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India’s G20 presidency provides it a chance to reboot its ties with African nations

By taxing both income and consumption at punitive rates, the government drains the surplus with the middle class, which could have been used more efficiently for higher consumption, triggering higher production or savings, leading to more funds for investments.

काश्मीर खोऱ्यात प्रभावीपणे विश्वास निर्माण करण्यासाठी

Having failed the first round at the UN Security Council (UNSG), Pakistan continues to seek internationalising the ‘Kashmir issue’, as an ‘inter

Russia will wait and watch to see the impact of winter on Western public opinion, and Ukraine is counting on its battlefield gains to secure a lasting momentum. That the West is getting restless about Ukraine's position is evident from the backchannel negotiations between the US and Russian officials.

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 upbeat mood that is usually witnessed during the election process is missing on the ground.

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

In its June 2004 issue, Jane¿s Intelligence Review, has carried a report on the "Workshop on International Terrorism in South East Asia and its likely Implications for South Asia"

Southeast Asia has been one of the key components of Japan's foreign policy in the post-Cold War period. It is one region where Japan's diplomacy has accomplished considerable success in coming to terms with the challenges posed by the legacies of the Second World War. Successive Japanese governments since 1952 have always maintained that the stability and security of ASEAN countries are closely tied to Japan's security and prosperity.

The forthcoming APEC annual summit, to be held in Beijing in November, provides an opportunity for both Shinzo Abe and Xi Jingping to meet for the first time and perhaps move in the direction of working out at least a limited "detente" in their relations.

After the recently held Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan, it is expected that Japan will take its own initiatives to make follow-up measures under the two mechanisms formulated at the Tokyo Conference -- the Tokyo Declaration and the Tokyo Framework.

To enjoy its demographic dividend, India must stop looking down upon low-skilled workers and treat them with dignity. Examples and experiences from other countries are there to learn from - Japan is one.

The growing threats have propelled Japan to reconsider its existing National Security Strategy under the new leadership of Kishida Fumio.

The four-point agreement that was worked out by State Councillor Yang Jichei and Japanese National Security Adviser Shotaro Yachi to enable the meeting between President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan indicates that Tokyo has walked the extra mile to assuage the Chinese.

At the recent seventh Japan-Mekong Summit in Tokyo in the first week of July, both Japan and the Mekong countries reiterated their resolve to implement an ambitious cooperation programme called New Tokyo Strategy 2015 for Mekong-Japan Cooperation for the three years covering 2016-18.

Tokyo's growing engagement with the countries of the region is a strong reflection of Japan's desire to play a greater role in regional security. As Beijing continues to take assertive and aggressive actions in the region, Tokyo has found a way to renew its partnerships with the key actors of the region.

Japan's new Prime Minister understands very well that peace and strategic stability in East Asia would depend on how effectively Japan and the US maintain their security alliance. And the Obama administration is supportive of Abe's moves and would be interested in initiating regular triangular security talks with Tokyo and Seoul.

Japan has announced its new military policy changes, amidst escalating tensions, particularly in Northeast Asia. In a major military policy shift, its new National Defense Programme Guidelines has called for shifting of forces from the northern islands of Hokkaido towards the southern islands,

One compelling reason for Japan to adopt the new energy policy was the Abe government's recognition that in the absence of nuclear energy, which accounted for 30% of the total electricity until recently, the country had to pay heavily for importing oil and gas from abroad.

The passing of the security legislation recently has fulfilled at least partly PM Abe's long-drawn quest towards making Japan a normal country. He has always believed that Article 9 of the US authored Japanese constitution, which put severe restrictions on Japan's right to collective self-defence, should be amended.

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.

The rise, if you want to call it that, of another Asian power on the flanks of China, one which also has difficulties with Beijing, is to India's advantage. New Delhi is not unaware of the geopolitical benefits.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) faces its first crucial test, after it captured power in August last year, when the House of Councillors election takes place on 11 July. The outcome of the election will have a great impact on the effectiveness of new Prime Minister Mr.Naoto Kan.

A delegation of Japanese intellectuals under the leadership of Mr. Yamamoto Tadashi, President, Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE), a leading independent and non-profit Think Tank in Japan, visited ORF on 23 November, 2007

From the beginning of the 21st century, India's foreign policy got a strategic orientation. Until then, it lacked coherence due to the absence of an overall plan or document stating the foreign policy objectives, says Professor Takenori Horimoto of The Open University of Japan.

The expanding engagement with the Japanese navy, one of the strongest in the world, should give a boost to India's maritime diplomacy in Asia. If New Delhi's interests in the Pacific are growing, Tokyo's naval profile in the Indian Ocean has begun to expand.

As the COVID-19 pandemic gets more complicated, Prime Minister Suga finds himself in a difficult dilemma struggling to strike a practical balance bet

Japan needs to work around its structural impediments to embrace digitalisation via the new Digital Agency

PM Shinzo Abe has sought to think about something unforeseen — immigration of more foreign workers to address Japan’s labour shortage.

Japan’s commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and its assessment of the changing global strategic environment have driven Tokyo to a new path-b

Increasingly, many countries that have traditionally maintained a defensive and pacifist posture, like Japan, are having to reconsider their options.

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, just after the withdrawal of US-led troops, will have ramifications in Japan’s activities in the region. Since 2001, Japan has provided 759 billion yen (USD6.9 billion) to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. This, despite the fact that Japan does not share geographical proximity with Afghanistan and therefore has no direct strategic interests in the country. To be sure, Japan’s partners s

If someone in Sri Lanka thought that the jail-term handed down to Jayalalithaa, until then the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, would ease avoidable political tensions across the Palk Strait, they should be sadly mistaken.

Whether the escalation of conflict between the US and Iran can be calibrated or not, is difficult to predict.

Whilst Jeb Bush, belonging to a family with two former US Presidents, still hasn't won the primaries, he has managed to conjure a lot of enthusiasm around his candidacy. Even though he has not emerged as the favourite of the GOP's large block of more moderate supporters, junior Bush is often been called the front-runner.

The Jehanabad raid by Naxalites of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), or CPI-Maoist, in south Bihar, on November 13 which is also being termed as Operation Jailbreak, is important for many reasons. The attack loudly states the level of ¿militarisation¿ that the largest and most lethal Naxalite outfit in the country has reached.

As I was driven into the heart of Jakarta from its international airport, I could hardly believe I was in the capital of a Muslim country, with the world's largest Muslim population. I noticed very few external signs of the Islamic character of the country in the form of mosques, calls to prayers over powerful loudspeakers, quotations from the Holy Koran written on the walls, men with beard and a white cap and women with their heads covered .

The explosions of October 1, 2005, in the predominantly Hindu-inhabited tourist resort island of Bali in Indonesia came on the eve of two important religious observances¿¿on the eve of the Dusserah (called Galungan in Bali) festival, which the Hindus all over the world observe as marking the triumph of good over evil and the Muslim holy fasting period of Ramadan.

While there is no information about the linkage between the ISIS and the established Jihadi terror groups of Pakistan like LeT and the JuD, it is bound to happen sooner or later. India should be prepared to face this new onslaught.

Jihad, as it is not known today, is not guided by any specific logic, and it is not meant to achieve any political objectives', said Dr. Faisal Fatehali Devji, Professor of History at Yale University, while making a presentation on 'Jihadism', at Observer Research Foundation, on August 24, 2004.

In addition to India-Japan exercises, there have been several other naval exercises in the region in recent months involving a growing roster of countries.

The unemployment rate is now around 10.1 per cent in the rural areas and 9.4 per cent across the nation. This means that around 40 to 50 million youth are without jobs. Unless they are given proper training, and higher education, they will not be fit to join the service sector or the manufacturing sector.

For the large mass of workers, a “formal” sector “good” job in the classic industrial sense of the term is becoming increasingly unlikely.

In industrial countries , with several times higher per capita incomes than India, an 'unemployment benefit' or dole is given to unemployed citizens. In India, the unemployed are supposed to fall back on their own means for survival. The Employment Guarantee Scheme Act that has been introduced in the Parliament recently is meant to address the basic human need for a job ( though it may be only for 100 days).

In the far corners of our world, jobs of the future are taking shape via people who are imagining new possibilities around customer problems and creat

As the Biden administration would take time to settle down, the first half of 2021 will be crucial for Beijing to lay down new terms of engagement. It is shaping the battleground before Biden can come up with his own strategic response.

While the unified structure being adopted by China will lead to the strengthening of its military prowess to back up the country's global ambitions, in India, political waffling has so far prevented the emergence of a similar combined structure for its armed forces.

The visit of America’s Defence Secretary earlier in June has prepared the ground for the the Indian Prime Minister’s U.S. visit next week, which could see some big ticket announcements