1828 results found
This brief discusses the challenges faced by urban local bodies (ULBs) in India in accessing urban climate finance (UCF), and proposes solutions based on successful strategies used by some of them. The hurdles include institutional barriers and limited capacity. The brief finds that ULBs that have met with success in accessing UCF overcame the obstacles through early sensitisation programmes and global network connections. It offers plausible sol
This brief examines how India’s Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework under SEBI’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements can evolve into a disclosure regime that is globally credible yet locally relevant. Drawing on comparative analysis and stakeholder consultations, it finds that the BRSR suffers from limited regulatory coherence and international comparability. The brief recommends using the Interna
The potential misuse of chemical precursors, toxic industrial chemicals, and pharmaceutical-based agents (PBAs) by non-state actors poses a massive threat to national and international chemical security frameworks. There is an urgent need to strengthen the oversight of dual-use chemicals to arrest the frequent use of ammonium nitrate-enhanced improvised explosive devices and the potential use of fentanyl-linked PBAs in domestic terrorist attacks
The strategic location of India’s North Eastern Region (NER) offers ample opportunities for enhancing the country’s economic ties. However, supply-chain constraints at the regional level hamper the trade-growth linkages, as do trade barriers, social unrest, and inadequate infrastructure. Enhancing and improving commercial exchanges with neighbouring countries, such as Bangladesh and Myanmar, will strengthen bilateral and regional networks. Th
The world often sees China as a monolithic, monochromatic nation, relentlessly marching towards a future which it has clearly defined for itself. The reality, however, is a nation led by a Communist Party elite, which is very good at doing what it does, and which works hard at remaining where it is ? at the top of the country's political pyramid.
For him, Turkey is the Islamic power awaiting its due, and while it does not have the oil dollars backing its fragile economy, it is still working hard to create its own narratives and influence zones across the region.
The tensions between India and Pakistan have to be seriously examined and ways and means to bring back normalcy should be worked out and implemented. India stands to lose much more if terrorist organisations are deployed in various cities in the country at a time of Pakistan's choice.
This paper presents an approach towards promoting nutritional security on one hand, and water security on the other, in an integrated framework. Using econometric models, it delineates water use efficiency on the basis of calorific estimates of the productivity of agricultural water use in the context of various crops. Based on the estimated marginal product of water across the various crops, the paper finds that alternative crops such as maize a
The immediate concerted European response in the aftermath of Madrid blasts on March 11, 2004 was the creation of the post of a Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, who would directly work under the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana. In fact, the idea of effective counter-terror coordination and intelligence sharing
The immediate concerted European response in the aftermath of Madrid blasts on March 11, 2004 was the creation of the post of a Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, who would directly work under the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana. In fact, the idea of effective counter-terror coordination and intelligence sharing
Under WTO rules such a move would require consensus that can only be worked out by extensive negotiations.
As China pursues its expansionist ambitions in the greater South China Sea, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is working to enhance his country’s ability to exercise its sovereignty and sovereign rights. Towards this end, Manila is expanding its strategic options through robust external partnerships and national policy recalibrations to secure its lawful waters in what it calls the West Philippine Sea. There are concerns, however, abou
Outlining the need for a concerted effort to deal with water challenges in South Asia, experts at a roundtable suggested that there was a strong reason to create collaborative rather than competitive frameworks.
The metaverse is a real-time, three-dimensional world that is accessible through Virtual Reality (VR) head-mounted display. Called ‘the next Internet’, the metaverse is multi-technology and incorporates hardware infrastructure with immersive technology, blockchain technology, computer vision, and ubiquitous interfaces. Globally, metaverse is still in the nascent stage as stakeholders work to figure out its innovative and practical app
Sittwe Port in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is part of India’s Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project. It connects India’s northeastern states to the Bay of Bengal, advancing the country’s Act East policy and strengthening regional connectivity. Operational since May 2023, the port has handled over 109,000 tonnes of cargo so far, showcasing its potential to bolster trade. However, challenges to the port’s commercial viability persist,
Microfinance, which began in India 50 years ago, extends credit, insurance, loans, access to savings accounts, and money transfers to small business owners and entrepreneurs, especially those not served by the conventional banking system, or indeed the rest of the financial sector. This paper traces the history of microfinance in India and evaluates its impact. It finds that although the microfinance sector has emerged as a salient player in Indi
During the COVID-19 pandemic, India contributed to the global response by increasing its vaccine development and health diplomacy efforts, underscoring, among others, its potential as a biotechnology powerhouse. The Government of India continued its effort to make progress in biotechnology research and development in the years after, launching the BioE3 policy in 2024. The BioE3 framework aims to develop a US$300-billion bioeconomy in India by 20
Climate change has emerged amongst India’s most formidable challenges to sustained GDP growth. To accelerate the implementation of the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and advance its progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, finance is key. India needs to develop a comprehensive strategy and an integrated policy approach that aligns the country’s financial systems with the long-term needs of the economy while incor
India’s target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 might appear ambitious, but it is crucial as it will have a positive impact on the country’s economic growth, energy security and the fight against climate change. Financing is emerging as the key challenge to this vision, slowing down the pace of growth; as of December 2019, over 50 percent of the 2022 target is yet to be achieved. This brief outlines India’s existing
The existence of an embedded financial network of militant organisations in Bangladesh will seriously undermine the global effort to neutralise global terrorist networks entrenched in the region.
The new undercurrent is targeting the notion of big business itself. India is angry, and rightfully so. But is there any problem being solved by targeting large corporates for accumulating wealth? It is not solving the investment drought or the fiscal deficit. It is also not solving the critical challenge of making Indian MSMEs globally competitive, or of creating jobs for the 12 million youth entering the workforce every year.
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.
Now a mobile App for water management? And, the rapidly dropping price of wireless consumer technology such as WiFi and Bluetooth could turn these individual nodes into a data-rich network.
The NIA raids have had a salutary effect, but a lot more needs to be done to shut down the funding networks and penalise and reduce to penury of the conflict entrepreneurs.
Globalisation has made the farm-to-fork journey complex, and with it comes the potential for food contamination in local contexts to spiral into global crises. A largely reactive food safety approach, the rapid growth in urbanisation, and climate change events are linked to the spread of food-borne illnesses, which affect hundreds of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries. This brief argues that building resilient food safety syst
China’s approach to trade has stood impervious to change. It is time for a new geoeconomic approach to counter China. Like-minded nations can fashion rapid arrangements to grow the supply chains that matter most, such as for electric vehicles (EV). The US and India, plus Australia, Canada, Japan, Britain, Taiwan, Korea, and Mexico can form an EV supply chain compact to create a level playing field within the group and incentivise their
As India and Taiwan complete 30 years of informal relations this year, there is scope to deepen cooperation in the domains of trade, technology, digitalisation, and security. This paper offers a framework for India’s engagement with Taiwan, identifies the pillars of their current relationship and areas for future collaboration, and explores the limitations and challenges. The dual-track engagement—proactive engagement and soft balancing with
Nearly 20 million people in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen are facing what has been described as the largest food crisis in the world in 70 years. Conflict is the main reason behind these famines, abetted by drought, climate change, poverty, and the existing vulnerability of the people in these countries. Security issues have led to a dramatic decline in agricultural production and have adversely affected the supply and distribution of
France will continue to work closely with the new US administration irrespective of uncertainty in President-elect Donald Trump's policies.
The launch of Japan’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) framework in 2023 signalled a step further in the departure from a strictly pacifist aid model toward a more proactive approach to security diplomacy. Rooted in the 2022 revision of Japan’s National Security Strategy, the OSA institutionalises Tokyo’s gradual reinterpretation of constitutional and normative restraints on military assistance, while maintaining an emphasis on transparen
The 2023 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report highlights a surge in drug production in Myanmar, posing serious security challenges. The cultivation of poppy, key for heroin production, increased by 33 percent in 2022, reversing a downward trend seen since 2014. Experts attribute the rise largely to livelihood challenges: Myanmar’s economy contracted by 18 percent in 2021, with only a modest rebound in 2022, and there are the compound
India’s engagement with Southeast Asia entered a new phase following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third consecutive electoral victory in June 2024. With the ‘Act East’ policy too, marking its 10th anniversary in 2024, New Delhi has intensified its regional outreach through an unprecedented series of high-level diplomatic exchanges, security partnerships, and strategic dialogues. This brief examines how this surge in engagement is both a
The countries of BIMSTEC, or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, are working to translate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into action plans to ensure access to adequate and nutritious food. They are transforming their food systems based on their priorities and capacities to fulfill, in particular, the 2030 SDG Goal 2 that aims to “end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable
Mr L V Krishnan, a Nuclear Scientist who had worked with the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, gave a presentation on the 'Future of Nuclear Weapons', at an Interaction in the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation on 29 December 2007.
New Delhi must work with the Rouhani government to ensure that bilateral irritants in fostering economic ties between the two nations are resolved soon.
As the GCC pursues a joint defence shield, this requires coordination with the US to solidify, but perhaps the Trump administration is not as keen as its Democrat counterparts to become the region’s ‘security integrator’
Gender disparities in Kenya’s entrepreneurship cycle are a manifestation of both the historical marginalisation of women and the structural barriers limiting equal participation in the economy. Recent progress in the legal framework has been suboptimal in closing the gender gaps, as seen in the persistent inequalities in formal employment and the high concentration of unlicensed women-owned enterprises in the informal sector. The inequalities a
Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is a targeted fiscal instrument that several developing countries have cemented into their growth plans. GRB is used to ensure that policy prescriptions to alleviate gender inequality translate into outputs by linking them to budgetary allocations. Although the concept was introduced in India, Bangladesh and Rwanda at around the same time (the early 2000s), the three countries have followed different routes and a
Rapid advancements in medicine and falling fertility rates have contributed to the rise in the population of India’s older adults in recent decades. This demographic and epidemiological shift has a gendered impact: A higher proportion of women over the age of 60, compared to their male counterparts, suffer from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, heart and bone diseases, cancers, cognitive decline, and depression. T
Women make up a majority of the four billion people excluded from the digital economy. Policy narratives assert that the digital economy has the potential to transform the world of work. Conversely, there are concerns that the existing ‘digital divide’ within and across nations will simply exacerbate existing social inequalities and reinforce gender hierarchies. G20 member states have repeatedly committed to bridging pervasive gender gaps in
Lashkar, with its vast network of trained jihadis, commanders and training infrastructure, is Pakistan Army's key strategic instrument in keeping terrorism active in Kashmir and other parts of India
The convergence of Military-Civil Fusion (MCF) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI) can serve as a strategic enabler for China to accelerate its geopolitical dominance and realise its ‘Middle Kingdom Dream’ by 2049. By embedding dual-use technologies into development projects, China effectively expands the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) logistical reach, strengthens cyber capabilities, and promotes state-controlled governance mod
Eminent economist Professor Jagdish Bhagwati has defended globalisation staunchly in his latest book "In defence of globalisation" and so has the editor of Financial Times (London) Martin Wolf in his book "Why Globalisation works".
Saying that South Asian countries need to work closely to share, and not divide, water, the author says the consequence of bringing water to a pedestal on India-Pakistan relations can have devastating effects on regional security and prosperity.
In the latest despicable act of extreme cruelty, the arm of an Indian maid working in a Saudi Arabian household was chopped off by her employer. Since the royal in question was King Salman's son, there are no prizes for guessing that no member of the ruling family will be punished for this incident.
To successfully combat climate change, there is an urgent need to finance mitigation and adaptation efforts at various levels. Green bonds are a relatively new funding instrument for green projects that have steadily become the first line of defence against climate change. India, in particular, has immense scope to diversify the green bond market beyond renewable energy. This brief analyses the policy structure of countries that have successfully
It is important to differentiate between physical capital as produced means of production in contrast to natural capital which is naturally endowed. The latter facilitates a host of ecosystem services[i] that flow through human processes, both societal and economic. Unlike physical capital, natural capital cannot be substituted easily. Therefore, this stock of natural capital processing into the flow of ecosystem functions need to be valued and
The country has been grappling with low consumption demand for quite some time and the loss of livelihoods for the migrant workers would undoubtedly aggravate the problem
