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1. Harnessing Inland Waterways for Inclusive Trade Among Bay of Bengal Countries

Author:
Veena Vidyadharan
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
The transboundary rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna along with their tributaries and distributaries create a vibrant water grid connecting their riparian countries. Historically, these rivers have played a prominent role in shaping the economy of the Indian sub-continent as a major means of trade and transportation. In the post-colonial era, new political boundaries between countries mostly cut off these riverine networks because the priority of the newly-established countries and their governments was to develop road and rail networks for internal consolidation and integration more efficiently. Hence, waterways connectivity among new regional countries was comparatively neglected. India and Bangladesh, for example, share 54 transboundary rivers. Despite existing bilateral agreements for using designated riverine routes for trade and transit, only in the past few years have infrastructural development initiatives started in India for constructing river terminals, multimodal terminals as well as fairway development. And there are other opportunities.
Topic:
Development, Infrastructure, Regional Integration, and Ecology
Political Geography:
Bangladesh, South Asia, India, Indo-Pacific, and Bay of Bengal

2. Making BIMSTEC a Regional Vehicle for Nepal’s Economic Growth

Author:
Sunil KC
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Recently, the government of Nepal, led by Nepal Communist Party Chairman KP Sharma Oli who ascended to power in 2018, came up with an integrated foreign policy that reflects rapid changes in both the domestic and geopolitical spheres. The new foreign policy has shifted from a traditional course to a modern one with “Economic Diplomacy” as the main driver. With the slogan of “Happy Nepali, Prosperous Nepal”, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has prioritized engagement with regional groupings. It is in this context that the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation or (BIMSTEC), established in 1996, with a permanent secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh, could serve as an important platform in achieving Nepal’s foreign policy goals of development and prosperity. Nepal became a member of BIMSTEC in 2004.. BIMSTEC acts as a vital bridge for Nepal to connect with South and Southeast Asia to expand its trade, economy, business, investments, and cultural connections. However, due to an unstable domestic political environment, Nepal has not been utilizing regional forums in advancing the nation’s interest. Now, with a stable government in power, Nepal must look at regional forums as important gateways for conducting business and national development.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, Geopolitics, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:
South Asia, Nepal, and Southeast Asia

3. Upgrading India's Electronics Manufacturing Industry: Regulatory Reform and Industrial Policy

Author:
Dieter Ernst
Publication Date:
02-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
India faces a fundamental puzzle. The country is a leading exporter of information-technology services, including knowledge-intensive chip design. Yet electronics manufacturing in India is struggling despite a huge and growing domestic market and pockets of world-class capabilities. To examine this puzzle the World Bank commissioned this study in May 2013 on behalf of the Chief Economic Advisor, Government of India, Raghuram Rajan (now the governor of the Reserve Bank of India). Drawing on extensive survey questionnaires and interviews with key industry players (both domestic and foreign) and relevant government agencies, this study identifies major challenges India-based companies face in engaging in electronics manufacturing. The analysis culminates in detailed policy suggestions for regulatory reform and support policies needed to unblock barriers to investment in this industry and to fast-track its upgrading through innovation.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

4. The Shadow of Urbanization: The Periurban Interface of Five Indian Cities in Transition

Author:
Vishal Narain, Poulomi Banerjee, and Pooja Anand
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Periurban areas refer to areas at the periphery of cities. They provide the land and water resources needed for urban expansion, while receiving urban wastes. This paper describes the process of periurban expansion around five major Indian cities, namely, Patna, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Chennai and Ahmedabad. These cities have expanded under the current regime of neo-liberal policies, infrastructure development and real estate growth. As spaces in transition, periurban areas around these cities have absorbed much of the migrant population. However, the cities have grown beyond the carrying capacity; this has caused the ecological foot-print of the cities to spill over into the peripheries. While conventional approaches to urban planning and rural development create a dichotomy between rural and urban areas, the concept of periurban raises questions both about the sustainability and equity dimensions of urban expansion, also raising issues of the politics of urbanization.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Economics, Migration, Labor Issues, and Urbanization
Political Geography:
South Asia, Patna, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Chennai, and Ahmedabad

5. Is the Information Technology Agreement Facilitating Latecomer Manufacturing and Innovation? India's Experience

Author:
Dieter Ernst
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
A defining characteristic of today's international trading system is that plurilateral trade agreements like the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) are gaining in importance relative to the gridlocked Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations. These more selective trade agreements pose new and so far little understood challenges for the governance of the international trading system, especially with regard to the distribution of liberalization gains among participants which differ in their stage of development, their institutions, and their resources and capabilities.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Industrial Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
South Asia

6. The Dalit Movement and Democratization in Andhra Pradesh

Author:
K.Y. Ratnam
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
This study argues that the democratic state in India is an historical product of very specific circumstances; as such the broader idea of democracy is not consistent with the specific Caste system. Therefore, there is serious juxtaposition between the institutional promise of democracy and the real practice of democracy in relation to the victims of the caste system, the Dalits. However, the caste based hierarchical relations of dominance and subordination have provided sufficient conditions for the rise of Dalit consciousness and these objective conditions have transformed into the sites of democratic struggles when the Dalits are affronted with the real operation of liberal democratic principles of, equality, freedom, fraternity, and social justice. Caste conflict, thus, lies at the structural dimensions of Indian society in the form of exclusion, discrimination, and economic inequality. Inequalities based on the caste divisions are intrinsically anti democratic, and the caste system as an oppressive ideological system represents the scheme of power, domination, privilege, and hierarchy. Its very foundation remains acentral obstacle in the path of democratic redistribution of power.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

7. An India-Pakistan Detente: What It Could Mean for Sustainable Development in South Asia and Beyond

Author:
Toufiq A. Siddiqi
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
India and Pakistan have had volatile relations ever since they became independent of Britain in 1947. Frequent hostility has stifled cooperation between the two countries and inhibited development in the region. Recently, however, tensions show signs of easing. In March 2004, India's then prime minister visited Pakistan to attend a South Asian regional summit. Flights, bus service, and cricket matches between the two countries have resumed; India's newly elected government continues to support the process. Peace could bring a wide range of benefits not only to India and Pakistan but to the wider region as well. For example, it could enable cooperation on importing energy via a natural-gas pipeline, which would support environmentally sound development. The improved road and rail system that would necessarily accompany a pipeline would also support the goal of building an Asian highway network and the resurgence of cross-border trade, another likely consequence of détente. These benefits could spread far beyond India and Pakistan into the wider west, central, and south Asian region.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and India