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Long sidelined by Islamabad, Moscow, and Beijing, New Delhi is finally taking a seat at the table.

India is assuming the leadership of SCO and G20. While the two groupings have divergent goals, Delhi will need to ensure that the concerns of developing nations are not ignored. An assertive foreign policy that seeks to shape and steer conversations will help

India's Natural Gas sector is at the crossroads. Production from newly discovered fields is set to match and eventually exceed production from mature and declining fields posing a challenge for the Administered Price Mechanism [APM] which has hitherto subsidised the cost structure of gas consuming segments in India.

The talk on India's participation at the Nuclear Suppliers Group has initiated a discourse on the future of the Group, with particular reference to the Group's relationship with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

India needs to embrace the idea of soft power, and abandon the misconception that 'soft' power somehow equates to a soft country, says Ms Mira Kamdar, a noted author. She believes there is hope, since the Indian people are not taking injustices lying down.

With Narendra Modi pursuing a very active Indian Ocean region diplomacy, Maldives cannot be kept away from his outreach programme. Maldives is key to our strategic interests in the Indian Ocean and any instability or discord in its internal affairs would have a bearing on our security.

As hard-boiled realists, Modi and Putin must acknowledge the new dynamic around them, find ways to limit its impact on the bilateral relationship and move quickly towards expanding the scope of their commercial ties and revitalising their cooperation in energy, defence and high-technology sectors.

Deeper people-to-people and economic ties and shared strategic concerns are driving the cooperation

India and Australia’s relationship has progressed remarkably, underscoring shared concerns in the Indo-Pacific.

From the SCO and BRICS to the United Nations, the ongoing rivalry between India and China has expanded beyond their borders, posing new challenges

By broadening the scope of bilateral cooperation from the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to encompass the entire Indo-Pacific region, the India-France Indo-Pacific Roadmap, released in July 2023, underscores the importance of moving beyond the traditional self-centred approach to foster a more outward-looking dynamic with key regional partners. The cooperative trilateral mechanisms established by India and France in 2020 (India-France-Australia) and i

During Prime Minister Manmohan Singh¿s early-December 2005 visit to Moscow, India and Russia signed landmark agreements to further cement their defence cooperation that dates back to almost half a century. These include an agreement on the defence of intellectual property rights that prevents either side from using technologies received from the other without special permission, joint construction of a multi-purpose transport plane

The India-Russia military technical relationship has withstood the test of time. Despite strains since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relationship has remained highly critical both in terms of the level of trust between the two states and the imperatives of sustaining a military-technical relationship to counter the growth of Chinese power. A more synergistic military-technical is possible, and Moscow and New Delhi must explore ways to con

India and Thailand have long-standing civilisational ties shaped by centuries of cultural and commercial interaction. Despite the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1947, bilateral cooperation between them gained real momentum only after the Cold War, driven by shifting regional dynamics and deeper integration into multilateral forums. In recent years, mutual initiatives such as India’s “Act East” and Thailand’s “Act West” polic

Eager to discover the road to Delhi's throne, India's main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is trapped in a cleft, not knowing whether to follow the dictates of 'realpolitik' or stick to its original principles as formulated by the party's elders in close consultation with the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) mentor.

Federalism has been part of the public discourse in India for many decades, before and after independence in 1947, but it has gained greater importance since the 1990s when the country's national polity saw the advent of the coalition era. With the states now asserting their position in areas which were considered the prerogative of the Centre, this Paper strives to analyse some of the related issues and suggests possible paths for the future

New Delhi’s relations with Moscow continue to be good, but the long-term prognosis is complicated, especially by China.

Afghanistan’s situation has thrown up challenges for New Delhi

The Indo-Pacific construct is now at the centre of strategic jockeying in the region and the three nations — Japan, America and India — have been trying to define the exact scope of their engagement.

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

Global energy markets have battled continuous uncertainty over the past three years, disrupted first by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. India has been adept at navigating both these disruptions, using economic diplomacy to position itself favourably in the geopolitics of oil. New Delhi’s delicate balancing of its political relationship with both Washington DC and Moscow has been accompanied

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

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

The SCO meet exemplified a nuanced balancing act between India and China — cooperation where feasible, vigilance where imperative

Delhi wants to remain an Eurasian power, swinging between East and West according to its priorities. Its military ties with Moscow. The economic importance of Beijing. America as a strategic counterweight – as long as it works.

Young men and women from the countryside discovered the joys of creativity, individuality and even celebrity on the Chinese app.

This paper explains Russian co-option of India into the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) at a high level of participation in September 2019 and the range of agreements involved. It argues that the co-option was the result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s dissatisfaction with the economic outcomes so far for the Russian Far East of “northeast Asian regional cooperation.” Moscow related this behaviour to skewed priorities of East Asia’s �

The public attribution of a cyber incident—undertaken coherently and underscored by robust decision-making—can be a useful tool for national security. India, thus far, has not publicly attributed any international cyber incident to a specific private perpetrator or nation-state. Studying the models framed by scholars based in other jurisdictions, this brief offers suggestions on how India can approach the issue of public attribution of cybera

The Commodity Transaction Tax (CTT) was imposed on non-agricultural commodity derivatives trading in India from 1 July 2013. This paper investigates the impact of the CTT on some of the efficiency parameters of the commodity derivative markets in India. The authors analysed daily trading data from January 2006 to December 2019 of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India for five non-agricultural commodities: aluminium, copper, crude oil, gold, and

The SCO has so far not been a major factor in discussions about Afghanistan's stabilization. But there is a good possibility that Afghanistan will obtain observer status in the SCO. Given the differing agendas of the SCO and the US/NATO, Afghanistan's embrace of the SCO could greatly complicate reconstruction efforts.

Polarisation over Kashmir and Jadhav, and the rise of rhetoric in India and Pakistan, only serves to feed into the narrative of aggressive nationalism that’s taken centre stage in India’s political discourse.

For the BJP's electoral constituents across India – most of whom only conceive of Kashmir through the constant consumption of propaganda – Modi has scored a huge political win.

China’s refusal to resolve the border dispute, and force Delhi to accept Beijing’s primacy, cannot be acceptable to India

The United States (US)-led global economic order has survived crises through structural adjustments and institutional flexibility. Yet, even as it may withstand the disruptions of Donald Trump’s presidency, more fundamental shifts are underway. This brief examines whether recent developments in US trade and monetary policies are temporary disturbances or signals of structural transformations. Early signs suggest that while dollar centrality end

The Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka have brought the island nation to the forefront of the global terrorism discourse. The attacks further demonstrate the change in the Islamic State from a territorial group to a sponsor of terrorism worldwide.

Although the mystery of the firing incident at Jama Masjid on September 19 and the discovery of an abandoned car with ammonium nitrate nearby a few hours later remain unresolved,

The recent killings of minorities, migrant workers, and local police officers in the Kashmir Valley have led to an impression that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is once again becoming uncontrollable. On ground, however, the situation is said to be firmly under the control of the Indian State. This does not mean that terrorism has been eliminated; small terrorist groups continue to operate and attack soft targets, heightening the sen

The nuclear debate in Japan has given scope for fresh anxieties within the region and beyond about the country's nuclear programme, particularly its recycling programme of extracted plutonium from spent nuclear fuel.

Japan’s renewed engagement with Africa, underscored by the outcomes of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in August 2025, reflects a recalibration of its Africa policy toward strategic partnerships and sustainable development. Framed by principles of human security and mutual prosperity, Japan emphasised high-quality infrastructure, resilient supply chains, and green transition initiatives, particularly in

Even if there is contention about the scope and prospective size of Beijing’s capabilities, India needs to be watchful

Kerry's Russia visit signals Washington reaching out to Moscow and is the first sign towards normalising the US-Russia relationship. However, it will be prudent to say nothing more than that for now.

In the biomedical field, laboratories must ensure biosafety while managing pathogens and microorganisms in order to protect personnel and the broader community against potential leaks and lab-acquired infections. Global standards provide a roadmap for the biosafety of laboratories, underscoring the importance of their design and equipment, personnel training, waste management, and communication in preventing potential biohazards from breaching co

An official delegation from Sri Lankan comprising Mr. Sunimal Fernando, Advisor to the President, and Mrs. Shirani Goonatilleke, Secretary of the government's Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP), visited Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on October 9, 2006, and had an interaction with the research faculty.

Wikileaks has not only knocked open the door on 250,000 secret diplomatic cables, it may also have inaugurated an era when audacious discourse will not be placed under the stifling blanket of that expression - "Conspiracy Theory".

There are multiple concerns around the audit of CSR and a discomfort with the lack of audit and oversight required for CSR activities. "Comply or explain" simply has not worked in the case of other existing regulatory frameworks that deal with corporate governance issues. It is time to realise that in India, only a few are in a position to ask, while nobody is in any hurry to explain.