News

14 May 2015

The Modi govt's economic story

In politics, depending on your point of view, one year can be a long, or a short time. The Narendra Modi government has hit that anniversary and while critics charge that he has failed to deliver, his supporters argue that a year is simply too short a time to judge the government of a country as huge as India, and one with legacy issues ranging from corruption to misgovernance.

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14 May 2015

China Reinforces its Maritime Claims in South China Sea

While last year China created an avoidable controversy by sending its giant drilling rig HD-981 for drilling for oil within the EEZ of Vietnam to bolster its claims in South China Sea, of late Beijing has adopted innovative strategy of building islands of sand for supporting its maritime claims.

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28 April 2015

Walking Away or Ignoring Afghanistan is not an Option for India

The policy shift being attempted by Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in which he sought to relegate India to the fourth circle of priority and appease Pakistan has had mixed reception in the Indian strategic community. It ranges from disappointment over side-lining of India to a resigned acceptance of an emerging situation in which India's space may get constricted.

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10 April 2015

The importance of Modi's Paris visit

There is quite an air of anticipation around the Indian Prime Minister's visit to France. The government's foreign policy pace has been enviable, and Narendra Modi has demonstrated a remarkable aptitude in gauging the mood and the space to manoeuvre with various partners. He has revitalised old relationships and lent them his energy. He has also achieved some real strategic gains,such as the one in Seychelles.

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10 April 2015

New foreign trade policy: Going for the big push

After a long delay, the government has finally announced the much awaited new foreign trade policy (FTP) 2015-2020. The thrust of the new policy is on export promotion, reducing trade transactions costs, e-commerce, services exports and ease of doing business. This policy is in sync with the government's key initiatives of Make in India and other big ideas like Digital India.

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27 March 2015

Border paradox

As it looks at the southwestern frontiers with India and its neighbours in the subcontinent, China stares at a paradox. China has ambitious plans to develop mega trans-border projects with Myanmar in the east and Pakistan in the west. China has already built a twin pipeline system running from Myanmar’s Bay of Bengal coast to the Yunnan province.

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13 March 2015

Modi's Sagar Mala*

As he swings across the Indian Ocean this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's biggest challenge is not about countering China. After all, Beijing is far away and India is right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. In the near term, the tyranny of geography will limit the scope and intensity of Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. Modi's real problem is in Delhi, afflicted by a condition called continentalism, which has proved rather difficult to overcome.

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13 March 2015

Why gender would have more of a role in Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign

When Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for the President last time, her campaign struggled to address the matter of her gender in a balanced manner. She seemed conflicted between acknowledging her identity as a woman running for the most important office in the world and establishing her identity as a competent politician capable of handling the top job.

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27 February 2015

New digital age and importance of privacy of data

New digital age won’t be as much fun if we don’t talk about privacy. Privacy should not be limited to headline grabbing revelations about surveillance, Snowden and Sony; these conversations need to be mainstreamed to every citizen-consumer.

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