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The very day a trial court in India, New Delhi to be precise, denied bail to the accused in the 2-G scam case, another in distant London was awarding sentences to three Pakistani cricketers for match-fixing at the end of an equally much-publicised trial.

Once the general elections are over in India, it may be time to look inward at the existing processes and revise certain provisions to make them more meaningful and sustainable. If timely cure is not injected, it could damage the firmament of our democratic scheme.

Though GDP growth in India may be less than China's, there are not so many problems that the government is facing except perhaps the latest problem of accelerated insurgency by the Maoists. Like China, India should also be worried about reducing the glaring inequality of incomes and balanced development between the rural and urban areas.

An interaction at ORF Chennai felt that since the all-India services forms an integral part of the country's bureaucratic machinery, it cannot be eliminated. But what needs to be done is its re-invention and the task should be assigned to an independent body like the UPSC.

Even if GDP growth rises in India, there will be growing inequalities unless there are strong policies aimed at the uplift of the vulnerable sections and the rich are taxed in an efficient and judicious manner. There should be some insurance against unemployment and sickness which will enable low income families to live with dignity.

Given the emerging geo-political tensions in the region, the need of the hour for India, South Korea and other nations is to integrate and stay united, according to Mr. Anil Wadhwa, Secretary, Government of India.

With the Supreme Court directing the Centre and the State Governments to create a National Police Commission and State Security Commissions to improve and monitor the functioning of the police system, and seeking a time-bound compliance scheme, time is ticking away for the Executive branch. The Supreme Court 'directives' of September 22, 2006 were contained in the judgement in the case of 'Prakash Singh vs Union of India and Others'.

To make India an attractive destination for investment for both Indians and foreigners will require quick implementation of all the pending major infrastructure projects and to see that some important Bills are passed in Parliament.

To become a major industrial nation by 2030, as predicted by a Washington think-tank recently, India will require many changes in the economic structure of the country in which efficient and viable small and medium enterprises coexist with the big factory-based organised sector and with a middle class bigger than that in the US and Europe combined, to support it with their demand.

Big ticket reforms promised by Mr. Narendra Modi are likely to resume stalled projects and revive business climate. However, if India is to return to its erstwhile double digit growth, the importance of banking sector reforms cannot be overstated.

There is an urgent need to focus on key legislations in the real world; expanding internet access in India by ensuring social and technological growth go hand-in-hand; and the complexity of bridging divides between various factions on the issue.

It may be useful if the post-poll political dispensation in New Delhi reviews the relevance of the office of the National Security Advisor in contemporary Indian context, and recasts the role, if its continued need was found to be justified.

Suggesting that a trilateral grouping between Punjab, Kashmir and Rajasthan to improve ties with its neighbouring Pakistan provinces, the author says border provinces had shown time and again that they are the most solid bridge between India and Pakistan.

International politics rather than law or policy will also play a key role in a future Modi visit to the US. There is certainly an element of the hyperbole in Obama's declaration that the American relationship with India is "a defining partnership of the century ahead". But it contains more than a grain of truth.

As India's most influential voice on foreign affairs in the run-up to Independence and its chief diplomat for the first 17 years of the republic, Nehru said and did things that can't be stuffed into one box labelled "Nehruvian".

A preview to the author’s book-in-progress, Nehru and Kashmir. Would India have succeeded in recapturing Pakistan-occupied Kashmir if Jawaharlal Nehru heeded the advice of his generals? Using correspondence between Nehru and his private secretary, Dwarka Nath Kachru, this book will reveal how Nehru’s idealism stood in the way of the Indian Army reclaiming what eventually became PoK.

India¿s neighbourhood is on the boil. Pakistan is struggling to resolve its self-imposed dilemma of balancing politically aroused religious extremism and calls for domestic stability and international civility. Bangladesh seems all set to follow the Pakistani model if the series of bomb blasts all over the country last month were any indication.

Nepal's political vacuum in these times is doubly dangerous as it leaves the field open to inroads by various interests. A weak administration gives a free run to the Maoist cadres to operate on both sides of the India Nepal border that also weakens the counter insurgency grid.

Several immediate challenges confront Nepal after the recent Constitutional Assembly elections and yet there are positive signs of Nepal emerging as a vibrant republic. This was the general consensus at a round-table discussion on "Emerging Political Situation in Nepal and Policy Options for India" organised by Observer Research Foundation on May 16, 2008.

New Delhi did well to respond decisively when tragedy struck Nepal. While the media and cameras, which have now flooded Kathmandu, will soon leave Nepal, the world's attention will turn to the next crisis. But India must stick around for the long haul.

Nepal's Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai will make an important visit to New Delhi starting October 20. Given the strain in relationship between his own party, the UCPN (Maoist), and India on multiple issues during the tenure of his party President Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda as the premier.

Regular communication with India and other host countries should be re-evaluated by Nepal, which is economically viable for the country in the long run, as it has to survive a major chunk of its economy on remittances.

Nepal is no stranger to Constitution drafting, having gone through six such rounds since 1948, with the seventh culminating in September 2015. is recent exercise, however, was unique as it was conducted, for the rst time, without the oversight of the monarchy. Certain populations of Nepali society had specic stakes in a new Constitution. For many of Nepal's marginalised communities such as the Madhes is, for example, the new Constitution oe

India has been unequivocally telling all the senior leaders of Nepal who visited New Delhi since April this year that they should work together for the long-term peace, stability and development of the country.

India has a need for some 40,000 anti-tank missiles and the 8,000 or so Spike missiles would fill only part of its requirement.

Lieutenant General Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan's appointment as the new Chief of Bangladesh Army on June 25 has evoked a keen interest in India and elsewhere. There are two reasons for this interest in an other-wise routine succession--General Bhuiyan succeeded General Abdul Mobeen on his retirement.

The High Commissioner of Australia to India, H.E. Mr. John McCarthy, delivered a talk at ORF on "The new administration in Australia and Asia" on 22nd January, 2008. He gave a comprehensive account of the new administration's foreign policy.

The Indian Army is more than a match for its Pakistani counterpart, but tardy modernisation means it has little punching power. Plus, there dangles the threat of a nuclear response.

Kashmir is not new to ISIS flags being waved in the valley; however, the number of instances of this is negligible.

India and Australia could align strategic efforts to foil China’s attempts at throwing its weight around the eastern hemisphere

The Vietnamese are carefully balancing their ties. At one level they maintain healthy party-to-party ties with China and seek to boost trade and investment from China. On the other, they want to build better ties with the US, Japan and India to offset the Chinese.

The threat to India and Indian interests will still come from Pakistan-based terrorist forces. The name of the terrorist regiment or the colour of its uniform is not important. Conceivably, the first test for the Modi government will be in Afghanistan.

Pandering to Chinese concerns, real and imagined, won’t result in any sort of stabilization of Sino-Indian relations

For a nation such as India, which is among the countries most affected by terrorism, this is a time to take the lead in continuing to keep the spotlight on the menace of terrorism

Joining the CPEC, as proposed by Mehbooba Mufti, cannot be done without weighing India’s long-term interests

India is giving peace a chance from a position of strength, after showing it can adequately defend its interests when challenged

China’s bid to ‘internationalise’ the issue could push India to hurt its larger neighbour’s interests.

The possible return of the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, is a challenge. But don’t count India out

Land is at the heart of India's current development predicament. Hundreds of its mega projects and big ticket projects are caught up in the land logjam. But the proposed Land Bill still lacks effective provisions to provide reasonable price to land owners in rural areas where there is no land market.

If there ever was a moment for India to stick by the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other nations, this is it in the Middle East. The region is in the throes of a difficult political transition and Delhi must deal with the governments of the day, irrespective of their internal orientation.

Once the northern sea route from Europe to China becomes active, the strategic balance between the Indian and Arctic Oceans could change. Would this change be enough to mean easier or cheaper availability of oil and gas from West Asia to Europe, China and India? Would it reduce the strategic relevance of the Ocean to the West and mean a direct confrontation there between India and China?

It is important to note that while India has emphasised the need to increase its involvement in Myanmar's energy sector, it also recognises the need to take 'socio-environmental consideration' in major energy hydro-power, energy and pipeline projects.

As the 21st century unfolds, India's power dynamic will be determined by its ability to finesse its strategic dilemmas and manage complimentary yet adversarial relationships.

Can India, in its present state of economy, afford the colossal amount of expenditure and administrative confusion in creating new States? The answer is firmly in the negative. Therefore, it is advisable for the UPA Government to remain firm and refuse to accede to the demand for a new commission for the reorganisation of States.

Emerging technologies have the potential to reshape our world. These innovations, also called disruptive technologies, have started to seep into the area of finding solutions for mobility. Is existing infrastructure prepared for such technological advancements? These and related themes were discussed in a roundtable organised by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on 8 February 2016. The roundtable, Urban Transportation and Disruptive Technologies