Both the Chinese government and the Tibetans are in agreement over the impending issues relating to the adverse impact of climate change on Tibet while the India-specific data on glacier melt is as yet inconclusive. There is, however, a difference of perception in Sino-Tibetan discourse over the capitalist model of economic development being undertaken by China which is at variance with the cultural practices of Tibetans, informed and regulated as they are with the Buddhist values of oneness with nature. Nomadism is also fundamental to the preservation of the ecology of Tibet.

• P. K. Gautam
• September 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Rivers are more than what Samuel T. Coleridge poetically expressed in Kubla Khan: ‘meandering with mazy motion’ and falling into the ‘sunless sea’. Rivers are life-givers, carrying a mystic and sacred quality about them. That they are oft described as being ‘mighty’—the mighty Amazon; the mighty Nile; the mighty Brahamaputra; the mighty Murray; the mighty Mississippi and Missouri—is hardly mystifying. Civilizations have grown around it and flourished. In contemporary politics the salience of rivers cannot be overlooked both in terms of being drivers of cooperation and conflict.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• September 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Like in the 1950s, the word ‘riparian’ is back again in the India–Pakistan lexicon, becoming this time intensely political, emotional and divisive. This development is both instructive and unsettling. It is instructive to note how the current water realties of the two countries, which have changed significantly since the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) in 1960, will now determine the treaty's future. With growing populations, inadequate water management techniques and the impact of global warming, water resources are under pressure.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• July 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Climate change has acquired high priority in the United Kingdom's foreign policy. It has in recent years raised the issue of climate change at various international forums, such as G-8, the European Union and the UN Security Council. This article examines how and why climate change has become one of the core components of UK foreign policy, and in so doing analyses the interconnections between foreign policy and climate change, and interactions between domestic and international politics.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• May 2010
• Strategic Analysis

This research article examines the rationale for Iran, Pakistan, and India entering into a trade agreement to meet their economic, political, and strategic needs as well as the constraints and challenges that still hamper such an agreement from realizing its full potential. Using the gas pipeline project as a case study, the issues of energy security (as the independent variable) and of economic interdependence (as the dependent variable) highlight the importance of cooperation among these countries.

• Anjali Sahay , Jalil Roshandel
• January 2010
• Strategic Analysis

India is being subjected to increasing pressure from the developed countries to cut down on its carbon emissions on the grounds that it is the fifth largest consumer of energy. This comes even as there are forecasts that India's energy consumption will increase incrementally as it tries to address the challenges of its social and development goals by increasing and sustaining economic growth at around 8–10 per cent of its GDP.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• January 2010
• Strategic Analysis

Though global warming and climate change is a real concern and needs to be addressed, it is concerns over energy security that are driving the West's policy and debate on climate change. With the traditional oil and gas market changing in favour of the developing countries, the developed countries are concerned about retaining their preferential access to energy resources.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• November 2009
• Strategic Analysis

Climate change is hugely challenging. But there is an unmistakable straightforwardness to it – reduce emissions to reduce global warming. In many ways, this reflects the sum total of the paradoxes that define our reality and the contradictions and hypocrisy of coping and dealing with it. Climate change raises all the right concerns from effectively all the right quarters. But concerns require actions and that is where the debate starts, the positions get entrenched and more often than not words and gestures become hollow and empty.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• November 2009
• Strategic Analysis

The Road to Copenhagen in December 2009 has two visible signposts. One that reads, ‘The time for climate change action is now’, the other that warns, ‘The road is bumpy’. The first signpost expresses the apocalyptic language that the earth's rising temperatures are poised to set off irreversible consequences if concrete steps are not taken quickly. It suggests that the climate is nearing tipping point. The second signpost forewarns that arriving at a bold, equitable, and binding treaty will not be easy and that the politics of climate change will undermine the science of climate change.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• September 2009
• Strategic Analysis

That there is a freshwater crisis today is an irrefutable fact. That there is also a water policy that is in perpetual crisis is an equally undeniable fact. Continued population growth and the impact of global warming along with over-consumption, inadequate conservation, and wastage are putting enormous pressure on water resources. Water covers most of the planet but only 3 per cent is fresh water, of which a mere 1 per cent is readily accessible for human consumption. What it means is that less than 0.007 per cent of all the water on earth is available to drink.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• July 2009
• Strategic Analysis

• Arvind Gupta
• March 2009
• Strategic Analysis

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• March 2009
• Strategic Analysis

• Sanjaya Baru
• March 2009
• Strategic Analysis

• Arvind Gupta
• January 2009
• Strategic Analysis

• Uttam Kumar Sinha
• November 2008
• Strategic Analysis

• P. K. Gautam
• November 2008
• Strategic Analysis

With the price of oil crossing $110 a barrel, the oil-importing countries' concerns have been mounting. Not surprisingly, the issue of whether the time is now ripe for energy consuming countries to take measures to counter the producers' growing clout is being discussed, including the formation of a consumers' cartel, to force exporters to bring down prices.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• September 2008
• Strategic Analysis

The changing nature of geography plays a critical role in the planning and execution of military missions. Geography as a subject combines both the physical and human elements and the rapid transformation of the landscape owing to climate change, and the corresponding cultural impact has to be seriously considered in the environment-security link. Lessons from military history point to the fact that 'geographical ignorance' can be perilous.

• P. K. Gautam
• March 2008
• Strategic Analysis

Economic globalisation, coupled with geopolitical instability and international terrorism, has made it impossible for any single country to secure its energy supply entirely on its own. The urgent energy security issue has resulted in brisk energy diplomacy with aspirations for cooperation running high among both producing and consuming countries. The concept of energy security needs to be expanded, however, because the real risks are not 'below ground' (a lack of resources) but 'above ground' (political instability). We need a new energy security concept to ensure global energy security.

• Chen Fengying , Ni Jiejun
• January 2008
• Strategic Analysis

Tokyo looks at energy security differently than does Washington, or other major global capitals. This persistent and deepening reality—so incongruously at odds with the continual affirmations of solidarity and alliance in the US–Japan bilateral relationship—has substantial grounding in economics. Yet, the contrast in mindset between Japan and the broader world is sharply amplified by differences in domestic institutions and politics. This perceptual gap has major implications for East Asia's energy future and for global geopolitics as well.

• Kent E. Calder
• January 2008
• Strategic Analysis

Signing of the SAARC agreement is merely the first step in the process of regional energy cooperation. To make this initiative work, governments in the region need to synchronise their efforts on a range of technical, institutional and political issues.

• Sanket Sudhir Kulkarni
• January 05, 2015
• IDSA Comments

Is India now looking at energy through the strategic prism? Its recent signing of the TAPI deal is certainly indicative of that.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• December 05, 2014
• IDSA Comments

The possible lifting of the sanctions on Iran will lead to a rush for a share of the lucrative Iranian energy pie similar to Myanmar’s opening up last year. India cannot afford to be left behind.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• September 30, 2014
• IDSA Comments

Given India’s vulnerability to a rise in global crude oil prices as a result of its 75-80 per cent of its crude import dependency, the Iraq crisis could widen its current account deficit, while putting pressure on exchange rate, impeding government’s fiscal consolidation goal and putting off any nudge on interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India.

• Manish Vaid , Tushar Shah
• July 16, 2014
• IDSA Comments

India is trying to deal with its domestic energy concerns through various measures including reforming its New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP), intensifying its efforts in developing domestic unconventional energy resources and diversifying its crude imports. In this regard Japan’s support holds special importance.

• Manish Vaid
• April 01, 2014
• IDSA Comments

Turkey’s natural gas reserves are 218 bcf and its production is roughly 27 bcf. It relies heavily on imports to meet its domestic demand. Additionally, Turkey positions itself as a gas transit hub – importing from Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran and re-exporting some of it to Europe.

• Gulshan Dietl
• November 06, 2013
• IDSA Comments

As the ice thins in the Arctic, the commercial feasibility of the northern sea route is increasing rapidly. Five years ago there was no activity; this year about 1.5 million tonnes of cargo will be transported through the NSR.

• Arvind Gupta
• August 27, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The four upayas are not well studied by scholars and are often used in a casual manner, particularly misquoting Kautilya. It is important to locate the text of traditional indigenous knowledge in their correct context.

• P. K. Gautam
• June 20, 2013
• IDSA Comments

After years of political and economic isolation, Myanmar is opening up to investment particularly in the energy sector. There are however, accompanying uncertainties and risks.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• June 14, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Nawaz Sharif’s political comeback has resulted in a fresh sense of optimism within the Indian industry. But it has to be seen whether it will it help in normalizing relations and bringing people together.

• Tridivesh Singh Maini , Manish Vaid
• May 27, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The current decline in US emissions should not make us forget about climate change; a renewed push is necessary to discuss actions and policies that mitigate the complex issue of climate change.

• P. K. Gautam
• February 22, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Both think tanks and universities need to attempt to study traditional knowledge (much of which lies in religious text of many traditions). Rich methodological traditions exist in ancient literature and they need wider study.

• P. K. Gautam
• February 12, 2013
• Issue Brief

According to a recent report, India will need 3, 128 Trillion watt hour per year (TWH) of electrical energy in the future if it adopts a frugal policy for energy use. This annual need could be met through renewable energy sources alone in the form of solar power (photovoltaic [PV] and thermal), wind, and hydroelectric power. But is this change in energy mix really feasible?

• Eshita Mukherjee
• February 10, 2013
• IDSA Comments

The significance of Arthasastra for the issue of corruption in contemporary times lies in Kautilya’s realisation that corruption in government is inevitable but can be combated through a set of strict measures

• Tarun Kumar
• October 12, 2012
• Issue Brief

The timing of the proposal for the new Turkmen-Afghan-China pipeline is intriguing, setting off speculation about whether it was being conceived to stymie TAPI or is part of China’s strategy to guard against any extra-regional influence in Central Asia.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• July 31, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The Indian government is now weighing several options to manoeuvre around the ever-tightening sanctions, including the provision of sovereign guarantees to oil tanker operators.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal
• June 26, 2012
• Issue Brief

While overseas coal acquisition is a priority for both the government and private players, an important issue confronting them is the transportation of the acquired resources to the domestic market.

• Dnyanada Palkar
• June 07, 2012
• IDSA Comments

To maintain our cultural heritage, it is vital that the state encourages the study of Sanskrit and impart vigour to reworking Sanskrit texts like that of the Arthsastra of Chanakya.

• P. K. Gautam
• June 07, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The current growth trajectory is leading to serious environmental and cultural degradation—an issue that needs to be placed on priority and a holistic environmental impact assessment needs to be made public.

• P. K. Gautam
• May 22, 2012
• IDSA Comments

In the wake of the Gyari incident, India and Pakistan need to conduct more joint scientific studies and put in place an AGPL agreement within a reasonable time frame.

• P. K. Gautam
• April 25, 2012
• IDSA Comments