1604 results found
The Saudi monarchy is facing challenges on many fronts but will brazen it out, fully confident of the unstinted support of its powerful patrons in Washington. Some changes, however, may occur in the Saudi government as a sop to the growing clamour for accountability.
Despite acknowledging the detrimental effects of manual scavenging, no concrete effort to make any real change has been witnessed over the years.
Will a new leadership bring about the much-required change in Turkmenistan as it battles a severe economic and food crisis?
In the ongoing struggle between the Democrats and Republicans, while the former is celebrating its wins, the latter is looking out for ways to downpla
Twenty years after the launch of economic reforms, India has visibly changed. But the 'common man' is still confused and struggling even though most people in the low income group can afford a TV, mobile phone, scooter and even a room or two in a poor residential area.
The criticism of Sultan al Jaber's appointment as COP28 president might be well-meaning but the rush to judgement reflects an incomplete understanding of both the host country and the individual.
Regime change policies are the staple of Anglo-American interventions in various parts of the world, including Ukraine.
Ukraine must convince its allies to continue military, financial and other support regardless of a change in power in their governments
Ahead of the Paris climate summit, India announced on October 2 its INDCs for climate change mitigation and adaptation. While this commitment has drawn fulsome praise from many, the green ayatollahs have predictably ignored its herculean clean energy ambitions and focused on Indian dependence on coal. It is time to lay bare the 'coal hypocrisy' of these privileged 'western greens'.
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
Trends in Africa are diverging. While East Africa shows growing signs of authoritarianism and suppression of dissent, in Southern Africa — liberatio
The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor (EC) has been receiving increased public attention in the last few months because of a strong push by China. When implemented, the project promises mega cites, infrastructure, jobs and better living standards for people living in its fold. Is the BCIM EC really a gamechanger? Or will this project, like others proposed by China under its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, result in
India needs to address the impediments to financial inclusion to ensure the upliftment of the downtrodden
The far-reaching implications of the policy changes brought by the Taliban and their unprecedented impact on the region warrant global attention
Among the estimated 1.3 billion people across the world who have no access to electricity, 70 percent are women. This brief discusses the impact of energy poverty on India’s rural women. As women are primarily responsible for securing food and energy for their family, they are the ones who are worst affected by the lack of access to clean and modern energy. The brief calls for a more holistic approach in research and policymaking on energ
The current heat wave situation in India is a wake-up call for the need to address the impact of changing climate on public health
What the people want of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and indeed expect, is an economic revolution that will change their lives and those of their children. To this end, Modi's actions, so far, add up to several IOUs, and a number of promises in the form of temporary measures pushed through in the form of ordinances.
Continuity rather than change may well be the mark of the second Bush administration's foreign policy.It was billed as `the liberty speech.' George W. Bush, beginning his second term as President, said: ""It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.""
The Early Harvest Trade Deal signals a change in India’s reluctance to pursue FTAs
Sustainable finance emerged as a key issue to tackle climate change at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference and is spurring a global transition to net zero. A peculiar feature of the race to net zero is that it cannot be achieved unless all countries can meet their targets, and any positive step towards it will benefit all countries. The drive to achieve carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions needs to be targeted through a range of
Reveals continuing limitation of politics and Imran Khan’s failure to change it
Poor governance and flawed policies marred Nepal’s economic performance.
Jagmohan's address to the ORF faculty included a discussion on six important topics, namely slums and illegal constructions, human settlement patterns, culturally significant towns, cities and climate change, pattern of governance after the enactment of the Constitution (seventy-fourth amendment) Act, and resource mobilisation for city development
A more holistic approach needs to be adopted, keeping the aspirations and apprehensions of the local communities in mind while employing sustainable u
Láffaire Snowden, the Moscow CIA station chief's name being published by Russia; tit-for-tat lists of alleged human rights violators released by the two countries; Syria, Iran, Ballistic Missile Defence, nuclear arms reductions—these are the issues concerning US-Russia relations that have dominated the headlines in the last few weeks. It would appear that the Cold War is upon us again! However, seen from another perspective, there are some sig
If this is a moment that will change the Internet, how will that process proceed from here? And for whom will it change?
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.
America's release of five Taliban leaders recently in exchange for one of its troopers has grave implications for not just Afghan security but also the India-Pakistan détente.
As of now, the Quad’s formal agenda is modest. It remains a platform for leaders of the four countries to meet each other collectively and bilaterally. Meetings have so far taken up the issue of providing vaccines, building supply chains, mitigating climate change and providing humanitarian relief. An unstated aspect of the Quad grouping is supply-chain resilience and the need to have a chain which is not linked to China.
The healthcare industry is undergoing an unprecedented change. The affordability and quality of healthcare are being profoundly affected by increased globalization, competition, cost consciousness, regulations and new technologies. The US is expected to spend up to 20% of GDP on healthcare by 2015.
The effective usage of ICT and the implementation of personalised education programmes can ensure significant changes in the learning processes in sch
In a groundbreaking speech in August this year, US President Donald Trump laid out his government’s policy for South Asia, authorising more American troops to Afghanistan and insisting that Pakistan must either “do more” to restrain Islamist militants, or face consequences. Indian and Afghan governments have welcomed the new US policy approach. The major components of Trump’s Afghanistan strategy — recognising Pakistan’s role in provi
Releasing ORF's latest book on China, the Vice President of India, Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, called for introspection and change of mindset to address the issue of India lagging behind China in the field of science and technology.
Although Von der Leyen has proved her mettle over the years, only time will tell if she would be able to maintain her legacy in other critical areas s
In spite of its modest economic weight in the initial years, the New Development Bank (NDB) can change the ethos of development finance irreversibly. Rather than replacing or supplanting existing development finance institutions, the NDB will seek to supplement existing resources.
The risk associated with water availability gets complicated with global warming and climate change. This affects the scarcity value of water, and eve
This paper examines current water management ideologies and practices and the impact they create on strategies for pan-Asian connectivity. It suggests that 'business-as-usual' management principles and the harnessing of transboundary rivers tend to undermine efforts at achieving economic and ecological sustainability goals, as well as meeting long-term development challenges. The Mekong and Ganga basin regions, in particular, suffer from inadequa
Only by recognising the intrinsic value of water and its central role in our existence can we hope to build a more resilient and food-secure world for
Initiating the discussion on "Water Security in South Asia", eminent water expert and noted writer, Mr. B. G. Verghese felt that while water is the key to cooperation in the region, climate change is the most important issue for all South Asian countries.
This brief is largely based on several discussions organised at Observer Research Foundation over a period of time. These discussions were enriched by the presence of some of the well-known experts on water issues in the country, like former Union Minister for Water Resources, Dr. Suresh Prabhu, current High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Tariq Ahmad Karim, Mr. Sunjoy Joshi, Director, Observer Research Foundation, Ms. Clare Shakya, Senior Regional C
Noted film personality and now Member of Parliament Javed Akhtar says that one of the reasons for violence against women in India is that we are living in an industrial society with a feudal mindset. He says concrete steps should be taken to effect a real change in the mindset of the people.
सूचना में देरी, ध्यान भटकाने और ग़लत जानकारियां फैलाने क�
Despite delay, distract and diffuse tactics, awareness of the climate crisis and the impact it has on many of our other crises—energy, food, violenc
AU’s G20 membership offers much to the continent, but whether it will lead to tangible results will depend on its ability to forge partnerships with
Eight million Indians work in the region and send over $50 billion in remittances. This will change
How is the discrepancy between the Chinese government’s own words and the statistics it released is so pronounced? The answer to this question can b
The Observer Research Foundation, CRM held a focus group meeting on the topic 'What do falling Crude Prices mean for India's Fiscal Deficit?' on February 9, 2007. Shri S C Tripathi, former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, chaired the discussions.
The recent by-elections raise some key questions regarding the future of the Maldivian democracy.
