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Medical Tourism as a Pillar of India-Bangladesh Relations: Will It Hold?
Neighbourhood Apr 10, 2025

Medical Tourism as a Pillar of India-Bangladesh Relations: Will It Hold?

India ranks 10th out of 46 top medical tourism destinations in the world, owing to its affordable healthcare facilities and capabilities in specialised treatment. This paper is focused on medical tourism as a pillar of India-Bangladesh partnership. Notable numbers of Bangladeshis seeking medical care visit ...

Challenges to China’s ‘Below the Threshold’ Military Strategy in Its Near Seas
International Affairs | China Military Apr 07, 2025

Challenges to China’s ‘Below the Threshold’ Military Strategy in Its Near Seas

China has persistently employed a strategy of belligerent operations below the threshold of war against its territorial and maritime neighbours. These range from fistfights with neighbours’ armies and minor troop engagements on land, to ramming ships against theirs in its near seas, clashing with their ...

Building National Semiconductor Capabilities: India in the Global Value Chain
Cyber and Technology Apr 04, 2025

Building National Semiconductor Capabilities: India in the Global Value Chain

The globally distributed semiconductor value chain is undergoing a shift due to rising geopolitical, environmental, and economic risks affecting the supply chain. This has motivated countries to develop domestic manufacturing capabilities and secure and derisk their supply chains. India has launched its semiconductor policy in ...

Fifty Years of Indian Microfinance: Challenges to Making a More Profound Impact
Indian Economy Mar 29, 2025

Fifty Years of Indian Microfinance: Challenges to Making a More Profound Impact

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 ...

Re-thinking the Role of the Rajya Sabha in India’s Federal Democracy
Domestic Politics and Governance | National Politics Mar 25, 2025

Re-thinking the Role of the Rajya Sabha in India’s Federal Democracy

Ever since the Rajya Sabha’s founding on 3 April 1952, calls have been made on numerous occasions for its abolition. Critics, including serving members of Parliament, question the continued relevance of the Upper House in India’s parliamentary system and blame it for delays in the ...

The Urban Density Debate: India’s Story
Urbanisation in India | Urbanisation Mar 12, 2025

The Urban Density Debate: India’s Story

Urbanists are divided on whether high urban density is a boon or a curse. Its champions maintain that it promotes greater productivity, fosters innovation, and enables economical space utilisation. The other side argues that excessive compactness destroys a city’s permeability, heightens the ‘urban heat island’ ...

Introducing the Arctic as a Strategic Geopolitical Pillar for India
International Affairs Mar 10, 2025

Introducing the Arctic as a Strategic Geopolitical Pillar for India

The Arctic region, with its vast reserves of natural gas, minerals, oil, and hydrocarbons, presents energy and economic opportunities for countries, including India. India’s Arctic Policy, released in 2022, signalled the country’s intent to expand its engagements in the region beyond its historical focus on ...

The Imperative for Technical Reservists in the Indian Army
Defence and Security | Indian Defence Mar 04, 2025

The Imperative for Technical Reservists in the Indian Army

As the Indian Army (IA) integrates new and emerging technologies, it will also need technical specialists for innovation and their effective application in peacetime and wartime. This analysis makes the case that the IA can create a technical reserve drawn from the Technical Entry Scheme ...

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 ...

Contributors

Soumya Bhowmick

Soumya Bhowmick

Soumya Bhowmick is a Fellow and Lead, World Economies and Sustainability at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED) at Observer Research Foundation (ORF). He is pursuing his PhD and holds a double master’s degree in economics from Jadavpur University, ...

Read More + Sreeparna Banerjee

Sreeparna Banerjee

Sreeparna Banerjee is an Associate Fellow in the Strategic Studies Programme. Her work focuses on the geopolitical and strategic affairs concerning two Southeast Asian countries, namely Myanmar and Thailand. Her primary focus is on the Rohingya issue within the Bay of ...

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