UN_Yoga_Day Courtesy: MEA Flickr
18 June 2015

International yoga day

The growing popularity of yoga across the world—highlighted by the International Yoga Day on June 21—is a triumph for those seeking to promote holistic knowledge systems and therapies for human well-being, and the recognition by the UN could strengthen public spending in support of such therapies across the world

An engineer of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) works inside the Kalol oil field in Gujarat September 12, 2009. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files Courtesy: Amit Dave (Reuters)
16 June 2015

Rosneft-Essar deal

Conjecture about a Rosneft-Essar deal shows how the oil market dynamics have shifted in the past few years. Just as supply security is important to oil buyers, demand security is crucial for oil suppliers. Buying refining and marketing assets in big markets like India is the route to demand security for Russia, whose economy depends on petroleum exports.

info7- Pacific Alliance Courtesy: www.info7.com
2 June 2015

The Pacific Alliance & India

The Pacific Alliance—Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile—is one of the newest and most vibrant regional groupings in Latin American. Apart from the liberal foreign trade policies of these countries, they also have higher growth and lower inflation rates than their neighbours. India’s trade with the grouping has been growing, and as an observer member of the bloc, there is scope for much deeper engagement.

CASS Courtesy: Sameer Patil
28 May 2015

China’s ‘think tank’ culture

A recent visit by Gateway House researchers to various think tanks in Beijing and Shanghai offered a glimpse of China’s efforts to establish a “think tank culture”. The government hopes this will create a research base for policy analysis and project the country’s power globally, but for now the thinks tanks face many challenges, such as intellectual autonomy, language, and using resources optimally

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

PRISM_logo by NSA Courtesy: NSA/Wikimedia Commons
20 May 2015

Exposing NSA’s fallibility

This month’s U.S. Appeals Court ruling that deemed illegal the collection of bulk phone records by the U.S. NSA—falsely claimed by U.S. officials as having helped detect 26/11 plotter David Headley—is another nail in the coffin of the U.S. surveillance programme. However, detection of terrorist activity and prosecution of perpetrators remains as problematic as ever

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