Iran caught between nuclear and Coronavirus
Iran is reeling from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), with no access to medicine or equipment due to severe sanctions, the continuing uncompromising position of world powers, and an ill-advised regime
Iran is reeling from the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), with no access to medicine or equipment due to severe sanctions, the continuing uncompromising position of world powers, and an ill-advised regime
The second-most important issue on everyone's mind after the Coronavirus, is Rare Earths - those metallic elements like scandium and cerium, used in every aspect of modern electronics like our cell phones, rechargeable batteries, florescent lighting. The reason is: China. China has the world's largest deposits and production of rare earths, and has not hesitated to withhold its export to countries that disagree with it in the past.
COVID-19 unified G20 leaders at an extraordinary summit last week. An idea given a nudge by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, here was an opportunity for all participants to put together a plan and make a pledge for international cooperation, focusing on four main themes. Next, will they be able to turn words into action?
The pandemic has highlighted the positive role of 3D-printing technology. Identifying this potential, and seeking to insert India into the new global value chains, the Ministry of Electronics, IT & Technology has announced a National Strategy for Additive Manufacturing. It will address the lacunae in the country's additive manufacturing ecosystem, including physical hardware like printers, software, materials and service providers.
The 25 March 2020 attack on a Sikh gurudwara in Kabul focused world attention on the plight of Afghanistan’s indigenous Sikh and Hindu minorities, the target of both local lawless elements and religious fundamentalists. They once were a significant part of Afghanistan’s principally Muslim population and a mark of its cultural syncretism and religious pluralism
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the deficiencies of India’s precision instrument import-dependency and the global supply-chain vulnerabilities of international high-tech manufacturing giants. New Delhi can incentivise such companies to manufacture under the Make in India and Assemble for the World in India programmes
The Indian government, has, under challenging circumstances, evacuated, all through March 2020, nearly 3,000 Indian citizens, stranded in the hotspots of the coronavirus epidemic. These rescue operations, which have been performed adeptly since 1990, are a mark of a developed-country mindset with confidence-inspiring governance structures
The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), which has spread to more than 160 countries, is a global challenge, calling for coordinated intervention at the national, regional and global levels. Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House, in this interview, outlines four aspects of the calamity
A pandemic tests governments' performance against four policy dilemmas; from preventing panic and economic collapse to calibrating the severity of response and controlling the narrative. The writer harks back to the agonies of the Bombay plague of 1896 and the dilemmas left unresolved
The Coronavirus pandemic has caused crude oil prices to crash almost 40% even as Saudi Arabia and Russia pump more oil into the market. Fears are rife that this crisis will hit demand. There are repercussions on the U.S., the world’s top oil producer, on India, one of its new clients, and on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries