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The COVID-19 pandemic has mutated into a global political economy crisis, with new fault lines emerging along market shares and intellectual property

During the Cold War, India navigated its external relations guided largely by the doctrine and practice of non-alignment. In these contemporary times, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to inaugurate a period of heightened geopolitical rivalries, with the United States and China as the principal poles. India will be differently positioned in this post-Covid “new normal” than it was in the era of the Cold War and therefore will need differe

Digital labour platforms—or online marketplaces that connect work providers and work seekers—will undoubtedly help shape the future of work. This brief studies the platforms targeted at online gig workers (or freelancers), who use them to find digital work opportunities in their home market or elsewhere, and then produce and deliver their services remotely. The brief explains the underlying technological and economic drivers and how the Covid

The material and non-material needs of children have been drowned out by other priorities during this pandemic

India has seen a huge jump in screen time by 25 per cent (4.9 hours pre-COVID to 6.9 hours) during the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed most economies into recession and heightened inequalities within and across countries. Mitigating current challenges requires greater solidarity, innovative thinking, and more effective international development cooperation. This paper makes a case for triangular cooperation as an instrument of development cooperation in current times. It outlines its advantages, examines the challenges involved in such partnerships,

China has been less harmed by the tariff war than was expected, and it has been remarkably resistant to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is the only economy in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook update that is likely to have a positive growth rate of 1 per cent in 2020. This has probably reinforced Xi’s belief that a strong one-party state is better able to handle the challenges. He has also pushed state-owned market enterprises to follow market rules

The COVID-19 pandemic can serve as an opportunity for India to redefine its approach to economic growth. The policy objective should be that once the threat of the current pandemic subsides, the country will not return to business-as-usual mode and rather build an economy for the future. The Indian government has declared that it is considering measures towards distress mitigation, relief disbursement, and a revival of growth. At the same time, h

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on food and nutrition security. Efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 on Zero Hunger have been stalled, and it is estimated that an additional 137 million people faced acute food insecurity as 2020 ended. The reasons are many: interrupted food supply chains, high levels of unemployment, loss of incomes, and rising food cost. Climate change and the resultant extreme we

The COVID-19 pandemic is acting as a catalyst for deepening anti-Shia prejudice whose geopolitical dimensions are rooted in regional Sunni-Shia rivalr

The human toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating. At the same time, measures to tackle the crisis have affected national economies and grounded global trade to a halt. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as the Seychelles are amongst the countries that have suffered some of the worst economic impacts of the outbreak. The current situation illustrates the global state of unpreparedness for a pandemic and points to similar inadeq

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted one of the core foundations of the concept of human development — a healthy and long life.

The gig economy is part of a crucial transformation occurring in India’s work landscape, and ride-hailing companies are examples of platforms on which “gigs” can be found. The Indian ride-hailing market was projected to grow by 15.5 percent until 2023; the COVID-19 pandemic, however, has disrupted the trajectory. The drivers of these companies—numbering approximately four million—are considered as “independent contractors” and thus

As South Asia faces an increasingly complex and expanding disaster risk landscape, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the systemic gaps in risk management. There is a need for a paradigm shift in disaster risk reduction—from a single-hazard, single-sector perspective to a multi-hazard, multi-sectoral, and systemic risk perspective supported by parallel risk financing measures. This brief examines the current gaps in the efficient operatio

This brief examines the rapid growth of the global online gaming industry and the consequent increase in cyber threats. Issues such as microtransactions, money laundering, and predatory practices by developers can stymie the industry’s growth potential if not addressed. Many countries’ current gaming-focused regulatory frameworks do not cover these challenges and will need to be revised. India—a significant gaming market—must also conside

By 2041, Delhi’s population is expected to reach 28-30 million. To meet the requirements of a massive population in a systematic and sustainable manner, the Fourth Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) is being prepared and expected to be completed in 2021. This paper describes the progress and preliminary focus areas of the forthcoming plan, highlighting current challenges during preparation, as well as future ones expected in the implementation

Access to, and development of indigenous digital platforms and cutting-edge technologies is imperative for robust socio-economic development and national security. In turn, such process needs to be democratised, and undertaken in a sustainable manner. India is a first mover in this novel idea of democratising technology and developing Digital Public Goods. Operationalised in the digital infrastructure called India Stack, India’s strategy aims t

The Russia-Ukraine war has dealt a massive blow to a world already battered by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) appear farther from reach. The current global scenario demands greater international cooperation for development. Yet, development aid is increasingly getting more securitised, and the imperative is for the international community to leverage cooperation during the current Decade of Action fo

The G20 has over the years influenced the growth trajectory of global digital health by ensuring international cooperation between different stakehold

Across the globe, more than 730 million women report ever having experienced some form of gender-based violence; those in low- and lower-middle-income countries are disproportionately affected. In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the incidence of violence suffered by women in the hands of their intimate partners, owing to heightened stresses of loss of livelihood, disruption of social and protective networks, a

Heightening great-power rivalry has impeded consensus-making in multilateral institutions. This has given rise, in recent years, to minilaterals especially in the Indo-Pacific. Even as there are criticisms that minilaterals are too informal and lacking in structures that are required for focused debates, China’s belligerence has galvanised support for, and focus within minilateral groupings in the region. Over the past year, the fallout of the

The COVID-19 pandemic is posing unique challenges to policymakers across the globe, necessitating efficient action in short timeframes. During such crises, having the right data at the right time is crucial to making informed policy decisions.  Traditional economic indicators can be inadequate owing to issues of timeliness, granularity, and difficulty in collection. There is a need therefore for higher-frequency and more granular data to track e

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.

G-20 गटाने जागतिक स्तरावरील विविध सहभागी राष्ट्रांमधील आं�

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the global health governance system has become a key area of concern for the G20 and other multilateral platforms. This comes at a time when the world has increasingly become volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. As a grouping of developed and developing countries, the G20 must prioritise addressing global health challenges by identifying its direct and indirect determinants. This brief

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive economic and social fallout for India, as it has across the globe. In India, large numbers of people lost their jobs, and supply chains across industries and agriculture have been disrupted. At the same time, environmental indicators—notably air and freshwater quality—showed improvements following the long period of a nationwide lockdown. This brief outlines why India must make a focused decision to mov

Adopting a uniform approach to climate-friendly trade regulations could be detrimental to developing countries and could jeopardise future cooperative

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stress on India’s urban public health infrastructure, underscoring the need for urban planning to account for increased demand for health amenities during crises. This paper evaluates the city of Mumbai’s 1991 and 2034 development plans and finds inherent infrastructural inadequacies. It calls on urban-policymakers to complement development plans with robust dynamic health strategies that conside

The New Delhi Declaration’s policy commitments in the health sector emphasise the role of the G20 in revising the existing financial and global heal

India’s development partnerships could be a potential game changer if sustainability is incorporated into the agenda

To counter Chinese propaganda that is aimed to tarnish India’s image, India should assist its southern neighbour and publicise its efforts.

The year 2022 saw the global economic outlook deteriorate amidst high inflation, fiscal tightening, and supply chain uncertainties arising from both the Russia-Ukraine war and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), after expanding by some 5 percent in 2021, contracted in the first half of 2022. This brief makes a case for gender lens investing (GLI) as a means to boost women’s participation in economic act

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of healthcare systems and strained economies across the globe. India and countries in Africa have emerged as hotspots due to the dual burden of large populations and weak health infrastructure. This lack of infrastructure, coupled with decreasing investments in healthcare over the years, has left their societies and governments underprepared and potentially overwhelmed by COVID-19. As developing reg

India and the United States (US) have been cooperating in the health sector since the late 1960s. The cooperation has intensified in the past decade, riding on institutional structures established following the launch of the US-India Health Initiative in 2010. It has seen further expansion since the COVID-19 pandemic, and today covers a wide range of areas including disease prevention and combating infectious diseases, maternal and child

The global shortage in semiconductors that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, resulted in heavy losses for many economic sectors. The fragility of the supply chain and the innate dependencies within, have made semiconductor collaboration essential to maintain the industry’s efficiency. This brief examines how semiconductors have become a fulcrum for building potential technology alliances. It outlines ongoing diplomatic initiatives

With its G20 Presidency halfway through, India must push for increased engagement in the Indo-Pacific region to address the SDG financing gap

India’s global ambitions come with global health duties both amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and in its aftermath

While the promise of the “Afro-Asian century” is real, it will be tempered by two factors: economic and population growth

The cooperation between the two countries has deepened in areas of tackling disasters like the Covid-19 pandemic and connectivity.

The recently concluded India-Central Asia dialogue saw an upswing in areas of mutual cooperation  

The dispute could actually be the harbinger of a new and nervous era, a geopolitical side-effect of the terrible COVID-19 pandemic which is racking the world.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, extremist groups find workarounds to the digital blockade as ordinary citizens endure restricted access

The year 2021 began with hope that the development, manufacture, and deployment of vaccines will soon bring the COVID-19 pandemic to an end. Halfway through the year, vaccination is underway across the world, albeit at a much slower pace for the mostly poorer nations. There is promising news from countries like the United States and Israel – where the vaccination drive has proven to be successful, and where health experts are considerin

जब समूची दुनिया में भू-राजनीतिक अस्थिरता का दौर है ऐसे वक�

Global energy markets have battled continuous uncertainty over the past three years, disrupted first by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. India has been adept at navigating both these disruptions, using economic diplomacy to position itself favourably in the geopolitics of oil. New Delhi’s delicate balancing of its political relationship with both Washington DC and Moscow has been accompanied

Technology is vital to enabling accelerated socio-economic growth, effective governance, and relief delivery at scale. Many economies are adopting and developing technology-first frameworks to strengthen their population’s social welfare net, and support economic growth. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed both the challenges and opportunities in India that can be addressed and driven by multidimensional technology frameworks. With the rebalancin