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A study undertaken by ORF on the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) found that there is a need to work on the loopholes of the scheme and take corrective measures for its better implementation.

A neutral, international framework is needed to manage cross-border requests related to the cyber sphere, says Bertrand de la Chapelle, director of the Internet & Jurisdiction Project.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had taken a bold step in 2006 when he constituted five working groups on Jammu and Kashmir to grab the initiative for ushering in a phase of development by creating conditions of permanent peace in the troubled state.

The rail connectivity schemes in the Northeast, if implemented in a timely manner, would possibly achieve what decades of politico-administrative soft power and military hard power struggled to - bring about peace and economic development in a region embroiled in protracted ethnic conflicts.

The nature of work is changing, leading to the loss of some jobs and the creation of others that require radically changed skills. In India, as the requirements of this evolving labour market change, co-working spaces fulfil many of the new needs. The aim of this paper is twofold: to describe the development of the co-working industry in India, its driving factors, as well as the architecture, design and social aspects of the work environment; a

In March 2023, the foreign ministers of India, Japan, Australia, and the US (that form the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad) announced the establishment of a working group on countering terrorism. While the urgency of counterterrorism cooperation may have arguably faded in political debate in recent years, it remains steady in military-to-military cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels. In a fast-changing glo

Twenty-four undergraduate students, studying history, journalism, economics, political science, and commerce, in different DU colleges, such as Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Hansraj, Hindu, Indraprastha, LSR, Miranda House, Ramjas, and Sri Venkateswara, took part in the workshop.

A first of its kind in India, the first Observer Research Foundation-Delhi University summer workshop for undergraduate students on "India's Future Challenges" was organised at ORF Delhi campus between May 19, 2008 and June 4, 2008.

In partnership with the Forum of Federations (FoF), Canada, Observer Research Foundation intends to study various decentralized approaches to Health Care delivery and draw inspiration for an ideal Indian model.This programme aims to provide the Government of Gujarat and other interested parties an ideal model of decentralized delivery of Health Care in India drawing from experiences in India as well as countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Can

The demand for basic needs has outpaced supply in many cities of the world. This fact is observed in the urban housing sector. High economic growth along with urbanisation has created a huge demand for housing, and according to recent estimates, there is a massive shortage of dwelling units in many urban areas of the world.

Preparation of a town/city plan is a comprehensive exercise involving collection, tabulation and analysis of data on numerous urban development indicators. The enormous amount of time, labour and resources involved in this process usually go to waste as compliance to plan proposals is often quite minimal.

By merely eliminating terrorists, security forces aren’t addressing the Jihadi ecosystem existing in J&K.

Former Union Revenue Secretary M.R. Sivaraman suggests that there should be a planning unit attached to the Prime Minister's Office or the Planning Ministry, to focus on indicative planning.

Although COVID-19 has ended, the threat of new and re-emerging zoonotic viruses remains, the most recent cases being the Nipah virus (NiV) and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) outbreaks; there is also the risk of accidental or intentional biological threats. Addressing them requires effective surveillance systems and response mechanisms within a health emergency preparedness framework. Strengthening India’s ability to identify and respond to pa

India will have to diligently craft its strategy when engaging with the U.S. on ICT matters. Any such strategy will have to be in sync with its economic interests (the outsourcing sector as well as the other domestic sectors) and national security interests.

It's time economics replaced politics as the key driving force of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral. The Big 3 of Asia has a major opportunity to create and drive an Asian Trading Region.

Observer Research Foundation (ORF) organised a brainstorming session on "Possible Approaches for India's policy towards Myanmar" on October 18, 2007. The meeting discussed a gamut of issues including India's Myanmar policy, sanction regime, the China factor, Myanmar's political transition, and international community's response to the recent uprising in Myanmar.

It is amazing how the US investigating agencies have taken more than a year to figure out that Dr AQ Khan could not have set up his network of nuclear smugglers without the help of a whole lot of people than thought earlier. According to recent news leaks appearing in some major US newspapers, the investigating agencies are reportedly discovering missing links in Khan's network.

In our topsy-turvy, anything-is-possible, adversarial, judicial system, the better argued case inevitably wins.

Social protection is crucial in tackling extreme poverty and ensuring equitable development, thus catalysing the transition to a more stable and robust economy. About 50 percent of India’s economy hinges on its informal workers, who comprise 90 percent of the country’s total workforce. Yet, these informal workers continue to be excluded from current social-protection schemes, leaving them with no social or financial safety net and trapping th

China uses history in imaginative fashion. This aspect is evident in Chinese expansionism over land and sea. Therefore, the challenge is often to locate South Asia within the broader configurations of land and sea, says Prof. Rila Mukherjee, Head of History of the Hyderabad University.

There are genuine concerns that if steps are not taken to halt the current trend toward space weaponization, space could become an active warfighting domain.

Better sense must prevail and both India and Pakistan must avoid serious conflict that will hardly help either. True progress will happen when Pakistan starts to wind up its terror factory

The COVID-19 pandemic, in India, illustrated the need to enhance the country’s capabilities in confronting biological threats, particularly through early detection and timely intervention. Although the pandemic has ended, the threat of new and re-emerging zoonotic viruses remains, the most recent cases being the Nipah virus (NiV) and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) outbreaks; there is also the risk of accidental or intentional biological threats

The Nawaz Sharif government's offer of the olive branch to TTP seems more like an act of desperation than a serious attempt to bring about stability in the country. As the previous deals with militants have shown, the outcomes have favoured militants more than the governments.

Largely ignored by intelligence and security agencies as a potential terrorist haven, Kerala has emerged as one of the key hubs of extremist and terrorist activities in the region.

This paper proposes a counter-terrorism (CT) framework in terms of three types of CT policies—i.e., offensive, defensive, and confidence-building measures (CBMs)— targeted at a terror outfit that is either resource-constrained or resource-abundant. It argues that defensive measures are a ubiquitous element of CT, as these can prove effective irrespective of whether the targeted terrorist group is resource-abundant or resource-constrained. On

The task of developing a regional framework for the governance of a shared natural resource is fraught with challenges. It requires political will and stability, consistent funding, and clear goals and indicators. In the Bay of Bengal, institutionalisation efforts are so far defined in the BIMSTEC–a high-level governmental organisation working on broad economic objectives for the region. This brief speculates on a new framework that is quasi-go

The intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) with biotechnology has ushered in a period of innovation in healthcare. The interdisciplinary nature of AI enables it to analyse and interpret large data sets from multiple domains. In the case of the life sciences, AI-biotech convergence holds the potential to alter the landscape of diagnostics, monitoring of disease progression, precision medicine, and prediction of public health threats.

China’s external economic engagement in smart city development under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its digital sub-initiative, Digital Silk Road (DSR), is reshaping the geo-economic and geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Pacific. Between 2017 and 2023, Chinese state and private companies invested, loaned, or contracted over US$22 billion in digital infrastructure under the DSR framework, spanning telecommunications, artificial intellig

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is at the heart of most economies. The care sector comprises formal healthcare, childcare services, early childhood education, disability and long-term care, and eldercare. Two-thirds of care workers globally are women, and women and girls perform more than three-quarters of all unpaid care work. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the vulnerability of care workers and deepened the gender gap. This paper a

India is at a crossroads. It has the largest young workforce anywhere in the world, and is the fastest growing economy today. At the same time, the economy is not creating enough jobs, and therefore not fully harnessing its “demographic dividend” in preparation for the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”. To create more and better jobs, certain fundamental realities need to be recognised – the untapped opportunities in the services sector, t

A large mass of uneducated and undereducated would become part of the labour force over the next decade, adding to the potential of the mid-career education market. Neither the government nor the private sector seems to be gearing up for this opportunity.