The return of the haze to Singapore has brought the predictable round of complaints, analysis, hand-wringing, and soul-searching, but the problem never seems to improve. To establish a basis for actionable intervention, it is critical…
The next generation of think tank capacity should emerge not from direct government initiatives, but from the improvement of conditions that support independent thought. This includes an education system that teaches critical thinking, an intellectual…
Food safety is a serious public health concern in the world’s two most populous countries, China and India. In both countries, the challenges of feeding a large, geographically dispersed population, millions of whom are poor…
India’s competitive advantages in the new global economy are well known. But transformative social progress will be possible only if the country launches a more comprehensive effort to address pathologies long brushed off as the…
With India’s population projected to be the world’s largest in the coming decade, the country’s long-term development is increasingly relevant in the global economy. The highest growth potential currently appears to be in knowledge industries,…
Few factors have had a greater impact on recent urban growth than communications technology (ICT) and property investment strategies. The evolution of both is transforming space and social interaction at an unprecedented pace and depth,…
India is becoming an ‘innovation destination’, according to Nasscom chairman R Chandrasekaran. Really? Patent grants are a straightforward indicator of innovative capability. India has registered a seven-year decline in patents granted and a concurrent rise…
The conditions in which most Indians are brought up present a significant obstacle to human development. From education to social privilege to basic safety, a majority of India’s children must confront debilitating assaults on their…
After Greece announced a public referendum on austerity (effectively rejecting it), Athens was a mix of apprehension and resignation. Drizzle fell on empty Syntagma Square, the scene of recent protests; crowds preferred ATM lines in…
Africa is rapidly urbanising, and the UN projects that a majority of the continent’s residents will live in cities within the next 20 years. Around the world, urban growth is receiving increasing interest, from governments…
