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The small Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, surrounded by two giant regional superpowers, India and China, is showing the world that simple resolve and strong political will can pave way for a huge change.

The little Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, owing to its strategic geographic location, is turning out to be the new hub for regional cooperation in South Asia. Bhutan's hydro-power prospects are no secret.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck's address to the nation on the 106th National Day function held on 17 December 2013 came as a ready-reckoner for the new government at the helm of the Bhutan's affairs, when the king heavily criticised the poor implementation of policies.

The tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has completed 25 years of energy cooperation with India. The idea was/is for Bhutan to facilitate Indian funding for setting up hydro-power projects in the country,

'Election fever' has descended on the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, but it is not inspired by the political class and the masses but by the State. The notification of the Election Commission on limiting the role of religion.

US Congress passes 4 crucial bills; govt keenly aware of geopolitics in Indo-Pacific.

This paper assesses United States (US) presidents Donald J. Trump’s (2017-21) and Joe Biden’s (2021-present) respective records on the India-US technology partnership. During the Trump years, this domain of bilateral cooperation saw the finalisation of foundational agreements, including those on force interoperability, and new precedents on US arms export designations for India. While these agreements pertained mostly to defence technology, t

As far as India’s domestic affairs go, the Modi government will not get the free ride it has got so far even if the Biden administration will not allow its activist impulses to override US strategic interests.

During a roundtable with a delegation of EU Members of Parliament, the ORF Director pointed out the great chance the international community has today in setting up electricity generating plants in India with green technology.

This brief examines India’s defence allocations for 2022-23. It outlines the conceptual and definitional aspects of the defence budget, examines defence allocations from the prism of state of the economy and public finance, and explores the potential impacts of the budget announcements on the defence production sector of the government’s self-reliance mission, Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The analysis also utilises a comparison of India’s mi

In 2023, a decade after inaugurating the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese President Xi Jinping convened the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (third BRF) in Beijing. In his Chair’s Statement, he pledged reforms and institutionalisation to address the connectivity initiative’s myriad problems and international criticisms. The third BRF focused on practical cooperation, multimodal connectivity, globalisation of trad

Nitish Kumar is already playing with one hand tied behind his back, by the RJD. Till very recently Kumar and the BJP developed Bihar in collaboration. They are, in fact, conjoined brothers in development. Modi must rise above his personal feelings and go all out to support Kumar.

That the Muslims in Bihar turned to Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) despite his alliance with the BJP could well be another turning point in the country's political history. This confirms the extent of Muslim exasperation with the Congress. Nitish Kumar harnessed this disgust deftly.

Former Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Mr. M Ganapathi, has emphasised the importance of the Indian Ocean in global developments in the 21st Century and the importance now given to the region by the government.

Bangladesh and India are standing at a take-off stage in their relationship despite anti-Indian groups and political parties trying to find fault with Hasina's moves. The Chinese and Pakistani lobbies are unhappy with this growing engagement.

Mr. Manish Tewari, Member of Parliament, has introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha to regulate the functioning and use of power by the Indian intelligence agencies within and outside India and to provide for the coordination, control and oversight of such agencies.

The winter session of the Parliament, which has just commenced, is of critical significance to the country and its economy. While some may link the importance of this session to the much awaited Lokpal bill.

The BIMSTEC region is among the most vulnerable in the world from increased threat due to climate change. In the foreseeable future, climate change is projected to affect each BIMSTEC member country with greater severity and frequency, thereby impeding their response capacity significantly. This brief explores the vulnerability of the region from climate change and the BIMSTEC-level initiatives that have taken place to address the issue. Although

The Bay of Bengal is highly prone to extreme weather events, many of which result in massive disaster. The sub-regional grouping, BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical Cooperation), took a long time to begin nurturing their collective capabilities in disaster mitigation. It was only after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, which caused overwhelming devastation in the region, that BIMSTEC identified the area of ‘Envir

As the Bay of Bengal region continues to rise as an economic and strategic hub, there is increasing awareness of the role to be played by the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in promoting growth, development and stability in the region. Having kept a low profile in its 20 years of existence, BIMSTEC is now being seen as a potential driver of integration between South Asia and Southeast As

After a hiatus of almost two decades, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) appears poised to once again assume significance in regional affairs. The renewed vigour has already resulted in a fresh agreement on tangible areas of cooperation and ways of resuscitating the organisation. This brief examines the role that will be played by technology and digital skilling in BIMSTEC’s goals toward

This brief discusses the climate change challenges facing the member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the initiatives taken by them to mitigate the effects. The South Asian countries within BIMSTEC are particularly vulnerable to global warming-induced weather variations that cause economic damage and loss of lives. At the same time, BIMSTEC economies have achieved impressiv

This brief is an experienced journalist’s view of how the media should regard the relevance of BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation; and, in turn, how BIMSTEC can utilise the media in making its issues known to the public and the policymakers, in its immediate region and beyond. The brief argues that if BIMSTEC is to become an effective forum for regional cooperation, it should be more o

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is standing on the threshold of a new inning, as it marks its 25th year in 2022. The past months have been momentous for BIMSTEC, as it adopted a charter at the fifth Summit Meeting in March to outline a clearer purpose for the organisation. During the summit, BIMSTEC rationalised its 14 diverse sectors of cooperation into seven core areas of inte

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has gained more importance recently because of the many hurdles that have come in the way of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) since 2016, mainly due to issues between India and Pakistan. This brief explores the possibilities of stronger trade and investment ties between the BIMSTEC nations by expediting the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (F

Two decades since its inception, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) has yet to truly succeed as an instrument of regional integration. The primary reason for the group’s slow progress is general inertia, or lack of interest amongst its members. There have also been more pressing national and regional issues that have overtaken the group’s development. This is set to change under the im

An audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden was aired on the Arabic network Al-Jazeera on January 3,2004. This is the third message exclusively relating to Iraq attributed to him since before the US-led invasion of Iraq by the coalition forces. The first, called a special message to the Iraqi people, was aired on February 11,2003, and the second

There was a massacre of hundreds of Shias of Gilgit in the Northern Areas (NA) of Pakistan (before 1947 called the Northern Areas of Jammu & Kashmir) in 1988 following a demand raised by them for the creation of an autonomous Shia state to be called the Karakoram State, consisting of the Shia majority areas of the NA, Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

It is not difficult to imagine that the Chinese will be uncomfortable with the current scenario. China is against any "outside power" being involved in the South China Sea, though its own forces are regularly operating in the Indian Ocean region.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are making strides in biotechnology and digital health, investing heavily in genomics and AI, even as further research capacity and robust data governance remain essential.

If the BJP stands by its leader Arun Jaitley's illogic, it must necessarily oppose any negotiation of India's land boundary disputes with any of its neighbours, including China, Pakistan and Nepal. If this is a considered position of a party that is in striking distance of power, one shudders to think what the foreign policy of a BJP government might look like.

If Modi is a strong leader who is bringing greater purposefulness to India's China policy, Xi is even more powerful at home. He has conveyed a strong interest in transforming relations with New Delhi and is willing to explore opportunities with Modi.

India's 16th general elections, billed as the most expensive elections ever, are witnessing an unprecedented flow of black money into country's electoral process. Analysts claim that a mammoth 400 billion rupees, roughly 0.35 percent of India's GDP, has been pumped into the democratic process.

Nepali political leaders have missed a self-imposed deadline for promulgation of the country's new Constitution. Last year, in the wake of the election to the second Constituent Assembly (CA), the lawmakers had kept January 22 as the deadline.

Intelligence is the first line of defence in any war, be it a conventional war or a war against terrorism. The American security apparatus has readjusted itself well, in almost all the areas of modern warfare in the post cold war era. However, the recent American failures indicate that still much needs to be done in of the areas of modern day warfare, and that is intelligence gathering.

At least two people were killed and 50 others injured in a series of 300 simultaneous small bomb blasts in 50 cities and towns, including Dhaka, the capital, across Bangladesh on August 17,2005.

After Independence, none of the national parties - the Congress, the Janata Dal, leave alone the BJP - have ever had anyone other than a Hindu as their supreme political leader. The only recent exception is Sonia Gandhi of the Congress. But even her links into politics are exceptionally pucca, upper caste Hindu.

Terrorism, like almost every other human activity that involves production and creation of goods and services, needs money. Described by experts like Raymond Baker as Gross Criminal Product, this included illegal capital flight, narcotics trade, smuggling of arms and other goods, human trafficking, counterfeiting and computer crimes.

A constitutional court must not outsource its judgement on freedom of expression online to an industry association even if it convenes others to help make this decision. It must also avoid allowing the executive to take over this role, determining without any transparency what content is blocked.

The Indian Ocean is vital to the economies, security and livelihoods of its littoral states. However, the economic and sustainable development issues in the rim are particularly challenging since the countries, with diverse political systems, development status and agendas, are home to one- third of the world’s population that rely extensively on the marine resources for sustenance, thereby subjecting the ocean’s resources to pressures from p

Once a niche term, Blue Economy (BE) has matured into a popular concept in marine governance discussions in the Indo-Pacific region. As land resources reach their limits, governments in the region are keen to harness the ocean’s wealth for economic projects. Policymakers widely believe the blue paradigm allows marine activities to be earth-friendly and sustainable, and thereby guaranteeing a more equitable future. Recent developments, however,

Blue economy’ is the integration of ocean economy development with values of social inclusion and environmental sustainability, along with dynamic and innovative business models. For India, however, blue economy extends beyond being merely an economic and environmental proposition. It presents India with an unprecedented opportunity to meet its national objectives, strengthen connectivity with neighbours, and exert influence in the surrounding

East Asia is well-positioned to lead the global transition towards sustainable aquatic food systems, or ‘blue food’. Amid climate change and land pressures that challenge terrestrial agriculture, blue foods offer vital nutritional and ecological benefits. Unlocking their potential requires sustainable aquaculture practices, robust governance, targeted policy support and the integration of blue foods into national, regional and global framewor

As the threat from climate hazards rise, several global cities have altered their urban planning and design approaches to incorporate nature-driven solutions as a counter to conventional infrastructure practices by harnessing blue elements (for instance, seas, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and water utilities) alongside the green (such as trees, parks, gardens, playgrounds and forests). This paper explores the emerging concept of blue-green in