'This is probably why the late General Bipin Rawat, who hails from the Garhwal Himalaya, said that the existing roads are fine with the army.'
While the US continues to shell out the largest defence budget in the world year after year, other nations are slowly but certainly catching up, says the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Air pollution is the third highest cause of death among all health risks in India, ranking just above smoking.
Which group is responsible for the serial blasts in Gaya?
'The Bharat Ratna should have been given a long time ago. Not just to irk the Chinese, but to recognise His Holiness for what he is and how we have benefited immensely from his presence in India.' 'I don't think there's been a better ambassador for India's philosophical and cultural past than the Dalai Lama.'
'Under National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and now Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, India began to actively work on Pakistani internal faultlines with a possibility of the break-up of Pakistan as the only solution,' observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Within three weeks of lifting its mask mandate, the Delhi government on Friday made masks mandatory at public places with immediate effect, and imposed a fine of Rs 500 for any violation as coronavirus cases rise in the city again.
His visit comes ahead of the upcoming official trip of Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane to Nepal in the first week of November. Goel called on Prime Minister Oli at his official residence at Baluwatar on Wednesday evening, the premier's press advisor Surya Thapa told PTI.
Reserves provide a cushion against shocks.
India's e-commerce market is poised to grow by 84 per cent to $111 billion by 2024 on the back of accelerated adoption of digital technologies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by fintech firm FIS said on Wednesday. The report noted that countries, including India, have seen a shift in consumer behaviour caused by COVID-19, and new payment trends are shown to be on the rise. FIS, in its 2021 Global Payments Report, examined current and future payment trends across 41 countries. India's e-commerce market is projected to grow by 84 per cent between now and 2024 to about $111 billion (from about $60 billion in 2020) driven by mobile shopping, which is projected to grow 21 per cent annually over the next four years, the report said.
Indians at large harbour a notion that their country is cherrypicking out of the American basket of goodies, but the policymakers in Delhi and the political leadership are well aware that it can only be a pipe dream since a military alliance with a superpower is a profound irrevocable commitment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria.
'In the absence of a vaccine, as long as there are pockets of active cases in India, it would be good to have a limited lockdown.'
Prime Minister Modi felt there were too many silos with no arrangement to take a comprehensive view on national security. The PM has entrusted NSA Ajit Doval to evolve a comprehensive roadmap and get it implemented, reveals Nitin Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic News International.
Sectorally, BSE healthcare, capital goods, power, oil and gas, metal, auto, energy and banking indices fell up to 3.53 per cent.
The SE is up against some sweet deals from China and South Korea, not to mention Apple's own XR.
'The really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban rulers's actions in the period ahead' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to the industry body, the 16-member RCEP has the potential to become one of the largest and economically dynamic trading blocs of the world, even bigger than the European Union.
India fails to feature in the top 300 World University Rankings 2020 list.
'Pakistan has worsted India in the Afghan proxy war and the defeat becomes a template of regional politics,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The coronavirus variant B.1.617 first identified in India last year has been classified as a "variant of global concern", with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily, a senior WHO official had said on Monday.
The government has sanctioned a dozen fresh SSB battalions, comprising over 13,000 personnel for the Nepal and Bhutan borders guarding force, to "fortify" defences along these fronts including the tri-junction area in Sikkim that adjoins Bhutan and Tibet, officials said.
'If there is one certainty in this visit, it is that Trump does not follow a script. He is unpredictable,' highlights Ambassador B S Prakash.
The report of Kim's illness started doing rounds following his absence at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on the birthday of late state founder and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, earlier this month.
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Custom authorities have been keeping strict vigil on the cargo movements from Bhutan, Taiwan, China, Afghanistan, South Korea Japan, and Dubai since January.
'This is a historic juncture when the US is in great need of an alliance with India to strengthen its hands in the fierce struggle with China in the Asian theatre,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chinese households on average had a net worth of 439,000 yuan (about $71,000) in 2012, up 17 per cent from the 2010 level, said the study by Peking University on China's livelihood development.
The uptick in prices ranging from steel to wheat could benefit lots of commodity-based companies -- from State-owned SAIL to the agro exporters.
'It is a constantly evolving situation and will require deft handling at the ground level and at the highest level of military, diplomatic and political leadership,' observes Colonel S Dinny (retd), who served as Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion deployed in the Pangong Tso area.
'...but from those who control the narrative.' Powerful nations have mastered this art of narrative building. Those nations who aspire to become global powers must do so, observes Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
The new missile could deliver 2,000 to 3,500 kilograms of payload to any point in the continental US, notes Rajaram Panda.
Attacks against journalists by supporters of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party increased in the run-up to general elections in the spring of 2019, the analysis alleged.
The future of cryptocurrencies in India appears uncertain but that has not deterred young Indians from embracing the so-called 'fourth industrial revolution' world, where interconnectivity and smart automation, much of it relying on blockchain technology, drive human civilisation. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has repeatedly warned of macroeconomic instability and even "serious consequences" if cryptocurrencies turn mainstream. The country's monetary authority wants a China-like total ban on crypto, not even allowing these currencies to be treated as investments. Though Parliament's website had listed the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill as one seeking a total ban of cryptocurrencies in the country, it was not presented in the Winter Session. India now has the highest number of cryptocurrency investors in the world.
IIT Delhi is the first academic institute to have obtained the ICMR approval for a real-time PCR- based diagnostic assay. The development also comes against the backdrop of the Indian Council of Medical Research halting the testing for COVID-19 cases through China-made test kits because of massive variation in test results, compounding the challenge to check and contain the pandemic.
The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
'With just 2.4 per cent of global landmass, India houses six to eight per cent of planetary biodiversity and hence is a prime target of wildlife criminals.'
The outlay for defence sector almost remained unchanged compared to what was allocated in the interim budget on February 1.
'From Doklam to Wuhan and the return of the India-China relationship to its previous equilibrium is indeed a major contribution of President Xi and PM Modi. Without any doubt they deserve the kudos for their sagacity and their wisdom,' says Ambassador Gautam Bambawale, India's envoy to China during the Wuhan summit.
Since 2014, many of Mohan Bhagwat's speeches have acted as cues for government policy.
