Observer Research Foundation
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Non-partisan, independent analysis on security, strategy, economy, development, energy & global governance.
Show moreš Analytical overview of Telegram channel Observer Research Foundation
Channel Observer Research Foundation (@orftg) in the English language segment is an active participant. Currently, the community unites 17 462 subscribers, ranking 3 244 in the Politics category and 2 197 in the USA region.
š Audience metrics and dynamics
Since its creation on Š½ŠµŠ²ŃŠ“Š¾Š¼Š¾, the project has demonstrated rapid growth, gathering an audience of 17 462 subscribers.
According to the latest data from 30 July, 2026, the channel demonstrates stable activity. Although there has been a change in the number of participants by -55 over the last 30 days and by -7 over the last 24 hours, overall reach remains high.
- Verification status: Verified (Officially confirmed by Telegram)
- Engagement rate (ER): The average audience engagement rate is 3.33%. Within the first 24 hours after publication, content typically collects 2.03% reactions from the total number of subscribers.
- Post reach: On average, each post receives 582 views. Within the first day, a publication typically gains 355 views.
- Reactions and interaction: The audience actively supports content: the average number of reactions per post is 1.
- Thematic interests: Content is focused on key topics such as iran, policy, governance, hormuz, resilience.
š Description and content policy
The author describes the resource as a platform for expressing subjective opinions:
āNon-partisan, independent analysis on security, strategy, economy, development, energy & global governance.ā
Thanks to the high frequency of updates (latest data received on 31 July, 2026), the channel maintains relevance and a high level of publication reach. Analytics show that the audience actively interacts with content, making it an important point of influence in the Politics category.
17 462
Subscribers
-724 hours
-177 days
-5530 days
Posts Archive
In April 2026, Asia became the largest buyer of Chinese Electric Vehicles (EVs) as Chinese exports jumped by almost 40 percent.
South Asian nations ā Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan and the Maldives ā are emerging as important markets, driven by their growing climate commitments, need to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and China's affordable EVs.
The brief argues that at a time when India is investing significantly in energy and oil connectivity and easing trade and transit networks for its neighbours. The surge in Chinese EVs and their potential transit through strategic regions could add to existing economic and security risks: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/driving-influence-china-s-ev-strategy-in-south-asia-and-implications-for-india
India's overall ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) has seen a significant rise - from 81st globally in 2015 to 38th in 2025.
Yet, the six other categories in the GII country rankings suggest considerable scope for improvement, with India ranking below its overall position in each.
This brief argues that for India to enter the top 10 of the GII across all categories, it will need to invest more assertively in Research & Development, build a more sophisticated domestic business ecosystem, and ensure that capital remains within the country: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/from-rankings-to-ownership-the-next-frontier-in-india-s-innovation-strategy
Supply chains have become central to energy security. As geopolitical tensions reshape trade routes, infrastructure and critical mineral flows, governments are rethinking how resilience is built into the global energy system.
Read key insights from Choke Points: How Security & Politics are Impacting Supply Chains, featured in the third edition of ORF Global Quarterly :https://or-f.org/39723
Authors: Parul Bakshi and Lydia Powell
#ORFGlobal #Energy #Security #SupplyChains #Geopolitics
As AI applications become more sophisticated and widely adopted, data centres have evolved from conventional storage facilities into the backbone of AI training, inference, and high-performance computing.
India is emerging as an important participant in this transformation. Its data centre market, valued at around US$ 10 billion in 2025, is projected to reach US$ 22 billion by 2030.
This brief argues that India's AI-driven data centre boom presents a major opportunity, but realising its potential will require aligning rapid infrastructure expansion with long-term sustainability: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/india-s-ai-data-centre-expansion-balancing-growth-with-sustainability
The signing of the US-Saudi civilian nuclear cooperation agreement - commonly known as a '123 Agreementā marks a significant inflection point in the evolution of US-Saudi ties.
The agreement advances American commercial interests, strengthens the US-Saudi strategic partnership, and anchors Washington more firmly in the emerging global nuclear renaissance.
The brief explains that it simultaneously introduces new uncertainties into an already fragile regional security environment.
Learn More: https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-geopolitics-of-the-us-saudi-nuclear-pact
The energy transition is unfolding under very different national priorities. Climate goals now intersect with industrial policy, digital integration, energy security, critical minerals and geopolitical competition, making the transition far more complex than a single global pathway.
Read the insights from Ten Fault Lines That Will Define the Global Energy Transition, featured in the third edition of ORF Global Quarterly: https://or-f.org/39723
Papua New Guineaās (PNG) digital transformation drive has recently attracted both regional and global attention.
A key focus of this progress has been the SevisWallet: a citizen-centric mobile wallet product, which manages the verifiable-credential based digital identity -SevisPass.
SevisPass is the nationās first and foundational digital public infrastructure (DPI), serving as a cornerstone for digital transformation and leveraging the potential of artificial intelligence.
This brief argues, while PNGās digital start-up ecosystem has experienced rapid growth, scaling these DPI products will require gradual institutional restructuring, shifting current and future functions from the Department of Information and Communications Technology to a new commercial enterprise and a DPI Centre of Excellence: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/institutionalising-for-scale-png-s-dpi-journey
The Chabahar project, launched in 2016 by Afghanistan, India, and Iran was envisioned as a strategic connectivity corridor linking South Asia with Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan.
These developments, coupled with growing regional geopolitical uncertainty marked by US-Iran tensions, shifting sanctions regimes, and growing regulatory risks for external investors complicates the project's viability, beyond New Delhi and Kabul's control.
The brief argues, the future of AfghanistanāIndia connectivity through Chabahar will depend on -India's sustained commitment, the evolution of the geopolitical environment surrounding Iran, and the easing of broader sanctions and regulatory constraints: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/chabahar-port-amid-geopolitical-flux-implications-for-afghanistan-and-india
In 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was put in place to intensively supervise Iran's nuclear programme in return for international economic sanctions being lifted via multilateral verification. However, as the United States withdrew from the accord in 2018, followed by Iran rekindling its nuclear capabilities, the framework had largely become obsolete by 2025.
Despite all its failures and the ongoing erosion of trust, the JCPOA remains an example of a highly developed model of verification diplomacy in the context of nuclear agreements.
The brief argues that while any successor arrangement is unlikely to fully replicate the JCPOA, the key lesson is that the future of any non-proliferation deal must both resolve underlying problems diplomatically and provide for a legally robust, resilient verification arrangement: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/why-the-next-iran-nuclear-deal-must-toast-to-the-jcpoa
Following a US$2 billion federal incentive, the Trump Administration has doubled down on the advancement of Quantum Technology (QT), signing two executive orders accompanied by the announcement of the 'Quantum Genesis' initiative by the US Department of Energy (DoE), as well as a multi-phase quantum sensing initiative by the Department of War's Defence Innovation Unit (DIU).
Consequently, the majority of these measures are strategically aimed at countering China's growing prowess in QT, without which, the US risks being overtaken by a rapidly evolving Chinese QT ecosystem.
The brief argues, that while the US has established itself as a prominent player in QT R&D, it has yet to achieve commercial scalability in quantum hardware: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/from-lab-to-market-the-us-push-to-commercialise-quantum-technology
Japan has been diversifying its critical mineral supplies since 2010. Yet its diversification was almost exclusively upstream: Tokyo found new mines but never reduced its dependence on Chinese separation, metal production, and magnet making.
The fastest way for Japan to manoeuvre around this is to buy processors and magnets from third countries, options that are already taking shape in Southeast Asia
The brief argues, that stockpiles and foreign miners buy Japan time, but only processing capacity can buy it immunity: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/buying-time-not-immunity-japan-s-rare-earth-dilemma
AI sovereignty has become the most sought-after strategic project of our time, fuelled by fears of structural overreliance on a handful of technology providers concentrated in the United States and China.
As India races to build sovereign AI capability, the deeper question is not whether it can escape dependence on foreign hardware and infrastructure, but whether it can shape the terms on which that dependence operates.
This brief argues that AI sovereignty should be understood not as full-stack self-sufficiency, but as the capacity to adapt as technologies evolve and, with that, to renegotiate the terms of dependency as national priorities shift: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/india-s-sovereign-ai-on-whose-terms
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is today much more favourably placed than when it came to power in August 2021 after overthrowing the then Republic government.
As it gears up to complete five years in power in August, only Russia has granted it de jure recognition so far. Notwithstanding this, the Emirate has been successful in leveraging the changed international environment and the current global security situation to its advantage, with most countries in its region and beyond engaging with it in some capacity, even as it fails to heed international calls for inclusivity and womenās freedom.
This brief outlines the Talibanās foreign policy since its return to power, focusing on how the regime frames its foreign policy priorities. It attempts to understand the Emirateās emphasis on a ābalanced, economy-centredā foreign policy and what this means vis-Ć -vis its engagement with the rest of the world.
Read the brief š https://www.orfonline.org/research/an-assessment-of-the-taliban-s-foreign-policy
For much of the past decade, energy and technology were often discussed as separate policy challenges. That distinction is becoming harder to sustain. From AI infrastructure to critical minerals and digital finance, each is increasingly shaping the other.
The third issue of ORF Global Quarterly, "Energy and Tech: Powering the Future", is now live, with insights from scholars across ORF's centres in India, North America, and the Middle East.
Read it here:https://or-f.org/39723
We mourn the passing of Ambassador Latha Reddy, distinguished diplomat, former Deputy National Security Adviser, a distinguished Fellow with ORF, and a global voice on security and global governance.
Her wisdom, generosity, and dedication to public service leave a lasting legacy. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones.
India has made significant strides in reducing child undernutrition and improving health service utilisation, as reflected in the Global Nutrition Report 2026 and National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 (2023ā24).
Yet, India has entered a new phase of its nutrition transition, where the challenge is no longer merely ensuring food security but also achieving nutrition security through healthier diets and resilient food systems.
This brief explains that India's policy response must evolve by shifting decisively from food security to nutrition security, ensuring access not only to sufficient food, but also to diverse, safe, affordable and sustainable diets that support healthy lives across the life course: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/india-s-nutrition-report-card-progress-amid-persistent-challenges
#ORFevents
ORF is hosting a session titled āResurgence or Redundancy? Debating Regional Institutions in South Asiaā as a part of the Neighbourhood Scope series.
The discussion will examine the following key questions:
a) How is the evolving global and regional order reshaping the role and relevance of regional institutions? Which country or countries should lead, influence, and sustain these institutions?
b) Which framework and model- SAARC, BIMSTEC, or CSC -is best placed to drive regional cooperation and integration? Are these groups complementing, competing, or overlapping each other?
c) What institutional reforms are needed to promote South Asian cooperation and mitigate global economic and strategic shocks?
šļø 29 July | šORF Delhi | Open event
Register now: š https://or-f.org/39711
West Bengal has the workshops and the workers. What it's missing is the ecosystem to turn clusters into competitiveness.
West Bengal entered independence as one of Indiaās leading industrial regions, accounting for about 27% of the countryās total industrial production. Yet in the contemporary manufacturing economy, the stateās presence is far smaller than its historical base would suggest.
The FY2026-27 Budget rightly identifies legacy clusters such as jute, foundries, and zari and jewellery as central to reviving West Bengal's manufacturing base.
This brief explains the revival of these legacy clusters will ultimately depend on whether public institutions can channel support towards activities with the greatest potential for productivity growth, value addition, and market expansion: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/west-bengal-s-manufacturing-paradox-reading-the-fy-2026-27-state-budget
India's generic medicines debate is shifting. Evidence from two recent peer-reviewed studies suggests that affordable generics can meet basic quality standards and substantially reduce household spending.
But sustaining trust will require stronger regulation, reliable availability, and better prescribing.
This brief argues that a nationally representative, independently governed exercise should combine market sampling and batch-level quality testing with evaluations of medicine availability, patient expenditure, and treatment outcomes. This would allow India to move beyond general assurances about generic quality and estimates of savings. Towards a system where prescribing guidance, regulatory action, and expansion of PMBJP are shaped by publicly available evidence: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/two-new-studies-shift-india-s-generic-medicines-debate
Russia, one of the worldās largest producers of crude oil and petroleum products, is facing an unprecedented fuel crisis. The crisis is the result of sustained Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries across various Russian regions, coinciding with the peak agricultural and tourist season.
With its dual-track economy torn between the military and civilian sectors, Moscow will likely be forced to make tough choices ahead.
This brief explains that a deeper dilemma sits behind Russia's fuel shortages: a central bank caught between inflation and stagnation, a sanctions-hit refining base, and a budget strained by war: https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/russia-s-fuel-crisis-exposes-deeper-economic-fault-lines
