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The problem discusses the approaches to security in Central Asian region, especially the threats of instability and Taliban activities in Afghanistan methods of joint resistance to terrorism and other evils. The differences in SCO members' attitude towards India's future participation in SCO agenda is being considered. The author doubts that SCO can be regarded as a security provider for the region, it is just an instrument of enhancing regional co-operation in various fields.

Globalization has unlocked and exposed domestic and overseas marketers to superior market opportunities. Additionally, it presents consumers worldwide with a vast number of local and foreign brand choices. Indian consumers, also now, have a broader choice of merchandise at their disposal as economic liberalization and privatization along with globalization have reduced the barriers to trade. In such a setting, the concept of consumer ethnocentrism can deliver deep insights about the preference of consumers toward domestic merchandise. The study aims to develop the Indian Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale (ICE-Scale) and validate the same. Data are collected using a structured questionnaire from urban and rural regions. The study constructed the Indian Consumer Ethnocentrism Scale (ICE-Scale), explored its dimensionality on a sample of 450 respondents, and validated the scale with another sample of 450 using exploratory factor analysis. It was established that the ICE-Scale encompasses two dimensions, namely, protective ethnocentrism and patriotic ethnocentrism. Additionally, the validity testing for the proposed scale and both the constructs were conducted through confirmatory factor analysis. The study advances the existing pool of information in the field of international economics, consumer psychology and global marketing. It also assists domestic producers to get an improved understanding of consumers' ethnocentric tendencies which in turn would assist them in choosing superior marketing strategies and boosting their sales. The study will not only deliver certain social and policymaking insights to the domestic firms and government but also to the foreign firms functioning or planning to operate in India.

Across the nation, there are opportunities to improve multimodal coordination and prioritization of investments among transportation agencies. This article develops a method to coordinate and diversify transportation investments across travel modes and qualitative goals. The method helps decision makers to identify and prioritize investments for multimodal corridors, which involve large-scale coordination of transportation projects across modes. The article describes the developed method in two parts: prioritizing multimodal corridors at a macro level of analysis and coordinating modal projects at a micro level. The benefits of the method include (a) identification of efficient investment alternatives to meet travel demands when considering multiple modes relative to only single modes, (b) direction of funding to the multimodal corridors and modal projects where the needs are most urgent, and (c) increased transparency and accountability of multimodal agencies for funding that can be allocated across multiple modes. The article addresses multimodal transportation planning efforts with systematic, evidence-based approaches to coordinating long-range investments.