Democracy in India is too important to be left to a leader with a limited appeal. If Rahul Gandhi cares for India, he should step aside for a new crop of leaders, suggests Harishchandra.
'The longer India hangs out to dry, the worse the New Delhi-Washington relationship gets.'
Ever since the Quad started taking shape in 2007, China has been saying that the four-member grouping will be bound to fail. But much to the chagrin of Beijing, it picked up pace in the recent years emerging as a premier strategic group especially challenging China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
'Pakistan will also try to turn Bangladesh into a base for terrorist attacks on India.'
Learning from East Asia, India must reform its district administration with performance, accountability, and vision to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat, points out Deepak Mishra.
'India needs at least 70,000 to 80,000 eyewear stores; our 2,000 stores are just a drop in the ocean.'
'Our vision is to innovate as many products as we can and solve as many problems as possible.'
Sanctioning Russian oil would have led to a sharp surge in oil prices to above $80 per barrel levels, which would impact pump prices in the US ahead of midterm elections next year.
'Scuttling 25 years of momentum with the only country that can serve as a counterweight to Chinese dominance in Asia would be a strategic disaster.'
Developing relations with the Taliban is needed, but plunging headlong into Afghanistan without due thought will be akin to the rooster entering a KFC outlet, warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
'One Chinese interlocutor said India should realise that "China can do without India, but India could not do without China", pointing to its inability to do without Chinese intermediates and components,' former foreign secretary Shyam Saran discovers on a visit to China.
India's crude oil imports from Russia saw a marginal decline in September, but continued to account for over one-third of the country's total oil purchases, despite US pressure to curb the trade over concerns that it supports Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. India's crude imports in September were around 4.7 million barrels per day, up 220,000 bpd month-on-month and flat year-on-year.
Nepal's claim on Lipulekh and Kalapani reopens a 200-year-old border dispute, while historical maps and treaties show the area belongs to India, asserts Lieutenant General Shakti Gurung (retd).
'Saudi-Pak defence pact is to anchor the defence and security of Saudi Arabia and not Pakistan, per se, with Islamabad being the junior partner.'
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan says the Indian Air Force would have slowed the Chinese offensive considerably during the 1962 War.
India and Japan have unveiled a comprehensive framework to boost their defence cooperation in response to security challenges, particularly concerning China's increasing military presence in the East and South China Seas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday conveyed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian India's 'deep concern' over Iran's conflict with Israel and called for immediate de-escalation of the situation through 'dialogue and diplomacy'.
During a special briefing in Tianjin, Misri confirmed that the prime minister will first address the SCO plenary session before meeting President Putin.
'The people who were protesting and getting violent were all in the age group of 14-25.'
A strong earthquake struck southwest China's Yunnan province bordering Myanmar on Friday, causing tremors that were felt across the region. While no casualties have been reported so far, residents in the provincial capital of Kunming rushed outdoors to escape the shaking. The epicenter of the earthquake was located at 21.85 degrees north latitude and 95.95 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 30 kilometers.
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.
Lavrov, who addressed the UN General Assembly shortly before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's speech at the high-level General Debate, said India and Russia share a "particularly privileged strategic partnership".
iPhone-maker Apple on Tuesday announced that it will open a new store in Pune next week. The latest move marks a significant expansion for Apple in the country, offering customers in Pune new ways to explore and purchase Apple products, as well as experience Apple's services in person, the company said.
The BRICS nations have expressed concern over the proliferation of trade-restrictive actions in the form of 'indiscriminate rising' of tariffs, particularly measures used as a means of 'coercion', cautioning that such practices risk marginalising the Global South countries.
'While the President has been critical of India, he has gone out of his way to compliment PM Modi. They have an incredible relationship.'
The Quad grouping has called for bringing the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice without any delay and urged UN member nations to extend cooperation for it.
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
Zubeen Garg was not just Assam's voice, he was its heartbeat, its rebellion, and its song of unity in a land often torn apart.
'New Delhi is not naive about its foreign policy choices.'
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
A parliamentary panel on external affairs has expressed concern over China's growing presence and influence in the Indian Ocean Region, citing risks to India's national security and strategic interests. The panel also highlighted the strengthening China-Pakistan naval nexus as a cause for concern.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that his country respects Russia's relations with India, as he called for strengthening Islamabad's ties with Moscow during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
If the US' renewed closeness with Pakistan ends up strengthening Pakistan's military, it will clearly show that Washington no longer wants a strong India and could be ready to let China dominate Asia, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Reciprocal tariffs are not going to affect India except specific sectors and there are opportunities to capture.'
'Pakistan has found itself in a favourable position after Operation Sindoor by appreciating the mediation as claimed by Trump and recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize.'
Gold prices are expected to maintain their upward momentum though some consolidation could set in ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision on September 17, analysts said. Traders will focus on the trade inflation data to gauge the impact of tariffs, inflation numbers from major economies including UK and Euro zone, along with monetary policy meetings of Bank of England and Bank of Japan which will provide more guidance for bullion prices, they added.
India is set to become the world's fourth-largest economy in 2025, but slow income growth, lack of structural change, and rising inequality highlight the gap between progress and real transformation.
The collective West has always opposed strong leaders and economic development in India, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
United States President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic telling leaders of the Quad nations that China was testing them, thus reflecting upon the American seriousness of the emerging Chinese threat.
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