3485 results found
The SDG index is a better alternative to the World Bank’s parameters as it takes a holistic view of development
Bangladesh offers a rare strategic opportunity to transform the geopolitics of the subcontinent. A comprehensive partnership with Dhaka might be the key that will eventually open the door to a productive engagement with Pakistan.
With India and Russia having a common interest in Afghanistan’s stability, the ensuing big power competition, which is pushing Moscow into a tight Chinese economic embrace, is increasingly turning out to be a challenge.
The voluminous participation by the Afghans in the elections, in which all major candidates asserted their desire to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement with the US, does not bode well for the Taliban, which describes signing of the BSA as "a huge crime".
Area states should work together to address security concerns
Saeed Naqvi, Distinguished Fellow at ORF, recently journeyed across Afghanistan where he met scores of political leaders, Taleban, US officials, filmmakers, journalists, NGOs, religious leaders and ordinary Afghans. The result is an insightful document on Afghanistan at the crossroads. Do Americans have an Endgame planned? Or, more important, can a superpower in a theatre of strategic importance, have a linear exit plan when multiple strategic op
The deal with the Taliban is full of contradictions, but it is the best the US could come up with. Rather than criticise it, India should think about what its own options are in securing its flanks
The presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan presents a serious challenge in securing counterterrorism gains of the past, while ensuring that the Taliban delivers on the promise of ensuring non-use of Afghan soil to plan attacks against the US or its allies.
Even with the knowledge that Afghanistan has suffered terrorist violence for almost two decades now, the brutal attacks on the maternity ward and the funeral in the holy month of Ramadan, have unleashed a wave of horror and disgust that is unlikely to die down anytime soon.
The situation in Afghanistan is grim. There is a tendency to confuse random acts of violence with the instability caused by the the Taliban or the neo-Taliban. An analysis of the violent incidents in Afghanistan in the past few years has revealed that more than two-thirds of the violence has been related to land, resources or power-politics, pointing towards unequal sharing of power at the sub-national level. A round-table discussion on Afghanis
The killing of a former Taliban minister, Mullah Abdul Raqeeb, has raised questions about the involvement of the Pakistan establishment in the peace process and a possible rift within the ranks of the militant movement.
The people of Afghanistan have not forgotten what the Taliban did to them and their country when they ruled Afghanistan with Pakistan's political and military support. The Taliban are not popular in Afghanistan.
The key is to achieve peace within the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — a system that is defined by its core values related to human rights, women’s rights, democracy, rule of law and political inclusion.
Across Africa, Beijing’s mining dominance is now being scrutinised more closely, with a growing demand for fairer, more transparent partnerships
Mediterranean Shipping Co. has introduced a container service between India and Africa to "improve transit times and enhance delivery."
Some of the best performing countries of Africa -- Nigeria, South Africa and Botswana -- have GDP growth rates comparable with the fastest developing countries of the world. Their GDPs are the least volatile in Africa. Rwanda was declared the best reformer by the World Bank for encouraging business in the country.
Counter-terror narratives are backsliding, and this trend needs to be arrested as a compromise with a section of these groups becomes an acceptable way out.
There is no question that Pakistan's Afghan strategy is evolving. If the Taliban seemed inflexible about negotiations in the past, Pakistan is promising to make it more reasonable. Many in the West and China are ready to accept, at least for now, Pakistan's claim that a new and moderate Taliban is at hand.
Cut this any which way you like, the US still holds all the aces and can influence different outcomes in AfPak region depending on how it defines its interests.
It would be unwise to expect that Trump’s tweet represents a major policy shift. That Pakistan has been playing the US on the issue of support to the Taliban is no secret. If anything, Trump’s remarks are a manifestation of American frustration in getting Pakistan to behave.
Delhi, a Union Territory that is home to India’s capital, New Delhi, is among the world’s urban agglomerations with the most toxic air. The magnitude of air pollution is massive. It causes devastating impacts on people’s health, the city’s environment, and economic well-being. Despite overwhelming evidence of the severity of air pollution and its consequences, however, India’s policy measures remain weak. This paper identifies the most
It may return if more structural concerns in counter-terror thinking and policies are not addressed over time
It has historically been assumed that while the nature of war remains the same—i.e., violence inflicted on the adversary to bend them to one’s will—the character of warfare changes with technology, organisation, politics and culture. This notion has changed. Over the past decade, the nature of war has also changed, with increased use of non-contact and non-kinetic modes of warfare expanding the battlefield spatially and temporally.
The Central Asian Republics (CARs) have, in recent years, implemented multifaceted foreign policies to achieve strategic autonomy and limit China’s influence and Russia's traditional sway. But domestic uprisings in the CARs, the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan, and now the Russia-Ukraine conflict have given China new opportunities to strengthen its presence in Central Asia. This brief investigates China's increased engagement with the CARs
In March 2019, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) rolled out the Bulk Data Sharing Policy for its databases. The policy states that organisations must pay an annual fee of INR 3 crore, and research and education 1 institutions INR 5 lakh, to access the databases in four data dumps. In the absence of a data protection law, sectoral regulators and ministries are issuing their own data 2 policies. Though the policy claims that the d
The paper provides an understanding of high flows in a river system by explaining the hydro-meteorological, hydro-geomorphological, ecological and socio-economic dimensions of monsoon-related high-flows in the Ganga-Padma river system straddling India and Bangladesh. The aim is to inform the existing flood management approach in India, which has failed to adequately incorporate the geomorphic, hydrologic, hydraulic and biological processes of riv
India began investing in Space science and technologies in the 1960s, putting in place an administrative structure similar to that for Atomic Energy. However, unlike the atomic energy domain which came under the 1948 Atomic Energy Act (revised in 1962), the country’s space activities are yet to be regulated by specific legislation. India’s space agency, ISRO, has historically viewed space technology applications primarily for societal develop
Al Quds al Arabi is a respected daily and the opinion of its editor, Abdul Bari Atwan, carries weight. For this reason, his op-ed on September 7 on "Talabani and Arabness of Iraq" is to be taken note of. The point of departure is Iraq's isolation in the Arab world and Mr. Atwan,
Hamburg wants to go completely car free in the next ten years, and it wants to achieve it by networking all its green Space creating a new paradigm of walkable and cycleable urbanity.
India’s aspirations to become the third largest economy in the world by 2027, and a developed country by 2047, need to be backed by a liquid, deep, and well-functioning debt market—something that the country does not have. Banks in India typically lack the ability to sponsor long-term projects because their liabilities are of a relatively shorter tenure. An efficient Indian corporate bond market with lower costs and faster issuances could pro
New Delhi’s engagement after America’s exit must build on its resonating vision of a stable and plural Afghanistan
The attack in Quetta should be understood as an attack on the stability and future of Pakistan's economic dream project.
The 'old boys' network has given Asim Umar an extensive reach among the jihadi groups active in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He can tap into the Taliban network with as much ease as he could work with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The report examines India's urbanization, highlighting rapid population growth, metro rail expansion, sustainable transport policies, and financing challenges, while assessing efforts in localization and revenue enhancement for metro systems.
In April, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022, merged the North, South, and East Delhi municipal corporations into a single urban local body (ULB) called the Delhi Municipal Corporation. The unification is expected to lead to better service delivery, greater financial strength, economies of scale, and eliminate administrative duplication. However, the Act does not outline the functional and financial domains of ULBs and aspects
Russia and China have been concerned about the US’s growing technological lead particularly in missile defence and conventional global precision-strike capabilities.
We don’t need bans but an industrial ecosystem within which a defence sub-system can flourish
If the government wants to reduce poverty through FDI, then some fine-tuning in policies will have to be undertaken. FDI will have to be directed to labour-intensive sectors, especially from the unorganised sector. In Bangladesh, much of the FDI has gone to the garment sector which has enriched workers and reduced poverty.
Australian premier Anthony Albanese’s consequential visit to India unveils opportunities for trade, investment, energy cooperation and greater naval engagement in the Indo-Pacific. If these take off, the strategic architecture of the Indo-Pacific could be poised for a big transformation
India need to do more to speed up its own financial sector reforms and make it stronger because the percentage of NPAs has reached a dangerous level of 4.45 per cent and could reach 6 per cent soon. Unless the banking system is strong, India cannot be on a higher trajectory of growth.
As geopolitical competition intensifies in Central Asia, India will have to prioritise transparent and reliable connectivity strategies.
India’s outreach to the Taliban isolates Pakistan further
Legitimising Taliban is a global risk
While existing literature provides solid documentation of conservation policy and legislation, coverage of civil society's perceptions and role within conservation schemes is relatively sparse. This paper presents the under-represented perspective of modern Delhi on the policies and realities of heritage conservation.
How India and its BIMSTEC partners can prosper together
