11235 results found
This paper argues that India’s housing strategy should not be confined to merely creating affordable housing stock to tackle the shortage, as such an approach is myopic. Instead, a sound housing strategy must be informed by an adequate understanding of the multiple facets of housing poverty, including the factors that are responsible for the proliferation of slums. The blueprint offered in this paper understands an effective housing scheme as a
India’s geographical landscape is vast, cultural differences can be sharp, and income disparities are stark in certain regions. Access to healthcare, therefore, is varied and the on-ground gaps and challenges are complex. The NITI Aayog Health Index is an attempt by the current government to formulate a mechanism to monitor at the sub-national level the country’s performance in improving healthcare. This paper uses the findings of the Health
Across India’s burgeoning cities, the supply of affordable homes is highly inadequate to keep pace with the growing need; as a result, slums and other informally built areas, where living conditions are extremely poor, have grown. In 2015 the Indian government implemented a national housing programme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (urban) or PMAY (U) to bridge the gap in affordable housing. This report evaluates the progress of PMAY (U), and finds
As China and the US pursue development of unmanned underwater drones, the Indian navy is also adjusting its strategy to include autonomous vehicles in its armoury against China’s growing undersea footprint in the Indian Ocean
The global pandemic has hit amid the 70th anniversary mark for relations and affected perceptions and realities in ties.
The Congress has had a chequered history in maintaining cordial relations between its organisational and parliamentary wings, with the dual power centres often leading to confrontation.
The last thing Pakistan wanted was Narendra Modi back as India's PM. They'd have preferred the Congress which is seen as soft on them. But how did Indira Gandhi's party reach such a state?
It’s a fact that countries of the Global South, while not supportive of Russia’s war against Ukraine, also blame NATO and the West for its global impact. Europe needs to change its approach.
The loopholes and technicalities of the Women's Reservation Bill should be open to scrutiny, but the Bill and its purpose must not be forgotten. Perhaps the revival of the debate over the bill could be an opportunity for PM Modi to demonstrate his party's focus on gender equality.
Competitive welfarism is a consequence of India's failure to deliver inclusive growth. Can it be shaped so future growth is assured?
Child-friendly cities’ is an emerging concept in the urban management sector in many countries across the globe, including India, where it complements government schemes that aim to develop India’s urban spaces as centres of human capital development, knowledge hubs, and drivers of growth and prosperity. These flagship missions include, for example, the Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMR
Public education is a tool for human capital formation. In India, even as private institutions provide an option, a majority of students attend public schooling; yet, private-school students continue to outperform their public-school counterparts. Using parameters associated with Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4 – Quality Education), this paper estimates the sub-national level state of public education in India by constructing
Half a century after the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the current debates are focused on new sets of challenges such as space mining, which used to belong only to the realm of science fiction. This paper analyses the rationale for extraterrestrial mining, as well as the efforts and responses of various countries—i.e, USA, Luxembourg, Russia, China and India. In examining the legal and go
For a few years now, the Khaas Aadmis have been self-categorising into three typologies; the foreign-educated Indian, the Indian who has lived abroad and returned home, and lastly the Indians settled abroad who are still engaged in writing the country's script.
After a hiatus of nearly six years, India and Pakistan discussed the Sir Creek border dispute. The Surveyor General of India, assisted by the Chief Hydographer of the Indian Navy led the Indian delegation while the Pakistan side was represented by Ahsan ul Haq Chaudhry, Additional Secretary in the Pakistan Ministry of Defence.
With there being a strong connection between smart cities and a nation's pride, it is important to connect universities and research institutions with smart city initiatives, says Dr. Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto.
This brief examines the status of research in Indian higher education and offers an overview of the concept of undergraduate (UG) research as a means of reform. The article attempts a brief review of the government efforts to improve higher education research, and underlines the limitations of their scope as well as their implications. Through an expansive review of existing empirical and qualitative studies, this brief shows the benefits and imp
Within the span of a week last month, China has successfully carried out maiden launches of two of its next generation launch vehicles. Besides validating the rockets for future manned and unmanned space missions, they have also demonstrated China?s strategic capabilities pertaining to outer space.
In bragging about the Indian Army post the surgical strikes by comparing with Israel Prime Minister has ignored the reality
The Bay of Bengal—home to a number of major ports that are lifelines for the economies and populations in India’s east coast that depend on them—is highly prone to extreme weather events. This brief examines the disaster-resilience of three of the ports on the Bay of Bengal: the ports of Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The brief describes the destruction wrought on these ports
An urgent warning comes from a Harvard University study (bit.ly/3dthqiv), which establishes a correlation between long-term exposure to air pollution and Covid-19 mortality. The study finds that people living in polluted cities are more likely to have compromised respiratory, cardiac and other systems — and, therefore, are more vulnerable to Covid-19.
Rather than allowing events to drift towards a political or even military showdown, Maldivian President Mohammed "Anni" Nasheed has shown great fidelity to democratic principles in a country where none existed before him by stepping down from office with grace and poise.
BIMSTEC member states have issued, on occasion, joint statements recognising the importance of holistic public healthcare and the need for alliances. Yet, intra-BIMSTEC collaborations so far have been limited, mostly focused on traditional medicine. Amidst COVID-19, the region’s states have an opportunity to take their health-sector partnerships to a “new normal”. Given the highly endemic nature of communicable diseases and the porous bor
In less than a week, more than 100 people have been killed by terror group Boko Haram in the northern part of Nigeria. This brutal Islamic group remains a significant problem confronting the democratic government of President Goodluck Jonathan.
This paper highlights the imperatives for India’s G20 Presidency for promoting development cooperation towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Given its unique development cooperation model—more precisely, its development partnership model—India can utilise its G20 presidency to push the sustainability agenda. This will help bridge the North-South divide in sustainable development financing. The paper recommends
Both India and China seem to be fixated on a "status quo plus" option, in that each side wants something more than the current LAC. Clearly, much more work needs to be done. For the moment, incremental progress is better than no progress at all.
As two great civilizations and influential Asian powers, India and China share common responsibilities to ensure peace and stability in the region and the world at large.
This paper considers and explains the shifts and consistencies in India’s engagement with structures of global trade governance beginning from the Uruguay round of trade negotiations in late 1980s. It makes three major arguments. First, that although India has participated actively in global trade negotiations since the establishment of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) it was only under the present-day trade governance institut
The financial crisis across the globe and the ensuing responses by nations and non-state actors has dominated both public consciousness and political debate in the recent past. The discussion on suitable stimulus packages, the causes for the financial disorder and future restructuring of the financial systems has often been dominated by the rhetoric of specific constituencies serving individual interests even as it loses sight of the substantive
New Delhi and Paris have a lot in common in terms of their strategic perspectives on a free, open, inclusive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
India must play a leadership role in the development of global Internet policy. The government needs to respond to the demands of its citizens and reset its position on international Internet governance issues, in line with the progressive developments that have occurred at home. In essence, India should be doing a better job at linking the local to the global.
The visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had put relations on a higher plane and the overall situation in Bangladesh had turned for the better in 2006
Standing on the foundations of growth and its future potential, some economies are more vulnerable — and some more valuable — than others. India stands on the valuable stack.
India must quickly come to terms with the fact that Vietnam’s concerns on the looming security crisis in the South China Sea will lead Hanoi to search for new partners.
Among other things, India requires its neighbours to 'out-source' its larger geo-strategic security concerns in the shared Indian Ocean Neighbourhood - and otherwise, too.
With Xi becoming first Chinese head of state to set foot in Dhaka after 30 years. Growing Bangladesh-China bonhomie is being keenly watched in Indian media
Following the Wikileaks, now one can draw the conclusion that Pakistan would never give up supporting the terror groups like the LeT and would use them for creating problems for India, at least in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Modi government is taking a different tack to its ties with China.
It is clear that countries in the region would like to see India play a greater security role in the Indo-Pacific - that is India should be more proactive, rather than reactive. India should take advantage of the opportunities, and take on responsibilities.
