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India’s medical devices sector is poised to grow from a US$11-billion industry to US$50 billion by 2030. This expansion, however, hinges on regulatory reform, investment in innovation, and improved accessibility. Historically governed by drugs-centric laws, India’s medical devices sector now falls under the purview of dedicated frameworks such as the Medical Devices Rules (2017). Yet it continues to face policy uncertainty, and there are pers

In July 2024, United States (US) President Joe Biden signed into law a bill espousing the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination. The spirit of this law, ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’, stands in contrast to historical US recognition of Tibet as a part of China. This brief examines the evolution of US policy towards Tibet, beginning in the 1950s when its primary concern was the alleged human rights violations

Politics of appeasement must be done away with and New Delhi should extend all the anti-corruption laws of India, especially the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in Jammu and Kashmir.

The labour laws certainly represent a small step but the introduction of even small reforms in labour legislations was long awaited to keep at bay the rising discontent among domestic as well as foreign entrepreneurs from India's manufacturing sector.

The electoral system of India has flaws and there is an 'anti-democratic conspiracy of silence' to hide it, Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief Mr. Salman Khurshid said during a talk on 'Has the Indian Electoral System Failed?' organized by the ORF Mumbai chapter of Observer Research Foundation on January 24,

Corruption has plagued India’s political and corporate landscape since Independence. In the United Kingdom (UK), Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) have proved to be an effective measure in combating corporate corruption. In the context of parallels between British and Indian laws, this report seeks to analyse the feasibility of applying a DPA system in India. It examines DPAs and their potential in India, and highlights the challenges in i

The United States and Luxembourg have adopted domestic space laws granting certain legal rights to space mining companies. These moves have initiated a debate on the future of this industry, as well as the passing of relevant laws governing outer space and its resources. This paper makes an assessment of commercial space mining activities in the broader context of the emerging space economy. It finds that entrepreneurs are increasingly looking at

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) appears to be gaining momentum in formulating collective strategies to combat non-traditional security threats in the subregion. This brief describes how BIMSTEC had focused on bilateralism or trilateralism from its inception in 1997 until 2015, thereby failing to pursue a more comprehensive and long-term approach to addressing the common threats to their

Senior Supreme Court lawyer and ORF trustee Lalit Bhasin moots a comprehensive law to replace the obsolete Aircraft Act of 1934

While India has successfully lifted millions out of poverty over the past few decades, the issue remains among the foremost challenges confronting the country. One of the first crucial steps to solving the problem of poverty is to measure its extent. Although there is some agreement on the multidimensional nature of poverty and the inability of unidimensional measures to capture its true magnitude, a national or global consensus on a single pover

Ms Menaka Guruswamy, Supreme Court lawyer, who has been associated with Constitution making in Nepal, outlined four major areas of divergence in Nepalese Constitution. Federalism is one such area which is highly contested.

Bangladesh’s Indo-Pacific Outlook, released in April 2023, is a projection of its interests in the region, and a testament to its political nonalignment and commitment to economic development. Its focus on upholding the rule of law and maintaining regional stability makes it a conducive partner for neighbouring countries and major powers in the Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh enjoys close ties with China, Japan, and the US, and a special relationship

Independent India’s copyright law has mostly centred around facilitating “access”. This is because India is a large country with a predominantly poor population, limited research facilities and budgets, and constrained access to knowledge-driven products and services. The politics of standard-setting in international copyright frameworks, however, has prevented government from realising a completely accessbased copyright regime. It has had

The pending Companies Bill provides for in an increase in the corporate funding to political parties from 5% to 7.5% of the average net profits. This increase is despite the fact that the presence of strong corporate funding laws has not hindered companies to squeeze out crores in bribes.

Obama's warning to Putin that there would be costs for the invasion of Crimea was not only empty, but the real cost in all this was to American credibility, once again. One can, therefore, expect both the US and Russia to assert their rights regardless of international law.

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

The new land acquisition bill has brought transparency in land acquisition. But by incorporating too many instruments and agencies to ensure the same, it instead risks making the process bureaucratic. Thus, the bill ends up replacing a coercive colonial law with a cumbersome one.

The norm to protect the public core of the internet, originally advocated by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy, can be operationalised in two ways. Both a layered approach and a functional approach to defining the public core of the internet provide productive ways to discuss safeguarding the functionality and integrity of the core logical and physical infrastructure of the internet from unwarranted state interventions. Thi

Various Indian states have attempted to implement their respective deradicalisation programmes to counter radicalised thought amongst those identified as being at-risk, as well as those contemplating on joining, or are returning after having joined terror groups. Maharashtra and Kerala, for example, claim that their programmes are a success. Yet little is known regarding the structure of these deradicalisation programmes, their implementation, th

In Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd v. Antrix Corporation Ltd, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order winding up Devas Multimedia Ltd on the grounds of fraud. Antrix is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Devas is a multimedia services company. The decision comes at a crucial time, as foreign investors of Devas are endeavouring to attach Indian assets

The Delhi police proposal to use drones for day-to-day law and order activities is bound to fail unless it is accompanied by a regulatory and manufacturing ecosystem for unmanned aerial vehicles

In India there has been no consistency in policies to deal with terrorism. Political consensus is missing even today. A strong, responsible political leadership, thus, is paramount to the drafting and implementation of an effective, strong and permanent counter-terrorism law.

Dr. Anupam Chander, Professor of Law at UC Davis, says a specific rule which necessitates the consent of data subject in order to process the data coming from foreign countries in India is effectively discouraging foreign investments in India.

Greece's problems were inevitable because the concept of Eurozone is based on flawed solidarity. While the monetary policy is controlled by the ECB, the fiscal policy is under the member states. They have to obey the diktat of the ECB regarding interest rates and this has made Greece uncompetitive with rising costs.

China has often showed a lack of willingness to abide by not only established international law but also certain norms that the global community has fostered over the years. It has flouted the decision issued by an arbitration court at The Hague regarding its claims in the South China Sea; it has also appropriated intellectual property.  In the 1970s when the Western economies were taking the lead in setting global norms while balancing the thre

As China pursues its expansionist ambitions in the greater South China Sea, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is working to enhance his country’s ability to exercise its sovereignty and sovereign rights. Towards this end, Manila is expanding its strategic options through robust external partnerships and national policy recalibrations to secure its lawful waters in what it calls the West Philippine Sea. There are concerns, however, abou

Maharashtra imposed alcohol prohibition in the Chandrapur district in April 2015. However, in 2021, the state government annulled the liquor ban as evidence indicated that the district administration had failed to comprehensively implement it, with several social and economic consequences that compromised the wellbeing of Chandrapur. Experiments in prohibition in India and the US show that it is nearly impossible for such widespread socia

Aiming to secure their marine resources in the Bay of Bengal, India and Bangladesh settled their maritime boundary in 2014. Despite the delimitation, however, fishers from both countries continue to commit unlawful forays into each other's sovereign waters, leading to the enforcement of punitive measures against those accused or convicted. Such incidents not only jeopardise the fishers’ livelihoods, but repeated occurrences also nettle relation

On August 12, 2016 the Observer Research Foundation convened the first in a series of multistakeholder roundtables on encryption. This report is the outcome of the discussion of issues and proposal of solutions conducted at the roundtable. Being a complex, technical-legal question around access to data for law enforcement, encryption has long been a contested issue. Creating best-in-class regulation on encryption will require targeted interventio

The 2023 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report highlights a surge in drug production in Myanmar, posing serious security challenges. The cultivation of poppy, key for heroin production, increased by 33 percent in 2022, reversing a downward trend seen since 2014. Experts attribute the rise largely to livelihood challenges: Myanmar’s economy contracted by 18 percent in 2021, with only a modest rebound in 2022, and there are the compound

An autonomous Judicial Commission can effectively nudge the judicial system towards its intended Constitutional mandate; apolitical, enlightened and efficient application of the rule of law and protection of the fundamental rights of private entities, against encroachment by the executive or the legislature.

Will President Obama's passionate call for stricter gun laws from the pulpit bring any change, or will he go towards the sunset in 2016 with having done practically nothing on this issue?

The neighbouring waters around China have been marked by competing maritime territorial claims for decades. In recent years, tensions have intensified as Beijing’s inroads have increased in pace and extent. Today China’s economic security is closely linked to the South China Sea. With Beijing repeatedly engaging in acts that are widely seen as violative of international maritime law, there is a growing need to underscore the significance and

The Indian army’s higher leadership must reflect on its role as the sword arm of the republic, and have a clear vision of itself as the upholder of law.

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.

China's new maritime law – in which foreign vessels will have to submit details to Chinese authorities when transiting through its 'territorial waters' – has now come into force.

If the purpose of privacy is to preserve democracy, then data protection laws must reflect this purpose.

Nepal's Prime Minister Bhattarai has difficult tasks ahead. His credibility has diminished following a heap of unpopular moves he resorted to. He has been criticised for seeking amnesty for rights violators and for his failure to deal with rampant corruption and worsening law and order situation.

Half a century after the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the current debates are focused on new sets of challenges such as space mining, which used to belong only to the realm of science fiction.  This paper analyses the rationale for extraterrestrial mining, as well as the efforts and responses of various countries—i.e, USA, Luxembourg, Russia, China and India. In examining the legal and go

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law, response to it highlights the fragility and resilience of democratic principles in the country

The purpose is to create, through law, a permanent threat to hang over every single Muslim head in India

Over the years, sanctions have emerged as a preferred foreign-policy tool for many States, especially in the West. Sanctions serve a number of purposes, including the application of economic and political pressure on specific governments with a view to change their stance on a particular issue. International organisations, throughout the 20th century, used sanctions to impose their positions. The League of Nations first imposed sanctions in 1921

India has to deal with Pakistani jihadis as it would deal with any other terrorists and send them to the court of law to whatever dispensation the court might decide. The lesson for India is that it has to live with troubles from Pakistan and deal with them as the situation arises.

India was selected as the chair of the first group of governmental experts (GGE) constituted to deliberate the issue of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) and their impact on international security

At moments like this in Delhi, of political surrealism and bizarre events, it is worth turning to Robert Greene's "The 48 Laws of Power". Greene describes how politicians and leaders elsewhere in the world and, in history, had conducted themselves.

Delivering the 30th Bhimsen Sachar Memorial Lecture for 2009 in New Delhi, the former Chief of the Army Staff highlights the flaws in India's strategic thinking and stresses the need for a more focused and clearly defined vision for the future.