Apr 8, 2020

Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Apr 10, 2020

This policy brief emphasizes that the European Green Deal's effectiveness in a post Covid-19 world will require the involvement of strategic partners, especially the US. In the context of a potential US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the consequential vacuum, it will be even more important to engage the US in implementing the GD. In light of divergence between the US and the EU during past climate negotiations (e.g. Kyoto, Copenhagen, and Paris), we suggest a gradual approach to US engagement with GD initiatives and objectives.

Apr 8, 2020

Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.”

Apr 17, 2020

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma touches on whether the failure to properly anticipate and warn about the novel coronavirus constitutes an intelligence failure, what changes might be required in the intelligence community in the wake of the pandemic, and what type of investigation or inquiry might be appropriate in order to learn lessons and incorporate changes for both the intelligence community and the whole of government moving forward.

Apr 24, 2020

Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars.

Apr 26, 2020

Joseph Nye suggests that a new U.S. administration might take a leaf from the success of the post-1945 American presidents that are described in Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump. The United States could launch a massive COVID-19 aid program like the Marshall Plan.

Apr 29, 2020

Joel Clement appeared on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront on April 23, 2020.  In this blog post for the Union of Concerned Scientists, he elaborates on what he wishes he had said during that interview.

As Mumbai continued to lead the charts in Covid-19 cases and resultant deaths, the city’s civic chief was on Friday summarily shunted out and replaced by a junior with no experience of heading any of the state’s top five municipal corporations.

In a letter to Putin Modi pledged India’s support to Russia on the occasion and hailed Russian soldiers who laid down their lives during WW II to defeat Fascism and Nazism.

During the high-level meeting with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, Vardhan appreciated the dedication of all the states in combating COVID-19.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Commissioner Vijay Nehra was already pushed into a quarantine following the rising numbers of patients in the city and Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Gupta was brought in as in charge of the fight against Covid in Ahmedabad while CEO of Gujarat Maritime Board Mukesh Kumar was brought in as the incharge Commissioner.

Mar 11, 2020

Spycraft has always excited people, with stories of daring agents using high-tech wizardry to bust terrorists in the act. But the reality is much less glamorous—and much more dangerous. As spying entered the 1960s, technology started to play a serious role in getting intel. 

Mar 19, 2020

This paper examines a recent, rapid, and ongoing transition of India's lighting market to light emitting diode (LED) technology, from a negligible market share to LEDs becoming the dominant lighting products within five years, despite the country's otherwise limited visibility in the global solid-state lighting industry.

Mar 19, 2020

Because hand-to-hand exchange of physical currency could transmit the coronavirus, countries around the world are being forced to reconsider the use of cash. In fact, COVID-19 might turn out to be the catalyst that finally brings digital payments fully into the mainstream. Not surprisingly, the digital-payments industry is already focusing on the opportunities created by the crisis.

Mar 26, 2020

Joseph Nye writes that while trade wars have set back economic globalization,  the environmental globalization represented by pandemics and climate change is unstoppable. Borders are becoming more porous to everything from drugs to infectious diseases to cyber terrorism, and the United States must use its soft power of attraction to develop networks and institutions that address these new threats.

Mar 27, 2020

On a cool day late last September, half a dozen Chinese engineers walked into a conference room in the heart of Geneva's UN district with a radical idea. They had one hour to persuade delegates from more than 40 countries of their vision: an alternative form of the internet, to replace the technological architecture that has underpinned the web for half a century. 

Whereas today's internet is owned by everyone and no one, they were in the process of building something very different - a new infrastructure that could put power back in the hands of nation states, instead of individuals.

Mar 31, 2020

David Eaves writes that the most significant lesson coming out of the COVID-19 crisis  is the importance of having a digital strategy and a technological infrastructure in place at both the national and local levels.

Apr 21, 2020

The last time the United States faced a big, hard-to-track threat, we ended up with the Patriot Act and a mass-surveillance program that still rankles. This time, how do we use technology to combat the novel coronavirus without creating elements of a police state?

Apr 26, 2020

Joseph Nye suggests that a new U.S. administration might take a leaf from the success of the post-1945 American presidents that are described in Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump. The United States could launch a massive COVID-19 aid program like the Marshall Plan.

Apr 29, 2020

Joel Clement appeared on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront on April 23, 2020.  In this blog post for the Union of Concerned Scientists, he elaborates on what he wishes he had said during that interview.

Apr 29, 2020

In this piece, we will look at the various public purpose considerations as they relate to the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for coronavirus. We explore the foreseeable risks to public safety of loosened regulation, ultimately arguing that even in times of crisis, accountable science and technology development is a choice we can make to protect the public and yield beneficial results, while considering both short- and long-term impacts. 

Mar 26, 2020

Joseph Nye writes that while trade wars have set back economic globalization,  the environmental globalization represented by pandemics and climate change is unstoppable. Borders are becoming more porous to everything from drugs to infectious diseases to cyber terrorism, and the United States must use its soft power of attraction to develop networks and institutions that address these new threats.

Apr 17, 2020

This episode of Horns of a Dilemma touches on whether the failure to properly anticipate and warn about the novel coronavirus constitutes an intelligence failure, what changes might be required in the intelligence community in the wake of the pandemic, and what type of investigation or inquiry might be appropriate in order to learn lessons and incorporate changes for both the intelligence community and the whole of government moving forward.

Apr 24, 2020

Nathaniel L. Moir recounts the events of 1968: The war in Vietnam and extensive civil unrest in the United States — and yet another big problem that made life harder. In 1968, the H3N2 pandemic killed more individuals in the United States than the combined total number of American fatalities during both the Vietnam and Korean Wars.

Mar 19, 2020

Because hand-to-hand exchange of physical currency could transmit the coronavirus, countries around the world are being forced to reconsider the use of cash. In fact, COVID-19 might turn out to be the catalyst that finally brings digital payments fully into the mainstream. Not surprisingly, the digital-payments industry is already focusing on the opportunities created by the crisis.

Mar 20, 2020

Could using the cash in your pocket have the potential to spread covid-19? That question has rarely appeared in the news, but many governments and leaders in the digital payments industry are wondering how the virus might impact the use of cash. Several countries have already taken drastic measures to limit circulation of bank notes. Could such interventions lead to the end of cash payments?

Apr 7, 2020

Henry Kissinger warns that many existing domestic and international institutions that have helped govern the past decades will not survive the Covid-19 crisis. He is surely correct.

Apr 30, 2020

As the divergent experiences of the US and South Korea show, testing can be the difference between disease containment and catastrophe. Rather than relying on national governments to ensure the rapid development, production, and deployment of diagnostics during outbreaks, the world needs a global coordinating platform.

The father of India's moon mission will be our guest at the Idea Exchange on February 6, Monday. Grounded by the government for his alleged role in a scandal-tainted sale of rare radio frequency, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair surely has an arduous fight ahead. And his story to tell. We request our readers to send in questions they would like to ask Madhavan Nair. Is there anything in the probe reports of the Antrix-Devas deal? Will he be exonerated? Is he a victim? Controversy a slap on my face: G Madhavan Nair

Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on March 23. Send us your questions for her here.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Tuesday, March 20 at 4 pm. Send us your questions for him here.

Ram Gopal Yadav, senior Samajwadi Party leader, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Tuesday, March 27 at 3.45pm. Yadav is party supremo's Mulayam Singh Yadav's cousin. Send us your questions for him here.

Sriprakash Jaiswal, Union Minister for Coal, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on April 2, 2012. Send us your questions for him here. Check out the reactions from Facebook:

S Y Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on April 12. Send us your questions for him here.

The Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Tuesday, April 17.

Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected president of Maldives who was ousted from power earlier this year, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Thursday.

Law Minister Salman Khurshid will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Tuesday.

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Friday, May 4. Reactions on Facebook and Twitter

Israel's Ambassador to India, Alon Ushpiz, will be our guest at Idea Exchange. Ask your questions for him here.

Mushirul Hasan, Director General, National Archives and the author of 2 books on cartoons in India, will be our guest at Idea Exchange. Send us your questions for the internationally known historian, author and ex-Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University at Delhi.

Presidential aspirant P A Sangma, who was also a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Friday, May 25. Send us your questions for him.

Cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who recently led his team Kolkata Knight Riders to victory in IPL season 5, will be our guest at The Idea Exchange on Saturday, June 9. Send us your questions for him.

Baba Ramdev will be our guest at The Idea Exchange, an interactive session organised by The Indian Express. Send us your questions for him.

Union HRD and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal will be our guest at Idea Exchange, an interactive session organised by the Indian Express. Send us your questions for him.

Former Union Minister, Virbhadra Singh will be our guest at Idea Exchange on Friday June 29, at 3.45 pm. Send us your questions for him.