From the blog

April 6, 2026
BJP vs TMC

Beyond the Posts: Decoding BJP and TMC’s Social Media Strategies

Setting the Context With elections increasingly shaped by digital platforms, social media has become a key site of political communication, narrative construction, and voter engagement. In the context of West Bengal, the online communication strategies of the Bharatiya Janata Party […]
February 25, 2026

Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: The Battle Lines are Drawn

Eleven decisive factors that will shape the outcome of Kerala’s most consequential election in a generation. The local body elections in December 2025 effectively set the tone for Kerala’s 2026 state assembly elections. With the UDF’s decisive victory in those […]
February 19, 2026

The $50 Billion Reset: Navigating the New Geopolitics of Indo-Canadian Ties

In 2018, the Indo-Canadian relationship was labelled a “strategic partnership” with unrealised potential, limited by political tensions during the Trudeau era and insufficient institutional depth. In a CPPR blog that year, I questioned whether the relationship truly qualified as strategic, […]
February 3, 2026

Analysing India’s Defence Allocation in Budget 2026-27: Modernisation in the Shadow of Operation Sindoor

Introduction The Union Budget 2026-27 has allocated a historic Rs 7.85 lakh crore (approximately $93.5 billion) to the Ministry of Defence, marking a significant 15.19% increase over the previous year’s estimates (BE) of Rs 6.81 lakh crore. This allocation must […]
November 26, 2025

India at the G20 Summit 2025: Shaping Global South Priorities and Strategic Autonomy

In Short: The G20 Summit 2025 at Johannesburg The G20 Summit convened in Johannesburg on 22-23 November 2025, marking the first G20 meeting on the African continent, with India at the G20 Summit making its presence felt. South Africa adopted […]
August 7, 2025

US Tariffs on India: The Cost of Russian Oil Ties

US tariffs on India reach 50% amid rising tensions over Russian oil imports, straining ties and testing India’s strategic balancing act In Short: Introduction The former Bolshevik leader and head of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, once stated that “There […]
July 11, 2025
Leaders at the BRICS 2025 Summit pose for a group photograph

BRICS 2025: India’s Push for Global South Cooperation in Rio

In Short: BRICS 2025 – Rio Chapter On July 6-7, heads of state and representatives from more than 11 BRICS countries descended on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the BRICS 2025 summit, after the last BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia […]
June 3, 2025

Bicycle Commuting in India: Trends, Challenges & Solutions

Historical Overview of Bicycle Commuting Trends in India Bicycle commuting in India has seen a significant socio-economic transformation. It has evolved from a source of pleasure during the colonial era to a symbol of lower-class conveyance by the mid-1990s, and […]
June 2, 2025

K-Homes: A Game-Changer or an Overlap in Kerala Tourism?

In his 2025 budget speech, the Finance Minister of Kerala, Mr. K.N. Balagopal, announced the K-Homes scheme, aiming to use unoccupied homes to develop Kerala tourism accommodations. According to the Working Group Report on Housing as part of the 14th […]
September 9, 2024

Navigating the Road Ahead for FAME – India’s E-bus Ambitions

India has been working towards the ambitious goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.1 With the transport sector accounting for 12 percent of energy-related emissions in India2, e-buses offer a sustainable transport alternative to cut back on […]
April 5, 2024

8 Ways To Approach A Bus Transport Field Study

Field visits are fun, especially when you try to study the very core of mobility, which is public transport systems. The structure of a city, housing patterns, real estate values, commercial spaces, etc. are all influenced by the available transport […]
March 11, 2024

Navigating Urban Challenges: A Journey through Surat’s Road Safety Landscape

In January 2024, an alarming news article shook me to the core, describing the tragic death of a 16-year-old schoolboy in Surat after being hit by a bus. According to the article, prior to this incident, a 23-year-old worker was […]
February 23, 2024

Liberalisation of Public Transport Ecosystem in India

The economic liberalisation in India commenced in the 1990s and had a profound impact on the transportation sector in the country. Post independence in 1947, the government played a dominant role in bolstering the transport sector but the role of […]
September 14, 2023

Transit Advertising Framework: The Silver Bullet to India’s Public Transport Woes

Transit Advertising refers to the use of advertisement spaces available on various modes of public transit. Buses provide a unique opportunity for companies by acting as mobile billboards and reaching audiences across income classes. This is seen as an extremely […]
August 26, 2023

The SCO’s Expansion Through Iran’s Membership

In a significant move aimed at further enhancing its scope and influence, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has extended its membership to accommodate a new entrant. Iran, a long-standing observer of the organisation since 2005, has now crossed a significant […]