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The US's plan of reducing troop strengths abroad would be counter balanced by the new kinds of deployments. The trend now is towards intelligence weapons systems with precise missions that are network centric, capable of swift decision and superior performance in all echelons with fewer casualties.

Central Asia is the next favoured destination of radical Islamists and terrorist groups. Several terrorist networks are said to be already active in the region and recent suicide bombings in Uzbekistan in the cities of Tashkent and Bukhara, in March and July, 2004 suggest that al-Qaeda and its allies are looking for safer havens in the wake of the increasing pressure on their networks in the Middle-East and South East Asia from the security force

What Ukraine really needs at this point is for both the West and Russia to work towards Ukraine's political and economic stability. The solution should see the territorial integrity of Ukraine being upheld and a common solution acceptable to all the sections of that country.

Japan-Thailand relations are understated, yet dynamic and continuing to evolve. The two have worked towards fortifying their ties across various sectors, including defence, investments, and energy, undergirded by a mutual commitment to regional stability and economic prosperity. A paramount interest is navigating the geopolitical complexities of the times, amid growing external threats that necessitate deeper security cooperation comprising bilat

In the last five years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has undergone a massive transformation and is today the country’s most formidable political force. The party won the 2014 general election with a convincing majority under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who assumed power in May 2014. It is in power in 20 states, either on its own or with its allies. This rise can be attributed to various factors, including the party leader

Since Ibrahim Solih’s election as president of Maldives in 2018, India and Maldives have been working to revive their previously strained relations. The relationship faces an enduring threat, however, in the form of the ‘India Out’ campaign spearheaded by opposition parties. Although limited to certain sections of the Maldivian polity, the campaign has fuelled anti-India public sentiments, in turn becoming consequential to India-Maldives re

The Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh, which had killed 1133 workers and injured more than 1800, was symbolic of a much deeper crisis, not limited to Bangladesh, according to Prof. Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre of Policy Dialogue, Dhaka.

High-density urban agglomerations may be sustainable in terms of the economies of scale their populations provide. Yet, as proven by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these same urban spaces are nearly defenceless in times of unprecedented disease outbreaks. A pandemic poses many risks to the millions who live in dense megacities, whether in wealthy countries or developing ones. The sheer density of the population of these cities provides an ideal e

ORF and GIZ, Germany, have jointly initiated an Urban Workshop Series 2013 to facilitate interaction among key national and international stakeholders and offer and discuss critical inputs that are urgently needed for effective policy-making in India and other emerging economies.

India’s development trajectory is closely tied to urbanisation. This brief critiques the existing urban planning framework in the country, examining the gaps and unique challenges posed by urbanisation and the impacts of climate change in hilly cities. The brief focuses on India’s ecologically sensitive Himalayan ecosystem, which have historically received little attention in urbanisation discourse. The region’s hilly urban areas have uniqu

Exceptional and urgent measures must be put in place to ensure the security of the Delhi Metro rail network in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games scheduled for October this year.

There is no dearth in analyses that sound the alarm on the current United States (US) administration’s policy in the Indo-Pacific. This paper conducts an evaluation of the US’ engagement in the region, and finds it to be contrary to alarmist predictions. President Donald Trump’s administration has reaffirmed commitments towards traditional allies, built on the predecessor president’s courtship of nascent partners, and encouraged partners

Pakistan will face severe consequences if they do not change their policies in dealing with terror networks, said Dr. Lisa Curtis during a talk on "US Policy Options in Pakistan" on October 13, 2011 at Observer Research Foundation.

Sanctions, a mechanism to penalise international legal violations, usually prohibit nationals of the “sanctioning country” from engaging in specified activities with the “targeted country.” Secondary or extraterritorial sanctions, on the other hand, penalise third-country individuals and companies for dealing with sanctioned countries. Recent measures adopted by the US—the enactment of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanc

The strengthening of working relationships with emerging Asian powers like India and Indonesia would form the second element of the United States's rebalancing policy, according to Ms Meera Shankar, former Indian Ambassador to the United States.

Trilateral Security Cooperation (TSC) is a unique framework for the United States (US), South Korea, and Japan to jointly address the common security challenge of North Korea, particularly concerning its nuclear weapons programme. Acknowledging that a unified approach would be more effective in tackling North Korea, the three countries forged a partnership in the early 1990s which has continued to the present day. Over the years, the domestic pol

ORF, in association with ETH, Zurich, organized a five-day workshop on 'Abundant Energy', conducted by experts from Switzerland who are trying to spread the message that shortages in global energy can be solved by generating energies from sources which are abundantly available.

As an ASEAN member, Vietnam has worked hard to secure peace and reconciliation among Southeast Asian nations, which were once deeply divided by war.

Cyber security threats have amplified significantly in the last decade, creating security concerns across the globe. Media reports during this period have highlighted how information network systems have been exploited by cyber criminals-as well as States-on numerous occasions for espionage and intelligence gathering. In this backdrop, this Paper focuses on cyber security concerns related to Social Engineering.

It is time for the European Union to wake up to the world they actually live in and now move towards the more workable paradigm of "Shared Interests and Shared Prosperity", acknowledging that beneath every façade, nations and societies share only one common value, that of 'self-preservation' based on 'self-interest'.

Water futures trading can be an important tool for water-scarce economies. This paper argues that it can help reduce the scarcity value of water (defined here as the value that can be generated if the limit on water availability is relaxed by one unit), even without a physical market. ‘Scarcity value’ measures the degree of deprivation and creates the basis for disputes. The paper argues that water futures trading reduces the scarcity

The Finance Minister can at best provide an enabling environment through the Union Budget and other policy frameworks that lie in his domain. The political and bureaucratic class need to pull in the same direction over the next few years to reverse some of the structural weaknesses.

Eight million Indians work in the region and send over $50 billion in remittances. This will change

There is hardly any doubt that failing health systems result in poor health outcomes and hamper progress towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In Africa, health systems are hobbled by leadership and governance challenges, extreme shortages of health workers, corruption in procurement systems for medical products and technologies, poor information systems, and health financing const

Indian presence is already being felt across the South Asian region, more than in the past. The situation is still evolving. The question is: Should India allow things to continue taking the evolutionary route or jack-boot its way, which is neither des irable, nor workable - and hence unthinkable for New Delhi too!

While Indian officials have participated in events where the Taliban have been present, India has been content to let others take the lead. We have, therefore, been unable to plan options for ensuring security of both the Indian nationals working in Afghanistan as well the diplomats at our embassy in Kabul, and this remains the primary responsibility at the moment.

Fixing manufacturing and acquisitions alone will not work. Nirmala Sitharaman needs to urgently tackle the need to reorganise India’s sprawling military to make them an effective fighting unit for 21st century warfare, where challenges range from nuclear armed adversaries to proxy jihadis.

Japan knows India is the best possible regional counter-weight to a rising China. At the same time, it has to work with China to counter global uncertainties.

While the impetus for closer alignment is clear, much work remains to be done on the security side and within the wider bilateral relationship.

In the earthquake tragedy, India and Pakistan have a rare opportunity to forget past differences and bitterness, at least some of it to begin with, and forge a partnership of peace and development. Both the countries should shed past inhibitions and acrimony, and look for fresh opportunities to work together for a common cause: to rebuild Kashmir.

India's relations with China and Pakistan are unlikely to see any major strategic change in the years ahead. It is imperative for India to think afresh without losing old friends especially at a time of international flux. A US-Japan-India partnership in the 21st century would need to be worked out.

The construction of the India-US strategic partnership in the 2000s was an entirely unexpected political bonus. Making it work now is an absolute necessity for both Delhi and Washington as they struggle to cope with a challenging environment at home and abroad.

The Taliban’s return will lead to geopolitical realignment. India’s ties with major powers will also be readjusted to manage terrorism coming from the Af-Pak area

Beijing knows that it cannot become a global power without friends. As the US has known, there is a limit to what you can do alone. The US with its network of friends, allies and partners is a case in point.

One of the key reasons for TTP's survival has been Pakistan's policy of using terrorist groups as instruments of state policy. Pakistan Army's protection of the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban as ' strategic assets' helped TTP to retain its sanctuary and its attack capabilities.

National Accountability Bureau is working overtime to 'fix' the former prime minister and his family.

The deepening crisis in the Korean Peninsula and the stalled nuclear talks with Iran together are a powerful reminder to the US that its non-proliferation policies are not working in Asia. Both Bush's muscular approaches and Obama's coercive diplomacy have failed.

Even as newspapers with access to the WikiLeaks exposes have come out with installments of diplomatic cable communication on US's relations with Pakistan, an impression is gaining ground that Washington was indeed struggling to get Islamabad to work to secure American interests in the region.

From the Chinese perspective, it was a smart move to invite India to join the maritime Silk Road project. But Delhi is likely to be torn between two competing ideas ? working with China in the maritime domain and the long-standing goal of limiting Beijing's influence in the Indian Ocean.

A collective of broadly democratic middle powers are learning to work with each other without the certainty of American facilitation.

An increasing number of startups and new businesses have been founded in India over the last decade, the majority of them by men. While many Indian women have entrepreneurial ambitions, it is often more difficult for them to succeed. This brief examines the impediments to greater participation of female founders in India’s economy by first gathering available data to describe the situation of women entrepreneurs in the country. It then explores

Gender disparities in economic participation and opportunities remain significantly large across the world. To bridge these gaps, G20 countries are working to advance women’s entrepreneurship through financial assistance, knowledge creation, and governance for supporting enterprise. India, in particular, has introduced a number of government schemes to promote entrepreneurship among women, such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and the Prad

With the aim of bringing together some of the brightest young minds working on various issues of national and international importance, Observer Research Foundation has initiated a forum called the Young Voices Policy Forum.

वर्तमान न्याय्य ऊर्जा संक्रमण भागीदारी चौकट भारताकरता उपयुक्त नाही, कारण ती जी-७ च्या अजेंडाला प्राधान्य देते आणि आपल्या विशिष्ट ऊर्जा संक्रमण गरजा आणि आव्हानांकडे दुर�

दारात उभ्या ठाकलेल्या संघर्षात भारतासाठी प्राधान्यक्रमांची समीपता बदलते.

जहां अमेरिका की बढ़ती टैरिफ दरों ने ‘मेक इन इंडिया’ उत्पादों के निर्यात को मुश्किल बना दिया था, अब अचानक अमेरिका ने इन पर शुल्क घटाकर 18% करने की घोषणा की! जानिए इस नए भारत-अमे�

5G नेटवर्क सर्वात आधी स्थापित करण्यासाठी अमेरिका आणि चीन यांच्यात चाललेली चढाओढ सध्या दोन्ही देशांमधल्या राजकीय सत्तास्पर्धेमधला वादाचा मुद्दा ठरतेय.

नवे राजनैतिक संबंध आणि प्रभावी बंध प्रस्थापित करून, पाकिस्तानला अधिक भांडवलाचा ओघ आकर्षित करता येईल आणि त्यांच्या आर्थिक संभाव्यता आणखी वाढवता येतील.

कोविड-19 महामारी और भू-राजनीतिक उथल-पुथल से पैदा बाहरी झटकों ने आपूर्ति श्रृंखलाओं को बाधित किया है. इसके नतीजतन उत्पादन में देरी के साथ-साथ राष्ट्रीय सीमाओं के आर-पार आवश्य�