591ba7996bbfe0287b0c8a5c01dc4a1defb31b68 Courtesy: AFP Photo/AREF KARIMI
28 March 2019

Afghanistan: Development against the odds

The people of Afghanistan, torn by war, ethnic strife and geoeconomic contestation for their country’s rich natural resources, have paid by forsaking the assurances of daily life. But President Ashraf Ghani has shown them that normalcy can return and it is possible to hold regular elections. The author, a guest of the President and First Lady, travelled through the country in October 2018 to record her impressions of a resilient people who have reason to hope for a different future 

960x0 Courtesy: Forbes
14 March 2019

India’s evolving Fintech laws

Fintech refers to a service or product which cuts across technology and finance. Covering everything from blockchain/cryptocurrency and Artificial Intelligence to data and the Internet-of-Things, it is becoming integral to India’s development agenda. This table sets out the various constituents of fintech and the regulations governing them

iran-702x336 Courtesy: Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu Agency
14 March 2019

Iran @ 40: tensions underlie stability

The Islamic Republic of Iran, which turns 40 in April 2019, has come a long way from the Persia of the past. Some changes in the last four decades have been beneficial, and while people do support the regime, they are disaffected with its handling of the economy and foreign affairs

ClimateEngineering_GH_CIGI_Cover Courtesy: Gateway House & CIGI
28 February 2019

Making Terrestrial Geoengineering Technologies Viable: An Opportunity for India-Canada Climate Leadership

The use of terrestrial geoengineering techniques, such as carbon capture, is necessary to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as per the Paris Agreement’s targets. Terrestrial geoengineering is different from atmospheric climate engineering: the latter does not remove the very source of the increased greenhouse effect, which are anthropogenic greenhouse gases. India and Canada must collaborate on carbon capture and propose multilateral regulations for unethical atmospheric climate engineering

D0UfkRXV4AAFoQf Courtesy: The Akshaya Patra Foundation/ Twitter
28 February 2019

Akshaya Patra: case study on food security

On Feb 26, the Akshaya Patra Foundation was conferred the prestigious Gandhi Peace Prize by the President of India. It began as a charitable venture in 2000, serving a nutritious lunch to 1,500 children in five Bangalore schools. The meal was so well received that a year later the Indian government mandated a nutritious lunch meal to be served in every government school. Akshaya Patra, a partner with the central and state government in this effort, is now the world’s largest mid-day meal programme, and served its 3 billionth meal this month. This successful public-private partnership uses high technology, engineering, world-class logistics and management to achieve its goals. But it also ensures India’s food security by sourcing grains and vegetables from local farmers, which in turn preserves the diversity of regional food habits and nutrition. Akshay Patra’s case study on food security was written especially for, and presented at, the ThinkTank20 (T20) meeting hosted by Gateway House in Mumbai in February 2018. The T20 is an official sub-forum of the G20, and the 2018 meeting was held under the G20 presidency of Argentina, one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of agricultural products. Food security and sustainable agriculture was one of the three key issues for Argentina’s G20 Presidency – a focus which India also shares

Harry Edmonds Courtesy: Alice Lewthwaite
14 February 2019

An International House for India

International House, a home-away-from-home for foreign students, was begun in the 1920s by Harry and Florence Edmonds, an idealistic New York couple whose mission was to foster understanding and tolerance. An Edmond family scion suggests the time is right for India, with its growing global profile, to have an I-House too

jf19_cover_large2 Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
13 February 2019

The Stealth Superpower

Although China does not want to usurp the United States’ position as the leader of a global order, its actual aim is nearly as consequential. As one Chinese official put it, “Being a great power means you get to do what you want, and no one can say anything about it.” In other words, China is trying to displace, rather than replace, the United States.

Tribune Courtesy:
12 February 2019

India and Strategic Autonomy

The following speech was given by Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, Gateway House, at a roundtable discussion at the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies in New Delhi, on 7 February, 2019