ORF Mumbai

Integrating #QuantumTechnology into national defence frameworks must become a strategic priority, particularly for the #GlobalSouth. Without robust domestic strategies and capabilities, these countries risk being left behind in a technology with growing strategic significance: @PrateekTri1990 or-f.org/40939 #StrategicAutonomy

#China-#Pakistan defence cooperation is moving beyond arms transfers and specialised exercises towards more focused military-level training. #Karakoram2026 reflects this incremental expansion, building familiarity with equipment, shared tactics, and coordination between the two armies: Amrita Jash or-f.org/40941 #India

#India’s #GreenRevolution offers lessons for #Africa’s pursuit of food sovereignty. As traditional donors cut aid, India can deepen its partnership with African countries through targeted development support and agricultural cooperation: @malancha_1chakr or-f.org/40943 #IndiaAfrica #FoodSecurity

Industrial emissions under #India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) are concentrated in a few districts, with eastern India accounting for 30% of covered emissions. Aggregating demand across plants in these clusters could help smaller industrial units access renewable power at scale, provided state-level electricity policies keep pace: Subham Shrivastava & Saurabh Trivedi or-f.org/40946 #CleanEnergy #EnergyTransition

As #India moves towards hybrid renewable energy projects combining generation, storage, and round-the-clock supply, financing must account for their distinct risk profiles. Loan terms should reflect contracted revenues, counterparty strength, technology maturity, and developer track records rather than rely on blanket risk weights: Labanya Prakash Jena & Prasad Ashok Thakur or-f.org/40975 #RenewableEnergy #ClimateFinance

Street vendors are vital to urban food systems, providing accessible and affordable food. Integrating them into city planning through better infrastructure and food-safety support can improve food access and foster healthier, more equitable cities: @shoba_suri or-f.org/40959 #StreetVendors #UrbanNutrition

As African states assert greater economic sovereignty, India should reposition its Africa strategy and adopt co-creation, rather than restrict itself to a provider–recipient relationship: @SamirApolitical & Anjali Kumari or-f.org/40960 #IndiaAfricaPartnership #AfricanAgency

#India’s experience with the Arjun MBT shows how an excessive emphasis on indigenisation can delay a tank’s development and deployment. The #Zorawar programme should take a more pragmatic route, introducing indigenous engines, guns, and other critical systems progressively across successive variants: @KartikBommakan1 or-f.org/40976 #IndianArmy #MakeInIndia

#India’s strategic autonomy cannot rest on balancing #Washington and #Beijing alone. Kautilyan statecraft underscores the need to build domestic power while securing technology and defence capabilities from the #US, industrial inputs from #China and partnerships with middle powers: Kajari Kamal or-f.org/40977 #StrategicAutonomy

#AI’s disruptive potential makes safety a political issue. Governments and media must build public understanding, communicate risks without sensationalism, and hold frontier firms accountable for their claims and systems: Ishita Deshmukh or-f.org/40986 #AIRegulation #ResponsibleAI

The #Port of #Antwerp-#Bruges is using NextGen District to connect circular businesses with industrial partners, shared utilities and funding. Its experience offers a lesson for Indian ports: act as system integrators to help innovation reach industrial scale: Luc Arnouts or-f.org/40994 #Sagarmanthan2026

Embedded evaluators could help bridge the gap between #AI companies’ safety commitments and actual practices. Independent experts with employee-like access could identify risks that internal assessments may overlook: Debajyoti Chakravarty or-f.org/40995 #AISafety #AIGovernance

Defence corridors are more than land and investment. Their long-term value lies in building supplier networks, testing infrastructure and specialised skills. #Kanpur’s next phase must translate industrial investment into lasting capability: Kumkum Mohata or-f.org/40999 #DefenceManufacturing #UttarPradesh

#Texas is recording historic early voter turnout. In #Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate bid faces a fresh challenge after former primary rival Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, highlighting divisions within the #DemocraticParty. #Alaska faces a ballot controversy involving two candidates named Dan Sullivan. These three contests could determine control of the Senate, with consequences extending beyond the US: @viveksans or-f.org/41000 #USMidterms

#India-#Poland defence cooperation has strategic potential, but translating political commitments into tangible outcomes requires trust, #technology safeguards, and commercially viable projects. The two countries must build on existing institutional mechanisms to advance joint development, co-production, and stronger defence industrial ties: @MalhotraShairee or-f.org/41027

The Ganges is not merely a divisible stock of water. Sediment transport, floodplain connectivity, freshwater flows, and coastal processes sustain the Bengal Delta. The #India-#Bangladesh water-sharing negotiations must account for these interconnected ecological realities to ensure long-term water security: @DrNilanjanG or-f.org/41022 #GangesTreaty #RiverDiplomacy

#Lula’s improbable comeback was powered by an unlikely digital mobilisation. His first smartphone, selfie videos, and the WhatsApp channel ‘Lula’s Army’, which grew from 60,000 to over 10 million followers in three weeks, helped the veteran leader reach voters beyond traditional campaign networks: Hari Seshasayee or-f.org/41033 #Brazil

Who should set development priorities in a post-aid world? Development aid has never been free of controversy. Critics say it rested on donor-recipient hierarchies, lacked accountability, and put donor interests first. A post-aid order must settle what makes partnerships accountable: @malancha_1chakr & Tafadzwa Luke Mupingashato or-f.org/41018 #DevelopmentFinance #GlobalSouth #ForeignAid

The Ganges water-sharing negotiations cannot be reduced to an upstream #India-downstream #Bangladesh contest. #WestBengal and #Bihar have critical agricultural, industrial, and ecological stakes. A revised Treaty must incorporate sub-national interests and sectoral demands through transparent, evidence-based consultations: @DrNilanjanG or-f.org/41042 #WaterSecurity