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The activities of Ghulam Nabi Fai of the Kashmiri American Council, which became public after his arrest, show how vulnerable the India-Pakistan engagement could be to Pakistan Army?s dogged pursuit of anti-India policies.

Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf, has never been as much under the threat of elimination through a coup or a bullet as he is today. There is no doubt that he faces extreme danger from some of the vicious terrorist and extremist groups, most of whom he had helped grow powerful in today's Pakistan.

The Iran nuclear issue is touching yet another point of criticality. The build-up was evident to the naked eye, the crescendo almost predictable. It was six weeks ago that Secretary of Iran¿s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, expressed Teheran's frustration that EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) was stonewalling in the negotiations, meandering into blind alleys, lost in thoughts.

Oil is critical to India as it imports almost two thirds of its need, constituting 37% of its total imports. A $1 drop in oil prices could approximately save 40 billion rupees. The drop in oil prices currently looks like a blessing for India, but there could be some downslides too in the long run.

Since 1995, when the first incident of jihadi terrorism took place in Saudi Arabia, there have been 25 acts of terrorism as indicated below:

Why was the controversial barrage built on the Ganga just upstream of the India-Bangladesh border? What has the construction led to?

When I heard that President Barak Obama would address a joint session of Parliament during his November visit, a chill ran down my spine. Images of President Bill Clinton's foray into the Central Hall of Parliament during his visit in March 2000,

By declaring that India should be actively involved in the Sri Lankan peace process, Mahinda Rajapakse, the newly sworn-in Prime Minister of the island-nation has put both the peace process and India back at the centre-stage back again. Lakshman Kadirgamar, the ruling dispensation¿s foreign policy czar, has said as much. In her maiden national telecast after the parliamentary polls

Indo-US relations began to warm up after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. All of a sudden, the New World Order had arrived, yet no one really knew how to adjust to this new reality. Old enemies and old friends had gone, new enemies, threats and friends had to be found ¿ for a State, to survive, needs all three.

The stalemate in the negotiations questions the legitimacy of the WTO to promote fair and balanced multilateral trade rules that will address the past and current inequities, which developing countries are faced with. In the current situation, it would be useful to frame negotiating proposals which the WTO can take forward to conclude Doha Round.

The social and economic profile of the participants in India's vast retail trade is complex and varied. Besides, there is ample evidence that large sections of the petty bourgeoisie (trader and shopkeepers) may not be happy with their current existence. They would not mind if global capital inflows result in the creative destruction of existing arrangements.

There has been a heated debate about opening up the retail trade sector in India to foreign direct investment (FDI). Allowing foreign investment to come in retail trading is supposed to indicate that economic reforms are on track and that like in China , Walmart, Carforre, MAKRO, 7 Eleven and many more giant retail store chains, would be seen in India.

FDA in retail is not the reform that can change the face of Indian agriculture as the problems of small farmers and their vicious cycle of poverty have to end through state action and not by big foreign retailers.

The Government's decision to bring in FDI in retail has created an uproar, but it is not surprising at all as it has not only been ill-timed but is also being clumsily handled by the political class.

Economic experts firmly believe that FDI is the need of the hour and with political will and good governance measures, it could prove to be crucial in enhancing development in the region.

Opening up retail trade should not have happened at a time when inflation is high, GDP growth rate is falling, industrial growth and exports are declining. Unfortunately, it would take a long time for the multi-brand retailers to establish their own supply chains and hence inflation is unlikely to come down in the near future.

As Delhi focuses on managing Washington's pressure to reduce oil imports from Iran and avoid the imposition of unilateral U.S. economic sanctions on India, it could easily miss the unfolding power play in the Gulf between Tehran and Riyadh.

Interstate (River) Water Disputes (ISWDs) are a continuing challenge to federal water governance in India. Rooted in constitutional, historico-geographical, and institutional ambiguities, they tend to become prolonged conflicts between the states that share river basins. This paper examines the constitutional complexities, contentious political federalism, and identity-based electoral political dynamics that fuel ISWDs. It discusses the River

Regional parties should not think of federalism merely in terms of anti-Congressism. This seems to be the tendency, with regional satraps like Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalithaa hyphenating regional concerns with their own political goals.

In Uttar Pradesh, the zamindari system may have been abolished more than six decades ago, but feudalism has stayed: The biggest feudal lord being the State itself which lords over cattle, women, the marginalised communities and minorities alike.

The First Energy Ministry of India was constituted under interesting circumstances. The former Energy Minister of India, Shri K. C. Pant delivered a talk at ORF on July 14, 2006 presenting his views on the fifty years of India's energy policy

Microfinance, which began in India 50 years ago, extends credit, insurance, loans, access to savings accounts, and money transfers to small business owners and entrepreneurs, especially those not served by the conventional banking system, or indeed the rest of the financial sector. This paper traces the history of microfinance in India and evaluates its impact. It finds that although the microfinance sector has emerged as a salient player in Indi

Any Lok Pal Bill to be meaningful needs to have in-built saving mechanisms that protect the dignity not only of the individual but more so of the high offices that they hold. Otherwise, there is always the possibility of anti-corruption wars could get reduced into a national past-time.

A nation-state—with its numerous institutions, actors, and daily interactions—is a complex system and it is a tall task to predict the future trajectory of any of its sub-systems such as the armed forces. What is certain, though, is that every sovereign state aims to have a military that is of the highest possible calibre. One of two paths may be chosen to achieve this goal: tying-in the military’s capability development with the ec

In January 2000, when I spoke about the concept of limited conventional wars under the nuclear threshold at an international seminar in New Delhi, there was considerable uproar in the media and the strategic community, particularly in Pakistan.

If the War on Terror-2.0 is to be carried out only by drones and the US/NATO Air-forces, one can be certain that the 'Islamic State' will retain control over its territory in Iraq and Syria for a long time to come.

Does Obama really intend to defeat, disrupt and dismantle the ISIS terror structure or will he simply guide them away from Iraq and Turkish borders towards Damascus.

It has transformed frustrations into a nihilistic anger. But it is not the real America.

President Barack Obama has to understand the Indian psyche before advising rapid economic reforms and realise that without adequate safety nets, open unemployment will be a scourge for India.

Defence structures around the world are seeing a technological upheaving as new and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are being added to military arsenals. However, military AI largely lacks precision and is often developed without any threat-modelling which takes gender into account, examples of which are already being seen in civilian applications of AI. Translated into a conflict environment, deploying such AI systems cou

The African continent faces escalating climate threats, with rising temperatures, sea-level rise, water stress, and extreme weather events causing widespread negative consequences. This brief argues for the need to build a business case for greater adaptation investment in Africa. Climate change is already causing significant economic losses, with African countries losing 2-5 percent of GDP annually, while adaptation investments could yield retur

In many African countries—some of the most unbanked areas in the world—digital banking applications are redefining what it is to bank in economies with shallow penetration of the formal banking sector, representing an innovative force that is breaking new ground in the long-standing challenge of financial inclusion. This brief explores the emerging world of fintech in the context of Africa, outlining why financial technology applications are

Focusing on financing sustainable development, in India and elsewhere, ORF organised a conference that explored the future of global financial architecture for development and highlighted the difference between financing and implementation.

As the world confronts multiple challenges which are intricately connected, our path for development stands at a crucial juncture. In the context of the embroiling polycrisis, progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) has been steady but fragile with major and persistent challenges. Financing for Agenda 2030 has emerged as a major bottleneck with several developing economies, especially the least developed countries (LDCs), low-income

Climate change has emerged amongst India’s most formidable challenges to sustained GDP growth. To accelerate the implementation of the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and advance its progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, finance is key. India needs to develop a comprehensive strategy and an integrated policy approach that aligns the country’s financial systems with the long-term needs of the economy while incor

India’s target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 might appear ambitious, but it is crucial as it will have a positive impact on the country’s economic growth, energy security and the fight against climate change. Financing is emerging as the key challenge to this vision, slowing down the pace of growth; as of December 2019, over 50 percent of the 2022 target is yet to be achieved. This brief outlines India’s existing

The BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have all declared their commitment to climate action and the implementation of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This brief makes a case for BRICS, as a forum, to build a strategy for financing regenerative agriculture; key should be the creation of a joint fund. If implemented correctly, the brief argues, such a strategy of giving back to the land, instead of merel

Observer Research Foundation, in collaboration with BRIDGE TO INDIA and Solar Energy Society of India, organized a round-table discussion on "Financing the Solar Projects under JNNSM" on 9th Aug, 2011.

The existence of an embedded financial network of militant organisations in Bangladesh will seriously undermine the global effort to neutralise global terrorist networks entrenched in the region.

Financing of infrastructure in India will remain a big problem despite the fact that the government has issued infrastructure bonds with tax incentives. Finding external finance is thus very important because the amounts required would be in billions of dollars.

India and Nepal have a long history of bilateral ties founded on connections of history, culture and religion, but their relationship is also beset by border conflicts. Although the two have managed to maintain their amiable relationship despite these differences, they both would benefit from finding a sustainable resolution. This brief highlights the efforts of both India and Nepal to resolve their border disputes. It recommends crucial

Over three years since the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made little progress in helping resolve the crisis despite releasing a ‘Five-Point Consensus’ (5PC) in April 2021. The political crisis that followed the coup poses a challenge for the ASEAN, which must now deliberate on ensuring not only the early implementation of the 5PC but also whether, and how, it should continue to abide by