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India is still coming to grips with the emerging multi-polar world order and managing great power relations still appears to be a major challenge for Delhi. India is keen on developing stronger partnership with the US. But, on the other hand, it is also concerned about the reaction of China and, increasingly, of Russia.

Pakistan will face severe consequences if they do not change their policies in dealing with terror networks, said Dr. Lisa Curtis during a talk on "US Policy Options in Pakistan" on October 13, 2011 at Observer Research Foundation.

As the election reaches its final stages, both candidates have experienced key moments of heightened voter engagement.

Donald Trump has become the most familiar face in the line-up of GOP Presidential hopefuls. Despite his lacklustre performance during the second Republican debate in California, he is leading the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal polls.

The Trump administration’s attempts to create another West Asia crisis should worry India.

As of now, the Quad’s formal agenda is modest. It remains a platform for leaders of the four countries to meet each other collectively and bilaterally. Meetings have so far taken up the issue of providing vaccines, building supply chains, mitigating climate change and providing humanitarian relief. An unstated aspect of the Quad grouping is supply-chain resilience and the need to have a chain which is not linked to China.

The benefits that India enjoyed for many years under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme of the United States was withdrawn, effective 5 June 2018. India was the largest beneficiary of the programme, of which it has been part since its inception in 1974. This paper evaluates the impact of the withdrawal on specific sectors of Indian exports. For comparison, the paper uses the Harmonized System Code (HS Code) Commodity Classifica

By not railing against Trump, by showing restraint during the VP debate, Harris came across as a woman in control.

In Saudi Arabia, the Biden administration is trying to walk a fine line between a robust interpretation of US interests and a softer definition of US values. For all his flaws, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has embarked on an ambitious and perilous mission to ‘normalise’ Saudi Arabia. The process isn’t democratic and there are times when reform & repression travel side by side.

US did not believe in the view that democracy could accomplish economic growth in Afghanistan. And their preference was authoritarian modernisation rather than through democratic means, according to Stanford University professor Dr. Robert Rakove.

The increased interdependence between the various players in the East Asia region is a potential area that needs to be harnessed more effectively to foster the relations and avoid the territorial conflicts and animosity, according to Hitoshi Tanaka of the Japan Research Institute.

The breakdown of high-level communications worrying

That India-US ties are at the nexus of a new beginning shaping the Indo-Pacific is no surprise. PM Modi's second visit to the US at the beginning of his second year in office only reiterates the importance of this relationship.

It is a reality today that the US-India relationship is on a somewhat arid plateau. It is unable to meet the expectations placed on it and the reason for that is the increasing lack of what can be called "strategic trust" between New Delhi and Washington.

At a conference on 'Building Pan Asian Connectivity' in Kolkata, US Ambassador to India Richard Verma has said the Asia policy of the United States and India's Act East policy can work in complementary ways to increase regional trade and growth.

China may soon find it difficult to source semiconductors specific to the development of artificial intelligence, expanding on US export control measures announced in October 2022. The US is preparing to constrain access of Chinese companies to US cloud-computing services.

US-China relations have been rocky since 2018 when the two sides started a tariff war and the US began to restrict the export of semiconductors to China. And then came Covid-19 and as the situation in the US deteriorated, rhetoric against China began to rise. It has been opportunistic, driven by the hope that it would make the electorate overlook shoddy handling of the pandemic by the Trump administration.

Xi has highlighted ‘severe challenges’ arising out of America’s containment policy

A US-China thaw increases the possibility of putting Beijing back in business at the expense of New Delhi

The healthcare industry is undergoing an unprecedented change. The affordability and quality of healthcare are being profoundly affected by increased globalization, competition, cost consciousness, regulations and new technologies. The US is expected to spend up to 20% of GDP on healthcare by 2015.

The United States-India relations reached a high point when the two countries signed the Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2005. But since then, relations between the two countries have drifted. Both the countries must move ahead to build trust and cooperation in other areas.

Washington needs to understand that India-US partnership is not about democracy or common values but about common interests. The real strategic glue in the relationship is the common concern in maintaining some sort of balance in the larger Asian region in the context of China's rise.

The US needs Pakistan to withdraw from Afghanistan and Pakistan needs all the money it can get. Pakistan also dreads that if the US leaves without helping Pakistan get what it wants from the Indians now, which is a concession on Kashmir, they will never have another chance.

Iran’s leadership crisis may have come at an important time for the US, amid an ongoing political slugfest at home in an election cycle and a litmus test for US relations with Israel.

B. Raman, former head of the counter-terrorism division of India's external intelligence agency, suggested that India should continue the peace process with Pakistan and should not get involved in this matter involving the US and Pakistan. He said New Delhi should not pressure Islamabad further in Pakistan's hour of 'humiliation'.

Trilateral Security Cooperation (TSC) is a unique framework for the United States (US), South Korea, and Japan to jointly address the common security challenge of North Korea, particularly concerning its nuclear weapons programme. Acknowledging that a unified approach would be more effective in tackling North Korea, the three countries forged a partnership in the early 1990s which has continued to the present day. Over the years, the domestic pol

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's recent visit to Washington crystallised cooperation on non-traditional security matters such as counter-terrorism, and enhancing maritime security, which will not raise red flags in Beijing. Significantly, the meeting avoided the more militaristic features of national security.

Few nations have been thrust more dramatically into limelight since those tragic 9/11 events than Pakistan. Prior to that date, Pakistan was isolated: perceived as a Taliban and Al Qaeda supporter, a military regime, and a failing state. Events of 9/11 brought it closer to a danger where, in the words of General Musharraf, ¿It could lose its strategic assets.¿

The recent protests in West Asia that started in Tunisia and now encompass the entire Arab world will have an impact on the regional balance of power equations. West Asia’s geographic location and its weight in the world energy market bestow on it an undeniable centrality that has also resulted in intensive interaction with external powers. Since it is at the heart of global energy security resources, West Asia has witnessed intense great powe

यूएसएड का भविष्य अब उलझ गया है. रिपब्लिकन जहां इसे बंद करने पर आमादा हैं, तो वहीं डेमोक्रेट राष्ट्रपति ट्रंप के इस कदम को असांविधानिक बता रहे हैं. 

In a groundbreaking speech in August this year, US President Donald Trump laid out his government’s policy for South Asia, authorising more American troops to Afghanistan and insisting that Pakistan must either “do more” to restrain Islamist militants, or face consequences. Indian and Afghan governments have welcomed the new US policy approach. The major components of Trump’s Afghanistan strategy — recognising Pakistan’s role in provi

Cross-border payment is one part of the banking sector that has yet to benefit from recent progress in digitalisation. Most international transactions are still processed using a 600-year-old correspondent banking system devised by the Medici.[1] However, this system of manual entry of transactions is not a scalable solution for the burgeoning digital payments space. While this may seem like an issue for institutions, a huge segment of the popul

Uttarakhand devastation would not have been so furious but for years of human greed, administrative and political connivance. We greedily ravaged nature beyond its tolerance and without any rules. When nature responded with a kind of pent up fury, our response was sluggish and confused.

From Kedarnath in 2013 to Chamoli in 2021, the Himalayan belt has seen disasters arrive with unsettling frequency, each more devastating than the last.

The issue of valuing water is contentious because of its physical, political and economic dimensions. Yet, it is an important debate, as valuation is key in estimating the benefits and costs of different management options. An effective valuation supports better informed decision-making in the allocation and use of the resource, as well as in the implementation of SDG6, i.e. to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanita

The China factor has steadied the two nations’ strategic partnership, despite their differences of opinion on other matters.

Results of the 2004 parliamentary elections have generated a serious debate among scholars and analysts following the unexpected ouster of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the victory of the Congress-led coalition. Some see it as ¿the revenge of the poor against the pro-rich image of the government¿ and there are many who ascribe this to ¿the supposed maturity and ingenuity of the India voter¿.

Releasing ORF's latest book on China, the Vice President of India, Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, called for introspection and change of mindset to address the issue of India lagging behind China in the field of science and technology.

The Vice President of India, Shri. M. Hamid Ansari and the Union Finance Minister, Shri. Pranab Mukherjee, remembered the contributions of late Shri R.K. Mishra, ORF Founder Chairman, while releasing 'A Brahmin Without Caste: Remembering Rishi Kumar Mishra' -- a volume contributed by 56 personalities from different walks of life.

Hanoi has not found as much support as it hoped for despite its bold confrontation of Beijing in the South China Sea.

As an ASEAN member, Vietnam has worked hard to secure peace and reconciliation among Southeast Asian nations, which were once deeply divided by war.

Indian Navy's reported lack of enthusiasm in increasing the number of participating ships and aircraft reflects the susceptibility of the Indian establishment to cave in to Chinese sensitivities. From a peak contribution of eight warships in 2007, the number has dropped to four this year.

The string of financial fraud and chicanery that we have faced over decades has made the innocent suffer the most. We must make sure that public sector institutions are no longer the private entitlement of politicians.

Cyber security threats have amplified significantly in the last decade, creating security concerns across the globe. Media reports during this period have highlighted how information network systems have been exploited by cyber criminals-as well as States-on numerous occasions for espionage and intelligence gathering. In this backdrop, this Paper focuses on cyber security concerns related to Social Engineering.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are being increasingly used by the military for training, operations, and even medicine. VR allows soldiers to experience realistic combat scenarios without the risk of actual harm, while AR enhances their perception of the battlefield by overlaying vital information onto their view. The Indian Armed Forces are also increasingly utilising VR and AR technologies for training, wargaming, and enhancing

The expansion of access to affordable drugs will play a central role in addressing present and future global health challenges. Given the vast social implications of increased access to medicines, the Indian patent system has historically maintained a pro-public health stand. However, the international political community is increasingly advocating for stricter patent regimes and India can no longer continue to ignore the pressure exerted by deve

But New Delhi's decision to send a contingent of the Indian Army for the September 1-7 Vostok 2022 military drill in Russia's far east has raised eyebrows, particularly in the West that is trying to isolate Moscow after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is a major exercise involving more than 50,000 troops and 5,000 weapons units, including 140 aircraft and 60 warships, with the participation of troops from China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicar