BRINGING THE WORLD TO INDIA Annual Report 2016 Observer Research Foundation (ORF) seeks to lead and aid policy thinking towards building a strong and prosperous India in a fair and equitable world. It sees India as a country poised to play a leading role in the knowledge age—a role in which it shall be increasingly called upon to proactively ideate in order to shape global conversations, even as it sets course along its own trajectory of long-term sustainable growth. ORF helps discover and inform India’s choices. It carries Indian voices and ideas to forums shaping global debates. It provides non-partisan, independent, well-researched analyses and inputs to diverse decision-makers in governments, business communities, academia, and to civil society around the world. Our mandate is to conduct in-depth research, provide inclusive platforms and invest in tomorrow’s thought leaders today. Ideas l Forums l Leadership l Impact message from the CHAIRMAN 3 Bharat Goenka message from the DIRECTOR 5 Sunjoy Joshi 9 PROGRAMMES & INITIATIVES 43 FORUMS 51 PUBLICATIONS message from the VICE PRESIDENT 62 Samir Saran Contents 65 FINANCIAL FACTSHEET 68 List of EVENTS 74 List of PUBLICATIONS ANNEX 79 List of FACULTY 67 84 ORF THEMATIC TREE ORF is paying special attention to the intellectual depth of its work and enhancing the ability to deliver products and services efficiently. We are also endeavouring to further extend the reach among the policy makers, academics and business leaders worldwide. —late shri r.k. mishra 1 Message from the Chairman bharat goenka t the end of a journey of over ORF hosted over 240 interactions, a quarter century, even as discussions, roundtables and conferences AI extend my greetings to all on contemporary policy questions. As our patrons, trustees, members and faculty, part of its involvement in the Sustainable I would like to remember the vision and Development Goals, ORF launched its mission outlined by our Founding Chairman, Health Initiative. As the climate change the late Shri Rishi Kumar Mishra. I recall his negotiations proceeded toward COP21 last message in a previous annual report as in Paris, ORF organised a series of he laid down the vision for the future: discussions and papers in partnership “ORF is paying special attention to the with the French Foreign Ministry. It also intellectual depth of its work and enhancing organised its first event at the Conference the ability to deliver products and services of Parties (in Paris) on the management of efficiently. We are also endeavouring to trans-boundary ecosystems such as the further extend the reach among the policy Sunderbans. makers, academics and business leaders ORF, in partnership with Microsoft, worldwide.” launched the Digital Policy portal to This must remain the goal for all our encourage Indian scholarship on digital research endeavours as we strive to economy and internet governance. With take our research to a wider and more the government’s Digital India programme participative audience in India and abroad. taking off, the new ORF website became As part of this endeavour, in the previous compliant for access on handheld devices year, ORF brought out 94 long form even as ORF extended its presence into the publications—research papers, special social networking platforms. The attempt reports, monographs, books and issue has been to add a whole new genre and a briefs. ORF and the Global Policy Journal new generation of participants. (UK) published nine journal issues under 2015-16 saw ORF consolidate and the GP-ORF India Series. Commentaries by expand the scope of its recent global our faculty on the debates of the day were platforms, such as the Young Leaders carried by Indian and foreign media almost Programme under the Asian Forum on on a daily basis. Global Governance hosted with the Zeit 3 1 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN The opening panel of the inaugural edition of Raisina Dialogue Stiftung, and CyFy, India’s International foreign governments and international Conference on Cyber and Internet corporations joined us to promote our Governance. Two new international forums research objectives. Meanwhile, our core were created in the form of the first ever grant from Reliance Industries Limited Raisina Dialogue in partnership with the continues to allow us to be pioneering Ministry of External Affairs and the Kalpana and independent. We are grateful to their Chawla Space Policy Initiative. unconditional and generous support. This year, under India’s presidency, ORF The expanded set of stakeholders and not only continues to represent India at the partners also means that our governance BRICS Think Tanks Council, but will also host needs to be the best in class. We have the BRICS Annual Academic forum where therefore instituted clear disclosure policies civil society institutions debate important around grants and support so that all our development challenges of our times. sources of funding are now available in Leveraging its initiative on Cyber and Internet the public domain on our website. We Governance, ORF will be exploring the idea acknowledge contributions on our research of “Digital BRICS” and an exclusive dialogue products as applicable and we encourage amongst the BRICS on “Smart Cities.” our scholars to do the same as their Our founder Mishraji had also expressed expertise is sought by various organisations his determination to “expand the resource for external projects. base [of ORF] and bring in to its fold new In the year ahead we are proposing to private corporate entities and foundations expand ORF’s membership. The decision to provide endowments and grants.” has been made and it will be implemented Following that path, ORF has been soon. As we celebrate another important slowly expanding its resource base. Over day in the evolution of the organisation, two dozen entities contributed to various on behalf of the board, I once again thank ORF research and outreach initiatives in everyone—the director, research team, the previous year. Global institutions like management and also all our associates the World Bank, GIZ, DFID, the Bill and and partners—for their continued support Melinda Gates Foundation, Indian and and guidance. n 4 2 Message from the Director sunjoy joshi AST year Observer Research world beset by financial crisis. Foundation (ORF) celebrated As an ever-evolving think tank, ORF has L25 years of its journey as an both contributed to and benefitted from institution committed to policy research and being a part of this ongoing journey that is proposing solutions for a country aspiring to transforming a big nation into a great nation, find its place in a rapidly transforming world. which in turn is engaged in creating milieus This was a journey that began in the early where a globally integrating community of 1990s and continued into the millennium as over one and a quarter billion can decisively India began exploring opportunities and dis- influence the course of a progressing cen- covering its destiny at home and overseas. tury. For us, this has meant two key engage- Mirroring these trends ORF, too, ventured ments. One, the production of research and to build global partnerships that would help ideas that are incisive and impactful; two, disseminate changing narratives about the the creation of platforms that are inclusive new India—a country that was part of the and diverse. global effort to combat terror, tackle climate So in our 26th year, too, we have moved change, eliminate poverty, and confront onwards, advancing our mandate—catalys- global human development challenges in a ing new ideas, developing new forums, and above all, nurturing the thought leaders of tomorrow. IN OUR 26TH YEAR, we have First, we have now made significant progress in transforming the composite moved onwards, advancing our profile of the human resources at ORF. With many new minds joining us and others mandate—catalysing new ideas, coming into their own in the past year, we have on board an energetic, diverse developing new forums, and above and potent research team. Our goal, set five years ago, of effecting a generational all, nurturing the thought leaders of change is nearing completion. Our young team has been increasingly contributing to tomorrow. India’s intellectual discourse, and in keeping 5 2 MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR with this transformation, this annual report creatively to not merely help communicate will highlight some of these new leaders complex research, but also build digital plat- at ORF. As an institution, shaping and forms that, for the first time, enable far wider nurturing thought leadership for the future participation and engagement. We have remains a key deliverable for us. therefore seen viewership and readership Second, with the launch of our new web- of digitally disseminated products, including site, as well as the adoption of new digital long-form essays and monographs, reveal a formats, we have acquired, so to say, a new steady upward trend as simple messaging digital persona. With the explosion of new draws attention to highly nuanced proposi- media, it is no longer traditional newspapers tions and policy debates. and TV channels alone that curate and dis- I congratulate all our researchers who seminate information. Everyone has become have eagerly embraced the new digital a curator, a node for both the creation as environment even as they remain robustly well as dissemination of information. So invested in the ‘long form’ as the preferred think tanks, too, find themselves innovating format for their interrogation, enquiry and on means that can best get research across research. Even as the questions, solu- to wider audiences and get it noticed. tions and suggestions must be designed Some may think that the traditional format of to fit into the palms of a younger, restless monographs, long papers and issue briefs is and demanding target audience that is doomed, challenged by the urgent need to increasingly global, the screen space of communicate in no more than 140 charac- the handheld device itself cannot limit the ters.