Supporting Southeast Asian Smart Cities is Critical for the Region & the United States
by cogitASIA Staff • December 21, 2018 • 3 Comments
By Kim Mai Tran & Andreyka Natalegawa — In his remarks at the United States-ASEAN Summit in November 2018, Vice President Mike Pence announced the U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership in an effort to spur U.S. investment in the region's digital…
Update on India's States: December 19, 2018
Bihar announces a ban on use of plastic bags and sheets; Delhi approves slum redevelopment policy; Jammu and Kashmir establishes a Real Estate Regulatory Authority to promote regulated and planned growth of the real estate sector; Meghalaya approves draft Meghalaya…
Update on India's States: May 10, 2018
by cogitASIA Staff • May 10, 2018 • 0 Comments
The energy department of Andhra Pradesh introduced an incentive for power consumers; Gujarat will offer subsidized piped natural gas to households falling below the poverty line in Bharuch; Madhya Pradesh will open an employment bureau for senior citizens; Union Road…
Japan-Russia Relations: Can the Northern Territories Issue be Overcome?
By Yoko Hirose — Russia and Japan are neighbors, but their relationship is often labeled in Japan as "close (geographically) and distant (politically)." The leading reasons are that a treaty of friendship has not been concluded between Japan and Russia,…
Expanding India's Financial Inclusion
by cogitASIA Staff • August 7, 2017 • 0 Comments
By Tushar Madan — Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has undertaken several schemes to increase levels of financial inclusion, but many fail to help all Indians. Instead, these plans often leave out marginalized parts of Indian society, such as rural…
Lights, Camera, Access: Hollywood's Ongoing Challenge in Entering China's Film Market
by cogitASIA Staff • May 5, 2017 • 1 Comment
By Dominic Chiu — China is one of the largest and fastest-growing film industries in the world. At the same time, it maintains extensive quantitative and content restrictions on the screening of foreign films. In 2016 China raised the number…
Update on India's States: April 12, 2017
Inter-State Council Standing Committee meets for the first time since 2005; Chandrababu Naidu is giving up multiple cabinet portfolios to take on the Happiness Department; Maharashtra can now set Uber and Ola rates, while Haryana taxes cabs at the border;…
Uttar Pradesh Elections: Why this Time Might be Different
by cogitASIA Staff • March 9, 2017 • 1 Comment
By Shefali Dhar — Election results for the massive Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) are set to be released on Saturday. UP is the center of gravity for northern Indian politics; in addition to being India's largest state by…
Funding the Panchayati Raj
by Sarah Watson • March 8, 2017 • 0 Comments
By Sarah Watson — In his 2016 Budget Speech Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a landmark change in the way India governs itself. He announced that over the next five years the central government would make grants totaling more than…
Government Capture of (Electric) Power in Punjab
by cogitASIA Staff • March 7, 2017 • 0 Comments
By Sharmila Bellur — Punjab state assembly elections were held on February 4, 2017, with results set to be announced March 11. Punjab, with a population of over 27.7 million, is famed for providing electricity to almost all the households…