Policy Perspectives
WTO Courtesy: wikimedia
15 October 2014

India’s curious stand at WTO

India’s decision to block the Trade Facilitation Agreement at the World Trade Organisation in July was perplexing; the confusion was compounded because India was almost alone in its position. This policy perspective explains the reasons for India’s curious stand

DD cover 2 Courtesy: Spenta Multimedia
10 October 2014

Doordarshan Diplomacy

This report examines the current state of Doordarshan and formulates an agenda for transforming the channel into an effective foreign policy tool for India

DD paper cover Courtesy: Spenta Multimedia
10 October 2014

Taking Doordarshan global

News channels like China’s CCTV, Russia Today and Al-Jazeera have become definitive voices for their nations and for international views. Now, with the Modi government on a public messaging and public realations spree, it is the right time to re-configure our public broadcaster, Doordarshan, to showcase India’s growing global ties and the success of its democracy to the world.

Sustainable gardening Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
10 October 2014

The UN and sustainability

The UN and the global finance industry are making gradual but concerted efforts to align business interests and ecological sustainability. A growing number of companies are combining profit-making with social responsibility. There is still a long way to go, but the UN system has created useful mechanisms of change

Chinese-President-Xi-Jinping-with-chinese-soldiers-300x216 Courtesy: newshence.com
8 October 2014

Chumar incursion: a message to Xi?

The reason behind a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) contingent intruding into eastern Ladakh around the time of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India, still needs to be decoded. It is not unlikely that domestic rivals, including possible ‘rogue’ elements within the PLA, could have decided to embarrass Xi — angry with his historic crackdown on corruption among Chinese officials

kudankulam Courtesy: Wikimedia.org
1 October 2014

Decoding the India-U.S. nuclear deal

Bringing U.S. nuclear technology to India is a goal identified in the countries’ joint vision statement. Although public discourse on the India-U.S. nuclear deal has focussed on the liability clause, the pact’s success also depends on resolving other factors such as local sourcing, technology transfer and project delays

Modi obama Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs
30 September 2014

India-U.S. must move past deal-led ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. is unlikely to reset bilateral relations. The relationship remains determined by bickering over trade and investment deals, such as the impasse at the WTO and the disputes over IPR. To become real strategic partners, both countries must move beyond these transactional exchanges

Untitled Courtesy: GoI
30 September 2014

Time to refocus on the LBA

Although the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh was discussed when Narendra Modi and Sheikh Hasina met on the sidelines of the UNGA, a timeline for ratification was not clarified. But both leaders have the numbers in their governments to move forward this critical agreement and must do so with urgency