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Most of the joint exercises being conducted by security forces, like like the Malabar 2015, are of the simple basic variety and, hence, really provide no 'net value addition' to the Indian force that participates. Thus, approvals for such exercises should necessitate a case-by-case approach in the future.

With the US and EU, who together are responsible for the makeup of 46% of the world economy, preparing to enter into the largest trade deal in history, the TTIP, the question of how the BRICS adapt and consolidate their position globally is one that holds considerable relevance. The options available to the BRICS are limited.

In 1990, China's GDP was roughly the same as India's and parts of its infrastructure, such as its railway system, were considered inferior. Today, China's GDP is around $9 trillion and India's is $2 trillion. The high speed train travelling at 300 kph from Shanghai to Beijing signals the extent to which China had pulled away from India.

During a discussion on "Urban Middle Classes and the Ascent of New Politics in India" at ORF, it was noted that success should not be measured in terms of the ability to ensure successful electoral outcomes but as an attempt to make better societies.

The Centre seems to be keen on development of Free Trade Agreements with our East Asian and South-East Asian neighbours. The general idea floated in this context is: Trade is good. More is better. But, unbridled market force in the form of unbridled trade without the concomitant safeguards in regulation and risk management mechanisms might not be a wise idea.

Before the elections in the beginning of this year, the authorities of the Iraqi Government had announced warrants for the arrest of 29 Iraqis and foreigners, who, according to them, are either former members of the Saddam Hussein Government or part of the Abu Mus¿ab al-Zarqawi terrorist network of the Al Qaeda.

It might be interesting to analyse our diplomatic handling of China and Pakistan on a comparative basis. These two countries pose the most difficult and complex foreign policy challenges to us. Is our approach to both countries similar, or there are differences in the way we engage them?

The behind-the-scenes drama had all the ingredients of a potboiler.

A World Bank report on 'State of Social Safety Nets' paints an overall positive picture, with over one billion people worldwide being included under at least one safety net initiative. But the reality is that more than two-thirds of the world's 1.2 billion poorest are not covered.

150 innocent lives have been lost in the serial blasts set-off by terrorists in Mumbai on July 11, 2006; the death toll is likely to mount. The blasts, sadly, are a chilling reminder that terrorist can strike with impunity and at will, secure in the comfort that they cannot be touched. If the 1993 Bomb blasts in Mumbai had a fig leaf of an excuse (the demolition of the Babri mosque), the current blasts have none.

Terrorists have taken to the use of social media networks in a big way. This brings us back to the old dilemma of how much data is information and how much information is adequate intelligence. The other dilemma is how much surveillance is enough for security. The third dilemma is how much liberty is to be sacrificed for security.

The quest for media management in an environment of a media so controlled is a quest for the impossible.

In the US, the party primaries to elect the candidates for the November election have begun. It is clear from the primaries that the Republican party is seeking to return to the middle ground from the excesses of the past when it was held hostage by the right-wing Tea Party.

Narendra Modi's visits out of New Delhi last week have emphasised the new government's understanding of India's Grand Strategy. In some ways, it marks a continuity with the policy of past governments, but in important ways it presages a departure.

The US Navy has already developed a generic "Road Map" against climate change while we are yet to assess the impact of such changes, let alone formulate doctrinal responses. Let us not get caught napping.

How radicalised is Pakistan Army today? was the question which formed the focal point of an intense discussion organised by Observer Research Foundation on September 20. Well-known academics, journalists, experts and military officers attended the discussion which was chaired by Mr Vikram Sood, Vice President (International Affairs), ORF and former chief of Research & Analysis Wing.

At a meeting organised by ORF several experts said the current discourse on the Maoist challenge has been dominated by a "paranoid" view

When the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal was finally elected as the new Prime Minister of Nepal, the country breathed a sigh of relief.

It's time policy mandarins remove their blinkers and jettison their vested interests to learn the sharp and focused lessons that history of science teaches so beautifully

While the Arabs tend to blame the West for their troubles with some reason, much of the blame they have to shoulder themselves. The Arab world is in turmoil mainly because of undemocratic regimes, lack of institutions, the absence of a spirit of scientific enquiry and societies that have yet to adjust to the 21st century.

India's thinking about the Middle East, whether from the UPA or NDA, has tended to be ideological and rooted in their domestic political considerations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to break from this tradition and develop a strategy towards the Middle East that is firmly anchored in realpolitik.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been energetically pushing the Indian view. If he is able to transform the Indian economy and put it on a fast growth track in the coming years, he will sharply enhance India's weight in the international system.

Despite the promise of 2014, India's neighbourhood policy has run into some confusion. There are many examples. With Pakistan, India is paying for the Narendra Modi government's initial missteps.

Before PM Modi can pat himself on the back for a fine diplomatic performance in Lanka, Modi now faces a big political test in the Maldives, where the regime of Abdul Yameen has arrested former President Mohamed Nasheed on charges of terrorism and a perverted judicial system has sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

The loopholes and technicalities of the Women's Reservation Bill should be open to scrutiny, but the Bill and its purpose must not be forgotten. Perhaps the revival of the debate over the bill could be an opportunity for PM Modi to demonstrate his party's focus on gender equality.

It would perhaps be wiser for the government to focus on how to stop the outflow of black money instead of just chasing money already stashed abroad. One method is to enter into agreements and treaties with countries to share information, like the way the US is doing now.

To take India-Japan ties to the next level, three issues need to be resolved. First, early end to their negotiations on civil nuclear cooperation. Second, a decision on the offer of the US-2 amphibian aircraft. Third, the symbolism of Japanese technology products which can be used for military applications.

President George W. Bush is a desperate man today. He wants Osama bin Laden, dead or alive. More than 12000 US troops, including a 1400-men strong elite commando unit known as Task Force 121, are in Pakistan and Afghanistan hunting for Laden. Supporting them is a 70,000-strong contingent from President Pervez Musharraf¿s Army.

India got a reality check recently when newspapers splashed the shocking conclusions of the first Socio-Economic and Caste Census since 1934. The message from the numbers is obvious: India has to resolve some very basic issues within before it can aspire to be any kind of power, regional or global.

The US-led TPP would face increasing competition as China recently concluded a free trade agreement with Australia (ChAFTA) and South Korea and is pushing for a broader Asia-trade pact - Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

It is gratifying to note that women's safety did figure in the Annual Budget 2014-15 with an outlay of Rs 200 crore. Good enough for the lowered expectations but not sufficient given the exponential rise in violence against women across the country. Same allocation for the Patel statue has made the matters worse by pitting living and breathing population against a memorial.

It is gratifying to note that women's safety did figure in the Annual Budget 2014-15 with an outlay of Rs 200 crore. Good enough for the lowered expectations but not sufficient given the exponential rise in violence against women across the country. Same allocation for the Patel statue has made the matters worse by pitting living and breathing population against a memorial.

India and China have to shoulder greater responsibility to ensure that they adopt more inclusive and cooperative approach in addressing each other's concerns. And no amount of multilateral level cooperation (BRICS, G-20, WTO) can diminish some of these vexed issues.

The furore generated in Pakistan over the al-Qaeda chief, Osama Bin Laden's death in 'Operation Geronimo' by the US forces is symptomatic of Pakistan's dilemma in the 'war against terror'.

India's vote at Geneva in favour of the UNHRC resolution critical of Sri Lanka possibly signals the increasing vulnerability of national interests to regional interests dictated by the necessity of coalition politics. India's this strategic folly would once again rebound to China's and Pakistan's advantage.

As the debate on using humans as guinea pigs rages across Asia, the rationale for developing new drugs, new treatments and new research is equally stronger. The solution lies somewhere in between where governments, pharmaceutical companies and those in medical profession have to wear ethical hats and delineate profit from greed.

An international posse led by the US has set off along with a motley crowd hunting for one of the two remaining leaders of the Axis of Evil. The British are there, as always, galloping along close to the Americans. The Germans and the French have returned to the fold after staying away in the hunt for Saddam Hussein.

Tamil Nadu fishers have put their politicos on notice. Sympathise and empathise with them on their cause but not politicise it too much, as it may have become a hurdle and a hitch, not amounting to support and solutions.

Our fascination with quantitatively large projects overlooks the small qualitative project developments like Small Hydro which offers a lot more scope for sustainable socio-economic and environmental development.

The most quoted reason for aircraft accidents in the Indian Air Forces is the absence of Advanced Jet Trainers. It is a valid point but to blame the increasing number of accidents on one factor would be grossly misleading.