Courtesy: wikimedia\commons
Brazil follows a more decentralised form of federalism and gives special importance to the municipalities. Porto Alegre’s successful 'participatory budgeting' is a role model for the world. India can learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the Brazilian system
Courtesy: Wikimedia
A powerful National Counter Terrorism Centre may appear to contravene the federal spirit, but it is a necessary step. The opposition of several state governments to the potential encroachment upon their powers by the NCTC can be addressed if the centre and states share the responsibility of combating terrorism
Courtesy: in.com
The government in New Delhi can address roadblocks in centre-state relations in various ways: by allowing fiscal federalism through such measures as a reallocation of resources; customising central schemes to state-specific needs; and by formulating policies through consultation, not confrontation
Courtesy: Associated Press
The debates and delays over the Goods and Services Tax exemplify how fiscal federalism is evolving through threats to its original design and rearguard action by states. Rebalancing the centre-state relationship is not easy, but an enlightened fiscal federalism is indispensable to keeping the republic together
Courtesy: Cibin Varghese
The Khilafat movement started in Mumbai nearly 100 years ago in response to the dismantling of the Caliph-headed Ottoman Empire by the Allied powers. The present revival of the office of the Caliph by the Islamic State in West Asia, although rooted in a different context, evokes this sliver of Mumbai’s history
Courtesy: MEA/Government of India
With a 1600-kilometre-long shared border, and a maritime boundary in the North East, Myanmar is critical to India’s Look East policy. However, India has to look beyond the China bogey in order to find ways to truly consolidate ties with Myanmar
Courtesy: Joshua Martin
U.S. defence secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit is the third in a flurry of visits by top American officials before the scheduled Modi-Obama meet in September. Hagel’s visit will aim to enhance an already well-established defence-trade partnership and allay fears of the Pentagon’s bias towards Pakistan
Courtesy: Ministry of Finance/GoI
If Budget 2014 is used as a reference point to examine how closely the Modi government kept to its election promises, it is evidently not easy to extirpate the old ways of doing business. This is clear, for example, in the punitive capital gains tax rate on debt mutual funds. Budget 2015 must correct the anomalies
Courtesy: Wikimedia\commons
Squabbling over Afghan election results still continues but the collapse of the process has been averted for now. More than 700 international election observers are in Kabul ready to conduct the 100% audit of the Afghan runoff election. India has always supported a peaceful transition but the situation in Kabul remains as unpredictable as ever
Courtesy: MEA\photogallery
Much was made of the ‘incredible possibilities’ for India-U.S. ties preceding John Kerry’s visit to India. The American emphasis on rhetoric touched a new high when Kerry formally invited Indian PM Modi to Washington in September. The two sides must now get beyond words to work towards a resolution of differences for the bilateral to blossom