Search

Fifty-six years after the ceasefire line was drawn between the Indian and Pakistan occupied Kashmir, the underlying seismic fault lines have made a mockery of this line. This map delineation, which was renamed as Line of Control after the 1971 Indo Pak war, has gone out of control, at least temporarily, by the fury of the nature when the earthquake struck this area on 8 October.

As India strives to become a green hydrogen hub, it needs to exploit the export opportunities presented by Japan and South Korea.

The shocking Easter Day terror attacks in Sri Lanka underscore a regional problem.

The Eastern Corridor is a crucial highway for global trade flows, where any disruption could severely affect the global economy. The route comprises some of the world’s most vulnerable Sea Lanes of Communication (SCLOs), with potential flashpoints such as the South China Sea. For years, these SLOCs have been characterised by tensions in South Asia and Southeast Asia; the more recent years are seeing a heightening of both intent and capacity for

The situation in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka is getting messier by the moment with twists and turns in the script has made it that much more difficult for all the actors in the ¿peace process¿.

Russia is now the world’s most heavily sanctioned country, with unprecedented punitive action targeting its energy exports, central bank, and other sectors. Given Russia’s economic resilience amid such economic restrictions and India’s dependence on Russia for its defence and energy requirements, this issue brief highlights the economic rationale for New Delhi to maintain existing trade ties with Moscow despite continued geopolitical pressu

The definition of international relations in the next decade remains an important aspect feeding uncertainty about how the value chains reshuffling wi

Understanding the importance of peace has been accorded high priority in many religions, such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. In recent years, many economists have realized the monetary value of peace. Peace is a pre-requisite for the development of infrastructural facilities like education, health, roads, irrigation, power and communications.

The BRICS' National Development Bank is not trying to replace the IMF-World Bank. It will play a complementary role, catering to the needs of developing countries.

Chinese advocacy for economic interdependence, owing to its centrality in global supply chains, could be met with a renewed transatlantic consensus ce

Human civilisation is at a new moment of transition across social norms, economics, governance, and the environment, and is facing the dawn of a new era of inter-planetary human migration (to Mars). In the future, historians will look to the first half of the 21st century to tell the story of how these changes started and unfolded through five domains of conflict. These domains touch on the unravelling of governance structures in need of

As the EMEs grow and mature, they can no longer rely on export-driven, credit-fuelled growth and must look inward to initiate deep seated structural reforms and modify their path to economic prosperity. There is a need for effective governance and strong leadership to restore the lost pride of emerging markets.

The financial products conceptualised so far are not yet catering to the needs of the poor affected by climate change, especially at the critical inte

The impact of Indo-Russian relations on the domestic and foreign policies of India from the 1960s is difficult to underestimate. The USSR was instrumental in helping independent India industrialise, develop its scientific potential, and defend its territorial integrity. The Indo-Russian relationship developed a level of trust between two independent countries that was unprecedented in international affairs. The collapse of the USSR negatively aff

First let me say how pleased I am to be here. The Observer Research Foundation has a strong track record of building partnerships between business and policy makers, and generating innovative thinking on how to tackle the major challenges of our times.

In the recent summit, the EU reiterated its interest in ASEAN given the evolving geostrategic and geoeconomic situation

After a brief discussion on the uneasy relationship between Regional Trade Agreements and the WTO, the implications of the “deep” integration that the EU is seeking with India are discussed, and the respective positions, interests and concerns of the partners in the long drawn out negotiations are examined. The challenges for India in plunging into such “deep” territory, unprecedented in its history of bilateral or multilateral negotiatio

What is a security actor and how is it different from being a great or major power? In many ways, this question is central to understanding the lack of appreciation of the European Union as an actor in the security arena in India and certainly in some other parts of Asia.

The CAI — despite Ursula von der Leyen’s claim that it will help the EU defend multilateralism — is not multilateral at all. It is a bilateral d

Like about the Loch Ness Monster, we have only heard that the West has proof of the Assad regime using chemical weapons. But we've seen no credible testimony. For all one knows, it may have been the rebels' doing to instigate a US military response.

Fifteen years ago, the USA had promised to sell F-16s to Pakistan. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the company manufacturing the aircraft, took the necessary advance for it. Then there were sudden changes in the global and regional strategic environment. The Jehadi war in Afghanistan got over and Pakistan started diverting Jehadism into Jammu and Kashmir. The Cold war also was over.

The skewed tobacco taxation policy, far removed from a reality based understanding of the tobacco consumption and economics, is not helping the government achieve any goals. It is perhaps due to either a strong lobby, or the desire to protect 36 million beedi workers or just bad strategy.

Despite having among the largest coal reserves in the world, India lags far behind in consumption. The average Indian's coal consumption is around 20% that of the US citizen, and 34% of the average OECD citizen.

Recent developments in Bhutan reflect India's growing foreign policy challenges in the Neighbourhood. They are a reminder that many of the traditional assumptions of India's regional policy are no longer sustainable.

What Salman Bashir did was a scaled down version of what Musharraf did at the India Today Conclave a year ago in New Delhi and much more scaled down version of his antics at the Agra Summit. It should have been déjà vu.

India, which clung to non-alignment as its international identity since Independence, had little inclination for defence diplomacy. But now New Delhi is slowly moving away from a fastidious avoidance of military partnerships in the past to making security cooperation an important part of India's foreign relations now.

The adoption of digital payments has risen exponentially over the past decade in many countries including India and those in the African continent. In India, the growth has run parallel to rapid mobile penetration, aided by initiatives like Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and IndiaStack, as well as the unintended push factor created by demonetisation in November 2016. This brief discusses the landscape of fintech—‘finan

The age-old Chinese dictum of hiding one's capabilities and strategically biding time for an opportune moment seems to be fast eroding to make way for aggressive posturing by the Chinese especially in the South China Sea.

The return of a Socialist in France since Mitterand's victory in 1981 confirms a trend in Europe which, instead of lifting the mist, is adding to the fog. The other day in the UK, Labour had trounced the Conservatives in local bodies election across the country.

Defining safety in urban spaces as just one of physical protection is self-defeating as it presupposes the existence of only reactive action. The construction of safety in sheer physical terms reduces, and often completely eliminates, the possibility of proactive action.

On the sidelines of the trilateral Northeast Asian Summit in Tokyo, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak visited some of the worst affected areas in Fukushima and freely moved with the victims and publicly tasted vegetables and fruits to dispel the public fear about radiation.

A New Silk Road is magical thinking, given that Afghanistan remains a hotbed of instability plagued by daunting challenges. Lack of security has already delayed Tapi, the natural gas pipeline linking Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

It is the ongoing changes in the international system and impact of global recession that have laid bare the challenges before Russia.

India is witnessing a phenomenal increase in urbanisation and it is essential that this process is studied and analysed thoroughly to provide for a better quality of life, said Mr. Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution, while formally releasing ORF Mumbai Vision 2015: Agenda for Urban Renewal, published by Observer Research Foundation in ORF Mumbai on September 20.

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

The RevCon takes place at a time when the international security context is unpredictable and the need for meaningful dialogue and subsequent implemen

The use of cognitive warfare by states showcases that a new avenue for contestation has emerged

SCO members need to take a two-track approach to make it a successful regional grouping. At the macro level, it must forge a common vision and mutual trust with similar groupings such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization. At a micro level, bilateral and regional issues between member states need to be addressed.

Government regulations will continue to play a crucial role in building an enabling environment for the intersection of free-market jobs and technolog

The greatest impact of changing Sino-US relations will be on Asia, a primary theatre of interest for India. Beyond the simultaneous engagement with America and China, Delhi needs to deepen its partnership with its Asian friends and partners and raise India's own profile in the region.

Moves and counter-moves in Indo-Pak relations, like in a game of chess, continue to leave the actors in a mood to fight further. However, unlike in a game of chess, no endgame seems to be in the offing. This vicious circle of moves, counter moves, stalemate, warmongering, dialogues and so on is a direct impact of a precarious lack of an ultimate solution to the basic issue in Indo-Pak relations.

It is a troubled world that we live in today. However, so far India has been a sea of tranquility and it is too early to say if there is a link between the storm brewing on both flanks, but the security agencies, indeed the entire country, have a task on their hands.

Nuclear weapons, the ultimate symbol of power, are no assurance or guarantees against blowback from religious radicalism. Only when the State decides to put a stop to this and takes a lead against the beliefs and practices of radicalism, will society learn to follow and resist.

COP27 should strive to be a platform that keeps women at the heart of intergovernmental climate negotiations