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The question of municipal leadership is of great significance in urban governance in India. There are various models of the position of chief executive of an urban local body (ULB), predominantly tilting towards the ‘strong mayor’ model either through ‘presidentialisation’ of the office or through a ‘mayor-in-council’[1] system. In India, it is the ‘state appointed municipal commissioner’ model that holds sway, sitting over a popu

Small satellites have gained considerable importance in recent years. Although small spacecraft have existed for decades, their military applications have recently gained prominence owing to technological advances in their development and integration into the armed services of the major spacefaring countries across the world. This paper analyses the significance of small satellites in the C4ISR capabilities of the three service branches of the In

Street vending was illegal in urban India for almost six decades until the passage of the Street Vendors Act in 2014. Despite the law having legalised the activity, however, the default policy in most cities across India is to clamp down on street hawkers. Yet street vending remains a viable source of employment for many. As the pace of urbanisation increases across India, it is only likely that a greater number of street traders will contest for

Safer cities are a product of technology, policing, community participation, education, and planning and architectural design. In the policy frame, focus should be on inclusive development, participatory approaches, identity mainstreaming, and sustainable urban development to create a more equal and tolerant urban society.

As a tool of diplomacy, forum summits have allowed countries to interact, exchange views, and work together to cooperate on issues of mutual interest. This is true for the African continent, where there is a recent surge in high-level summits involving heads of state, ministers, and civil society organisations. These ‘Africa+1’ summits have provided countries in the continent with an institutional platform to engage with both traditional and

Indian climate policy-making should 'mainstream' adaptation strategies into development planning to better address climate change. The Indian Government had formulated the National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2008.

A city goes through several stages of evolution from being an aggregate of activities and population to developing its own identity as an economic and cultural hub. In the context of urban management, the evolution of a city is seen in its ability to think for itself in terms of resource sustainability and dynamic infrastructure needs. Coimbatore, the second-largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu, has gone through various stages of economic evol

After Sushma Swaraj's successful visit to Beijing, which managed to create a certain degree of 'warmth' in China's attitude towards India, now all eyes will be on Mr Modi's visit to China in May. But before that the border talks that are going to be held soon will play a key role in determining the course of events.

This brief argues that the understanding of city-level air quality could be strengthened if residents who live in spaces where industries are present, are able to access information about industrial emissions in their areas. Indeed, even as there are some 4,000 OCEMS (online continuous emissions/effluents monitoring systems) in place in different pollutive industries across the country, the data they collect—inarguably vital for public health�

The findings of Working Group-III (WG-III) of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly highlight the global failure to scale-up mitigation actions to achieve the Paris Climate targets. Immediate and unprecedented action will now be needed to avoid catastrophic global warming in this century. The WG-III report details some of the policy actions needed at the global level to enable a sustai

India and Singapore's efforts and strategic planning have brought the bilateral linkages between them to such a juncture that further opening up and adhering to the '5s plan' of the Indian foreign Minister will enhance their partnership and make them achieve newer heights.

Reconciliation with the Taliban is critical to the US transition plan for Afghanistan. Although there have been secret and persistent talks with some key elements of the Taliban leadership during the last two years, a tangible outcome has yet to emerge from these negotiations.

The TAPI pipeline is not merely about economics. Geo-political concerns have played a crucial role in pushing the project, especially the deteriorating US-Iran relationship, amongst others. Two US companies have evinced also keen interest.

As industries slowed to a near halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital economy received a boost—especially from consumers forced to rely on virtual means to meet their needs. Businesses turned to the virtual workspace, adopting new productivity tools to retain their workforce. This brief studies the case of Africa, where tech played a role in pandemic response, and e-commerce players reported increases in orders and custo

Most of the Maoist leaders had migrated from Telangana, particularly after the Andhra Pradesh Government began combining developmental plans with combing operations. So, it remains to be seen how the creation of a Telangana State would impact on the morale and methods of the Maoists.

Local militants of Afghanistan joining the Islamic State's (IS) and violent clashes involving "IS jihadists" in different parts of the country suggest a realignment of loyalties of local militants. Kabul and the region must not be complacent.

The Annexure gives available details of terrorist incidents reported from southern Thailand since October 25, 2004, when 85 Muslim youth arrested by the Thai security forces during a demonstration outside a police station died due to suffocation while they and many others were being transported to their place of intended detention.

Security Guards belonging to the Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) foiled a daring attempt by a group of six terrorists to penetrate a Hindu place of worship at Ayodhya, a holy town of the Hindus in the state of Uttar Pradesh in North India, on July 5, 2005. The site at which the place of worship is located has been a bone of contention between sections of the Hindus and the Muslims for many years.

The recently concluded 19th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) brought the world’s attention to the future direction of the CPC. As the proceedings of the Party Congress revealed, sustaining the legitimacy of the CPC’s hold on power is an overriding concern for the country’s political leaders. The Party Congress addressed the corruption plaguing the CPC and the Chinese state writ large, which has deep, long-term consequen

The 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2022 and the subsequent leadership reshuffle gave a new mandate to a ruling elite that will sit at the helm till 2027. It happened at a time when the CPC is facing strong headwinds, among them a tech war with the United States (US) and a downturn in the domestic economy as a result of President Xi Jinping’s ‘zero-COVID-19’ policy. The CPC saw the protests that ensued a

This issue brief examines how Afghanistan facilitates India's objectives vis-a-vis Central Asia and explores how engagement with Central Asia, in turn, could play a major role in furthering India's interests in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is an important player as far as determining the outcome of a post-2014 Afghanistan is concerned and should be engaged with. But to expect it to play a productive role or to expect Afghanistan and Pakistan to reconcile their differences and jointly work towards stability is a tall order.

Along Pakistan’s western frontier, the Pashtuns in the north and the Baloch in the south have historically been crucial elements of the country’s ethnic tapestry. Their place in Pakistani society today is the result of their geography, British colonial legacy, and their relationship with the state. For many years now, the Pashtuns have borne the brunt of the Afghan jihad and military campaigns against their tribes while the Baloch hav

This brief examines the importance of economic integration between India and Sri Lanka in fostering both nations’ growth as well as regional stability. Their deep cultural, historical, and geographic ties support an evolving economic relationship driven by trade, investment, and connectivity. As Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner and investor, India plays a pivotal role in its economic recovery, particularly following Sri Lanka’s recent ec

The PLA has still to cover some gaps before it gains the confidence and warfare proficiency in any planned invasion.

The Seychelles’ geographical advantages have given it economic gains from its main Blue Economy (BE) sectors—fisheries and tourism. However, overexploitation and unsustainable management practices have placed undue pressure on these resources. In 2018, the country conceived a sustainable ocean-based development pathway—the Seychelles’ Blue Economy Strategic Framework and Roadmap. Various socio-economic and environmental challenges threate

Despite denials from the Chinese authorities, there is strong speculation that plans for a 1000 km-long tunnel is being tested in order to transfer water from the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet to Xinjiang. Given this mix of Chinese denial and Indian apprehension, how should Indian strategists react?

Even though the tale of Chinese munificence is marred by unsavoury ground realities, all eyes will be on the future of the Belt and Road Initiative

As India jostles for a greater say on the global stage, platforms like Brics allow New Delhi to amplify its profile and work with other nations on key issues

With growing water scarcity across many parts of the world, competition over access to this vital resource has been known to spark conflict. Following the September 2016 Uri attack in India, the government made plans to retaliate against its neighbour by exercising its right to use water of the western rivers—allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty—by building dams, canals and reservoirs. This paper aims to address the legal, econ

India’s social structure, with enduring gender inequalities rooted in patriarchal norms, plays a significant role in perpetuating gender-based violence (GBV). Women in India have been victims of infanticide, selective abortions, sex trafficking, stalking, dowry demands, child marriages, acid attacks, and honour killings. This brief explores the social dimension of GBV in India and assesses how gaps in legislation help to perpetuate them. It als

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the first truly global attempt to set universal development goals for all countries and transform the economic system. More than halfway through the timeline of achieving the SDGs, the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of subsequent crises have dealt a deathblow to the SDGs. A massive financing gap is the primary obstacle to the achievement of the global goals by 2030. This brief argues that the G20, with

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 of threat environments and operational realities. This paper analyses the merits of technology-based wargaming and

Russia’s policy towards South Asia has been the subject of much speculation lately. With closer cooperation between Russia and China and the former’s warming up to Pakistan, it is becoming increasingly evident that Russia is moving away from its India-centric approach in the region. This brief studies the changes, and continuity, in Moscow’s foreign policy towards South Asia as it transitioned from the Soviet Union into the Russian Federati

China is touting its vision of linking two Indian projects (Mausam and Spice Route) with its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. China's main goal is to coordinate regional policy so that each country's economic development plan becomes part of a larger regional vision.

With the US no longer playing the role of security guarantor to Gulf states, they are diversifying their foreign relations through partnerships involving China and Russia, thereby acquiring greater autonomy.

The Smart Cities Mission in India, launched in 2015, is a unique experiment undertaken with the aim of improving people’s quality of life in cities. It bypasses traditional institutional approaches and employs innovative methods to achieve its targets. This brief provides an overview of the work initiated under the mission since its inception and explores the gains so far. It documents sectoral reforms and conducts a critical appraisal of the m

The dark web and terrorism have become closely intertwined, presenting new challenges to existing security frameworks globally. This brief examines the role of the dark web in enabling terrorist activities, from communication and recruitment to radicalisation and propaganda dissemination. It reviews current literature to highlight the ecosystem of the dark web and its ramifications on national security. The analysis describes the strategies adopt

This brief sketches the growing interest of the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Indian diaspora. Over the last three years, the prime minister has repeatedly called attention to the role that the diaspora will play in India’s development process and in the promotion of its foreign policy goals. The brief gives an overview of the policies that the present government has rolled out and examines the benefits from, and pitf

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.

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

It’s worrisome that even though Jalaluddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network, is now dead, the infrastructure that he put in place is very much alive

India’s rising urbanisation in recent years has triggered unbridled construction activities to meet the needs of the growing populations in these cities. Not all of these constructions abide by existing laws, however, leading to adverse consequences on governance systems, the environment, people’s health, transportation services, and overall citizen well-being. In extreme cases, illegal constructions have resulted in loss of lives and propert

As the Indo-Pacific region grows in prominence, all the members of the CSC, which are democracies, will continue to play their cards based on domestic and external benefits.

With the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, analysts are pondering the kind of organisational form the group would take next. The influence of the so-called Islamic State in South Asia may be minimal, but India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have all had the shadow of ISIS’ global footprint land on their doorstep. This brief sheds light on how the influence of ISIS spread across South Asia, specifically after 2014, when pro-I

The success of the Indian covert actions in 1971 that led to the liberation of Bangladesh has a legendary place in India’s security consciousness. This paper retells the story of India’s covert actions in East Pakistan between January and December 1971. It lays down some essential rules and principles for successful covert actions that remain applicable even today. These include the need for a culture of covert action that guides the developm

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.

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is at the heart of most economies. The care sector comprises formal healthcare, childcare services, early childhood education, disability and long-term care, and eldercare. Two-thirds of care workers globally are women, and women and girls perform more than three-quarters of all unpaid care work. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the vulnerability of care workers and deepened the gender gap. This paper a