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Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South is being threatened by the mounting challenges facing developing countries due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, and receding aid from traditional donor countries. As the achievement of the SDGs remains more relevant than ever, this brief proposes the creation of a Global South Development Assistance Committee (D

Amongst India’s stated priorities in its G20 Presidency are reforming multilateral institutions, climate action alongside energy transition, digital transformation and governance, sustainable economic growth, and women’s empowerment. In many of these concerns, countries in the Global North and Global South have serious divergences, thereby hampering progress towards consensus and unified action. To remove some of the deadlocks

Lack of strategic vision in the NDA has caused it to fail at economic management

Balanced urbanisation and rural development is an urgent requirement in China, if it has to fulfill its goals of sustainable development. For this purpose, budgetary allocations and farmers' support have to be tweaked, along with agricultural modernisation.

The French President has rightly said that the bloc needs to assert sovereignty over its political and security decisions

The seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. This challenge is acute in the African continent, home to large populations without access to electricity and clean cooking fuel. This brief explores the scope for cooperation between India and Africa in not only achieving SDG 7, but while doing so, also considering the targets set by SDG 5 to

The first universal, legally binding global climate accord signed at the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP) in Paris in 2015 committed to long-term goals for “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” However, as world leaders prepare for the Facilitative Dialogue (FD) ahead o

Three weeks well into the constitutional deadlock that has stalled governmental functioning an parliamentary proceedings alike, there is no end in sight still to the political crisis overwhelming the Maldivian archipelago. The infant democracy, which otherwise used to be inward-looking until the politico-constitutional changes of 2008, cannot allow to fail itself - and its political leaders cannot try to have it both ways, either.

A legislative deadlock involving the Executive and Parliament on the one hand, and the Executive and the Judiciary on the other, both leading to a serious and a series of constitutional crisis kept Maldivian politics and politicians on their toes for most of 2010.

Having kicked off the constitutional deadlock in Maldives, by getting the whole Cabinet resigned, President Nasheed needs to find a wayout of the imbroglio. A snap poll, either for the President or Parliament, or both, are the possibilities.

Addressing the 42nd annual celebrations of the bilateral relations organised by the Friendship Association of India and Maldives (FAIM) in Male on Friday, local media reported outgoing President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik as saying as much:

It is anybody's guess why Maldives' Election Commission did not choose to move the Supreme Court, particularly when legal cases of the current nature has the potential to reset the poll-clock, for which there is no provision in the Constitution.

In Maldives, the development following former President Nasheed seeking refuge in Indian Embassy after an arrest warrant from a local court has raised a number of issues -- legal, political and diplomatic. Presidential polls are due in the country in September this year.

Now that the nation has regained some semblance of order and some of its lost direction, it is time that the divided polity in Maldives sat down and discussed pending issues for a political solution aimed at breaking what is increasingly becoming a passive deadlock.

The rapid uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military in the past couple decades has been accompanied by a slow but gradual build-up in attempts to understand how these AI systems work to achieve better results in military operations. The idea behind what is called ‘eXplainable AI’ (XAI), and the technologies driving it, are a manifestation of this trend. The question, however, is if XAI in its current form is the solution

This brief analyses the manifestos of the Indian National Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in the past four Lok Sabha elections. It introduces the concept of “falsifiability” to evaluate whether promises made in manifestos can be verified, to begin with; it then outlines the poll promises that are falsifiable across various sectors. The authors examine whether or not the promises were fulfilled, and if not, if they were carried aga

India’s geography lends itself favourably to the cultivation and expansion of maritime ties. Yet, for much of the country’s contemporary history, the country has overlooked these opportunities. As the world reengages with its vast ocean spaces, India too, has become more willing and capable of participating in the maritime domain. This paper outlines the evolution of the country’s maritime outlook as it shifts its largely continental-orient

The Indo-Pacific, often regarded as the ‘maritime underbelly’ of Asia, has emerged as the world’s economic “centre of gravity”. The home of vast geo-economic opportunities, and facing manifold security challenges at the same time, this maritime domain has attracted the keen attention of global powers in recent years. This births prospects for multilateral collaborations in maritime security, and justifies the significance of a �

In recent years, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) region have emerged as vital security and developmental partners in the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—thereby gaining prominence in India’s foreign policy priorities. This paper examines India’s bilateral and multilateral engagement with the SIDS of the SWIO region, and argues that India should consider the concerns of the

Living conditions in fast-growing rural areas across India are deteriorating due not only to the impact of urbanisation but the lack of capacity of the local governments to manage such transitions. This brief makes the case for changing the administration status of such areas from “rural” to “urban”, establishing urban governance mechanisms therein, and making them resilient. For identification of such areas, the state government’s opin

On May 25, four terrorists (initial reports suggested almost a dozen armed men) scaled the perimeter walls of PNS Mehran, Pakistan's only naval air base, located in Karachi. Guided by their commander through hi-tech wireless systems,

The growing concern for mental health has only heightened in the past two years, amidst the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. This brief tells the story of Africa where, in many communities, the subject of mental health can often be a taboo. It discusses the role of the internet in helping individuals manage their mental health issues, while at the same time, posing its own challenges, especially those related to extensive use of social media.

After 70 years of being constrained, following its defeat in two world wars and being partitioned into East and West Germany, a unified Germany is today poised to be a great power again, having overcome its historical legacy of militarism, and the Holocaust. And German Chancellor Merkel's visit underlines the changed dynamics of the relationship between India and Germany.

Theodore Roosevelt in his famous dictum “speak softly, and carry a big stick,” spoke on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Balochistan.

This Special Report reviews the path towards the commercialisation of coal mining in India, in the context of the auctions of blocks held in the last two years, and makes an assessment of the challenges facing the sector in view of global events. It builds on discussions raised during ORF's roundtables on the subject.

PM Modi becoming a proactive participant in the great game

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fluent Hindi, through which he engages foreign interlocutors and the rhetorical instinct for catchy phrases, is helping expand India's diplomatic lexicon.

In his Kozhikode speech, Modi managed to underscore how Pakistan was going against the forces of history and how isolated it stood today as a result.

Development partnerships between countries are crucial in addressing policy challenges in the developing world. Cooperation between countries in the Global South, in particular—such as those that India engages in, under its Development Partnership Administration (DPA)—is heightening conversations around the demands of sustainability. Yet, India continues to lack an appropriate framework by which to assess its development partnerships

A study undertaken by ORF on the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) found that there is a need to work on the loopholes of the scheme and take corrective measures for its better implementation.

For long we have been fed lies. Mumbai has no scarcity of houses and the key to the truth lies in using digital technology to unlock the city's housing potential.

The coordinated serial bombings in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, have raised serious questions about India's counter-terrorism (CT) policies which rely more on technology enablers and not as much on robust intelligence gathering and analysis at the local as well as national level.

Municipal governance has once again taken centre stage in Indian polity. There is a current re-shaping of narratives within the national government to make local governance effective. It is realised that deficit in the delivery of urban services results in chaos, which forms the basis for citizens doubting the functioning of the local government.

When the world finding itself in a deadlock on the issues of environment and sustainable development, Myanmar is poised to enter a new era that could pave the way for economic prosperity without any significant negative impact on the environment.

The Indo-Pacific, which holds most of the world’s mangroves, faces serious risks from natural disasters, including those related to the long-term sustainability of coastal communities and valuable ecosystems. Mangroves uphold biodiversity, support ecosystem functionality, and sustain local livelihoods; however, financing their conservation is proving to be a massive challenge. This report examines the ecosystem services provided by mangroves, i

The Philippines continues to be embroiled in the overarching regional dynamics of Southeast Asia influenced by the intensifying power competition between its traditional ally, the United States and its largest immediate neighbour, China. Such geopolitical configurations have put significant pressure on the current administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to steer the Philippines through turbulent waters. Thi

This paper analyses the debate surrounding federal restructuring in Nepal and the position taken by various political stakeholders. It argues that an early political consensus on federalism is imperative; otherwise, the country may slip into greater ethnic conflict. Nepal is currently experiencing perhaps one of the most turbulent phases in its contemporary political history. In 2008, Nthe 240-year-old institution of monarchy—for long seen a

India and Saudi Arabia are re-defining their foreign policy priorities: For New Delhi, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states are becoming key interlocutors in the Middle East. For Riyadh, India is one of the eight major powers with which it wants to forge strategic partnerships as part of its Vision 2030.

It likely that Malé will remain sensitive to India’s broad strategic concerns around China, but will likely push also for closer ties to Beijing.

THE politician's lust for power is a significant factor that has allowed the People's War Group (PWG) Naxalites to grow and gain in strength. Routinely, several political leaders at various levels have sought the rebels' support to win elections. In April 2003, a local legislator in Warangal district went to pay "homage" to a PWG leader killed in a police encounter, Polam Sudarshan Reddy "Ramakrishna",

The elections reflected the public discontent with the political deadlock on Brexit, and Boris Johnson’s strategy of reinforcing simple and clear slogans worked in his favour, bolstering the Conservative Party’s victory.

In mid-June, the oil giant Shell was forced to declare force majeure in its Nigeria unit excusing it from liability and contractual obligations due to sabotage by local militias on its oil pipelines.

Can we bring ‘nature’ beyond the confines of just protected forests into a city, while allowing the wildlife with it?

The multiple ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lockdowns imposed by countries as a response, are being felt in sectors ranging from agriculture to healthcare. The global community must now hurdle massive obstacles to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To correctly assess the impact of the pandemic on global sustainability-driven concerns, it is important to understand not only the inter-linkages between the SDGs,

In March 2023, the foreign ministers of India, Japan, Australia, and the US (that form the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad) announced the establishment of a working group on countering terrorism. While the urgency of counterterrorism cooperation may have arguably faded in political debate in recent years, it remains steady in military-to-military cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels. In a fast-changing glo

As global and urban populations continue to grow, and climate change threatens food security, it is imperative that cities—often the largest food consumers—contribute to its production through urban agriculture. Urban agriculture comprises food and non-food products grown for self-consumption or sale. Entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations, and citizens worldwide are adopting new technologies to optimise production amid space c

Will data localisation — or a diluted mirroring requirement — serve India’s strategic interests as outlined in the Srikrishna Committee’s report? Moving forward, how can India build data ecosystems that not only feed back into domestic innovation but also protect user privacy at scale keeping in mind the interests of the private sector?

Waziristan last month ostensibly to hunt down al Qaida and Talibanelements has been a visible failure which could dramatically alterthe already existing fault lines in the force divided betweenloyalty to Musharraf, nation and religion.South Waziristan is one of the seven areas -Khyber, Kurram,Orakzai, Mohmand, Bajaur, North and South Waziristan - which wereclubbed together as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)by the British who wanted

In November this year, the world will witness one of the most keenly awaited presidential elections in Pakistan with President Pervez Musharraf seeking a second term from the existing parliament without giving up his uniform. A few months later, in early 2008, will follow the general elections for the National Assembly. Contrary to perceptions, the road to re-election may not be smooth. There are chances that the situation in Balochistan and Wazi