shutterstock_524792053 Courtesy: Shutterstock
28 May 2020

Digital India story Covid-19 resistant

India’s e-commerce sector has shown resistance to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a welcome outcome, and to ensure its success, strong regulatory policy in e-commerce is needed to ensure a level-playing field. This will benefit the customer and strengthen the Digital India and Make in India visions of the government. Can emerging markets look to India for a model e-commerce policy where the regulator has played a part, but not overregulated?

Ecomm policy Courtesy: Shutterstock
26 May 2020

Digital India story Covid-19 resistant

India’s e-commerce sector has shown resistance to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a welcome outcome, and to ensure its success, strong regulatory policy in e-commerce is needed to ensure a level-playing field. This will benefit the customer and strengthen the Digital India and Make in India visions of the government. Can emerging markets look to India for a model e-commerce policy where the regulator has played a part, but not overregulated?

shutterstock_132894758 Courtesy: Shutterstock
25 May 2020

Globalisation: good-bye to the hype

Globalisation has resulted in the interdependence of nations through the largely unimpeded transmission of investment capital and information, and integrated business operations. The leading beneficiaries have been the global 1%, and China. While it is too late and not possible to roll back an interconnected world order, globalization as we know it will recede, as will China’s standing in the world.

Sameer 5 Courtesy: DRDO/Twitter
18 May 2020

A defence-industrial agenda for India

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent announcement of defence reforms is an appropriate opportunity for India to create a vibrant and profitable defence-industrial base by focusing on the procurement process, capitalising on emerging technologies and partnering with like-minded countries.

shutterstock_1715136076 Courtesy: Shutterstock
14 May 2020

Invoking force majeure in a crisis

For countries and companies reeling from the severe economic impact of COVID19, force majeure is a mighty legal tool that has not received much attention in contracts. An analysis of what it is, how it works and how it can be enforced.

NIC-logo (final) Courtesy: National Informatics Centre
14 May 2020

Digitally combating COVID19

Compared to many countries India’s digital initiatives to monitor and control the impact of COVID19 have been surprisingly successful and swift. Creating and implementing the deep IT infrastructure necessary for this success is the National Informatics Centre (NIC) - the government’s pan-India, digital backbone.

shutterstock_1164513586 Courtesy: Shutterstock
12 May 2020

Artemis Accords propel India’s space ambitions

Under the ‘Artemis Accords’ the U.S. is planning an international coalition to extract natural resources from the Moon. China is concurrently planning an Earth-Moon Special Economic Zone. India’s antiquated endorsement of the 1979 Moon Agreement is shackling its true potential for economics-driven space exploration. India must immediately do away with Cold-War era, vintage whims of global commons.

A postcard by Clifton & Co., c. 1903, showing a ward with patients and two medical personnel taken in a Plague Hospital in Bombay. Courtesy: Burrough's Wellcome archive
7 May 2020

Lessons from the Bombay Plague

To tackle Covid19 the Indian government has invoked the colonial-era Epidemics Act of 1897, originally enacted to tackle the Bombay Plague of 1896. The plague wreaked havoc across Bombay and presented some of the same challenges the government faces today, including a migrant labour exodus. History teaches by examples - here is a glance in to the past