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Goal seven of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits the international community to providing access to clean cooking fuels and technologies to all by 2030. Progress has been slow, however, and in about 40 of the UN’s 189 member countries for which data is available, more that 80 percent of the populations continue to lack such access. Using case studies, this brief analyses the role of a country’s policies, i

States and UTs’ governance and information sub-domain scores and rankings differ considerably from their scores and rankings on the overall health index.

Undersea cables must be understood as critical infrastructure, and their vulnerability – to intentional tampering and accidental damage – acknowledged.

Reports of incursions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army along the Line-of-Actual Control (LAC) are rife in the Indian media. A commonly held opinion is that the Indian media tend to sensationalise their reportage of these incursions, or “China’s transgressions”, as the Indian government calls them. This paper analyses these incidents, as reported in select Indian newspapers, over a period of 12 years. It outlines the nature of these

Social media has had a transformative impact on how people live, engage with one another, and work. However, it can be a double-edged sword as it constantly evolves owing to modern technological innovation. This cannot be more true for the world’s women: social media gives them political, financial, and social empowerment, even as they battle lack of access, language barriers, and safety concerns. This paper analyses the intersection of

If Uttar Pradesh was to be declared a separate country, it would be the sixth-largest nation. With a population at par with Brazil and per-capita income similar to Kenya's,

Narendra Modi’s West Asia policy remains the one area of achievement in an otherwise indifferent record of foreign policy.

To correct the trend of agglomeration of wealth, young economist Thomas Picketty has suggested an annual progressive tax on wealth. He also says it will be difficult to implement it because there will always be flight to tax havens. In India, any type of wealth tax would be hardest to implement because a huge amount of wealth is already stashed away abroad.

Accountability, like any other term associated with modern good governance, is a grossly abused word in Pakistan. Just as the victors of a war determine what the terms of the peace are, the people running the government determine what sort of accountability, and whom to target with it, the country requires.

The indecision of the AAP since the announcement of the Delhi poll results has the potential for the national voter to prefer national parties or alliances, rendering regional parties minimal players with maximalist muscle-flexing.

Encrypting communications enhances privacy and the security of information services. This, in turn, incentivises innovation in the ICT sector and contributes significantly to the growth of the internet economy. India’s (now withdrawn) Draft National Encryption Policy was single-minded in its approach. It sought only to prescribe standards that would enable law enforcement agencies to access encrypted data. There are, however, multifarious conc

The US is currently training various African economies on how to meet common value systems standards, and India along with other economies, needs to press for a more inclusive system where countries "pressurise on how to manage concerns and reach viable solutions."

While the year 2003 saw many acts of terrorism in South, South-East and West Asia, as well as in Chechnya in Russia, very few major acts of terrorism were reported from Central Asia. In fact, ever since the US-led coalition went into action against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Central Asian Republics (CARs) have remained largely free of major acts of terrorism

There has been no credible evidence so far of any mastermind having orchestrated the various serious acts of jihadi terrorism reported during 2003, whether from Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq or Turkey. The available evidence indicates that all these incidents were planned and executed by local elements, which share the pan-Islamic ideology of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the International Islamic Front (IIF), b

The distinction between individual aspirations and a national dream is clear to the Chinese government where there are contradictions between the political system and the consumerism-driven economy, according to US university professor Dr. Tansen Sen.

The focus on broadband expansion in the Union Budget is timely to take the IT revolution to the next level: social inclusion, e-commerce, media, and distance education for India?s small towns and rural pockets.

With North Korean workers, particularly IT professionals, increasingly relocating to Russia, cyber operations are expected to escalate

In 2016, the Indian government cleared the Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, allowing retail establishments to remain open throughout the day and night. Proponents say that when fully implemented, the act will drive nighttime economy and, in turn, increase cities’ incomes. In the past few years, certain states have begun implementing such concept of “24×7 cities”, including Mumbai, Ah

The ability to partner with nations that are deeply divided by geopolitics has been a feature of Indian diplomacy since Independence. The India-Russia relationship serves not just the two countries in question, but the world

Digital India created a brand, mirroring PM Modi's 'Jan-Jan Modi, Ghar-Ghar Modi' of aspiration & inclusivity.

An increasing number of businessmen in BRICS' countries favour arbitration over overburdened litigation systems in resolving domestic disputes.

Overlay this construct with the income-tax data for the same year and the situation becomes even worse.

As Salman Khurshid pointed out to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan has to demonstrate its bona fides by putting an end to the large number of incidents on the LoC.

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has underlined the emerging realities of states’ air defence needs, including those for medium- and long-range air defence missile systems. The most important facet in the domain of air defence relates to terminal air defence—or the defence of a single object or a limited area like a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. This report underscores the need for India to

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has underlined the emerging realities of states’ air defence needs, including those for medium- and long-range air defence missile systems. The most important facet in the domain of air defence relates to terminal air defence—or the defence of a single object or a limited area like a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. This report underscores the need for India to

The Visegrad Four (V4) countries—Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary—are examples of communist states that have transitioned to liberal and democratic governance systems. In recent years, their visibility in the European Union (EU) has surged due to their contrarian positions on certain critical issues facing the Union, such as mass migration and, since 2022, the conflict in Ukraine. This paper analyses the impact of these trend

The world is currently witnessing an increase in the prevalence of undernourishment as well as a rise in the incidence of overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. Addressing issues of food security and nutrition would not be possible without adopting a food systems perspective—from farm to fork. Indeed, in 2021, countries developed national pathways to transforming food systems to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Developme

Western-centric institutions are being challenged, and the buzz is only growing.

We really do not understand inflation stickiness in India since 2010. However, the silver lining is that oil prices may not rise any further following the shale gas revolution in the US. The Finance Minister can certainly do something about growth and possibly pray for lower inflation.

Since his assumption to power in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been slowly stretching the arm of the country’s foreign policy into Pacific waters in furtherance of the ‘Act East’ policy. While India’s relationship with the Pacific island states (read, not Australia and New Zealand) is quite unestablished, Modi is attempting to set the foundations for prosperous future cooperation. In the form of a guidebook for India on Pa

Separatism, extremism, and terrorism originating in Afghanistan compelled the neighbouring countries to form the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2001. However, instead of presenting a united front, the SCO is rife with disagreements. Increased divergences and mistrust among the members have helped the Taliban regain power in Afghanistan and strengthen its influence in the heart of Eurasia. The Taliban have taken advantage of the trust

The more the communal picture changes since the demolition of the Babri Masjid 20 years ago this week, the more it remains the same. Possibly with one variation: the political insecurity of the Muslim grows with each turn.

The Nigerian presidential election on March 28 was nothing short of a historic turning point in the rather fragile democracy. An incumbent Nigerian President was voted out in a general election which was, on the whole, free and fair barring a few technical glitches.

Ensuring contestability and fairness in India’s digital market—one of the world’s most prominent—is critical to ensuring consumer welfare. This paper outlines a legal and regulatory framework that can ensure contestability and fairness in the Indian digital market.  The paper identifies the following elements of this toolkit: (i) competition law; (ii) ex-ante regulation for digital gatekeepers; (iii) laws for increased transparen

What is astonishing is the sheer incompetence with which the ground realities are being dealt with by the State machinery.

The coincidence is striking. The US ¿ban¿ on ¿non-participants¿ in the ¿international coalition¿ to participate in $ 18-billions worth of ¿works contract¿ for Iraq¿s reconstruction, and also the follow-up talks on the deadlocked WTO negotiations at Cancun. Between them, the two may have begun designing a new course for politics and cooperation in the international arena, where economy now has a major say.

While talk of an alliance may be premature, there is clearly an increasing convergence of interests between the two strategic partners.

In February 2004, President George Bush outlined his new nuclear non-proliferation approach, in his ¿seven points¿ speech at the National Defense University. It include the setting up of proliferation security initiative which will control and monitor not only shipments and nuclear transfer of material/technology but also will be empowered to take direct action against the violators of the law.

A new social contract between citizens, consumers, employees, the state, and enterprise is needed to delineate a new understanding around rights, responsibilities and entitlements. Digital  transformations  are  rapidly  altering  the  nature  of  work,  models  of employment,    contracts,    regulations    and    protections.    Increasingly,    the responsibilities  of the state are becoming the obligations  of,�

This research provides an empirical analysis of India’s limited, but transformative position in the global nuclear order. By examining India’s bid for a Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership, this paper makes three major arguments. First, India’s attempt to acquire veto power status through the NSG challenges classical revisionism in international relations theory. Second, India’s rise through the NSG is based on selective coalition-bu

India's defence export policy did help in accelerating and convincing Manila about the merits of purchasing the BrahMos