3485 results found
Carbon-intensive assets are a financial time bomb.
In 2015, the Indian government launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) as a response to the perennial challenge of shortage in urban housing. As of June 2021, 11.2 million houses have been sanctioned under PMAY-U, of which 4.8 million have been completed. However, various analyses indicate that PMAY-U dwellings may be insufficient in quantity, and that some of them may be either unaffordable or unviable for those who need them the
As data drives technological innovation in finance, open banking has gained global relevance. India has advanced in this domain through initiatives like the India Stack, as well as frameworks such as the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) and the Account Aggregator (AA) framework. Additionally, the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act is increasingly shaping India’s open banking landscape. Given the importance of data pr
Population relocations driven by economic reasons or caused by land speculation have led to people settling in peri-urban areas (or areas in the periphery of the urban). The in-migration of population and emergence of new activities is transforming such areas, as seen in changes in land use and occupational patterns, reduced farm activities, and growth of built structures. Inadequate planning and governance of peri-urban areas by local government
The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 changed the strategic dynamics in the region. For India, the new regime and its attendant risks—especially the threat of terrorism—quickly put it in an unenviable position. This brief assesses India’s policy towards Afghanistan since August 2021. It will cover how India has articulated its Afghan policy, domestically and in multilateral organisations, and its incremental
Greater engagement with the Taliban will create new possibilities for India as other regional players such as China, Russia and Iran look for ways to step up their engagement
Young men and women from the countryside discovered the joys of creativity, individuality and even celebrity on the Chinese app.
India’s emerging urban moment is caught between two realities: inadequate systems in public transportation, housing, waste management, and access to sanitation and health; and a burgeoning ecosystem of enterprising individuals, communities and start-ups pushing innovative solutions to these very same civic issues. This paper examines India’s urban picture and understands how the urban narrative of crumbling systems and inadequate infrastructu
Though infiltration from Pakistan is of great concern, those from Bangladesh in the form of illegal migrants pose a more serious threat to the nation, according to Lt-Gen (Retd) Anand Verma, former Director-General of Military Operations.
At a roundtable on "Understanding Contemporary Bangladesh", attended by vice-chancellors from nine universities of Bangladesh, the consensus view was that regional integration is not only beneficial for Bangladesh but for all of South Asia.
Nineteen US troops and three others were reportedly killed on December 21, 2004, in an attack on an improvised dining hall of an American military base at Mosul in northern Iraq. An organisation called Jaish Ansar al-Sunnah (JAAS) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like . This 35-year old rock hymn from "Queen" might evolve to the protest song of those cyclists in Kolkata who were recently banned to use their own means of transport in any of the city's 174 busiest streets.
The financial gap that emerging markets have to bridge is huge; between $1 trillion and 1.5 trillion annually is needed for investment in infrastructure.
The Taliban today undoubtedly has a stronger hold over how the US militarily plans to withdraw from the conflict in Afghanistan. This raises questions about the continuing challenges to security in South Asia—in particular, the influence of IS Khorasan (IS-K), the group’s Afghanistan avatar, and its rise both as an ISIS-aligned entity and a big-tent brand for various jihadist groups in the country. As the ‘Khorasan’ project of ISIS gets m
Though it is too early to interpret possible impact of the new activism of India's burgeoning urban middle class on nature and character of politics and system of governance, if we take recent global events as a sort of barometer, the change has already begun.
The people of Bangladesh are slowly becoming sceptical that they might soon be trapped into an era of unending street protests and violent political clashes. The root to this fear has been the long absence of the Opposition from Parliament and its efforts to settle political issues on the streets.
The Islamists have condemned all statues and sculptural exhibits as “un-Islamic,” though their stand has been challenged by many.
Israel has conducted multiple airstrikes over the past week, with reports claiming the deaths of senior Hezbollah military leaders, including Ibrahim Aqil and Ibrahim Mohammed Qubaisi.
The BJP has made a mess of Jammu and Kashmir and India’s policy on Pakistan.
India neither has a well-defined bankruptcy legislation for businesses to close down systematically or special courts to take care of such issues; and, as a result the process becomes slower, says former Revenue Secretary M.R. Sivaraman.
The passage of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Protocol by Parliament not only removes all hurdles for the final settlement of India's longest border with any neighbour, but also paves the way for exchange of Enclaves and merger of Adverse Possessions by re-drawing the International Boundary (IB), also known as the Radcliffe Line.
The recent years have seen a new trend emerging in the African continent. Representatives from Western conglomerates have been shifting their focus to Africa in order to secure rights to the vast, untapped resources of the ecologically rich continent.
China will have to act selflessly if it wants to build alternative institutional arrangements that look at development from the emerging economies prism. The BRICS will also have to be careful about what it regards as its core strength. So far, it has largely been perceived to be pushing for an alternative economic development paradigm.
Lebanon, the smallest nation in continental Asia, is also one of the most populous. A relatively stable, secure and democratic state, its geographical location and the growing regional crisis are leading to pressing internal and external threats that Beirut must face. This issue brief examines these contemporary threats to Lebanese security: the Syrian Civil War, the rise of the Islamic State, domestic terrorism and sectarianism, and the nation's
Three quick lessons can be drawn from the recent coup attempt in Bangladesh. These are growing unrest among political and military circles against the Awami League government for its policies towards India and fundamentalism;
India is the world’s largest rice exporter, making it a significant player in the global rice market. A global rice shortage is anticipated amid rising geopolitical tensions and commodity prices. To safeguard domestic consumers from exorbitant price shocks, India has banned the export of non-basmati white rice since July 2023. This paper examines the ban's implications, especially regarding welfare redistribution among basmati and non-basmati f
It is in India's interest to ensure that there is a friendly government in Dhaka which is not swayed by fundamentalist interests. It had to be more subtle where friendship with India is seen as beneficial by the average person in Bangladesh. For this India needs to take bigger steps like a deal on the Teesta waters and Land Border Agreement.
After having made a Lebanon out of Iraq, the US, duly assisted by France and other West European powers, has embarked on a policy, which is likely to make an Iraq out of the Lebanon.
The recent US-Taliban moves offer a ray of hope for the Obama administration to achieve a much needed breakthrough before the President begins his re-election campaign.
