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Probably the most common response to the criticism that has been leveled at the P5+1-Iran negotiations over the past year is: "but what's the alternative?"

In pushing J&K leaders out of the spectrum of political participation, the Centre is inching closer towards making an internal colony out of the erstwhile state.

The current series of notifications issued by the Central Government has the potential to create a 'police raj', under the Intelligence Bureau, when that may not be the intention even of the Union Home Ministry.

While MNCs are choosing well-established regional supply chain in East and Southeast Asia for now, India must look to the future.

If there is one thing that the weekend reshuffle of Ministers and portfolios may have done for the image of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Government, it is to put the recent past behind in terms of political charges of corruption and non-performance.

Several challenges and threats may hinder achieving two percent growth for the world economy. For instance, the plans of IMF and Central Bank to raise the interest rate are likely to result in wiping out efforts to achieve the target. Also the investment is witnessing lower volatility.

The most critical area for India's response to climate change must be adaptation. It needs to invest in actions against the imminent threats posed by climate change irrespective of how the global discourse progresses. Investments must be made through innovative channels, using a mixture of capacity-building programmes, awareness campaigns, traditional solutions, and new technologies.

As tensions simmer between New Delhi and Beijing, some have called for India to focus on developing stronger relations with Taiwan.

An ORF Mumbai-SPGRC workshop has decided to launch a city-wide, age-appropriate awareness campaign to curb rising gender-related crimes in Greater Mumbai municipal corporation schools. It would try to sensitise children about sexual harassment and other gender-related crimes.

The Narendra Modi government's 'Make in India' campaign, on the whole, seems out of sync with today's world where it doesn't matter where a product is made because even high exporting countries like China basically assembles parts made elsewhere in the world.

The Press Council chairman is spot on as far as the media's coverage of Muslim terror is concerned. He is equally right on the market driven focus on Formula 1, Lady Gaga, Mettallic group, bollywood gossip, fashion, etc in a country where the majority are poor.

ASEAN and India will need to adopt a more inclusive and pragmatic approach towards Myanmar — one that involves all key stakeholders

In early 2020 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) published an India-centric propaganda material called Voice of Hind. This special report examines the first issue of the publication, which openly recruits Indian Muslims by manipulating the fears and grievances they harbour owing to certain political developments in the country. The analysis uses theories of social psychology, inter-group conflict discourse, and communications theory to pr

Economic sanctions are often seen as an alternative to war, but they do not always have the desired effect. This brief argues that for such sanctions to be effective, economic interdependence must be established, economic rationality must outweigh political ambition in the sanctioned country, and the message of the sanctions must be clear. Using the sanctions against Russia as an example, this brief contends that because of the interdepen

Can Africa’s energy transition break the resource curse? With global aid shrinking, African leaders look to clean energy to boost growth, jobs, and autonomy

Cooperative federalism must be maintained as an immutable Indian agenda.

There is no easy answer to the question of how best to balance all the competing water use priorities of the Ganga. But one thing is clear: as long as rivers are seen merely as pipes for conveying water, and challenges of distribution are addressed primarily through engineering rather than policy, then no solution will be appropriate.

A new submarine deal could bring back Germany as a major player in the Indian defense sector.

The deal with Iran should boost efforts to do an Iran with North Korea's nuclear programme as well. This would be more difficult given the authoritarian nature of the regime in North Korea but is still an idea worth pursuing. The major powers should carry forward the momentum and energy to solve other issues in the Middle East.

A unique aspect of contemporary protest movements across the world is that they are, in fact, leaderless. The first decade of the 21st century witnessed an unprecedented mushrooming of “networked protests” fostered over the internet. In the early 2010s, the Arab Spring and Occupy movements showed that consensus over objectives and courses of action — key determinants of traditional people’s movements in the liberal-democratic world — ha

At this point, EU-India cooperation on climate is hampered by conflicts about the EU's CBAM and limited engagement in COPs. FTA is not the right forum to change the dynamics of discussion on trade-related climate measures.

As Chinese economy is facing its worst slowdown in recent times, for Africa, Modi's new India might turn out to be the one viable alternative to China. Therefore, the upcoming India-Africa Summit will be an occasion to harness this opportunity and seek a meaningful strategic engagement beneficial to both the countries.

Noted sports writer Mr. R. Mohan says that India could host the Olympic Games from 2030s if it learns to stick to schedules and avoid scandals, which had brought bad name initially in the case of the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

The list of China's signs of displaying its assertiveness in the South China Sea is numerous - like the incident with the Japanese coast guard and the USNS Impeccable. The Pentagon accused the Chinese vessels of "harassment" during the US ship's routine operations in international waters.

Recent Chinese commentary suggests that India must detach the border dispute from other aspects of Sino-Indian ties.

In Sri Lanka, whoever wins or loses the parliamentary polls, and whoever forms the government afterward, it's President Maithripala Sirisena who would be at the centre of all post-poll politics over the ethnic issue, political solution and 'accountability issues' of the UNHRC kind.

If Narenda Modi could turn around Gujarat's agriculture so dramatically, he can be instrumental in turning around agricultural productivity, marketing and storage in all States. He has to act quickly. Otherwise, there would be more problems of large scale migration from the rural to cities.

All that the government has to do is to focus on providing basic goods -- high quality primary education and healthcare, toilets and housing for all. When there is so much money in India in private and public hands, why is it taking so long for the government to do something to change the lives of millions of people?

Though India dreams of replicating the shale gas successes of the US, it cannot enjoy the luxury of easily acquiring land for shale gas operations. In the US, landowners, besides owning surface rights, also own mineral rights. Consequently, they receive huge financial incentives directly from oil and gas companies.

In an ironic situation, President Obama finds his own party, the Democrats, his key opponents while, the Republicans, his greatest allies as he pushes for the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement.

Taliban's origins are very much in the Pakistan's State agencies and hence it cannot be called a non-State actor. It is too large and too fragmented to be taken up as one enemy. For PM Nawaz Sheriff to declare that there is 'no good or bad Taliban' is just an empty rhetoric and still part of the same old double-speak.

Conflicts in the Middle East have been exacerbated by competition over natural resources. Within the United States, there is growing bipartisan interest in reducing dependence on foreign oil.

There is a renewed interested in the idea of India taking a leadership role in the Commonwealth to infuse a new lease of life into an organisation which for many in Delhi has long back outlived its usefulness.

Arguably the most ambitious health insurance programme in the world today, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) gives India the chance to transform its healthcare infrastructure. Launched in September 2018 and foreshadowing the general elections of 2019, PMJAY is equal-parts political and economic. It aims to address the healthcare needs of India’s poorest 100 million households and has the potential to deliver what its predecessors ove

The post-pandemic Indian economy could resurrect itself by prioritising Sustainable Development – as the SDGs not only embody various capitals, but also hold immense potential for business opportunities. This needs to be realised through global partnerships and more private sector involvement in the domestic economy.

Compared to India and Norway, South Africa may have entered Sri Lanka first and re-entered now to a relatively positive start, or so it seemed. Their timing now proves to be wrong, and their proposals thus may not either be heard, or acted upon.

The contradictions in the path of India's global rise and its accompanying stature as an important player in international affairs, while it grapples with issues of food security, rising prices, inflation and governance challenges, were highlighted by senior academician Dr. Mira Kamdar at a talk titled "Can the Centre hold?" at Observer Research Foundation recently (February 17).

For digital economy to deliver on it's promise we need to avoid technological determinism and put people back at centre as the recipients of economic change

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s. International trade has been severely impacted due to, among others, budgetary shortfalls, reduced access to medical equipment, and an overall decline in economic activity. Even before the pandemic hit, international trade was held hostage by trade wars in a deeply polarised world; COVID-19 further exposed the faultlines of the globa

Given the quantity of investments, China can’t afford to have the OBOR initiative fail. Sceptics like India can use that to persuade China to make modifications.

The compulsion of states to trawl ever increasing volumes of data must also be understood. Besides criminal activities like child pornography, money laundering and online fraud, the Internet is also an important vehicle for the jihadist terrorist. A great deal of recruitment and motivation takes place online.