994 results found
Russia’s policy towards South Asia has been the subject of much speculation lately. With closer cooperation between Russia and China and the former’s warming up to Pakistan, it is becoming increasingly evident that Russia is moving away from its India-centric approach in the region. This brief studies the changes, and continuity, in Moscow’s foreign policy towards South Asia as it transitioned from the Soviet Union into the Russian Federati
There is a deepening concern amongst the Chinese strategic community over the convergence of interest between the US and India.
Video streaming applications are said to be a replacement to traditional television. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that digital streaming ap
The consequences of DTTI fizzing out would not be adverse to India, but the great opportunity to realise the full potential of India-US defence cooper
The new Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) is market-friendly but is lacking in attention to privacy requirements for sensitive personal data. This report highlights three types of sensitive personal data—i.e., biometric, financial, and health—and emphasises the need for transparent consent mechanisms that will safeguard an individual’s data. It underscores the role of data fiduciaries, urging the formulation of clear operational
Both — Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India — are great ideas, and are misinterpreted in due to vested interests, or due to lack of communication and lack of understanding among the public.
The 2024 Pakistani elections is a significant indicator of the increasing vulnerability of the military in the nation's political landscape and the po
The BRICS' National Development Bank is not trying to replace the IMF-World Bank. It will play a complementary role, catering to the needs of developing countries.
It’s worrisome that even though Jalaluddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, is now dead, the infrastructure that he put in place is very much alive
Proper regulations need to be put in place to control the NFTs’ impact not only from a climate perspective but also in the ethics and legislation ar
What is a security actor and how is it different from being a great or major power? In many ways, this question is central to understanding the lack of appreciation of the European Union as an actor in the security arena in India and certainly in some other parts of Asia.
Is the use of constitutional means to secure ruling in perpetuity a new normal in west Africa?
A New Silk Road is magical thinking, given that Afghanistan remains a hotbed of instability plagued by daunting challenges. Lack of security has already delayed Tapi, the natural gas pipeline linking Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
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 RevCon takes place at a time when the international security context is unpredictable and the need for meaningful dialogue and subsequent implemen
With no global consensus or frameworks in place, cryptocurrency regulation is one area where India can lead the way by leveraging the G20 presidency
The ‘Compact with Africa’ (CWA) is the main pillar of a renewed G20 partnership with the continent. Its objective is to attract more private investment to Africa, especially for infrastructure. African countries face the challenge of diversifying their economies and promoting industries and services that can absorb a rapidly growing labour force. Lack of investment and Africa’s massive infrastructure gap are major obstacles to this economic
The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming the world of work. As new occupations are emerging in this digitised landscape, the skills and competencies required for jobs are evolving as well. This brief examines the skills gaps that persist across the G20 countries, and argues that they will need to adapt their education and training mechanisms to the changing skills requirements. Although nearly all presidencies of the G20 forum have prioritised youth
President Trump’s implicit assessment of the value of the G20 Hamburg summit was best illustrated by letting his daughter replace him.
Moves and counter-moves in Indo-Pak relations, like in a game of chess, continue to leave the actors in a mood to fight further. However, unlike in a game of chess, no endgame seems to be in the offing. This vicious circle of moves, counter moves, stalemate, warmongering, dialogues and so on is a direct impact of a precarious lack of an ultimate solution to the basic issue in Indo-Pak relations.
This commentary provides deep insights into the rapid collaboration that is taking place between India and Australia. It also delves into its implications for the future.
In a country possessing as vast a landscape and populace as India, blockchain has the potential to completely transform and revolutionize governance,
To safeguard Chinese interests in Gwadar, the Pakistani government gives in to demands placed by the local population
The Ministry of Human Resource Development in late June floated the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, 2018, to repeal the seven-decade-old University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. The HECI, when established, will replace the UGC that has been the bedrock of India’s higher education system. This brief analyses the draft bill and examines its deficiencies. It suggests that the present bill fails to address the shortcomings of
Artificial Intelligence and Cyber technologies will augment the existing traditional combat platforms rather than rendering them obsolete
The India-Pakistan peace process, punctuated with -uctuating waves of optimism and anxiety, has completed three years, and it is appropriate, and timely, to review whether the primary On April 22, 2003 the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, told the Indian Parliament that India was unilaterally opening “the doors for talks” with Pakistan. The offer was based on two simple premises: one, that Pakistan would stop cross-border in
The lack of political violence during the recent elections in Kenya spells progress for the East African country.
Why multilateralism is in such a mess today boils down to three reasons: disillusionment with globalisation, lacklustre narratives in support of multi
Caring for street dogs is misplaced kindness that comes at the cost of citizen safety
The shift away from the US dollar has the potential to rebalance the international system of trade in an equitable way while placing the Global South
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.
Trump is the proverbial black swan which was not anticipated – a low probability, high-impact presence which is disrupting American politics, its alliance systems and its governance structures.
Conventional theories have become insufficient in explaining the complexities of terrorist action. This brief offers an integrative approach that borrows from psychology, inter-group conflict theory and neuroscience to understand the mind of a terrorist and, by extension, inform counterterrorism strategies. It provides evidence against popular beliefs about terrorists as principally being religious extremists who lack a moral compass and belong t
The workplace of the future must acknowledge and embrace a more well-rounded conception of the home and work, including valuing the full range of expe
Russia’s and China’s attempt to explore alternative trade route by financing the Northern Sea route could open a new theatre of contestation
One of the most awaited and celebrated events of 2010 in India was the State visit of US President Barack Obama from November 6-8. Considerable amount of discussions and debates had taken place both before and during the visit.
The affordable housing challenge plagues cities across India. Although city administrations have framed various strategies to tackle the issue, weak implementation, flawed policies, and an inherent lack of capacity to find longterm solutions have allowed slums to proliferate as an alternative. This paper examines the affordable housing issue in Greater Mumbai. Since affordability is not absolute but relative to the development stage and income di
Education in India is compulsory and free for primary and middle school, yet about 20 percent of children aged 6-14 remain absent. Analysts offer various explanations for India’s continued challenges in ensuring universal basic education, including lack of access to schools and poor educational environment. In this context, an index measuring the health of the early education system can be a valuable tool. This paper devises a Performance, Infr
Africa remains the least-industrialised continent, so the idea that it can somehow parachute itself and compete in the post-industrial global marketpl
The President of Pakistan had expected his handpicked Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, to perform his bidding and strengthen his position. But President Musharraf was disappointed. He, therefore, felt that a change was essential in order to secure his own place and keep the other power players content.
While we can all agree that harking back to a fascist past is decidedly a cure that is worse than the disease, is there not a case for contending that
The growing dependency on AI can have adverse impacts if adequate safeguards are not put in place
By organising the two-day Lahore convention through Hafiz Sayeed and his Jihadi organizations of LeT and JuD, Pakistan wants to demonstrate that the people of Pakistan are not happy with the way the events have taken place in Kashmir.
Feminist movements have historically lacked inclusivity, often growing within a limited Western upper-class psyche, based on their own challenges and needs. The digital revolution has paved the way for a new iteration of feminism. The digital space can bolster feminist activist movements by encouraging inclusion and improving accessibility in organising collective action. It also helps weave local stories with global narratives to highlight commo
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
As India places the Mekong sub-region among its priorities under the country’s ‘Act East’ policy, the ongoing India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway project––currently the only land connectivity project between India and the Mekong countries and the wider Southeast Asian region––could prove to be a game changer. It is imperative to explore ways to ensure early completion of this strategic communication link. This paper focuses on
The historic second term of Narendra Modi’s government can serve to exacerbate the material asymmetry between India and Pakistan. For this reason an
Amit Krishankant Paul, The Siachen Story: The Inadvertent Role of Two German Explorers in Starting the Race to the World’s Highest Battlefield, April 2024, Observer Research Foundation.
The trilateral meeting will take place on 9 May 2018. It assumes considerable significance for several reasons.
The good news is, the current crisis in Ladakh bears some resemblance to these prior standoffs, all of which were peacefully resolved. The bad news is
