OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

May 20, 2020

Natural gas in India: From Cinderella to Goldilocks

Natural gas can provide ‘always-on’ power — and in addition — provide quick ramp up and down to meet fluctuating demand at a fraction of the c

Akhilesh Sati | Lydia Powell

Indian Foreign Policy

May 16, 2020

The Taiwan question in Indian foreign policy

Taiwan’s successful handling of the pandemic has led it to draw support from some major global players and some are even recalibrating their Taiwan

Harsh V. Pant | Premesha Saha

Space

May 16, 2020

China’s growing counter-space capabilities

The risks posed by China’s military space programme is primarily to other more capable powers such as the US using space as a force multiplier.

Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan

US-China tensions: A slow road to conflict?

Defence and Security | China Military

May 15, 2020

US-China tensions: A slow road to conflict?

The Chinese buildup continues — if the US has its B-21, the Chinese are planning to field their H-20.

Manoj Joshi

Defence and Security | Indian Defence | China Military

May 14, 2020

COVID-19 and Indian defence planning

The Ministry of Defence has fixated on process rather than outcomes for decades with little effort to remedy this, stymying timely modernisation of th

Kartik Bommakanti | Angad Singh

The Indian Air Force and an increasing HADR mandate

Defence and Security | Indian Defence

May 12, 2020

The Indian Air Force and an increasing HADR mandate

The primary role of the Indian defence forces is to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty from external threats, but when called upon, they are equally

| Vikas Kalyani

Iraq: Amidst a pandemic, struggles of a fragile state

Energy | Terrorism

May 11, 2020

Iraq: Amidst a pandemic, struggles of a fragile state

The fact that ISIS has managed to attack in and around Baghdad is an anecdotal yet strong indicator that during this time of multiple crisis, the terr

Kabir Taneja

India’s naval evacuation gets underway amidst a pandemic

Privacy & Data Protection

May 08, 2020

India’s naval evacuation gets underway amidst a pandemic

Indian planners would do well to reflect on some lessons from past missions.

Abhijit Singh

Steps to restart public transit after lockdown ends

Transportation

May 07, 2020

Steps to restart public transit after lockdown ends

It is necessary to detail the steps that our transit agencies can take in the face of the restart after 17 May.

| Amruta Ponkshe

Urbanisation in India | Urbanisation | Water

May 02, 2020

Scaling-up urban rainwater harvesting

Most Indian cities experience water supply shortages, particularly during the summer season when the demand for water is phenomenally high. In such si

Rumi Aijaz

International Affairs | Healthcare | Economic Reforms | Developing and Emerging Economies

Apr 27, 2020

No more shelter

The world needs change.

| Andrey Bystritskiy

China tightens grip over the South China Sea – should India worry?

Healthcare | China Foreign Policy | Maritime Security | China Military | Maritime Governance Architecture

Apr 25, 2020

China tightens grip over the South China Sea – should India worry?

Abhijit Singh

COVID-19: Between a smiling Xi and a tweeting Trump stands a lady called Merkel

Great Power Dynamics

Apr 24, 2020

COVID-19: Between a smiling Xi and a tweeting Trump stands a lady called Merkel

Not known for dramatic outbursts or playing to the gallery, Merkel’s moves will be inclusive and transparent as she clears space for accountability

| Chitra Subramaniam

The impact COVID19 pandemic is exerting on e-commerce

Healthcare | Cyber and Technology

Apr 24, 2020

The impact COVID19 pandemic is exerting on e-commerce

Pratnashree Basu

‘Liquid gold’: New York’s convalescent plasma donor 0001 gives us a patient’s view into US COVID19 response

Healthcare

Apr 19, 2020

‘Liquid gold’: New York’s convalescent plasma donor 0001 gives us a patient’s view into US COVID19 response

Doctors are calling Diana Berrent’s plasma “liquid gold” because she didn’t just clear the virus, she’s also a universal donor.

| Nikhila Natarajan

Healthcare | Urbanisation in India | Urbanisation

Apr 19, 2020

Disease and urban densities

The COVID19 pandemic is a wake-up call to the world to realise that the sustainability quotient, in terms of the scale that city population densities

Dhaval Desai

COVID19 and displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh camps

Healthcare

Apr 18, 2020

COVID19 and displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh camps

The spread of coronavirus in camp areas is equivalent to spread of forest fires which only leads to more destruction — and questions the government�

Sreeparna Banerjee

Domestic Politics and Governance | Urbanisation in India | Urbanisation | Transportation

Apr 17, 2020

Post pandemic city planning

Ramanath Jha

Fellows Seminar Series | PLA joint exercises in Tibet: Implications for India

Jan 01, 1970

Timing is everything: COVID-19 caseload pattern and mitigation strategies in 4 US hot spots

Healthcare

Apr 14, 2020

Timing is everything: COVID-19 caseload pattern and mitigation strategies in 4 US hot spots

Even as states on the US East Coast and West Coast are banding together to figure out a reopening plan, new cases continue to overwhelm the US hospita

| Nikhila Natarajan

COVID-19 and the gameplay of West Asia’s geopolitics

International Affairs | Healthcare

Apr 08, 2020

COVID-19 and the gameplay of West Asia’s geopolitics

Kabir Taneja

India’s containment plan for COVID19: How not to call a spade a spade

Healthcare

Apr 07, 2020

India’s containment plan for COVID19: How not to call a spade a spade

India’s preparations as well as inventory, in contrast to the vast needs that we will face in the coming days from what country examples indicate, l

Oommen C. Kurian

Millions of refugees terrified of COVID19 invasion in West Asia

Healthcare

Apr 02, 2020

Millions of refugees terrified of COVID19 invasion in West Asia

In the conflict-ridden countries of West Asia, while everyone is hoping for the storm to pass before it destroys their already fragile economies, thos

| Anchal Vohra

Looking West: Placing Seychelles within the Indian strategic rim

International Affairs | Indian Foreign Policy | Great Power Dynamics | Indian Ocean

Apr 01, 2020

Looking West: Placing Seychelles within the Indian strategic rim

Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury | Sohini Nayak

Privacy & Data Protection

Mar 30, 2020

Nepal’s response to Covid19

Nepal is yet to make an announcement of plans to see how it works on economic recovery and how it will approach multilateral and bilateral agencies fo

| Sujeev Shakya

क्लाईमेट चेंज को कल्याणकारी योजना के दायरे में लाने की ज़रूरत

Sustainable Development

Mar 27, 2020

क्लाईमेट चेंज को कल्याणकारी योजना के दायरे में लाने की ज़रूरत

ये मांग उठना वाजिब है कि हम इन नई और सामने आ रही चुनौतियों �

Sangeet Jain

Towards a larger Indian shipping industry

International Affairs | Indian Foreign Policy | Economic Diplomacy

Mar 24, 2020

Towards a larger Indian shipping industry

Myopic policies have robbed Indian shipping companies of a level playing field to transport the country’s EXIM cargoes and caused losses to the econ

Rupali Ghanekar

Covid19 — Tech imperatives, reordering & readiness: Learnings from Taiwan

Healthcare

Mar 24, 2020

Covid19 — Tech imperatives, reordering & readiness: Learnings from Taiwan

Taiwan has emerged as among the few countries which have successfully managed to keep the contagion from spreading by putting in place effective early

Pratnashree Basu

COVID19: A wake-up call for urban social protection in India

Healthcare

Mar 20, 2020

COVID19: A wake-up call for urban social protection in India

Having an urban welfare strategy in place would have allowed the government to act immediately to support workers affected by the coronavirus shock. U

Annapurna Mitra

Russia and Israel: Towards a pragmatic partnership

International Affairs | Great Power Dynamics

Mar 05, 2020

Russia and Israel: Towards a pragmatic partnership

Pritish Gupta

GISAT-1 is important, but India also needs small satellites for national security

Space

Mar 02, 2020

GISAT-1 is important, but India also needs small satellites for national security

The planned launch of satellites in the coming year and beyond by the ISRO does not include small satellites.

Kartik Bommakanti

Alternative to path dependent EV transition in India under FAME-II

Indian Economy | Transportation

Feb 29, 2020

Alternative to path dependent EV transition in India under FAME-II

Why invest in new infrastructure when the extant set could suffice, provided refuelling/battery replacement takes about the same time as now.

Anamitra Anurag Danda

Space

Feb 26, 2020

Indian startups gets a surged Chinese VC investment; space startups remains neglected

The absence of any perceptible shift in Chinese VC enthusiasm for Indian space startups requires explanation, given how optimistic Chinese VCs have be

Kartik Bommakanti

US-India defence trade and India’s underwater domain awareness

Indian Foreign Policy | Great Power Dynamics | US Foreign Policy | Maritime Security | Maritime Governance Architecture

Feb 19, 2020

US-India defence trade and India’s underwater domain awareness

India must recognise that the induction of various US acoustic naval platforms cannot alone meet the challenge presented by the underwater expanse of

Arnab Das | Kashish Parpiani

अपनी वाजिब जगह पर दावेदारी: समृद्धि की तलाश करती महिलाएं

GENDER ISSUES | Sustainable Development

Feb 17, 2020

अपनी वाजिब जगह पर दावेदारी: समृद्धि की तलाश करती महिलाएं

लैंगिक भेदभाव का समाज के हर हिस्से पर व्यापक और गहरा असल प

OLUWATOSIN DUROTOYE

बेकार होते सामाजिक सुरक्षा योजनाओं की जगह नये मॉडल अपनाने की ज़रूरत

Development | Sustainable Development

Feb 11, 2020

बेकार होते सामाजिक सुरक्षा योजनाओं की जगह नये मॉडल अपनाने की ज़रूरत

सामाजिक सुरक्षा कार्यक्रमों के वैश्विक विस्तार में अहम �

Terri Chapman

Feb 10, 2020

CEPA : Fulcrum of future trade and economic relations?

Both India and South Korea are now in urgent need to find economic boosters for their economy. Enhancement of mutual trade and investment opportunitie

More challenges set to riddle US-India divergence on e-commerce

Cyber and Technology

Feb 05, 2020

More challenges set to riddle US-India divergence on e-commerce

Despite the impending bilateral trade package, differences over the role of e-commerce platforms continue.

Kashish Parpiani | Shashidhar K J

Energy

Feb 04, 2020

GoI’s conflicting goals — electricity for all, renewable energy targets and a ₹100 trillion infrastructure pipeline

Lopsided allocation of funds could easily lead to the government missing its target for renewable energy capacity, with huge costs to the environment.

Annapurna Mitra

International Affairs

Feb 01, 2020

NATO: The challenge from within

For NATO to ensure its continued strength and relevance for years to come, it must get to the heart of the issues plaguing its own internal cohesion.

Rachel Rizzo | Rachel Rizzo

Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ Middle East peace plan falters at the box office

International Affairs | Great Power Dynamics | US Foreign Policy

Jan 30, 2020

Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’ Middle East peace plan falters at the box office

Kabir Taneja

Terrorism

Jan 29, 2020

Sharing space: Tech and terrorism

Technology has as much potential to exacerbate as it does to mitigate the risks of terrorism. What takes place in the digital space is merely symptoma

Elina Noor

The future of work: Embracing informality

Development

Jan 27, 2020

The future of work: Embracing informality

With the rise of digital labour platforms, new forms of employment are emerging that deviate from the “standard employment relationship.”

Sabrina Korreck

International Affairs | Indian Foreign Policy | Great Power Dynamics

Jan 24, 2020

Brazil and India in the new decade

The upcoming visit of the President of Brazil for the Republic Day may offer a platform to forge a close friendship between the leaders of these two l

Candice Vianna