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Awareness and education about uncertainties — floods, droughts, etc. — should be created at the cellular level.

The recent attack on the British Council in Kabul by the Taliban shows that, apart from military tactics, there is an urgent requirement in the West to reconsider the political objectives in Afghanistan.

Despite the positive connotations of a de-radicalisation initiative in Pakistan's Swat, lead by Pakistan's army, the relationship between the military and terrorist groups still remains unclear.

The most important lesson for India from the US operation on Osama bin Laden safehouse is that it should have a clear policy as to how to deal with the principal accused in the concerned case; how to deal with him or them.

The IFS is criticised in some western circles because it resists efforts to incorporate India into the West's sphere of political and intellectual influence. Some who are attacking the MEA today want this resistance to end.

As the debate for a Space Code of Conduct gains momentum, there is a need to frame a code that is acceptable to all space-faring nations. This Paper assesses the concerns of Asian countries, especially India, on the code proposed by the European Union

The nature of nuclear threat that India faces is not "binary" as India's concerns related with Pakistan and China are intertwined. The history behind China-Pakistan nuclear collusion makes it important to look into the "interlink".

This paper dissects the causes behind Pakistan’s ongoing economic crisis. The causes include dwindling forex reserves, the phenomenon of ‘galloping inflation’, a falling Pakistani Rupee, uncompetitive and undiversified export basket, burgeoning external debt, lack of fiscal prudence, debt distress, and a worsening business environment—all cascading to a balance of payment crisis. While austerity measures, appeals for loan rollover to debt

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

In recent years, China has increasingly invested in West Africa to further its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, diversify its supply chains, and acquire critical minerals and raw materials for its domestic industries. Indeed, China sees immense potential in West Africa for the region’s ability to provide a secure supply of critical minerals and energy resources insulated from the West. Beijing is now the region’s largest bilateral trading

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil¿s none-too-recent hint that the Centre was considering the setting up of a new commission to review Centre-State relations is a welcome move. While it may be yet another effort at decentralization of administrative power between the Centre and the States, care should be taken in formulating the terms of reference and in the choice of the commission¿s members that the process percolates down to the panchayat-lev

Recent grey-zone activity in maritime-Asia suggests an increase in hybrid warfare, even as the lines between military, economic, diplomatic, intelligence and criminal means of aggression become increasingly blurred. By replacing overt military aggression with soft provocations – kept well below the threshold of open warfare – aggressors attempt to leverage asymmetry, ambiguity and incrementalism for strategic effects. These tactics are highly

The rapidly changing battlefield—framed by emerging transnational threats and the rising influence of public opinion—has transformed military diplomacy; today the focus is shifting from traditional combat to joint multinational operations and non-combat activities. Since the early 21st century, China has modernised its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and expanded military diplomacy to protect the country’s interests. Using civil-military f

New Delhi’s push across the African continent weds dignity and shared growth to a bold bid to rewrite global rules

While successfully balancing relations between Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia power blocks, New Delhi’s affinity for this Gulf outreach is rooted in geopolitical and geo-economic realities

At this juncture of the US Presidential campaign, Mitt Romney's worldview seems to be defined, more than anything else, by the desire to sound different from President Obama. But foreign policy is still very much President Obama's turf, and Romney's recent foreign trip did nothing to change that.

As the world grapples with uncertainty in the post-COVID-19 era, China appears to be focusing on bolstering its rural economy. China claims to have brought nearly 100 million people out of poverty since 2012, but the regime feels that unbalanced development can jeopardise the gains of poverty alleviation. The widening economic gap could also foment unrest in the rural areas. Additionally, the government believes that the reliance on grain

The Biden administration is seeking to establish a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy as part of its national security. This issue brief analyses the US’s cyber threat landscape and examines the Biden administration’s cybersecurity strategy. It explores the strategy’s ideological, geopolitical, technological, and diplomatic significance in a rapidly shifting domain.

Extremists' groups like the ISIS have capitalised on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's ethno-sectarian politics. And, the resurgence of ethnic animosities has long-standing implications for Iraq and the West Asian region as a whole.

The new land acquisition bill has brought transparency in land acquisition. But by incorporating too many instruments and agencies to ensure the same, it instead risks making the process bureaucratic. Thus, the bill ends up replacing a coercive colonial law with a cumbersome one.

Monday's terrorist attack on Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur district, the first major terror attack in Punjab since 2002, and that took the lives of 11 persons, is a puzzle. This could be a routine warning from the LeT to both the Indian and Pakistani governments against getting too close to each other.

Narendra Modi is viewing Obama's New Delhi visit on a longer perspective where he seeks to leverage the U.S. connection to attract technology and investment from the western world, as well as build ties to balance China.

The international aid system is in need of reform. Despite rhetoric about localisation, a meagre 1.2 percent of international humanitarian aid directly reaches local actors. Overall, there is a lack of transparency and awareness in international policy circles on how funds flow from the donor level to the field. This brief argues that the issue is not just about a lack of capacity on the part of local actors—a sweeping statement often used by W

Beijing’s motivations concerning the conflict resolution in Niger include a mix of economic, political and reputational drivers.

Development and production of tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) by Pakistan has increased the level of tensions in South Asia, though it has, in an attempt to ease global concerns over its development of TNWs, has assured that its top leadership will continue to have complete control over its TNWs if deployed.

The political health of the US is important not just for the country itself, but the world, given its outsize influence as the foremost economic and military power.

The norm to protect the public core of the internet, originally advocated by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy, can be operationalised in two ways. Both a layered approach and a functional approach to defining the public core of the internet provide productive ways to discuss safeguarding the functionality and integrity of the core logical and physical infrastructure of the internet from unwarranted state interventions. Thi

For decades, global agriculture has pursued an extractive model of relentless yield maximisation—at a devastating cost. Soil degradation, water scarcity, and deepening inequities have made it clear that the promise of perpetual growth in a finite world is an illusion. This brief challenges the dominant narrative of industrialised, high-input farming and reimagines Indian agriculture through the lens of ‘degrowth’—an emerging concept that

India is ranked third only to Bangladesh and Pakistan for worst air quality. PM 2.5 concentration in India is 5.2 times above the WHO annual air quality guideline.

Campaign trends in Delhi elections indicate that parties are playing around the issues having popular appeal rather than the hard core issues of governance, statehood or even air pollution. In varying degrees, populist ideas such as free houses, free water and free electricity remain the core poll promises for all political parties.

The relative degree of success of President Barack Obama's visit to India will depend on the extent to which the tough US demands on defence trade be eased to accommodate India's strategic needs without compromising national interests from both sides.

EAM S Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives marked a pivotal moment in India-Maldives relations, focusing on economic aid, developmental projects, and defense cooperation.

As dependable allies, the India-France partnership is a force for global good in a volatile world engulfed in multiple crises

There is a genuine endeavour in the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to enhance their public delivery mechanisms. And, its example of harnessing ICT can come handy for other states currently implementing Right to Service Acts.

As India reels from the economic fallout of Covid-19 despite the announcement of a relief package, calls for a more refined and demand-inducing stimulus have emerged. However, the bleak state of the government’s coffers has left limited fiscal space to act. This brief explains the plausibility of financing a demand-inducing stimulus using debt monetisation as a one-time policy measure. Outlining the criticisms against such proposals and how the

Indo-Pak rapprochement has been stuck in a rut for some time with Pakistan insisting on tangible progress on Kashmir and India reiterating that it is necessary to first build confidence by resolving relatively less intractable problems.

Many more reforms are needed to boost consumer confidence. People have to have faith in their future earning capacity and only then they will start buying.

The South Asian region is witnessing some kind of democratic upsurge. For the first time, all the countries in the region have embraced democracy. Yet, democratic transitions in the region are filled with uncertainties and fragility. South Asian countries need to learn from each other's democratic experiences and support each other.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy framework, by being blind to history and to context, is not doing itself any favours.

One of Tunisia's leading politicians, Sheikh Rashid al-Ghannouchi, says the Middle East is not in crisis, but rather at a "crossroads." The Middle East can indeed achieve stability and peace through a process of democratic reconciliation and consensus. But the road will be long and involve building institutions, healing old wounds and forging compromises.

With Iraq back on the chess-board of international diplomacy, there is Once again the talk of democratizing individual West Asian nations, if not West Asia as a region. Going by the neighbourhood experience in recent times, it has also raised the question if West Asia is ready to be democratized, if it is not through the barrel of the American gun.

Endorsements have energised the party base with hopes of swaying undecided voters.

Access to, and development of indigenous digital platforms and cutting-edge technologies is imperative for robust socio-economic development and national security. In turn, such process needs to be democratised, and undertaken in a sustainable manner. India is a first mover in this novel idea of democratising technology and developing Digital Public Goods. Operationalised in the digital infrastructure called India Stack, India’s strategy aims t

With the November 8 announcement, about 85 per cent of your bodily functions merely in the hope that the system will be cleansed with Demonetisation

Now in the fourth phase, China is rebalancing by emphasising consumption and promoting an innovation-based economy. This is a forty year timespan, not the half-decade process under Mao.

Though the Planning Commission went by the Tendulkar formula, Rs 32 and Rs 24 look extremely low at today's prices and high inflation, and especially if we take into account that these amounts include other items of daily life like education and health.

Despite the positive signs in India-Russia ties, one must be careful not to overestimate their significance when considered alongside some long-term trends in international affairs such as the relations of the US and its closest challengers China and Russia.