiencies across India.

Breaking from traditional politics: AAP adds new dimensions to the Indian polity
Mar 01, 2014

Breaking from traditional politics: AAP adds new dimensions to the Indian polity

Notwithstanding the fact that Arvind Kejriwal had to resign as Delhi Chief Minister because he could not get through the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly and BJP and Congress accusation that Kejriwal quit after creating an excuse for doing so, Kejriwal and AAP have not lost their popularity among the people of Delhi.

Breaking the gridlock
Jul 03, 2012

Breaking the gridlock

Smart Grid technology solutions can not only help India reduce its transmission and distribution losses, but can also help leap to the future by bundling major public utilities over one single grid.

Breathing new life into BIMSTEC: Challenges and imperatives
Apr 27, 2020

Breathing new life into BIMSTEC: Challenges and imperatives

This paper explores the various opportunities and challenges of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or BIMSTEC, a unique inter-regional grouping composed of aspiring member countries from South Asia and Southeast Asia. While the grouping has massive potential to contribute to regional cooperation, this paper explores the capabilities of the organisation in terms of meeting the expectations of renewed

Brick by BRIC: How the global order is being reconstructed
May 22, 2009

Brick by BRIC: How the global order is being reconstructed

BRIC or BRICs is an acronym referring to the fast growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The acronym is used increasingly by politicians and the mass media, reflecting the emergence of a new global reality.

BRICS and Eurozone Crisis
Nov 09, 2011

BRICS and Eurozone Crisis

It is apparent that panaceas such as debt write-downs only offer short term relief to the debt ridden Eurozone as long as structural imbalances persist. European leaders need to look for a multipronged approach to deal with the problems.

BRICS and mortar for India's global role
Mar 26, 2013

BRICS and mortar for India's global role

At this unique geopolitical moment, when India faces a multitude of challenges seeking its attention both towards the region and the global stage, BRICS provides a flexible platform to respond to both.

BRICS Bank: A long overdue development
Jul 19, 2014

BRICS Bank: A long overdue development

The BRICS bank, now tentatively called the New Development Bank, is indeed a new and long overdue development. It is the first step towards reforming the world financial system. It has to be read against the decision of the BRICS nations to do trade more with each other on the basis of currency swaps.

BRICS Bank: Shifting powers from West to developing nations
Jul 22, 2014

BRICS Bank: Shifting powers from West to developing nations

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.

BRICS in Africa: A development dream?
Mar 26, 2013

BRICS in Africa: A development dream?

The BRICS-Africa partnership provides the potential for positive cooperation between developing nations in the future. It is this potential that delegates from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will be trying to cultivate and deepen over the next couple of days in Durban.

BRICS leaders accept BTTC Recommendations
Jul 19, 2014

BRICS leaders accept BTTC Recommendations

The BRICS leaders have accepted the report titled "Towards a Long Term Strategy for BRICS", the recommendations made by the BRICS Think Tanks Council (BTTC). Observer Research Foundation is the Indian representative at the BTTC.

BRICS makes all the news: IBSA will continue to be relevant
Aug 09, 2014

BRICS makes all the news: IBSA will continue to be relevant

Has the emergence of BRICS had an impact on IBSA, was the question posed by Mr M Ganapathi, former Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India.

BRICS must move ahead now to a "go-to" institution
Feb 14, 2012

BRICS must move ahead now to a "go-to" institution

BRICS must now move on from being a grouping of individual nations, discussing agendas, to becoming a "go-to" institution for setting regional and global agendas. The essence and ethos of such an institution must flow from the inorganic prism of stability, security and growth for all.

BRICS needs doses of steroids to prosper
Jul 14, 2014

BRICS needs doses of steroids to prosper

Perhaps, the most critical issue for the five BRICS leaders, who will meet at the sunny shores of Fortaleza, will be practical goal-setting. This will be an exercise in planning and coordination to maintain continuity as well as honing in on objectives for the long term. If there is an opportunity to be seized in cross-leveraging political and economic ties, it will be in the coming years.

BRICS of a new world
Jul 14, 2014

BRICS of a new world

The Fortaleza summit will represent the reboot of BRICS. Prime Minister Modi has the biggest political mandate among his BRICS counterparts, and also the weight of the largest expectations.

BRICS pushes the IMF to reform
Jul 20, 2012

BRICS pushes the IMF to reform

The recent G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, featured a pivotal change in the geopolitics of international finance. Emerging economies contributed billions to an emergency IMF (International Monetary Fund) fund designed to provide additional support to the Eurozone nations in case the debt crisis worsens.

BRICS Think Tanks Council set up
Mar 11, 2013

BRICS Think Tanks Council set up

Think tanks from five BRICS countries, participating in the 5th Academic Forum meeting in Durban, have announced the setting up of the BRICS Think Tanks Council (BTTC).

BRICS, Steel, Mortar....and Money
Apr 04, 2012

BRICS, Steel, Mortar....and Money

The unity and purpose of BRICS has been the target of speculation and scepticism from various quarters. With the Delhi Declaration, BRICS members have been able to assuage such doubts as they have begun to create a credible hedge against traditional global narratives of security and development.

BRICS: A wall for some and a platform for others
Apr 04, 2013

BRICS: A wall for some and a platform for others

China as the leader of the pack will use BRICS for control and dominance. The West will see this as a threat to existing arrangements and try to pull it down before it takes off. Indian presence will remain weak so long as our economic reforms and progress remain slow and our internal political and policy frameworks remain uncertain.

BRICS: An evolving forum with limitations
May 27, 2011

BRICS: An evolving forum with limitations

BRICS is an evolving process, and any exaggerated notion of it becoming a power bloc will be out of place. It might work towards "a multi-polar (or poly-centric) world", which a former Brazilian President had described as an important goal of BRICS, but in no sense it is a ganging-up against the US or the West.

Bridging the gap: India Bangladesh relations
Aug 21, 2010

Bridging the gap: India Bangladesh relations

India and Bangladesh relations got a new boost following Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's brief visit to Bangladesh recently, demonstrating New Delhi's keenness in enhancing bilateral relations.

Bridging the Gulf
Feb 25, 2014

Bridging the Gulf

Any suggestion of a look west policy compels a comparison with India's much-celebrated Look East policy and presents us with a paradox. India's relationship with the Gulf is much denser than with Southeast Asia. Yet the Gulf does not resonate as much as Southeast Asia in Indian Foreign Policy discourse.

Bridging the India-China divide
Jun 20, 2014

Bridging the India-China divide

Whatever shape future talks between India and China takes, bilateral problems, including the border dispute, have taken more time than their people can wait, to address leave alone resolve them.

Brief assessment of China's National People's Congress
Mar 30, 2009

Brief assessment of China's National People's Congress

The 2nd session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) was held in Beijing from Mar 5-13, 2009, the first session after the onset of the global economic crisis

Briefing: UNFCCC COP 20 Meeting in Lima
Jan 19, 2015

Briefing: UNFCCC COP 20 Meeting in Lima

Climate change defined officially as 'a change in the state of the climate that can be identified among other things by changes in the mean and / or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer' is among major challenges facing countries.

Bringing India and Thailand Closer via the Trilateral Highway Through Myanmar
Nov 21, 2023

Bringing India and Thailand Closer via the Trilateral Highway Through Myanmar

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

Broadcasting standards and TV channels
Feb 25, 2014

Broadcasting standards and TV channels

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.

BSP's 25-year Journey: What Next?
Apr 14, 2010

BSP's 25-year Journey: What Next?

Mayawati has apparently decided that she should retain her core constituency hoping that everything else would fall in place

Bubbles and Other Troubles: Risks from Ultra Easy Monetary Policy
Aug 12, 2014

Bubbles and Other Troubles: Risks from Ultra Easy Monetary Policy

Spillovers from unconventional monetary policy in the AEs pose a systemic risk for emerging market economies (EMEs). Unconventional monetary policies to ensure cheap liquidity and easy credit conditions have been used not only in the US but in Europe as well as Japan.

Budget 2004: The Power Sector Review
Jul 15, 2004

Budget 2004: The Power Sector Review

Budget 2004, despite the change of regime in New Delhi, maintains the much required continuity for critical power sector reforms to achieve the country¿'s "Power for All" objective by 2012 and double installed capacity to over 200,000 MW .The salient features in the budget vis-a-vis the power sector are:

Budget 2013: Exaggerated revenue and under-estimated spends a worry
Feb 25, 2013

Budget 2013: Exaggerated revenue and under-estimated spends a worry

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.

Budget 2013: Eye on elections
Mar 07, 2013

Budget 2013: Eye on elections

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.

Budget indicative of future policies
Mar 12, 2013

Budget indicative of future policies

The Finance Minister announced allocations for various sectors in the Budget. But these are a regular feature of every Budget. What was different in this Budget? Almost nothing except that there has been fiscal consolidation. Obviously, it is not going to satisfy the common man, farmers, industry or foreign investors.

Budget must focus on defence
Feb 17, 2015

Budget must focus on defence

The Modi Government's first real annual Budget is perhaps its most important test after flunking the Delhi Assembly examination. While businessmen will be watching it to gauge the intentions and determination of the Government to create a pro-business atmosphere, it will be equally eagerly watched by the armed forces community for its modernisation targets.

Budget wishy washy, lacks direction
Mar 17, 2012

Budget wishy washy, lacks direction

The Finance Minister has chosen to walk the conservative path, hoping to stimulate investment and growth through small half-measures. Expect high rates of inflation in FY 13 and greater pressure on the fiscal deficit despite white paper on black money.

Budget without many surprises
Mar 02, 2015

Budget without many surprises

This was a budget without many surprises. Maybe we have evolved to being an economy, in which the budget is a mundane, technical exercise, of interest to economists and accountants, but of little immediate consequence for those who live in the real world.

Budgets priorities under different regimes
Apr 10, 2012

Budgets priorities under different regimes

While the coverage of Budgets in the media and research reports are mainly limited to high interest items like income-tax, sales tax, excise, inflation etc., the "Part A" of the budget, which is an indicator of government intention and priority, remains relatively under explored.

Budgetting for the Poor
Jun 28, 2004

Budgetting for the Poor

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.

Build on the constituency of peace and trust, say visiting Pak journalists
Jan 24, 2011

Build on the constituency of peace and trust, say visiting Pak journalists

Visiting Pakistani journalists informed a select gathering at Observer Research Foundation that the ongoing turmoil in their country was the result of a transition from military dictatorship to coalition politics in the democratic setup.

Building 100 Smart Cities in India: Issues to be addressed
Sep 23, 2015

Building 100 Smart Cities in India: Issues to be addressed

Most participants at an ORF conference on urban development and creation of 100 smart cities in India felt that creation of smart cities is an extremely challenging exercise and for this, careful planning and effective project implementation are required.

Building a 'Strategic Oil Reserve' for India
Aug 30, 2003

Building a 'Strategic Oil Reserve' for India

After years of conceiving the idea of Strategic Oil Reserve, the Indian government seems to be moving in the right direction in a resolute manner. Recent statements by both the Prime Minister and the Petroleum Minister about building strategic storage facilities to gear up the country to meet oil emergencies

Building a bridge to Tokyo
Jun 03, 2013

Building a bridge to Tokyo

New Delhi must take full advantage of the geopolitical opportunity that the Japanese connection offers us. As democracies, both India and Japan are open societies and committed to a liberal world order. Through visits and agreements, the two sides have now laid the infrastructure for their strategic partnership.