Modi in Tokyo: A Decade Blueprint—Investment, Economic Security, and Indo-Pacific Strategy

Authors : Darpan Kumari ,Varshita Saxena, Sayf Ali

Abstract :

In this paper, government-led education reforms in India were reviewed while focusing on policy design, legal foundations, implementation, and outcomes. It examines landmark reforms, including the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA, 2001), the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act, 2009), the National Education Policy (NEP 2020), and other education schemes such as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS). The study situates these reforms within India’s constitutional framework, particularly Article 21A of the Constitution, and evaluates the persistent gap between policy design and implementation. A comparative analysis with Nigeria’s education policies and laws, particularly the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act of 2004 and the National Policy on Education (NPE), reveals both parallels and differences in how two developing nations have pursued universal access to quality education. The paper finds that while India has achieved commendable progress in enrolment and school infrastructure, learning outcomes, equity, and implementation remain deficient. The policy implementation gap, caused by financial constraints, bureaucratic issues, and inadequate implementation plans and execution, continues to undermine reform potential. The paper concludes with lessons for public policy design and reform implementation applicable to India, Nigeria, and comparable developing-country contexts.

Keywords :
Education reform, India National Education Policy, Right to Education, Access vs Quality Divide, Policy to implementation gap, Comparative Education, State Capacity, Federalism

Authors : Linda John Obiorah, Banavath Ananditha, Mrinalini Menon, Paridhi Passi, B. R. Sanjeev Naick

Abstract :

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is proving to be a crucial technology to enhance public service and governance. This paper examines how governance frameworks and institutional capacities shape AI adoption and management within government systems. By adopting a qualitative comparative case study analysis, using India and Nigeria as primary cases and South Korea as a benchmark for successful AI governance implementation, this paper examines the governance and institutional preparedness of AI in the public sector and identifies practical lessons on building governance structures and institutional foundations for responsible AI adoption. The analysis suggests that India possesses a more evolved framework for AI governance, enforced by the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (2018), and the India AI Mission (2024), a well-developed digital public infrastructure, and a strong focus on the development of skills and training. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2024) indicates Nigeria’s growing institutional commitment to AI, as well as notable strides towards preparedness. South Korea is introduced as a benchmark, representing a more advanced AI governance model that offers concrete lessons for developing economies. Despite these disparities, the common concerns include the disconnect between policy aspirations and policy implementation, difficulty in developing specific AI laws, and concerns about accountability, transparency, bias, privacy and digital inclusion. The study calls for specific AI legislation, autonomous regulatory bodies, and more effective data governance between developing countries. It contends that institutional building and the institutionalization process are key to having responsible, sustainable and adaptive AI governance in the Global South, and that governance progress must be measured against concrete indicators like enforcement action, institutional capacity, digital literacy rates, public accountability and operationalization of independent bodies rather than policy adoption alone.

Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence Governance, Institutional Readiness, Public Sector AI, Digital Governance, AI Regulation.

Authors : Rachael Osioyemi Olaiya, Shreeya Gupta, Arya Rani, Nithin Reddy

Abstract :

India and Nigeria are two of the world’s largest developing economies, both marked by young, fast-growing populations and fundamental youth unemployment, prompting governments to create entrepreneurship programmes. Despite these programmes, most businesses remain informal. Roughly 80% of Nigerian SMEs fail within five years, and nearly 90% of India’s youth workforce is informally employed. Output-focused evaluations fail to capture the implementation gap between formal policy and its on-the-ground effectiveness. This paper evaluates why youth entrepreneurship policies in India and Nigeria consistently fail to produce sustainable outcomes, and what both countries can learn from economies that have successfully closed this gap. Adopting a qualitative-comparative case study approach, the paper examines India and Nigeria as primary cases benchmarked against South Korea and Rwanda. Drawing on national MSME surveys, ILOSTAT, World Bank Enterprise Survey, GEM India, and government program evaluations, the paper applies Stam’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Framework as the analytical lens across all four countries. The analysis reveals that India and Nigeria’s ecosystems remain weak across formal institutions, finance, infrastructure, and intermediate organisations, reflecting a governance approach that controls outcomes rather than building conditions required by businesses to grow and formalise. South Korea’s unified SME Ministry, collateral-free policy funds, alongside Rwanda’s regulatory reforms, demonstrate that closing this gap requires deliberate ecosystem governance rather than direct financial interjection. The paper concludes that high failure rates reflect design flaws in ecosystems built for the formalized urban minority, not low entrepreneurial ambition, and calls for development policy to measure success by accessible infrastructure rather than loan disbursement volume.

Keywords:
Youth Entrepreneurship, Implementation Gap, Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, Informality, Ecosystem Governance, India, Nigeria