Annual Report 2007 - Observer Research Foundation

Observer Research Foundation 

OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION 

ANNUAL 

REPORT 

2007

ORF Mandate 

Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is an endeavour to evolve and aid 

informed policy formulation for building a strong and prosperous India. 

The expectations of the global community from India are immense as the 

coun try is poised to play a leading role in the knowledge age. ORF believes 

that in the next 25 years India will be one of the world’s great eco nomic 

powers and contribute to a significant transformation in the quality of life 

of humanity. 

ORF complements official initiatives by exploring policy alternatives. 

It provides informed and valuable inputs for decision-makers in the government, 

civil society and business leadership of India. ORF’s expertise and 

resources are dedicated to nation building and international cooperation. 

ORF pursues its goals through in-depth research and stimulating discussions. 

Observer Research Foundation seeks active cooperation from those 

who share this vision in a spirit of genuine partnership. 

Building Partnerships for a Global India is our motto.

Contents 

Chairman’s Message ...................................................... 2 

Overview .................................................................... 4 

Studies & Initiatives ...................................................... 8 

Major Events .............................................................28 

ORF in Media ............................................................38 

Publications ...............................................................42 

Visitors to ORF ..........................................................46 

Resources & Institutional Information ...........................48 

Faculty Profiles ..........................................................54 

Financial Factsheet .....................................................56 

Annual Report 2007 ◆ Observer Research Foundation 

1

Chairman’s Message 

India is on an exhilarating journey. It is moving forward to emerge as a global economic 

power in the next two decades. In realising this goal, intellectual inputs in policy framing 

from within the government alone may not be sufficient. Observer Research Foundation 

was born as an independent private think tank to fill this vacuum. 

In its evolution as an institution engaged with policies and ideas, ORF has reached 

an important stage. With a view to consolidating its rapid and multifaceted growth, 

ORF is now focussing on efficiency and quality of its output to match international 

parameters. ORF perceives itself, in the context of India’s growing prominence in the 

world map, as an Indian think tank with a global ‘footprint’. Let us remember that 

Building Partnerships for a Global India is ORF’s motto. 

In the year 2005, through a process of vigorous interaction among staff members 

and outside consultants, ORF developed a document titled The Forward Path. It attempted 

to formulate a broad three-year strategy for ORF. Translating that strategy into a meaningful 

implementation plan meant defining the focus areas of programming and an appropriate structure to 

execute those programmes in an environment of accountability and autonomy. During the year under 

review, i.e. 2006, we deliberated on these issues intensively at various levels and also obtained advice 

from senior management consultants. These deliberations have brought to the fore the focus areas for 

our research work and subsequently, we have initiated a process of organizational restructuring that 

should yield significant dividends in the coming years. 

The corporate sector has a dynamic role in shaping India’s future. It can play this crucial role by 

taking an active and sustained interest in formulation of public policy. An important objective of ORF, 

therefore, has been to instil this interest in the Indian corporate sector. We have worked on the idea 

of creating an ORF Corporate Council for Public Policy. The Council will be a platform for incubating 

“ORF believes that the corporate sector has a 

dynamic role in shaping India’s future by taking 

an active and sustained interest in formulation of 

public policy.” 

2 Observer Research Foundation ◆ Annual Report 2007

“ORF has been reaching beyond the Indian shores 

to draw upon the intellectual resources available 

elsewhere and influence public opinion by putting 

across an Indian perspective on global issues.” 

ideas, promoting dialogues and developing effective policy alternatives. Some of the dynamic leaders 

of Indian Corporate sector have already consented to be members of the ORF Corporate Council for 

Public Policy. 

There is a need to envision the future for India with a perspective that makes a significant departure 

from attitudes and approaches that influenced public policy so far. This requires substantive 

research, wider consultation and building a consensus among all sections of society. Observer 

Research Foundation, as a public policy think tank, is committed to provide this research support 

and forum for discussion. 

In keeping with the expanded role of India on the world stage, Observer Research Foundation has 

been reaching beyond the Indian shores to draw upon the intellectual resources available elsewhere 

and influence public opinion by putting across an Indian perspective on global issues. ORF has been 

fortunate in having the support and cooperation of many international institutions in this endeavour 

and our partnerships have grown with time. We have had a fruitful partnership with several 

think-tanks in the U.S., including The Brookings Institution, Pacific Council for International Policy 

and Centre for Advanced Studies on India. In Europe, we have had a fruitful partnership with Rosa 

Luxemburg Foundation, Germany. A significant thought leader workshop on US-India Healthcare 

Partnerships For The Future: Global Solutions to Local Issues is slated to be held in New York later 

this year in partnership with Asia Society. ORF hopes to follow it by a visiting fellowship programme 

for scholars from abroad. We are in the process of increasing our activities abroad. 

In conclusion, I express my thanks to all our institutional partners and associates, well-wishers 

in academia and the media fraternity and above all, to the dedicated team of ORF faculty for their 

contributions to the growth of the Foundation. I hope that this support will continue to spur us 

onward till ORF reaches its goal. 

CHAIRMAN’S 

MESSAGE 

RK Mishra 


3

OVERVIEW

While ORF was founded over 17 years ago in 1990, its expansion 

began in 2003 when the Foundation started functioning 

from its new campus in New Delhi. It has been 

four years since then and a number of important studies 

and activities have been conducted in this short period. 

By now ORF has developed substantial expertise in the 

arenas of International Affairs and Defence & Security 

issues and has established a solid reputation as a thinktank 

in India and abroad. It has been attracting highly 

experienced personnel to lead its activities in these areas 

and demonstrated strong convening power in organizing 

seminars and discussions as well as research endeavours 

aimed towards influencing public policy. ORF has also initiated partnerships with a large number of 

institutions, international as well as Indian, as an explicit strategy to leverage its efforts. 

In order to achieve world-class standard as a think tank on public policy, ORF is focusing on the 

quality of its outputs – print and electronic. The process of revamping the website (www.orfonline. 

org) has been initiated to make it much faster, more interactive with more frequent updates to generate 

greater user interest. Quality parameters have been adopted for our publications and a process of 

academic review of all materials prior to publication has been introduced in ORF. A consultant was 

assigned the task of identifying modes to be adopted to reach ORF publications to the academic community 

through the research institutions and libraries across the country. The report by the consultant 

has suggested measures to reach booksellers in different cities and ways of accessing the several 

institutions and libraries. 

In keeping with this emphasis on the quality of ORF output, further consolidation of the research 

activities and streamlining of ORF management was initiated building upon the Forward Path vision 

document developed in 2005 and presented during the ORF Retreat in Barog. A senior management 

consultant was engaged by ORF in April 2006 with the brief to develop an action plan and budget for 

OVERVIEW 

Quality parameters have been adopted for our 

publications and a process of academic review 

of all materials prior to publication has been 

introduced in ORF 


5

OVERVIEW 

(left to right) 

● P.A. Sangma, MP, lights 

the lamp at the ORF 

Foundation Day. (L) 

Mr. I.K. Gujral, former 

Prime Minister. (R) Mr. 

R.K. Mishra. 

● Amb. M.K. Rasgotra 

and Prof. S.D. Muni at 

one of the interactions 

at ORF. 

● Dr. S. Narayan chairs a 

discussion on “Impact 

of high crude oil 

prices”. 

ORF has made a 

strategic commitment 

to develop its 

competences 

related to economic 

development, 

domestic policies, 

social issues and 

business strategies 

three years to create a few centers of excellence in research and recommend the organizational structure 

and management procedures to reach this objective. 

By the end of the year, some of the core research programmes for ORF have been identified. `Pakistan 

Study Centre’ and `Arms Production and India’s National Security: Assessing Current Trends and Exploring 

Future Options’ are the two programmes that have been approved so far. Other programmes that are 

currently under planning and preparations are Eurasian Study Centre; Policy on India’s Neighbourhood 

(including Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) and India-China Study Centre fall within the ambit of the 

International Initiative. The International Terrorism Watch Programme (ITWP) and a more comprehensive 

programme on the Modernization of Indian Defence Forces will be the additional thrust in Security 

Studies. The Centre for Resources Management (CRM) will continue its focus on Integrated Energy Policy 

and Energy Security for India. There is an attempt to define the focus areas more clearly. 

In order to realize its longer-term vision and to actively pursue its mission to support India’s emergence 

as an influential actor in a globalized world, ORF made a strategic commitment to develop its competences 

related to economic development, domestic policies, social issues and business strategies. These areas are 

also of more direct interest to the private sector (both domestic and international) and the citizenry at large 

as well attract a wider clientele among policy makers, opinion leaders as well as multilateral organizations. 

There are areas at the interface of the public and private sectors requiring an explicitly multidisciplinary 

and integrative approach where ORF could carve out significant niches with a promise of significant expansion 

if successful. 

In keeping with this perspective, a few new areas within the National Initiative 

are being taken up for detailed planning. This has been made possible with the 

induction of additional senior faculty members. The focus will be on policy issues 

around two overlapping themes: (a) Equity and Public Policy (Equity Studies) and 

(b) Emerging Issues in Regulation (Regulatory Studies). In the immediate future, 

issues of equity and regulatory imperatives would be analysed in the context of 

higher education, urban affairs, health care, science and technology and trade. The 

programme on Higher Education will build upon the studies on Issues in Higher 

Education in Science as well as the report on Creating a Silicon Valley in India completed 

during the current year. 

One of the important activities and associated events during the year has been the 

Maritime Security Initiative under the Defence and Security Studies Programme. 

An international conference on maritime security issues was held in Mumbai and 

New Delhi in January 2007. This was organized in collaboration with the National 

Maritime Foundation (NMF) and the College of Naval Warfare (CNW). 

The other significant event was the conference on ‘India China Relations: The 


A joint programme with Asia Society, NewYork 

is being planned for this year around the theme 

US-India Healthcare Partnerships for the Future: 

Global Solutions to Local Issues 

Next Decade’ held in Kolkata in September 2006. ORF was returning to Kolkata after fifteen years with 

a conference that was to mark the launch of its China Studies Programme. The interest shown by the Government 

of West Bengal raised the possibility of ORF establishing an India-China Centre in Kolkata. 

The US Studies Programme of ORF has been an important initiative, particularly in view of the growing 

India-U.S. cooperation in many areas. In this connection, ORF commissioned a report on establishing 

an ORF entity in the US and to outline the required steps that would allow the institution to access intellectual 

and financial resources as well as interact with opinion leaders and policy makers there. The report 

was meant to generate some real thinking on the process of expanding ORF into the U.S. by providing 

some guidelines on the major issues to consider, including the opportunities and hard challenges that the 

ORF may face. The report that has been submitted by the consultant suggests the possible focus for the 

institution, offers strategies to build audience, engage scholars, and cultivate the media. It also identifies a 

potential advisory committee and provides some funding strategies. It lays out a plan of action for ORF to 

embark on for its immediate next steps. 

Through meetings, conferences, publications and scholarly exchanges, the ORF’s strength 

in this rapidly emerging field will be to contribute unique Indian perspectives on critical 

global issues that will help policy debates in the two capitals. The ORF will stand at a 

juncture that will serve the policy community on both continents with the necessary 

and reliable information and insights and access that is now much sought after and most 

urgently required. 

To spark this process in the US, a joint programme with Asia Society, NewYork is being 

planned for later this year. The objective is to conduct a one-day workshop of thought 

leaders from India and the United States on strategic and policy issues related to the globalization of the 

healthcare industry. The workshop is being organized around the theme “US-India Healthcare Partnerships 

for the Future: Global Solutions to Local Issues”. The outcome of the workshop will be identification 

of common concerns, policy recommendations for both countries, areas for further study and future actions. 

A public panel will precede the workshop on affordability of healthcare for urban and rural areas. 

The healthcare industry is transforming itself through increased globalization, competition, cost consciousness, 

regulations and new technologies. India has become far more integrated with the global healthcare 

industry especially as a preferred high quality supplier of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, informatics, 

data management and elective surgeries. A new mutual dependency has been created between India and 

the United States in Healthcare. This has resulted in the need for a new approach to globalization that 

coordinates public policy and firm level strategies in both countries. This workshop is intended to provide 

just such a forum for the creation of an informed common policy and guidelines. It is also expected that 

this interaction will be followed up with the development of a research agenda for ORF in the area of 

healthcare. 

OVERVIEW 


7

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES

OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION has been deeply engaged 

in a series of research studies and initiative in different 

vital areas of national concern with the objective of offering serious 

policy alternatives and recommendations to the policymakers. 

Though ORF’s approach to understanding of issues is holistic and 

multi-disciplinary, for the sake of convenience three broad areas 

of initiatives and study have been defined and these are International 

Initiative, Security Studies and National Initiative. Within 

the National Initiative, the Centre for Resources Management is 

presently addressing the critical energy security issues for the 

country. 

ORF constitutes task forces to study the various aspects of a 

particular issue or conduct a research study in a specific area and shares its findings among peers 

and publishing it as a book or a monograph. Interactions with scholars and visiting dignitaries 

are also arranged for the benefit of academics, strategists and policymakers. These discussions are 

informal and the outcome is published as a policy brief or issue brief. 

INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE 

While ORF is interested in the entire gamut of India’s international affairs, India’s Neighbourhood, 

Eurasia, China and the United States are of special concern and study. Apart from the ongoing meetings 

and discussions that are arranged on India’s foreign policy issues and understanding of international 

relations, during the year under review, ORF has focused on the following specific and significant 

research projects that are critical and important. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

INDIA’S NEIGHBOURHOOD STUDIES PROGRAMME 

Task Force on India’s Neighbourhood – Towards a new policy framework 

The ORF Task Force on India’s Neighbourhood Policy will study India’s policy towards its immediate 

neighbours—Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar to set down an agenda 

to resolve both bilateral and multilateral issues against the backdrop of an emerging global, economic 

and political order. 

India, being the larger and more powerful member of the South Asian community, has the responsibility, 

and the opportunity, to set aside historical mistakes and work towards evolving a 

constructive and cooperative neighbhourhood policy, and thereby set new benchmarks of regional 

cooperation. 

The project has been studying the challenging task before India to align its national interests 


9


● Mr. Prachanda and Dr. 

Baburam Bhattarai, 

Nepal Maoist leaders, 

at their first public 

interaction in India at 

ORF. 

● Mr. Hamid Ansari and 

Mr. M. Rasgotra at a 

discussion. 

● Mr. Vikram Sood at 

“Scenarios Building: 

Pakistan Army and 

Peace”. 

with that of regional aspirations. The primary focus of the project has been to measure India’s attempts 

to forge economic alliances across the region, creating stakeholders in the region’s stability 

and progress within the ambit of dynamic strategic dimensions. 

The ORF Task Force on India’s Neighbourhood Policy has completed its report. The report 

is under publication. The project was led by well-known expert on India’s neighbourhood, 

Prof. SD Muni. 

PAKISTAN STUDIES PROGRAMME 

The need and urgency of monitoring and analyzing events and developments in Pakistan in view 

of its rising strategic capabilities, fluctuating economic fortunes and dynamic relations with other 

nations, particularly China and the United States, cannot be overstated. 

For the past several years, Observer Research Foundation has had an abiding interest in the 

subject, reflected in a number of publications and events related to the subject. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

Building Scenarios 

can be equated to 

creating hypotheses 

of different 

futures designed 

to predict risks 

and opportunities 

involved in a given 

situation 

PAKISTAN: SCENARIOS PROJECT 

In 2006, it was decided to identify possible methods of Building Scenarios that can be adopted to 

make objective and realistic assessments and policy recommendations. 

Building Scenarios can be equated to creating hypotheses of different futures designed to predict 

risks and opportunities involved in a given situation. In simple terms, Scenarios provide what 

will or might happen in future and hence are essential analytical tools in formulating 

public policies. Besides, the exercise of creating various scenarios of 

a given situation or an issue, based on given facts, lends urgency and perspective 

to analysts engaged in responding to various events and happenings and 

issues with policy recommendations. 

To initiate the project, it was decided to take up the study of Pakistan and 

the possibility of changes that might happen either during or following the 

presidential as well as the general elections scheduled between late 2007 and 

early 2008. 

As part of the project, conceptualised and led by Mr Vikram Sood, former 

chief of Research and Analysis Wing, several discussions, attended by wellknown 

experts on Pakistan and related subjects, were organised at ORF. Papers 

were commissioned to renowned scholars on Pakistan like Dr Selig Harrison 

and Brigadier Firoze Hasan Khan. 

The project report, under publication, encapsulates the issues that were 

discussed at the meetings, select extracts of the papers commissioned and 


The Pakistan Army is arguably the most 

powerful institution in Pakistan. It is today an 

integral part of Pakistan’s social, economic 

and political life 

four scenarios that could be taken as indicators of events unfolding in Pakistan, a country perpetually, 

at the cross-roads ever since its creation on August 14, 1947. 

PROJECT ON PAKISTAN ARMY (2007-2009) 

In the specific case of Pakistan, there are innumerable think tanks, research organisations and 

universities in India and elsewhere working on various aspects with varying degrees of objectivity 

and success. It has therefore been decided to select a specific area of focus in the next three years to 

help the organisation achieve a niche specialty in the shortest possible time and enhance its status 

in the world of think tanks. 

The Pakistan Army is arguably the most powerful institution in Pakistan. It is today an integral 

part of Pakistan’s social, economic and political life. In the past half-a-century of its existence as 

both physical and moral guardian of a nation of 140 million, it is difficult to imagine a Pakistan 

without the omnipresent Army. 

The destiny of Pakistan is closely aligned to that of the Army and hence it is important to document 

and analyse changes, both evident and circumstantial, that are taking place in this bulwark 

of an institution that has sustained Pakistan since 1947. 

Despite the criticality of the army in Pakistan’s foreign policy and politics, the expertise on the 

subject in India is woeful. The singular absence of an authoritative book on Pakistan Army by an 

Indian author gives the project a critical immediacy. 

The Pakistan military’s deep involvement in fostering jihad in India and other parts of the 

world, its association and alliances with the US intelligence and security agencies, China, Saudi 

Arabia, Kuwait and other west Asian nations besides nuclear proliferation networks makes it an 

important player in the region. 

A comprehensive study of Pakistan military, therefore, will be of paramount importance and 

value to policy makers in India and elsewhere. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

NEPAL: CHALLENGES IN BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE DEMOCRACY 

The study on Nepal, within the ambit of India’s Neighbourhood Studies Programe, aims to examine 

the challenges and prospects of building an inclusive society in Nepal. For long, Nepal has been facing 

immense challenges in building a representative and inclusive society. The country represents 

a very diverse society with multi-ethnicity, cultures, caste groups, with diverse language speaking 

population practising different religions but maintaining a unique homogeneity. However, there 

is a serious problem of exclusion in the state functioning. All its institutions, governance system, 

politics, bureaucracy and judiciary have been biased. For centuries, the high caste and feudal elements 

have dominated the state machinery and ignored the reality of a diversified characteristic of 


11

Last year, ORF hosted an interaction with the 

Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) 

Chairman, Prachanda and senior leader 

Dr. Baburam Bhattarai 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

the Nepali society. Therefore, the study will underline the challenges in building an inclusive state, 

which is in the process of shaping up in Nepal. 

The study will also critically examine the key issues of socio-politico-economiccultural 

differences, which has been a major source for exclusion and resulted 

in the Maoist uprising. Basically, it will identify and explain, how and why 

things went wrong in the past. It will evaluate the source of political instability, 

future role of monarchy, constituent assembly elections and the upcoming 

new constitution. The study also attempts to assess the demands made by the 

isolated and excluded groups, such as the Janjatis, Madhesis, Dalits, women and 

other marginalized groups, seeking equal rights and representation in New Nepal. 

In addition, it will critically examine the role of political parties, Maoists, civil society and 

other stakeholders, in practicing inclusiveness to accommodate and accomplish the aspirations of 

the excluded and marginalized groups. Lastly, the study will attempt to evolve and suggest means 

to accommodate aspirations of the isolated and excluded groups to build a more inclusive state in 

Nepal. 

In November 18, 2006, ORF hosted an interaction with the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist 

(CPN-Maoist) Chairman, Prachanda and senior leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, who addressed a 

distinguished gathering and staff members, and put forward their vision of building a New Nepal 

by joining mainstream politics. The main points of the interaction has been documented and 

published in the form of ORF Discourse and has been widely circulated among policy makers, 

academia, media and keen observers on Nepal. 

MYANMAR 

Myanmar is part of the ORF Neighbourhood Studies Programme. The aims of Myanmar 

studies include: develope a database on Myanmar, undertake research on Myanmar, organize 

seminar and workshop on Myanmar-related issues, bring out publications on Myanmar, and provide 

policy recommendations. 

Myanmar is a close neighbour of India and bilateral relations between the two countries have been 

growing since the beginning of 1990s. The country is critical for a number of factors including security 

and development of India’s Northeast region, energy, cooperation with ASEAN, and as a neighbour 

of China. 

Currently, a project entitled “Contemporary Myanmar: From Isolation to Active Engagement” 

is in progress. The project is exploring the political, economic and security dynamics of 

contemporary Myanmar. 

Over the past few years, the domestic politics of Myanmar and geopolitics of the region have 


Events organised during the year under the ORF International Initiative 

11/4/2006 Roundtable Discussion; Mr. Jan Zahradil, Member of the European Parliament 

from the Czech Republic. 

18/4/2006 Book Release of ‘Revolution and Creativity’ (Authors Azarmi Dukht Safawi and 

A.W.Azhar Dehlvi) by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan. 

18/4/2006 Discussion on Building Scenario Project. 

28/4/2006 Visit by British High Commissioner Sir Michael Arthur. 

16/5/2006 ORF-RLF seminar. 

24/5/2006 Visit by Dr. Peter Levoy, (Director, Centre for Contemporary Conflict). 

12/6/2006 Talk on ‘US-EU-China Diplomatic Competition for Global Supremacy’. 

16/6/2006 Discussion on Building Scenario Project - Pakistan Army and Peace. 

23/6/2006 Discussion on Building Scenario Project - Leadership Change in Pakistan. 

6/7/2006 Visit by a delegation from the National Defence University, Israel. 

11/7/2006 Discussion on ‘South Asia’ by Dr. Philip Oldenburg. 

13/7/2006 Discussion on Building Scenarios Project on Pakistan. 

21/7/2006 Workshop on China. 

1/8/2006 Brainstorming session on ‘American Policy and the Rise of Islamic Radicalism in 

West Asia’. 

4/8/2006 Roundtable discussion on Terrorism and Law. 

12/8/2006 Discussion on Trends in Global Migration, ORF Chennai. 

17/8/2006 Talk by Dr. Sergey Rogov on ‘India Factor in US-Russia Relations’. 

17/8/2006 Roundtable discussion on ‘Is Stable Pakistan in India’s Interest’. 

23/8/2006 Talk by Prof. Shlomo Ben-Ami on ‘’Israel’s two front war - the Current Conflict 

with Hamas & Hezbollah”. 

24/8/2006 Visit by Mr. Mike Smith, Australian Ambassador. 

29/8/2006 Roundtable discussion on ‘Terrorism and Human Rights’. 

4/9/2006 Roundtable discussion on ‘Situation in Balochistan : Implications for the Region’. 

7/9/2006 Visit by Mr. Larry Schwartz, the new Minister Counsellor for Public Affairs at 

the Delhi US Embassy. 

9/9/2006 Conference on ‘India and China: The next decade’ at the University of Kolkata. 

18/9/2006 Talk by Mr. Strobe Talbott on ‘How Think Tanks Impact Public Policy’. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


13

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


● Amb. Hussein El Kamal 

of Egypt speaks to ORF 

faculty. 

● Dr. Sergey Rogov, 

Director of Institute 

of USA & Canada at 

Moscow, speaks on 

India factor in US- 

Russia relations. 

● Prof. Sholomo Ben-Ami, 

former Israeli Foreign 

Minister, talks on 

conflicts with Hamas 

and Hezbollah. 

The Eurasian Studies Division endeavours to 

understand this region better, by identifying 

and studying policy gaps and coming up with 

alternatives 

undergone dramatic changes. Regional and international community has been showing increasing 

concerns over what Myanmar does and what others do in Myanmar. Efforts in exploring these issues 

are thus necessary for India. The purpose of the study is to understand the emerging trends 

and their implications on India. 

A field trip to Myanmar forms part of the project. The trip will be used to collect empirical data. 

This will provide an opportunity to get a feel of the ground reality and thereby enriching the study. 

The trip will also be used to seek cooperation with research institutions in Myanmar for future 

relations in the academic field. 

A two-week study trip has already been undertaken in December 2006 to two of India’s Northeastern 

states as part of the project. The trip was used to gather information on how the region 

views India’s Myanmar policy. 

Two analyses have been published on the ORF website: 

K. Yhome, “India-Myanmar Relations: Trouble at the Gate”, ORF Strategic Trends, Vol. IV Issue. 

28, 14 August 2006. 

K. Yhome, “Myanmar on UNSC’s Agenda: Business as Usual for India?”, ORF Analysis, 21 September 

2006. 

EURASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME 

Eurasia is one of the most important regions in the world in the current geopolitical scenario. Eurasia 

comprises of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, the Central Asian and the Transcaucasian republics. 

The region is of vital strategic importance to India. The Eurasian Studies Division endeavours to 

understand this region better, by identifying and studying policy gaps and coming up with alternatives 

as well as exploring opportunities available for India. 

During 2006, the Eurasian Studies Programme undertook a number of activities as listed below: 

The monograph on India-Russia-Central Asia Cooperation is completed and is under publication 

stage. This study looks at India’s relations with the five Central Asian Republics, viz. Kazakhstan, 


18/9/2006 Talk by Mr. Strobe Talbott on ‘US foreign policy in a Presidential election season’. 

9/10/2006 Visit by a delegation from Sri Lanka. 

12/10/2006 Seminar on Defence Production and book release of ‘Defence Planning: Problems & 

Prospects (Ed. Gen. VP Malik and Brig. Vinod Anand)’ by Sri Rao Inderjit Singh, 

Minister of State for Defence. 

12/10/2006 Visit by Prof. Arthur Klinghoffer and Prof. Judith Klinghoffer from the US. 

17/10/2006 Roundtable on ‘China: Today & Tomorrow. 

13/11/2006 Conference on ‘Rising China - India’s Economic Transformation’. 

18/11/2006 Interaction with Nepal Maoist chief, Mr. Prachanda, & Dr. Babu Ram Bhattarai. 

1/12/2006 Roundtable discussion on ‘India-China Relationship: Chinese President Hu Jintao’s 

Visit’. 

5/12/2006 Talk by Mr. Lodi G Gyari, Special Envoy of His Highness Dalai Lama on ‘Status of 

the Talks between Dalai Lama and China’. 

6/12/2006 Talk by Dr. Vyacheslav Nikonov on ‘Political Situation in Russia in the run-up to 

2008 Presidential Election’. 

13/12/2006 Visit by Amb. Hussein El Kamal of Egypt. 

15/12/2006 ORF-CASI conference on ‘Power Realignments in Asia - A US-India Policy Dialogue’. 

11/1/2007 Two-day international conference on ‘Maritime Trade and Security: Striking the 

Right Balance’ in Mumbai. 

16/1/2007 Presentation of the Recommendations of the conference on ‘Maritime Trade and 

Security’ to Defence Minister. 

23/1/2007 Visit by Dr. Peter Witterauf, General Manager of Hans Seidel Foundation. 

24/1/2007 Meeting with a delegation from the World Bank. 

1/2/2007 Talk by Dr. Dmitry Kozyreva on ‘Persian Gulf Security: India Russia Cooperation’. 

15/2/2007 Meeting on ‘Missile Defence’. 

26/2/2007 Visit by Mr. Geoffrey Van Orden, Member of European Parliament. 

1/3/2007 Talk by Mr. Dilip Hiro on ‘Conflict in the Middle East: Implications for the Energy 

Supplies for the World’. 

12/3/2007 Visit by Australian delegation of Mr. John Jende, Dr. Bruce Dodrey and Ms. Victoria 

Walker. 

15/3/2007 South Asia regional workshop on ‘Linking Security & Liberty: Counter-Terrorism 

& Human Rights’. 

16/3/2007 South Asia regional workshop on ‘Linking Security & Liberty: Counter-Terrorism 

& Human Rights’. 

22/3/2007 Visit by Adml. Walter Doran and Mr. Courtney B Banks of Raytheon Company. 

29/3/2007 Roundtable discussion on ‘Situation in Pakistan’. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


15

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


● Amb. G. Parthasarathy, Amb. 

Hamid Ansari with Amb. Rasgotra 

informally discussing India- 

China relations after Chinese 

President’s visit to India. 

● Mr. Dilip Hiro speaks on “Conflict 

in Middle East and energy 

supplies and for the world”. 

● Mr. Lodi Gyari (R) talks on “Status 

of talks between Dalai Lama and 

China. C. Rajamohan chairs the 

talk. 

● A discussion on “Situation in 

Balochistan”. 

Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, especially in the backdrop of the Russian 

influence in the region. The region is geostrategically vital for us, given its location as well as the 

energy resources in the region. The region also offers potential for economic expansion and can be 

a lucrative market for Indian goods. Both India and Russia have historic linkages towards Central 

Asia and working closely with Russia in the region will help India in strengthening our relations 

with the Central Asian States. The study looks into Central Asian Republics’ ties with India and 

Russia and explores the possibilities of further cooperation. 

The draft of the monograph on India-Russia Energy Cooperation is completed and submitted for 

review. The monograph on India-Russia Energy Cooperation examines bilateral energy cooperation, 

especially in the hydrocarbon and nuclear sectors between India and Russia. It gives an overview 

of India’s energy security concerns and briefly lists the Russian resources, pipeline systems 

and hydrocarbon majors. The various options available for India to bring Russian oil and gas supplies 

to the country and the potential difficulties that we could face in this endeavour are addressed 

by the study. Potentials for cooperation in the nuclear sector are also explored. 

TALKS AND INTERACTIONS 

The Eurasian Division organized a talk and Interaction session with Dr Sergei Rogov, Director of 

the Institute of the USA and Canada at the Russian Academy of Sciences at ORF on 17th August 

2006. It was agreed that Dr. Rogov’s Institution and ORF would launch a Track II Initiative in 

2007. The Division also arranged Dr Rogov’s meetings with senior officials. 

Dr. Vyacheslav Nikonov, President, “Polity” Foundation, Moscow visited India on our invitation 

and delivered a talk on “Political Situation in Russia in the run-up to the 2008 Presidential 

election” on 6th December 2006. The Division also arranged for Dr. Nikonov, formal and informal 

interactions with senior officials and academics. 

On 20th November 2006, the Division organised a talk by Mr. Anand Bordia, (Former Member- 

Finance, National Highway Authority of India), and presently with ADB on the topic “Afghanistan 


China Studies is a new initiative in ORF and the 

inaugural programme was a conference titled 

India – China Relations: The Next Decade held in 

Kolkata on 9 September 2006 

and Transit Routes to Central Asia”. 

Mr. Dmitry Kosyrev, Political Columnist-Asian Problems, RIA Novosti, delivered a talk on “Persian 

Gulf Security: India-Russia Cooperation”, 1st February 2007. 

CHINA STUDIES 

This is a new initiative in ORF and the inaugural programme was a conference titled India China 

Relations: The Next Decade, held in Kolkata on 9 September 2006. While the research agenda is 

being finalised, ORF has taken the initiative to invite Mr. Prem Shankar Jha, a well-known journalist 

and commentator, to write a book for ORF on China. The book will include various projections 

that have been made for China’s future growth by various agencies, like the BRICs report, the 

World Bank’s China 2020 report and various American projections. It will examine China’s actual 

growth during the past 25 years in the backdrop of a consensus among economists that the growth 

rate is inflated by at least two per cent, while some say it’s up to three per cent. It will also briefly 

discuss the Chinese experience of economic liberalization. 

Mr. Prem Shankar Jha will also explore the implicit political premise in all the projections that 

the nation will remain politically stable during the entire period under review. This is a highly 

questionable assumption for any developing country. The author will discuss two challenges China 

faces – the difficulty of extracting itself from the Communist economic structure and the new 

stresses that are developing as a result of the shift to a capitalist, market-oriented system. 

With comparisons of Indian experiences, the book promises to be an exciting read for all interested 

in the study of China and its rise in the coming decades. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

US STUDIES 

The US Studies Programme was established in 2003 to help strengthen ties between India and 

the United States by providing a platform to policy makers, academicians, diplomats, think tanks, 

business groups and other stakeholders to exchange their views through a sustained dialogue process 

at various levels. The objectives of the ORF US Studies Programme are to: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Establish an understanding of the dynamics of the American economy 

Develop a researched focus on the essential elements of the American polity 

To study the factors relevant to the changing cultural dynamics of the American society 

To initiate issue based dialogue with experts on current US developments 

To eventually forecast political, economic and military trends in the United States of America 

PROJECT: 

ORF has initiated a project entitled Determinants in US Foreign Policy: Challenges and Prospects 


17

ORF has initiated a project entitled Determinants 

in US Foreign Policy: Challenges and Prospects 

for Indo-US Relations. The focus is on the role of 

the various stakeholders 

for Indo-US Relations. The monograph length study examines the determinants that have shaped 

US policy towards India in recent years. The focus is on the role of the various stakeholders who 

have been the drivers behind the new US policy towards India and the interests, mainly economic, 

they seek to promote. A distinctive feature of the project is to profile the stakeholders, make an 

appraisal of their interests that have shaped the bilateral relationship, and then examine the major 

milestones in Indo-US relations. The study is based largely on primary sources in the public domain 

and interviews with policy/opinion makers both in India and the United States. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

ACTIVITIES AND CONFERENCES: 

1. A high level Indo-US Interaction on Rising India was held at ORF on November 13 and 14, 

2006. The US side comprised delegates drawn from the National Intelligence Council, Department 

of State and the Carnegie Endowment and was jointly led by Ambassador Nancy Powell and Dr. 

Ashley Tellis. The conference began with a brief overview by Ambassador Nancy Powell of the issues 

that would be addressed in order to understand the dynamics of the amazing changes taking 

place in India. This is important as India has not been static for many years and nor is the pace of 

developments likely to slow down in the near future. In his introductory remarks, Dr. Ashley Tellis 

spoke of the three dimensions of democracy – economic, political and social, that have changed 

dramatically in India and all are still undergoing the churning process. He posed the question: Is the 

founding vision of India challenged or will it survive? How does the new India or the new model 

affect the traditional model? This formed the basis of the discussions. 

2. Observer Research Foundation and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Advanced 

Study of India have entered into a three-year partnership to undertake a series of research-based 

US-India policy dialogues. The aim is to understand how Asia’s great transformation will affect 

US-India relations and identify the areas in which the United States and India will be able to substantially 

cooperate. It is the first such research initiative taking a forward-looking perspective 

on Asia’s transformation with a focus centered on India and the US-India relationship rather than 

East Asia. Each dialogue will result in a pair of policy briefs targeted for the policymaking communities 

in Washington and New Delhi, respectively. The first dialogue under this initiative was held 

at ORF from December 15 to December 17, 2006. The CASI side was led by Professor Francine 

Frankel, while former Indian foreign secretary, Ambassador K Raghunath led the Indian side. 


INSTITUTE OF SECURITY STUDIES 

‘Arming the Arsenal: India’s Defence Industry in Transition’ 

“Arming the Arsenal: India’s Defence Industry in Transition’ is a research project under a broad 

framework of ‘self-reliance in defence’. Undertaken by Deba Mohanty in May last year, the project 

tries to examine two inter-related issues – the current and future defence procurement needs of the 

Indian armed forces and the abilities of the domestic defence industry to meet the requirements. 

The project hypothesizes that although there is a growing gap between demand on equipment side 

and supply from the domestic sources which is likely to continue in future, a comprehensive longterm 

reform initiative in the domestic industrial sector would be required to address the growing 

gap in achieving the much desired ‘self-reliance in defence’. 

The project, cumulative output of which is likely to come out as a book length manuscript on the 

subject, will be completed by May 2007. It will have four substantive chapters – trends in global 

defence industry, trends in Indian defence industry, reforms in the Indian defence industrial sector 

and their implications and need for further reforms. The project is primarily a macro study, which 

will offer future policy prescriptions for the Indian defence industrial sector. 

As part of this project, Deba Mohanty coordinated two major events in the last few months. 

One was ‘Public-Private Partnership in Defence: Problems and Prospects’ on 12 October 2006 at 

the ORF Auditorium. It was inaugurated by Mr. Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Defence 

Production. Mr. Dhirendra Singh and Air Commodore Jasjit Singh chaired two sessions of the 

seminar while Major General H S Sehgal (Technical Manager Land Systems, MoD), Mr Amitav 

Mallik, Advisor S & T at ORF), Mr. P K Rastogi (Additional Secretary, Department of Defence 

Production), Commander A Ghosh (VXL Technologies), and Lt Gen (Retd.) Vinay Shankar presented 

papers in the Seminar. 

An important conference on ‘Making Decisions in Missile Defence’ was organised on 15 February 

2007 at the ORF Auditorium. Mr Peter J Mantle, President, Mantle & Associates, LLC, of 

the United States made the main presentation. Lt Gen (retd) Dennis Cavin (Vice President of the 

Lockheed Martin Corp), General (Retd.) V P Malik, Air Marshal (Retd.) Ajit Bhavnani and many 

senior officers from the Government and armed forces as well as members of the strategic community 

participated in the seminar. 

Mohanty has made three presentations at ORF, several presentations at prestigious institutions 

like the National Defence College and National Academy of Defence Production. He has written 

three commentaries for ORF website, contributed articles to newspapers and journals. He has contributed 

ten research papers, five of which have already been published in books and journals, 

while the remaining are in the pipeline. 


● Gen. V.P. Malik and Air. 

Comm. Jasjit Singh at 

an interaction. 

● Mr. Rao Inderjit 

Singh, MoS Defence, 

speaking at “Public- 

Private Partnership in 

Defence”. 

● Mr. A.K. Antony, Union 

Defence Minister, with 

the chiefs of Navy and 

Coast Guard. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


19

Events organised during the year under the ORF Institute of Security Studies 

On April 17, 2006, Brigadier (retd.) Gurmeet Kanwal made a presentation on “India’s Nuclear 

Forces” at the Monday Morning Meeting. 

On May 19, 2006, Brigadier (retd.) Gurmeet Kanwal organized a visit of the Taiwanese Delegation. 

On May 24, 2006, Dr Peter Lavoy visited ORF Campus and interacted with General (retd.) V. P. 

Malik and ISS Team. 

On May 29, 2006. Mr. Deba R. Mohanty made a presentation on “ Trends in Global Defence Industry: 

Implications for India” at the Monday Morning Meeting. 

On June 19, 2006, Dr. P.V. Ramana made a presentation on “ Travelling Through Andra - Orissa 

Border Guerrilla Zone” at the Monday Morning Meeting. 

On June 26, 2006, Mr. Rudra Chaudhari made a presentation on “Dynamics of US ‘Force Transformation’: 

An Assessment” at the Monday Morning Meeting. 

On July 6, 2006, ISS organized a visit of a delegation from National Defence University, Israel. 

On August 24, 2006, ISS organized a visit of Mr Mike Smith, Australia’s Ambassador for Counter 

Terrorism. 

On September 25, 2006, Ms. Garima Singh made a presentation on “Iran: Policy Options for India” 

at the Monday Morning Meeting. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

On October 12, 2006, Deba Mohanty organized an ISS National Seminar on “Public - Private Partnership 

in Defence: Problems and Prospects” at the ORF Auditorium. 

On November 23 – 24, 2006, ISS organized the ORF - RLF International Conference on “The 

Rise of China: Asian and European Perspectives”. It was coordinated by Ms. Garima Singh. Deba 

Mohanty, Senior Fellow at the ISS presented a paper in this Conference. 

On January 11–12, 2007 Commodore (retd.). R.S. Vasan organized an International Conference on 

Maritime Security under the theme “Maritime Trade And Security: Striking The Right Balance” 

at Mumbai. The concluding part of the Conference was held at the ORF Campus, New Delhi, on 

January 16, 2007. 

On January 15, 2007, Mr. Deba Ranjan Mohanty made a presentation on “Trends in India’s Military 

Expenditure” at the Monday Morning Meeting. 

On January 17, 2007, P.V. Ramana organized a meeting on “Terrorism”. 

On February 15, 2007, Deba Mohanty coordinated a Round Table Meeting on “Making Decisions 

in Missile Defence”, presented by Mr Peter J Mantle, President Mantle & Associates, LLC. 

On March 15 and 16, 2007, South Asia Regional Workshop on “Security and Liberty: Linking 

Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights” was organised in Delhi. 


The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash 

launched the MSP in Chennai and expressed his 

happiness that think tanks such as ORF and NMF 

were jointly promoting maritime interests 

MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAMME 

Towards the end of 2005, a decision was taken that there is a need for Observer Research Foundation 

to engage itself in the process of building a maritime India. During 2004, as part of the International 

Terrorism Watch Project, Observer Research Foundation had conducted an international 

conference on Maritime Counter Terrorism at New Delhi. However, with the importance of the 

seas to our well being and prosperity, it was clear that ORF could play a leading role in providing 

quality inputs to the policy makers on maritime matters. 

It was thus decided that ORF would launch the Maritime Security Programme (MSP) under the 

aegis of the Institute of Security Studies headed by General (Retd.) VP Malik. Commodore (Retd.) 

RS Vasan, ORF, Chennai Chapter was designated as the Chief Coordinator for the Maritime Security 

Programme. It was also decided that ORF would join hands with National Maritime Foundation 

and the College of Naval Warfare to promote India’s maritime interests. 

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, formally launched the MSP on 18th May 

2006 at a function organised in Chennai. The Chief of the Naval Staff lauded the efforts of ORF 

and expressed his happiness that think tanks such as ORF and NMF were jointly promoting maritime 

interests. The launch was followed by a day long seminar on various maritime matters. 

In the run up to the International Maritime Security Conference, ORF along with NMF and the 

College of Naval Warfare conducted brain storming sessions with the stake holders at Mumbai and 

Chennai respectively. 

The International Maritime Security Conference was organised at Mumbai on 

12th and 13th January 2007. The theme chosen was “Maritime Trade and Security: 

Striking the Right Balance”. The conference was conducted at INHS 

Aswini and was well attended by all sections of maritime community, both 

from trade and security agencies. The Governor of Maharashtra His Excellency 

Mr SM Krishna inaugurated the conference. The Flag Officer Commanding in 

Chief Western Naval Command Vice Admiral SS Byce delivered the keynote 

address and also provided all the support at Mumbai for the successful conduct 

of the event. The delegates and elite from Mumbai attended the conference dinner onboard Indian 

Museum Ship Vikrant. 

It was also decided to present the summary, findings and recommendations to the policy makers 

at New Delhi without delay. Accordingly, flagged issues along with recommendations were presented 

to an invited audience in the presence of the Raksha Mantri, The Chief of the Naval Staff 

and the Director General Coast Guard. The Raksha Mantri Mr AK Antony delivered the special 

address. He also expressed his happiness that the two major think tanks and an institute of higher 

learning had come together to provide a useful platform for experts to share their views and discuss 

the way ahead to ensure that the right balance between the conflicting requirements of trade and 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


21

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


● Mr. Vikram Sood and 

Gen. Afsar Karim at a 

discussion on Mumbai 

blasts. 

● Dr. Vijay Sakhuja, ORF 

Fellow, calls on the 

President of Taiwan. 

● Justice J.S. Verma 

(R), former CJI, at 

a conference on 

“Security and Liberty”. 

security are achieved. 

ORF/ISEAS Bilateral dialogue: Consistent with the policy of joining hands with other institutions, 

ORF tied up with ISEAS of Singapore and conducted a two-day event at New Delhi on 

30 and 31st March 2006. ORF Chennai coordinated the event. Ambassador Kesava Pani, Mr Daljit 

Singh, Ms Krupa Sridharan and Mr Tan of ISEAS presented papers on East and South East Asian 

issues. From the ORF side, Ambassador M Rasgotra, Professor SD Muni, Mr. DS Rajan, Commodore 

RS Vasan, Ms Raakhee Suryaprakash and Dr Vijay Sakhuja presented papers. 

Commodore RS Vasan represented ORF and presented papers at both national and international 

seminars. The international seminars included a seminar on Indo-Sri Lankan Partnership in New 

Century on 30,31 January & 1 February 2006 at Indo-American Centre for International Studies 

and another one at the Centre of Indian Ocean Studies on 13th February 2007. In addition, many 

articles were published on websites, Dialogue, Society of Indian Ocean Studies and others. 

TERRORISM WATCH PROGRAMME 

In the aftermath of the devastating serial explosions in the commercial capital Mumbai, the Terrorism 

Watch Programme of the ORF conducted three brainstorming sessions. Participants included 

renowned academicians, distinguished former security force officials, well-known jurists, former 

career diplomats, journalists and human rights activists. These discussions resulted in the preparation 

of three policy briefs: “Mumbai Blasts: Time to Act”; “Effective Legislation Critical for Fighting 

Terror”; and “Terrorism and Human Rights”. 

On March 15 and 16, 2007, a South Asia Regional Workshop on “Security and Liberty: Linking 

Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights” was hosted in collaboration with the Fourth Freedom 

Forum, USA. The workshop included approximately 25-30 participants, drawn principally from 

India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal. Participants included counter-terrorism practitioners 

and former security officials, judicial experts and officers, experts and former officials 

experienced in human rights training and/or monitoring, and representatives of the media. Former 

Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Mr Girish Chandra Saxena inaugurated the workshop, while 

former Chief Justice of India, Hon Mr Justice J S Verma and former Governor of Jharkhand and 

Manipur, Mr Ved Marwah, delivered special addresses. 

The high point of these efforts was the publication of a research paper entitled “The Maoist 

Movement in India”, in the prestigious and internationally acclaimed peer reviewed journal, Defence 

and Security Analysis, London: Routledge-Taylor and Francis, December 2006. 

The continuous and high quality research of the project on “Naxalite/Maoist Movement in India” 

brought international recognition to the Foundation with Dr Ramana being quoted by The 

Economist, in its August 19-25 issue. 


The study was an attempt to develop an 

understanding of the power sector by looking 

at the interface between politics, markets, 

interests and different players 

NATIONAL INITIATIVE 

THE INDIAN ECONOMY AND INDIA IN THE WORLD ECONOMY 

This book authored by Dr. Jayshree Sengupta, Senior Fellow, on the Indian Economy is under publication 

by the Academic Foundation, New Delhi. It presents a jargon free explanation of the working of 

the Indian economy and the challenges ahead for India in order to sustain a high rate of growth that 

is equitable and environment friendly. She has also written an issue brief on Growing inequalities of 

income in India and have contributed to the ORF website on diverse subjects like inflation, problems 

in agriculture, SEZs and other subjects of topical interest. 

Under the National Initiative, another project has been initiated on the potential of India becoming 

a major world power by 2025. India is likely to be a third pole in the global economy by 2025 and 

India’s share in the world GDP is likely to rise from 6 per cent to 11 per cent. India’s economic growth 

experience in the last five decades is being studied and the main contradictions and problems ahead 

will be identified. 

STUDY OF POWER SECTOR REFORMS 

A Case Study on “Politics of Power Sector Reforms in India” was carried out by Dr. Niranjan Sahoo 

under the guidance of Mr. Shakti Sinha as a part of the National initiative. The study was an attempt 

to develop an understanding of the political economy of the power sector by looking at the interface 

between politics, markets, interests and different players in setting and determining the agenda of 

the power sector. It looked at different phases: politics during the era of one party domination, the 

transition period leading to reforms, and the reform phase. It has explored the circumstances, actors 

and forces (including political players and interest groups) that guided the reform processes and to 

unearth the potential areas of conflicts or political hazards on the reform path. Lastly, the study has 

come out with the broad outlines for future reform measures. The study report is under final review 

prior to publication. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

STUDY ON “ HAS RESERVATION SERVED ITS ORIGINAL GOALS” 

This study was an attempt to assess the relevance and effectiveness of reservation as an affirmative 

policy by the government to address the problems of inequity and social injustice to certain sections 

of the society in India. The study was undertaken by ORF in the general background of lack of any 

serious attempt to scrutinize the implementation of such a critical policy. Though there have been a 

number of studies on caste system, socio-economic conditions of Dalits and Adivasis, not many scholars 

have taken interest in terms of undertaking comprehensive evaluation of reservation policies and 

looking at how these policies have been implemented. The study hopes to fill some of the gaps. The 

study has come out with comprehensive statistics/figures and various trends of implementation of 


23


● Mr. G.C. Saxena, 

former Governor 

of J&K, speaking 

at a conference on 

“Security and Liberty”. 

● Amb. Abid Hussain 

and Lalit Bhasin 

at a discussion on 

“Terrorism and Law”. 

● Mr. Harish Khare and 

Mohan Guruswami at 

a discussion on “China 

today and tomorrow”. 

There is need for massive expansion and a 

qualitative improvement in the institutions of 

higher learning in the country. This is needed so 

that we can improve access to higher education 

reservation in jobs, education and political institutions spanning last 56 years. The report of the study 

is under final review. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AND HIGHER EDUCATION 

A Study of Issues in Higher Education in Science has been completed by Professor Shobhit 

Mahajan, Professor of Physics, Delhi University for ORF. Following are the main recommendations 

of the study: 

There is need for massive expansion and a qualitative improvement in the institutions of 

higher learning in the country. This is needed so that we can improve access to higher education 

to all our citizens. 

Improving the quality and increasing the quantity of institutions of higher learning require huge 

resources. Judicious use of resources, changes in mindsets, improving systems of governance and incentives 

and building on our strengths is required. 

There is need for the teacher to have greater control over what is taught. Institutional mechanisms 

to encourage larger participation of the teachers in syllabus making need to be devised. 

Undergraduate teaching needs to have a much larger emphasis on research and project work. 

There is urgent need to overhaul the laboratory curricula so that the students are taught techniques 

and instrumentation besides experimental methods. Project work and supervised research should be 

mandatory and could be arranged during the summer vacations. 

Curricula should be flexible enough for interested students to take courses outside their main area 

of interest. There should be opportunities for students to be able to change their course of study midstream 

without too much loss of time. 

Centralised examination system should be replaced by a decentralized one as soon as possible. The 

assessment needs to be continuous and not once a year as is the norm now. Information Technology 

should be used to make the examination process as transparent and efficient as possible. 

Physical infrastructure in colleges needs massive improvement. Resources should be made available 

for maintenance and upgrade of class rooms, faculty and tutorial rooms, laboratories etc. Li- 


aries need to be maintained and expanded wherever possible. Undergraduate laboratories need to 

be reequipped with a set of basic equipment and enough resources for maintenance of equipment 

and consumables. 

One of the ways to efficiently use resources is to set up many more inter university centers with 

centralized facilities for use by the university and college teachers. A useful model might be a regional 

center model which caters to a region and can be thus more accessible. The research facilities set up at 

any department need to be made open to colleagues from other departments and colleges. 

CENTRE FOR RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 

The ORF Centre for Resources Management is an autonomous unit within Observer Research Foundation. 

The initial focus of the work carried out by the Centre is on India’s immediate challenges 

in the energy sector: the pursuit of economic efficiency, energy security and environmental sustainability. 

The Centre’s ambitious agenda of emerging as the nation’s key repository of information and 

knowledge is pursued through studies that are internally funded or commissioned by other agencies, 

through organisation of seminars with participation of world renowned experts and discourses with 

key thought leaders and policy makers in the field of energy. 

KEY PROJECTS & PUBLICATIONS 

I-Cubed Model: The model is designed to provide reliable information about the economy, environment 

and energy effects of a broad spectrum of issues ranging from energy 

subsidies to demographic changes in an integrated manner. It is a multi-sector, 

inter-temporal general equilibrium model of the Indian economy. The 

model development is a joint effort of Observer Research Foundation and the 

Brookings Institution of the US. It bridges the gaps between three areas of research- 

Econometric general equilibrium modelling, International trade theory 

and modern macroeconomics- by incorporating the best features of each. The 

project has entered Phase II of model development. 

Development of energy demand forecasts for the Planning Commission, 

Government of India: The Commission’s Report on Integrated Energy 

Policy in which Dr. Kirit S Parikh, Member (Energy), Planning Commission 

& Chairman, Expert Committee on Integrated Energy Policy quoted “I also 

thank Dr. Vivek Karandikar and Dr. Prasanna Dani of the Observer Research 

Foundation for their help in developing energy supply scenarios.” These energy 

demand forecasts were developed using a multisectoral, multi period optimizing 

linear programming model. The model developed by Observer Research 

I-Cubed Model is 

designed to provide 

reliable information 

about the economy, 

environment and 

energy effects of 

a broad spectrum 

of issues in an 


● Mr. S.C. Tripathi, former 

Secretary (P&NG), at 

focus group discussion 

on rising crude oil 

prices. 

● Prof. S.S. Gill (L) speaks 

on crisis in agriculture. 

(R) Mr. R.K. Mishra. 

● Mr. Anand Bordia 

speaks on “Afghanistan 

and transit routes to 

central Asia”. 

integrated manner 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


25

Events organised during the year under the ORF National Initiative 

15/4/2006 Talk on ‘Post Reform Performance of Agriculture in Punjab : From High Growth 

to Stagnation’. 

25/4/2006 Three-day workshop on Building Scenarios by Dr. Anupam Khanna. 

13/7/2006 Brain-storming session in the Wake of Mumbai Blasts. 

14/7/2006 Lecture by Mr. K.C.Pant on ‘50 Years of India’s Energy Policy’. 

22/7/2006 Roundtable of Members of Parliament and experts on ‘The Mumbai Blasts’. 

27/7/2006 Roundtable discussion on ‘Use of Optical Imaging to Reduce Exploratory Surgery’ 

by Dr. Milind Rajyadhaksha. 

14/8/2006 Roundtable discussion on ‘The Impact of High Crude Oil Prices’ and Challenges in 

Pricing of Petroleum Products’. 

14/9/2006 Release of the ORF Policy Brief on ‘The Impact of High Crude Oil Prices’ followed 

by discussion. 

21/9/2006 Release of book ‘Mumbai Vision’ by Mr. Strobe Talbott, Mumbai. 

7/10/2006 Kaavya Sandhya. 

17/11/2006 ORF-NASSCOM conference on ORF report on ‘Creating Silicon Valley in India’. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 

20/11/2006 Talk by Mr. Anand Bordia on ‘Afghanistan and Transit Routes to Central Asia’. 

17/1/2007 Meeting on Terrorism. 

9/2/2007 Focus Group Meeting on ‘What Do Falling Crude Prices Mean to India’s Fiscal 

Deficit?’. 

27/2/2007 Talk by Mr. Ajit C Kapadia on ‘Energy Security: Present and Future’. 

Foundation was upgraded and the scenarios developed under the guidance of Dr. Kirit Parikh by a 

team from ORF. 

A Book on GCC-India cooperation in the oil and gas sector: The book aims to explore the 

emerging pattern of interdependence between India, a giant consumer and importer of oil and gas and 

the GCC region, the main world supplier, as well as the emerging energy related tendencies and their 

implications for their bilateral relations. The book will be available in 2-3 months. 

Statistical Handbook on Energy: A compact and concise handbook on Energy containing past 

and current statistics on the Indian energy sector. Copies will be available soon. 

Oil in US Energy Policy: Searching for Clues of Influence’: Report based on Congressional 

Fellowship, US Energy Policy and Implications for India. 


REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS 

ORF Energy News Monitor: This weekly publication of the centre covers analysis articles as well 

as national and international news on energy. The year 2006 was the third continuous year of publication 

of the News Monitor. 

Reforms, Restructuring & Regulation: Three ‘R’s for India’s Energy Security: This report is 

based on the key recommendations that emerged out of the deliberations at the National Conclave on 

India’s Energy Security: Major Challenges organized by the Centre in New Delhi on 14-15 February 

2006. The report has been submitted to the Government for consideration. 

North-South Energy Corridor: Kazakhstan-Iran-India: This report is a commissioned study 

that examines the feasibility of the North-South Transport Corridor, connecting South Asia and Europe, 

being extended into an Energy Corridor stretching from Kazakhstan to South East Asia via Iran 

& India, with the Akhtau Port in Kazakhstan at its center. The Energy Corridor is initially expected 

to carry Central Asian gas to an Iranian Port from where it would be transported to India either 

through the proposed Iran-India Pipeline (IPI) or as LNG. Copyrights for the report rests with the 

Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India. 

Energy Security and New Challenges: This report is a compilation of deliberations at the IIES 

Conference ‘Energy Security & New Challenges’ held on 29-30 Nov. 2004 in Tehran, Iran, in which 

ORF CRM staff participated. 

Energy Security through Energy Efficiency: This report is a commissioned study that aims to 

assist in confronting the complex challenge of moving towards energy efficiency not just by drawing 

attention to the gap in energy efficiency in various energy consuming segments of India as most available 

studies do, but by pointing out ways to bridge that gap through appropriate policy interventions. 

ORF Discourse: “Fifty years of India’s Energy Policy”:The lecture of Mr. K. C. Pant, former 

Defence Minister and India’s first Minister for Energy, on the above topic delivered on July 14, 2006 

before a distinguished gathering of key participants from private sector, public sector, think-tanks 

and embassies. 

Policy Brief: “Impact of High Crude Oil Prices & Challenges of Petroleum Product Pricing”: A 

compilation of the roundtable discussion on the above topic held on August 14, 2006. The discussion 

was chaired by Dr. S. Narayan, former Secretary (Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry 

of Finance) and attended by, amongst others, Prof. Arjun K. Sengupta, Member, Rajya Sabha; 

Mr. P. Raghavendran, President (refinery business, RIL); Mr. A. N. Sinha, MD & CEO, Essar Oil; 

leading energy economists, academics, consulting organisations, representatives from leading NGOs 

and representatives from trade and industry associations. 


● Mr. K.C. Pant (R) giving 

a lecture on 50 years of 

Indian Energy Policy. (L) 

Dr. D.V. Kapoor. 

● Mr. Ajit C Kapadia talks 

on “Energy Security: 

Present and Future”. (L) 

Sunjoy Joshi. 

● Mr. J.S. Jawa and Mr. 

T.K. Biswas at the talk 

on “Impact of High 

Crude Oil Prices”. 

STUDIES & 

INITIATIVES 


27

MAJOR 

EVENTS

International seminar on “Maritime Trade and Security; Striking the Right Balance” 

was organised by ORF in association with the College of Naval Warfare (CNW)and 

the National Maritime Foundation (NMF)in Mumbai on 12-13 January 2007. 

Inaugurating the seminar, the Governor of Maharashtra, Mr. S.M. Krishna, 

stressed the need for a right maritime policy which ensured the security of the nation, 

safe and secure water and also increasing trade in view of the globalisation and 

emerging economy. 

To smoothen and speed up India’s progress towards the fourth biggest economy 

of the world in the next two decades, maritime trade and security experts suggested 

creation of a Central Maritime Council, Asian Regional Maritime Crime Court and a 

comprehensive domestic legislation to ensure smooth, safe and secured trade through 

Indian seas. 

General (Retd.) V.P. Malik, former chief of the Indian army and now President of the Institute 

of Security Studies, Observer Research Foundation, said there is a need for cooperation and coordination 

between the various agencies involved in maritime domain and also between nations both 

maritime and otherwise. General Malik noted that there is a direct and inseparable link between the 

development of a nation and activities in the seas around it. Warning of the increasing gun-running 

in the seas, which is becoming a threat to the security of the waters and also nations, General Malik 

said more than 30 per cent of it is heading towards India. Warning also of the increasing drug trafficking 

taking place in the seas around India between the 

There is a need for Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent, General 

Malik said the concept of freedom of the seas needs 

cooperation and 

to be revisited. 

Setting the tone of the two-day conference, Western 

Naval Command chief, Vice Admiral Sangram 

coordination between 

the various agencies 

Singh Byce, called for the creation of a central maritime 

council to synergise actions of various agencies 

involved in maritime involved in the maritime sector for ensuring a safe and 

secure sea to strengthen the security of the country 

domain and also 

and to help smoothen and speed up trade through the 

sea. 

between nations 

Taking the case of Mumbai, he said more than 16 

both maritime and 

agencies are now involved in the management of the 

maritime domain. Cautioning that the threat of terrorist 

attacks through seas have increased otherwise 

manifold 

EMAJOR 

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29


● H.E. S.M. Krishna, 

Governor of 

Maharashtra, being 

welcomed at the 

international maritime 

conference in Mumbai. 

● Inaugural session at the 

maritime conference in 

Mumbai. 

● Mr. A.K. Antony, Union 

Defence Minister, 

addressing the 

maritime conference in 

Delhi. 

EMAJOR 

EVENTS 

Experts said 

pipelines for energy 

imports, which would 

be of vital importance 

to the development 

of the economy, may 

and can become 

the easier target of 

terrorists 

now, Admiral Byce stressed the need for “actionable intelligence” and sharing of intelligence data 

between nations to secure seas and the countries. 

Experts at the conference expressed doubts over the security and safety of pipelines through the 

seas. They said such pipelines for energy imports, which would be of vital importance to the development 

of the economy, may and can become the easier target of terrorists. 

Speaking of the vulnerability of the supply chain, Dr. Joshua Ho from Singapore said security 

can’t begin and end at the regulated security zone of a port, but must be integrated into the entire 

logistics supply chain. Saying that the best approach is looking at the supply chain in totality, Dr. 

Joshua said vulnerabilities in the container environment are highest in rail yards, road stops and shipping/loading 

terminals. 

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja of the Institute of South East Asian Studies, Singapore, said since sustained energy 

supply is needed for global economy and national security and a vital component in the nation’s 

critical infrastructure, the government policies should not only concern foreign relations and security 

energy supplies, but also must maintain a broad viewpoint, including transportation security. 

Dr Sakhuja said no link in the energy supply chain can be separated and its security developed in 

separation. He said for a robust and hardened energy supply chain system, the solution lies in networked 

and secure nodes along the entire supply chain from where the cargo is loaded/unloaded. “If 

the security improvements are limited to one node, it will result in vulnerabilities along the rest of the 

chain with a highly reduced probability of detection/interdiction,” he said. 

Dr. Nazery Khalid of Maritime Institute of Malaysia said, “the greatest 

challenge before us today is to find equilibrium between protecting the multiple 

marine interests with preserving the precious notion of free flow of travel at 

seas. He said more than ever in these challenging times, we should seek wisdom 

in the saying that ‘the land divides but the sea unites”. 

Dr. Cathrine Bjune of BI School of Management, Oslo, underlined the need 

for the insurers to improve the security through various measures. She said 

though terrorist attacks are a serious threat in today’s world, the damages, losses 

and liabilities in connection with maritime adventures are caused by other 

factors. Hence “in order to enhance security and prevent disasters and environmental 

catastrophies, other areas of challenge need significant consideration”. 

Rear Admiral V.S. Chaudhari of the Indian Navy and many other scholars 

said the reasons that led to decline of piracy in the 19th century (intense patrolling 

in cold war days) still hold good today. “We have to work together to 

eliminate the gaps in legitimate authority that allow violence at seas to flourish, 

and in a few areas, to rival state authority. Problems of overlapping jurisdiction 


Defence Minister A K Antony cautioned that 

India’s vast coastline was still “vulnerable” as 

interests “inimical” to it were eyeing penetration 

through these areas to destabilise the country 


● A reception aboard 

INS Vikrant during the 

maritime conference. 

● Gen. V.P. Malik with H.E. 

S.M. Krishna, Governor 

of Maharashtra. 

● A question and answer 

session during the 

maritime conference. 

will have to be resolved and the legal framework strengthened,” Admiral Chaudhari said. 

Senior Supreme Court lawyer C. Jayaraj made a strong case for the need to create a comprehensive 

domestic legislation to deal with the various issues and looking at the future requirements. 

He also stressed the need to establish a Regional Maritime Crime Court of Asia with the help of 

other nations.This conference was followed it up with a half day seminar in Delhi on 19th 

January. The Defence Minister, Mr. A.K Antony, inaugurated it. The chiefs of the Navy and the Coast 

Guard were also present. 

Defence Minister cautioned that India’s vast coastline was still “vulnerable” 

as interests “inimical” to it were eyeing penetration through these areas to 

destabilise the country. He said steps would soon be unveiled to put up a much 

tougher security apparatus all along the coastal regions and the Navy, Coastguard 

as well as other security agencies would be called upon to play a more 

vigilant role in this. 

“Recently, there were reports of attempts to sneak in contrabrand through 

coastal lanes,” the Minister said pointing out that coastal regions were still vulnerable 

especially as quantum of trade and commerce through sea lanes was registering a phenomenal 

growth. While the country’s mountainous and land borders had been equipped with sophisticated 

surveillance system, a special surveillance system had to be mooted and mounted in the shortest possible 

time for the coastal areas. 

While asserting that the Government was giving top prioirty to build up an effective Navy and 

Coast Guard, the Defence Minister laid emphasis on modernisation and increasing the capacity of 

the country’s ship yards. “Our shipyards are presently taking too much time and resources to build 

warships. Steps have to be taken to modernise these shipyards to make them more state-of-the-art,” he 

said. He said steps would also soon be taken to increase the assembly lines and capacity of these ship 

yards as these were crucial for India to move towards self reliance in warship and submarine building. 

“Our indigenisation efforts are showing results.Our marine sector has clearly understood the nuances 

of technological means required to build high quality merchant and service ships,” he said. 

EMAJOR 

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31

Dr. S. Narayan, former Advisor to Prime Minister, 

cautioned that the move by China to set up 

software station in Bangalore is a cause for 

concern for the Indian IT industry. 

EMAJOR 

EVENTS 

To give further fillip to the indusry, the Minister said the Government proposed to encourage larger 

private sector and foreign participation in ship-building to maintain world class practices and technologies. 

He also said government has plans to add a hub port each along the sides of our coasts to 

provide necessary connectivity to the deep inland. 

Echoing the warnings sounded by the Minister, Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said that 

security forces stumbling upon some arms in sea-bound containers at the Kochi port recently proved 

that sea lane security had to be further tightened. He said with the ratification of the container security 

initiative, Navy, Coastguard and Customs would have to be extra vigilant. 

Mr. Mehta said under the new security system installed at various ports and container stations, 

now almost 96 per cent of the cargo was being screened, both in-bound and out-bound. The naval 

chief also called for the setting up of National Maritime Association to oversee all civil sea farings of 

the country. 

INDIA’S SILICON VALLEY: DREAMS, REALITY AND CHALLENGES AHEAD 

Observer Research Foundation and Nasscom came together to take forward the ORF report on India’s 

Silicon Valley: Dreams, Reality and Challenges ahead. Nasscom, with the assistance of ORF, 

organised a seminar in Delhi on November 17, 2006, based on the report, written by well-known IT 

journalist, Mr. Murli Menon. The Nasscom President, Mr. Kiran Karnik, inaugurated the conference, 

titled “Innovation & Market Realities”. Mr. Karnik told a packed hall of IT professionals and 

specialists that innovation is the key to next stage in the development of the industry. He said if the 

industry did not take innovation seriously, at stake would be the additional business of 10-15 billion 

in the next few years. He said the industry should see that “great ideas do not die young.” 

Giving the keynote address, Dr. S. Narayan, former Advisor to Prime Minister of India and now 

Advisor to ORF Chairman, cautioned that the move by China to set up software station in Bangalore is 

a cause for concern for the Indian IT industry. He pointed out that so far India dominated the software 

market, while China accounted for bulk of hardware market. He also drew the Indian IT Industry’s 

attention to the worrisome aspect of European countries becoming a major threat to Indian software 

companies in the near future. Dr. Narayan said eastern and western European countries have already 

started giving competition to Indian IT industry in software sector. In this connection, he singled out 

the example of Bulgaria which has developed a booming software market. He said “unless we give due 

importance to this aspect, in five years time, European countries will surge ahead of us”. 

Asking the IT industry not to become complacent against competition, Dr. Narayan also stressed 

on the need to strictly implement the laws we have enacted to tackle legal issues. “Good laws themselves 

are not sufficient. Implementation of them is equally important. Sometimes good implementation 

of not so good laws are better than bad implementation of good laws,” he said. 


Nasscom vice-president Rajdeep Sahrawat, Dr.Lin Chase, Director of Accenture Technology 

Lab, Professor Arvind Kudchadkar of ORF, Swaminathan Krishnan, Chief Marketing Officer, Sasken 

Technologies and Swati Sukumar, Anand & Anand Advocates took part in the panel discussions. 

“THE RISE OF CHINA: ASIAN AND EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE” 

ORF and Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, who had been organising conferences on various themes every 

year, this year chose “The Rise of China: Asian and European Perspective” as the conference theme. 

Member of Parliament and CPI-M polit buro member Mr. Sitaram Yechury inaugurated the two-day 

international conference on 23 November 2006 at the ORF campus. In his inaugural address, Mr. 

Yechury said said India should be ready to explore the chances of a new world order in which India 

and China complemented each other. He said the rise of China should be seen as a positive development 

rather than as an negative one which will be a danger to India. 

Mr. Yechury, who had recently led a party delegation to China, said the rise of China along with 

India would lead to a new economic, political, military world order, which would also lead to democratization 

of more countries. He said it was not correct to say that the rise of China could be a threat 

to India or would lead to encroaching of space for India. Instead, he argued that the rise of China and 

India would lead to expansion of space for both the countries in the world order, in terms of economic, 

military, political and international relations. He argued that this in turn would reduce the space occupied 

countries led by the United States and lead to a multipolar, egalitarian world instead of the 

unipolar world which the US is trying to build. 

Besides India, scholars from China, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Russia and Germany 

presented papers and took part in the discussions. The conference discussed China’s Strategic 

Culture and Current Political Dynamics, China’s Economical Potential, Rise of China: Implications 

for Regional Security, China’s Energy Needs, Military Developments in China and China’s Technological 

and Military Industrial Complex. The conference was organised by the Institute of Security 

Studies, ORF, under the guidance of General (Retd.) V.P. Malik, the president of the ISS. The deliberations 

of the conference would be published in the form of a book. 


● Mr. Kiran Karnik, 

President, Nasscom, 

and Dr. S. Narayan 

at the ORF-Nasscom 

conference. 

● Ms. Francine Frankel 

and Amb. K. Raghunath 

at the ORF-CASI 

conference. 

● Mr. Jorg Schultz (RLF) 

speaks at the ORF-RLF 

conference. 

EMAJOR 

EVENTS 

“POWER REALIGNMENTS IN ASIA” 

ORF and the Penn Arts and Sciences, Centre for Advanced Study of India of the Pennsylvania University, 

organised a four-day conference of thought leaders from both the countries on “Power Realignments 

in Asia: A US-India Policy Dialogue” from 14 December at the ORF campus. Dr. Marshall 

M. Bouton, President of Chicago Council on Global Affairs, was the special guest speaker. Again, the 

focus was on the rise of China and its implications for foreign policies of India and the United States. 

The theme was discussed in eight in-depth sessions. 


33

EMAJOR 

EVENTS 


● Mr. A.B. Bardhan, CPI 

General Secretary, 

at the India-China 

conference in Kolkata. 

● Mr. Brajesh Mishra 


conference. 

● Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, 

Union Minister for 

External Affairs, speaks 


conference. 

“The next decade will 

reveal to us many 

more miracles not 

only in China but also 

in India. India and 

China have a very 

long tradition and 

these traditions had 

kept us together” 

INDIA-CHINA RELATIONS: THE NEXT DECADE – ORF CONFERENCE IN KOLKATA 

9 SEPTEMBER 2006 (EXCERPTS FROM THE INAUGURAL SESSION) 

RK MISHRA, CHAIRMAN, ORF 

On January 17 and 18, 1992, we had organised a two-day conference in this city in collaboration with 

the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. India was then facing a grave economic crisis. ORF 

organised a series of national dialogues in Delhi and other major cities to discuss how to take the country 

out of that crisis. The two-day seminar in Calcutta was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister 

Comrade Jyoti Basu. Dr. Manmohan Singh, then Union Finance Minister, had delivered the keynote 

address and set the tone for the seminar. The then Commerce Minister, Dr. P.Chidambaram, delivered 

the valedictory address. Leaders from various walks of life, business, trade unions, academia, administration 

and politics contributed to the deliberations. 

I am very happy that we are revisiting this vibrant city in partnership with Calcutta University. 

We are grateful to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ashish Banerjee, and the Pro Vice Chancellor, Mr. Suranjan 

Das, for partnering with ORF in organising this seminar. I thank Prof. S.D.Muni who is guiding 

ORF’s academic activities for making this partnership possible. 

This seminar marks the launch of ORF’s China Studies Programme. Ultimately, we hope it will 

grow into a Centre of China Studies. I hope the deliberations of this seminar 

will mark the beginning of an in-depth and long-term study of that country, the 

region and the subject. 

AB BARDHAN, GENERAL SECRETARY, COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA 

I consider this a very important seminar. I think the results of this seminar will 

be very helpful to all of us for coming days. We are talking of the next decade 

and the next decade will reveal to us many more miracles not only in China 

but also in India. India and China have a very long tradition and these traditions 

had kept us together. We never saw any war, any conflict except when we 

stepped into the modern world and borders and all these things became rather 

important. That is precisely when a conflict took place and you know that conflict 

led to a period of hostility, suspicion and so forth, which I think has really 

inhibited the tremendous partnership that could have been there between two 

countries and the tremendous progress that could have been made. 

It is good that the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister brought about a situation 

when we again started finding avenues to increase bilateral trade and the 


“In his recent book, ‘The Argumentative Indian’ 

Dr. Amartya Sen has referred to the close 

collaboration between India and China in the field 

of religion, education,arts, literature..” 

economic relationship. 

For instance, now the trade is exceeding I think 18 billion US dollars and very soon the target 

that was set for 2008 of 20 billion dollars will be crossed perhaps in 2007 itself. This is a very good 

development. It has outstripped whatever we had projected and this will always be true with regard 

to India and China. The people of both the countries once regarded as ‘a sick man of Asia’ are some of 

the best people that can build up the economy and politics of the world. 

There is another important thing that we should take into account—Russia- China-India. They 

are the biggest landmass which is contiguous to each other. Moreover, they represent more than onethird 

of the population of the world. They represent some of the best sources of raw materials. Together 

they can exercise a tremendous influence in the world for peace and for development. All over 

the world, this will be a force that can ensure that the world no longer remains unilateral, as some 

would like it to be, but really becomes multilateral as it should be. 

I feel that in the coming days to come, India and China coming together will themselves ensure that 

by the later half of this century, Asia will become the centre of political gravity of the world. 

PRANAB MUKHERJEE, UNION MINISTER FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS 

There was a time when the Kolkata Port was a transit point for the supply of goods to Tibet and 

China through the traditional silk route through Nathu La Pass. The city, in fact, was a gateway 

for the Tibetan and Chinese in this part of the world and once again that Nathu La Pass has been 

opened and the Third Indo-China Trade Mart has been opened on the border, the first two being 

Shipkila and Lipulekh. Before the trouble of 1962, the city of Kolkata had a small but vibrant 

Chinese diaspora. The diaspora is still there and is well known for its contribution in dental treatment 

and leather industry. 

Even before Independence, at the initiative of Rabindranath Tagore, at the Vishwa Bharati University 

in Shanti Niketan, a full-fledged Department of Chinese Studies and Language was established, 

where hundreds of young students mastered the tough Mongolian language and made their 

contributions to the development of Sino-Indian cultural ties. In his recent book, ‘The Argumentative 

Indian’ Dr. Amartya Sen has referred to the close collaboration between India and China in the field of 

religion, education, arts, literature and science and Bengal was intimately involved in this process. 

This year is marked as the year of India-China friendship. I am sure that deliberations in this seminar 

will help deepening mutual understanding between the two most populous nations of the world, 

which are also set to play a defining role in the global political and economic arena. History is cyclic 

in nature. The last 300 years have seen the global epicenter shift from Asia to Europe to 

America. That was an era of industrialization, an era of rapid growth of global financial markets, an 

era of colonial dominance and, regrettably, an era of global power rivalries, violence and bloodshed. 

EMAJOR 

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35

EMAJOR 

EVENTS 

“In the first decade 

of the 21st century, 

we are once again 

standing at a turning 

point in history. There 

is a perceptible shift 

in the centre of 

global balance” 

The two world wars, multitude of ethnic clashes, battles of identity and polarization over religions 

have created a world that is prosperous yet fragile, that is harmonious and yet tenuous in its linkage 

and relationship. 

In the first decade of the 21st century, we are once again standing at a turning point in history. 

There is a perceptible shift in the centre of global balance. There is a beginning of the shift of focus 

back to Asia and hopefully to a multi-polar world. Among those leading the changing dynamics are 

two nations: India and China. 

India’s progress in the last 15 years, ever since it has decided to open its door to global economy and 

integrate itself to the global economic order, has also been hugely promising. With its strong democratic 

values and implicit storehouse of skilled manpower, India has won the confidence of the world 

as a chosen global investment destination. With our balanced foreign and defence policy approach, 

we have proven ourselves as a nation that is willing and capable to engage in the task of global restructuring, 

seriously and responsibly. Our action, even in the face of grave provocation, has won us the 

respect of the international community time and again. 

It is time to build on this foundation and it is imperative that we establish a sense of constructive 

engagement between India and China to take advantage of the unfolding global scenario. The driving 

engine of global growth has shifted from industry to knowledge and with it to people. India and 

China are blessed on both accounts. The quest for knowledge is inherent in the traditions of both 

countries. India’s success in information technology led industries and its promise in new areas like 

biotechnology and nanotechnology is a clear indication of knowledge-driven growth. Today, almost 

50% of the global software majors are populated with people of Indian and Chinese origin. Inventive 

by nature and industrious by instinct, our two peoples are having some of the 

biggest names in the world of business. It is time that we share this growth by 

growing our own markets and strengthening our bilateral relationship. 

As two of the largest nations in Asia and also as neighbours who share a vast 

border, the two countries have a major role to play in ensuring stability, development 

and prosperity of this region and the world at large. It is a fact that 

India-China relations over the last five decades have not been smooth. There 

might have been contradictions in some of our approaches and positions which 

is not unusual in the relations of the nations. But I firmly believe that these are 

not insurmountable challenges. In fact, we are already proactively addressing 

the contentious issues between us. During my visit to China this year, the Chinese 

Premier, Mr. Wen Jiabao, told me, “the time when China and India enjoyed 

friendly relations lasted 2000 years or 99.9% of total time of our interactions. 

In terms of conflicts, the conflicts between our two countries only lasted two 


Today, there is a broad consensus in India 

cutting across the political spectrum to 

strengthen and develop friendly and 

cooperative ties with China 

years or less than 0.01% of total time of our interactions.” 

As geographies become irrelevant in the face of technology and knowledge and as we move towards 

a world that is flat and seamless, it is imperative to create such collaborative spaces that feed each other’s 

strength and do not exploit the differences. This is possible to begin within Asia where we have 

recently established an East Asia Summit to build an economy and strategic community of the Asian 

people. Both India and China can also work together for the security and stability of Central Asia, a 

region, which is resource rich but needs major developmental inputs to raise the levels of living of its 

people. India has also welcomed China as an observer in SAARC. Both India and China can, therefore, 

work together to redefine the economic and strategic priorities of Asia and provide the dynamism that 

can positively influence the unfolding global events. 

Today, the relationship with China, our largest neighbour, is one of the main priorities 

of India’s foreign policy and there is a broad consensus in India cutting across 

the political spectrum to strengthen and develop friendly and cooperative ties with 

China. As we move along the way, I am certain we shall evolve new strategies for 

creating stronger bonds. With the strength of our population and strong economic 

fundamentals, there is a movement in both the countries to create a more equitable 

society - a society that will deepen the process of economic reforms and embrace 

more and more segments of its population in its road to prosperity. This, in turn, 

will create new markets. Today, the world is looking at India and China as sourcing destinations. This 

is set to change. In the next decade, the growth rates in the developed world will slow down and populations 

start to gray. India and China will emerge as two of the world’s largest consumption markets. 

Last year, Goldman Sachs came out with a much talked about report on Brazil, Russia, India and 

China as the new emerging and powerful economies in times to come. In fact, studies on comparison 

between India and China highlighting their respective strength and advantages have proliferated in 

the recent years. Lately, Chinese writings are talking about the need for simultaneous rise of India 

and China in order to assert in a truly Asian century. 

In our quest for cooperative relationship with China, it might perhaps be apt to remember once 

again Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s vision. In a letter written, to the Sino-Indian Society in 1934, 

Tagore had recalled the visits of pilgrims in our ancient times and observed “What a great pilgrimage 

was that. What a great time in history. It is our duty today to revive the historic spirit of that pilgrimage 

following the ancient path which is not merely a geographical one, but the great historic path that 

was built across difficult terrains of race differences and differences of language and tradition reaching 

the spiritual home where man is one in bonds of love and cooperation”. 

EMAJOR 

EVENTS 


37

ORF IN MEDIA

THE YEAR GONE BY HAS BEEN A SUCCESSFUL ONE FOR ORF. IT SAW GREAT PERSONalities 

visiting ORF, talking on important subjects and topics, and also big 

events organised by ORF. To mention a few, Mr. Strobe Talbott, former 

Deputy Secretary of State, US, and currently president of The Brookings 

Institution, Prof. Shlomo Ben Ami, former Foreign Minister of Israel, and 

many other senior international bigwigs visited the ORF campus. Union 

Defence Minister Mr. A.K. Antony, Minister of State for Defence Production, 

Mr. Rao Inderjeet Singh, Union Minister for Science and Technology 

and Ocean Development, Mr. Kapil Sibal, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral 

Sureesh Mehta, Coast Guard chief Admiral F. Contractor were also 

among the prominent ORF visitors. ORF was also fortunate to organise 

the first ever open talk by the Nepal Maoist leader Prachanda. 

These events, along with its well thought-out media strategy, helped boost the ORF image significantly. 

ORF became popular among the media, academia, intelligentsia and other people following 

frequent projection of ORF through the print, cyber and electronic media. Now, even international 

news agencies like AFP, Reuters and AP cover ORF events and some seek quotes from ORF faculty on 

major events and developments, putting it on the world media map. 

Two latest developments – the events in Pakistan following the sacking of the Chief Justice of 

the Supreme Court and the shocking attack on police camp in Chattisgarh – were commented in the 

international media by ORF faculty. Wilson John’s article “Inside Political Pakistan” 

was published by the Washington Times (22nd March). Dr. P.V. Ramana’s 

comments on the Naxalite attack was flashed across the world by the AFP 

in an analytical despatch on the event (March 15). 

Members of our faculty Wilson John, PV Ramana, Deba Mohanty, Harinder 

Sekhon, Lydia Powell and Nandan Unnikrishnan all have been quoted by agencies 

like AFP and IANS. Some were also quoted in renowned publications like 

The Economist (Ramana) and Asia Times (Wilson John and Mohanty). 

Three events especially raised the image of the organisation significantly 

– the visits of Mr. John Kerry, US Presidential candidate in the last election, 

Mr. Strobe Talbott and Nepalese Maoist leaders Prachanda and Babu Ram 

Bhattarai. All these events were covered by national and international media 

– both print and electronic. NDTV even telecast a half an hour interview of 

Mr. Talbott at ORF. 

ORF-NASSCOM conference on “IT and Innovations” helped project ORF 

activities to a packed gathering of IT professionals at the Shangrila Hotel in 

Now, even 

international news 

agencies like AFP, 

ORF IN MEDIA 

Reuters and AP cover 

ORF events and 

some seek quotes 

from ORF faculty on 

major events and 

developments 


39

ORF IN MEDIA 

ORF also has a 

database of more 

than 1000 email 

addresses to which 

information about the 

activities of ORF and 

also the contributions 

of faculty were sent 

regularly 

Delhi. The ORF report written by Murli Menon under the title India’s Silicon Valley – Dreams, Reality 

and Challenges Ahead, was released by Mr. Kiran Karnik, President of NASSCOM. 

Besides interviews of ORF faculty by many television networks and international radio stations, 

special programmes on the International Maritime Conference and the South Asia Regional Workshop 

on ‘Security and Liberty: linking Counter Terrorism and Human Rights’ were broadcast on All India 

Radio. 

ORF faculty contributed more than one hundred articles in various Indian newspapers and many 

internationally reputed academic journals. The papers included the Hindustan Times, Times of India, 

Nav Bharat Times, Hindustan, Pioneer, Indian Express, Financial Express, DNA and Sahara Times. 

ORF also managed a good relationship with the media persons who also benefited from the talks 

and discussions besides providing them interesting stories. The healthy and mutually beneficial relationship 

has encouraged us to open discussions and interactions to the media. 

ORF has also broadened the data base of addresses to which ORF Policy Briefs, Issue Briefs, Occasional 

Papers and other publications were sent. It also has a database of more than 1000 email addresses 

to which information about the activities of ORF and also the publications of faculty were 

sent regularly. 

ORF has been opening up its talks/meetings to media quite often. These frequent events have received 

good response – in terms of involvement from the media personnel and also coverage. This 

strategy has made ORF activities quite familiar with the media personnel who keep on enquiring 

about the next event. 

Managing news agencies to flash stories on most of our (open) events have 

helped us to reach the media organisations instantly and easily. This has also 

made ORF popular with almost all media organisations. 

Faculty members Deba Mohanty, Nandan Unnikrishnan, Harinder Sekhon 

and Ramana had also appeared in television interviews and stories. Some TVs 

like Enadu TV, ANI, Sahara, NDTV frequently visit ORF for interviews. 

Radios like Voice of America, Voice of Germany are also in regular touch 

with ORF faculty, interviewing its faculty whenever major events take place. 

It has also been possible to place articles in leading papers like Hindustan 

Times, Indian Express , Financial Express, Pioneer, DNA, Tribune etc. 

With Naxalism spreading rapidly and becoming a major internal security 

challenge, our scholar Dr. PV Ramana has become a name to beckon with in 

the media circle. Dr PV Ramana’s frequent quotes led to The Economist and 

the Wall Street Journal interviewing him. Recently, he was interviewed twice 

by Prabhat Khabar, the largely circulated paper of Naxalites affected Chattis- 


garh. When the shocking news of Naxalites launching a major attack on the police camp in Chattisgarh 

and killing more than 50 of them broke out, it was ORF the AFP contacted for its analysis piece 

and readily Ramana provided the inputs and his name and ORF were flashed across the globe. 

Ramana also had the distinction of being able to contribute a paper, “The Maoist Movement in 

India”, to internationally well-known academic journal Defense and Security Analysis, London: 

Routledge-Taylor & Francis. 

Besides the traditional media of print, television and radio, websites too have carried ORF event 

stories and articles hundreds of times. 

Brain-storming sessions, round-table discussions and seminars on important current 

and topical developments have been drawing good media attention. The 

discussion on agricultural crisis in Punjab and increasing suicide cases was covered 

by all the leading Hindi dailies, Punjabi dailies besides the English media. 

The launch of the ORF Maritime Security Programme and the book “Sri 

Lanka: Peace Without Process” in Chennai saw the then Chief of Naval Staff, 

Admiral Arun Prakash, visiting Chennai for the first time in the capacity of 

the Naval chief. This programme was well covered by all the Tamil and English 

newspapers and major television networks, including Doordarshan and All India Radio. AIR also did 

a 10-minute News Reel programme in Tamil on the event. 

In Kolkata too, ORF organised a two-day seminar on “India and China in Next Decade”. This 

event also was covered by the national and local media. 

ORF organised talks by its faculty in Ahmedabad also. The local media found them interesting and 

covered them widely. 

The release of the book “Iran: Revolution and Creativity” by Dr. Kapila Vatsayan found prominent 

place in the Iranian media alongwith photographs. 

Addresses by Mr. Sitaram Yechury, Rajya Sabha MP and member, CPI-M Polit Buro, Mr. Shyam 

Saran, former Foreign Secretary, Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Science and Technology, Mr. 

K.C. Pant, India’s first and only Minister for Energy, Mr. S.M. Krishna, the Governor of Maharashtra, 

(in Mumbai for International Maritime Conference) and other high profile speakers were also 

covered widely by the media. 

The interaction with Pakistani Senators, including the former Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain, 

was a big media attraction. Besides Indian newspapers, this event was well covered by the Pakistani 

newspapers, The Dawn, The Daily Times and others. 

With so many important and interesting events happening, and most of them thrown open to media, 

the outreach of the programmes have grown manifold. And along with it, the interest and expectations 

of the media from ORF has also grown significantly. 

ORF IN MEDIA 


41

PUBLICATIONS

During 2006, ORF brought out 28 publications, including books, 

Monographs, Occasional Papers and Policy Briefs. To ensure quality 

control, a protocol has been set up for review of ORF publications. 

An Outreach Review Report of ORF publications has been 

prepared on the basis of which an action plan is being drawn up. 

One of the goals set by the Publications Department this year 

was to get top-ranking publishers for ORF manuscripts. This was 

achieved when Macmillan agreed to publish Documenting Reforms: 

Case Studies from India, edited by S. Narayan, former Economic 

Advisor to the Prime Minister. This is a comprehensive assessment 

of the process of reforms in India and based on papers presented at 

a seminar organised jointly by ORF and The World Bank. In this 

volume, in 11 of the most important areas, top experts have made an effort to describe the success and 

failures that India has experienced in reforms. 

Another major publication released was Sri Lanka: Peace without Process. Based on an international 

seminar organized by the Chennai Chapter of ORF, this edited volume looks at, among other 

aspects, the interplay of domestic politics in the island nation and the post-9/11 view of global terrorism. 

The book was released by the Chief of Naval Staff Arun Prakash at a function in Chennai on 

May 18, 2006. 

Two important forthcoming titles being published by ORF in association 

with Sage Publications are The New Asian Power Dynamic, edited by 

Maharajakrishna Rasgotra, and Democracy in Muslim Societies, edited by 

Prof. Zoya Hasan. 

During the year, ORF Policy Briefs, Mumbai Blasts: Time to Act and Impact 

of High Crude Oil Prices and Challenges in Pricing Petroleum Products, 

reached a wide and discerning readership, including Members of Parliament, 

policy makers and academicians. 

DETAILS OF PUBLICATIONS 

BOOKS 

● Documenting Reforms: Case Studies from India 

Edited by S. Narayan 

● Sri Lanka: Peace without Process 

Edited by B. Raman, N.Sathiya Moorthy and Kalpana Chittaranjan 

● Revolution and Creativity: A Survey of Iranian Literature, Films and 

Two important 

titles being 

published by ORF 

in association with 

Sage Publications 

are “The New Asian 

Power Dynamic” 

and “Democracy in 

Muslim Societies” 

PUBLICATIONS 

PUBLICATIONS 


43


● Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan 

releases the book 

“Revolution and 

Creativity”. 

● Mr. Sitaram Yechury 

releases the book 

“Emerging NATO: 

Challenges for Asia and 

Europe”. (L) Mr. Jorg 

Schultz. 

● Admiral Arun Prakash, 

then releases the book 

“Sri Lanka: Peace 

without process” in 

Chennai. 

PUBLICATIONS 

PUBLICATIONS 

Art in the post-revolutionary era 

By Azarmi Dukht Safawi & Azhar Dehlvi 

● Science & Technology: A Status Review By Amitav Mallik 

● Emerging NATO: Challenges for Asia and Europe Edited by V.P. Malik and George Shultz 

● Mumbai Vision 2015: Agenda for Urban Renewal Edited by R. Swaminathan and Jaya 

Goyal 

● The Second Bush Presidency: Global Perspectives Edited by Amit Gupta & Cherian Samuel 

● Defence Planning: Problems and Prospects Edited by V.P. Malik and Brig. Vinod Anand 

● Observer Statistical Handbook 2006-7 

MONOGRAPHS 

● Extremism and Opposition movements in the Arabian Peninsula 

ORF Studies in Contemporary Muslim Societies-5 By Joseph A. Kechichian 

● The Nuclear Disorder: Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation and Security By 

Garima Singh. 

POLICY BRIEFS 

● Mumbai Blasts: Time to Act By Wilson John & P.V. Ramana 

● The Impact of High Crude Oil Prices and Challenges in Pricing Petroleum 

Products - Summary of a Roundtable organised by ORF 

● Effective Legislation Critical for Fighting Terror By Wilson John and P. V. Ramana 

ISSUE BRIEFS 

● A Deal too Far? By Stephen Cohen 

● Indo-US Nuclear Agreement: Implementation Hurdles By Harinder Sekhon 

● The Jihadi Factor in India-Pakistan Peace By Wilson John 

● An Assessment of President Hu’s visit to India 

OCCASIONAL PAPERS 

● Asymmetric Warfare and Low Intensity Maritime 

Operations: Challenges for the Indian Navy By Vijay Sakhuja 

● The Dynamics of LTTE’s Commercial Maritime Infrastructure By Vijay Sakhuja 

● Dynamics of US Force Transformation December 2006 By Rudra Chaudhri 



THE BUSH II 

PRESIDENCY 

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES 

Edited by 

AMIT GUPTA 

CHERIAN SAMUEL 

REPORTS 

● Reforms, Restructuring and Regulation: Three `R’s for India’s Energy Security 

● A review of the draft report on Integrated Energy Policy 

● India’s Silicon Valley: Dreams, Reality and Challenges Ahead By Murali Menon 

ORF DISCOURSE 

● Pant on Fifty Years of India’s Energy Policy by K.C. Pant 

● Prospects of Building a New Nepal by Maoist leader Prachanda 

● The Way Ahead in Sri Lanka Summary of a roundtable organized by ORF-Chennai 

● India-China Relations in the New Era 

PUBLICATIONS 

PUBLICATIONS 


45

V 

VISITORS TO ORF 

(this page; left to right) 

● Mr. Geoffrey Van Orden (2nd from left), Member of EU Parliament, 

with Mr. Vikram Sood, Mr. Wilson John and Dr. Ajai Sahni (L). 

● Mr. A.K. Antony, Union Defence Minister. 

(facing page; left to right) 

● Admiral Sureesh Mehta, the Chief of Naval Staff. 

● Mr. Rao Inderjit Singh, MoS Defence. 

● Israeli Ambassador Mr. David Danieli. 

● Amb. Hussein El-Kamal of Egypt. 

● Amb. Mike Smith from Australia. 

● Dr. Vyacheslav Nikonov, President of the Polity Foundation, Moscow. 

● Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Science and Technology. 

● Mr. P.A. Sangma, former Speaker of Lok Sabha.

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION

ORF-CHENNAI CHAPTER 

Stepping into the fifth year in mid-December 2006, ORF- 

Chennai spread out its activities to cover all aspects of policy 

research mandated for the Foundation. With Dr S Narayan, 

IAS (retd), Advisor to ORF-Chairman, as Mentor, the Chennai 

Chapter is now associated with a whole spectrum of issues pertaining 

to policy-planning. 

Continuing with the original task of studying the Indian 

Ocean neighbourhood during the year, researchers at the 

Chennai Chapter studied the future course of India-Sri Lanka 

relations (by N.Sathiyamoorthy, Chapter Director), the continuing 

relevance of Eastern Province to the resolution of ‘ethnic 

issue’ in the island-nation ( Ashik Bonofer), the impact of domestic politics in South-East Asian nations 

on bilateral ties with India (Raakhee Suryaprakash) and on the import of international terrorism 

in South-East Asia, on India ( Smiline Gini). 

Commodore R S Vasan (retd), Additional Director (Projects & Developments), ORF-Chennai, is 

at present working on ‘International Maritime Cooperative Security in the Indian Ocean Region’, as 

part of the ‘ORF Security Studies’ programme. 

During the year, the Chennai Chapter was associated with some important studies commissioned 

as part of the ‘ORF National Initiative’. Accordingly, Dr M Anandakrishnan, noted educationist, has 

undertaken a six-part study on the ‘Anatomy of Indian Education’ while Dr A M Swaminathan, IAS 

(retd), is in the process of completing a study on the ‘Food Security Policy in Tamil Nadu’. Mr G 

Venkatramani, agriculture scientist, is studying the ‘Integrated Intensive Farming Systems’ with particular 

reference to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. N Sathiyamoorthy has undertaken a study of the Dravidian 

polity and political administration through the 20th century. The reports of the studies, which 

will be available in the coming months, are expected to add value, focus and direction to the existing 

literature in the respective fields, providing a better understanding of the subjects concerned in the 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

Continuing with the original task of studying the 

Indian Ocean neighbourhood during the year, 

researchers at the Chennai Chapter studied the 

future course of India-Sri Lanka relations 


49


● A workshop on Knowledge 

Management System for ORF 

faculty. 

● Mr. Strobe Talbott, President of 

the Brookings Institution, US, 

releases the book “Mumbai 

Vision” in Mumbai. (L) Ms. Annu 

Tandon. 

● Dr. Anupam Khanna (World Bank) 

conducts workshop on ‘Building 

Scenarios’. 

● Mr. Baljit Kapur launches the new 

ORF website. 

● A moment from Kavya Sandhya. 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

overall national context. 

The Chennai Chapter is also in the process of undertaking further studies on issues of varied 

interest and dimensions pertaining to peninsular India, in terms of internal socio-political dynamics, 

international trade and strategic security, impacting on national perspective and policy-planning. 

Providing a platform to regional inputs for policy-making at the national-level, ORF-Chennai 

organised a total number of 69 Interactions during the year, taking the overall total to 258, 

since inception. The discussants at the Interactions included diplomatic dignitaries, policy-planners and 

academics from India and abroad. The topics of discussions reflected the expanding focus of the 

Chennai Chapter. 

The book, Mumbai 

Vision 2015, was the 

result of a unique 

project whose 

starting point was 

the belief that 

Mumbai need not 

be a Shanghai or 

a London 

ORF MUMBAI CHAPTER 

2006 was a busy year for the Mumbai Chapter. It saw the Brookings Institution 

President Mr. Strobe Talbott releasing Mumbai Vision 2015: Agenda for Urban 

Renewal. The book, published by Macmillan, was the result of a unique project 

whose starting point was the belief that Mumbai need not be a Shanghai or a 

London. Our philosophy looked at Mumbai as having a singularly vibrant culture 

with enough expertise to suggest ways to resolve knotty issues. 

The project conceived and implemented by ORF Senior Fellow Dr. R. Swaminathan 

brought together academicians, urban experts, politicians and concerned 

city dwellers together on one platform to debate and suggest concrete 

policy recommendations that are specific to the overall context of the city. The 

book has been well received in the media and government circles, with several 

recommendations being noted down by the task forces constituted by the Government 

of Maharashtra. 

The year was also special for the chapter with another of its project, Gujarat 

2010, being accepted for publication by Academic Foundation. It is ex- 


Knowledge Management System (KMS) is the 

process of systematic categorization and storing 

of documents into a central database. Such 

documents will be accessible to search engines 

pected to come out by July 2007. 

The Mumbai chapter currently has two active projects in operation. Status of Science and Technology 

Higher Education in India is a joint project with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai. 

Dr. Rangan Banerjee is the coordinator from IIT. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Reproductive & 

Child Health (RCH) Service Delivery: Potential & Impact has been conceptualised and is being implemented 

by Junior Fellow Ms. Jaya Goyal. The project will culminate in a monograph in May 2007. 

In addition to the above projects, the chapter is also involved in evolving a larger plan for urban 

studies and education. 

ORF LIBRARY 

The Library of the Observer Research Foundation was established in 2003. As it exists today it has 

4450 books, 9 subscribed journals and 8 subscribed magazines, 7 online services, soft copies of the 

transcriptions, photographs, audio visual materials, published and unpublished ORF materials. 

The books in the Library are classified according to the Dewey Decimal Classification. The reference 

collection in the library includes dictionaries, directories, reports, encyclopedias, periodicals, 

project reports. 

Different databases are available in the ORF library like CII directory of members, Eyewitness 

World Atlas, complete national overviews, Corporate data CD and Indian Corporate CEOs database, 

and more. Various online services are available in the ORF library such as DELNET SERVICE. ORF 

Library is a member of DELNET -Developing Library Network. DELNET provides its members 

access to its various online databases like union catalogue records of books, periodicals, articles, etc. 

available in machine readable form. Other online subscription services are for Time magazine, The 

Economist, Economic & Political Weekly, Defence, STRATFOR, Newsline Magazine June 2001- 

2006 (soft copy), PMM (Pakistan Media Monitor) Vol 103-118. 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

ORF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (KMS) 

ORF Library is planning for implementing Knowledge Management System. KMS is the process of 

systematic categorization and storing of documents into a central database. Such documents will be 

accessible to search engines. KMS is very helpful in structuring the data. The data is divided into different 

sections such as 

• International Initiative: 

• National Initiative 

• Security Studies 

• Centre for Resources Management (CRM) including Energy Reports, Energy outlook 2004 & 

2006 


51

• Declassified Documents 

• Other institutional reports from National Bureau of Research, Violence and Terrorism in South 

Asia, few reports of Ashley Tellis 

• Few reference books, Directory of institutions, NGO directory etc. 

• ORF publications like Annual reports, policy briefs, issue briefs, OSH, few conference papers, Occassional 

papers, Monographs, reports etc. 

The goal of a KMS is to get the right information to the right people at the right time. This will 

increase efficiency leading to a competitive advantage. This is a very valuable project for ORF to build 

the central database. 

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 

A Workshop on Scenario Building as a Research Tool was held in ORF (25-27 April 2006). This 

was conducted by Dr Anupam Khanna, a World Bank economist with experience in working on 

scenarios for Shell. 

FACULTY PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS & CONFERENCES 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

SNo. NAME PLACE OF VISIT PURPOSE OF VISIT PERIOD OF VISIT 

1. Jayshree Sengupta New York Meeting with UN officials 27/09/06 to 28/09/06 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

2. Lydia Powell Washington US Congressional Fellowship at 

EWC, Washington 

3. S.D. Muni Pnom Pehn, To represent the Minister at a 

Cambodia meeting 

18/09/06 to 21/12/06 

20/10/06 to 21/10/06 

4. Nandan 

Unnikrishnan 

Beijing 

Tashkent 

To attend International Seminar 

Round Table Conference at Centre 

for Political Studies 

18/04/06-19/04/06 

20/06/06-20/06/06 

5. S.D. Muni Nepal 

Thimpu, Bhutan 

China 

6. Vijay Sakhuja Taipei, Taiwan 

Taipei, Taiwan 

Hawaii, USA 

To attend International Conference 

To teach the Royal Prince 

For Maualna Azad Institute of 

Asian Studies 

To deliver lectures at National 

Defence University 

Conference on Sea Land Security 

To attend conference on Technology 

Cooperation and Asia Pacific 

Maritime Security - Hawaii,USA 

17/07/06-19/07/06 

12/08/06-24/08/06 

27/08/06-31/08/06 

16/05/06-18/05/06 

17/07/06-21/07/06 

21/08/06-25/08/06 


COMPLETED OUTSOURCED PROJECTS FROM 01-APR-06 TO 31-MAR-07 

S.NO. NAME NAME OF THE PROJECT 

1. Samir Ranjan Pradhan Report on Cooperation between India and Gulf Cooperation 

Council Countries in the Global Oil & Gas Regime 

2. Shyama Venkateshwar A Research-based report Examining the feasibility of establishing 

ORF presence in U.S.A. 

3. S. Bhattacharya A market research Report on ORF Publications 

4. Murli Menon Preperation of 3 Discussion Papers on Innovation, Education 

and Funding Information Technology & Services 

5. Centre for Policy Alternatives Study & Review the Evolution of Policies & Reasons for Decline 

in Agriculture Growth in India 

6. Centre for Policy Alternatives Revisiting the Sino-Indian Dispute: Prospects for Frontier Resolution 

(A full length Paper on China’s Economy) 

7. Parsa Venkateswar Rao Jr. Private Sector Initiative in Shaping Public Policy in India 

8. Shobhit Mahajan Science Education at Tertiary Level 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

ONGOING OUTSOURCED PROJECTS FROM 01-APR-06 TO 31-MAR-07 

S.NO. NAME NAME OF THE PROJECT 

1. Rangan Banerjee Status of S&T Higher Education In India 

2. MSG Strategic Consulting 

Pvt. Ltd. 

3 Year Operational Plan for ORF 

RESOURCES & 

INSTITUTIONAL 

INFORMATION 

3. Centre for Policy Alternatives Study the Socio-Economic Conditions leading to Growing Naxalite 

Problems in Central & Eastern India 

4. Centre for Policy Alternatives Decentralisation 

5. Praveen Chaudhary Security Development & Democracy India’s search for Market 

Reforms Challenges & Prospects for Indo-US Relations 

6. Praveen Chaudhary Part I - US India History through Archives 

Part II - US-India History through Archives 

7. Prem Shankar Jha Book on China’s Future 

8. A.M. Swaminathan Food Security: Policy options for Tamil Nadu 

9. Munirathna Anandakrishnan Anatomy of Indian Education 

10. G. Venakataramani Integrated Intensive Farming Systems for Sustainable Food 

Secure Future 

11. R.S.N. Singh Pakistan Army: Prospects & Challenges 


53

Faculty profiles 

Trustees 

R. K. Mishra, Chairman, Observer Research Foundation, is a former Parliamentarian, thinker, philosopher 

and a veteran journalist. 

Lalit Bhasin is a prominent Supreme Court lawyer, Honorary General Secretary of Bar Association of India, 

formerly Deputy Secretary General, International Bar Association, President, Society of Indian Law Firms, 

President, Society for Afro-Asian Studies, Executive President, India Law Foundation and associated with 

numerous human rights and social service organizations 

Abid Hussain was India’s Ambassador to the United States of America. He is also the Chancellor of Central 

University, Hyderabad and a member of the International Panel on Democracy and Development of 

UNESCO. He was also Vice Chairman, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. In the year 1988, he was honored with 

Padma Bhushan for meritorious services. 

Brajesh Mishra is a veteran diplomat. He has served in Beijing, Jakarta, Geneva, France, Germany, UK and 

New York and steered India’s negotiations with United States, China and Pakistan. He was Principal Secretary 

to former Prime Minister and National Security Advisor. 

Bharat Goenka is the Managing Director of software major Tally Solutions (P) Ltd. 

Annu Tandon, Honorary Treasurer of Observer Research Foundation is an enterprising business person, 

deeply interested in the well-being of the underprivileged sections. She is the Chairperson of a charitable & 

social service organization working primarily in the rural areas of the State of Uttar Pradesh. 

Baljit Kapoor, Honorary Secretary of Observer Research Foundation, holds a Master in Business Administration 

from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi and was formerly Director of the 

Times of India, Delhi and Sr. Vice-President of the Observer Group of Publications. 

Advisors 

M. Rasgotra, a former Foreign Secretary, is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable minds on 

international relations and foreign policy formulation; is currently heading National Security Advisory Board, 

Government of India. 

General V P Malik, President, ORF Institute of Security Studies, is a former Army chief of India, well-known 

strategist, security analyst and author. 

S. Narayan, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of 

Singapore, and formerly Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister and Finance Secretary to the Government 

of India. 

Arjun Sengupta, an internationally renowned economist, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chairman 

of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector. 

N K Singh, former Expenditure Secretary, Revenue Secretary and Secretary to the Prime Minister as well as 

former Member, Planning Commission. He is currently Chairman of the Management Development Institute, 

Gurgaon as well as Deputy Chairman, Bihar State Planning Board. 

Vikram Sood headed the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency from 2001 to 

2003. He is widely known for his columns on strategy and intelligence in The Hindustan Times, The Asian 

Age and other journals. In addition, he is a Consulting Editor with Indian Defence Review and regularly 

writes for the journal. 


Falguni Sen, presently Professor of Management at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business in 

New York. 

D V Kapur, a well known technocrat and founder Chairman & Managing Director of NTPC, was Secretary 

to the Government of India in the Ministries of Power, Industry and Chemicals & Petrochemicals. He was 

awarded Degree of DSc. by J.L. Nehru Technological University in recognition of his contribution to development 

of Industry and Technology in the country. 

K K Nayyar, a former vice chief of Navy is presently Chairman, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. 

Saeed Naqvi is a senior journalist and an expert on International Affairs. 

Vivek Paranjpe is an expert in the areas of Human Resource Management, Strategic Business Planning and 

business development. 

Senior Faculty 

Rakesh Basant is a Professor of Economics at IIM, Ahmedabad and was a member of the Sachar Committee 

on the Conditions of Muslims in India. 

Vinayak Patankar, retired Lt. General in the Indian Army, is an expert on issues related to Security Studies. 

Wilson John, Senior Fellow, specialises in studies related to Pakistan and terrorism, and writes frequently in 

the national as well as international media. 

Ashok Singh, Senior Fellow, specialises in West Asian studies. 

Sunjoy Joshi, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service, is well-known for his contribution to 

the energy sector 

Jayshree Sengupta, Senior Fellow, is an expert on economy and development with experience as a college 

teacher, economic analyst and experienced researcher. 

Nandan Unnikrishnan, Senior Fellow, is a journalist-turned-scholar, who currently heads ORF’s Eurasian 

Studies Programme. His specialisation is Russia. 

Harinder Sekhon, Senior Fellow, specialises on Indo-US Relations and security issues. Authored book titled 

“Five Decades of Indo-US Relations: Strategic and Intellectual”. 

R. Swaminathan, Senior Fellow, heads ORF’s Mumbai Chapter and his areas of interest are Political 

Economy and Urban Affairs. 

N. Sathiyamoorthy, Director, ORF Chennai Chapter, is a senior journalist, political analyst and an author. 

R S Vasan, Retd Commodore, IN, Additional Director, Chennai Chapter, is an expert on Maritime issues 

including security and counter terrorism. 

Deba Ranjan Mohanty is a scholar on security related issues and International Relations. 

Lydia Powell, Visiting Fellow, is an energy expert and edits ORF Energy News Monitor. 

Associates 

Vivek Karandikar is an expert in energy related issues. He is Honorary Vice-President of the Centre for 

Resources Management (CRM). 

Praveen K Chaudhry is a Professor of Political Science and World Affairs at FIT / SUNY. He has published 

several articles on US foreign policy and international political economy. 

Mohan Guruswamy is an expert on Economic and Security related issues. He is presently the President of 

the Centre for Policy Alternatives. 


55

FINANCIAL FACT SHEET 

Observer Research Foundation is registered at Delhi under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 

1860 as a not-for-profit organisation. Donations to ORF enjoy Income Tax exemption under Section 

80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 

ORF follows the financial year from April to March. Statement of Accounts, audited by a qualified 

and registered Chartered Accountant, is submitted to the concerned departments in India as per the 

statutory requirements. Internal audit system is conducted by a qualified and registered Chartered 

Accountant’s Firm periodically. 

All donations received by ORF from donors outside India are received as per the FCRA (Foreign 

Contributions Regulation Act) guidelines. Section 6(1) of the FCRA inter alia provides that an association 

(organisation) registered under the FCRA shall intimate to the Central Government in India 

the amount, source and the manner in which such foreign contribution is received and the purpose for 

and the manner in which such contribution is utilised. These foreign contributions are to be received 

only through a particular registered and designated bank. For any information on the same, please 

contact Honorary Secretary, Observer Research Foundation, 20 Rouse Avenue, New Delhi 110002 

Email: baljitkapoor@orfonline.org 

The details of the funds received and utilised as per the audited Accounts of Financial Year 2005- 

2006 are: 

FUNDS RECEIVED 

(in Rupees million) 

UTILISATION OF FUNDS 

(in Rupees million) 

Donation and Grants 50.40 Research Activities 

Salaries & Honorarium 

23.99 

Interest Income 2.84 Meetings & Conferences 9.66 

Other Income 0.40 

Travelling & Conveyance 3.55 

Communication 1.27 

Total 53.64 Overheads 8.64 

Sponsorships support (such as Air 

Tickets) 

2.50 Total 47.11 

ORF Assets : (in Rupees million) 

Fixed Assets 3.46 

Investments 45.70 

Cash & Bank Balance 7.91 

Other Assets 2.04 

Total 59.11 

Besides the above, the asset value of ORF’s building and infrastructure, over Rs. 60 million, has been 

provided at no cost on a permanent basis by Observer Research Foundation’s Corporate benefactors.

CHAIRMAN 

R.K. Mishra 

Lalit Bhasin 

Bharat Goenka 

TRUSTEES 

Brajesh Mishra 

Abid Hussain 

HONORARY SECRETARY Baljit Kapoor 

HONORARY TREASURER Annu Tandon 

ADVISORS, SENIOR FACULTY & ASSOCIATES 

ADVISORS 

M. Rasgotra 

V.P.Malik 

K.K. Nayyar 

D.V. Kapoor 

S. Narayan 

Arjun Sengupta 

Vikram Sood 

Saeed Naqvi 

Falguni Sen 

Amitav Malik 

Vivek Paranjpe 

Dileep Padgaonkar 

SENIOR FACULTY 

S.D.Muni 

N.K.Singh 

Vinayak Patankar 

Sunjoy Joshi 

Rakesh Basant 

Wilson John 

Ashok Kumar Singh 

Nandan Unnikrishnan 

Lydia Powell 

N. Sathiyamoorthy 

Jayshree Sengupta 

R. Swaminathan 

SENIOR FACULTY 

B. Venkatesh Kumar 

Deba Ranjan Mohanty 

Harinder Sekhon 

R.S.Vasan 

Niranjan Sahoo 

PV Ramana 

Gopal Choudhary 

ASSOCIATES 

Vivek Karandikar 

Praveen Chaudhry 

Mohan Guruswamy

Observer Research Foundation 


 

ORF NEW DELHI: 20-Rouse Avenue, New Delhi-110 002 

Phone: 011-43520020 Fax No. : 011-43520003 

 

ORF MUMBAI: Air India Building, 19th fl oor, 

Madam Cama Road, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400 021. 

Tel No. Board : 022-6658 2600 Fax No. : 022-2202 2519 

 

ORF CHENNAI: II Floor, Maalavika Centre 

144/145,Kodambakkam High Road, Chennai-600 034 

Phone:044-3918 0200 Fax:044-3918 0202 

 

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Annual Report 2007 - Observer Research Foundation

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