ONGC-kqh--621x414@LiveMint Courtesy: Livemint
4 August 2016

Securing oil: buy now, hold exploration

The fall in oil prices means it is now cheaper for ONGC to acquire discovered oil fields than to explore on its own. To profit from the changed dynamic, India needs to go big on a ‘buy’ strategy.

Degrowth Website Research paper cover Courtesy: Gateway House
4 July 2016

Degrowth: Consume less. Share more.

Society is currently floating on the expectation that the world is entering a period of sustained economic growth. However, there is mounting evidence that the existing models of economic growth cannot continue.

2c33 Courtesy: ISRO
2 June 2016

Prospects and necessities from RLV-TD

The Indian Space Programme has a mandate to focus on its launch- and earth-oriented capabilities. In the past decade, it has attempted some non-conventional experimental projects under the labels “‘low-cost” and “technology demonstrator”. However the effect of these experimental space projects on India’s techno-economic growth will be realised only if the central government gives the project greater status and funding.

mj16_cover_small Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
29 May 2016

The Age of Transparency

The push for ubiquitous surveillance may, oddly enough, result in greater transparency of state practices as the gaps between rhetoric and reality become more visible.

Andaman Courtesy: Wikipedia
26 May 2016

Andaman & Nicobar: an underutilised asset

Does India plan to remodel its Andaman & Nicobar Islands as a launching pad for future security operations to check growing Chinese inroads in the Indian Ocean Region? Development of the islands has long been ignored to India’s detriment, and their strategic position in the Indian Ocean, underutilised.

bratislava Courtesy:
21 April 2016

Discussions in a disorderly world

Discussions at the Global Security Forum 2016 at Bratislava, Slovakia were reflective of some of the most pressing contemporary global security concerns; differences between NATO and Russia, the rise of China, turmoil in Iraq and Syria etc.

US India Navy Courtesy: Ash Carter / Flickr
16 April 2016

India-U.S.: convergence and divergence

The success of the U.S. Defense Secretary's recent visit to India is indicative of the deepening India-U.S. defence relationship. It has become clear that Indo-U.S. maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean is steaming ahead; while other geopolitical differences, like the sale of aircraft to Pakistan, seem unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Sagar2 Courtesy:
14 April 2016

Sagarmala or SAGAR: a maritime dilemma

After decades of passivity, India is beginning to assert itself in the maritime arena. There is a whiff of salt in the usually 'sea-blind' corridors of Delhi, where the Modi government clearly sees the linkage between the possession of maritime wherewithal, both civilian and military, and the furthering of national prosperity, through ever-increasing trade.

Indian_Navy_flotilla_of_Western_Fleet_escort_INS_Vikramaditya_(R33)_and_INS_Viraat_(R22)_in_the_Arabian_Sea Courtesy: Wikipedia
7 April 2016

India’s future is sea-facing

India needs a more developed strategic focus on its eastern-western seaboards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the lead, investing considerable diplomatic capital and time in his visits to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and island nations in the Arabian Sea. In the east, he is progressively engaging with ASEAN, Japan and Australia