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On the anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, it is not surprising that the first thoughts that come to mind relate to the safety and security of the country. The obvious question to be posed here is: Are we safer today than we were five years ago? Sadly, the answer will be no.

Taking part in an interaction on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to China, Mr. Gautam Bambawale, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs, emphasised that India was not in a game of "catching up" with China vis-a-vis its relationship with other East Asian countries.

The India Poll 2013, prepared by the Lowy Institute for International Policy in partnership with Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne, provides stark and surprising insights into what the people of India think about their future and the world.

The Modi government is taking a different tack to its ties with China.

With the year-old Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) not working as expected, the Government of India is planning to come up with a new policy soon. This was revealed by Mr. Amit Cowshish, Financial Advisor (Acquisition) and Additional Secretary, Department of Defence Finance.

After the initial fire and fury at the LoC, there is now a belief that the situation is relatively under control. This assumption may be misleading, unless the dynamics of the LoC and its violations are fully comprehended.

India's external balance is changing fast with new equations being worked out. We need to set our house in order - refurbish our political apparatus, rebuild the crumbling state of our institutions and reorient and revamp our governance capacities.

The new political leadership in Delhi has given a ray of hope for the prospect of regional cooperation. In this regard, it is very important for India to understand how it is perceived by neighbouring countries in the South Asian region, says Bangladesh's Deputy High Commissioner Mahbub Hasan Saleh.

Even as India engages China in a dialogue, or becomes a way station in the sea silk route, New Delhi needs to take some lessons from China and anchor its maritime policies on a strong navy. As of now, we can more than hold our own in the Indian Ocean against all but the US Navy. But, tomorrow is another day.

India is the second fastest growing economy in the world today. At a most basic understanding, an economy grows when goods -- agricultural and industrial -- are produced and bought and/or when the service industries are growing phenomenally. In India's case both sectors are performing very well.

In the beginning of the 90's, Argentina was the second richest country in the world, but now the country is in a shambles. India should be careful not to fall into such a situation, cautions former Union Revenue Secretary M.R. Sivaraman.

While India will spend around $200bn-plus in the next 10 years, future contracts like the MMRCA should pave the way for opportunities for Indian firms to upgrade their design, development, production and innovation capabilities. India must ensure that arms deals are not a one-way traffic for suppliers.

Export-oriented FDI has the potential to vault India into the league of industrial economies: a stage which it allegedly skipped on its way to becoming a post-industrial service-based economy. Export-oriented FDI is labour-- and employment --intensive. In China export obligation is mandatory for foreign investors. This should be done .

Export-oriented FDI has the potential to vault India into the league of industrial economies: a stage which it allegedly skipped on its way to becoming a post-industrial service-based economy. Export-oriented FDI is labour-- and employment --intensive. In China export obligation is mandatory for foreign investors. This should be done .

A visiting team of Sri Lankan Tamil political leaders addressed an interaction at the ORF Chennai Chapter of the Observer Research Foundation on 3 January 2008. The team comprised Mr V Anandasangaree, president of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Mr D Sithardthan of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) and Mr T Sritharan from the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF).

Saying that India is ideally placed to build partnerships with African countries, the Rwandan High Commissioner to India, Mr. Williams Nkurunziza, has suggested that India should take the lead in the industrialisation and human resource development of Africa by investing in its capacity building.

There is a certain - surprising - amount of unease ahead of the visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to New Delhi. Why analysts and policymakers in India alike are worried, that their country could lose out on the latest developments in Afghanistan? The main reason seems that with the change of government in Kabul last year, a new sound keeps emanating from the Afghan capital.

India has to deal with Pakistani jihadis as it would deal with any other terrorists and send them to the court of law to whatever dispensation the court might decide. The lesson for India is that it has to live with troubles from Pakistan and deal with them as the situation arises.

Considering India's vast energy needs and demand for natural gas, India should push to frame the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline as a trilateral project once more. The thaw in the Iran-US relations could possibly encourage India to increase its engagement with Iran. Also, India has shown signs in recent months of being open, once again, to engaging with Pakistan.

India should invest more and invest it where it matters in Afghanistan to strengthen its presence and influence in a country which is struggling valiantly to initiate a process of nation-building against extreme odds.

Nepal's former Foreign Minister, Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, says India should take the lead in the economic integration of the region and carry the smaller states along with it towards the path of economic prosperity.

It is clear that countries in the region would like to see India play a greater security role in the Indo-Pacific - that is India should be more proactive, rather than reactive. India should take advantage of the opportunities, and take on responsibilities.

India should worry over the claim of Ansar-ul-Tawhid ul-Hind, a terrorist organisation, that Anwar Bhatkal, one of their brethren and related to Riaz Bhatkal, the founder of Indian Mujahedeen, attained what they call martyrdom battling in Afghanistan. We also cannot ignore the claims of Maulana Salman Hussaini Nadvi that he would raise a force of 5,00,000 to support Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

Proximity changes the priorities for India in a conflict on the doorstep.

जैसा कि भारत ने G20 की बागडोर संभाली है, समावेशिता और सहयोग �

Reports of a tabletop war game speak to India’s ongoing efforts to develop its space policy.

The euphoria of the new leadership in Sri Lanka towards the northern Indian neighbour may have set the right tone and tenor for further betterment of bilateral relations as in regional and international contexts.

As India gradually opens up after the lockdown, the gains from the MV Act seem to be unravelling as we seem to be going back to our old normal of cong

India US Relations अमेरिकी राष्‍ट्रपति जो बाइडेन हाल के दिनों में कई बार भारत और पीएम नरेंद्र मोदी की तारीफ कर चुके हैं. ऐसे में यह सवाल उठता है कि बाइडेन की इस तारीफ के कूटनीतिक मायने क

In many ways, India and China are running parallel growth stories with high GDP growths. However, China seems to be taking stock of what has not been achieved by their high GDP growth and India should also be more concerned with the well-being of all Indians for a more harmonious society.

Though Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had recently claimed that China and India are "natural strategic partners", the reality is somewhat more complex. Because we have witnessed Beijing's curious move on the Depsang plains in April, on the eve of their prime minister's visit to India. And just hours before Antony was due to land in Beijing, Major General Luo Yuan was breathing fire against India.

The global economic slowdown presents an opportunity for the Indian industry to work on low cost medicines

Shockingly, some campaigns are being led by people who are camouflaging their murderous rhetoric by wearing the saffron robes of Hindu renunciants. Last month, the theme of many speeches at a religious conclave in Haridwar was the need to ‘finish off’ Muslims. It would be easy to ignore this as the ranting of fringe Hindutva elements, but it’s no longer clear whether they are the fringe or the vanguard.

The Indian public sphere is unlikely to engage comprehensively with the happenings in the run up to the Russian presidential elections. On the other hand, the Indian establishment will keenly follow political developments in Russia as the importance of the election outcome.

The larger theme of Narendra Modi is that India, Japan and China have many common interests and that all of them have to build on them and thereby initiate the Asian Century by working together and make the Asian Century a truly peaceful and prosperous one.

There is a blithe assumption in India that national construction will happen on its own. That is simply not true. The states and the Union government need ever closer cooperation and coordination in a host of issues. Sadly, what we are confronted by are leaders who are busy shoring up their vote banks, a sure recipe for a crisis somewhere down the line.

Recent developments clearly illustrate that India needs to urgently address some of its internal dynamics to ensure that its neighbourhood policy can achieve the desired results.

Even if we go by the Financial Times' FDI figure, let's remember that having low FDI inflows for a year or half a year does not mean much. China has received, on average, $100 billion per year in the last decade compared to India's annual $20 billion figure. The best way to compare is looking at the per-capita FDI stock, which is $691 for China compared to $181 for India in 2013.

With the looming third wave, the Indian government would have to revive consumption demand and control inflation simultaneously.

Capabilities that China builds to deal with the US can easily be turned against India. However, India does not have to assume that such conflict of interest with China is inevitable. India can reach out to China. It will be to the benefit of both countries to engage in periodic military CBMs.

Obsolescence and numeric deficits in the Indian arsenal are a result of a host of factors, from planning to procurement processes. The blame game is easy within defence establishments as any stakeholder can accuse the other without much accountability.

ASAT weapons, while useful to knock out communications and imaging satellites, are not all that effective against those flying at higher orbits.