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In 2023, 3.55 million patent applications were filed worldwide. In India, 90,298 applications were recorded that year, marking an increase of 17.2 percent from 2022 and 25.2 percent from 2021. Over 50 percent of these applications originated from Indian residents, highlighting growing domestic innovation. Despite these year-on-year improvements, however, India continues to lag behind countries like China, the United States, and Japan both in term

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.

Experts warn that while governments are getting better at managing cyber and internet threats, adversaries may go after private sector systems, in the absence of active public-private cooperation.

Cyber attacks are not a security challenge that can easily be eliminated. No kind of infrastructure is absolutely impregnable and the adverse impacts can at best be minimised by emphasising on risk containments, according to experts.

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

The India Conference on Cyber Governance and Cyber Security, organised recently by ORF and FICCI, is the beginning of a strong forum that can debate India's policies, help mould its strategy and simultaneously address global challenges.

The Ministry of External Affairs, backed by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, will have to further streamline the efforts to address India's cyber concerns and also factor in India's impending interests in the global ICT trade.

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

With both the goods FTA and services FTA in place, India is well set on the path of a comprehensive economic partnership with ASEAN. India, whose services sector contributes about 55% to the country's GDP, has been keen to sign the services FTA with ASEAN as it will help the Indian companies tap the ASEAN markets easily.

The increasing dependence on the internet across the spectrum is pushing some states to adopt measures to exert their sovereignty over cyberspace. Certain global events have also acted as a catalyst for states to pursue cyber sovereignty. The involvement of multiple stakeholders and the borderless character of the virtual world have made sovereignty a complex affair in this domain. This brief seeks to illuminate the concept of ‘cyber so

While the initiatives taken at the UN, including the draft code, could be viewed as a step forward, the clear differences in what the American and Russian sides seek to address through such a mechanism will remain a stumbling block.

This brief examines the rapid growth of the global online gaming industry and the consequent increase in cyber threats. Issues such as microtransactions, money laundering, and predatory practices by developers can stymie the industry’s growth potential if not addressed. Many countries’ current gaming-focused regulatory frameworks do not cover these challenges and will need to be revised. India—a significant gaming market—must also conside

The US has become more proactive in engaging with the international community to address cyberSpace challenges ever since the policy shift in 2009. However, it still maintains its opposition to the need for an international treaty to govern cyberSpace.

If the Pakistan-TTP talks succeed Pakistan may actually metamorphose from a hybrid theocracy to a complete theocracy, as Ayesha Siddiqa argues, because the Taliban, good or bad, want implementation of the Sharia. Thus all would depend on how far Pakistan's military and civilian leadership want to go to accommodate Taliban demands or prefer to wage war against TTP.

Given their own shoddy handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, Trump and the Republicans believe they must demonise China to win the November elections.

Free flow in data can unlock huge social and economic value in user data that is usually locked in silos. With this motivation, Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA), a public-private endeavour, is being developed in India as a template for users to access and share their data on their terms. Not only does this form of data sharing promote competition, but it fosters innovation as well. This brief dissects the conceptual layers of D

The recent attack on the British Council in Kabul by the Taliban shows that, apart from military tactics, there is an urgent requirement in the West to reconsider the political objectives in Afghanistan.

Mumbai today has a plethora of institutions - BMC, MMRDA, MSRDC, MVRC, etc. At last count, there were 23 institutions directly or indirectly 'planning' for Mumbaikars. There is an urgent need to 'de-institutionalise' urban planning.

There is a need for Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans to acknowledge that the Indian vote in Geneva owed mainly to the un-kept promises from the war years, and less to do with the 'Tamil Nadu factor'.

Despite the positive connotations of a de-radicalisation initiative in Pakistan's Swat, lead by Pakistan's army, the relationship between the military and terrorist groups still remains unclear.

History is all set to repeat itself in the subcontinent. As usual, the search for a permanent thaw in the India-Pakistan relationship seems to be hitting a big bump in the days ahead that might possibly derail the bilateral negotiation process initiated during the Islamabad SAARC Summit in January this year.

Caught in the crosshairs, India is finding it difficult to go with US diktats.

The citizens’ right to protest is a pillar of Indian democracy. While citizens are allowed to peacefully assemble, however, protests and demonstrations sometimes take a violent turn; recent examples are the Jat protests in Haryana and the Kashmir unrest following the death of militant leader Burhan Wani, both in 2016. During such occasions, it is the prerogative of the Indian state to deal with the violent civil protests in a manner that ensure

The killing of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on January 4 in Islamabad and the wide-spread adulation of his killer, a Punjab Police commando, has raised a whole litany of fears and dilemma in, and about, Pakistan.

The most important lesson for India from the US operation on Osama bin Laden safehouse is that it should have a clear policy as to how to deal with the principal accused in the concerned case; how to deal with him or them.

To confuse the delay in executing the death penalty in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case to politically imply that the convicts were not involved in the heinous crime would not pass legal or judicial muster. It could complicate matters, but things would remain where they would.

The IFS is criticised in some western circles because it resists efforts to incorporate India into the West's sphere of political and intellectual influence. Some who are attacking the MEA today want this resistance to end.

The nature of nuclear threat that India faces is not "binary" as India's concerns related with Pakistan and China are intertwined. The history behind China-Pakistan nuclear collusion makes it important to look into the "interlink".

This paper dissects the causes behind Pakistan’s ongoing economic crisis. The causes include dwindling forex reserves, the phenomenon of ‘galloping inflation’, a falling Pakistani Rupee, uncompetitive and undiversified export basket, burgeoning external debt, lack of fiscal prudence, debt distress, and a worsening business environment—all cascading to a balance of payment crisis. While austerity measures, appeals for loan rollover to debt

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil¿s none-too-recent hint that the Centre was considering the setting up of a new commission to review Centre-State relations is a welcome move. While it may be yet another effort at decentralization of administrative power between the Centre and the States, care should be taken in formulating the terms of reference and in the choice of the commission¿s members that the process percolates down to the panchayat-lev

Recent grey-zone activity in maritime-Asia suggests an increase in hybrid warfare, even as the lines between military, economic, diplomatic, intelligence and criminal means of aggression become increasingly blurred. By replacing overt military aggression with soft provocations – kept well below the threshold of open warfare – aggressors attempt to leverage asymmetry, ambiguity and incrementalism for strategic effects. These tactics are highly

The disciplines of International Relations (IR) and History could be natural allies as both have much to gain from engaging with each other. A historically informed IR could provide a deeper understanding of the motivations of world politics, while ‘international history’ could offer a much needed comparative perspective to the manner in which history is approached. Focusing on what students of IR can learn about and from the study of history

In the Finance Bill introduced in Parliament on February 28, the budget estimates (BE) for defence have increased marginally from Rs 83,000 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 89,000 crore for 2006-07 ¿ a rise of about 7 per cent. With inflation ruling at 4 to 5 per cent, the real increase in current rupees is only of the order about 2 per cent.

Although it may look like a "sudden development", Chinese observers pointed out that a "quiet but significant" shift in China-India relations had already been underway in the past few months.

The rapidly changing battlefield—framed by emerging transnational threats and the rising influence of public opinion—has transformed military diplomacy; today the focus is shifting from traditional combat to joint multinational operations and non-combat activities. Since the early 21st century, China has modernised its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and expanded military diplomacy to protect the country’s interests. Using civil-military f

In what is being touted as a major shift in Indian policy towards Israel, New Delhi abstained from a vote against Israel at the UN Human Rights Commission. The UN human rights body called for Israel's accountability in alleged war crimes committed by its officials during the conflict in Gaza in July 2014.

The Modi government's policy of engagement, rather than isolation of sanctioned countries, is very much in line with its predecessor, United Progressive Alliance, led by Manmohan Singh. However, like Singh, Modi too has refrained from speaking on the issue of sanctions.

As an emerging power in the current multipolar global order, India can use the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to protect, promote, and project its geostrategic and geoeconomic interests. The SCO is also a platform for India to reaffirm its commitment to revive and deepen its centuries-old civilisational, spiritual, and cultural ties with other member countries. This paper explores India's priorities at the SCO, chiefly connectivity, coun

At this juncture of the US Presidential campaign, Mitt Romney's worldview seems to be defined, more than anything else, by the desire to sound different from President Obama. But foreign policy is still very much President Obama's turf, and Romney's recent foreign trip did nothing to change that.