PHOTO-2019-05-24-16-21-02 (1) Courtesy: Gateway House
24 May 2019

Pricing nature: India’s opportunity

The re-election of the Bharatiya Janata Party to Parliament means that India’s infrastructure buildout will continue apace. This will be a heavy load on the environment. It will also have to abide by Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. This offers an opportunity for the government to think innovatively about measures for sustainable development, particularly in pricing nature

Bilateral Courtesy: Gateway House
24 May 2019

A case for balanced BITs

The Bilateral Investment Treaty has been losing favour as a dispute resolution mechanism since the recession of 2008. India has terminated several BITs after receiving an unfavourable award in a 2012 case. These terminations have created uncertainty regarding existing foreign investments and are not the answer to disputes. A balance is needed, especially for emerging markets, which must protect against claims whilst ensuring confidence in business. The analysis below provides some options

2019_5_img23_May_2019_PTI5_23_ Courtesy: India Today
21 May 2019

Elections 2019: Making India Middle Class

The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been returned to power for another five years, till 2024. In the run-up to the national elections, the author travelled to Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, two of India’s most important states, to gauge the mood of the electorate, and to assess the economic and political conditions on the ground since the last election in 2014. She found a new generation with big dreams, and a population whose basic needs were being met. Economic citizenry has trumped identity politics. Modi is the leitmotif for this India, and they look to him to lead them into a middle class future.

nehru Courtesy: Free Press Journal
2 May 2019

Tracing Indian merchants in Japan

Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s coronation on May 1, marking the dawn of the Reiwa Era, is a milestone also for the Indian merchant diaspora, which began arriving during the reign of the Meiji Emperor in the 1870s. The strength of the India-Japan bilateral relationship lies in the 150-year-old narratives of these family-run firms and the success of many Indo-Japanese  collaborations

Maldives-618x412 Courtesy: Dying Regime / Flickr
25 April 2019

A power change in Maldives

Maldives’ new president, Ibrahim Solih, has had two election wins in a span of six months – his own in September 2018 and his Maldivian Democratic Party’s landslide victory in the Majlis elections about three weeks ago. An analysis of what this win says about democratic politics in Maldives, improved relations with India and the complex equation it shares with China

Jorhat :Polling officer checking electronic voting machine (EVM) and documents after collecting from the respective center  on the eve of the 1st phase of Assam State Assembly election 2016 at Jorhat in Assam on Sunday. PTI Photo(PTI4_3_2016_000067A) Courtesy: PTI
18 April 2019

The cyber security imperative for India’s elections

The growing use of technology in the election process has made cyber security a crucial issue. Instances of the spread of fake news, manipulation of voter behaviour and hacking show how digital technology can be misused. These issues need to be addressed in the long term

IMG_20190411_090307__01__01_Norita SAN (1) Courtesy: Gateway House
11 April 2019

Japan’s Buddhist trail in Bombay

At the turn of the 20th century, British India was home to about 3,000 Japanese expatriates, and Bombay and its presidency had well-established trade ties with Imperial Japan – until the Second World War brought it all to an end. The city never regained its substantial Japanese resident population, but the few monuments that remain point to rich political and religious linkages