Editorial

India’s Military Diplomacy

IN ORDER to expand military ties with new countries with focus on arms export, India has posted defence attachés (DAs) to these nations recently. It has been said that 15-16 new attachés from the Army, Navy and Air Force are being posted to countries like Poland, Armenia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Ivory Coast and Philippines for the first time. Just last week, India delivered the fourth and final batch of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Philippines as a clear signal to China. ..

Our Own Sin !

THE fact that water reservoirs across India have reported an average storage of as low as 28%, should become a matter of great national concern. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has expressed concern over the decline of national reservoir storage, and has stressed also that southern States of India -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu -- form the worst hit area of the country in this regard with water storage having dipped to as low as 16%. But these statistical details ..

GOOD INITIATIVE

W ITH the u n v e i l - ing of a s e l f i e point at Hombotingla Pass as a tribute to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the people of India have been bestowed with a fine opportunity to become part of a heroic tale of valour of our Armed Forces. The selfie point offering breathtaking views of the Kargil Town and the Mighty Batalik Sector will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made by our soldiers in the defence of the nation during the 1999 Kargil War. The 25th anniversary ..

DESPERATE VOICES

Prominent Pakistani business leaders have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to initiate trade talks with India which would benefit the cashstrapped country’s economy. In Lahore, Punjab Province Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan said on Thursday that enmity with India should be ended and talks for the resumption of trade the two countries should be initiated. Khan’s call for the restoration of trade ties with India came a day after Pakistan’s business leaders, during an interactive session in ..

COSTLIEST POLL

THAT the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections will cost the country a mind-boggling Rs. 1.35 lakh crore as against Rs. 60,000 crore that the country paid for the 2019 elections, is certainly a disturbing reality of the price the country has to pay to keep democracy in the country not just intact but also thriving. The increase in election expenses by more than double the costs of the last polls should be a matter of concern not just for the Government but also for the people -- who are the ultimate payers ..

Sustainable

THE assertion by the Reserve Bank of India in its latest bulletin that India would be able to sustain 8 per cent annual GDP growth, is truly reassuring -- particularly against the background of constant allegations by vested interests that India is chasing an impossible -- and even fake -- dream of high GDP growth. An article in the bulletin emphasises that there are good and substantial markers of high sustainability of the country’s economic growth available to underline the sense of assurance. ..

CRUCIAL POLLS

WITH the announcement of dates for the forthcomingLokSabhaelections,thecountry has entered the arena of crucial polls whose outcome will decide the direction of India’s course for long years. Though the nation already is conscious of the most probable outcome of the elections, there still will be efforts from both sides of the ideological and political divide to garner as many votes and seats as possible by influencing the popular thoughtprocess. The country has not seen such a political condition ..

TRADE BOOSTER

INDIA’S trade spectrum witnessed a watershed moment when the country signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the four-nation European bloc European FreeTrade Association (EFTA). The pact came after a long negotiation of sixteen years and has now opened a new avenue for Indian businesses seeking to spread wings in the European markets. The EFTA has also marked a new chapter in the history of FTAs as it has eked out a binding pledge from the bloc of USD 100 billion investment and one million direct jobs ..

IS IT POSSIBLE?

PITCHING for ethical political discourse during the campaigning for the upcoming general elections the Election Commission of India (ECI) has released an advisory asking parties to refrain from seeking votes on the basis of caste, religion and language. The earnest appeal has come just days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections for which parties are already in election mode...

of own making

THE eruption of civil violence in Sandeshkhali in West Bengal targeting leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is the outcome of the terribly divisive politics the ruling party has been indulging in for years. As the whole nation asks for President's Rule in the State for clear and organised or TMC-sponsored failure of law and order, the issue of bad governance comes to fore, crying itself hoarse for immediate steps to correct the terribly-wronged situation. For, by now, the nation has realised fully ..

DOUBLE IMPACT

W HILE launching projects worth Rs 32,000 crore in Jammu and Kashmir, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi has reiterated commitment of the Central Government led by him to the transformation of the Kashmir Valley into a tourist destination. Beyond the Valley also, the Government under him has ushered in an era of development in Jammu as well as Ladakh areas. This process has been pretty consistent in the past few years, since abrogation of Article 370. The developmental push will go a long way in bringing ..

ACT NOW!

SANDESHKHALI violence indicates that the situation in West Bengal is deteriorating day by day. Also, the calls for imposition of the President’s Rule in the violence-torn State are growing. This warrants the Central Government to act now, instead of waiting for the right opportunity from political point of view. For, a lot is at stake for people and social fabric in West Bengal. For years, politics and violence are intertwined in case of West Bengal. May it be the erstwhile Congress rule, or subsequent ..

BACK TO SAFETY

THE release of eight ex-Indian Navy personnel jailed by Qatar on charges of espionage adds another glorious chapter to India’s quiet and meaningful diplomacy that always seeks the good of Indians caught in geopolitical maelstrom. The entire episode had too many cloaks of secrecy wrapped around it since the eight former navymen working for a private company, Al Dahra, were caught in August 2022 and were later sentenced to death in October 2023. It still remains unclear what the actual charges were ..

ISSUE OF TRUST

THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) action against digital payment and services app Paytm barring its Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits or top-ups is a stern warning to the banking sector to get its house in order when it comes to compliances. By stopping Paytm from accepting top-ups in any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets and FASTags after February 29, the apex bank has drawn a clear line for fintech companies and related start-ups that it would not dither on adopting ..

MADE IN INDIA

ONE could sense the pride and confidence with which Mr. AshwiniVaishnaw, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology, made the statement that the first ‘Made in India’ chip would be out in December 2024. Whosoever has been following the story of transformation of India from being a consumer country to a business powerhouse, will agree that the India of today is not only making policies but also implementing those in a fasttrack manner...

Mobocracy

THE State of West Bengal seems to be slipping into a mobocracy. The State Government led by Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister and President of Trinamool Congress (TMC), appears to be helpless in containing the incidents of mob unleashing violence. The latest incident of mob attack on the officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) comes as one more indication of the poor law and order situation in West Bengal. Though the State of West Bengal has had a long history of mob violence and even massacres, ..

FRAGILE PEACE

THE latest incident in which five soldiers were killed and two injured in an ambush of the Indian Army vehicles in Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir, indicates not only desperation of the terrorists to revive militancy in Jammu region but also the fragility of peace. Since there appears to be a pattern being followed by terrorists in carrying out ambushes on the forces, the security establishment also needs to effect some change in strategy to effectively counter the ultras. The present situation ..

LAUDABLE

INDIA’s initiative to step forward and stand up to get counted in the global search for solution to climate crisis is certainly laudable by any and every standard. Participating in the United Nations Climate Conference -- COP28 -- in Dubai, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi demonstrated Indian resolve to stay ahead in the global effort to save climate from a total collapse. He almost took the reins of global leadership in his hands by proposing a ‘Green Credit Initiative’ that will focus on achieving ..

GREEN GROWTH / DE GROWTH

Green growth is broadly optimistic about the capacity of liberal democracy’s incremental style to get the green transition done in time. It has faith in markets, and even as it recognises the need for green industrial policy it is cautious about Government’s ability to micromanage it. Degrowth believes something more radical is in order, with equality at its core. We need to understand what is “sufficient” for people to live good lives ..

Great Idea

PRESIDENT Mrs. Droupadi Murmu’s suggestion in favour of a mechanism that would strengthen justice delivery system in the country is certainly worthy of serious consideration. Though she has left the idea to the wisdom of people concerned, the suggestion has the power of being a presidential desire. Hence its importance at a time when the overall role of the judiciary is under sort of a scrutiny by the nation, the reasons being delay in delivery of justice, huge pendency of cases at all judicial forums, ..

Think deeply

TIME it is to think and rethink if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should continue with Head Coach Rahul Dravid whose tenure officially ended with the culmination of the recent ICC World Cup. No matter if the BCCI decides to have a new Head Coach, since a change is quite likely to improve things. But the truth also cannot be overlooked that the overall performance of Rahul Dravid has been genuinely outstanding. The World Cup might have slipped from India’s hands, all right, but how ..

The Realm Of Ayurved - I

“We have reasons to believe that there is a larger conspiracy against Ayurved. As part of that conspiracy, Patanjali is being accused of making over-stated and even false claims about the good effects of Ayurved on victims of different and difficult ailments. We hold the judiciary in highest respect and are willing to submit ourselves to any scrutiny of our claims. We have conducted scientific research in our certified laboratories and various international journals have published our research papers ..

Right concern

THE agencies engaged in issues of internal security are working seriously on a very appropriate concern -- of not allowing the revival of the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist) in different parts of the country. Their basic aim is to ensure that the success they have registered over the past some years in containing the Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) does not go waste and the ugly genre of politics does not come up again in its menacing strength. In furtherance of this goal, the agencies of internal ..

Tricky call

TWO things that have rung a bell in the World Cup is the stellar showing of Afghanistan and the continuously poor run of Bangladesh. Both the Asian teams have had a different ride of fortunes as the former is still in reckoning of a semi-final spot while the latter has been eliminated from the race. The contrasting journey of Afghanistan and Bangladesh has left many questions for the cricket lovers and the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ponder over. Is it time to change the structure and make ..

Probe Deeper

IN THE din and dust of charges and counter-charges, it is not possible for anyone to make a definitive statement if Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel really accepted or not a massive bribe of Rs. 508 crores as alleged in an official press release by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED has stated without any ambiguity that the promoters of the illegal Mahadev On-Line Gambling App paid that much money so far to the Chief Minister of the poll-bound Chhattisgarh. As expected, Mr. Baghel ..

NEP’s Pedagogic Concerns

Needless to say, the establishment of the National Research Foundation (NRF) for funding research in all disciplines will ensure a steady flow of financial investment and proper budgetary allocation for different research topics. ..

baloch riposte

THE twin blasts in Pakistan -- one in Balochistan and another at Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -- that killed at least 58 people come as a grim reminder of how Pakistan has failed over the years into integrating various communities and weaving one democratic nation. The country, with foundation in religious radicalism, was destined to reach this stage. As the new country was carved out of India by way of a painful Partition, political leadership of all ilk in Pakistan treaded the path of exerting authority ..

The ‘Bharat’ Metaphor! - II

Tamaham Vismayavishtah Punarevedamabruvam/ Durlabham Bharate Janma Tatraapi Cha Manushyata// - Skanda Purana (Verse 1.2.3.36) THE Skanda Purana written several thousand years ago has many such verses that highlight the good fortune of having been born in ‘Bharat. -- Durlabham Bharate Janma (‘Not easy to be born in Bharat ...’ or ‘To be born in Bharat is a precious good fortune ...’). The Skanda Purana is one of the largest of Mahapuranas with around 80,000 verses. In seven different chapters, it describes ..

TAKE RISKS!

  AFTER the rapid highs experienced by the Indian indices in the past weeks, the equity benchmark has hit a speed-breaker under tremendous selling pressure. The primary reason behind the fall and the volatile swings in the Sensex and Nifty50 was..

Cancel culture

  THE INDI Alliance, the motley band of the Oppostion parties, has taken a mis-step by taking decision not to send their representatives to the shows of 14 popular television news anchors. However, to some extent, it is well in sync with the cha..

one election

THE Government’s move of exploring the possibility of implementation of ‘One Nation, One Election’ concept has triggered a fresh debate. It was long since in discussion, with positives and negatives both. Time and again, the concept emerged in, and vanished out of, public discourse. In the present context, the concept needs to be given a comprehensive thought and all the stakeholders must participate in the consultative process wholeheartedly and with open mind. As stated during the ongoing discourse, ..

Credit War!

  THE credit war now being witnessed between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition parties over the success of the country’s space programme, is very unfortunate, to say the least. The issues..

New start?

THE reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) with a few members of the rebel G-23 appears to be a new start that the grand old party of Indian politics seems to seek. This development ahead of the ensuing election season is obviously an attempt to get ready for the challenge ahead. With some members asserting that they would try to strengthen the party’s ideology, the restructuring indicates the party’s effort to flog a new life into the otherwise dull and deadpan organisation into which new ..

Festival, Noise, Law

JUST during the last week on Friday, August 18, 2023, Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice K V Vishwanathan, at the Supreme Court have issued notice to the respondents – Nagpur Municipal Corporation, City Police Commissioner, Nagpur, Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Department Secretary to file their submissions in four weeks, in reply to the special leave petition filed by Ramdaspeth Plot-owners Residents Association, challenging the order passed by a Bombay High Court division bench at Nagpur, on September ..

BOOM’S BACK

THE moment cricket fans, experts and critics were waiting for finally came in Ireland when Jasprit Bumrah stepped on the field after 10 months and 23 days. The comeback suited his aura as the slinger from Gujarat snapped two wickets in the very first over and guided India to victory as captain of the Twenty20 team. With his return, Bumrah has almost filled the missing piece in the equation that India would need to regain the 50-over World Cup. The journey ahead would be interesting as he has come ..

PILL OF HOPE

THE words of Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), followed by the statement of Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, on consecutive days at the WHO’s first-ever global summit on traditional medicine in Gandhinagar, send a common message -- traditional medicine is good and needs deeper integration in national health systems to deal with next health emergency. Dr. Ghebreyesus’ statement is not an isolated observation. In the past few years, there is growing ..

COMMON ROOTS

THE statement of Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, former senior leader of Congress party and Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief, that a majority of Muslims in India have converted to Islam from Hinduism is reiteration of fact. He has acknowledged this fact while rightly asserting that religion should not be used to get political mileage. Though a lot of political talk is getting woven around Mr. Azad’s statement, saner minds need to look at it from a wider perspective that would strengthen harmony in society. ..

visible cracks

CRACKS have already begun surfacing in the I.N.D.I.A. grouping, giving an impression that by the time the country goes to the Lok Sabha elections, the alliance will remain only a formality. The biggest and the latest trigger to this impression came when the people in West Bengal saw literally thousands of posters depicting Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Ms. Mamata Banerjee as Prime Minister who would hoist the national flag in New Delhi. Let alone that, the I.N.D.I.A. has been ..

Historic!

  ‘HISTORIC’ is the only word that can describe accurately the speech of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort in the national capital to mark Independence Day. The length of the speech was of less import..

‘amrit kaal’

ONE year of the celebrations of India’s nectar jubilee has ended, ushering the country into Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal to live with a sense of dedicated purpose for the next 25 years until the nation’s Independence reaches the 100-year mark. This very concept -- of living for the country -- has its wonderful positivism that should enthuse all of us to make genuine efforts to live for the country and make it the world’s place in every sense of the term. Realising the importance of the next 25 years, it is ..

Unrest In PoK

The humanitarian crisis that the people of PoK face today is caused by the 75 years of looting of natural and human resources. However, it still lacks a political programme that would lead the anger of the masses towards change in the legal status quo of PoK. ..

PAK PLUNGE

THE London-based advisory firm Henley & Partners’ assessment indicates an atmosphere of distrust that Pakistan has earned owing to its act of supporting terrorists and mismanagement of public affairs. As per the assessment, Pakistani passport has been ranked the world’s fourth weakest in terms of number of destinations Pakistani residents can visit without needing a visa. A look at the the passport index compiled by the firm reveals that Pakistan ranks ‘better’ than only three countries namely Syria, ..

Deep analysis!

THAT India’s rise from its colonial past requires an in-depth analysis, has been highlighted once again by Ms. Mksozana Dlamini-Zuma, South African Minister for Women, youth and Persons with Disabilities, in the South African presidency. This profound statement at the BRICS summit makes a tremendous sense not just for India but also for the world. For, India’s is the story of a determined effort to shed the dead-weight of the undesirable past in which the national identity was doused by what is generally ..

‘Vande Mataram’ !

n The question is not about one political leader or his party; it is about the tendency they represent -- the tendency to keep driving a political wedge through the otherwise sane society. The trouble is with their rotten mindset, their negativism, their refusal to understand the truth of India -- that for the Indian society, India is Mother India...

Pakistan’s IMF Bailout

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has formally cleared a bailout package for Pakistan of $3 billion. The bailout facility was worked out after protracted negotiations with the country when at times the package looked increasingly uncertain. No one will ask for a IMF bailout unless the situation is grim. Pakistan’s is no exception, but it is at the edge of a cliff. Mere numbers do not convey how desperate the situation is. But even then, the figures speak for themselves. The real GDP of Pakistan ..

west must act

INDIA is rightly exercising utmost seriousness in calling out the neglect of the Western world towards the Khalistani extremist sentiments against India being fomented from their land. India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has summoned the Canadian envoy to India and issued a demarche. But, given the past experience, India needs to mount pressure especially on the US, the UK, and Canada to curb Khalistani extremism. The Western powers dominating..

CHINA’S MAKING

 EXTERNAL Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has minced no words in stating that the current downturn in India-China relations was a creation of China and not India. The international community will indeed believe Dr Jaishankar’s statement, given..

TIES AT next level

 The significance of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s State visit to the United States on invitation of the US President Mr. Joe Biden has been highlighted well in the announcements regarding inking of major pacts in the areas of defence and ..

General Polls In Bangladesh

  By Ashis Biswas : Any decision to be adopted by the Awami League (AL) would necessarily have great importance for India, its nearest and friendliest neighbour. In practical terms, Delhi would prefer Dhaka to remain neutral as before, much..

MODI’S MOMENT

FROM clinching significant deals in energy, space, military hardware and futuristic technology sectors to making the United States finally lower its tech barrier to include India as an equal partner, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s State visit to America has brought a bountiful of achievements for the country. The biggest factor highlighting the success of Mr. Modi’s visit to the US and his incredible bonhomie with the US President Mr. Joe Biden in the White House came during the press conference ..