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In 2015, the Indian government launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) as a response to the perennial challenge of shortage in urban housing. As of June 2021, 11.2 million houses have been sanctioned under PMAY-U, of which 4.8 million have been completed. However, various analyses indicate that PMAY-U dwellings may be insufficient in quantity, and that some of them may be either unaffordable or unviable for those who need them the

Energy transitions in developing economies like India are complex processes involving substantial financial and technological resources as well as appropriate innovation. These transitions are central to the climate debate, where emphasis is placed on increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. This paper examines the historical attributes of energy transition and finds various critical

The moves are to reduce India’s strategic vulnerability, but there are issues that need to be resolved

Given the geopolitical and security interests, India cannot afford to ignore or isolate Myanmar.

is paper formulates an analytical framework to assess the impacts of India's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on commodity value chains. Existing academic literature have relied on examining Balance of Payments (BoP) to assess the impact of FTAs. is paper views such methodology as reductionist, and instead oers alternative lenses of the impacts on the commodity value chain. is paper brings into fold the concerns for the wellbeing of various stakehold

India’s G20 Presidency has identified the mandate for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) as thus: “capacity building of the ecosystem for financing sustainable development.” The aim is to scale up efforts in mobilising large pools of global capital for sustainable projects, particularly in emerging and developing economies. Under the aegis of the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG), the G20 proposes the developmen

This study explores the spatial politics of Othering and whether women aremarginalized in political conversations online in India. It's methodology consists of an analysis of23,350 tweets over an eight-day period. It shows a significant underrepresentation of women inTwitter's political conversations, which mirrors a real-world marginalization of women in India'spolitical processes.

Aspiring to become a US$30-trillion economy by 2047, surrounded by hostile nations, and leading the idea of multipolarity in a bipolar world, India needs to articulate a grand strategy that has been missing in its statecraft. With the necessary conditions for such an endeavour in place, it is time for Bharat, under Narendra Modi’s third term as prime minister, to thread the three core aspects of executing such a grand strategy: articulating the

Over the past few years, there is noticeable amongst India watchers an inescapable feeling of disappointment at what has been seen as a perceptible rolling back of many of the much vaunted reforms that had been the face of the country's efforts to integrate with world energy markets through the turn of the century. With an import dependence of over 70%, and increasing with each passing year, the petroleum sector had been the obvious choice to mov

An urgent shift to an integrated One Health response is needed nationally

India’s domestic production of natural gas can only partially fulfil the expected increase in demand in the coming years, and the country will have to increase its imports to fill the gap. Such dependence on external sources makes the country’s energy security vulnerable to regional and global events. As global demand for natural gas is projected to increase, India must ensure a robust natural gas import diversification strategy. This brief o

The integration of Science, Technology and Innovation goals into national policies helps achieve sustained economic and social development. This brief examines the key parameters that govern the global and Indian innovation ecosystems: research investment, education policy, researcher density, publication output, number of patents registered, and the startup environment. It finds that certain elements are crucial in developing a robust strategic

This report draws from the conference on the Future Challenges to India's Intelligence System organised by ORF in February 2015. What tasks face India's intelligence agencies in implementing reforms in order to address the more complex national security threats confronting the country today?

The Indian and Chinese diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka sparred on social media over the visit of a Chinese military research vessel to the island nation.

The Integrated Defence Staff released the first-ever public joint doctrine for the Indian armed forces (JDIAF-2017) in April 2017. Absent a publicly articulated national security strategy, the joint doctrine presents important clues about what that strategy might be. This paper examines JDIAF-2017 in conjunction with other Indian military doctrines, public writings of leading Indian strategists, as well as foreign military doctrines and strategie

As data drives technological innovation in finance, open banking has gained global relevance. India has advanced in this domain through initiatives like the India Stack, as well as frameworks such as the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and the Account Aggregator (AA) framework. Additionally, the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act is increasingly shaping India’s open banking landscape. Given the importance of data pr

India’s interest could be more than economic, spilling over into the domain of strategy.

This report is part of the Observer Research Foundation’s “Financing Green Transitions” series which aims to find potential linkages between private capital, in all its forms, and climate action projects. The series will primarily examine domestic and international barriers to private capital entry for mitigation oriented climate projects, while also examining potential avenues for private capital flow entry towards adaptation and resilienc

Speculations are rife about India possibly inviting Australia for the next Malabar naval exercise—which COVID-19 has caused to be moved to 2021.[1] If true, this would represent a break from the past and signal a change in the Asian strategic environment. Over the past few years, India has consistently resisted including Australia in the exercise, despite the latter’s willingness. The only other time that Australia was included in the Malabar

Given the Maldives’ geostrategic location in the Indian Ocean, it is understandable that China has long-term strategic interests in it. The island nation sits atop of critical sea lanes of communication (SLOCs). Gaining a larger footprint in the Indian Ocean is now part of China’s stated strategy.

The Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR) is linked to India in several ways, yet it remains conspicuous in its absence from India’s foreign policy discourse. This lack of attention is now beginning to reverse as external players stake their geopolitical claims in the region. India has responded by reorienting its own nautical outlook towards WIOR and building friendly relationships with African countries that straddle the region. This bri

India seeks to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group with the objective of playing a more proactive role in the nuclear non-proliferation realm. Political issues remain, however, particularly with regard to its status outside the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. This brings to fore questions on the relationship between the Treaty and the Group with regard to their scope, mandate and membership. An assessment of prospective benefits

The country continues to face the sober reality of both rising threats and serious resource constraints.

While a recent test is no doubt historic, New Delhi has much work left to do to address the challenges that remain.

The argument that Indian workers could still be alive under ISIS arrest has, as of today, become even more unviable.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is facing pushback from a number of large donor countries due to the alleged involvement of some of its employees in the October 2023 attack on Israel. India’s contributions to the agency, meanwhile, remain stable. This brief examines the nature and significance of India’s financial commitment to the UN body.

The Indian prime minister’s national security credentials are poised to have benefits at the polls.

India’s Northeast Region (NER) can serve as a pivotal connecting space between India and its neighbours to the east in South Asia, as well as to East and Southeast Asia and beyond, enhancing the country’s diplomatic, infrastructural, and commercial engagements. This paper makes an assessment of NER’s cross-border land connectivity initiatives with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan—all members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative f

Our hypersonic Shaurya and canisterized Agni capabilities aim to preserve strategic deterrence and thus maintain stability

India’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is a key driver of the country’s economic and social development by fostering entrepreneurship and generating substantial employment opportunities at comparatively lower capital costs. However, inadequate access to finance is one of the most crucial barriers to the sector’s growth. Recent developments in digital public infrastructure in India could present new solutions to boost MSM

The recent announcement of initiatives establishes India’s presence in sectors where it ought to be more pronounced

Population relocations driven by economic reasons or caused by land speculation have led to people settling in peri-urban areas (or areas in the periphery of the urban). The in-migration of population and emergence of new activities is transforming such areas, as seen in changes in land use and occupational patterns, reduced farm activities, and growth of built structures. Inadequate planning and governance of peri-urban areas by local government

The pace of growth in the Australia-India strategic relationship is quite impressive, but New Delhi’s hesitance on hard security issues may hamper further developments.

Political parties have put up strong resistance to electoral reforms, notwithstanding appointing committees and commissions from time to time.

By improving business ties with Beijing, New Delhi is advancing its economic interests amid uncertainty from Washington.

The United Nations Security Council has emerged as the key arena and barometer for evaluating the promise and progress of accommodating new, rising powers in the international system. The case of India provides one of the best examples of a rising power coming to terms with its increased power, role and expectations of itself and of other powers, great and small, in negotiating its place in the reformed Council as a permanent member. This paper b

India’s talk of an ‘Act East’ policy or an Indian Ocean presence sounds hollow when its ability to shape outcomes in its own neighbourhood is so limited

Once synonymous with inefficiency and slothfulness, India's public service delivery system is finally being overhauled and put on the path of reforms. Ironically, these reforms are being spearheaded by a set of state governments. This paper attempts to capture the key trends of this impressive development which has far reaching consequences for democracy and governance in the country.

The Smart Cities Mission (SCM), launched in 2015, seeks to improve the quality of life in 100 cities and towns of India. Overall, its progress has been uneven, with many cities yet to achieve the desired levels of transformation. This report evaluates the first five years of the Mission, and draws lessons from its successes and failures. It discusses the physical and financial status of the projects taken up so far, and identifies the mos

India’s back-to-back moves to boost relations with Japan and Russia, particularly in security matters, appear to indicate it wants a bigger naval role in the contested South China Sea to counter a rising China. The reality is far different

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 changed the strategic dynamics in the region. For India, the new regime and its attendant risks—especially the threat of terrorism—quickly put it in an unenviable position. This brief assesses India’s policy towards Afghanistan since August 2021. It will cover how India has articulated its Afghan policy, domestically and in multilateral organisations, and its incremental

Despite growing Chinese interest in financing and building infrastructure, India remains one of Nigeria’s important partners

The security dimension of Chabahar is based on a preferential approach towards Indian interests rather than one based on exclusivity by Iran

In the Trump 2.0 era, India’s pivot toward bilateral trade deals with trusted Western economies has become a necessity rather than a choice.