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The list of China's signs of displaying its assertiveness in the South China Sea is numerous - like the incident with the Japanese coast guard and the USNS Impeccable. The Pentagon accused the Chinese vessels of "harassment" during the US ship's routine operations in international waters.

India is increasingly serving as a model for countries worldwide by demonstrating how economic development and environmental conservation can be complementary.

Though India dreams of replicating the shale gas successes of the US, it cannot enjoy the luxury of easily acquiring land for shale gas operations. In the US, landowners, besides owning surface rights, also own mineral rights. Consequently, they receive huge financial incentives directly from oil and gas companies.

Are smart cities the panacea for the increasing urbanisation problems in India? Question asked the Modi government is speeding up its smart city mission.

For digital economy to deliver on it's promise we need to avoid technological determinism and put people back at centre as the recipients of economic change

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s. International trade has been severely impacted due to, among others, budgetary shortfalls, reduced access to medical equipment, and an overall decline in economic activity. Even before the pandemic hit, international trade was held hostage by trade wars in a deeply polarised world; COVID-19 further exposed the faultlines of the globa

The compulsion of states to trawl ever increasing volumes of data must also be understood. Besides criminal activities like child pornography, money laundering and online fraud, the Internet is also an important vehicle for the jihadist terrorist. A great deal of recruitment and motivation takes place online.

Pragmatism is redefining India-Sri Lanka relations

This paper highlights the risks that emerging economies are exposed to given the extended use of Unconventional Monetary Policies in advanced economies. It also explores how financial resilience of emerging economies can be increased to ensure stable economic growth.

This report demonstrates how the Ukraine war has catalysed exceptional growth in the United States (US) defence-industrial base, evident in record exports and orders, valuations, and profits, as well as an ecosystem expansion unprecedented in recent decades. It argues that this revitalisation has given renewed potency to the US military-industrial complex, whose structural reliance on sustained demand will shape political decision-making and ince

Since France has said that it will not be continually involved in African intervention, the solution to security problems in Africa must come from the Africans themselves. The establishment of a pan-African force to react to crisis with support from Europe has been suggested by France.

Cash transfers are popular globally as an instrument for combating poverty and achieving broader development goals. Both conditional and unconditional cash transfers that target women in low- and middle-income countries can enhance household well-being, food security, education of children, family health, and women’s empowerment. In India, the provision of unconditional cash transfers to women is being driven by the expanding influence of femal

Cultural entrepreneurship promotes a country’s heritage, resources and creative talents through products, services, and experiences. It shapes the country’s cultural economy; enables economic growth, innovation, and sociocultural development; and, when exported, contributes towards building soft power. India, with a millennia-old heritage, indigenous knowledge systems, and practices, has the potential to become a leading cultural and

Chemical-Biological and Radiological (CBR) threats are being increasingly perceived as the new face of terrorism. The possibility of non-state actors employing non-conventional weapons using CBR materials.

Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari's recent State visit, coming after the visit by another important Minister (for Commerce and Industry), Anand Sharma, to Bangladesh, has highlighted New Delhi'sefforts and sincerity at improving the burgeoning relationship with its neighbour even more.

The BRICS is growing more relevant and increasingly institutionalised. Economic growth rates continue to outpace the rest of the developing world. According to the UNDP, Brazil, China and India's combined GDP will be greater than the combined GDP of the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy by 2020.

During the Cold War, India navigated its external relations guided largely by the doctrine and practice of non-alignment. In these contemporary times, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to inaugurate a period of heightened geopolitical rivalries, with the United States and China as the principal poles. India will be differently positioned in this post-Covid “new normal” than it was in the era of the Cold War and therefore will need differe

India has made progress in digital health, including in telemedicine and creating platforms such as Co-WIN for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. These initiatives demonstrate the benefits of technology in enhancing the availability and affordability of, and access to healthcare services. This report examines the challenges that continue to stall the reduction of maternal deaths in India. It uses the case of Madhya Pradesh, the sta

A transformation is sweeping Saudi Arabia, and certain elements of it can be attributed to ‘Vision 2030’, a strategic plan launched in 2016. The vision—framed by a paradigm shift in the country’s economic, social, and cultural landscape—will have implications beyond Saudi Arabia itself, given the country’s position as leader of the Arab and Islamic world. The biggest challenge to such a metamorphosis is adoption among citizens, who wi

The ¿Mother¿s Day¿ on Sunday, May 8, and the ¿Akshaya Tritiya¿, or Akha Teej¿, falling on Wednesday, May 11 this year, may have marked a further turning-point in the traditional Dravidian mores. It had witnessed a revival and the peak through the 20th century Tamil Nadu, but evolving circumstances had begun rendering it inconsistent, redundant and irrelevant to the times in the last quarter.

Over the last few decades, particularly after the end of cold war, a distinctive feature of the strategic and security related environment has been the unprecedented and sheer dynamics of change in the concepts, paradigms and complexities of national, regional and global security.

India will likely struggle to achieve the SDGs for financial reasons. At present, a shocking 2-3 per cent of Indians pay taxes. Mobilising domestic finance ? including optimal tax collection reform ? can help supplement the traditional sources of aid.

Amid rising oil imports, persistent urban air pollution, and mounting emissions, India’s shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is no longer optional; it is essential. This paper explores India’s evolving EVs landscape through the lens of its climate and energy security goals, with a focus on the often overlooked but critical role of charging infrastructure. It assesses current adoption trends, evaluates the effectiveness of key policies, and ident

Inclusiveness, openness, and ASEAN centrality and unity, therefore, lie at the heart of the Indian notion of Indo-Pacific.

Abstract India is aiming for an eightfold increase in its share of the global space economy by 2047. The Indian ‘sunrise’ commercial space sector is benefiting from the government’s reforms, though gaps remain. The exact size of India’s domestic space economy is unknown, and the export promotion strategy for the space sector is unclear. This brief outlines three recommendations in parallel with the articulation of India’s National Sp

Fintech Regulatory Sandboxes have become essential tools for fostering innovation while maintaining regulatory oversight amid the rapid growth of global fintech, projected to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2030. India’s fintech sector, driven by robust digital infrastructure and government support, is expected to reach US$2.1 trillion by 2030. Regulatory sandboxes introduced by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, and IFSCA enable the controlled testing of such innovat

Since the mass exodus of the Muslim Rohingya people from Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017, close to a million of them have been residing in Bangladesh. While the country has offered them sanctuary, there are massive gaps in seeing to their welfare, including the lack of formal, basic education for the children. In 2020, the Bangladesh government announced the launch of the Myanmar Curriculum Pilot (MCP) to provide the displaced Rohingya

After years of calculated relationship between China and the Taliban, the strategic Wakhan Corridor has become a focal point of tension between them. Beijing would like to use the corridor to expand its political and economic influence over Afghanistan, while the Taliban seeks to control it to ensure its own stability and Afghanistan’s development. The new generation of the Taliban, often referred to as Taliban 2.0, regards this corridor as vit

Indonesia is increasing its military presence in the region and upgrading its forces in the Natuna Islands as it seeks to challenge China and maintain its control over an important sea domain containing abundant marine food and energy resources.

China was a late entrant in Arctic engagement, with its involvement beginning only in 1991. Since then, its engagement has expanded both in depth and breadth. Even though it signed the Svalbard Treaty in 1925 at France’s invitation, China’s polar activities initially focused only on the Antarctic. This report explores China’s journey and collates its activities in the Arctic.

Since the early 2000s, China's debt profile in Sri Lanka has increased rapidly, with estimates indicating that over 20% of the overall debt stock is owed to China. Beijing's lending has been opaque on high-interest loans and has often contributed to several white elephant projects. Much of this lending comes from Chinese policy banks, such as China Exim Bank and China Development Bank that is entrusted to further Beijing's economic and commercial

For decades since 1932, after the Chakri dynasty gave up absolute power, Thailand has lived under the shadow of military coups.

The Chinese side noted that the explosion incident and back-to-back targeted killings triggered serious concerns among consumers in Arab countries about the security of electronic products produced in or whose supply chains are controlled by the West.

Chinese influence in Africa is high on the global agenda, as China within just a few decades has become a key political and economic power in the continent. Indeed, its emergence as a dominant economic and political actor might be the most important development in Africa since the end of the Cold War. This paper analyses China's economic and political relations with Africa beginning in the 1990s. It argues that the concern is not that China has e

As a rising China becomes the most important extra-regional partner for India's neighbours, India cannot simply wish away the Chinese influence in the subcontinent. The only way to limit the scope and structure of China's security profile is to expand India's own cooperation, including in the defence domain, with all neighbours.

The last India-Africa Forum Summit took place in New Delhi way back in 2015, and significant shifts in global geopolitics and geoeconomics have occurred since then.

Incidents of sudden disappearance of celebrities have been common in China. But Qin Gang’s case is special. Not only has he disappeared but his public records are also being erased.

India must urgently explore a variety of options to restore deterrence vis-à-vis China. This first thing is to back Japan. India also has to work on a range of options including economic and hard options. It must also take a fresh look at reinvigorating its ties with Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Singapore and the littoral states.

For the biggest maritime parade held in China since 1949, the People's Liberation Army Navy deployed 48 warships, 76 aircraft and 10,000 sailors and marines.

We are yet to get to the bottom of the mystery of the Chinese incursions. But the rhetoric that is coming out from New Delhi and Beijing now seems to suggest that the issue may quietly die down. As it is, it comes on the eve of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's visit to Beijing, and, more Chinese premier Li Keqiang's visit to New Delhi.

In light of Africa's increasing dependency on and trouble with Chinese actors, African leaders are beginning to look beyond China in an attempt to diversify. India and the long-standing presence of Indian businesses in the continent can help Africa deal with the losses from China.

China has a space lab in orbit and it also plans to launch 100 satellites during its on-going five year plan from 2011-15. Twenty space craft will be launched this year including its third lunar probe and a manned space craft that will dock with China's space lab. There are indications that, by 2020, China may have more than 200 space craft in orbit accounting for about one-fifth of the world's total.

Since 9/11, both China and the US have one concern in common - the threat of 'Islamic' terrorism. On December 15 2003, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued a list of four terrorist organisations and eleven terrorists that pose a threat to China's security.

India-China relations appear to be showing signs of easing, particularly with successive high-level exchanges between the two governments since late 2024. Given the positive momentum in bilateral ties in the past few months, there is cautious optimism in certain quarters that some kind of détente might be on the anvil. Against this backdrop, this brief surveys a sampling of current domestic discourse in China around issues related to India. It f

This year’s defence budget marks an increase of 8.1 percent from last year. China has justified its defence budget by arguing that its defence spending is less than 1.5 percent of its GDP, but that argument is not going to go down well with its neighbours.

Tibet is where India and China meet. It is through Tibet that China manages its relations with India, using the boundary dispute to keep New Delhi off-balance. India is also where the most revered Tibetan, the 14th Dalai Lama lives in exile. Having failed to negotiate his return, there is now a two-pronged effort by China to deal with the consequences of the Dalai Lama’s passing and his possible reincarnation outside Tibet: to m

Over the last two decades, China has established a significant economic presence in most African countries. Its lucrative economic investment package, flexible political approach, and focused big-ticket development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provide an ostensibly massive opportunity to African countries. However, the unilateral nature of the initiative, the lack of transparency and accountability to African countries, and t

China’s growing military profile in Africa is following its economic footprint in the continent as exemplified by the Chinese “logistics support base” in Djibouti. It is moving towards an ever more expansive definition of its global interests, as its business in Africa pushes it to create new mechanisms for securing those interests, including its own growing military footprint abroad. This brief examines the changing nature of China’s inv

China’s space policy planners are convinced that the country should aim for manned lunar landings by 2040. It has already established a sophisticated robotic lunar exploration programme and human landings are perceived as the logical next step. New navigation and communication architectures are being developed for this purpose, in addition to building life support systems and a suitable launch vehicle. However, China’s political leadership wo

Since the assumption of Xi Jinping to the post of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has undergone numerous changes, both in its modernisation and organisation, that are meant to ensure that the PLA forces will be battle-ready. The modernisation aims for the PLA to acquire the latest technology and logistics for quick and decisive victories in any theatre of battle. This brief exa