In The News

Amid US Outsourcing Fears, India’s IT Firms Thrive

Patrick Thibodeau October 17, 2012
In his presidential campaigns, both 2008 and now, Barack Obama has blasted outsourcing and offshoring of US jobs. Such political attention unnerved India’s IT industry, which relies on skilled labor and large numbers of temporary work visas, particularly the H-1B for the US. That visa allows educated foreign workers with US employer sponsors to stay about six years and work in select technical...

What’s the Bigger Challenge – Baby Boom or Bust?

Philip Bowring October 5, 2012
The Philippines stands out in East Asia for its high rates of fertility and poverty. A Reproductive Health Bill would allow public distribution of contraception advice and methods, but Catholic bishops are adamantly opposed. The clerics warn that contraception contributes to population decline and potential economic struggles of a small workforce supporting social protections for the aged....

Some Silicon Valley-Style Pioneers Head East

Saritha Rai October 3, 2012
Many Indians are wary of starting business on their own. With a poor economy in the West, many are giving up jobs in Silicon Valley to return home and organize their own startups. The emerging economy offers a huge test market along with low costs and dependable workers. The returnees offer “an unprecedented innovation boost,” reports Saritha Rai, but must first overcome “a seeming aversion...

India’s Treacherous Northeast

Bertil Lintner September 26, 2012
The Northeast corner of India may not top a list of volatile trouble spots for most global leaders, yet a quick glance at a map immediately shows the region’s challenges: shared borders with China, Burma, Bangladesh and Bhutan and slim connection to the rest of India via the Siliguri corridor, a legacy of British India. Boundary lines and governments were quickly drafted in 1947 and redrafted...

Singh Doubles Down on Reform

Ashok Malik September 21, 2012
In a surprising move, India’s coalition government is allowing states to decide if they want foreign direct investment in the retail sector, opening a door for giant stores like Walmart and Tesco. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tried a similar move last year, but pulled back in the face of huge protests. Economic slowdown in India pushed the government to pounce again despite a nationwide protest...

A Forgotten War in the Himalayas

Jeff M. Smith September 14, 2012
Leaders around the world and Americans, too, fret about whether the United States is a reliable or fickle ally. As the US pivots toward Asia and Indian leaders toy with a return to a policy of nonalignment, people of both nations should recall the 1962 Sino-Indian War, suggests Jeff M. Smith, Kraemer Strategy Fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. India and China had good “brotherly”...

Can India Revive Nonalignment?

Ashley J. Tellis August 28, 2012
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leading a large delegation to the summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran this week. A foreign policy of nonalignment – friends to all – is tempting for any state, but particularly for a populous democracy like India. Under Jawaharlal Nehru, India navigated the Cold War with such a policy of nonalignment, balancing ties and trade with both the...