'No respite from economic pain is worth the loss of dignity and self-respect,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
'Geopolitically and diplomatically it's a very difficult situation for India.'
'An asset must generate income. Equities yield dividends, bonds pay coupons, deposits give interest, and real estate earns rent.' 'Gold, silver, and even Bitcoin produce no income, they merely store value. So, they should not be compared to productive assets.'
'As the global economy undergoes significant transformations in 2025, India's ability to navigate the complexities of trade wars, financial realignments, and emerging blocs will be pivotal,' explain Harsh V Pant and Soumya Bhowmik.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
'Pakistan is economically very weak and will not be able to sustain a war for long.'
There have been growing global concerns over China's sweeping claims of sovereignty over all of the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons.
In trade negotiations, as in chess, sometimes you need to accept a temporary disadvantage to secure a better long-term position, points out Sonal Varma, chief economist (India and Asia ex-Japan) at Nomura.
On India, the chart showed that the country charged 52 per cent tariffs on the US "including currency manipulation and trade barriers," and America will now charge India "discounted reciprocal tariffs" of 26 per cent.
Taking to social media platform X, Dmitriev said, "Russia confirms Putin-Trump summit may happen next week and summit preparations are ongoing. This can be a historic meeting. Dialogue will prevail."
We have entered a new era in human history, asserts Aakar Patel.
India needs to be technologically and militarily prepared to defend itself from both Pakistan and China, alerts Ramesh Menon.
'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
For India, the challenge is to strike a balance between tactical necessity and economic priorities, point out Pravin Krishna and Monil Sharma.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu held talks focusing on trade, defence, and infrastructure cooperation, signaling a turnaround in relations after a period of strain.
'Indian refiners can operate without Russian crude from a technical standpoint, but the shift would involve major economic and strategic trade-offs'
The statement did not name any country. But the US has often blamed India and China for purchasing Russian oil even when there are no tariffs on Beijing for it.
'The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products.'
The United States announced a 25 per cent tariff on India as the White House released an expansive list of duties that Washington, DC will impose on exports from countries around the world.
Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'India enjoys conventional superiority, but nuclear deterrence imposes clear boundaries.'
The US move to align with Russia is prompted by fear of a Sino-Russian joint threat. Russia, fully aware of its military vulnerability vis a vis China may cautiously welcome the American move, assesses Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
'Tensions and dialogue are likely to go hand-in-hand with China.' 'The goal should be to cultivate power so that one can negotiate from a position of strength.'
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
FBI director Kash Patel confirmed the arrest on X and called the case a "sobering reminder" that the CCP is working to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target the food supply in the US.
'What the US appears to be doing is to force India to be "the buyer of last resort", on whom their products can be dumped, 1.4 billion people have to eat something, so why not eat American corn?' 'What is exercising the Trump lot is the fact that most of the farms are in solidly Republican Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Indian OMCs have not been buying Iranian or Venezuelan crude which is actually sanctioned by US. OMCs have always complied with the price cap of $60 for Russian oil recommended by the US.
'Disengagement is merely the first step in a lengthy process of arriving at a new normal along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and the entire land boundary.' 'The Indian government should insist on the restoration of the status quo ante in Eastern Ladakh.'
India needs to recognise and address challenges posed by its dependence on China for critical minerals and examine the implications of phasing down coal on bank balance sheets as it accelerates its green transition, the government's Economic Survey 2023-24 tabled in Parliament on Monday said. As part of its national plan to contribute to meeting the global goal of limiting the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, India has committed to reducing emissions by 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, achieving 50 per cent cumulative electric installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources, and creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 gigatons of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover.
'We have to keep a watch because India-Sri Lanka has a history that whenever there has been a change in government, either the connectivity projects have been questioned or cancelled or revived.'
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
When asked whether both armies talked to each other, initiated by the Pakistani army, Jaishankar said, "Yes, we have a mechanism to talk to each other as a hotline. So, on the 10th of May, it was the Pakistani army which sent a message that they were ready to stop firing, and we responded accordingly."
'...without massive amounts of force.'
Who else will take on the might of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon if not the Adanis, Ambanis, Birlas, or Tatas?, asks R Jagannathan.
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
'The two sides agree to continue firmly supporting each other in safeguarding their respective core interests,' a joint statement issued at the end of Muizzu's talks with Chinese leaders said.
With general government debt now approaching three-quarters of GDP, and only incremental reform efforts visible, Pakistan risks prolonging its economic stagnation unless fundamental governance, regulatory, and industrial overhauls are undertaken.
A profile of veteran Nepali politician K P Sharma Oli, detailing his rise to power, his various stints as prime minister, and his impact on Nepal's political landscape.
Finding solutions to address non-tariff barriers would be important for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) and both sides are actively working on resolving these issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. He said the two sides are "pretty" close to finalising the talks for the proposed free trade pact.
