Economic Challenges for the New Government
Suggestions for Policy Formulation
3 July 2009

The Observer Research Foundation held a series of internal parleys and prepared a discussion paper outlining the core challenges that the new government would need to respond to on the economic front on an urgent basis. This paper was then circulated amongst and discussed with India’s finest economic minds on June 1, 2009, at a closed door roundtable, to allow for free and frank debate. The participants included Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Former Dy. Governor Reserve Bank of India, Dr. Saumitra Chaudhury, Member, Planning Commission, Dr. B.B. Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr. S. Narayan, Former Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr. N.K. Singh, Member of Parliament, Dr. Jagdish Shettigar, Economist and Dr. Charan Wadhva, Economist. Dr Arjun Sengupta, Member of Parliament, chaired the roundtable. The internal discussions and suggestions received at this roundtable meeting form the basis of the recommendations contained in this paper......more

Right on philosophy, wrong in practice
Kanwal Sibal
1 July 2009

Pakistanis across the board believe it falls on India’s shoulders as the bigger and more powerful country to be “generous” with Pakistan and criticize us for being unyielding even on issues ripe for an agreement such as Siachen, Sir Creek etc.....more

How do we counter the Maoists?
General (Retd) V P Malik
29 June 2009

The bane of counter-Maoists strategy is lack of lucidity in analysis and consistency in formulating and implementing a viable strategy; primarily due to elusive consensus between political parties and between the Centre and states.....more

Vol II, Issue 25
South Asia Weekly
22 June 2009 - 28 June 2009

Local council elections in the Northern Province districts of Vavuniya and Jaffna will be held on August 8. Though President Mahinda Rajapaksa assured free and fair elections, the opposition wants foreign observers to oversee the conduct of the elections.....more

‘BRIC is not a gang-up against the West’
26 June 2009

Ambassador M Rasgotra says the West need not feel threatened by the growing power of India, China, Brazil and Russia......more 

ORF hosts discussion on climate change
26 June 2009

Mr. Thomas Haar, First Secretary, Climate Change, Royal Danish Embassy outlined deep cuts in emissions of industrialised countries, financial support for developing countries, enhanced mitigation action by developing countries and adapting to the impact of climate change as the key challenges that would have to be addressed in Copenhagen......more

Managed Chaos: The Fragility of the Chinese Miracle
Prem Shankar Jha
8 June 2009 
 
Managed Chaos: The Fragility of the Chinese Miracle reads into the Chinese politics and economy and the disparate status and position of the two domains. On one hand, its economy has sustained a near 10 per cent growth rate for 30 years, while, on the other, trapped in an incomplete transition from a totalitarian to a democratic market economy, politically, the country is still considered a fragile state.....more

Vol. IV, Issue # 1
Ethics and International Relations
Roberto Toscano
Ambassador of Italy to India
28 May 2009

Why does a diplomat who has been in this profession for 40 years turn to a theme such as ethics and international relations? The real reason is that I think that any field of human activity has an ethical dimension....more

Issue # 19
Indo-Japanese Partnership: The Security Factor
K V Kesavan
28 May 2009

The signing of a declaration on security cooperation by India and Japan in October 2008 marked the culmination of a process that had started in 2000....more

Food Security Policy Options for Tamil Nadu
A. M Swaminathan
ORF-Academic Foundation 
6 May 2009
 
Throughout the world, distributuion of essential food articles by the State or State-sponsored organisations for the poor at subsidized rates is recognised as an ant-poverty and anti-inflationary measure......more

India-Myanmar Relations (1998-2008)
A decade of redefining bilateral ties
K. Yhome
26 February 2009

India-Myanmar rapprochement began in 1991 and gained momentum in the latter part of the decade, as evidenced in the growing political, economic and military cooperation since 1998. This paper argues that it was during the period between 1998 and 2008 that the bilateral relationship withstood the test of critical events.....more

ANNUAL REPORT 2008

OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION (ORF) is an endeavour to aid and influence formulation of policies for building a strong and prosperous India. The expectations of the global community from India are immense as the country is poised to play a leading role in the knowledge age. The Foundation believes that in the next 25 years India will be one of the great economic powers in the world and contribute to a significant transformation in the quality of life of humanity......more