Search

In July 2024, United States (US) President Joe Biden signed into law a bill espousing the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination. The spirit of this law, ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’, stands in contrast to historical US recognition of Tibet as a part of China. This brief examines the evolution of US policy towards Tibet, beginning in the 1950s when its primary concern was the alleged human rights violations

The final announcement of the results of the US Presidential elections are expected to be announced only after the completion of the counting of the provisional votes in the State of Ohio, which may take some days unless Senator John Kerry decides to concede victory to George Bush without waiting for the completion of the counting.

जैविक हथियार संधि (BWC) के 50 साल ऐसे दौर में पूरे हो रहे हैं, जब ड्यूल-यूज़ तकनीकों और जैव आतंकवाद के खतरे बढ़ रहे हैं. इस संदर्भ में भारत की संभावित नेतृत्व भूमिका को इस लेख से सम�

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.

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

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

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

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

With the EU being India’s largest trading partner and the second-largest export destination, the economic logic of strong India-EU economic relations is self-evident. The two sides have also agreed to commence talks for a standalone investment protection pact and an accord on geographical indications

Engaging the Myanmar Army in exercises such as those with India provides an opportunity for Myanmar Army officers to learn from the experiences of other armed forces in international military operations.

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.

Despite New Delhi’s continued hopes and some encouraging signs, significant challenges remain.

Iran represents a complex policy challenge that needs to be carefully weighed. Any assessment will need to look not only at the benefits but also the costs of not changing course on Iran. But fence-sitting and procrastination might be an unsustainable and expensive choice.

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.

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.

India is the largest producer of pulses, accounting for 25 percent of the world's output yet 70 percent of Indians are protein deficient

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

AUKUS adds another layer of deterrence against China. The group is likely to strengthen the military dimension, contrary to the belief that it undercuts Quad.

Are smart cities the panacea for the increasing urbanisation problems in India? Question asked the Modi government is speeding up its smart city mission.

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

Despite India’s recent seeking of friendlier ties with Beijing, the future prospects for relations remain uncertain.

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.

A common enemy does often become a powerful uniting force, but the fact that the US has so many friends and not a single ally to fight the Islamic State speaks volumes about its foreign and defence policies in Wes Asia.

2004 is a significant year for Europe. In May of this year, the European Union (EU) will induct ten new members, eight of which were part of the former Communist regime of the Soviet Union. While four of these East European states (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) are struggling with mounting budget deficits and contemplating awkward spending cuts, France and Germany (the dominant European powers) are immersed in a deep economic

A civil nuclear agreement is one of the key outcomes New Delhi is pushing for in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan that starts on August 30. Recently, in Naypidaw, Myanmar, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj called on her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida to "bring talks on civil nuclear agreement to their logical conclusion".

US’ expected policy shift favouring Moscow aligns with its renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Can good sense prevail in Washington once again? Military action in Libya will generate anti Americanism, which will swell the ranks of Al Qaeda and cause the "Arab Youth" bulge to find a frightening outlet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Canada this week should help rejuvenate an important relationship that has long been neglected in New Delhi. If real political differences alienated India and Canada during the Cold War, it is Delhi that has not been sufficiently attentive to the possibilities with Canada in recent years.

Canada's Deputy NSA Claude Vigneault says his country's decade-old presence in Afghanistan as part of American coalition has given them a better sense of India's security concerns and is keen to collaborate with it.

Sikh extremism and separatism are far from the norm, but they have somehow hijacked Canadian diplomacy

Sikh extremism and separatism are far from the norm, but they have somehow hijacked Canadian diplomacy

Pragmatism is redefining India-Sri Lanka relations

This report demonstrates how the Ukraine war has catalysed exceptional growth in the United States (US) defence-industrial base, evident in record exports and orders, valuations, and profits, as well as an ecosystem expansion unprecedented in recent decades. It argues that this revitalisation has given renewed potency to the US military-industrial complex, whose structural reliance on sustained demand will shape political decision-making and ince

Since France has said that it will not be continually involved in African intervention, the solution to security problems in Africa must come from the Africans themselves. The establishment of a pan-African force to react to crisis with support from Europe has been suggested by France.

Mark Carney’s ascendancy is itself a reflection of how deeply these pressures have reshaped Canadian politics

By not backing the political demand of the RJD ally for the exit of then Election Commissioners, B B Tandon and N Gopalswamy, the Centre and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have silenced avoidable criticism of the constitutional body entrusted with the task of ensuring common man¿s continued faith in parliamentary democracy.

The Nepalese government¿s offer of surrender and rehabilitation to Maoist insurgents¿announced by Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa on December 18, 2003¿¿whose deadline concluded on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the Maoist ¿People¿s War¿, on February 12, 2004, has met with partial success.

Cash transfers are popular globally as an instrument for combating poverty and achieving broader development goals. Both conditional and unconditional cash transfers that target women in low- and middle-income countries can enhance household well-being, food security, education of children, family health, and women’s empowerment. In India, the provision of unconditional cash transfers to women is being driven by the expanding influence of femal