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While the United States suffered some strategic reverses, it has also made a few gains. It is not yet time to write off the United States of America.

The best thing we can say about 2012, from the nation's point of view, is that it has ended. We don't know what surprises Dr. Manmohan Singh will spring upon us in 2013? Till then ignorance is bliss.

The distinction between individual aspirations and a national dream is clear to the Chinese government where there are contradictions between the political system and the consumerism-driven economy, according to US university professor Dr. Tansen Sen.

Relations between India and Australia have reached a new maturity, based on deepening connections between their societies, economies, education sectors and policy establishments. This positions these two democracies well to work together to advance their interests in a shared Indo-Pacific region.

The focus on broadband expansion in the Union Budget is timely to take the IT revolution to the next level: social inclusion, e-commerce, media, and distance education for India?s small towns and rural pockets.

Here is a look at the 2014-15 Budget, presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, through a series of graphs on allocations to various key sectors from the time of the previous NDA government.

What India needs to understand is that legislation or institutions by themselves do not bring about social change. Countries of Europe or the United States, too, had a history of political corruption. But over the years they have cleaned up their act considerably because of popular sentiment, as well as institutions and laws.

The recently concluded NPT review conference ended without a consensus document. While there is need for the NPT member states to resolve their differences sooner rather than later, the impact of the absence of a final document need not be overstated.

The year 2015 is likely to be rosy for India. There is no more doomsday scenario awaiting the country on the economic front in the year. There will be problems but India will remain a global giant with its huge, mostly young, population, a big market and vast resources.

The bottom line assessment of the third Plenum of the 18th CCCPC is that the Plenum outcome keeps Chinese economic and political developments on an evolutionary path, rather than a revolutionary one. In other words, it has sought to tweak policies, rather than offer up a radical menu.

The 4th BRICS Academic Forum has urged Summit Leaders meeting later this month in New Delhi to consider studying the establishment of financial institutions such as a Development Bank and an Investment Fund that can assist in the development of BRICS and other developing countries.

The 5th BRICS Academic Forum, comprising experts and scholars from the research and academic institutions of India, China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa, met on the 11th and 12th of March 2013 in Durban and has come up with a 5-point recommendations.

The Eighth Review Conference( Revcon) of the Non Proliferation Treaty ( NPT) at New York narrowly eked out a victory from the jaws of defeat before its close on May 28, 2010.

The recent 19th AU Summit was dominated by the drama of the election for the post of the Chairman of the AU Commission. Many analysts feel that the fight for the post has divided the Continent and done a great deal of damage to African Unity.

Sooner than later, India will have to start evaluating its e-governance projects. And in the near future, the focus will shift to the outcomes of e-governance initiatives.

Earlier during his stint in office nearly 10 years back, Ranil Wickremesinghe had mooted the idea of building a bridge - literally - across the Palk Strait, linking his country to India. Now that he is back as prime minister and as part of a 'cohabitation arrangement' but through political consensus, unlike in the past, the two governments could consider reviving the proposal for mutual and greater benefits.

There were no big reforms and no major policy turnarounds in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It was a budget of small and tentative steps to help steady the ship and laid the foundation for big reforms in the months ahead.

The UPA government has allowed the withering away of the Prime Minister's Office as the ultimate source of authority in policy-making. The latest developments on the Indo-Pak LoC demand that the Congress party focus urgently on revamping the defence establishment and reclaiming the PMO's authority to coordinate national security policy.

Strangely, in Maoist circles there is near nostalgia for Shivraj Patil

As Salman Khurshid pointed out to Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan has to demonstrate its bona fides by putting an end to the large number of incidents on the LoC.

That is the question that should be uppermost in the minds of analysts as they analyse the outcome of Pakistani President Gen.Pervez Musharraf's visit to India from April 16 to 18, 2005, and compare it with his first visit in 2001, which ended in a fiasco at Agra.

Rationing of gas makes the development of a unified gas market impossible. This means the prevalence of a dozen price levels confounding all - buyers and sellers, and investors on both sides. The spin-off leaves India struggling with the most poorly developed gas infrastructure.

Even as the debate on the Lokpal Bill hots up with the draft Lokpal Bill of the Government likely to come up before the Parliament during the ongoing session, we present below a shorter comparative analysis of the different Lokpal Bills.

This was not to be yet another budget speech. It came in the wake of a regime change where the electorate signaled its unhappiness with the direction of the country. Still, the FM came up with a modest Budget. But that is not the promise of the Modi government. The good days promised look far away.

The ruckus at WCIT is all about the cosy relationship between governments, big businesses and commerce and not about Internet freedom.

George Perkovich is of the view that India is not a major power today though it definitely enjoys a substantial measure of autonomy. The essence of his argument can be summarised as follows:

Modi's visit to Germany and France will give him an opportunity to discuss key political issues relating to Ukraine and the Middle-East. India is feeling the indirect impact of the Russian estrangement from Europe as this has led to closer strategic ties between Moscow and Beijing.

India and France must start looking together at the region and the world. A Franco-Indian vision document could be a vital first step towards developing a cooperative framework for stability and security in the region. And the relationship must be purposeful, nimble and creative.

The elimination of nuclear weapons is a pre-condition for peace in the 21st century. This was the key message delivered by the Hon'ble Senator Douglas Roche, renowned campaigner for nuclear disarmament in his address to Indian experts at the ORF campus in New Delhi.

Narendra Modi is a post-Partition Prime Minister who has no family history linking him directly to the event. This could work to his advantage if he chooses to take a less emotional and more logical approach to the Indo-Pak relationship.

We really do not understand inflation stickiness in India since 2010. However, the silver lining is that oil prices may not rise any further following the shale gas revolution in the US. The Finance Minister can certainly do something about growth and possibly pray for lower inflation.

The more the communal picture changes since the demolition of the Babri Masjid 20 years ago this week, the more it remains the same. Possibly with one variation: the political insecurity of the Muslim grows with each turn.

When two top American diplomats speak out in quick succession about the international system, the world will take note. The op-ed by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in the Washington Post titled "The Promise of Democratic Peace," and the policy speech four days later by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns at the European Institute titled "A Renewed Partnership for Global Engagement" fall into this category.

The Nigerian presidential election on March 28 was nothing short of a historic turning point in the rather fragile democracy. An incumbent Nigerian President was voted out in a general election which was, on the whole, free and fair barring a few technical glitches.

The Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh will strengthen cooperation on border management. The two countries should not only cooperate with each other in controlling cross-border crimes, but also work on improving the lives of the people on the border by encouraging cross-border trade.

Certainly, the Government of India should vehemently object to Lakhvi's release, as it has rightly done. But to expect that such objections will have any substantive impact on Pakistan, is silly. India must keep its guard up.

When talking about Intelligence agencies, the first thing that comes to mind is secrecy ? the services must, it is widely concurred, operate in secret so as to be highly effective.

PM Modi's official visit to the UK is unexceptional. This is despite the hype and hoopla that accompany any Modi tour. However, what was different was that for the first time Modi had to respond to issues like Gujarat 2002 riots and the climate of intolerance back home.

A three-day conference on India-Myanmar relations generated a lively dialogue over questions surrounding the possible challenges and opportunities that India would face while redesigning her Myanmar relations and the Look East policies.

Pakistan has no option but to respond to public outrage. Blocking of the two NATO supply routes to Afghanistan and denying the use of a Baloch airfield to the CIA is actually a low risk retaliation when Iran, Hezbullah, Syria are much more in the eye of a huge, global storm.

One proposal that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could offer to President Pervez Musharraf, when they meet this week in New York on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, is cooperation in the reconstruction in Afghanistan.

The closing months of the year 2003 saw a change in the language of the discourse emanating from the Pakistani establishment in general and its military dictator Gen.Pervez Musharraf in particular

It can be very tempting to not be overly optimistic following the recent meeting between Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Ufa, Russia. There is a sense of familiarity to the manner in which India-Pakistan relations unfold.

A strong alignment between India and Indonesia holds the key to Delhi's much-vaunted "strategic autonomy" and Jakarta's quest for a "dynamic equilibrium" in Asia. It will also set the template for India's security cooperation with other regional powers in Asia.