Challenging the Status Quo: Nepal’s Call for a New World Order
From Trump’s MAGA to Kathmandu’s GenZ, emotive mobilisation around single issues/leaders is outweighing considered citizenly engagement. It’s regime change minus constructive agenda
Category International Relations and Strategic Studies
India’s Real Security Lies in Economic Strength, Not Trump’s Words
India has overtaken China as the largest buyer of Russian oil. This is not because the Chinese are running scared of American wrath over their Russian commerce. China is increasingly moving to electricity for transport, with more than half of all new car sales being of electric vehicles and high-speed trains that run on electricity offering viable alternatives to air travel on quite a few routes, and will increasingly buy smaller quantities of oil. China has stepped up its purchases of piped natural gas from Russia.
Indo-Japan Partnership for Semiconductors: An Assessment of Mutual Objectives and Supply Chain Autonomy
Semiconductors, often used as integrated circuits, transistors, diodes, and microchips, are essential building blocks for the tech sector. Preferably made with silicon, germanium and gallium arsenide, these chips are also used by doping, i.e., modulating the electrical and structural properties for smartphones, radios, TVs, computers, video games, advanced medical equipment, optical sensors, light emitters including solid-state lasers, AI, quantum computing and other technologies integral to the modern human world.
The Nobel Pursuit of India
India should set a goal of winning at least 10 Nobel Prizes every decade. Viewing development as raising per-capita income — which is the current obsession of government policy, think tanks, business associations and others — isn’t just sterile, but also betrayal of what is sound in India’s own tradition, when it comes to thinking on life’s attainment.
India-Qatar: Gas Trade and Energy Transition
India and Qatar share historic trade linkages, deep-rooted people-to-people ties and robust multifaceted bilateral relations. Qatar and India established diplomatic relations in the early 1970s. They celebrated 50 years of diplomatic ties in 2023
India-Qatar: Maritime Energy Security Dialogue
India and Qatar share a deep energy partnership, with Qatar being a key supplier of liquified natural gas (LNG) to meet India’s growing demand. As energy trade relies heavily on secure maritime routes, rising geopolitical tensions in the Gulf and threats to sea lanes have made security a shared priority. To address these challenges, the India-Qatar Maritime Energy Security Dialogue has been launched to strengthen cooperation in safeguarding energy flows, enhancing naval cooperation, and building resilient supply chains. This policy update briefly examines the partnership’s significance and outlines ways to deepen collaboration for regional stability and energy security.
India- Turkey: Sufi Connections and Music Diplomacy
In the 21st century, the extensive popularity of Bollywood movies in Turkey, and the ever-growing appeal of Turkish dramas in India are emblematic of the sustained soft power diplomacy of the two sovereign nations. The roots of such connections, however, can be traced back over centuries, which included a continuous give and take between Indians and the Turks. This international cultural network between the south and west of Asia was established through consistent cultural exchanges initiated by the Sufis, who might be credited as some of the most prominent pioneers of cultural diplomacy between India and Turkey.