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The proposed Food Security Act will cost the government around Rs 100,000 crore a year. Though it is big money, especially when the economy is on downslide, when lots of money were spent on events like the Commonwealth Games and industry given huge tax sops.

China will have to act selflessly if it wants to build alternative institutional arrangements that look at development from the emerging economies prism. The BRICS will also have to be careful about what it regards as its core strength. So far, it has largely been perceived to be pushing for an alternative economic development paradigm.

For a government committed to 'minimum government, maximum governance' it is time that policy making in key economic ministries become far more open and consultative, its acts and actions predictable. In the long run, that is the only way to ensure that policies for the auctions of licenses, processes of tendering and award, and actions to ensure their implementation -- are not subject to capture by select coteries.

Wikileaks has not only knocked open the door on 250,000 secret diplomatic cables, it may also have inaugurated an era when audacious discourse will not be placed under the stifling blanket of that expression - "Conspiracy Theory".

A reworked bid gifts India the prospect of owning 110 medium-role combat aircraft. Nevertheless, the IAF may be down to 15 squadrons by 2032.

Given the political slugfest over the CBI, it is clear that the revival of India's premier investigative agency cannot happen at the hands of politicians. Civil society and stakeholders must step up and force the establishment to undertake reform

The successive torture and slaying of individual Americans in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf region has a new message for the civilized world. Whatever be the rationale behind the decision-making at the governmental-level, the average American is ready for a long engagement with terrorism and terrorists.

India’s increasing economic and political clout has prompted a spurt in the volume and complexity of its overseas development assistance. Looking ahead, the largest incremental capital for global development and infrastructure beyond what exists today will also come from India as the value of its economy grows from $2 trillion to roughly $7 trillion by 2030. However, the DPA – India’s development cooperation agency – is yet to assume an a

India handled Cyclone Phailin very well. Now, it is better for the system to learn a few lessons and not just prepare for the next big one, but also figure out ways of dealing with the smaller and completely needless tragedies that occur across the country because crowds have not been properly managed at a festival, or buses and ferries.

While the concept of UG research is fairly new in India, it is now taken as a given in many parts of the world.

There are six key takeaways for India from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Indian armed services, especially the Indian Army, has its task cut out.

Nations will not have common values, because nations themselves are a collection of diverse historical experiences and ambitions. However, there is no need to throw in the towel over global governance, for nations can have a vision for shared prosperity with different approaches to get there.

Lebanon, the smallest nation in continental Asia, is also one of the most populous. A relatively stable, secure and democratic state, its geographical location and the growing regional crisis are leading to pressing internal and external threats that Beirut must face. This issue brief examines these contemporary threats to Lebanese security: the Syrian Civil War, the rise of the Islamic State, domestic terrorism and sectarianism, and the nation's

Indian polity is a prisoner of 'Luddism'. Left or right, it needs someone who can act as a change agent. Between the Congress and a confused BJP is the third force, the real Luddite socialists -- a conglomeration of SP, BSP, JD-U, TMC and a sprinkling of others. India unfortunately is caught between these forces, devastating its economic paradigm.

For Brazil, there are multiple opportunities within BRICS, not limited to the economic sphere. In many ways, the grouping brings Brazil from the left corner of the world map to the center, where the geopolitical theatre is most active; in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

Left-wing extremists, popularly known as Maoists worldwide and as Naxalites1 in India--have been gaining in strength and influence since some time. Today, the menace of Left-wing extremism is the single internal security threat that affects the largest number of States in India.

A number of legal frameworks and paradigms exist. But whether India's should be brought in from outside or adapted within the country to suit national requirements is a key decision to be made

The global economic crisis of 2008, triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, gave Asia a chance to rise, and let nationalist leaders, including Donald Trump, emerge

Even as India achieved statistical elimination of leprosy at the national level in 2005, the target continues to be part of the country’s policy documents. But what is “elimination”, to begin with? The policy documents are unclear of its operational definition, of whether it is at the national level, the state level or the district level. Despite lack of clarity, the political leadership has not failed to indulge in the rhetoric of “lepro

There are multiple concerns around the audit of CSR and a discomfort with the lack of audit and oversight required for CSR activities. "Comply or explain" simply has not worked in the case of other existing regulatory frameworks that deal with corporate governance issues. It is time to realise that in India, only a few are in a position to ask, while nobody is in any hurry to explain.

We can only speculate on the causes of their present westward shift in the Daulat Beg Oldi area. But one thing is clear: the central locomotive of Chinese policy remains Tibet. Despite massive investments in the region, large numbers of Tibetans remain disaffected.

BRICS countries have tried to move internet governance debates by taking strong stands at the global level. India too, has flirted with the idea, time and again. If nothing else, the biggest takeaway from this grouping needs to be the commitment to putting across new ideas to the global community.

The fragility of the Himalayan ecosystem was recently highlighted by incidents of land sinking in Joshimath, a small hill town in India’s Uttarakhand. This crisis has generated intense debate on aspects of development and environmental sustainability in the region, including the exploitation of Himalayan natural wealth and the strain placed on the vulnerable area by the tourism industry. This brief argues that the Himalayan region needs

No amount of advanced technology can compensate for low morale and training, weak command, poor tactics and strategy

Three quick lessons can be drawn from the recent coup attempt in Bangladesh. These are growing unrest among political and military circles against the Awami League government for its policies towards India and fundamentalism;

India's military leadership should look to Nepal to understand how insurgencies can be peacefully terminated instead of just looking for more potent ways of neutralising separatists.

In the backdrop of President George Bush's forthcoming visit next month and India's closer integration with the global economy, we need to start paying greater attention to the US economy, which has effectively functioned as the sole engine powering the global economy for the past decade and a half.

This paper examines two types of waste on which India can explore transboundary waste-trade opportunities and challenges: farm-produce waste and municipal solid waste. Using lessons learnt from trade between other countries, the paper argues that while India can augment its economy through increased waste exports or imports, certain conditions must be met for India to benefit from sustained international waste trade practices. The paper recommend

India has moved away from the idealism of the past in its engagement with the global multilateral order