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If Trump indeed wants to resume the talks now, the Taliban will drive a much harder bargain and the terms on offer will be a lot worse than what had b
The December 16, 2014 attack on an Army run school in Peshawar by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has caused global outrage. The attacks led to over 148 deaths of mostly children and some school staff.
The latest White House assessment of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan submitted to the US Congress has questioned Pakistan's commitment towards degrading and defeating terrorist groups like al Qaeda and Taliban.
The demand for basic infrastructure and services in Indian cities has increased phenomenally due to rapidly growing populations. Such unmet demands often adversely affect the quality of urban life, the economic productivity, as well as the process of sustainable development. The main purpose of this brief is to highlight the problems involved in improving access to water supply in Indian cities faced with a severe water shortage crisis. A case st
Water security is a growing concern in South Asia today. Growing population, expanding urban centres, widespread pollution and mismanagement are pushing several countries in the region towards a water crisis. Mr. B. G. Verghese, well known journalist, author and expert on water issues, calls for better understanding and cooperation among the countries in South Asia to address the challenge of ensuring adequate and equitable availability of water
This brief is largely based on several discussions organised at Observer Research Foundation over a period of time. These discussions were enriched by the presence of some of the well-known experts on water issues in the country, like former Union Minister for Water Resources, Dr. Suresh Prabhu, current High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Tariq Ahmad Karim, Mr. Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation, Ms. Clare Shakya, Senior Regional C
Massive populations in many parts of the world, including in India, continue to grapple with lack of access to clean and safe water. This paper studies the case of Delhi. It describes the conditions under which water is produced and supplied to domestic consumers in Delhi and explains the capacity of the water and sewerage agency to discharge its duties. The analysis finds challenges in five aspects related to water supply in Delhi: quantity; qua
This paper highlights the importance of water valuation and pricing for sustainable and efficient water allocation and management in India. An efficient water-pricing mechanism could be a tool to address the impending crisis of water scarcity, which necessitates a robust, objective, and holistic valuation technique. Every unit of water consumed for economic purposes has an ecological footprint, and this opportunity cost or externality factor need
Samir Saran, President of ORF, in an interview to The Asian Age spoke about different issues including democracy, good governance, communal harmony
Beijing is not doing as well as it would like us to think. Its economic challenges and isolation have meant it is keener than its put-off partners to achieve some normalcy in ties with other countries.
Historical precedents and contemporary facts on the ground abundantly establish the forces’ feebleness and overwhelming incapacity to tackle the sur
At a time when India is struggling to establish itself as a global power, the position taken by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee on the sharing of waters with Bangladesh will only help strengthen the anti-India rhetoric in the neighbouring country.
The tech industry will create a new social class in moderate Muslim states that will make them resilient to Islamic radicalization while building the
The nature and complexity of the next government would either be a confirmation of the thesis that politicians can read the pulse of the people, or th
After the declaration of a food emergency, the island nation must navigate a tricky situtaiton
Given the trajectory of the China relations — Sri Lanka’s ‘India First’ policy will obviously be confined to bilateral security issues and New
While Indian officials have participated in events where the Taliban have been present, India has been content to let others take the lead. We have, therefore, been unable to plan options for ensuring security of both the Indian nationals working in Afghanistan as well the diplomats at our embassy in Kabul, and this remains the primary responsibility at the moment.
Friendly Indo-Bangla relations will play a major role in securing peace and prosperity in the South Asia and these can be achieved with sincere initiatives by the government in resolving outstanding issues. India's Bangla policy could be a for the new government in dealing with other countries in the Neighbourhood.
The US cannot be seen to be losing the war in a re-election year, and so the US withdrawal needs repackaging as a peace process for Afghanistan. The problem is that nobody really knows what the Taliban wants and reconciling an emirate — and Shariat-based system with the existing constitution — is not easy.
A common thread across the turbulences is uneven support from the government for beleaguered institutions and the absence of informed participation.
While Dr. Manmohan Singh must necessarily wait for Nawaz Sharif to determine the pace at which he might be comfortable moving forward with India, in the case of Bangladesh, the burden is entirely on Delhi to implement the historic agreements it had negotiated with Dhaka.
Hasina’s victory will likely put Delhi-Dhaka relations under more scrutiny -with the West expecting India to be vocal about the state of democracy in Bangladesh
While the supreme leader is there for life (or till he chooses to retire), the president is limited to two four-year terms, defining where the balance of power rests between them
A closer look at what Sri Lanka’s recent election results may mean for ties between New Delhi and Colombo.
In the urban-rural stereotyping, the phrase 'city girls' epitomises the impact of urban excesses on the apparent modesty and traditional aspect of femininity. City girls are assumed to be loud, to say the least, and of 'morally inappropriate character' on the extreme. Even within cities, this dilemma of how girls in cities ought to behave persists.
Using disinvestment proceeds to inject public finance into private companies is a great idea.
The process for the selection of the ninth Secretary General of the United Nations who will succeed Dr. Ban Ki-moon, is under way.
People are going to have a hard time trusting the government or the RBI.
According to the Planning Commission, rural poverty has declined faster than urban poverty regardless. If this is true, it would definitely have got reflected in better housing and sanitation. It would also have meant a decline in malnourished children and maternal death. But the census figures show a different picture.
The Taliban’s return will lead to geopolitical realignment. India’s ties with major powers will also be readjusted to manage terrorism coming from the Af-Pak area
Unless urban planning is heavily incentivised with quality men and money, development plans are likely to remain on paper
Why was there no Big Bang change in the Budget? After all, the Modi government had the full mandate to do so. Why was the FM playing with Lego like blocks instead of huge building blocks? It could be because the time was short and the Budget was put together in a hurry.
One of the key reasons for TTP's survival has been Pakistan's policy of using terrorist groups as instruments of state policy. Pakistan Army's protection of the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban as ' strategic assets' helped TTP to retain its sanctuary and its attack capabilities.
Half of India’s population is women, and according to a World Bank report, India could achieve double digit growth if women were participating more
The divergent views of the Centre and the state of West Bengal have led to the Teesta river being subjected to 'conflictual federalism'.
India has underscored the need for improving connectivity with Kabul for trade and transit potential.
Under a bilateral agreement water data on the Brahmaputra is shared by China with India on the Brahmaputra, but a weak understanding of hydrology means that the data is coming from the wrong places
The CBI is #IASmukt, as is the CVC, whose commissioners are former income-tax, police and bank officials.
India has world class healthcare in urban agglomerations, but public healthcare continues to be overcrowded and underfunded
History is testament to the fact that no number of guarantees or pledges can deter the Taliban from reneging on promises.
The last multilateral negotiations in the field of nuclear disarmament took place more than 20 years ago, resulting in the long awaited Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The treaty, however, has yet to enter into force. India is often held responsible for such uncertainty, in spite of having withdrawn from the negotiations before it was even concluded; at other times, it is the US which is blamed for failing to ratify the CTBT—giving reason
Despite the prevailing environment of gloom and doom due to the Ukraine crisis, the Indian economy’s ability to resist imported inflation is greater
The threat of terrorism itself has been fast evolving and far surpasses some of the fundamental challenges that the UN, UN Security Council, agencies and members are continuing to try and navigate
The accession talks between the EU and Western Balkans remain up in the air despite the recent summit. As the presence of foreign powers grow stronger
The Alliance, a concoction of tribal leaders and warlords held out in the northern parts of Afghanistan against the Taliban more than 25 years ago. However, the rapid fall of the north brought to the front that many who had previously helped the Northern Alliance, and even the US-led forces later in 2001 to depose the Taliban, were now in cahoots with the same group.
