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How intra-party factionalism weakened the strongest government Nepal has seen in decades

The skewed tobacco taxation policy, far removed from a reality based understanding of the tobacco consumption and economics, is not helping the government achieve any goals. It is perhaps due to either a strong lobby, or the desire to protect 36 million beedi workers or just bad strategy.

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is at the heart of most economies. The care sector comprises formal healthcare, childcare services, early childhood education, disability and long-term care, and eldercare. Two-thirds of care workers globally are women, and women and girls perform more than three-quarters of all unpaid care work. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the vulnerability of care workers and deepened the gender gap. This paper a

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

Government regulations will continue to play a crucial role in building an enabling environment for the intersection of free-market jobs and technolog

COP27 should strive to be a platform that keeps women at the heart of intergovernmental climate negotiations

Combining private sector initiatives and government policies synergistically can lead to gender empowerment

A survey shows wide youth support for the Modi government’s foreign policy.

Eminent Indian nuclear scientists have been expressing their concern about the contents and direction of the Indo-US nuclear deal signed last July. Strategic analysts, former diplomats, prominent politicians and knowledgeable commentators have repeatedly cautioned the government about the minefields ahead. Ought not the government pause and clear these doubts? There is little effort towards this end, and we all seem to be running blind.

The deepening of the divide between and within the US’s principal political parties foreshadows a deeply fractured presidential election

In a stratagem that would make Sun Tzu proud, the government first velvet-gloved an iron fist and then clamped down hard on digital freedom and enterprise

To safeguard Chinese interests in Gwadar, the Pakistani government gives in to demands placed by the local population

While the Afghan government has begun the release of Taliban prisoners and the US prepares for a drawdown in troop numbers, the Taliban’s ties to th

A large mass of uneducated and undereducated would become part of the labour force over the next decade, adding to the potential of the mid-career education market. Neither the government nor the private sector seems to be gearing up for this opportunity.

This brief collects and analyses current evidence in India regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of children (5-9 years) and adolescents (10-19). Using the ‘snowball retrieval’ strategy, the authors identified peer-reviewed studies, reports and government articles published between January 2020 and February 2021 that were relevant to the research question. The brief finds that not only are children and adolescent

As India becomes a top medical tourism destination, the government must prioritise quality and affordable healthcare — not just for medical tourists

As the Modi government brings in a renewed push to India's Look East policy with an "Act East" policy, Myanmar's geostrategic position becomes all the more important for India to put the necessary connectivity links with the country and the wider region.

The Ithai Barrage impounds the Manipur River just below the confluence of the Imphal River and the Tuitha River south of Loktak Lake, and is part of the Loktak Hydroelectric project that supplies hydropower to the seven Northeast states. Over time, the dam has affected the hydrology of the lake and caused harm to the ecology and economy of the region. The Manipur government is now urging the Centre to consider decommissioning the barrage. This br

In the run-up to the crucial Diet session, Japanese Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko has effected a cabinet reshuffle, bringing in key changes. But will it produce the desired results as the government needs the support of the LDP-New Komeito combination for parliamentary approval of its reforms?

King Gyanendra of Nepal has dismissed the Sher Bahadur Deuba government and taken power into his own hands. This was not an altogether unexpected development, however unwelcome it might be to the democratic forces in Nepal or to the well-wishers of Nepali people in the rest of the world. By whatever name one may call it, it was a royal coup.

As for the Congress, how it chooses its governments and its allies henceforth is crucial.

The electorate in Bihar has very clearly told the BJP that they had elected the Modi government not to bring some version of Hindutva Raj, but to bring economic and governance changes that would enhance the quality of their economic and personal lives.

Governments should adopt certain processes and values to certify the critical infrastructure projects of the Chinese.

Indian government and businesses would do well to carefully examine their prospects.

The “Manhattan Project for AI” oversimplifies the challenges associated with its governance. The dynamic nature of AI requires a fresh perspective

Mr Narendra Modi's decision to invite the Head of Governments of India's neighbouring countries for his swearing-in was appreciated by Dr Sanjaya Baru, former Media Advisor of Dr Manmohan Singh. Modi's emphasis on the economy was also noted.

In earlier days, the journalist had to seek a professionally fruitful and ethical equation only with the governmental establishment. Today, the TV journalist /star is also entrepreneur, worried as much about news as about TRPs, Ads, Corporates, whose money is often keeping the channel buoyant.

Solutions to the problem are pretty obvious. The first step is to set the policy right. Governments have to begin by scrapping the rent laws as they s

Pakistan’s new government rests on a stolen mandate engineered by the military

The Modi government’s fragmented approach has remained at the canopy and has not been able to achieve foundational improvements in budgeting at the

The real test for any government is elections - both state and central. The Narendra Modi government faces one later this year when elections will take place to the Bihar.

The Thailand caretaker government’s decision to engage with the military junta in Myanmar has threatened ASEAN unity

In government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to disrupt the lethargy of the Lutyens communication machinery by introducing some of his young campaign team into the mix. He needs to reinvent and revitalise #NaMo in his new role as PM.

The new education policy has a commendable vision, but its potency will depend on whether it is able to effectively integrate with the government’s

Both the spread and speed of the internet in India will have a direct impact on India's economy. India's e-government schemes will find faster delivery of services. Sectors like e-commerce will be able to grow. And India's IT and ITES sectors will also remain in the race to be a sure avenue for employment and income generation.

There is an irony in the government's crackdown on Ford Foundation that seems to have escaped most observers. In the 1960s, the principal critics of the Foundation were the Indian Left. Now, the government and critics of foundations and NGOs fail to realise one thing. Now we are a self-confident, resilient society with institutions that have gained considerable depth. We are also a transparent and open society.

The top-down, rushed approach of the government in reaching out to farmers is likely to end in failure

In 2022, the Government of India is set to introduce the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) that will provide direction to the country's broader trade policy regime in the succeeding five years. This FTP will be more difficult to draft than the previous ones, for various reasons including the increased global pressure to address trade policy uncertainties, the need for alignment with the self-reliance mission, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, and the tenu

Direct criticism for scarce or expensive vaccines at the government, not the private sector

Transboundary water politics in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin areaffected not only by inter-government relations between India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh,but also by dynamics on different scales, including the hydropolitics between Indian stateswithin the basin. At the same time, the disputed issues, and the patterns of power dynamicsbetween actors, are similar in transboundary interactions in the basin as well as in inter-stateinteracti

His party claimed to be different from the effete government led by the Congress and its foreign policy therefore needs to be held to a higher standard.

The Modi government needs to break from traditional, statist methods of conducting water diplomacy and distinguish itself by including the concerns of basin inhabitants on both sides to find a lasting solution to the Teesta issue.

The Modi-led government is placing a strong accent on the use of soft power in India’s foreign policy. One of the more novel manifestations of these initiatives has been engagement in Buddhist diplomacy. The Buddhist faith, due to its emphasis on peaceful co-existence and its wide pan-Asian presence, lends itself well to soft-power diplomacy. This brief will examine India’s attempts at leveraging its historical and present-day associations wi

The troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir is governed by two controversial laws – the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) of 1990 and its predecessor, the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978. In the past few years, state security forces have been enforcing these two laws against suspected militants and insurgents with increasing severity. This paper argues that the combined enforcement of these two laws has s

India and Germany, on their own, are important countries in their respective regions. Together, they have developed and diversified their partnership since the end of the Cold War. Yet, popular perceptions have historically failed to match what the governments are doing. This paper argues for better perception-building between the two countries, given its proven role in nurturing international relations, especially for countries like Germany wher

The United Nations (UN) has recently been plagued by several crises—the COVID-19 pandemic, the Taliban’s return in Afghanistan, and the Ukraine war—that have tested its ability to deliver on humanity’s projects of peace and security, sustainable development, human rights, and humanitarian response. Indeed, its actions and inactions in the Ukraine war have triggered an existential dilemma. India must use this moment of creative destruction

Like in some other regions of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated external debt accumulation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This could have massive, adverse impacts on growth as governments prioritise debt servicing commitments over key development expenditures such as healthcare and education. For the countries in SSA with relatively lower GDP, this could mean getting caught in a vicious cycle of low output and mounting debt. A pa

The Indian government should review the provisions of the sedition law, a remnant of the colonial past, as it stifles the expression of dissent.

The historic second term of Narendra Modi’s government can serve to exacerbate the material asymmetry between India and Pakistan. For this reason an