Dedollarisation_dollar_sinking Courtesy: ETF Stream
7 September 2023

Dedollarisation?

The U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s dominant currency has come under pressure as countries and central banks explore alternative currencies and diversify their reserve compositions. While the U.S. continues to dominate global financial markets and the dollar is unlikely to be unseated anytime soon, the challenge to the dollar-dominated uniform currency system has begun.

169285210464e6df889de71 Courtesy: ConnectedtoIndia
31 August 2023

India’s rising star in contested space

The Chandrayaan’s successful landing on the lunar south pole gives India some momentum to think ‘astro-strategically’ about space – independently and with its partners. Science and national prestige alone aren’t the only factors driving human space endeavors. Commercial gain, and intense military contestation are likely to be a feature in future decades.

BRICS 2 website Courtesy: Fox News
31 August 2023

BRICS-XI, the new configuration

The decision to invite six countries — Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — to join BRICS as full members has opened the grouping to a new geopolitical era. India can now play a seminal but challenging role in this evolved dynamic, given its growing cooperation with the West on the one hand and its active pursuit of the interests of the Global South on the other.

Trade in digital services Courtesy: World Economic Forum
31 August 2023

Cooperation for digital standards and interoperability

Digital services trade is a fundamental and growing element of our shared economic future. But policy makers are disrupting cross-border ecosystems by adopting divergent governance approaches. To realise the full potential of an inclusive digital market, it is vital that we embrace new means of regulatory cooperation on cornerstone technologies.

Indian-AI website Courtesy:
24 August 2023

India’s AI Future

The disruptive impact of Generative AI models like ChatGPT and Copilot will be felt across information-processing sectors including customer service, research and blue-collar jobs. India must develop a comprehensive national AI strategy that connects stakeholders to provide a roadmap for responsible AI deployment and increase funding for AI research.

National Security Advisors' Meeting Courtesy: Observer Research Foundation
24 August 2023

Jeddah is the ‘new’ Vienna

In West Asia, nations such as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are starting to understand their pivotal geopolitical positioning in world affairs – and are making calibrated and strategic moves to preserve or recover global stability. It’s welcome at a time when more than two dozen conflicts are ongoing, when geopolitical rivals have hardened their positions, and diplomacy has failed to de-escalate in the primary contests.

14466760487_a0053006b6_k Courtesy: Lowy Institute
17 August 2023

BRICS Summit: Redefining international cooperation

The 15th BRICS summit is set to take place on August 22-24 in Johannesburg. Against a backdrop of escalating global tensions, the summit's agenda encompasses crucial topics including greater representation of the Global South, reform of MDBs, and geopolitical flashpoints like the Ukraine crisis. The summit's outcomes will extend beyond the grouping and redefine the landscape of international cooperation among emerging economies.

Morosini website Courtesy: EDR Magazine
17 August 2023

Connecting Italy’s Mediterranean and India’s Ocean

The Italian Navy sees in its multicultural "Mediterranean" nature, a similarity with the Indian Ocean as a connecting fabric that has enabled civilizations to flourish and prosper through the centuries. The shared concerns and cooperation between the Italian and Indian navies, now renewed, can bring prosperity with contemporary connectivity.

ANI-20230705152949 Courtesy: ANI
10 August 2023

Bombay’s historic ties to Zanzibar

On a recent visit to Tanzania, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced the establishment of the first overseas campus of the premier Indian Institute of Technology Madras on its islands of Zanzibar in Africa. The choice of Zanzibar is significant: 180 years ago, it was the very first interface between Indian merchants and the East African mainland.