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The Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) programme in India — an ambitious project, envisioned on a massive scale — will attempt to link 37 rivers, through 30 links, covering a distance of 15,000 km that will transfer 174 trillion litres of water a year.

If Nawaz Sharif really believes that Islamic insurgency has no role to play in Indo-Pakistan relations henceforth, he should enforce immediate control and effectively neutralise LeT and its parallel organisation, the Jamat-ud-Dawa.

With the resignation of the Sindh CM, it is widely speculated that the next to follow suit would be Jamali. His repeated assurances that his government was under no threat, only betrayed his insecurity. General Musharraf, who could have reiterated Jamali¿s confidence,

In Japan, obtaining the consent of the people to run a nuclear power plant has now become very difficult. Prior to the Fukushima tragedy, local people's consent meant agreement of the towns and the prefecture where the plants were located.

While India-Japan relations have strengthened and trade volume has jumped over by 38% from the previous year, in the civil nuclear cooperation, Japan observers see a rather serious barrier in the strong anti-reactor backlash at home, keeping it away from striking an acceptable solution.

Whether Japan and India could find an acceptable compromise formula for civilian nuclear agreement that would address their respective concerns will be the main subject of discussion at the India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on December 27-29.

The visit of Begum Khaleda Zia to New Delhi, her first visit as the Opposition leader, suggests a change in the thinking of her party, BNP. And it is likely to turn into a major breakthrough in the India-Bangladesh relations, marking a new beginning in the relations.

While Shinzo Abe might be thinking that LDP supported independent Yoichi Masuzoe?s win in Tokyo gubernatorial poll will help him carry forward his pro-nuclear energy plans, defeated candidates Hosokawa and Koizumi are determined to intensify their campaign for a nuclear free Japan.

Nuclear and missile developments in North Korea have been in global attention — also to repeated threats against South Korea, Japan and US.

US President Barack Obama is trying to reconcile the irreconcilables - the requirements of his domestic audience and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. It will take a while before we know whether he has fallen between stools.

In a first of the kind, Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata organised an inter-university debate competition on 'Panchsheel and its Relevance' on January 17 to commemorate completion of 60 years of signing the agreement.

Though Dr. Hassan Rouhani is labelled as a 'pragmatist', 'moderate', or even a 'reformist' by analysts, all these terms have very restrictive meanings in the Iranian context.

The challenge for Iran's President-elect Dr. Hassan Rouhani lies in not only appeasing the highest echelons of country's clergy, but also securing results for an economy that is on the brink of collapse.

Though two rulings in as many days, the Supreme Court has set the tone on checking criminality in politics. Yet, issues remain in the implementation and enforcement, if the court verdict has to produce the desired results and meet with discerning goals.

Whether or not Nawaz Sharif's new innings will be a winner for India-Pakistan ties is an important question, but more significant is: Will his new stint at the top post be a winner for Pakistan? A Pakistan that finds its feet, and embarks on the road to comprehensive progress and democracy, will be good for itself and for the region as a whole.

While Mamata Banerjee tries to avoid being branded as an anti-industry and inflexible politician, her best ally could be the pending central land acquisition bill, which thanks largely to Mamata Banerjee, is in comatose since 2007.

It definitely was not in the scheme, but the 'Oxford Union episode' involving Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa may have emboldened the demoralised nation's pan-Tamil Diaspora across the West, with its fallout expected to be felt in neighbouring India as well.

Libya's future looks uncertain. The no-fly zone may not be enough to unseat Gaddafi. If Gaddafi survives and maintains his hold over Tripolitania, the world may have to contend with his wrath and a potential rogue state, uncomfortably close to Europe.

New aircraft carrier Vikramaditya will undoubtedly have a major role to play as force multipliers and strategic game changers in the region, but as a ship without even the basic defences against air borne threats, it will be extremely vulnerable, obviating its usage to its potential to the maximum.

While Ms. Sitharaman’s flip-flops have seriously damaged the credibility of the Central Government, sadly the wishy-washy comments of the Northern Army Commander, as well as the lack of any public statement from the Army Chief in support of his troops, has not helped matters.

For over a year, China is running a huge anti-corruption campaign. More than 1,82,000 officials have been punished, including high ranking military officials, four national leaders and senior executives of state companies. However, this type of arbitrary and high-handed posture could backfire and become a catalyst for political crisis if it continues in the present way.

The 9th India-Japan bilateral is taking place in New Delhi this week-end. PM Abe is reaching Delhi on December 11. Two of the main issues that need to be resolved to take the partnership to new heights are the civil nuclear agreement and the supply of Japan's indigenously made US2 amphibious aircraft to India. Will Abe and Modi be able to achieve this?

The end of INF will have strategic implications well beyond Russia and the United States.

With Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif making common cause in opposing Pervez Musharraf, democracy is back in reckoning in Pakistan. Will democracy return to Pakistan? This is the question which is being raised both within Pakistan and outside, especially after two former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, decided to bury their hatchets, sit across a table in a London hotel and agree on a Charter of Democracy last month.

The rise in the price of food grains may be cushioned by the enormous stocks held by the government's FCI godowns. But higher vegetable, fruits, eggs, fish and meat prices will contribute to food inflation as they have done in the past.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has a fairly heavy political agenda before him. The foremost is his firm resolve to introduce constitutional reforms. If he wins the December 14 elections, Abe would have bright chances to win another term as the LDP president in September next year and stay at the helm for three more years.

New Delhi is correct to be cautious about the effects of the Masood Azhar listings.

His imprint on trade, security and Asia policy will last. His influence on immigration, climate change may not

Udan — the new regional air connectivity scheme will correct the historical wrong done to the air transport business in India

The arrival of the French in Mali could well be the beginning of link ups across the oil and mineral rich regions stretching from Sudan across Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Western Sahara.

It is a pity the Spring ushered in by Arab youth has been willfully wasted by the West. Indeed, the shaken monarchies and the remaining dictatorships have rallied around the US and Europe to protect themselves.

From India’s perspective, Israel and the UAE are undoubtedly our two closest friends in the Middle East. PM Modi has invested considerable energy in developing both relationships and they have stood by our side when we have needed their support. Normalisation of ties between them augurs well for us, opening up exciting new possibilities for collaboration.

The decade that began on January 1 will be Africa's decade. Unprecedented opportunities are opening up for India-Africa cooperation in Africa's rise in several areas, notably higher education, industrialisation and agriculture.

In the Union Budget, the Finance Minister needs to restore the confidence of the middle class investor who now have little faith in anything other than gold and real estate as the means of preserving and growing her savings.

Diplomacy is almost always about timing. Chinese President Hu Jintao offered a lesson in the virtues of diplomatic timing by showing up in Cambodia over the weekend.

India had recently decided to partner Russia in a joint project known as Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). A project like this is a rarity, like Brahmos, that India can ill afford to lose. Prudence would demand employment of a realist strategy of engagement by India in convincing the Russians to expand the scope of involvement.

Bush Blair duo is finding it extremely difficult to justify the invasion of Iraq to the world in general and to their local constituency in particular. The United States military has been unable to locate WMDs in Iraq in spite its best efforts. This has led the entire world to believe that the war was an unjust war.

The Chinese premier's speech on Friday in Beijing, with its promises of transparency, open markets and a focus on quality, indicates that China has taken on board the various critiques of the BRI.

Chinese leaders are steeped in the realist tradition and appreciate the logic of power politics. Premier Li Keqiang might respond more positively to a frank discourse from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh than Delhi's self-deceptions that have so misled India's Chinese interlocutors.

Citizens of India and Nepal enjoy mutual rights of residence, freedom of movement, ownership of property, and can participate in each other’s industrial and economic development without discrimination.

There is a serious terror threat posed by ISIS fighters returning to their home countries after losing the Syria expedition. While it was important to trace the routes taken by these foreign fighters — both in and out of Syria — one needn’t go to Syria to become radicalised through the ISIS ideology.

We should be prepared for a lower rupee unless the RBI steps in and boosts the rupee by releasing a huge amount of dollars. In this situation, wooing back the FIIs would not be easy. Proping up exports will also not be easy. It would be very difficult for the rupee to regain its former value unless commodity prices decline.

Election season has begun in the country as in the next two months, five states are going to have assembly elections which are being billed as mini-general elections. Soon thereafter, parliamentary elections will be held in the first four months of the next year to elect the 16th Lok Sabha (lower house).