modi Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
21 May 2015

Modi: India’s salesman-in-chief

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign travels combine domestic and foreign policy to achieve India’s twin goals of national security and investment inflow. The leader-as-salesman is not new, and India is just catching up with the global norm

Modi on a plane Courtesy: MEA Flickr
21 May 2015

Modi’s global quest for clean energy

A common thread during Modi’s recent visits to China, Mongolia, and South Korea—as well as on his visits to other countries over the last year—is an attempt to move India away from coal and towards cleaner forms of energy such as solar power, natural gas, and nuclear energy. This signals a more responsible approach to development

Xiaomi India Courtesy: Alibaba, Xiaomi, Wechat
18 May 2015

China and Digital India

Less than two years ago most Indians would struggle to name a Chinese company. Fast forward to the present, Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi is on the tips of everyone’s tongue. Chinese internet giants Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi have emerged as investors and major players in India’s fast growing e-commerce and internet space. Their emergence marks a new and exciting area of cooperation and engagement between India and China

Sharif-Xi jinping Courtesy:
14 May 2015

OBOR and India’s security concerns

While China will seek India’s cooperation on its ambitious ‘One Belt, One Road’ project during Prime Minister Modi’s visit this week, Indian policy makers must soon articulate a definite stand on this transnational corridor by bridging the country’s security concerns and the benefits of such an engagement with China.

Air pollution in China- Nicolò Lazzati (Flickr) Courtesy:
14 May 2015

Asia’s environmental emergency

The idea that Asia can follow the West’s ‘get dirty, get rich, get clean’ strategy grows more absurd with every year. Nor can Asian political leaders say the region can’t afford the cost of environmental progress. It is now clear that India and other countries cannot afford the skyrocketing cost of environmental degradation.

XiJinping--621x414 Courtesy: Xinhua
12 May 2015

Xi to Modi: “Here’s my shopping list”

With a massive, yet demanding middle class, the Chinese Communist Party needs a reliable source of cheap labor to continue to allow Chinese nationals to enjoy mass-produced daily products. step forward India, mass producer.

Policy Perspectives
Tejas 2 Courtesy: Wikipedia
12 May 2015

Defence and India’s private sector

Rapidly evolving security threats in India's neighbourhood and a number of accidents means it is critical for India to invest in the modernisation as well as the indigenisation of India's rapidly obsolescing defence equipment. This policy perspective provides recommendations on what role Indian private sector can play in the modernisation of India's defence sector

car mexico Courtesy: Taneli Rajala
7 May 2015

Make in India Mexican-style

The 'Make In India' campaign could learn from the manufacturing success story of Mexico which has come to be called as a 'rising global star in manufacturing’ and 'the China of the Americas'. Prime Minister Modi can seek inspiration from President Enrique Peña Nieto who has brought about a dozen major reforms by forging a historic consensus with the opposition parties through the Pact for Mexico.