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Short commentary by ORF America experts on current issues. These comments represent the views of the author(s). ORF America does not hold institutional positions on any issues.
By Udaibir Das
Whether governments seek to phase out energy subsidies, reform pensions, or expand tax bases, success now hinges on how well reforms are explained, sequenced, and backed by credible commitments.
By Anit Mukherjee
How will policymakers rebalance their economies where the three pillars of globalization — free trade, free markets, and free movement of capital — have been affected almost at the same time and what does this mean for the Global South?
By Urmi Tat
The United States and India must work together to balance AI innovation with sustainability by focusing on energy efficiency, transparent emissions reporting, and renewable-powered AI infrastructure.
By Marta Bengoa
As the global trade conflict intensifies, we must consider not just the direct costs of tariffs but also their profound secondary effects on America's long-term fiscal sustainability.
By Divyansh Kaushik
A secure AI initiative within IMEC could counter digital dependency, strengthen strategic ties, and safeguard national security in an ever-evolving contemporary tech world.
By Dhruva Jaishankar
Trump’s April 2 announcement has already roiled financial markets, and the global economy will continue to be adversely affected both by the implementation of tariffs and by uncertainty as negotiations proceed. But while there will be no immediate winners, some parties appear relatively better off.
By Marta Bengoa
The most problematic aspect of the newly announced Trump tariffs may be the deliberate ambiguity around how countries might negotiate lower rates.
By Jeffrey D. Bean and Andreas Kuehn
Looking ahead, as the Department of Defense strives to incorporate and utilize more AI chips, it will need to secure access to leading nodes for edge chips and the confidence in pathways to use greater allocations of secure cloud services for advanced computing.
By Marta Bengoa
The fundamental contradiction in the Trump administration’s approach to trade policy remains unresolved: a strong economy cannot be built on weak economic thinking. Tariffs are not a strategy; they are a symptom of strategic absence.
By Caroline Arkalji
Policymakers in remittance-dependent nations must consider the broader, long-term effects of U.S. immigration and taxation policies.
By Ammar Nainar
In a signal of the United States’ burden-sharing efforts, the Indian Ocean region was featured eight times in the latest U.S.-India joint statement between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and U.S. president Donald Trump. To India and the United States, the Indian Ocean remains vital for trade and energy flows, for security competition given China’s growing naval activity, and for connectivity between Asia, Africa, and Europe.
By Udaibir Das
By deepening financial resilience, accelerating capital market reforms, and fostering global financial integration, India can reinforce its position as a stable, competitive, and inclusive financial powerhouse—one that is fully aligned with its long-term economic ambitions.
By Marta Bengoa
As this new phase of trade conflict unfolds, both immediate price effects and the longer-term restructuring of economic relationships threaten to undermine decades of productivity gains achieved through global economic integration.
By Raj Shekhar
The United States’ sweeping AI export controls risk stifling innovation, eroding trust, and undermining global AI governance amid growing calls for cooperation.
By Jeffrey D. Bean
The United States must sustain its own domestic and international policy effort to ensure critical mineral supply, which will be vital for its defense, energy, and technological future.
By Honson Tran
Bridging the contemporary AI divider requires better infrastructure, smarter tools, and streamlined processes to make AI accessible to all, not just the tech elite.
By Katherine Salinas
Implementing effective regulations and guidelines that consider the impact on astronomical observation and preserving the natural night sky is essential.
By Megha Shrivastava
The 2025 Paris AI Action Summit stressed action, yet deep divides on AI safety, regulation, and the growing U.S.-China tech competition persist.
By Sarral Sharma
Despite the evident commitment and keenness on the part of the Modi and Trump governments to cooperate on their mutual counter-terrorism priorities, there remain some obstacles.
By Dhruva Jaishankar
This week's visit by Ursula von der Leyen and the senior European Commission leadership to India represents a major opportunity to advance India-EU security, connectivity, mobility, trade, investment, and technology.
By Honson Tran
In essence, the concern about AI safety is not about preventing discoveries but rather about managing the rate of discovery and development, and proactively addressing the potential for misuse.
By Udaibir Das
While framed to correct trade imbalances and protect domestic industries, reciprocal tariffs’ effects extend far beyond manufacturers, exporters, and importers.
By Divyansh Kaushik
By positioning AI as a catalyst for economic renewal rather than a threat to labor markets, the Trump Administration is attempting to craft a narrative that aligns technological innovation with broader populist economic messaging.
By Dhruva Jaishankar
While the details of any such dialogue remain notional, Trump’s comments underscored the necessity of having such a meeting early in his tenure to set the tone for bilateral India-U.S. relations over the next four years.
By Marta Bengoa
The era of frictionless trade has ended. For the industrial heartlands of Brazil, India, Malaysia, and Japan, this could shape economic trajectories for years to come.
By Medha Prasanna
The latest nuclear policy steps – and technological advances in SMRs – pave the way for new kinds of cooperation between the United States and India.
By Karan Bhasin
While we do know that global poverty has declined significantly over the last decade, with much of the decline coming from China and India, India’s contribution has not often been well understood or appreciated.
By Marta Bengoa
While the full implications of Trump's latest trade offensive remain to be seen, one thing appears certain: the global trading system is entering uncharted waters, with consequences that will reverberate far beyond the targeted nations.
By Anit Mukherjee
As the DOGE team strides into the corridors of government in Washington DC, what can it learn from Aadhaar?
By Katherine Salinas
While banning TikTok might seem like an easy answer, it highlights a broader problem — the gap between data protection regulations, knowledge gaps among legislators, and the larger digital divide in American public policy.