Nuclear Liability Bill becomes a liability
Neither the United States government nor its powerful business lobby is likely to embrace the Indian law, which imposes unprecedented liability on the suppliers for 80 years, says TP Sreenivasan Time to put China in its place
China has handed on a platter an opportunity for Indian policy-makers to scrap altogether the whole fruitless and wasteful make-believe of a dialogue and deal with emerging issues as they arise, says BS Raghavan How the world perceives nuclear liability
In this third and concluding part of an ongoing series, Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell, in an Oriental Research Foundation study, highlight some national nuclear liability frameworks. Why an India-Japan nuclear deal is essential
An India-Japan civil nuclear pact would be critical in signalling that they would like to build a partnership to bring stability to the region at a time when China is going all out to reward Pakistan with civilian nuclear reactors, says Harsh V Pant. The loopholes in the Nuclear Liability Bill
In the second part of a three-part series, Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell, in an Observer Research Foundation study, discuss at length the various loopholes in the Nuclear Liability Bill, whose amended version was recently passed by the Lok Sabha. Why the home minister invoked 'saffron terror'
How come the home minister jumped to the conclusion that there was a 'phenomenon' called saffron terrorism? Can he explain where is the phenomenon? Do a couple of sporadic cases that took place during a period of 14 months become a phenomenon? RSS leader Ram Madhav wants to know. Why a nuclear liability bill is essential
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Bhopal tragedy have brought back into focus the issue of industrial accidents, contractual liabilities and questions of operator liability, notes Manoj Kumar and Lydia Powell in an Observer Research Foundation study, which will be published in a three-part series. Here goes the first part: The nuclear liability bill needs a rethink
There is an urgent need for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the current liability regime besides a high-powered trans-disciplinary independent experts committee to study the issue, says Gopal Krishna. Kalmadi isn't the only one to blame for CWG mess
'Officially, Suresh Kalmadi had only Rs 6.7 billion to play around with as the Commonwealth Games boss. As against this, Sheila Dikshit's government was allocated Rs 16.56 billion to upgrade the capital's infrastructure in time for the Games.' In Pakistan, the army is firmly in control
India must carefully weigh its options, says strategic expert Gurmeet Kanwal. Commonwealth Games: Protecting Delhi's Metro
'The vulnerability of the Delhi Metro, with over 125 kms of tracks and 107 stations, 17 of them underground, comes from its easy access, enclosed and restricted space and massive movement of people on any given day.' Stars to smile upon Shashi Tharoor after wedding
'Tharoor has demonstrated that the public and private lives of politicians should remain separate and that personal happiness should take precedence over the exigencies of politics.' How Kalam can help end Kashmir's cycle of violence
Colonel Dr Anil Athale (retd) writes an open letter to former President A P J Abdul Kalam to intervene in Kashmir and start a dialogue with the people. Why the world is not over the moon on Ban
The best they say about him is that he is a man who attends to details and carries out instructions from the Security Council and the General Assembly, 'a carpenter rather than an architect.' Unfinished tasks of Bharat that is India
A political economy of poverty and deprivation co-exists with the political economy of environmental degradation and engineered landscape in a military-mining-industrial complex. It remains to be undone, says Gopal Krishna Desperately seeking Ramanujans
The time has come, believes Matthew Schneeberger, when India must dig up geniuses that lie unknown, untapped, languishing in its villages. The abject failure of our civic bodies
Why are we proud that India is a rapidly urbanising country when we do not know how to handle our cities, asks Mahesh Vijapurkar. B Raman: Pak floods may bring strategic changes
On November 12, 1970, a cyclone of devastating magnitude struck the then East Pakistan. Over 3 lakh people -- majority of them Bengalis – perished and East Pakistan's economy suffered extensive damages. India is in a sorry state, but we'll survive this
Saisuresh Sivaswamy believes that glitz, glamour and 'ignited' minds apart, there exists an unbridgeable disconnect between the ruler and the ruled. India's austerity drive made a shaadi happen!
'Who am I to say that the happiness of individuals is any less significant than Memorandum of Understandings signed between governments?' Why is China flexing its naval muscle?
'Indian policy-makers need a realistic assessment of what China's growing assertiveness means for India.' Can Sonia's family ever be wrong?
'Unlike the present system under which every minister does her/his own thing while Dr Manmohan Singh minds his business, prime ministers from the Nehru family were truly in control of their governments.' Kashmir: Delhi still hasn't woken up
'It is still hoping that the intensity will pass, and the National Conference or the Congress or the governor depending whose rule it finally is, will be able to handle the situation.' Anatomy of a proud Indian
Nilova Roy Chaudhury on what Independence Day means to her. God, give us independence from what ails India
As Shah Rukh Khan and Yusuf Arakkal and Rana Dasgupta and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw stand for the best of us, there is too much in daily life that showcases us at our apathetic, or misguided, worst, says Sheba Thayil in this Independence Day column. 8 things India needs to do urgently
'Yes, we have come far. We have progressed. Does that give us comfort? Probably, not. We have to solve more complex problems to move forward and we are impatient.' Jyoti to Jane. Srey to Sarah?
I refused. Sandy, I pointed out is two syllables, like Sandip. If he could say Sandy, he should be able to say Sandip. Over time I've become Sand-ip (as in Sand-hip) but I've stubbornly resisted any creeping Sandy-fication. Nuclear Liability Bill: PM's Gift to the US
Former Atomic Energy Regulatory Board chairman Dr A Gopalakrishnan makes a case against the nuclear liability bill. Nuclear energy, inevitable disaster: Worth it?
Gopal Krishna makes a case against the nuclear liability bill. So, what will the Kashmiri people accept?
After very hard and acrimonious bargaining they will ultimately settle for unadulterated autonomy, which will allow them the right to rule themselves, within the Indian Union, says Gurmeet Kanwal. We can't allow turmoil in Kashmir to continue: PM
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech while addressing the all-party meet to resolve the Kashmir crisis in New Delhi on Tuesday Corruption: Where is our outrage?
The Commonwealth Games is symptomatic of the deeper decay, decadence, and debilitation of our moral and ethical standards. It is not just about Kalmadi. It is about much more. Time to drastically overhaul our Kashmir policy
Because Indian Kashmiris have not allowed peace a chance in 60-plus years despite thousands of crores of taxpayers' money wasted on mollycoddling them and despite their being accorded a special status under Article 370, the time may have come to totally overhaul our Kashmir policy, suggests Virendra Kapoor. Telangana results send alarm signals to Congress
The Telangana bypolls and the opposition's united voice on issues like prices should have come as a wake up call for the Congress. Once the Teflon effect begins to wear off -- and this is beginning to happen -- the party will be on a slippery slope, says Neerja Chowdhury. Why protesting comes naturally to Kashmiris
Till a few years ago, on April 29 every year, a handful of men, some old and stooping, some young and angry, used to gather at the Srinagar home of veteran journalist, communist supporter and Kashmiri Pandit P N Jalali. Why is the UPA disregarding our rivers?
The disdain that our politicians, engineers and bureaucrats have for rivers is well known. Even then the indifference that the UPA-I and now UPA-II is showing towards rivers seems scandalous, says activist Himanshu Thakkar. Indian influence wanes in Afghanistan
Harsh V Pant says if India stands on the verge of a catastrophe in Af-Pak, it has only itself to blame. Wanted: A special envoy for Af-Pak
India urgently needs to bring substantial strategic depth to its dealings with Pakistan as well as Afghanistan, argues E D Mathew, political commentator July 2010 | June 2010 | May 2010 | April 2010 | March 2010 | February 2010