Recent Updates

The Loss and Damage Fund: Questions, Concerns, and Suggestions
Climate Change Feb 27, 2025

The Loss and Damage Fund: Questions, Concerns, and Suggestions

COP29 announced the full operationalisation of the Loss and Damage (L&D) Fund, a long-awaited step for developing countries, including small island states, least-developed countries, and African nations. This milestone marks persistent advocacy for climate justice. However, the fund’s current framework has notable gaps. This paper ...

The India-U.S. Story: Biden’s Legacy and Trump 2.0
International Affairs Feb 07, 2025

The India-U.S. Story: Biden’s Legacy and Trump 2.0

As United States (US) President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January, a critical assessment of the legacy of the Joe Biden administration may help inform the India-US bilateral relationship. Under President Biden, the bilateral ties between India and the US progressed ...

Facilitating India-Myanmar Trade Through Sittwe Port: Opportunities and Challenges
Neighbourhood | International Trade and Investment Feb 04, 2025

Facilitating India-Myanmar Trade Through Sittwe Port: Opportunities and Challenges

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 ...

A Decadal Review of Russia-China Economic Relations
International Affairs Feb 03, 2025

A Decadal Review of Russia-China Economic Relations

The Russia-China partnership has grown steadily in the past decade, driven by Moscow’s widening rift with the European Union. As Western markets closed to Russia in 2014, Beijing emerged as an economic partner, importing Russian energy, defence goods, metals and minerals, timber, and other natural ...

India and the UK in 2025: A Primer
International Affairs Jan 14, 2025

India and the UK in 2025: A Primer

This primer offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of the India-United Kingdom (UK) bilateral relationship. It describes India-UK cooperation in the key policy areas of trade and investment, security and defence, technology and innovation, and migration and people-to-people ties. The paper also explores ...

Audits as Instruments of Principled AI Governance
Artificial Intelligence Jan 03, 2025

Audits as Instruments of Principled AI Governance

Stakeholder groups have produced various guidelines on ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years. However, translating principles into practice continues to be a massive challenge, as AI markets expand and AI risks are heightened. AI audits—or the process of investigating an algorithm against existing regulations ...

Energy Transition in India’s Transport Sector: Current Policies, Key Challenges, and Potential Pathways
Urbanisation | Transportation Dec 21, 2024

Energy Transition in India’s Transport Sector: Current Policies, Key Challenges, and Potential Pathways

The increasing demand for mobility and the rising rates of motorisation in India have substantially increased energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from the road transport sector. As of 2021, road transport was responsible for 14 percent of the nation’s total energy consumption, 92 ...

The Role of Digitalisation in Heritage Conservation
Urbanisation in India | Urbanisation Dec 20, 2024

The Role of Digitalisation in Heritage Conservation

Digital realities have become analogous to lived experiences, easing governance and systematising processes. They have also helped in the reimagination of approaches to heritage conservation, making diverse cultures more accessible and easier to engage with. Heritage, once regarded as a “national” public good, has evolved ...

The Case for Tech-Based Wargaming in the Indian Armed Forces
Defence and Security | Artificial Intelligence Dec 18, 2024

The Case for Tech-Based Wargaming in the Indian Armed Forces

Wargaming can aid in strategic thinking and operational preparedness and help assess potential outcomes in a conflict or a battlefield. In recent years, modern militaries have been moving to technology-based wargaming by developing better modelling and simulations and running AI-generated plausible scenarios to enhance understanding ...

Dominance, Competition, and Adaptation: The US Quest for a Strategic Trifecta in the Indian Ocean
International Affairs Nov 25, 2024

Dominance, Competition, and Adaptation: The US Quest for a Strategic Trifecta in the Indian Ocean

The United States (US) is recalibrating its strategy in the Indian Ocean, driven by the region’s rapidly evolving geopolitical and geostrategic landscape. The US approach has moved from unilateral dominance to a more collaborative strategy that emphasises shared leadership through a technology-driven security paradigm. This ...

Contributors

Nilanjan Ghosh

Nilanjan Ghosh

Dr Nilanjan Ghosh heads Development Studies at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and serves as the operational and executive head of ORF’s Kolkata Centre. He was the Director of ORF’s Centre for New Economic Diplomacy. With over two decades of ...

Read More + Soumya Bhowmick

Soumya Bhowmick

Dr. Soumya Bhowmick is a Fellow at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED) at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). He completed industry- endorsed Ph.D. studies at BML Munjal University as a SYLFF Research Grantee (Tokyo Foundation), focusing on inclusive ...

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