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The crucial question is this: Is it time to look beyond institutions, which are supposed to repositories of our trust but routinely betray them, and look at means of self governance?

After Sweden introduced the office of the Lokpal or Ombudsman in 1809, 125 countries across the world have enacted statutory laws for the creation of such an institution to tackle the problem of corruption and bring in accountability.

With the Parliament Standing Committee omitting a number of key demands of Team Anna, the Lokpal Bill is likely to plunge the nation into yet another round of agitations and street protests. But is there a possible wayforward?

In the recent history of terrorism, there have been four instances of well-planned, well-executed and well-synchronised multiple explosions by terrorist groups causing large casualties. These are the explosions in Mumbai (Bombay) in March,1993, which killed over 200 innocent civilians, at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in February,1998,

As Washington and Beijing circle each other in Asia, Delhi needs to step up engagement with both. The question is not about picking sides, but about relentlessly pursuing India's own interests.

India as an external power is keen to play the role of a credible stabilising factor in the South China Sea region and cannot afford to be ambivalent. The advantages of taking a stand are many. Such a venture in the South China Sea will give India strategic leverage. Hence joining the fray is not an option but an imperative to safeguard our strategic interests and aspirations.

Narendra Modi is in a good position to take a strategic approach to the Middle East. While Delhi must be sensitive to the multiple faultlines, old and new, Modi must signal that India is open to business with all countries in the region.

Now that the fate of the Lokpal Bill is hanging in balance, it may be a good time for the polity and the nation as a whole to take a fresh look at the legislation between now and the Budget session of Parliament.

With spending skewed towards pensions, the status quo must give way to a more ambitious restructuring

Lack of strategic vision in the NDA has caused it to fail at economic management

Despite having been in power at the Centre for six years at a stretch, the BJP seems to be still suffering from the 'Opposition' conundrum. It is yet to produce a leader who is independent of the party's past.

Modi's visit to Dhaka has been a forward-looking step, in the effort to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. However, there has been little focus on the common challenges that the neighbours face. Unless these are addressed, future cooperation between the two will not be effective enough.

The Russia-India-China trilateral meet is New Delhi’s attempt to overcome challenges in ties with Moscow and Beijing

The gathering of southeast Asian leaders last week at a summit in Delhi was a celebration of India's Look East policy. Could we imagine a similar "Look West" strategy towards the Arabian Peninsula?

As Kashmir population becomes increasingly reliant on web, the Indian state ought to focus on addressing the deep-seated Kashmiri grievances.

Balanced urbanisation and rural development is an urgent requirement in China, if it has to fulfill its goals of sustainable development. For this purpose, budgetary allocations and farmers' support have to be tweaked, along with agricultural modernisation.

Tomorrow, the use of human shields could become standard operating procedure. Instead of the difficult process of flushing out militants by armed assault, the army could line up civilians and use them to breach a position.

The next government must recognise that the Bay of Bengal is no longer a backwater but a strategic hub connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as China and the Bay of Bengal. Delhi must match its rhetoric on trans-border connectivity with much needed political will and administrative competence.

When a government yields to every pressure group at home, its capacity to pursue national interests abroad inevitably erodes. The UPA government's diplomacy in the final months of its decade-long tenure is a good example of the costs of violating this canon. The failure to clinch a commercial agreement on Kudankulam with Moscow is not a reflection on India's diplomatic skills.

Beyond resolving outstanding problems, Modi's visit to Bangladesh has led to the setting up of agreements, MoUs and protocols which will transform our relations in the future. The key issues here are connectivity and economic partnership.

The defence budget had grown by 17% in 2011-12 and 12% in 2012-13. A mere 1.79% of the GDP, it is a far cry from the stated goal of spending 3% of GDP on defence backed by the Parliamentary Committee on Defence.

If India is to sustain a high growth rate, there will have to be more foreign investment in infrastructure and manufacturing. So, it is going to be a challenge for the government to make investments in areas that are important for us more attractive to foreigners.

Africa's longest running militia is back in focus. Lord's Resistance Army or LRA, active since 1988, has recently become a subject of United States interest as the Obama administration deployed 100 "combat-equipped troops" to Uganda.

The post of Director-General (DG) of Pakistan's premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), believed to be the second most important post in the country's military set-up now, has a designated successor to the outgoing Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam.

By rebelling against supremo Prabhakaran in an unprecedented way, ¿Col¿ Karuna, LTTE¿s sacked commander for Sri Lanka¿s Eastern Province, has put the clock back in more ways than one. In a way, it has also put the LTTE at the crossroad all over again as never before, coming as it does after the historic Ceasefire Agreement with the Sri Lankan Government, but how far is too early to determine.

In the absence of clear norms on human accountability and attribution for autonomous weapons, we could see states like Pakistan deploy LAWS for operations outside their borders.

Macron has raised doubts about how serious France is when it comes to managing the negative externalities of China’s rise.

France has voted, Europe is relieved, and the French President needs to move fast to douse the flames of polarisation

France has begun to pay serious attention to the Indo-Pacific region after a long time.

Now, the Chinese are facing a larger geopolitical push back but they appear confident that they have the means of fighting off the challenge.

The impact of terrorism on the oil and tourism industries and on financial institutions and "Democracy, Terrorism and the Internet" received considerable attention at the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005.

At the international summit on Terrorism, Democracy and Security held at Madrid from March 8 to 11,2005, which I attended, the foremost concern in the minds of the participants was the likelihood of an act of catastrophic terrorism involving the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

They help investigation by facilitating interception of conversations and by providing a record of calls made if recovered intact after the commission of an offence.

To mark the first anniversary of the spectacular terrorist strikes in Madrid by jihadi terrorists with definite sympathy for Al Qaeda, even if not satisfactorily proved links to it, the city is hosting what has been projected as an International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security from March 8 to 10 to discuss, inter alia, the causes and the underlying factors of terrorism, methods of confronting it and the democratic responses available

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), recognised for its cost-effective and co-beneficial advantages, is seeing a global uptake. However, the number and scale of EbA projects remain limited compared to the opportunities offered by India’s diverse ecosystems and indigenous practices. While lack of funding is a direct cause, the small scale of existing EbA projects also fails to attract funding. Breaking this cycle requires addressing other mechanism

The seventh of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. This challenge is acute in the African continent, home to large populations without access to electricity and clean cooking fuel. This brief explores the scope for cooperation between India and Africa in not only achieving SDG 7, but while doing so, also considering the targets set by SDG 5 to

The absence of a clear centre of power in Pakistan raises a serious question mark on the ability of the government in Islamabad to execute any agreement with India in letter and spirit.

All the major powers in the Asia Pacific region are ramping up their defence budgets and modernising their militaries. They are also building coalitions with each other through defence partnerships agreements and ports calls.

After a groundbreaking visit to India, which focused on strengthening the Indo-US ¿strategic partnership¿, US Secretary of State Colin Powell was supposed to take a tough message to Pakistan¿s Gen. Musharraf. Nuclear proliferation and Pakkistan¿s reluctance to clean up its tribal areas were slated to be on the cards in

Talking about Americans' perceptions about the Obama administration's foreign policy, Mr Bruce Stokes, Director for Global Economic Attitudes at Pew Research Center, US, said 53% of Americans disapproved of his handling of foreign policy.

The key challenge PM Modi would face in China is to completely debunk the hypothesis, which some people suspect, that a key objective of Modi's 'Act East' policy is to contain China, in covert or overt support with the U.S., Japan and other affected nations. This task is not surely going to be easy.

The government's decision to insist that the Indian Air Force induct a large number of Light Combat Aircraft fighters is the kind of shock treatment that was needed to push the 'Make in India' project.

The Henderson-Brooks report has focused on the Army's faults in handling the border issue. But, if we are to truly learn from the sorry history of the times, the government needs to throw open the archives relating to the actions of Prime Minister, his associates and the Ministries of External Affairs and Defence.

Whatever little sympathy Pakistan wanted to milk for its position on Kashmir was lost because of the Uri terror attacks.

Sustainability requires, among others, adjusting and reorienting to a dynamic situation. In the context of urban areas, “dynamism” is seen in the population and economic growth characteristics. The constantly changing nature of urban centres calls for new and improved strategies to ensure sustainable and equitable development. Owing to population growth and, consequently, greater pressure on resources, there has been increased focus on smart