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What is going on the Doklam Plateau — at the tri-junction of India, Bhutan and China?

The Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, which had killed 1133 workers and injured more than 1800, was symbolic of a much deeper crisis, not limited to Bangladesh, according to Prof. Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre of Policy Dialogue, Dhaka.

Social media has had a transformative impact on how people live, engage with one another, and work. However, it can be a double-edged sword as it constantly evolves owing to modern technological innovation. This cannot be more true for the world’s women: social media gives them political, financial, and social empowerment, even as they battle lack of access, language barriers, and safety concerns. This paper analyses the intersection of

India’s development trajectory is closely tied to urbanisation. This brief critiques the existing urban planning framework in the country, examining the gaps and unique challenges posed by urbanisation and the impacts of climate change in hilly cities. The brief focuses on India’s ecologically sensitive Himalayan ecosystem, which have historically received little attention in urbanisation discourse. The region’s hilly urban areas have uniqu

The United States is contemplating a total reversal of its highly ineffective Pakistan policy. This was stated by Prof Christine Fair, Assistant Professor at Georgetown University's Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service while delivering a talk on "The situation in the Af-Pak region" at Observer Research Foundation on June 4, 2012.

The negotiations leading to the compromise legislation in the US Congress revealed two interesting trends. One, the increasing influence of the Tea Party Caucus in Republican politics and by extension in the American political system. Second, the absence of effective Presidential leadership in the debt-ceiling debate.

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 sheer magnitude of Vyapam has stunned people. The Bharatiya Janata Party, in power in Madhya Pradesh for the duration of Vyapam, is clearly answerable for the mess. Its government and chief minister have a lot to explain.

Prolonged turmoil in the West Asia region could result in rising oil prices and interruption in India's trade with the region valued at $120 billion a year. India should have contingency plans in place to deal with unforeseeable consequences of a spreading conflagration.

DEWs are yet to be deployed by any country’s military, but are widely seen as a critical part of future warfare.

Rahul Gandhi says he wanted to present evidence of Modi's culpability in parliament. But ...

The CPEC may be a bilateral endeavour, but New Delhi cannot ignore its spillover effects on regional governance and regime creation in South Asia

A Budget is an imperative or otherwise a government will drift aimlessly, though that often seems to be the case even with the most minutely specific Budget. Having said that, one must wonder why there is such a fuss each year when the Finance Minister of India is about to present the Budget?

If it wants to be a source of regional stability, it must act like one.

Two of the six spots renamed could be of significance, but the other four are simply points on a map. Is there a method behind this that we cannot discern at the moment?

Indian decision-makers appear to live in splendid isolation and do not recognise the importance of meetings like the Pacific Army Chiefs Conference. These meetings have become more institutionalised and are likely to gain greater momentum.

The wave of terrorist violence that will hit India as a result of de-escalation at this stage is not going to be a tenable proposition.

The wave of terrorist violence that will hit India as a result of de-escalation is not going to be a tenable proposition for India.

Indian Railways remains one of the largest owners of land in the country along with the defence services and the port trusts. And yet, India has been unable to either free up the unutilised land for most part, nor has it been able to monetise it adequately.

The best way to understand what the Tipu Sultan controversy is all about is to see who is at the forefront of the protests against the observance of his birth anniversary ? the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

India can now have economic forecasts with a longer and stronger vision. NITI Aayog is the tool to make it count.

China’s military overhaul is also connected to its ambition to elbow out the United States as a global power

For those cynical about the dialogue process with Pakistan, the lack of substance in the joint statement issued after the latest round of Foreign Secretary level talks (July 4-5) confirms our neighbour's unwillingness to fundamentally revise its thinking on core bilateral differences.

मौजूदा रूस-यूक्रेन युद्ध ने साइबर संग्राम (CW) क्षमताओं की प्रभावशीलता के आकलन को लेकर प्रयोगशाला परीक्षण के तौर पर काम किया है. हालांकि इस युद्ध से साइबर संग्राम की सापेक्ष�

Emerging technology is slowly finding a place in developing countries for its potential to plug gaps in ailing public service systems, such as healthcare. At the same time, cases of bias and discrimination that overlap with the complexity of algorithms have created a trust problem with technology. Promoting transparency in algorithmic decision-making through explainability can be pivotal in addressing the lack of trust with medical artificial int

As Punjab prepares for assembly elections, its economy is declining and ill-health plaguing people of all ages.

The external affairs ministry is always a difficult place to be in if the PM has a strong diplomatic agenda and foreign policy orientation

The indecision of the AAP since the announcement of the Delhi poll results has the potential for the national voter to prefer national parties or alliances, rendering regional parties minimal players with maximalist muscle-flexing.

An 'Agreed Line of Administrative Control' in the place of the existing Line of Actual Control (LAC) could free India and China from some of current problems at the bilateral border talks, feels Mr R Swaminathan, former Secretary and Director-General (Security), Government of India.

Encrypting communications enhances privacy and the security of information services. This, in turn, incentivises innovation in the ICT sector and contributes significantly to the growth of the internet economy. India’s (now withdrawn) Draft National Encryption Policy was single-minded in its approach. It sought only to prescribe standards that would enable law enforcement agencies to access encrypted data. There are, however, multifarious conc

Is green tax an answer for a cleaner India? The author contemplates if taxation is an answer

All that the UGC’s mindless action has done is betray its intellectual bankruptcy in playing up to the fake nationalism that is sought to be generated through repeated invocations of the so-called surgical strikes, which seem to always be brought up when elections approach.

There has been no credible evidence so far of any mastermind having orchestrated the various serious acts of jihadi terrorism reported during 2003, whether from Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq or Turkey. The available evidence indicates that all these incidents were planned and executed by local elements, which share the pan-Islamic ideology of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda and the International Islamic Front (IIF), b

भारत के आर्थिक विकास और इसके मध्य वर्ग के विस्तार के मद्देनज़र आने वाले दशक में ये रुझान निश्चित तौर पर और अधिक गति पकड़ेंगे.

This paper evaluates the importance of a space military strategy for India against China. It argues that in light of China’s advances in space weapons, New Delhi needs to seriously consider developing at least a limited menu of space weapons and integrate them into India’s defence posture. It draws on conceptual literature on nuclear deterrence, air power and sea power to show that space weapons, at least some variants, are usable military in

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has underlined the emerging realities of states’ air defence needs, including those for medium- and long-range air defence missile systems. The most important facet in the domain of air defence relates to terminal air defence—or the defence of a single object or a limited area like a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. This report underscores the need for India to

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has underlined the emerging realities of states’ air defence needs, including those for medium- and long-range air defence missile systems. The most important facet in the domain of air defence relates to terminal air defence—or the defence of a single object or a limited area like a ship, building or an airfield, now usually against air attacks and guided missiles. This report underscores the need for India to

On the eve of President George W. Bush's visit to India and Pakistan, both sides are racing to complete the nuclear agreement announced in the July, 18, 2005 communiqué between Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh the time he reaches

Modi’s re-election assures India’s allies that Delhi will play a leading role in shaping the new world order

This brief seeks to apply ancient Indian strategic thought to the country’s approach towards its immediate neighbourhood. Employing a Kautilyan perspective on India’s allies within the broader framework of foreign policy end goals, it proposes a non-zero-sum view towards four of its neighbours: Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. The brief classifies these neighbours based on the attitudes they exhibit and presents a nuanced approach tow

Ensuring contestability and fairness in India’s digital market—one of the world’s most prominent—is critical to ensuring consumer welfare. This paper outlines a legal and regulatory framework that can ensure contestability and fairness in the Indian digital market.  The paper identifies the following elements of this toolkit: (i) competition law; (ii) ex-ante regulation for digital gatekeepers; (iii) laws for increased transparen

PM Modi's official visit to the UK is unexceptional. This is despite the hype and hoopla that accompany any Modi tour. However, what was different was that for the first time Modi had to respond to issues like Gujarat 2002 riots and the climate of intolerance back home.