The Center for Asian Strategic Studies- India (CASS-India) is

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

that investigates strategic issues affecting India, Africa and Asia. Headquartered in New Delhi, CASS-India is a non-government organization that was founded in 1999. CASS-India researches and analyses issues involving military, defense,

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

, security, strategy,

anti-piracy Anti-piracy may refer to: * Anti-piracy, protection against copying of computer software. * Piracy#Anti-piracy measures anti-piracy measures, measures to counter maritime pirates. See also * Pirate (disambiguation) A pirate is a person who com ...

, and nuclear issues. CASS-India has divided its research and professional area of expertise into seven different regions –

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

South-East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, Indo-Pacific, Asia-Pacific region and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It is primarily involved in general research, training and conferences. As of February 2014, the organization had organized more than 55 domestic conferences and 26 International conferences. As of 2014 CASS-India was focusing on the African-Asian region and particularly Africa. This campaign was expected to last three to four years. CASS-India is a registered trust with a Board of Trustees. It is funded through self generated resources, grants, paid consultancy and custom project works. It has MoU's, institutional cooperation, special agreements and research partnerships with more than 30 organization worldwide across the globe.

Area of expertise

CASS-India works in the following areas: * Military Security : Strategy, Doctrines, Modernization, Armament, Deployment & Procurement * Diplomacy : Foreign Policy, Regional Groupings, Soft Power, Intra-region Policies * Geo-Economics :

Energy Security Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven d ...

, Large Volume Trade,

Trade Blocs A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where barriers to trade (tariffs and others) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states. Trade blocs can be stand-alon ...

, Hi-tech Trade * Terrorism : Outfits, Movements, Training, Policies & Agenda, Patterns, Goals &Weapons * Strategy : Strategy, International Relations, Politics, Government * Trans-National Crime: Anti-Piracy Operations, Drug-trafficking, Money Laundering * Non-Proliferation : NBC Warfare, Missile Defense, Nuclear Industry * Non-Traditional Security Threats : Large-scale Migration, Climate Change, Food Security, etc.

Area of activities

International Training Program (ITP)

Under the Advance Strategic Studies Course, CASS-India offers a crash-course to participants (Diplomats, military personnel, foreign policy experts and government officials) on issues relating to defence, strategy and military in the Afro-Asian region. This is usually held in November every year.

Overseas Training Program (OTP)

CASS-India also conducts the program overseas for interested candidates. CASS-India takes its experts and works out a special training module for the interests of participants. The costs of the OTP are borne by the host institution/government. This is usually held in November every year.

Conference

CASS-India organizes brain storming sessions and round table discussions, seminars and interactive sessions and implements special projects for governments, institutions, individuals, companies and NGOs.

Research

CASS-India trains and accepts research personnel from countries and established institutions under exchange programs. CASS-India also provides special research services for the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

Region, Africa, China,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and Energy Studies.

Establishment

CASS-India is a registered trust and a private and independent think-tank. It was established in March 1999 and came into effect in March 2002. It is funded through self-generated resources, grants, paid consultancies and custom projects.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em *https://web.archive.org/web/20120221020357/http://www.cassindia.com/AboutUs.aspx *http://defenceforumindia.com/foreign-relations/19097-india-qatar-strategic-ties-cass-india.html *http://www.asiastudies.org/ Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in India