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Growing urbanisation and its resultant problems and issues have drawn the attention of international organisations, national governments and the civil society. The United Nations (2012) has reported that while "unprecedented increase in urban population will provide new opportunities to improve education and public services in Africa and Asia,...
Lopsided allocation of funds could easily lead to the government missing its target for renewable energy capacity, with huge costs to the environment.
In the current and preceding years, the government has been trying everything to limit gold imports to control the current account deficit. Yet this commodity has one of the largest share in terms of exemption given. In 2012-13, the estimated amount of custom duty foregone for diamond and gold would be Rs 61,035 crore or 20.5% of the total revenue foregone.
Pakistan's first transfer of power between elected governments is indeed a milestone, but how strong a precedent it will set is very much dependent on the performance of Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. Confidence in civilian institutions, high voter turnout aside, remains dreadfully low.
The RBI has sensibly shown selective flexibility to soothe angry government voices.
There is a need for a multi-pronged attack on human trafficking involving the government, corporate bodies and the civil society, it was observed at a panel discussion on the "Role 'India Inc' in Combating Human Trafficking" at ORF.
Even if a single student is left behind, the move to online teaching will remain unfair. In the longer term, the Central and state governments must co
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government headed by Mr. A. B. Vajpayee had made India increasingly invisible in its neighbourhood. It was content to play second fiddle to the US in Nepal and Sri Lanka, let Norway, the European Union and Japan play a more active role in Sri Lanka, maintained a silence on the growing confrontation between President Abdul Gayoom of the Maldives and the pro-democracy activists
The coming to power of a Left-leaning Syriza government in Greece is not because people supported their ideology but they wanted to protest against the economic stagnation caused by austerity programme, says Ramon Perez-Maura, Assistant Editor of leading Spanish daily, ABC.
If the Syriza government in Greece had the foresight to seek technical assistance from the bureaucracy of any Latin American, African or Asian country on how to deal with agitated lenders, they would never have got into the mess they are in now.
To mobilise a green, resilient and inclusive recovery, India will have to build stronger and broader partnerships domestically between central and sta
Beyond noting an overwhelming anti-China sentiment, the ORF Foreign Policy Survey’s findings also reflect the successes of India’s multidimensiona
As the debate on restarting two nuclear reactors in Oi is hotting up in Japan, the Noda government needs to both give the newly announced nuclear regulatory body time to create the promised new regulations while also ensuring the people and industry do not suffer due to power shortage.
While the common man or woman has to save for hard times and cut corners on everything, the same is not happening to the budgets of the Central and state governments.
The author, who was part of the ORF delegation which took part in discussions with Chinese party and government officials, says that the possibilities for India and China to collaborate must transcend boundary disputes and other age-old issues.
The progress made through the Jal Jeevan Mission has laid a robust foundation for a transformative shift in public health dynamics, yet the journey to
The Modi government needs to urgently revisit the opaque and draconian cattle trade rules.
When the BJP-led NDA government had come to power in 2014, it enjoyed the support of the young voters.
Although the government has initiated schemes to extend proper healthcare, many sections of people are still excluded from its coverage or are unable
Given the rapid internationalisation of many dimensions of health and disruptive technologies reshaping health strategy, India needs an inter-governme
Samir Saran, President, ORF was interviewed by Oxford Political Review in the backdrop of the Indian government’s decision to enforce a complete loc
India needs to create a robust and inclusive health response system employing an entire-government approach to build the resilience needed to respond
It is an opportune time to assess and take stock of the progress as well as the roadblocks confronted by the public healthcare sector. The challenge f
To address the issue of poor healthcare infrastructure, the states need to prioritise this sector by diverting funds, creating more capacity in existi
It is time that the Modi Government carried out a comprehensive assessment of our internal security structures and put in place measures to enhance their efficacy. Also, the feasibility of the earlier proposal by the army for permitting lateral movement of its personnel into the CAPF needs to be re-examined.
Stability is currently a prized characteristic of African governmentality: it has become the desirable state-of-being for African governments to exist
The government has to free India's top 50 institutions across all disciplines from the iron grip of UGC and AICTE. The institutions must be given the freedom to devise their own course curriculum. After all they have the best subject experts.
Even a flawed Afghan government will be better than the Taliban rule, but the US appears to accept any deal in a hurry to get its "boots on the ground" out of Afghanistan.
In the last few years, the administration in Dhaka has brought a number of cases against poets, journalists and activists who have taken to social med
India’s geographical landscape is vast, cultural differences can be sharp, and income disparities are stark in certain regions. Access to healthcare, therefore, is varied and the on-ground gaps and challenges are complex. The NITI Aayog Health Index is an attempt by the current government to formulate a mechanism to monitor at the sub-national level the country’s performance in improving healthcare. This paper uses the findings of the Health
Across India’s burgeoning cities, the supply of affordable homes is highly inadequate to keep pace with the growing need; as a result, slums and other informally built areas, where living conditions are extremely poor, have grown. In 2015 the Indian government implemented a national housing programme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (urban) or PMAY (U) to bridge the gap in affordable housing. This report evaluates the progress of PMAY (U), and finds
Before the elections in the beginning of this year, the authorities of the Iraqi Government had announced warrants for the arrest of 29 Iraqis and foreigners, who, according to them, are either former members of the Saddam Hussein Government or part of the Abu Mus¿ab al-Zarqawi terrorist network of the Al Qaeda.
Narendra Modi's visits out of New Delhi last week have emphasised the new government's understanding of India's Grand Strategy. In some ways, it marks a continuity with the policy of past governments, but in important ways it presages a departure.
Despite the promise of 2014, India's neighbourhood policy has run into some confusion. There are many examples. With Pakistan, India is paying for the Narendra Modi government's initial missteps.
It would perhaps be wiser for the government to focus on how to stop the outflow of black money instead of just chasing money already stashed abroad. One method is to enter into agreements and treaties with countries to share information, like the way the US is doing now.
More than the inaction of the Iranian government, questions have been raised regarding the role of US sanctions in crippling Iran’s economy, infrast
Child-friendly cities’ is an emerging concept in the urban management sector in many countries across the globe, including India, where it complements government schemes that aim to develop India’s urban spaces as centres of human capital development, knowledge hubs, and drivers of growth and prosperity. These flagship missions include, for example, the Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMR
As the debate on using humans as guinea pigs rages across Asia, the rationale for developing new drugs, new treatments and new research is equally stronger. The solution lies somewhere in between where governments, pharmaceutical companies and those in medical profession have to wear ethical hats and delineate profit from greed.
India will be in no hurry to do business with its new management. Onus of rapprochement lies with Pakistan.
The central government is considering a proposal to select aspiring IAS and allied services candidates after the 12th standard with a view to catching them young for a career in the bureaucracy. Presumably, a new academy will be established for this purpose because the Mussoorie academy has a different charter.
The Maharashtra government would need to invest heavily to undo the damage of the pandemic by instating beneficial programmes for women, girls and non
Current numbers demonstrate why a net-zero framework is needed, but also show that it is unlikely that direct funding from governments and voluntary f
The higher levels of development seen in the northern and southern Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh serves to highlight that successive governments have been unable to leverage the agricultural productivity of the region and enhance basic infrastructure throughout the state.
Both President Obama and Prime Minister Modi have seized the moment to reinvigourate the bilateral ties. If Modi has put America at the very centre of his dynamic foreign policy strategy, Obama appears eager to work with what is undoubtedly a more vigorous and action-oriented government in Delhi.
The Government, despite being corrupt and inefficient, does not want to be seen as favouring the private sector and therefore forgoes higher earnings in terms of royalty, taxes, jobs and profit share that it may benefit from if gas producers are given greater freedom.
Indians need to realise that the time has come for decision-making and thinking which is multi-year, though not in the Five Year Plan kind of a way. What is needed are steps that go beyond partisan approaches and election-cycles aimed at providing the desperately needed transformation of the way India manages its governmental system.
The process of government formation in Nepal seem to be going nowhere if one is to go by the record of recent political parleys between the leaders of the three 'big political parties' of Nepal.
In less than a week, more than 100 people have been killed by terror group Boko Haram in the northern part of Nigeria. This brutal Islamic group remains a significant problem confronting the democratic government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, which is threatened by the formation of the Narendra Modi government in Delhi, have been reactivating networks of LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad in Kashmir since May/June 2013.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of healthcare systems and strained economies across the globe. India and countries in Africa have emerged as hotspots due to the dual burden of large populations and weak health infrastructure. This lack of infrastructure, coupled with decreasing investments in healthcare over the years, has left their societies and governments underprepared and potentially overwhelmed by COVID-19. As developing reg
