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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.
The EU's proposed International Code of Conduct (ICoC) for space activities would not be successful if major space actors stay out of the ICoC, according to Indian PM's Special Envoy for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, Amb. Rakesh Sood. He says the ICoC was welcomed simply due to the lack of alternate initiatives.
Adoption of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can affect the performance of firms in a variety of ways, including faster processing of information and products, the facilitation of changes in business practices and improved internal organisation and management. Indeed, much of the recent research on developed countries in this area has emphasised less the adoption decision per se than what adoption facilitates. In particular, ICT is
The higher levels of development seen in the northern and southern Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh serves to highlight that successive governments have been unable to leverage the agricultural productivity of the region and enhance basic infrastructure throughout the state.
India's macro position on equity at international fora such as Rio +20 must be reflected in its domestic resolve to offer energy equitably to its diverse population. The imperatives of creating a 'green economy' must only follow and complement such efforts.
A former director at the Cabinet Secretariat, D.S. Rajan, says that though India-China relations are peaceful for the time being, New Delhi cannot lower its guard as China's intentions are not clear with regard to the border issue.
When a strategy yields no results, or worse, is counterproductive, then the wise move is to change it. Our strategy of not reacting to repeated Pakistani depredations or offering conciliatory gestures may have earned us international accolades but has not made Pakistan change its policy options or stance towards India.
The new management has been quick to reassure investors that the value in IL&FS shares will not be allowed to be eroded.
The global order is fast-changing; the field of International Relations (IR), less so. Despite the rise of other countries in economic and geopolitical terms, the field of IR continues to be dominated by the West and its theories, methods and policy concerns. The idea of ‘Global IR’ proposed in this brief aims to make the field more inclusive and universal. After outlining the major elements of a Global IR paradigm, the brief suggests that In
Modi has a rare opportunity to tap into the positive trends within the South Asian diaspora. An intensive engagement with them would be a valuable complement to Modi's declared strategy of befriending neighbours. Modi could signal the new approach by meeting their representatives during his Australia visit this month.
Although the issue of same-sex marriage may have been settled legally with the Supreme Court verdict, politically, it remains volatile. Since the ruling, reactions of the 2016 Presidential candidates have been deeply polarised, indicating the potential of the issue to become a determining factor in the run-up to 2016.
New Delhi will have to keep a close watch on global debates on economic security and the impetus building to restructure the world’s trading system
Acquisition of air assets by the most successful guerilla outfit and a declared Terrorist organization, LTTE, has alarmed observers around the world.
The economic cooperation between Baosteel of China and China Steel of Taiwan for joint investment in overseas mining, and these kinds of economic engagements, need to be viewed more from the lenses of the liberal paradigm of international relations rather than focusing on the conflict or the political aspects of the engagement.
This report is the text of a presentation made at a seminar on ’Military-technical Cooperation between Russia and India: Status and Perspectives for Cooperation’, organised jointly by Observer Research Foundation and Unity for Russia Foundation, on October 5-7, 2007 in Moscow.
Recent Facebook posts by the Finance and Company Affairs Minister are a compact assertion of reformist credentials. Not just because the has crossed a million 'likes.' People press the button absent mindedly, after all.
In the 21st century global and regional contexts, it's too much for India and its southern neighbours to expect the US to stay away from the region, militarily. If the US is there, the assumption is that China will not be far away. India can make a difference to what could emerge as the re-emergence of a 'new cold war' in this region.
Both President Obama and Prime Minister Modi have seized the moment to reinvigourate the bilateral ties. If Modi has put America at the very centre of his dynamic foreign policy strategy, Obama appears eager to work with what is undoubtedly a more vigorous and action-oriented government in Delhi.
Despite its utility in comprehending tragic events such as the Partition, oral history keeps getting rebuffed for its 'soft' and 'subjective' approach.
The Government, despite being corrupt and inefficient, does not want to be seen as favouring the private sector and therefore forgoes higher earnings in terms of royalty, taxes, jobs and profit share that it may benefit from if gas producers are given greater freedom.
India’s agrarian crisis has deepened in the past several years, contributing to the slowdown of the economy. Amongst the most crucial factors affecting the country’s agricultural sector is financial inclusion. Over the years, India has attempted various measures to narrow the gap in financial inclusion for its farmers, yet the goal continues to elude the country. This paper presents a discussion of these measures, outlining the current state
While the civic agencies responsible for daily cleaning of streets and removal of garbage are not demonstrating the desired level of efficiency, many urban residents do not follow any of the waste disposal rules, making waste management increasingly difficult.
The financial health of the Indian Railways, the single largest employer in the Government of India, has been in a dismal state for some time now. With the recent merging of the railways budget with the general budget, it has become a daunting exercise to conduct an analysis of railway finances. Yet, it is no doubt in the national interest to not only locate the shortcomings in the system but also explore solutions to improve performance. This pa
Noting that the objective of the armed forces is not to win wars but to prevent wars, there was a consensus at an ORF discussion that India needs to overcome its deficiencies in order to create a credible deterrence.
The multiple crises besetting India’s justice delivery system are related to a large extent to what the Chief Justice calls “dilapidated” infrastructure. Indeed, it is empirically known that there is a positive correlation between adequacy of infrastructure—whether courtrooms, chambers, sanitation facilities, or digital connectivity—and productivity in the delivery of justice. This brief highlights the stark gaps in infrastructu
The treatment of mental health disorders is a difficult task due to the highly subjective nature of each case, the varying efficacy of drugs available, and the social stigma associated with mental illness. In India, the treatment gap is steep, but it can be reduced in a number of ways: through concerted efforts by the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries on novel drug development; by leveraging allied technologies such as data science, art
India and China cannot afford to be used against each other by interested third parties. They must rather focus on common threats to regional progress. In a new world, India and China could be powerful allies, says a senior Chinese strategic scholar.
Most of the world failed to notice that the BLA conducted several attacks during the India-Pakistan tensions of May 2025. China, however, was paying close attention.
The issue of 100 per cent foreign direct investment in defence keeps getting muddied by the day, with various industry bodies such as the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry apparently flip-flopping on an hourly basis.
This brief examines the evolution of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ concept in the context of the dynamic role of “regions” in international relations. It argues that the conception of these theatres is a consequence of power relations; that as power dynamics change, so does the conceptualisation of regions. This would also explain why the boundaries of regions can be arbitrary—why, for instance, the Asia-Pacific stops at Myanmar and does not inclu
It is common knowledge that Corporates control most of the electronic media. That being the case, how has the media turned upon the hand that feeds? Intra corporate warfare?
As in the world's many democracies, parliamentary polls in Maldives too have underlined the coalition reality of the times. The polls have also proved the add-ons do count, as former President Nasheed had proved in his second-round victory in 2008.
In Maldives, the fledgling democracy is now getting exposed to the inevitability of an issue-based confrontation between the Legislature and the Judiciary. But the stake-holders need to handle the issues and the attendant controversies with the knowledge, accommodation and sensitivity that they demand.
Indians need to realise that the time has come for decision-making and thinking which is multi-year, though not in the Five Year Plan kind of a way. What is needed are steps that go beyond partisan approaches and election-cycles aimed at providing the desperately needed transformation of the way India manages its governmental system.
The process of government formation in Nepal seem to be going nowhere if one is to go by the record of recent political parleys between the leaders of the three 'big political parties' of Nepal.
With the elections underway in India, eyes are now on the outcome of the polls, likely to be known by May 16. Wider belief is that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may win the keenly fought elections.
The govt’s budget needs to expand by at least one-fourth to accommodate the necessary capital spend.
In the past few weeks, Afghanistan has received a stream of important visitors from western capitals that are in a position to preside over its destiny ¿ U.S. National Security Council Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, British Secretary of State for Defence John Reid, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Access to higher education has been a long-standing policy concern in India. Reservation for different social groups at the central and the state levels has been a typical policy response.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law, response to it highlights the fragility and resilience of democratic principles in the country
Syria and Iraq are no longer just a do-and-kill struggle being enacted by extreme radical Islamists in their brutal search for a Caliphate. The Big Boys - US and Russia -- are now out in the open, the gloves are off and mind games are now being played.
