| Title: | 302 : UNHRC Resolution and Sri Lanka’s ‘Domestic Mechanism’: Accountability for Human Rights Violations |
| Author/s: | Ayesha Kalpani Wijayalath |
| Abstract: | Following the recent United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution on Sri Lanka, the Sirisena Government has embarked on a process of establishing a ‘domestic mechanism’. It is imperative to set up this mechanism without further delay to address both domestic and international concerns over the alleged human rights violations in the country. |
| Date: | 22 December 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 301 : Towards a Future-Oriented India-Japan Partnership |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana |
| Abstract: | The Prime Ministers of India and Japan have now signed a Memorandum confirming an iconic agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, leaving for the final stretch a legal scrubbing and ratification of the accord by both countries. They have also strengthened their "Special Strategic and Global Partnership" by enlarging the scope of their economic cooperation, and exploring co-development and co-production in the defence sector. Far from drawing any new battle-lines in the Indo-Pacific region, the latest India-Japan annual summit has reinforced the contours of the existing diplomatic landscape and sent out an implicitly reassuring message to China. |
| Date: | 22 December 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 300 : Pakistan: In the Cusp of Changes, Meeting Challenges |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | While the Pakistani military and civilian leaders, so often the opposing forces, now seem inclined for cohabitation at the highest echelons of power, the country's latest move towards a 'comprehensive dialogue' with neighbouring India is a new dynamic of wider regional and global importance. |
| Date: | 11 December 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 299 : A Newly-Minted Old Relationship : Strategic Synergy between India and Singapore |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana |
| Abstract: | A full-spectrum relationship has been fashioned during India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Singapore at this time. With Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong extending an extraordinary welcome to Mr Modi, the two countries have been able to showcase a symphony of positive sentiments. The way forward will be keenly watched in the region, including China whose President Xi Jinping paid a strategic visit to Singapore a few weeks earlier. |
| Date: | 27 November 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 298 : India’s Light Combat Aircraft Programme: a Costly Delay |
| Author/s: | Jayant Singh, Research Assistant at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | The inordinate delays in the indigenous production of India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) have taken a considerable toll of human lives, caused by the malfunctioning of the ‘stop-gap’ foreign flying machines that were deployed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign also lends a new sense of urgency to the LCA programme now. |
| Date: | 19 November 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 297 : BJP gets a Drubbing in Bihar |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | The emphatic triumph of the grand alliance, led by Mr Nitish Kumar and Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, in the recent Assembly elections in the eastern Indian State of Bihar marks a political setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had campaigned vigorously, thereby raising the stakes in the polls. The grand alliance was successful due to the formation of a formidable caste coalition and the personal popularity of Mr Nitish Kumar. Mr Modi will have to find ways of mitigating the impact of this defeat on his government's agenda at the centre as well as rethink his party's strategies in the coming Assembly elections. |
| Date: | 17 November 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 296:Sri Lanka: Towards a ‘National Purpose’ |
| Author/s: | Ayesha Kalpani Wijayalath , Research Assistant at ISAS |
| Abstract: | After the heat and dust of the recent parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, the accord between the country’s two main political parties for a ‘national unity government’ seems to offer the best chance in decades for politico-ethnic reconciliation among the various communities. But the challenge is to generate a sense of national purpose. |
| Date: | 11 November 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 295:Pakistan’s Nuclear Deterrence: From ‘Credible Minimum’ to ‘Full Spectrum’ |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury,Principal Research Fellow at ISAS |
| Abstract: | A new strategic reality may be in the making in South Asia in the wake of the recent assertion by a top Pakistani official that his country has developed and deployed ‘tactical’ low-yield nuclear weapons to deter any Indian military move against his country. Now, the leaders of the two countries will need to face the challenge of strategic stability in their relations in this emerging context. |
| Date: | 11 November 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 294 : The Battle for Bihar |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | While the politics of caste and personalities do seem to be relevant to the elections to the Legislative Assembly in the eastern Indian State of Bihar, with the multi-phase polls beginning on 12 October 2015, the issue of development and good governance could also prove critical. It is in this context that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been canvassing widely in Bihar in what could turn out to be the country's most significant poll this year. |
| Date: | 10 October 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 293 : A Transforming China : The Challenge of the ‘Middle-Income Trap’ |
| Author/s: | Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury,Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | While China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei has cautioned his country against slipping into the so-called ‘middle-income trap’, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s sense of confidence during his recent State visit to the United States signals a different prognosis. |
| Date: | 2 October 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 292 : The Patel Agitation and the OBC Puzzle |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen,Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | The recent mass political campaign by the Patels in India's Gujarat state for quotas for their caste in government jobs and educational opportunities has re-ignited the national debate on affirmative action for the Other Backward Classes (OBC). Despite a recent apex judicial ruling in favour of a shift from the existing caste-centric determinant of backwardness, the demands by various caste groups for the OBC status may only proliferate in the absence of political consensus on the issue. |
| Date: | 21 September 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 291 : Technology, Development and the Role of the State |
| Author/s: | Shahid Javed Burki, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | South Asian countries like India and Pakistan had in the beginning placed the State at the "commanding heights of the economy". Later, the State was justifiably displaced from that high pedestal. However, there is a strong case now for the State to play a catalysing role in engineering a technology-driven path of economic growth. |
| Date: | 9 September 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 290 : New Cross-Currents in the India-China-Pakistan Triangle |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana, Editor (Current Affairs) at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, besides the latest cancellation of an Indo-Pakistan meeting at the level of national security advisors, have once again turned the spotlight on the triangular equation among these countries. In this context, as Mr Xi presses ahead with a connectivity project of singular Sino-Pakistani benefit, China faces two options. It can continue to capitalise on its strategic access to Pakistan, despite Mr Xi’s clearly-expressed concerns over ‘anti-China’ terrorism emanating from there. By this, China may want to keep India off-balance. But Beijing, with its claim of being a non-hegemonic power, can also seek to influence Islamabad and harmonise the triangular equation. |
| Date: | 2 September 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 289 : The Quota Movement in Gujarat: Implications for Modi and India’s Democracy |
| Author/s: | Subrata Kumar Mitra, Director and Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | The Patel agitation of Gujarat should not be seen merely as a one-issue movement. More than merely an attempt by youthful members of the Patel community who feel they have been denied their just share of jobs and admissions to coveted educational opportunities it is the tip of an iceberg which points towards a much larger problem of equality and the quota system. Its timing, demands, tone and style have ominous implications for the stability of the Modi regime, and for the problem-solving capacity of India’s democratic governance. |
| Date: | 2 September 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 288 : Pakistan Reinforces Resolve to Fight Terror |
| Author/s: | Sajjad Ashraf,Consultant at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | The latest validation of anti-terror military courts in Pakistan, through a divided but decisive verdict by the Supreme Court, has sparked a debate on the complex issues at stake. However, the people and the Army are likely to support the robust dispensation of justice in terrorism-related cases. |
| Date: | 28 August 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 287 : The Stock Market Turmoil and Implications for India |
| Author/s: | S Narayan, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | The Hong Kong and the Shanghai indexes recovered by 2% in early trading on 25 August 2015, after a free fall a day earlier that dragged down indices all over the world. The stock markets in China appeared to continue on a downward trend subsequently that day. The opening (3004) was lower than the closing numbers (3209), but there has been a correction by 28 August. The correction indicates that there is still value in the stocks that are being traded, and that valuations over a one-year as well as a five-year time-frame are still positive. The index was 2217 on 30 August 2014, and 3080 in early trading on 25 August 2015, a gain of over 40%. It is true that the index had reached 5166 on 12 June, a growth of 150%, and has lost substantially since then: but the inherent strength of the Chinese economy is evident from the fact the index is substantially higher than at this point last year. |
| Date: | 28 August 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 286 : The GST Imbroglio in India : Political and Economic Costs |
| Author/s: | Vinod Rai, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | Political grand-standing on the alleged complicity of a Central Minister and two State Chief Ministers, all belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has stalled the passage of a reforms-linked Constitution Amendment Bill in India's Parliament. To salvage this bill, which is designed to introduce the General Sales Tax (GST) and create a uniform nationwide tax structure, the Narendra Modi Government is exploring various scenarios that might also address the concerns of some parties opposed to this measure. The popular focus, however, remains centred on the economic costs of political disruptions in India. |
| Date: | 24 August 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 285: Modi’s Urban Initiatives – a Paradigm-shift? |
| Author/s: | S Narayan , a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at ISAS |
| Abstract: | A number of new initiatives announced by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi now, with the phased goal of transforming the overall quality of life in the country’s urban centres, have been conceptualised better than his earlier ‘Make in India’ campaign. However, what is required is not just new thinking but also a change in the culture of project implementation. Failing that, the Modi mantra will continue to carry a tinge of uncertainty about it. |
| Date: | 31 July 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 284: Trans-Pacific Partnership, India and South Asia |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade and Economic Policy) at ISAS |
| Abstract: | The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will have multiple impacts on India and South Asia, ranging from a short-term effect, such as the loss of preferential access for exports, to the longer-term impact of having to comply with higher quality-standards. The most significant impact, however, can be the gradual isolation of South Asia from a significant part of global trade governed by new rules. |
| Date: | 11 July 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 283: India’s Latest GDP Growth Figures: Glaring Macroeconomic Concerns |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade and Economics), ISAS |
| Abstract: | A close analysis of India’s higher growth rate in the last financial year reveals some disturbing signs of emerging vulnerabilities on both the supply and demand sides of the macro-economy. Stagnant agriculture and the frail health of industry need to be addressed to keep the economy on a steady trajectory. |
| Date: | 8 June 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 282: The Modi-Mamata Thaw: Notes on Recent Developments in West Bengal |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow, ISAS |
| Abstract: | While India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appear to have buried the hatchet in a bid to advance their respective political agendas, a question-mark hangs over the relationship between their political parties at the grassroots. |
| Date: | 26 May 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 281: India, and the High Note in China-Pakistan Symphony |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana, Editor (Current Affairs), ISAS |
| Abstract: | The latest move by China and Pakistan to fashion an "all-weather partnership" - a nuanced upscaling of their all-clime friendship ÔÇô raises the bar for IndiaÔÇÖs ongoing efforts at holding an all-weather dialogue with Beijing. |
| Date: | 12 May 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 280: Economic Drivers of India’s External Engagement Strategy |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow, ISAS |
| Abstract: | India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to France , Germany and Canada marked the continuation of a pattern of external engagement that is now becoming increasingly identifiable by its economic drivers. In less than a year since assuming office, Mr Modi has travelled to more than a dozen countries. Most of these travels hav e been state visits , occasionally interspersed with multilateral missions (e.g. Brazil and Australia in July and November 2014) . 2 In what has been a vigorous and robust engagement spanning across continents and regions, Mr Modi’s travels have generated considerable enthusiasm among the host - country administrations, local media and the resident Indian communities |
| Date: | 27 April 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 279: South Korean Investments in India |
| Author/s: | Sojin Shin, Research Associate, ISAS |
| Abstract: | How does Narendra Modi's leadership enhance India - South Korea economic relations? There seem to be several possibilities to build closer tie s between the two economies especially in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. This paper briefly discusses the highlights of economic achievement , new possibilities, challenges , and suggestions in the realm of trade and investment that the two economies have recently focused on |
| Date: | 8 April 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 278: New Neighbourliness in India-Sri Lanka Ties |
| Author/s: | P S Suryanarayana, Editor (Current Affairs), ISAS |
| Abstract: | In Sri Lanka, the latest country that India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited in his frenetic foreign-policy forays, he has implicitly addressed the issue of China's influence over the island-republic, besides explicitly assuring its leaders of New Delhi's support for their efforts at national reconciliation. Tracing a trail of Indo-Lankan civilisation-ties, Modi has also invited Sri Lanka to utilise a satellite that India would be launching into space for the benefit of South Asia. |
| Date: | 20 March 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 277: Modi and the Indian Ocean: Restoring India’s Sphere of Influence |
| Author/s: | Chilamkuri Raja Mohan, Visiting Research Professor, ISAS |
| Abstract: | For nearly half a century, India’s political approach to the Indian Ocean seemed a well - defined one. It was defined in the wake of the decision in the late - 1960s by Great Britain to withdraw its forces from the east of Suez. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now stepped forward to outline a bold and different framework duri ng his visit to Seychelles and Mauritius in March 2015. The context and the assumptions of Modi’s Indian Ocean policy are fundamentally different from those that guided Delhi from the late - 1960s. Confronted with a definitive moment in the history of Indian Ocean quite early on in her tenure as Prime Minister , Indira Gandhi had rejected the notion of a ‘ power vacuum ’ in the Indian Ocean, expressed concern at new great p ower rivalry in the littoral and asked all major powers to withdraw from the Indian Ocean. She also supported the proposal for the creation of a zone of peace in the littoral and was reluctant to offer security support to other nations. 2 This approach fitted with India’s self - perception as a nonaligned and T hird W orld state. |
| Date: | 20 March 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 276: India’s New Budget: Changing Course without Controversy |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow, ISAS |
| Abstract: | Very few Indian budgets in recent years have been presented in a more favourable backdrop than the budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 28 February 2015. The Economic Survey, presented a day before the budget, portrayed the Indian economy as having hit a ‘sweet spot’ and forecasted an economic growth of more than 8% in the next financial year. It also emphasised that the country was set for ‘big bang’ reforms. |
| Date: | 2 March 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 275: Deciphering the AAP’s sweep in Delhi |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen, Senior Research Fellow, ISAS |
| Abstract: | Nobody, not even members and supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had foreseen the party’s stunning victory in Assembly elections. The sweep by AAP – 67 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly – has virtually no parallel in India’s electoral history. While most exit polls had forecast a win for the AAP not one, including AAP’s internal surveys, had gauged the extent of the victory. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power at the Centre, was crushed with a tally of merely three seats while the misery of the Congress continued with the party drawing a blank. In terms of vote share, the AAP won 54% to the BJP’s 32% and the Congress’s 10%. Indeed, such was the magnitude of the victory, AAP chief and chief minister designate Arvind Kejriwal’s first reaction was to label the huge majority as “scary.” |
| Date: | 12 February 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 274 : Sri Lanka’s Transformational Election |
| Author/s: | S D Muni, Professor Emeritus at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies & Analyses in New Delhi (India) |
| Abstract: | Maithripala Sirisena's unexpected victory against his former boss and the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka's presidential election held on 8 January 2015 signifies a major political transformation in the country. The margin of victory, at 3.7 percentage points (51.3% votes for Sirisena against 47.6% for Rajapaksa) may not be considered huge, but it was comfortable and decisive. |
| Date: | 13 January 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 273: Divided Verdict in Jammu & Kashmir |
| Author/s: | Ronojoy Sen , Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) |
| Abstract: | More than two weeks after the results of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Assembly elections in India were declared, a government is still not in place in the state. The reason is the nature of the verdict where no party has come close to a majority in the 87-member Assembly. |
| Date: | 9 January 2015 |
| Read More |
| Title: | 272: Goodbye Planning, Welcome NITI |
| Author/s: | Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Trade and Economics), ISAS |
| Abstract: | From 1 January 2015, the 'Yojana Bhavan' on the busy Parliament Street (Sansad Marg) in Central Delhi sports a new name: NITI Aayog (Commission). This follows the official notification of the Government of India replacing the Planning Commission housed in the Yojana Bhavan by the NITI Aayog, or the National Institution for Transformation of India (NITI) Aayog. The new institution is expected to spearhead economic policy thinking in India by ensuring such policies are evolved in line with India's national strategic interests. |
| Date: | 7 January 2015 |
| Read More |
Load more