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The NBSA process needs to keep pace with the fists of fury that politicians are unleashing on each other. Particularly so as the level of unsubtantiated allegations is getting worse as we're getting closer to the General Elections 2014.

With over 415,000 Kashmiri civilians meeting the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive disorder, interventions aimed at improving mental health i

While Merkel might have, once again, narrowly saved her head in Brussels, the reality is that rightwing populism as a new political force has not only

The recent India-Bangladesh border incident suggests a need to rethink the dialogue processes among the border guarding forces.

Spillovers from unconventional monetary policy in the AEs pose a systemic risk for emerging market economies (EMEs). Unconventional monetary policies to ensure cheap liquidity and easy credit conditions have been used not only in the US but in Europe as well as Japan.

Budget 2022-23 has focused on long term gains as opposed to short term measures

It is quite perplexing that the government has secured all the premium schemes only for the top of the pyramid institutes that constitute only about 2

The Finance Minister announced allocations for various sectors in the Budget. But these are a regular feature of every Budget. What was different in this Budget? Almost nothing except that there has been fiscal consolidation. Obviously, it is not going to satisfy the common man, farmers, industry or foreign investors.

The Modi Government's first real annual Budget is perhaps its most important test after flunking the Delhi Assembly examination. While businessmen will be watching it to gauge the intentions and determination of the Government to create a pro-business atmosphere, it will be equally eagerly watched by the armed forces community for its modernisation targets.

Sitharaman’s Budget seeks to inject efficiencies into the regulatory system.

Though the Budget has increased financial incentives to the RE industry, it does not reflect an unambiguous focus on the energy transition of the coun

The Finance Minister has chosen to walk the conservative path, hoping to stimulate investment and growth through small half-measures. Expect high rates of inflation in FY 13 and greater pressure on the fiscal deficit despite white paper on black money.

This was a budget without many surprises. Maybe we have evolved to being an economy, in which the budget is a mundane, technical exercise, of interest to economists and accountants, but of little immediate consequence for those who live in the real world.

While the coverage of Budgets in the media and research reports are mainly limited to high interest items like income-tax, sales tax, excise, inflation etc., the "Part A" of the budget, which is an indicator of government intention and priority, remains relatively under explored.

The accompanying politico-administrative changes apart, Elections-2004 has caused the mid-course review of the economic reforms, seeking to introduce the missing "human face", about which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had begun talking about while in the Opposition.

Visiting Pakistani journalists informed a select gathering at Observer Research Foundation that the ongoing turmoil in their country was the result of a transition from military dictatorship to coalition politics in the democratic setup.

Most participants at an ORF conference on urban development and creation of 100 smart cities in India felt that creation of smart cities is an extremely challenging exercise and for this, careful planning and effective project implementation are required.

After years of conceiving the idea of Strategic Oil Reserve, the Indian government seems to be moving in the right direction in a resolute manner. Recent statements by both the Prime Minister and the Petroleum Minister about building strategic storage facilities to gear up the country to meet oil emergencies

Member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) continue to grapple with a host of security issues, including the burgeoning ISIS threat and the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. In the recent months, the region has witnessed the immense social, political, economic and geo-strategic implications of terrorism and displacement. BIMSTEC’s counterterrorism initiatives must therefore be scr

New Delhi must take full advantage of the geopolitical opportunity that the Japanese connection offers us. As democracies, both India and Japan are open societies and committed to a liberal world order. Through visits and agreements, the two sides have now laid the infrastructure for their strategic partnership.

During its G20 presidency, India should engage with governments and policymakers and address the regulatory constraints faced by this sector to keep i

In terms of the existing institutional mechanisms, South Korea somewhat lags behind Japan, but one should remember that India-South Korea partnership is only about 40 years old and during this rather short period, what the two countries have achieved is quite remarkable.

The ORF-hosted BRICS Academic Forum's recommendations to the 4th BRICS Leaders Summit, to be held in New Delhi on March 29, seek to set the agendas for global governance reforms and sustainable development and map out a new geography of cooperation.

The seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims “to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030. Such quest for energy security is echoed in subregional strategies as well; in the BIMSTEC region, it is a key priority. As the gap in electricity supply and demand increases in the countries of BIMSTEC, trans-border cooperation can help diversify energy sources, reduce the average cos

In the lead up to COP26, India and the UK can work together in catalysing a just and equitable post-pandemic recovery

A major problem in developing connectivity projects has been the lack of higher direction. By virtue of being strategic, these tasks ought to be done in special quick time. But, more often than not, they end up mired in all kinds of problems. At the best of times inter-ministerial and centre-state coordination is poor.

With interests of Australia and India "converging" in the evolving geostrategic environment of Asia, both countries have the capacity to develop into a "real" strategic partnership, according to the Australian High Commissioner, Mr Peter Varghese.

This paper undertakes an analysis of the gender-disaggregated data from the National Statistical Organisation’s Time-Use Survey 2019, and finds that Indian women spend eight times more hours on unpaid care work than men. The patterns are similar across educational qualification, and employment or marital status: women with higher education, or earn their own incomes, do not spend any less time on unpaid care work. Shifting mindsets and rebalanc

As the Covid-19 pandemic began to unfold in February, India’s dependence on Chinese inputs for the production of pharmaceutical products was debated intensely. This special report argues that the narrow discussion has fallen short in capturing India’s crucial role in global health as a provider of health-related goods to many developing countries. The report analyses trade data on over 200 categories of health-related goods, and provides quan

As the PM, Kishida has upheld Abe's legacy by maintaining Japan's focus on regional security and economic resilience, while introducing initiatives to

India’s power sector requires sustained efforts to achieve the power generating capacity target of approximately 1.2 terawatts by 2047. It needs such capacity to meet the demands of economic growth and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of providing universal electricity access. At the same time, the country also needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to meet commitments to global climate action agreements. This paper revi

The G20 can steward inclusive approaches to digital transformation, directing international development cooperation, and strengthening multilateralism

26 November 2018 marked a decade since 10 Pakistan-based terrorists killed over 160 people in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. The city remained under siege for days, and security forces disjointedly struggled to improvise a response. The Mumbai tragedy was not the last terrorist attack India faced; there would be many others since. After every attack, the government makes lukewarm attempts to fit episodic responses into coherent frameworks

Eventually, it has to be a mutual settlement with full understanding between the two parties. They need to come to a compromise, in the highest traditions of the country. There is ample land available land at the site which could accommodate both the construction of a new temple as well as a new masjid.

What are the implications of India signing all four of the so-called foundational agreements relating to defence cooperation with the United States?

Both India and Australia can work together and be partners in development to create solutions for the world. Communication, collaboration and consiste

A four-member Chiang Mai-based delegation from the Burmese Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) visited ORF on 26 November, 2007. The delegation consisted of Dr. Lian H. Sakhong (General Secretary); Harn Yawnghwe (Director - National Reconciliation Programme); Saw David Taw (Joint General-Secretary); and Dr. Sui-Khar (Team Leader - Foreign Affairs Committee).

America is different: different in its impulses, in its terms of debate, in its responses. A young country, struggling to acquire an identity, moving away from a melting pot approach to a multicultural one¿in theory if not always in practice; religious in traditional terms despite trappings of post-modernity,

The final announcement of the results of the US Presidential elections are expected to be announced only after the completion of the counting of the provisional votes in the State of Ohio, which may take some days unless Senator John Kerry decides to concede victory to George Bush without waiting for the completion of the counting.

The Indo-German relationship is undergoing a transformation but areas such as lesser ease of doing business, bureaucratic hurdles and red tapism need further attention to improve economic relations, according to Mr Achim Fabig, Consul-General of the Republic of Germany, in Chennai.

Decisive and ruthless crackdown on jihadis is the need of the hour, not more empty rhetoric ---- Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), headed by Hafiz Saeed based in Pakistan, is a threat to India's security and sovereignty and must therefore be branded as 'enemy of the nation'. There need not be a legal provision to do so. The Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is empowered to take such a decision.

Probably the most common response to the criticism that has been leveled at the P5+1-Iran negotiations over the past year is: "but what's the alternative?"