IMG-20191024-WA0003 Courtesy: Asad Lalljee
24 October 2019

A Lebanese Spring

Lebanon has been the scene of some of the biggest mass protests through the month of October. They arose in response to cumulative economic crises due to low economic growth and the government’s controversial austerity measures. But can they also be seen as an awakening of Lebanese society to the need for a more equitable political and social discourse?

48858480898_d65cd12503_c Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
17 October 2019

Bangladesh, India’s exemplary neighbour

Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India earlier this month, resulting in seven new agreements, showed the strength of the mutual relationship. But both governments need to address some rankling issues: the sharing of the Teesta waters, the Rohingya problem and repatriation of the illegal people from Assam

shutterstock_765921100 (1) Courtesy: Shutterstock
16 October 2019

Powering hydrogen mobility for India

Decarbonising the transportation sector is an environmental priority globally, and hydrogen, the cleanest and most plentiful of fuels, is central to achieving this goal. If hydrogen mobility is actively pursued, India’s large reserves of gas hydrates and shale gas can be tapped for commercial use. Such a shift in choice of fuel will also ensure India’s energy security

48645255438_77e7265a4b_c Courtesy: TICAD7/Flickr
3 October 2019

TICAD 7’s agenda: engaging private enterprise

The Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development was a departure from earlier editions of it. Japan, which is changing tack as a competitor to China in Africa, held back from publicising the number of heads of state present to prevent any comparisons with other such forums and made no further commitments on Overseas Development Assistance. The accent, instead, was on increasing Japanese private sector engagement

shutterstock_1457421710 (1) Courtesy: Shutterstock
26 September 2019

Quad in the Indo-Pacific

The foreign ministers of the Quad countries meet for the first time in New York today even as the Indo-Pacific has turned into a keenly contested geopolitical arena. Some countries are offering to play a mediatory role while other triangular equations are also undergoing change. An analysis of some of the relationships at work here