OPEC’s spigot: spot on
By keeping production high and oil prices low, OPEC is taking on oil and gas companies by undercutting their ability to investments in future oil & gas production
Courtesy: The Speaker-news
Courtesy: The Speaker-news
Courtesy:
Modi must communicate policy reversals
The Narendra Modi government has recanted on some of its policy promises. There could be valid reasons for doing so, except it has not bothered to take the public into confidence
Courtesy: MEA Flickr
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
Courtesy: Petroleum.nic.in
Unmasking India’s exports data
The present pessimism about India’s dipping exports is a misreading of the numbers—the country’s exports have fallen because of the lower price of petroleum, and not due to any slowdown in industrial activity or reduced demand from foreign markets
Courtesy: Amit Dave (Reuters)
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.
Courtesy: Wikimedia commons
India and the South China Sea
China's belligerence in the South China Sea is causing anxiety in India. India needs to strengthen its stance on the situation to maintain preponderance in the region which holds great significance to its trade.
Courtesy: www.info7.com
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.
Courtesy: Sameer Patil
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
Courtesy: MEA Flickr
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
Courtesy: NSA/Wikimedia Commons
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