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The Indo-Pacific, often regarded as the ‘maritime underbelly’ of Asia, has emerged as the world’s economic “centre of gravity”. The home of vast geo-economic opportunities, and facing manifold security challenges at the same time, this maritime domain has attracted the keen attention of global powers in recent years. This births prospects for multilateral collaborations in maritime security, and justifies the significance of a �

At this juncture of weak economic performance, India has done well not to sign the treaty. It can still join if its main complaint about rapid tariff reduction by 80 to 90 per cent on imports from China is resolved. Also, its concerns about services have to be dealt with, especially regarding the movement of service workers within the region. India could not at this point have opened its huge market to ASEAN and China unconditionally.

Task Force 6: Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda

There are quite a few things which are known about Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the banned Sunni extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), who was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad on October 6. What is not so well-known is that the Maulana and his organisation had a cosy working relationship with Pakistan's intelligence and security forces for more than a decade.

Amid the ongoing fundamental changes in the international order, such as the growing bipolar competition between the US and China and the promotion of multipolarity, middle powers may take more ownership of conflict points such as Afghanistan. To comprehend this possibility, it is important to trace the evolution of middle powers in the Persian Gulf. This paper looks at the complexities of the Gulf middle power states, with Afghanistan as the the

The multilateral frameworks that were established following the Second World War paved the way to strengthening global governance and international cooperation. Over the decades, however, the ability of these multilateral forums to take collective action has been hobbled by institutional inertia, vested interests, and challenges to decision-making. Minilaterals are thus being seen as an alternative route to form partnerships and coalitions “of

After celebrating his win, Modi needs to prepare for much work ahead on the foreign policy front.

Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping met in Tianjin to discuss border issues and cross-border terrorism. Modi emphasized the importance of peace along the Line of Actual Control. Both nations agreed to work towards border demarcation. The SCO declaration condemned the Pahalgam terror attack. India maintains its right to build relations with Taiwan. New Delhi signals strategic autonomy to Washington.

India has signalled that it will embed its regional policy within the framework of SAARC. This should reduce the disquiet among our neighbours arising from the sheer size of India and its economy. This has a history since India's Pakistan policy of today is rooted in Vajpayee's visit to Islamabad to attend the 12th SAARC summit.

Enabling a stable Asian strategic framework to the mutual benefit of both New Delhi and Tokyo should be a compelling factor for both prime ministers, Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Shinzo Abe.

Modi's foreign visits resemble roadshows with their attendant hype, even though they also have a larger strategic purpose. But like all roadshows there is a time for publicity, and a time to get down to work on the MoUs, agreements, promises and commitments.

India, Iran and Russia have decided to begin using the part-ready International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal network of sea, rail and road routes between India, Iran, Central Asia and Russia. As the broader politics in the region undergo new configurations that may put to question the project’s prospects, and the evolving security situation demands continuous appraisal, it is time to refocus discussion on the economics o

The Kokang factor has long been a source of tension in China-Myanmar relations. The recent killing of Chinese farmers in Myanmar bombing has demonstrated that the role of the regional players needs to be brought to the fore, within the larger framework of international support in its peace process.

The draft National Ceasefire Agreement was signed between the National Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) and Union Peace Working Committee (UPWC) on March 31. The draft was agreed upon by the two entities in President Thein Sein's presence.

The Indo-Pacific, which holds most of the world’s mangroves, faces serious risks from natural disasters, including those related to the long-term sustainability of coastal communities and valuable ecosystems. Mangroves uphold biodiversity, support ecosystem functionality, and sustain local livelihoods; however, financing their conservation is proving to be a massive challenge. This report examines the ecosystem services provided by mangroves, i

Development cooperation has gained further currency in a post-pandemic world amid staggered economic growth and an increasing gap in financing the Sustainable Development Goals. As a strategic geographic expanse, the Indo-Pacific has witnessed an upswing in cooperation programmes under different modalities (North-South, South-South, and triangular development partnerships). This paper explores the role of development cooperation as a tool of dipl

Nawaz Sharif's return as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in early June this year marks a signpost from where a more meaningful relationship between India and Pakistan could be forged. The bilateral relationship had of late been mired in mistrust and often meaningless rhetoric. The previous civilian government in Pakistan was paralysed by its own ineptitude. An equally incoherent position in New Delhi has allowed the crucial relationship to drift.

The Republic of Korea will be carefully scrutinising the up-coming Abe's August statement commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Koreans expect Abe to come out with a clear statement that expresses Japan's contrition and proposes a new framework for reconciliation.

In today's political scene not many contestants have a background of having worked with the underprivileged people or fighting for the rights of women and children. Many think it is a good opportunity to get into the charmed circle of parliamentarians who have attractive remunerations and huge fringe benefits for five years

India has been unequivocally telling all the senior leaders of Nepal who visited New Delhi since April this year that they should work together for the long-term peace, stability and development of the country.

The first two governors of the RBI worked under the Raj.

While acknowledging the fact that many of the larger NGOs have done phenomenal work in public welfare, a social activist in Chennai has said the motives behind the initiatives of some of them in the country have become questionable.

India's challenges in negotiating a new framework for internet governance do not lend themselves to the old clichés of Indian diplomacy. Instead, India must strive to find the appropriate balance between the multiple antinomies that define the debate.

The elections reflected the public discontent with the political deadlock on Brexit, and Boris Johnson’s strategy of reinforcing simple and clear slogans worked in his favour, bolstering the Conservative Party’s victory.

As the two biggest Asian economies, China and Japan are directly involved in infrastructure development in many Asian countries and this has led to fierce rivalry between the two. The recent decision of the Indonesian government to offer the construction of Jakarta-Bandung high speed network to China came as a bolt from the blue to Japan.

Nuclear development in Iran has been an issue of great concern, not only to its neighbours in West Asia, but also for the global powers, in the interests of regional and global stability. At present, efforts are being made to find a solution to the crisis. The interim nuclear deal signed between Iran and P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany) on 24 November 2013, and the complementary Framework for Coopera

India’s young women, now more educated and healthier than ever, are entering a phase of significant socio-economic progress. Many of these women also aspire to become social innovators. With gender parity in education and an increasing number of women in STEM fields, they have increased potential for social innovation. However, barriers such as gendered social norms, domestic and care responsibilities, the digital divide, safety concerns, limit

At the Obama- Xi talks, there has been some movement forward on the so-far intractable issue of Hydroflurocarbon (HFCs) emissions. Washington and Beijing have agreed to work together to eliminate the use of HFCs and persuade countries like India to join this effort. This could mean trouble for the tenuous alliance of BASIC.

Though India and Pakistan have been working on improving bilateral trade, the recent meeting of Experts' Group on Trade in Petroleum and Petrochemical Products come in the wake of the ongoing energy crisis in Pakistan.

Elderly women in India are disadvantaged by both gender and age. Currently, their population is estimated at 71 million, more than the total population of countries the size of the United Kingdom. A majority of them are illiterate and have no source of income. Awareness, coverage, and allocation for social pension schemes are low. Elderly women also have more morbidities than men and have higher unmet health needs. Though often regarded as a burd

Bandwagoning with the US cannot be a substitute for a working foreign policy in our own region and near abroad.

As a responsible nuclear power, India is ready to work with like-minded countries in strengthening the global non-proliferation system. That was the clear message from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his recent joint press conference with the visiting German chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder.

The concept of ‘intelligence’ immediately brings to mind a covert world of spies, secrets, and classified documents. That might have been true in the past, but in the current age, Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is gaining prominence. OSINT is intelligence based on information that is publicly available and processed by any interested party, and complements traditional intelligence while providing greater situational awareness to a range of

Since being initiated by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formally in 2016, Tokyo’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision has become the preferred framework for diplomatic engagement among like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific. This paper undertakes an assessment of FOIP. The motivation is threefold: first, it creates an understanding of Tokyo’s vision of maintaining a stable global order; second, because FOIP has become inclusive—it

ORF Senior Fellow Dr. R. Swaminathan will work on mobile banking solutions for financial inclusion and prepare a policy document for the government.

Against the backdrop of increasing Chinese territorial assertiveness, the logic of geopolitics dictates that both India and the U.S. have vital interests in strengthening defense cooperation. In June, US and India signed a 10-year defence framework agreement.

In May 2016, the Health Secretaries of the States and Union Territories of India gathered in the capital and issued “The Delhi Commitment on Sustainable Development Goals for Health”. Among others, the document acknowledged the need to invest in health data collection, analysis and research so that these can properly inform government policies and strategies necessary to address the various challenges facing India’s healthcare. Such commitm

Digitalisation has the potential to boost local economies and people’s quality of life. However, citizens’ mistrust can prevent large-scale adoption and slow the public innovation curve. This brief categorises public mistrust into three groups and highlights examples. It proposes a cultural framework comprising a number of key actions that public administrations can implement to enhance communication and foster citizen engagement in digitalis

Many historic moments have come and gone in Pakistan's 65 years, but never before has a democratically elected government completed a full term. As a "new" Pakistan readies for election, the question is - will Pakistanis make democracy work?

This brief examines the expanding China-Pakistan strategic alliance in the domain of grey-zone warfare, defined as the space between neither full-scale war nor peace. The analysis draws on 4th-century BCE statesman, Kautilya’s concept of Tushnim Yuddha (silent war) to contextualise the grey-zone approach within an indigenous framework. It examines how Pakistan utilises state-backed proxies, information warfare, and other tools of grey-zone warf

In the Afghanistan peace process, Pakistan's significance lies more in its capability to play a destructive role than a constructive one. It is capable of scuttling the peace process and can stoke violence by supporting groups like the Haqqani network and engineer attacks against the government or foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Madrasas are Islamic religious seminaries, which were originally meant to train young persons, who wanted to take to religion as a profession. They wanted to work as clerics in mosques and as members of the staff in Islamic charitable institutions. In view of the limited career opportunities open to the students of the madrasas, only those who were keen to become religious clerics joined them. Till 1977,

A road or a highway will no longer be a 'dumb pathway'. It will be an intelligent network with its own inherent logic and sense of meaning derived from algorithms and predictive software. From the point of view of institutional arrangements, several ministries and departments will have to work together.

By directing the Centre to take up stalled works on the ¿Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal Project¿ (SYL) involving Punjab and Haryana recently, the Supreme Court may have re-established the supremacy of the higher judiciary in matters pertaining to inter-State river water disputes, among others. In doing so, Justices Ruma Pal and P Venkatarama Reddi may have also reversed the belief in certain quarters that a political solution may be the best way out

प्रादेशिक विवादांबाबत शी जिनपिंगयांचा दृष्टिकोन अत्यंत सावध असतो परंतु हा भ्रम आहे, हे ते आपल्या कार्यातून अंशतः स्पष्ट करतात.

प्रादेशिक विवादांबाबत शी जिनपिंग यांचा दृष्टिकोन अत्यंत सावध असतो परंतु हा भ्रम आहे, हे ते आपल्या कार्यातून अंशतः स्पष्ट करतात.

India today is much better placed to deal with the emerging rivalry between Beijing and Tokyo. On the economic front, Modi should eagerly seek cooperation from both sides. Commercial competition between Tokyo and Beijing, for example on high-speed railways, should work to India's advantage.

It seems that the distinctive workforce model that the sharing economy touts as vital to its existence may eventually be the reason for its downfall.