Obama 210x140 Courtesy: Shotgun Spratling/ Flickr
20 June 2013

Giving up GWOT

U. S. President Barack Obama has strongly indicated a move away from the ‘Global War on Terrorism,’ – a term famously coined by his predecessor George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Given that a common definition of a ‘terrorist’ hasn’t yet been found, was the war on terrorism ever practical?

Hassan_Rouhani2 Courtesy: Ansarymehr/Wikimedia Commons
17 June 2013

Will Rouhani plough a reformist furrow in Iran?

Hassan Rohani’s victory in the June 14 presidential election in Iran might allow more moderate voices in the political dialogue. But Iran's establishment decides positions on all major issues, including the nuclear programme, Syria, and dealings with the West. To what extent can Rohani change course?

bse Courtesy: Niyantha/flickr
14 June 2013

Countering transfer pricing

Keeping subsidiaries of multinational corporations publicly-listed in India exposes minority shareholders to the risk of unfair treatment by favouring the majority shareholders. In some cases, it leads to transfer pricing transactions that hurt the country’s revenue. Delisting MNCs is one way to address this problem

iran election 1 Courtesy: Creative Commons/Flickr
13 June 2013

Why the world should take the Iran elections seriously

The 11th presidential election of Iran is unlikely to be fully democratic or transparent, but the winner will decide the nature of Tehran’s engagement with the West over its nuclear programme. The outcome of this election will also have a bearing on the crises in Syria and Iraq, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

chinesearmy Courtesy: cornfed1975/Flickr
7 June 2013

Lessons from Depsang

The Depsang valley incursion by the Chinese army may have moved the Indian Ministry of Defence out of its inertia in implementing long-pending proposals; but the lack of a comprehensive strategy to deal with the Chinese threat was especially evident in the manner in which decisions were taken to handle the situation.

smith antony aus def min Courtesy: Australian Government Department of Defence
7 June 2013

India-Australia: Aligning strategic spheres

Defence Minister A. K. Antony’s visit to Australia this week was a significant step forward in the defence relationship. In coming years an India-Australia partnership will be important for managing maritime security in the Indian Ocean and will also have implications for security in Southeast Asia and the Pacific

narayan murthy Courtesy: N. Narayanamurthy
5 June 2013

The Return of the Patriarch

On June 1, N. Narayanamurthy, the co-founder, and former Chairman of Infosys – India’s IT giant – was appointed as the Additional Director and the Executive Chairman of the board, for five years. How momentous is his return for Infosys, and more importantly, what does this augur for the future of the company?

Li manmohan abe Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
31 May 2013

Li and Abe

While the recent India-Japan Joint Statement contains significant breakthroughs, the China-Pakistan Joint Statement reveals the absence of warmth between India and China. With the current flurry of bilateral exchanges, India is fine-tuning its approach to emerging regional realities, as are others.

Iran Majlis source iran majlis website Courtesy: Parliament of Iran (Majlis)
30 May 2013

A civilisation goes to the polls

As the 11th Presidential election of Iran draws closer, the atmosphere in Tehran has been abuzz with hope as well as deep cynicism. Why is Iran at a crossroads again? Why will the outcome of this election indicate the foundation of the next chapter in this civilization’s history?

Manmohan - Abe MEA Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
30 May 2013

A new configuration to the East

During his visit to Japan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke of the need to increase bilateral consultations on strategic issues. This, and other moves, indicate new developments in India’s Look East Policy, with alternative security and economic scenarios for regional actors in the context of the rise of China