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Elections-2004 has thrown up a question without addressing it, leave alone answering it. By drumming up on the Vajpayee leadership, the BJP-NDA may have kept the nation¿s focus away from the obvious question, but the latter does remain, however much in the background as they may deem fair: After Vajpayee, Who?
Liberalisation has given birth to two Indias. One which is prosperous and living first world lifestyles and the 'other' in which people are living without human dignity and suffering multiple deprivation. Regional disparities have also led to disparate standards of living.
With the UNHRC vote only days away, it was not a total give-away by India. The Prime Minister's statement in the Parliament implied that the tinkered second draft of the US Resolution too did not meet Indian expectations.
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.
The Munich Security Conference Core Group Meeting is beginning in New Delhi from Tuesday. Around 70 senior decision-makers from politics, business, media and civil society from India, as well as the Euro-Atlantic, Asian and the Middle East region will discuss key issues of international security policy.
Non-alignment, strategic autonomy and Asian solidarity might be attractive slogans for some, but offer no guidance for the conduct of Indian Foreign Policy in East Asia and the Middle East. To cope with the new geopolitical imperatives, India must learn to deal with Asia on its own terms and stop imposing its ideological preferences on the region.
French president Emmanuel Macron tried to manage the contradictions, but nothing of substance was achieved in Biarritz.
There is a strong case to be made for a deeper EU-India partnership against the backdrop of global uncertainties and ongoing wars, an assertive China, and the likelihood of a more transactional United States (US) under Trump 2.0. Meanwhile, the EU-India Roadmap to 2025 has run its course, and the EU-India summit of 2025 could be an opportune moment to release a fresh blueprint for cooperation. As the new European Commission’s agenda springs int
The rapid pace of digitalisation poses new national security risks for countries like India, a country with over 700 million internet users. The multilayered digital ecosystem comprising of infrastructure, devices and applications is complex, and security threats evolve at a breakneck pace. This makes it difficult for states to develop an effective response to individual or organisational security threats. India therefore has often had to resort
The US won’t play its post-World War II role. What happens next will depend on others’ responses
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.
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Global powers like the United States and China have spared little effort in attempting to shape the digital age in their image. At the same time, other powers like Japan and France, and emerging ones like India aim to play a part in building the global digital ecosystem. These latter three share similar values: democracy, freedom of speech, open access to digital resources, and sovereignty. They all desire to keep the digital commons intact and n
China's renewed engagement with the Southeast Asian neighbours seems to be a policy of the new leadership. However, it must follow up on these successful visits by its efforts and actions. For now, maintaining good relations with ASEAN members seems to be Beijing's new strategy to ease tensions in the SCS.
After the scheduled western forces drawdown from Afghanistan in 2014, one viable option that would assist Afghan economic development is the US-driven New Silk Road Strategy. But, China, Russia, and Iran have specific visions of a viable NSRS, and these do not necessarily sit well with the US strategy.
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,�
The US is entering its trickiest phase in the Af-Pak region, where elections are due in both, Pakistan and Afghanistan just around the time Washington has set for its troops to depart. Can troops depart without an overt or covert understanding with Iran which has a long border with Afghanistan?
The Central Asian states are looking for a larger and more independent Indian role in the region. In responding to Central Asia's quest to diversify its strategic partnerships, Modi must signal an important departure from the UPA government's approach to the region. He needs to have a long term strategy and plan.
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
It can happen in the hurly-burly of politics that a flood of images abruptly wells up to the naked eye and demands attention so that we do not miss out on an entire slice of politics breaking away to get transmuted as current history.
As the foreign secretaries from India and Pakistan try this week to sustain the peace process amidst growing mutual suspicion, the Siachen question offers one potential area where recent progress could be consolidated. Discussions on the demilitarisation of the Siachen conflict zone have been proceeding slowly but surely towards a political agreement, even though the pace is too gradual to satisfy pragmatic analysts in both countries.
While there was no question of any rapprochement between Bangladesh and Pakistan, there are Muslim diehard elements in Bangladesh who draw their inspiration from Pakistan. These elements aim to strike at the very basic concept of Bangladesh.
Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India on 26 October 1947, with Maharaja Hari Singh signing the Instrument of Accession as Afridi raiders reached Srinagar’s gates after burning the Mahura power station and forcing him to flee to Jammu in the night. In the power vacuum that ensued, Sheikh Abdullah, founding National Conference leader, emerged as the people’s representative to assume administration. After his dismissal in 1953, Delhi installed Baks
In recent years, a number of states have begun integrating their armed drones into collaborative drone swarms. Although global proliferation can be anticipated, drone swarm proliferation should not be expected to be even or immediate. Some states may race to develop massive, armed drone swarms, while others may never develop sophisticated drone swarm capabilities. This brief explores why some states pursue drone swarms, why others may not, and th
Beijing’s position paper, on its policy in Afghanistan, is reflective of its recent efforts to present China as a nation that is now heavily invested in addressing ‘international hot button issues’
During the meeting between the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh held in October this year, Bangladesh agreed to sign an extradition treaty and there has been major progress on this regard.
The first few weeks of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's tenure has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity. The steps taken by him in the foreign policy domain give a clear indication of the new government's priorities.
The unspeakable tragedy of the floods in Pakistan, on a scale unknown to man, has dwarfed much else in the region: 100 shot dead in three days of political, ethnic and sectarian violence in Karachi,
Most central banks across the globe are today seized with the idea of cryptocurrency, with countries like Sweden and China already embarking on their pilot projects. This paper argues that most of the proposed architectures for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) are not designed to mimic the paper currency in its digital form. It proposes an architecture that largely retains all the properties of a paper currency, with only one limitation—i
Evidence from several countries suggests that last-mile connectivity solutions—the transport options available to commuters from the origin of their journey to the point of accessing a public transit system—enhance citizens’ mobility and increase metro rail ridership. This brief evaluates India’s operational metro rail transit systems to identify the missing links in the provision and effective implementation of last-mile connecti
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic hastened the widespread adoption of digital technologies across the globe. The pace of digitalisation—from the micro levels of education and e- commerce to the macro levels of supply chains and production networks—has galvanised governments to advance digital regulations. The tightrope walk of creating policies that enable digital innovation and ensure regulations are in the larger public interest have led t
It was China’s disruptive aggression that made its four members issue such a direct joint statement.
Efficiency of delivery by cutting red tape should be the top priority this year.
Russia's response to new missile defence plans of the US points to Moscow's continued distrust of Washington. However, Moscow and Washington have announced a meeting to discuss the new missile deployment plans in Moscow in late May this year. Perhaps, a breakthrough is still possible.
India presents more immediate potential for the "top line" obsessed Silicon entrepreneur. But Asian companies from Japan, China, and Korea in sunset industries, are better placed to be responsive to the fragmented Indian market than a Fortune 500 corporate, which survive on scale not agility.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit India in December 2025. The outcomes of the annual leaders’ summit will be largely determined by how India untangles the trade spat with the United States.
India is still a net importer, but its momentum is in the right direction.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's address to the nation on July 22 - as the people of London reeled from a second series of blasts at underground train stations - betrayed a sense of anxiety, a clear shift to address the Islamic community and an unwitting admission of failure in the war on terrorism.Wilson John
This critique on the Draft Report on Integrated Energy Policy was serialised in Volume II, Issue 43-46, 50 of ORF Energy News Monitor. It has three sections, first, Concept level issues- identifies the gaps in the Planning Commission's draft report, second, Action plan- for filling those gaps and lastly, Conclusions.
This report examines India’s dependence on undersea fibre optic cables for its financial well-being. It explains the complexities involved in the laying and maintenance of these cables, lists the vulnerabilities of the existing network, and makes a series of recommendations to progressively address them. These include a phased increase in the capacity of space-based internet services. The report suggests that the opportunity provided by the rec
