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China's engagement with Afghanistan has become crucial as the US gradually pulls out its troops from the country. It has increased its investment in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan to US$1 billion from negligible amounts within a period of one year. Though it is still to be seen whether China would assert itself after the withdrawal of coalition forces, one thing is certain: Beijing is well poised in the Afghan endgame.

India is ahead of the entire world when it comes to fintech. This is an unprecedented time, ripe for entrepreneurship.

The two-week-long Sindh festival, now underway in Pakistan, is significant for multiple reasons. For one, it is about the unfolding leadership transition in the Pakistan People's Party from Asif Ali Zardari, who led it after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.

The shift of the non-PPP Sindhi leadership to other non-Sindhi parties, and their subsequent victories there, though limited, is shows that much of Sindhi society is looking to the rest of the country to bring about change in the Province. Better connecting Sindh to the Pakistani mainstream is now seen by many as a solution to their internal grievances.

The recent New Delhi visit of Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, was very much fruitful to give a boost to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's 5s vision and enhance the skill development and cultural ties between the countries.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves credit for his determination to push on with engagement that may be difficult, but which is undoubtedly in India's interest. And his boldness isn't confined to Pakistan alone.

Five months have passed since the single-use plastic ban came into force but there is little visible impact on the ground

Despite being the ‘factory of the world,’ many of China’s industrial sectors are energy-intensive and have low value-add. At the same time, global firms are increasingly moving towards sophisticated low-cost manufacturing techniques for higher productivity gains. As a result, the Chinese Communist Party is keen to upgrade the country’s industrial base to compete in the more advanced segments, such as information technology, through the �

The recent face-off between Indian and Chinese patrols in Asaphila area on June 26, 2003 evoked considerable media interest and political debate in the country. It overshadowed and almost neutralised the Prime Minister's visit to China, which took place after a decade long gap and, more significantly,

India’s border dispute with China, which goes back to the 1950s, primarily owes to the absence of an internationally accepted boundary between them, and of an agreement on where runs the Line of Actual Control. The border, as a result, is patrolled and managed by the military forces of both sides. After initial efforts to resolve the dispute failed, the two sides signed a set of agreements aimed at stabilising the LAC and normalising their rela

Given the state of bilateral relations between India and China, New Delhi is doubling down on its efforts regarding strategic border infrastructure.

This paper looks at the recent Chinese infrastructural developments along the Sino-Indian border, including building of highways, road links and oil pipelines that have improved the country's force deployment and sustenance capabilities. The paper also assesses India?s infrastructure initiatives on the border front and argues that they are inadequate, especially in light of the Chinese developments.

The growing China-India rivalry in rail connectivity in Nepal can could potentially drive advancements in its linkages. Nevertheless, Nepal should app

The unrealistic expectations in India from Li Keqiang's visit to Delhi and Mumbai next week are likely to be tempered when weighed against the Chinese premier's agenda in Pakistan.

China’s growing economic might and its aggressive military posturing have provided India, Singapore and Thailand strategic rationale to combine their efforts.

The rise of Islamic State does pose a strategic threat to South Asia, although the influence might not be direct, according to Prof. Stephen Tankel of American University. He says since the decline of the Al Qaeda senior leadership in Pakistan, the IS has emerged a source of new leadership.

Lt Gen (retd.) David Barno, Director, Center for North-East and South Asia (NESA) at the National Defense University, Washington, D.C. along with Col (retd.) Jack Gill, also of the same center, visited ORF on 18 April 2008. LTG Barno made a presentation on "Situation in Afghanistan in the Context of Insurgency and Changing Nature of War".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading a majority government after a gap of 25 years, took charge of the country on May 26 this year at an impressive swearing-in ceremony.

With every day inching closer to the penultimate battle of 2014, the lines ar e being drawn and rules of the game getting clear. Political leaders are maki ng their preferences clear about PM candidates. And with every announceme nt, any chances of Na-rendra Modi making it to 7RCR are receding.

Parrikar's off-the-cuff remarks have strengthened China's case against India on both counts.

This issue brief examines what is little known about the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) to underline the threat it continues to pose to India and the world six years after the Mumbai attacks.

The launch of Mission Prarambh marks the successful entry of private players into the Indian space sector

A collusive relationship between politicians and Naxalites or the People's War (PW) and Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), which have merged on September 21, 2004, to form the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), is clearly visible in Bihar, as in several other parts of the country.

The shadow boxing being done by UPA's friends and foes for a rollback of "prices" actually lacks a killer punch because what they are demanding is one of taxes meant to collect revenues for the UPA's flagship social sector schemes

Peter Pellegrini’s recent presidential victory could mean Slovakia mirroring Hungary's stance on Ukraine, potentially troubling the EU

As the government flip flops between opening and closing schools, children are suffering from the confusion in policy directives

India’s robust economy has tremendous potential. But for sustained economic growth, it needs direct access to the Eurasian markets, backed by reliable, resilient, and diversified supply chains. Indeed, enhanced connectivity with Central Asia and the wider Eurasia is essential to promote regional stability and unlock economic opportunities for all countries in the region. This paper analyses the status of the key connectivity projects in the reg

The visit of External Affairs Minister SM Krishna to Dhaka early July underlines the importance of Bangladesh in India's strategic thinking. The visit was also crucial as it laid out the agenda for the all-important visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh later this year.

Of all the non-conventional renewable energy sources, small hydro represents highest density resource and stands in the first place in generation of electricity from such sources world-wide. It is also the most cost-effective energy technology to be considered for rural electrification and under the climate change scenarios.

Over four billion people do not have access to Internet; that makes a huge two-thirdsof the global population. In India, around four of every five people lack this basic resource. Variousaccess technologies are being developed in different parts of the world to bridge the digital divide.Amongst these technologies, the emergence of small satellites carries immense promise. Thesesatellites are used for applications ranging from remote sensing to co

The past decade has witnessed the proliferation of small satellite technology in various domains including the military, academe and commerce. is paper explores the idea of utilising small satellites technology (of the order weighing less than 150kg) for specic aspects of India's space security interests. It will describe some of the programmes and missions of global leaders in space security, and examine specic applications of small satellite te

In 2017, India launched a record 104 satellites into space. Barring one, the rest of the satellites that were launched were small satellites.

While the launch of the MUDRA Bank is a laudable effort on the part of the government, there still persists ambiguity in the nature of the Bank's undertakings. The most pressing concern is in regards to the Bank's role as both a regulator and refinancing agency which will lead to a conflict of interests.

While the digital economy creates more business opportunities for both rural and urban residents — it narrows the living standard gap between them.

Our future as a country depends upon the route we take towards growth and, at the same time, how we resolve our environmental challenges.

The preparation of informative thematic maps and their integration with city portals can enhance public participation and communication.

Building one hundred smart cities, towns or townships will not change India's urban landscape much. India needs an overall smart, well-discussed, thought-out, and lastly effective and efficiently implemented urban development strategy in a holistic urban policy framework. Now is the time to shape it.

As India starts moving on its path of making its hundred odd cities 'smart', it could take a few cues from the experience of China, another developing country and India's immediate neighbour. Though in many parameters, the Chinese cities do quite well, they too have shortcomings, when looked from some indicators.

Fixers aka political managers abound because they thrive in an artificially scare economy where votes are a premium

It is not often that China defends the rights of whistleblowers against the state and America finds itself defensive about internet freedom. That precisely is what Edward Snowden, the young American who has exposed the expansive cyber espionage activities of the National Security Agency in the United States against its own citizens and the rest of the world, has achieved.

The recent US decision to blackball People¿s War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) may have revived interest in the naxalite movements, nearer home in India. While there can be no two ways about the State and the society fighting militancy, insurgency or terrorism, there is need to study the social causes and implications of such a trend. That way, we can reduce such incidents and instances, if not totally eliminate them.

Dr. V Krishna Ananth, political scientist and author, initiated an interaction on the 'Emerging scenario of coalition politics in India' at the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation, on 12 January 2008.

Urban inequality is a blight experienced by many cities, even in the developed world.In developing countries like India, these social and economic inequalities become even morepronounced, with living conditions in certain populations crossing the line to the abysmal. Inthese cities, agencies responsible for addressing welfare concerns are unable to do so, as theythemselves grapple with a host of challenges. This paper argues that any positive tra

Politicians have always used the media to communicate with the electorate. What makes social media unique is the scale, speed, and minimal cost at which leaders can do this task. This paper analyses the relationship between political leaders and the microblogging site, Twitter. It provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the use of Twitter by two contemporary Indian political leaders—Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. It describ

Social mobility reveals the degree to which an individual’s starting point in life determines their chances in the future, and therefore the extent to which talent is rewarded with opportunity. A stronger association between one’s starting point and their outcomes in adulthood, indicates lower social mobility and less meritocracy. For India, realising the potential of its population will be a key driver of progress and growth. This brief expl

Social protection is crucial in tackling extreme poverty and ensuring equitable development, thus catalysing the transition to a more stable and robust economy. About 50 percent of India’s economy hinges on its informal workers, who comprise 90 percent of the country’s total workforce. Yet, these informal workers continue to be excluded from current social-protection schemes, leaving them with no social or financial safety net and trapping th

The groundbreaking PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana initiative which will expand India’s RTS capacity even further can help India achieve its net-zer

It will not be an exaggeration to say that almost all the countries in Africa face some form of conflict. Yet, most of them have managed to survive, and some—like South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo—have even evolved into reasonably successful states. However, Somalia has not. What are the reasons for Somalia’s failure to survive? Did external interventions play a role? Was Islamophobia a contributing factor, and the inter-clan

The tendency of nation States to attempt solving the problem of modern piracy exclusively through the employment of their naval and military might is a flawed effort and has, more often than not, proved unsuccessful. At best, it has resulted in a temporary suppression of the problem that has inevitably re-manifested itself at a later stage.