SPRF
The clock for climate urgency is ticking, figuratively and literally. The New York City Climate Clock, which displays the countdown to the deadline, represents the time remaining before the world crosses over the carbon budget. Currently, the clock shows a digital red countdown of just over 2 years, 339 days to limit global warming to […]
Abstract The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) into India’s educational landscape is significantly ahead of the development of corresponding policy and governance frameworks. This paper provides findings from an original primary survey of 125 students across three age groups (below 12, 13–19, and 20 and above) in Bangalore, India, […]
India’s Quiet Fertility Transition In just two generations, India has gone from one of the world’s high-fertility societies to a country where women are, on average, having fewer than two children. Long-run data from the World Bank and Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) show that India’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has fallen from well above […]
Introduction India’s textile industry is 5,000 years old and remains the “spinning wheel” of the country’s industrial and economic growth. As a global leader in fibre-to-fashion, India accounts for 4 per cent of global textile and apparel trade (Department of Textiles, Government of Maharashtra, and Primus Partners, 2025). Behind those numbers lies a reality of […]
Introduction To categorise petrol as being just another commodity, would understate its significance. Long before it became a household expense, it served as an instrument of industrial expansion, military strategy, and statecraft. From the oil shocks of the 1970s to the Gulf Wars and more recently, the disruptions following the Russia–Ukraine and West Asia conflicts, […]
Forest-dwelling communities share a deep relationship with nature, but more than that, they bear witness to history and provide insight into the management of forests. According to the State of Forests Report of 2019, approximately 300 million people are dependent on forests in India (PIB Delhi, 2023). The romanticisation of indigenous, forest-dwelling communities often limits […]
Rising global temperatures are intensifying climate hazards at an unprecedented rate. In 2025, the global annual average temperature increase reached 1.44 ± 0.09 °C (2.60 ± 0.17 °F) above the pre-industrial period, making it the third warmest year on record (Berkeley Earth, 2026). India, among the most climate vulnerable countries, experienced extreme weather events on 99 […]
Introduction The recently concluded India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a landmark deal in the growing strategic partnership between the two countries across wide-ranging industries including fintech, renewable energy, education, and even film production. A key aspect of this revitalised economic relationship is the ‘India-UK Vision 2035’, a roadmap for renewed defence partnership, forging a […]
Framing India’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy Terrorism has been an unfortunate reality in India for several decades. In India’s independent history, the country faced several threats from internal and external terrorism groups, claiming several lives. The leadership of India has strongly opposed and drafted laws against terrorism over the decades to confront these unprompted instances of violence. […]
Introduction In 2025, India experienced extreme weather events on 99% of the days from January to September, resulting in over 4,000 deaths, with heavy rains, floods and landslides accounting for the majority of these fatalities (Down to Earth, 2025). The recent floods in Punjab have affected nearly 20 lakh people with more than 3 lakh […]
Data is one of the fundamental pillars of evidence-based decision-making, fostering trust through transparency, which ultimately leads to better governance in a country. While developed economies have already established a robust national statistical ecosystem to ensure a steady flow of data within their countries, developing nations still struggle to generate even the most basic statistical […]
Introduction India’s challenge today is not a matter of choosing sides, but rather, how long it can manage not making a choice. For several decades after independence, the foreign policy of India was largely influenced by the principle of non-alignment, which meant that India did not align itself formally with any bloc, kept its strategic […]
The prevalence of mental illness in prison settings is significantly higher than in the general population—approximately 3-6 times higher, as available evidence indicates (Andersen, 2004; Fazel & Danesh, 2002; Lamb & Weinberger, 1998; Taylor, 2010; Wilper et al., 2009). Substance use disorders (alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, opioid, cocaine, benzodiazepines and other drugs) are the most frequently […]
Introduction The greatest challenge that we face in dealing with the juvenile justice system is to strike a balance by being both fair and just to the child in conflict with the law and the victim. The term ‘child’ is universally defined as any person under 18 years, as established by International law. As per […]