India would not be seen to be anything but rude with the Pakistanis. In the big picture, who is the bigger adversary right now? Who is the bigger pain in the neck? And who is it that is keeping more than 3,000 km of our borders active, throwing our military posture and deployments into imbalance? asks Shekhar Gupta.
BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - are not a competitor to the developed countries, China said on Monday ahead of the grouping's next summit in the country in April.
India and Russia present great opportunities to foreign companies.
The country has reduced its holding of American treasury bills by as much as $1.9 billion compared to July when it stood at $58.9 billion.
The third BRIC summit in Sanya, China, on Thursday will have a new member: South Africa.
China would contribute $41bn towards the pool. Brazil, India and Russia would contribute $18bn each; South Africa $5bn.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi during which he emphasised the need for continuing efforts to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas to remove the 'impediments' to normalcy in bilateral relations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend a two-day trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China in New Delhi from November 10 to discuss regional and international issues.
Brazil's alternative energy company, Cemig, tops the list of Environmental Tracking (ET) BRICS 300 Carbon Ranking.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday left Durban for home, ending a four-day visit during which he attended BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit that decided to establish a development bank to finance infrastructure projects in emerging economies.
National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon on Thursday will represent India in the meeting of high representatives of national security of the BRICS nations in New Delhi, a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday.
Fund raising expectations have turned more cautious over the past year due to concerns over governance.
The BRICS bank is simply too expensive a proposition for a group of developing countries that includes many who are already overspending domestically.
Only 13 nations voted in favour of Russia's call for a secret ballot on draft resolution on Ukraine.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution calling for Russia to be held accountable for violations of international law by its invasion of Ukraine and requiring Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv for damages, loss and injury resulting from the war.
Despite the slowdown, India's population of rich is growing. The country saw 120 more individuals join the exclusive club.
The agenda is to give a concrete shape to a Development Bank and pitch for reforms of the UN Security Council.
Among the most deprived communities in India live and work under asbestos roofs. The National Institute for Health and Family Welfare estimates exposure to asbestos has resulted in higher incidence of cancer among those living under asbestos roofs, points out Gopal Krishna.
India expects to see the bank established as soon as possible.
Every single one of the BRICS countries has an enormous infr deficit that simply can't be met by a single institution, says WB President.
India and Russia on Thursday decided to expand cooperation in various sectors as they signed 16 pacts, including on joint manufacture of 226 military helicopters.
"The BRICS are open to consider, if necessary, providing support through the IMF or other international financial institutions in order to address the present challenges to global financial stability, depending on individual country circumstances," said a joint communiqu issued by the BRICS finance ministers after their meeting.
India's disappointing human development status is well known. It is a virtual tailender among the newly emerging BRICS economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa which are expected to become the engine of global economic growth as the developed countries slow down.
Amid worldwide alarm over a radiation scare in Japan following the tsunami, India and other nations from the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa group on Thursday pressed for strict adherence to safety norms with regard to nuclear facilities and a proposal was floated for mutual assistance in similar incidents.
Five fastest growing economies, including India, on Wednesday vowed to oppose trade protectionism as they agreed to coordinate their positions in the multilateral fora, including the G-20 and climate change negotiations, to uphold the interests of developing countries.
India increased its exposure to American government securities to $59.9 billion in October, the highest in four months, notwithstanding uncertainties in the world's largest economy.
Set to get elected next week as China's new President, Xi Jinping will hold his first bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit to be held later this month in South Africa.
The fact that the Indian government has allowed the bank to be headquartered in Shanghai merely underlines the fact that this will be a largely Chinese enterprise.
The pledge was made at an informal meeting of Braliz, Russia, India and China leaders presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of the opening of the seventh G-20 Summit in this Mexican resort town. Besides India, the other nations in BRICS are China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
The BRICS states need to pin down China on long-term norm-based values, ideas and concrete proposals and programmes for the mutual benefit of the constituent member states.
The joint declaration lists the BRICS nations' consensus on global economy, international financial issues and developmental affairs.
BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - should combine their "huge potential" to better coordinate on issues such as the world economy, the democratic and equitable world order and global governance reform, Singh told China's Xinhua news agency.
Contentious boundary issue and ways to boost bilateral ties were among the issues which figured during discussions between National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and China's chief negotiator Dai Bingguo in New Delhi on Friday.
The bank, however, may not start functioning before 2014 and is likely to have substantially less initial paid-up capital than the amount of $240 billion that is doing the rounds currently.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is still a developing entity and it is essentially due to Russian and Chinese efforts. The moot question is can India benefit by attending it?
After all, India is the only one among the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) where lending rates are still ruling at their 2008 peaks.
"Yes, if the crisis deepens further and there is greater volatility in financial flows, there is an increased risk of this (currency war) happening," Mukherjee said in response to a question.
Ground reality suggests that someone from the developing world does not stand a chance to emerge victorious.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday exchanged pleasantries, their second informal chat in two days at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul.
India would be represented by agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who arrived in Moscow on Wednesday night on a three-day visit.
