News
Countering cyber terrorism: Public-private partnership need of the hour
Undoubtedly, the United Nations (UN) has truly not been engaged completely to serve as a platform for counter terrorism dialogue. Even now, the nature of the UN structure and the sovereign will of nation-states are yet to converge practically for a pragmatic solution. Similarly, to counter online extremism and radicalisation, both UN and states should open the negotiating door to the private sector internet industries.
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The Patriarch and the Pope
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All-Russia and Pope Francis met in Havana on 12 February 2016 – the first-ever meeting between the heads of the two Churches. The Russian Orthodox is part of the Eastern Communion, and hence part of the Great East-West Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity, which took place in 1054. Nonetheless, its relations with the Catholic Church have followed their own distinct path over the last thousand years, since the Schism.
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India’s urbanisation is dangerously exclusionary and unequal
In popular imagination, the city is often viewed as a liberating space where rigid social structures make way for secular transformations. Particularly in the global South, the city is synonymous with social mobility and emancipation. Taking into account the transformative potentials of cities and towns, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Dalit icon and key architect of the Indian Constitution, exhorted the oppressed communities to leave the “narrow-minded” villages for city life.
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Policy short-sightedness exacerbates India’s water crisis
While droughts can be written off as an ‘act of god,’ the fact that the ongoing drought in India has acquired its current intensity is a reflection of the sorry state of economic governance and planning in this country.
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Modernising India's Military
By far the largest importer of arms in the world, India is poised to spend an estimated $310 billion (Rs 20.8 lakh crore) by 2022 on upgrading its arsenal. Vying for these sweepstakes are global arms vendors as also domestic suppliers who are exploring all viable options such as forming consortia, joint ventures (JVs), public-private partnerships (PPPs), and outright sales.
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Will Saudi Arabia Destabilize global Financial Markets?
At the heart of the matter is 28 pages of the original Congressional report which probed the 9/11 attack on twin towers. These 28 pages were never released since it is supposed to link some members of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as abettors of that crime.
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Banning surge pricing is bad economics
When government intervention is based on a failure to understand the basic tenets of economics and/or to pander to vote banks, it is necessary to call it out. The Delhi government is at it again and by doing so, it is inadvertently signalling to the world that it is clearly not open for business.
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High expectations from China’s G20 presidency
The agenda of a G20 summit is generally set by the country holding the chair. China’s presidency of G20 is being looked at with a lot of anticipation, as it is not only the second-largest economy, but is also the largest trading partner of several countries, including India.
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Modi's Saudi Sojourn : More Significant Than Being Made Out
Prime Minister Modi's advisers have taken to heart the flak from many of his detractors regarding the high visibility of his foreign visits and the media hype connected to them. No other reason why such a significant visit at a most appropriate time should be covered in the inner pages of print media and not even receive a pre-event build up by visual media.
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A new Aadhaar* for Indian diplomacy
Finally backed by an enabling legislation, the Aadhaar project, the flagship of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has been further bolstered by news that enrolment has touched the one billion mark. The creation of a database of easily retrievable biometrics and other information of a citizen — or of any resident, really — is an enormous help to government and public agencies as well as private users that may want to build applications and programmes on the Aadhaar number.
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