Search

With a very high population density, India has to prevent the virus from reaching vulnerable populations through a systematic approach.

The emergence of Bangladesh as the new hub of international Islamist terrorism, insurgency in Nepal and Maoist militancy across several states, add new challenges to national security threats that India traditionally tackles. Despite these, India's defence expenditure continues to decrease in real terms and as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year.

Allocations made for capital expenditure must increase if India is to keep pace with China's rising military might

China has discarded the traditional emphasis on criticising the arms control agreements promoted by the Western powers and focuses instead on securing Beijing's national interests by actively participating in international and regional military negotiations and shaping the international military norms.

Defence needs to be viewed as an integral part of national planning so as to comprehensively quantify the overall requirement to meet our legitimate security needs and strategic aspirations.

New Delhi realises it must be self-reliant in all significant areas relating to the military. Accordingly, it is working overtime to build its defence-industrial capacity, but it will not yield significant results for another two decades.

The long-term challenge for India is in ensuring deep and sustained investments in defence R&D and a defence industrial ecosystem that can, if not comprehensively, but for the most part, service the requirements of the Indian military.

There is need to re-prioritise the expensive items in the services' wish list in a manner that will not strain the economy, without necessarily increasing the vulnerability of the country.

At a time when advances in technology are revolutionising warfare, India is still debating the need to move towards leaner force structures. India needs to cut the flab on an urgent basis.

Resources are constraining the modernisation drives of India's three services. The government has not been able to check the growth of manpower in the Army and paramilitary forces. This has a direct repercussion on the modernisation plans of the military.

While allocations for the defence forces have been prioritized, the country's policymakers still grapple with the question: Despite spending billions, how strong is our Defence?

The defence component of the national budget accounts for 14% of central government expenditure, but gets less than 5% of media space. Virtually no discussion on the issue takes place in Parliament either. A call for increased resources for national defence usually goes out only when defence spending by Pakistan and China makes headlines.

Modi Govt's defence budget will only sharpen the divide between an increasingly assertive China and the Indian security establishment trying hard to cope up with the Chinese military modernisation programme. China's 2014 military budget is of $132 billion while Indian budget is of approximately US $ 37 bn only.

U.S. President Joe Biden should recognize that countries elsewhere need to be key allies in the fight.

An all inclusive Defexpo would not only add greater character but also help the Indian companies explore the markets through a comparative framework and in turn enhance their manufacturing capabilities in the long term.

The norm to protect the public core of the internet, originally advocated by the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy, can be operationalised in two ways. Both a layered approach and a functional approach to defining the public core of the internet provide productive ways to discuss safeguarding the functionality and integrity of the core logical and physical infrastructure of the internet from unwarranted state interventions. Thi

With the Delhi Durbar at its weakest in decades and the national parties in a funk, India's ability to deal with externally induced challenges in the run-up to the elections and after is being undermined by an irresponsible domestic discourse.

While many will be content to lay the blame only on China, questions also need to be asked about the systemic shortcomings in strategic analysis and intelligence.

If Maldives becomes the biggest radical Islamic cell using the present political situation in the country, it would affect every nation in the Indian Ocean region as a huge part of trade in the Indian Ocean passes through the Maldives, according to former President Mr. Muhamed Nasheed.

A five-member delegation from the Beijing-based China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) exchanged views with the ORF faculty on bilateral relations, media reportage, regional issues, international terrorism, and possible areas of research cooperation

President Wickremesinghe seems to have succeeded in conveying Sri Lanka's best intentions for India during his visit.

As New Delhi intensifies the effort to bring many others home after the successful evacuation of Kerala nurses, Prime Minister Narendra Modi must create a strong institutional framework to cope effectively with the recurrent crises involving Indian citizens abroad.

( At the time of the blasts, I was on a flight from Delhi to Chennai. Immediately on my return home at 9 PM on October 29,2005, I heard of the blasts. At the request of an online journal, I had given my initial reactions in a brief write-up titled " Delhi Blasts: The Message". This article is an attempt at a more comprehensive analysis on the basis of further information available at 8 AM on October 30,2005)

India is ranked third only to Bangladesh and Pakistan for worst air quality. PM 2.5 concentration in India is 5.2 times above the WHO annual air quality guideline.

By 2041, Delhi’s population is expected to reach 28-30 million. To meet the requirements of a massive population in a systematic and sustainable manner, the Fourth Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) is being prepared and expected to be completed in 2021. This paper describes the progress and preliminary focus areas of the forthcoming plan, highlighting current challenges during preparation, as well as future ones expected in the implementation

Campaign trends in Delhi elections indicate that parties are playing around the issues having popular appeal rather than the hard core issues of governance, statehood or even air pollution. In varying degrees, populist ideas such as free houses, free water and free electricity remain the core poll promises for all political parties.

The shockingly stunning victory of the two-year-old Aam Admi Party (AAP) in the assembly election in the national capital this week is expected to impact the national politics in a significant manner as it is bound to trigger the process of political realignment across the country.

Charismatic, centralised leadership, like Mr Modi's today and Indira Gandhi's earlier, whilst have a huge advantage in national elections, cannot single-handedly carry a local election. Delhi is likely to make this point to leaders yet again.

India will be hosting the next India-Africa Forum Summit in 2014 and it is trying to implement as many decisions of the earlier two Summits as possible, according to a senior official at the MEA.

The relative degree of success of President Barack Obama's visit to India will depend on the extent to which the tough US demands on defence trade be eased to accommodate India's strategic needs without compromising national interests from both sides.

During the recent "5th India-Bangladesh Dialogue" organised in Delhi, there was consensus among all participants on the need for strengthening further cooperation on border management and counter terrorism in order of tackle threats which are common to both the countries.

Don’t view India’s neighbourhood policy in terms of wins or losses. Focus on the structural imperatives

The relationship has its roots in history, but both States have ensured continuous engagement, crucial for contemporary South Asian relations

Abdullah’s visit to India this week saw him underscoring the growing potency of India-Afghanistan ties in his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

EAM S Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives marked a pivotal moment in India-Maldives relations, focusing on economic aid, developmental projects, and defense cooperation.

As dependable allies, the India-France partnership is a force for global good in a volatile world engulfed in multiple crises

Can things change even before 2020, if Arvind Kejriwal resigns, admitting he has lost the mandate to rule?