davos Courtesy: remy steinegger / Flickr
6 February 2014

The new inequality debate

German President Joachim Gauck’s visit to India this week is a reminder of how Germany is addressing inequality, with better wages, benefits for the poorest, and other measures. When the gap between the rich and poor is growing globally, it is time for India’s prime ministerial aspirants to also focus on this issue

Dialogue on Trusteeship: futuristic ideal
6 February 2014

Dialogue on Trusteeship: futuristic ideal

Gateway House and Sabarmati Ashram hosted a dialogue on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary. The topic of the dialogue was Trusteeship, a Gandhian ideal and how it needs to be looked at as a basis for addressing problems related to environmental distress and income disparities

obamarouhaniwikimediacommons Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
6 February 2014

P5+1-Iran: U.S. in search of a new game

The P5+1 negotiations with Iran, mostly a Washington-Tehran affair, may be a means to a complex and ambitious end: a new strategic and energy equation in Southwest Asia. U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent State of the Union address indicates that to reach this goal, the U.S. is steering away from war to diplomacy

aseanindia Courtesy: Prime Minister's Office
31 January 2014

India-ASEAN’s elusive services FTA

The India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in services and trade will allow India to leverage its competitive offerings in IT, finance, among other fields. But the pact has proved elusive so far due to the open squabbling between ministries. The deal now looks set to come through only after the new government takes over

SONY DSC Courtesy: Arsen.Shnurkov/Wikimedia Commons
31 January 2014

African Union: accelerating agriculture

At the just-concluded African Union Summit in Ethiopia, speakers discussed the urgent need to focus on agriculture – which remains central to the African economies – by increasing investments and productivity. The summit was a time for reflection on the state of a sector that can transform the continent

saarcbusinessleaders Courtesy: Press Information Bureau
30 January 2014

SAARC: dawdling but optimistic

With intra-regional trade at a low 4.23%, South Asia is the ‘least integrated region in the world.’ At the recent fifth SAARC Conclave in New Delhi, officials spoke about the need for better integration. But this is only possible if problems such as political differences and inadequate connectivity are addressed

kejriwal-1 Courtesy: vm2827 / Flickr
28 January 2014

Decoding anarchism and swaraj

By calling himself an anarchist, Arvind Kejriwal has started a debate among supporters who equate anarchy with a potential breakdown of law and order. But anarchist philosophers believe that the basis of society is self-governing individuals and not a dominating ruler – an idea similar to Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘swaraj’