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According to the Planning Commission, rural poverty has declined faster than urban poverty regardless. If this is true, it would definitely have got reflected in better housing and sanitation. It would also have meant a decline in malnourished children and maternal death. But the census figures show a different picture.

like the ISI, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba or the Indian Mujahideen, the al Qaeda will not meet much success in India because the Indian Muslims are happy with their lot in a secular, democratic country and even al Zawahiri understands that.

Beijing knows that it cannot become a global power without friends. As the US has known, there is a limit to what you can do alone. The US with its network of friends, allies and partners is a case in point.

The Citizens Grievance Redress Bill, despite its impressive provisions, is fraught with certain inadequacies that might not appreciate the grass-root realities of public grievances - like lack of a holistic interpretation of likely grievances.

Can Delhi go beyond diplomatic statements and help China's neighbours to stand up to Beijing? As the Philippines and Vietnam look to diversify their security partnerships and build national capabilities for deterrence against China, Manila and Hanoi would like to see Delhi be a little more forthcoming with its hard power.

Why was there no Big Bang change in the Budget? After all, the Modi government had the full mandate to do so. Why was the FM playing with Lego like blocks instead of huge building blocks? It could be because the time was short and the Budget was put together in a hurry.

One of the key reasons for TTP's survival has been Pakistan's policy of using terrorist groups as instruments of state policy. Pakistan Army's protection of the Haqqani Network and the Afghan Taliban as ' strategic assets' helped TTP to retain its sanctuary and its attack capabilities.

Europe has to come to grips with the fact that not even the USA is strong enough to create a new order anywhere in the world, neither in Afghanistan nor in the Middle East. Instead, anything that will increase the conflict without an achievable goal will play into the hands of the IS.

India has pulled ahead of China and United States as the most favoured destination for foreign direct investment. But is being number one good enough to make the Modi government's 'Make in India' productivity reform a success story and achieve its desired 8-8.5 per cent growth?

On December 20, 2003, a landmark in the history of modern India was achieved. The nation's forex reserves for the very first time crossed the $ 100 billion mark, to be precise clocked 100.048 billion. The high, coming just after a decade of reforms, remember 1990-91, could well be termed as the coming of age of India¿s liberalisation program.

If Hillary Clinton runs for office in 2016, it seems that she will be campaigning for herself as herself - an exceptional professional, a controversial former secretary of state, and a woman.

The costs of a hot conflict in the Asia Pacific would be high and have difficult consequences. The challenge for US and its partners would be to deter Chinese aggressive posture without risking an escalation of conflict.

A legalistic position towards the Greek demand for reparations is neither sufficient nor politically wise. A generous gesture towards Athens would strengthen Germany's position as a country that is more than a leader by default in the EU.

While superficial similarities between the recent Gurdaspur attack and the Mumbai attack may be apparent, there are major differences in the manner both planned and executed. The scale of the attack itself suggests that it certainly doesn't seem to have had the support of the highest echelons of power as in the Mumbai attack.

Any attempt by India to haul up Pakistan before the international community, including the UN, could prove counter productive. It could start with India itself 'internationalising' the issue, and formally allowing the rest of the world to tell us what we should do to Pakistan, and on the vexatious Kashmir issue.

The strategic advantage accruing to India in Siachen should not be given up for apparent short-term political gains. Giving up Siachen as a gesture of friendship would also mean that its recapture would be extremely expensive to India in men and material.

Giving huge amounts of cash subsidies in the developed countries also distorts market. Lowering the actual cost of production artificially, these countries have produced mountains and lakes of agricultural products which are then dumped in international markets which lower the prices.

The problem is less to do with ideology, and more about the clumsiness and coarseness with which the ideology is being spread.

India's objections to Pakistan's plan of holding an election in Gilgit-Baltistan region and New Delhi's protests to Chinese activity there need to seen in the wider context of Sino-Pak nexus.

Given our troubled relationship with Pakistan, we need to keep our security apparatus in a state of alert with state-of-the-art equipment. All bilateral issues with Pakistan -- political, military, economic -- will simply have to go on the back-burner till Pakistan decides it wants to live as a good neighbour.

The most urgent need is to upgrade India's physical infrastructure to encourage domestic and foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector. This will absorb the rural labor surplus that is migrating to the cities by providing employment in labor-intensive, less technology-intensive manufacturing, regulated by humane labor laws catering to the contemporary needs of the economy.

Laying down the rules of the road is a task that should not be left until Space is highly weaponised. Aside from the political and strategic value, India has a huge financial stake given its investments and reliance in this regard.

India is located at such a prime position that it can't miss out the opportunity to be part of the MSR. Both the Marine Silk Road and the continental Silk Road --which is going to connect China with the central Asia -- are going to pass from India's periphery. India could gain a lot from being an active partner to the MSR. And, not joining it may isolate India.

As an aspiring global power, what India should take note of is that the TTIP will potentially contribute greatly to the evolution of rules of global trade, particularly in areas where multilateral-level consensus is still elusive. It is in India's interests to keep a close watch of the situation and make necessary interventions.

A country that spends 15 per cent of its Central expenditure on national defence (armed forces and DRDO) and 23 per cent on national security (armed forces and all other security forces like para-military, police) must explain to its citizens as to whether its spending on security is justifiably utilised or not.

As five states in India go to the polls in the coming weeks, it seems the 'silly season' is upon us. We are being saturated with inanities masquerading as "political discourse". The problem, however, is that as these samples of ludicrousness tumble out in a disturbingly steady stream, we actually engage with them in earnestness.

With Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa linking the officially-blessed second round of fishers' talks in Colombo, scheduled for 13 March, to the release of all fishers arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, questions have arisen about the future course.

China invested more than USD 100 billion overseas last year alone. Its cumulative investments in Myanmar total USD 14.2 billion. The real question is why Chinese investment in India has lagged so far behind. Political mistrust is certainly a large part of the answer.

Indian decision-makers appear to live in splendid isolation and do not recognise the importance of meetings like the Pacific Army Chiefs Conference. These meetings have become more institutionalised and are likely to gain greater momentum.

Does Indian Foreign Policy towards West Asia have to be as fragmented as the region? Probably not. One could start by enunciating a few guidelines that are minimalist; that we are against religious extremism, toppling established states and condemning disproportionate use of force by Israel.

Karachi is burning, once again. There has been a sudden spurt of violence in the city. Killings, bomb attacks and riots have taken a heavy toll during the past month. Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Maher has been forced to resign. Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali faces criticism for failing to impose law and order.

The rhetoric and the justifications that Radical Islam employs to create willing suicide bombers must be properly understood if this menace is to be tackled effectively

The Indian tendency to muddle through is likely to continue when it comes to counter-insurgency. The distance between the Army and its civilian masters is so gaping that advice, however enriched by experience and reflection, is likely to fall on deaf ears.

The US, as always, learned the hard way that it was not or need not be all that dependent on Pakistani cooperation and generosity and Pakistan was probably beginning to realise that it had exaggerated its own importance.

The opening of Iran will alter the geopolitics of south-western Asia. Even so, India needs to tread with care. But this should not in any way constrain our initiatives with Iran. We need to move beyond the phase of dithering that has characterised our ties with Tehran for the last decade.

The strength of Jordan has been its acute awareness of its geographical vulnerabilities

Malala's achievement need not be measured in terms of the Nobel Peace Prize she did not get but in the awakening she can continue to create. For this, she and her kind, all over, need more than just periodic rewards.