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The Srinagar conversations need to ensure that the pass-through nature of GST is frictionless.

Moscow's Healthcare Department is closely working with the Information Technology Department since 2011 to achieve the goal of providing high quality

The LEO satellite constellation has important implications for transcontinental communications. It can be used for meeting the 25 million Indian diasp

Netflix provides video on demand services that have becoming increasingly popular among internet users in India who want to watch films sitting at hom

M-Pesa in its current form was launched in Kenya in April 2007, and it revolutionised the financial services landscape.

When compared to countries like the US, the Indian government is understaffed and it affects the service delivery, says retired revenue secretary M.R. Sivaraman. He says the Indian government has only 257 people serving every 100,000 population against 840 in the US federal government.

Banking to be inclusive would require greater financial literacy and gender equality. All banks should include women, especially poorer ones, in their financial services. Perhaps later on, more banking licences would be granted, perhaps even to big industrial groups.

With both the goods FTA and services FTA in place, India is well set on the path of a comprehensive economic partnership with ASEAN. India, whose services sector contributes about 55% to the country's GDP, has been keen to sign the services FTA with ASEAN as it will help the Indian companies tap the ASEAN markets easily.

The potential welfare gains arising from the services agreement appear to be in India's favour as well as for member economies of ASEAN. The policy focus of both ASEAN and the individual member nations has been on merchandise trade liberalisation, and on inducing foreign investment-led transfer of technology, which has so far resulted in low regional integration in services.

Amidst the challenges like less liberalised service sector of certain ASEAN members, there exists an opportunity for India to harness the gains from trade in services in the wake of the comparative advantage that it enjoys in certain services.

In the last few years, there has been a change and a slew of defence reforms have been brought in. More than at any other time in post-Independence India, there is a commitment to change the way the Indian defence forces are organised

The conundrum is that higher growth needs higher public spends of around 6-8 per cent of GDP on infrastructure, health and education.

An interaction at ORF Chennai felt that since the all-India services forms an integral part of the country's bureaucratic machinery, it cannot be eliminated. But what needs to be done is its re-invention and the task should be assigned to an independent body like the UPSC.

Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt Gen. (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma says there is an urgent need for utilising the skills of trained ex-servicemen who leave the services in their prime age.

To ensure sustained growth levels, the country requires a strong and healthy workforce – possible only when citizens are protected against health-related financial risks and can access quality health services.

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

In 2016, the Indian government cleared the Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, allowing retail establishments to remain open throughout the day and night. Proponents say that when fully implemented, the act will drive nighttime economy and, in turn, increase cities’ incomes. In the past few years, certain states have begun implementing such concept of “24×7 cities”, including Mumbai, Ah

When talking about Intelligence agencies, the first thing that comes to mind is secrecy ? the services must, it is widely concurred, operate in secret so as to be highly effective.

सॉफ्टवेअर सेवा उद्योगात AI म्हणजेच कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्तेला महत्त्व प्राप्त होत आहे. त्यामुळे भारतातील टेक कंपन्या याला कसे सामोरे जातात त्यावर या क्षेत्रातली रोजगार निर्�

Terrorism, like almost every other human activity that involves production and creation of goods and services, needs money. Described by experts like Raymond Baker as Gross Criminal Product, this included illegal capital flight, narcotics trade, smuggling of arms and other goods, human trafficking, counterfeiting and computer crimes.

The digital divide is a manifestation of exclusion, poverty and inequality and continues to be exacerbated due to the effects of unemployment, poorly functioning digital skilling programmes and socio-cultural norms in some economies, depriving women equal access to digital services. Digital skills provide the poor a catalyst to break out of the cycle of poverty and empower themselves. A three-pronged digital skills strategy is required for develo

The revenue from the Central Goods and Services Tax remains significantly below the target of Rs 6 trillion.

This paper undertakes an analysis of the gender-disaggregated data from the National Statistical Organisation’s Time-Use Survey 2019, and finds that Indian women spend eight times more hours on unpaid care work than men. The patterns are similar across educational qualification, and employment or marital status: women with higher education, or earn their own incomes, do not spend any less time on unpaid care work. Shifting mindsets and rebalanc

Cultural entrepreneurship promotes a country’s heritage, resources and creative talents through products, services, and experiences. It shapes the country’s cultural economy; enables economic growth, innovation, and sociocultural development; and, when exported, contributes towards building soft power. India, with a millennia-old heritage, indigenous knowledge systems, and practices, has the potential to become a leading cultural and

India has made progress in digital health, including in telemedicine and creating platforms such as Co-WIN for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. These initiatives demonstrate the benefits of technology in enhancing the availability and affordability of, and access to healthcare services. This report examines the challenges that continue to stall the reduction of maternal deaths in India. It uses the case of Madhya Pradesh, the sta

Digital labour platforms—or online marketplaces that connect work providers and work seekers—will undoubtedly help shape the future of work. This brief studies the platforms targeted at online gig workers (or freelancers), who use them to find digital work opportunities in their home market or elsewhere, and then produce and deliver their services remotely. The brief explains the underlying technological and economic drivers and how the Covid

The Chinese growth story, triggered and driven by its industrial growth, is truly amazing. But now that industrial growth is slowing down because of higher wages and higher standards of living, to remain competitive China would have to outsource its production to cheap labour countries or move to another growth area - services.

Xi's visit to the United Kingdom was not about trade and investment only. It has an important strategic component, viz, shaping China as a truly global power. Recall that the end station of both the land and maritime components of the Belt Road Initiative is Europe. As China shifts its economy towards high-end manufacturing and services, it is targeting the European market, where its two largest partners are Germany and UK.

Since Xi Jinping became general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2013, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has witnessed an accelerated modernisation drive. Following the 2015-16 organisational reforms, the CPC further standardised its services-level force structure and upgraded its military doctrine, combat capabilities, and weapons systems. This report analyses recent improvements in the structure, including the creation of t

A research study by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has found that there is a clear danger to India from CBR (Chemical, Biological and Radiological Materials) terrorism due to the known intentions of terrorist groups active within India's borders.

A two-day deliberations by 20 experts from India, China and U.K, have underlined the need for a collective regional action to ensure environmental security in South Asia. The meeting was organised by Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with Royal United Services Institute, London and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.

This paper highlights the increasing importance of Community Driven Development (CDD) in the delivery of public services to the poorest sections and enhancing access, voice and accountability in developing countries. Community participation in the delivery of ‘public services’ to the poorest sections of the population in developing countries has often been regarded as an effective mechanism to enhance access, voice and accountability.

Independent India’s copyright law has mostly centred around facilitating “access”. This is because India is a large country with a predominantly poor population, limited research facilities and budgets, and constrained access to knowledge-driven products and services. The politics of standard-setting in international copyright frameworks, however, has prevented government from realising a completely accessbased copyright regime. It has had

With both the goods FTA and services FTA in place, India is well set on the path of a comprehensive economic partnership with ASEAN. India, whose services sector contributes about 55% to the country's GDP, has been keen to sign the services FTA with ASEAN as it will help the Indian companies tap the ASEAN markets easily.

There is need to re-prioritise the expensive items in the services' wish list in a manner that will not strain the economy, without necessarily increasing the vulnerability of the country.

Resources are constraining the modernisation drives of India's three services. The government has not been able to check the growth of manpower in the Army and paramilitary forces. This has a direct repercussion on the modernisation plans of the military.

In Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd v. Antrix Corporation Ltd, the Supreme Court of India has upheld the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order winding up Devas Multimedia Ltd on the grounds of fraud. Antrix is the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and Devas is a multimedia services company. The decision comes at a crucial time, as foreign investors of Devas are endeavouring to attach Indian assets

Africa is facing a digital divide. Access to the internet and related digital services is low, and in most countries, the supporting regulatory framework is not in place; nor are the necessary data and logistics infrastructure. At the same time, there are various examples of e-commerce success stories across the continent; and the wide use of mobile phone technology has created many new opportunities for African entrepreneurs and consumers alike.

The state of the Indian economy is intricately intertwined with the rest of the world.

Delhi—a city and union territory of India containing the country’s capital, New Delhi—continues to grow in population, posing challenges to civic agencies in the provision of citizens’ essential needs. This brief examines the experience of Delhi’s water agency in obtaining raw water, amid the growing gap in supply and demand that is only being exacerbated by climate change. The brief finds multiple reasons for the inadequacy of raw wate

Financial inclusion is critical to achieving the economic empowerment of women—one of the targets under the fifth Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality. In India, one in every five women lack access to a bank account. Although the country’s programmes promoting financial inclusion have increased the percentage of women having access to a bank account, wide gaps remain in account use, and access to savings and credit. Women c

This paper analyses the patterns of virtual water trade (VWT) in agricultural products across the globe—VWT is the flow of water embedded in goods and services when they are traded—and the implications for alleviating water scarcity. Virtual water trade has been crucial in ameliorating water scarcity in virtual water-importing nations. At the same time, it has led to per capita water availability declining at a more rapid rate among the net v

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked rapid digitalisation worldwide, with work-from-home interactions, online payments, and online consultations for various services becoming acceptable practices. While this shift in the manner and nature of work brought enormous benefits, crucially in terms of access, it has also increased the kind of cyber security threats that countries face, with vulnerabilities felt particularly in the health and financial sectors.

Growing urbanisation and its resultant problems and issues have drawn the attention of international organisations, national governments and the civil society. The United Nations (2012) has reported that while "unprecedented increase in urban population will provide new opportunities to improve education and public services in Africa and Asia,...