9467 results found
Given the uncertainties, it is early to predict a future of Bangladesh politics, especially the path it takes after Khaleda Zia's release.
Keeping the refugees and IDPs confined in the camps uninformed may be detrimental to effective enforcement of the authorities’ efforts and measures
ASEAN presents a very bright instance of how to deal with the situation that holds within itself the potential of being a great example for BIMSTEC.
The race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine is gaining ground in many parts of the world. This brief examines the challenges that India must hurdle to successfully manufacture and distribute a vaccine. It argues for a fair and equitable distribution of vaccine with an aim to save the maximum number of lives. It suggests a multi-parameter model based on age, co-morbidity, income and profession to justify one’s claim for vaccine. The imperative is to
What happens to the extensive surveillance apparatus once the crisis passes? What will be the steps to dismantle it?
What happens to the extensive surveillance apparatus once the crisis passes? What will be the steps to dismantle it?
Taiwan has emerged as among the few countries which have successfully managed to keep the contagion from spreading by putting in place effective early
Having an urban welfare strategy in place would have allowed the government to act immediately to support workers affected by the coronavirus shock. U
It is important that India steps up testing. The testing protocol needs to prioritise the high-risk group of individuals with travel history because t
Given Southeast Asia’s close geographical proximity to China and the number of tourists and workers who visit the ASEAN countries, if anything — t
Unlike in Kashmir, the population in the rest of the country has not witnessed weeks of curfews every year. The majority may not even know what a curf
The remedy to overcome India’s healthcare afflictions calls for the amalgamation of data, technology and collaboration.
The outcome of the Third Plenary meeting of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China which ended on Wednesday in Beijing is like a typical iceberg -- you see some of it above the water, but most of it is below. The leadership knows well that if reforms of the financial sector and of creating a legal governance regime are delayed, the economic miracle could well turn into a nightmare.
The leadership lineup of the 90 million strong CPC is visible from the 200-man Central Committee and an equal number of alternate members, which will
Not only would CPEC run roughshod over the sacred Panchsheel principle of "mutual respect", it would also destroy any chance of a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
The process of dismantling PTI and ending “Project Imran” appears to be getting underway.
The former Governor of Chhattisgarh, Lt Gen (Retd) K M Seth, called for a national strategy and national level coordinated action plan to successfully deal with Naxalites of the CPI (Maoist). He was making a presentation on Naxalism in India, at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, on April 13, 2007.
If one looks at China's actions in the South China Sea over the past five years, the picture that emerges is of a rising China attempting to change the ground realities and destabilise the status quo. If the international community wait to see the end game of the Chinese strategy, it may be too late to de-escalate a military confrontation.
Like Chinese do now, India needs to create 'constituencies' in the neighbourhood that are not only sound but are also continuing. This is not to influence their decisions but to create institutional mechanisms that will be able to constantly update its knowledge and understanding of the existing and emerging situations.
The public sector is a big employer of youth, but its share as a job provider has been shrinking despite the fact that government jobs are the preferr
As South Asia faces an increasingly complex and expanding disaster risk landscape, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the systemic gaps in risk management. There is a need for a paradigm shift in disaster risk reduction—from a single-hazard, single-sector perspective to a multi-hazard, multi-sectoral, and systemic risk perspective supported by parallel risk financing measures. This brief examines the current gaps in the efficient operatio
Beyond the basic building blocks, for a hub to work effectively, its ‘ecosystem’ needs to function as an integrated system with feedback loops and
Emerging economies are fighting COVID-19 and the economic sudden stop imposed by the containment and lockdown policies, in the same way as advanced ec
The fault lies not with the game or its practitioners. It is a delightful sport, capable of arousing emotions even in the most die-hard cynic of the game. It has spawned legends, created folk tales out of ordinary mortals. And unlike football, it has never been a cause of war between two nations. This time it could.
There was space in Pakistan for open discourse upto the Zia period. It is from Zia's Pakistan that poets like Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ahmad Faraz began to leave for other countries. From London, Farigh Bukhari wailed: "God, forgive me: these days it seems that Islam was only for tyrants and murderers like Yazid"
Safe countries bestow multiple social and economic benefits on the individual and larger community. Therefore, crime levels must be controlled. While India is a relatively peaceful country by global standards, there is significant scope for improvement in terms of policing, the national criminal justice system, and how data on crimes is collected and analysed. Amid India’s rapid urbanisation, it is crucial to study the various facets of crimina
The Observer Research Foundation, in partnership with the Center for Contemporary Conflict (CCC), Naval Post-graduate School, California, USA, and the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), Pakistan undertook a project, Crisis and Escalation in South Asia: The 2002 India-Pakistan Military Standoff....
With Maldives again in the midst of political chaos, its former Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem says India can play a crucial role in taking the country out of the crisis by keeping a close watch on it and helping reform the judiciary to ensure that the Yameen administration does not kill off democracy.
The Mali crisis has attained added significance in view of the fact that many other African countries like Nigeria and Somalia are also facing the problem of terrorism. The weakness of the armed forces in most African nations encourages such rebel forces. This re-emphasises the urgent need for an efficient African Rapid Deployment Force.
The unprecedented scale of the Hamas attack has shaken Israel and the consequences are likely to shake the Middle East.
The challenge for agriculture is to meet rising demand for food while dealing with climate change and natural resource constraints. This paper takes the case of cereal production in the lower Indo-Gangetic plains in the state of West Bengal, India, and examines the implications of various crop-shifting scenarios on consumptive water demand and nutrient production. The analysis finds that by replacing summer crop (Boro rice) in each district with
Speaking at an interaction with visiting former diplomats from Pakistan, at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, on April 7, 2005, Vice Admiral (Retired) K.K. Nayyar called for a complete "U-turn" in the policies of both India and Pakistan for normalising relations between the two neighbours.
This paper offers a comparative study of India and China in higher-education reforms for the development of talent in artificial intelligence (AI), and in AI research. It analyses the AI development plans and strategies of the two countries, their automation readiness index, talent retention, and research output. The analysis is based on both primary and secondary sources including interviews, government and industry reports, and recognised ranki
As new militant groups use digital militancy to garner support, the Indian government should implement effective counter narratives to control false p
Crude oil prices are likely to head under US$ 90 per barrel, rather than exceed US$ 100 per barrel, notwithstanding daily fluctuations
The rise of China across a broad spectrum of power parameters is indisputable but the international community is concerned as to what kind of Beijing they will see in future. For one, given China's political culture and economic model, it is hard to see it emerging as the next US.
Call it a discussion or debate or whatever, but the current European thinking on lending a religious identity to the emerging and expanded European Union may have a bearing on the evolving situation in India and the rest of the world. By referring to the ¿cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe¿ in the Preamble to the draft, Europeans may have begun defining and
Much of the internal conflict in Pakistan has centered on the question of national identity - what does it mean to be a Pakistani? This was the underlying theme of the round-table discussion on Current Events in Pakistan: Impact on Sindh and Balochistan organised by Observer Research Foundation on January 29 in New Delhi.
There is a consensus among intelligence officials, current and erstwhile, that the future challenges cannot be foreseen as they will emanate from the cyber world, space, the ocean, failed states and fundamentalism. The current intelligence system is woefully inadequate to meet these threats.
Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa¿s resignation on 7th May 2004 amidst mounting pressure from the agitating five political parties Nepali Congress (NC), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), Jan Morcha (JM), Nepal Mazdoor Kishan Party (NMKP) and Nepali Sadhavana Party (Ananadi Devi) supported by the members of civil society has left a political vaccum in the country.
The nation-state will remain the fundamental unit of reckoning in the international system, but it will have to reckon, almost Brownian-motion-like, with other units and stakeholders in a fluid medium where disorder may have both permanence and legitimacy.
Unless strategic measures are undertaken to address Assam’s climate and disaster risks, the losses to the state will only continue to mount in the y
The history of the Planning Commission suggests that it was always an extension of the government's attitude towards the economy. This is not in itself a bad thing, but has been twisted an unfair criticism of the PC. Therefore, plans for the Niti Aayog and its working should be gauged very carefully.
The mass arrival of refugees could well cause the international community to contemplate a model where European troops take care of different sectors to keep the peace in the Mediterranean. But since European intervention will smack of re-colonisation, the ball will be tossed upto the UN Secretary General to devise a muscular UN Force.
Indias reliance on outer space has become critical in its social and economic growthstories in addition to its transformative impact in the national security context. With growingreliance comes vulnerability to adversarial attempts to harm Indias capabilities, particularlyfrom the new threat of cyber warfare. Even as countries including India have debated the need todevelop certain counter-space capabilities, such as demonstration of an ASAT capa
India needs to effectively counter the menace of China-Pakistan cyber collaboration as it has not just national security implications, but indeed implications for India’s democracy as a whole
A generalist attitude towards terrorist propaganda on social media will not work. A strategic narrative communicating the other side of the story need
This paper investigates, in the context of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, the burgeoning threats posed by cyber mercenaries acting as proxies for revisionist states bent on destabilising the institutions and societies of adversary nations. The paper offers essential definitions of what comprises cybersecurity threats, including cyber mercenaries, and delineates current trends. Drawing on open-source intelligence and insights from cy
Digital adoption, hastened globally by the COVID-19 epidemic, brought along with it both benefits and threats, including concerns of safety and security of the cyberspace. Current geopolitical dynamics, ongoing strategic and economic disputes, as well as attempts by authoritarian regimes to preserve power have allowed companies with malicious intent—known as ‘cyber mercenaries’—to develop and deploy offensive cyber capabilities. The tools
