Publication

Over the past year i.e. 2018–2019, Pakistan has been facing challenging macro-economic conditions that include a ballooning fiscal imbalance and a weak external position with gross reserves at $8 billion, equal to 1.7 months of imports. On June 19, 2019, Reza Baqir, the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan wrote to the Managing Director of the IMF, seeking assistance under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), on grounds that Pakistan’s international reserves had touched critically low levels with a large balance of payments gap, in an environment of limited market access.

• V. Srinivas |
• January 2020 |
• Strategic Analysis

The defence sector in all major countries has historically been a source of new technologies and innovation. As China and India grow in stature, the strengths of their defence sector ecosystems and the ability to innovate become areas of focus for policymakers. Since defence deals with the security of a nation, all defence ecosystems have some element of government leadership, direction and ownership. Against this must be balanced the need to ensure efficiencies and competitive capabilities, which requires entrepreneurship, private sector companies and the market mechanism.

• Murli Murti |
• January 2020 |
• Strategic Analysis

The upgrading of Vietnam–India relations from partnership (2003) to strategic partnership (2007) and a comprehensive strategic partnership (2016) is not merely the result of India’s Look/Act East Policy. It also reflects Vietnam’s high appreciation of the Indian factor in its foreign policy since the Southeast Asian country promoted multilateralism and diversification in its international relations.

• Vo Xuan Vinh |
• January 2020 |
• Strategic Analysis

As the US presidential elections are just a few months away, the economic and strategic differences between India and the United States have come to the forefront. Trump–Modi partnership which started with ‘hugplomacy, is now transformed to that of ‘shadowboxing’. In this era, legacy as well as personal ties between the two leaders will matter little because national interests will be pursued relentlessly. India’s quest for autonomy in foreign policy and its ability to manage the contradictions with the United States will dictate the future course of relations between the two countries.

• Shubhrajeet Konwer |
• January 2020 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Border Area Development Programme was initiated in the year 1986–87, to strengthen India’s security by ensuring developed and secure borders. Initially, the programme was implemented in the western border states to facilitate deployment of the Border Security Force. Later, the geographical and functional scope of the programme was widened to include eastern and northern sectors of India’s borders and as well as socio-economic aspects such as education, health, agriculture and other allied sectors. But, it is difficult to say that the implementation has been uniform in all the sectors.

• N. Manoharan , Depak Saravanan , Vasvi Saini |
• January 2020 |
• Strategic Analysis

TikTok has hooked youngsters around the world. What is worrisome is the lack of understanding about the long-term implications of such social media apps with regard to data protection and national security.

• Kritika Roy |
• December 24, 2019 |
• IDSA Comments

Human resource development (HRD) and capacity building are frequently claimed to be at the heart of India's development cooperation. This paper is one of the first to look inside these claims and to review critically the many different facets of India's capacity building. The focus is India's engagement with Africa, and the time-frame is from 1947 till the present. Many of the key HRD elements in India's cooperation are covered: from support to thousands of African students and professionals to learn from Indian institutions to the ambitious HRD pledges of the three India-Africa Forum Summits. India's soft power in Africa is examined along with its support to institutional and digital development.

• Kenneth King |
• |
• Occasional Papers

The existing approach to cyber security is heavily tilted towards practising deterrence by denial, essentially by building defences. However, the concept of deterrence needs further tweaking to make it workable in cyberspace.

• Cherian Samuel , Munish Sharma |
• December 16, 2019 |
• Issue Brief

Availability of logistics support facilities with partner countries will further enhance the ability of the Indian Navy to maintain appropriate ‘presence’ for extended periods in the wider Indo-Pacific.

• Roby Thomas |
• November 26, 2019 |
• IDSA Comments

There is a need to evolve a protocol for contract administration and post-contract management of all capital and revenue contracts awarded by various departments of the defence ministry and the armed forces.

• Amit Cowshish |
• November 25, 2019 |
• IDSA Comments