For India, China's Indian Ocean power projection, maritime domain awareness, dual-use ports, underwater surveillance, antisubmarinewarfare, naval exercises with Pakistan, pose considerable pressure, depleted India's strategic depth and marginalises Indian role, points out Srikanth Kondapalli.
'We won not (only) because we were able to carry out long-range precision strikes.' 'That is, of course, one of the reasons but we had better situational awareness about what's happening than Pakistan.'
'Historically, India has depended on the Middle Eastern Gulf for nearly 90 per cent of its LPG imports. Shifting to alternative suppliers is not something that can happen quickly.'
Kapil Chugh, accused of masterminding a Rs 1,825 crore GST refund fraud, has been arrested by DGGI officers upon his return from Dubai. He is alleged to have evaded investigation and is wanted in other economic criminal cases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a six-day tour of the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy to strengthen bilateral relations amid geopolitical challenges. The trip will focus on energy security, trade, and technological cooperation.
Indian IT services companies are set to significantly increase their acquisition spending to $6.5-7 billion this year, up from $5 billion last year, as they seek to boost revenue and capabilities in areas like Cloud, data, enterprise platforms, and AI amidst a challenging economic environment.
Financial Intelligence Unit detects over Rs 7,800 cr blackmoney.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
Iran has placed anti-personnel and anti-armour mines around the island, where US troops could potentially stage an amphibious landing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate a semiconductor plant in Sanand, Gujarat, and launch multiple development projects worth over Rs 20,000 crore, marking a significant boost to India's semiconductor industry and infrastructure.
India has joined the US-led 'Pax Silica' alliance, aimed at building a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties and fostering economic security.
It may now be time to question the price India is paying for Israel's disregard of the serious undermining of India's energy security, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
His remarks come after Trump warned Iran of severe consequences if it fails to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy transit route.
Ali Mousavi stated that such cooperation is essential for maintaining stability in the strategic waterway.
The 'rescue' operation occurred within kilometres of Iran's underground tunnel complex at Isfahan, assessed by the IAEA and US intelligence as holding a substantial portion of the country's 60 per cent enriched uranium stockpile. Retired senior US military officers have highlighted that the mission's footprint -- hundreds of special operators, multiple heavy-lift aircraft deep inside Iran -- appears outsized for recovering a single airman. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
The White House has released a framework for artificial intelligence, focusing on empowering parents to manage their children's digital environment and advocating for federal leadership to promote innovation and address policy challenges.
One of the most uncivilised characteristics of this war has been the total disregard for international law and the laws of armed conflict, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
The United States, which entered this war in expectation of a short, sharp win along the Venezuela model, is now preparing for deeper involvement in a conflict it does not fully control, without the allies it typically relies on, against an adversary that is not behaving as expected, in a global environment that is already absorbing economic shock. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
'TTP has vowed to take revenge for the attacks that Pakistan is carrying out against Afghanistan.' 'To diminish this threat, Pakistan is hitting Afghanistan hard.'
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
Although extensive air attacks have been carried out to destroy most of Iran's defence capabilities, the latter's resilience and sustenance during the war clearly indicate that the US landing force would encounter severe resistance in the operation, explains Commodore Venugopal Vengalil (retd).
The United States is facing growing discontent from its Gulf allies after several countries in the region complained that they were not given advance notice of the US-Israel strike on Iran that triggered widespread retaliatory attacks, according to media reports.
'What we have yet to see on either the US or the Iranian side is willingness to compromise on their ultimate demands and the flexibility to reach an agreement to end the war.
'The West Asia or the Gulf crisis has shown that what we develop as national infrastructure when things are not as bad as they could be, we forget to plan for adversities.'
Trump has made it clear: the US will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is signed.
Enforcement agencies have highlighted risks related to money laundering and terror financing, prompting closer scrutiny of crypto platforms operating in India.
Under the new rules, users must take a "live selfie" using software that verifies their presence, typically through eye-blinking or head movement. The measure helps prevent the use of static photos or deepfakes.
The deal shifts the US posture towards India from hostile to neutral, and that matters for growth, points out T T Ram Mohan.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a roundtable with AI startup CEOs and held bilateral meetings with global leaders at the India AI Impact Summit, focusing on AI's potential across sectors and international cooperation.
'The next two to three weeks will not be decided in Washington.' 'They will be decided in Tehran, in whatever calculation Iran makes about the costs of continued resistance against the costs of appearing to have yielded.'
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has uncovered a fake input tax credit racket worth approximately 593 crore in Karnataka, leading to the arrest of the alleged mastermind.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
'We are profoundly energy-dependent on the Gulf. That dependency must now be redirected towards the United States, because we require American permission to procure oil.' 'We additionally require Iranian permission to acquire oil from that source. So India now has to seek two separate permissions merely to secure its energy supply.' 'Should we be compelled to source from America, or from Venezuela -- which is, in effect, American-controlled supply -- that will inevitably carry a price premium, an elevated shipping cost, and a considerably extended delivery timeline, given the distances involved.'
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
'Without ground troops the US will not be able to oust the Iranian Islamic regime. Political change does not happen just by using bombs or planes.'
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
'If movement remains stalled for three to four months, more than 300,000 recruitments from India could be affected.'
