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Vietnam is an important player in India’s Act East policy and also its Indo-Pacific vision

Given that the China threat looms large for both Vietnam and India, the bilateral relationship between New Delhi and Hanoi is likely to gain even greater traction.

While Non-Congress parties spare no opportunity to accuse the Congress Party of psychophancy and a feudal culture, regional parties are not far behind. In fact, they have perfected the art of dynastic politics, beating the Congress Party.

Instead, on Sunday, US special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad left Qatar, where the US-Taliban talks were being held, the September 1 deadline having been crossed without any final agreement.

The Gorkhas, a Nepali military community, have long been recruited by the Indian Army into its Gorkha regiments. Gorkha youth are keen to join the Indian Army since its perks and payments are superior to those of the Nepali Army. However, India's new short-term military enlistment scheme, Agnipath, could alter this association. This brief discusses the impacts of the Agnipath scheme on military labour migration from Nepal to India, and on

Russian enmity with China had global consequences; so does their close friendship today. Both scenarios have an impact on India. Russia has been a long-time friend of India; it not only provided India arms to maintain formidable military profile, but also gave invaluable political support on a variety of regional issues. Transfer of military technology has been a key part of the Russian-Chinese relationship, both old & new.

Various vaccine trials across the world are showing highly promising efficacy, and multiple vaccines are getting approved across continents. The global vaccine race has now entered its second phase, where countries try and procure as many doses of Covid-19 vaccines as possible. India has put its faith primarily in the vaccines of Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech-ICMR. It has also secured future stockpiles of Gamaleya and Novavax vaccines thr

The Smart Cities Mission (SCM), launched in 2015, seeks to improve the quality of life in 100 cities and towns of India. Overall, its progress has been uneven, with many cities yet to achieve the desired levels of transformation. This report evaluates the first five years of the Mission, and draws lessons from its successes and failures. It discusses the physical and financial status of the projects taken up so far, and identifies the mos

Analyses and discussions in matters relating to Indo-Pakistan economic relations continue to be marked by considerable wishful-thinking, superficial analysis and illusions. This article, in the form of questions and answers, tries to project the problem in its proper perspective.

As a precursor to the wider project of energy cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia, India and Pakistan must take baby steps towards energy trading as part of their ongoing trade liberalisation. Petro-products delivered by Indian refineries in the north and west to Punjab and Sindh regions would save Pakistan at least $14 per barrel of oil.

A desire to find a solution to the conflict that plagues both India and Pakistan was the common thread that run through the discussion at ORF on the bilateral relations and the way forward between Indian experts and retired military officials from Pakistan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's vision of making borders with Pakistan irrelevant seems to have made a measured beginning on the ground.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's initiatives at Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt), Thimpu and Chandigarh to improve relations with Pakistan, viewed with much skepticism at the time, were far-sighted. It is time now for even bolder steps.

Viewed through the prism of recent difficulties in India-US engagement, the focus of PM Modi?s US visit was in the nature of the leadership of the two nations getting to know each other, as well as aimed at building trust and fostering commitment between them, says former Secretary in the MEA, Mr. M. Ganapathi.

India and China have many similarities and the inequalities in incomes are clearly visible in China as in India, according to Mr. M.R. Sivaraman, former Revenue Secretary of the Government of India.

Organ and tissue transplantation suffers from a large gap in supply and demand, with less than 10 percent of annual demand being met globally. In India, the problem is exacerbated by persistently anaemic organ donation rates, although the numbers have more than doubled—albeit, from a low base—since 2014, when the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) was set up. Until recently, analysis was hampered by the lack of comprehe

This brief probes the role of the current 116th US Congress in strengthening India-US relations in the realm of defence trade and technology transfers. The analysis is done in the context of the Trump administration’s relaxation of arms export policies, as well as a rise in conservative nationalism which abhors arming partner nations that prolong US conflicts overseas. Furthermore, as the Democrat-majority House of Representatives appropriates

After Brexit, UK-India trade ties can improve; Theresa May feting British Indians with an eye on polls.

From a non-proliferation perspective, the Iran nuclear deal is a good one provided it is complied with. A lot will depend on Iran?s adherence to the commitments under the deal but it is difficult to have much faith in Iranian commitments because of its repeated failures in the past. And, from a regional security perspective, the deal is disastrous.

India must continue to remain politically engaged with Tehran despite its partnership plan with China

Policy reforms in the field of taxation in the commodity futures market is of critical significance as various taxes and levies are a significant component in the overall cost of transaction.

The nuclear debate in Japan has given scope for fresh anxieties within the region and beyond about the country's nuclear programme, particularly its recycling programme of extracted plutonium from spent nuclear fuel.

The visit of America’s Defence Secretary earlier in June has prepared the ground for the the Indian Prime Minister’s U.S. visit next week, which could see some big ticket announcements

Kazakhstan aspires for economic cooperation between China and Europe, and connectivity within itself and with its neighbours.

A Pentagon report highlights a transformation in both the quantity and the quality of its arsenal, which India must note

Kerry's Russia visit signals Washington reaching out to Moscow and is the first sign towards normalising the US-Russia relationship. However, it will be prudent to say nothing more than that for now.

India and Japan’s shared concerns about China are a key driver of their growing relationship.

India's top military experts say the lack of clarity and differentiation between conventional and nuclear missiles in the 2nd Artillery Corps of the Chinese army (PLA) is a cause of concern for India. They also point out that there exists a lack of discussion on Chinese cyber capabilities or its command and control structures.

The passage of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) Protocol by Parliament not only removes all hurdles for the final settlement of India's longest border with any neighbour, but also paves the way for exchange of Enclaves and merger of Adverse Possessions by re-drawing the International Boundary (IB), also known as the Radcliffe Line.

New Delhi and Jakarta are now joining hands with a strategic vision to back their bilateral ties after largely ignoring each other even as their strategic interests have been converging rapidly

Even as India achieved statistical elimination of leprosy at the national level in 2005, the target continues to be part of the country’s policy documents. But what is “elimination”, to begin with? The policy documents are unclear of its operational definition, of whether it is at the national level, the state level or the district level. Despite lack of clarity, the political leadership has not failed to indulge in the rhetoric of “lepro

The global macroeconomy has undergone unprecedented change in recent years, particularly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the G20 had an effective coordinating role in steering the global economy through the 2008 global financial crisis, its role in engineering an inclusive and sustainable recovery from the pandemic has been more mixed. Incomes in the advanced G20 economies are on track to return to pre-pandemic levels by end-2022 but have

This monograph makes an assessment of the prospects of India’s inclusion to the export control regimes. It begins by analysing the technical parameters for membership and whether or not India meets them. This includes an examination of India’s domestic export control system — both control list and legal framework. The next chapter delves into the political debates on India’s membership to the four export control regimes. This takes i

Rising traffic congestion is compelling cities around the world to look at the idea of congestion pricing on their roads. Some have already imposed it, and others are mulling over the idea. Traffic congestion has economic, environmental, physical, and psychological consequences. Since Indian cities rank among the most congested in the world, it would be prudent for elected representatives, administrators, and city stakeholders to give congestion

The high costs of living in cities the world over make it difficult for the poor to live a life of quality and dignity. Yet, the poor in rural regions, as in the case in India, often resort to migrating out of their villages to search for employment and opportunity in the urban areas. Globally, Indian cities are ranked amongst the cheapest in cost of living; within the country, however, they are significantly more expensive than rural settlements