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The Fourth Finance Commission recommended devolution comes at a critical juncture of Centre-State fiscal relations that was looking increasingly unsustainable. Yet, with it, lies a different set of challenges and the Centre is expected to play an even greater role to aid States to spend money effectively while managing newer forms of inequality that are bound to emerge out of the new direction.
BRICS is surely much more than merely catchy acronym. While countries across the globe share a number of common interests, the order of priorities differs. Today, BRICS nations find that their order of priorities on a number of external and internal issues which affect their domestic environments is relatively similar.
President Mohammed Morsi was ousted from power by the military on Wednesday and has now been placed under house arrest along with many members of the presidential team. This announcement was met by cheers from the public.
Russia’s increasing dependence on other heavily sanctioned countries like North Korea exposes the Russian defence industry’s inability to meet its
Twenty most–read longforms this year.
One should ask, if you cannot have one net-zero event per year, how can one expect whole countries to become net zero?
The India-Japan partnership has matured into an important component of the new security and economic architecture of the Indo-Pacific region. For a long time, the partnership was centered on economic matters. But it has diversified to cover a wide spectrum of interests including security, counter terrorism, sea-lanes, UN reforms, energy security and climate change.
A study undertaken by ORF on the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) found that there is a need to work on the loopholes of the scheme and take corrective measures for its better implementation.
The Indian parliamentary delegation's visit to Sri Lanka was not expected to fast-track a solution to the ethnic issue. Yet, it has facilitated continued Indian engagement on the subject with various stake-holders, the Government, the TNA and the UNP Opposition.
निम्न और मध्यम आय वाले देशों (LMIC) में रोज़गार सृजन और गरीबी में कमी लाने के लिए औद्योगिक विकास बेहद अहम होता है. औद्योगिक विकास से पर्यावरणीय स्थिरता में भी सुधार हो सकता है. ले
Nepal needs to be proactive in safeguarding the tourism industry centred around Mount Everest
US President Donald Trump is desperate to pull American troops out of the war-torn country, even if it means clearing the way for the Taliban's ascent to power in Kabul
The recent election victory of Muizzu indicates that Maldives may lean towards China in the coming years
The island nation has bigger problems than tourism and India-Out—it is getting crushed in an Islamist-China pincer
The WTO architecture, as it stands today, will experience varied changes, some quite deep. We will see a period of a cycle of apathy and chaos until a
For long we have been fed lies. Mumbai has no scarcity of houses and the key to the truth lies in using digital technology to unlock the city's housing potential.
The coordinated serial bombings in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, have raised serious questions about India's counter-terrorism (CT) policies which rely more on technology enablers and not as much on robust intelligence gathering and analysis at the local as well as national level.
The Mumbai serial train blasts that killed over 200 persons on July 11, 2006 is the most serious attack on the Indian state and its people since the attack on Parliament in December 2001. To assure the people that they will be protected, the government should immediately formulate a National Counter-Terrorism Strategy, create a separate Ministry of Internal Security affairs.
While the railways deserve much of the blame for their apathetic manner of functioning, it appears that they have also been made convenient scapegoats for all our ills since we cannot blame fate alone for all our troubles. We need to inculcate self-discipline and civic responsibility if we want to prosper
Terrorism follows no rules and is not likely to disappear suddenly. Counter-terrorism can be harsh but is required to follow some rules. We need state-of-the-art intelligence but we need the freedoms. It is always going to be a difficult choice.
Mumbai still continues to enjoy its position as the country's commercial capital thanks largely to the infrastructure advantage it is blessed with, which was progressively built since the days of the British Raj keeping in mind the future expansion of the city as India's trade and business hub.
If functions and finances of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) are to be matched, the MCGM’s annual budget should be in the region
India and Pakistan are currently engaged in a war of attrition through the use of the soft power of the electronic media and skilful psychological warfare in the hope of thereby making each other's traditional position on the Kashmir issue increasingly untenable and thus making possible a forward movement in their bilateral negotiations on the subject.
When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf speaks, he gets lots of attention in Washington DC and other capitals in the western world. For the past three years, he has been saying that he was determined to root out terrorism from the world. He was quickly dubbed as a staunch ally by the Bush administration.
The political weight of the Muslims is undeniable in Uttar Pradesh. With nearly 18% of the population, they potentially constitute one of the largest consolidated vote banks, notwithstanding the larger Hindu community, which is highly fragmented along caste and class lines.
The bulk of the new banking consumers are digital natives and don’t think of branches as an interface for financial transactions
As immediate neighbours, India and Myanmar have little choice but to engage each other closely. Such engagement needs understanding of each other's social and economic interests, and respect for each other's political and strategic concerns.
A delegation of Myanmar civil rights groups was of the view that civil society groups could be used as a catalyst for social change in their country. They hoped that the civil society would be able to play a critical role in further transforming the seemingly changing political system of the country.
Whether the Bodh Gaya bombings are found to be linked to Myanmar's sectarian violence or not, the perpetual communal tension in Myanmar is doing no good for the country's future. An early resolution to the issue is in the interest of Myanmar and the region at large. Myanmar needs to take upon itself the responsibility of finding a lasting resolution to the sectarian violence sooner than later.
One needs to be cautious in pronouncing that the recent Myanmar Operation by the Indian army is a new, all-purpose security and counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism doctrine for every eventuality, circumstance and geography. In the case of Pakistan and the Kashmir theatre, for example, things will not be as simple.
For most people, Myanmar's Sunday election is about change for the better. But there is much at stake than just winning. What impacts will the election have on the socio-political fabrics of the country at a time when there are growing societal divides on religious and ethnic lines.
Myanmar's military chief General Min Aung Hlaing's recent India visit is another significant step in Myanmar's military diplomacy. Myanmar knows its interest lies in keeping a balanced military engagement with major powers and it would be the last that would want a strategic rivalry of the great powers be played out in its country.
A question that merits a sharper assessment is the impact of Myanmar's transition process on India-Myanmar relations. Security cooperation between the two countries since Myanmar's transition has definitely scaled up. The most visible demonstration is Indian Army's recent cross-border operation.
The landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) in the November 8 elections is a harbinger of changing times in Myanmar. Winning clear majority, bagging more than 2/3rds of seats, the NLD has been placed in a position to steer reforms in the country.
Participants of an interaction on Myanmar felt that Myanmar should be allowed to exercise its will regarding its internal political and economic decisions, but there should be an attempt to check the irregularities in these areas so that her neighbours such as India and Bangladesh do not bear the brunt.
Myanmar's unsettled scores on the border front once again took an ugly turn when its border guards police exchanged crossfire with its Bangladesh counterpart for three days from 28 May. A Bangladesh border guard personnel was said to be killed.
The last surviving member of Myanmar's '30 Comrades', Ye Htut, passed away on 27 November 27, in a Yangon nursing home at the age of 92. Ye Htut was the youngest member of the '30 Comrades' and Burma Independence Army (BIA), which was led by Gen Aung San.
Myanmar has become a preferred investment and trade destination as the South-East Asian country has been able to generate great interest from businesses and nations worldwide.
The year 2013 started with a glimmer of hope for political prisoners languishing in jails across Myanmar when President Thein Sein announced a committee to scrutinise release of political prisoners in February.
Myanmar's top military general, Than Shwe, would use his India visit to convey the message to New Delhi that his country's relationship with India remains strong and undiluted in the backdrop of the recent events.
Aung San Suu Kyi's five-day official visit to China is a beckon of changing times. The Myanmarese Opposition leader and Noble Laureate surprised all when news of her going to China on an official visit was public.
Authorities need to increase testing capacities.
Myanmar is on the cusp of a new era of reforms and development. With the civilian Government showing much interest in the forward looking economic alleviation agenda and Aung San Suu Kyi's appointment as the Leader of the Opposition,
The draft National Ceasefire Agreement was signed between the National Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) and Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC) on March 31. The draft was agreed upon by the two entities in President Thein Sein's presence.
As Myanmar attempts to build a new identity for itself, this will not only redefine its domestic future but will also allow realignment of its ties with external powers. The international community's support is important to further encourage the changes.
More than the thumping victories of Aung San Suu Kyi and her party candidates, the recent by-elections are yet another sign that Myanmar is forging ahead towards being a democratic nation. The pace of the reforms of President Thein Sein has surpised one and all.
The naming of Navy chief Vice-Admiral Nyan Tun, 58, as the Vice-President of Mya nmar has come as a rude surprise as well as a pleasant shock. Given the nature of this development, the nation itself would be examined under many lenses.
The imposition of sanctions was intended to effect political change inside Myanmar, albeit unsuccessful, in the first place. And because the issue is how best to encourage change, perhaps, it is the right time to lift sanctions as incentive for change.
