This curious piece of information was given by External Affairs Ministry in response to query posted by Mumbai-based RTI activist Ajay Marathe, who was intrigued by the reports of expenses incurred on various embassies by India.
Some members of the Obama administration have worried that Pakistan's heightened anxieties about India might lead Islamabad to take reckless measures, so they have wanted New Delhi to pursue more diplomatic engagement with Islamabad.
The hugely popular Indian Premier League is leading a cricket 'revolution' in strife-torn Afghanistan where the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament and Bollywood sells like hot cakes.
Sitharaman has completed just 19 days as defence minister and is also pre-occupied with the Gujarat assembly election, notes Ajai Shukla.
'Unless you capture territory and plant your flag, the war is never won.'
'Crafting a coherent, transparent and consistent policy vis-a-vis our neighbours, leave alone the rest of the world, is unlikely to be high on the priority list of the new Indian government, which will be sworn in before June,' says Ramananda Sengupta.
"ISRO has been launching at least one satellite every month, so our calender is perennially packed and at this point of time it looks difficult to launch the South Asian satellite in December. It could get delayed by a month," a senior official said.
While Iraq and Afghanistan top the Global Terrorism Index 2014 as the most terror-affected nations, India has been ranked number six.
Afghan women's cricket team formed in 2010 was quietly dissolved this year amid Taliban threats, insecurity and conservative beliefs.
Bindu Sampath from Thiruvananthapuram is the voice of all those mothers who have lost their children to ISIS. Her habeas corpus petition for her daughter Nimisha, who got married and converted to Islam, was turned down. Now the NIA has found daughter and family to be with ISIS in Afghanistan, but Bindu has not given up hope to bring her back to India.
India can stay relevant in Afghanistan not by being a bystander but by actively bolstering anti-Taliban forces monetarily, militarily and politically, say Lt Gen R K Sawhney and Sushant Sareen
'The first 55 years of Natwar Singh's life give a fascinating narrative of our diplomacy,' says Ambassador B S Prakash after reading One Life is Not Enough.
Just for a moment, says Kamaraj Gopalan, consider the possibility: Dawood Ibrahim captured a few days before the next general election. It would be Dr Singh and the Congress's Osama moment. What answer could Narendra Modi possibly have to that?
Here's a recap of all the events that shaped the world from the previous week.
"We want to work closely (with) Pakistan to create a more stable and secure Pakistan as well," he said.
'It is important to note that American officials were trying their best to use the Taliban for their oil games till December 1997 when Mullah Ghous was invited to America. State Department officials did not show any interest in capturing or killing Osama bin Laden even at that time.'
Indian Christian priest Father Alexis Prem Kumar who returned to India eight months after his abduction in Afghanistan, gave the credit of his return to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that it was because of him that he was here.
'Modi loves to keep others guessing and basks in the media glare, both traits that are politically helpful but are inimical to stable relations, especially in the fragile Indo-Pak equation.'
An exhibition in Bengaluru showcases some of the best photographs by legendary photojournalists, such as James Nachtwey, Sebastiao Salgado and Steve McCurry
PM Narendra Modi said to carve out new routes of peace and prosperity is the common goal of India, Iran and Afghanistan.
'Obama's decision to end the US military involvement in the Afghan civil war needs to be welcomed as a positive development for regional security and stability. India, too, has a great opportunity opening up here if it plays its cards in sync with the spirit of the times rather than continuing to view the Afghan problem in zero-sum terms,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Seeking to enhance strategic cooperation and help Afghanistan deal with key challenges of security and stability, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived on Wednesday on a crucial visit as the trouble-torn country approaches the first democratic transition of power after fall of the Taliban in 2001.
Security Expert Bruce Riedel, who in an interview with rediff.com shortly after the Pathankot terror attacks began said that the attack underscored the determination of jihadist groups in Pakistan to sabotage any attempt at detente with India, writes in the Daily Beast that despite the US putting the Jaish-e-Mohammad on the terrorist sanctions list years ago, the outfit continues to coddle the Pakistani army.
The Global Terrorism Index 2017 released by the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the last 17 years in covering the period from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2016. According to the report, this is the second consecutive year, deaths from terrorism declined. Over the two years there was a decrease of 22 per cent compared to the peak of terror activity in 2014. Terrorism deaths have fallen significantly in Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. However, Islamic State defied this positive trend with over 9,000 deaths, primarily in Iraq and increased activity in OECD countries.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
"I am not giving false assurance. If I had confirmation that they were killed, then definitely, I would have sought apology from their families the with folded hands and said they were killed. Their killing in such a situation in Mosul in Iraq would not have been blamed on me.
A White House official said the US is prepared to take actions on its own to safeguard its personnel in Afghanistan.
'The Modi government knows that much cannot be expected of Pakistan till the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue is resolved,' says Rajeev Sharma.
In aviation parlance, an 'interline arrangement' is a deal under which the same ticket covers different legs of the journey flown by different airlines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Afghanistan's new Parliament built by India in Kabul
A list of all the foreign visits taken up by PM Narendra Modi this year and their outcomes.
The mohalla committee movement in Mumbai celebrated its 25th anniversary last weekend. The movement, which was born in the wake of the horrific Mumbai riots of 1992-1993, has played an important role in ensuring that Hindu-Muslim riots do not recur in the Maximum City.
At least 200 people were killed and more than 1,300 others injured today as a powerful 7.5- magnitude earthquake -- the strongest in 10 years --rocked Pakistan, sending severe shock waves as far as Punjab and PoK.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
Images of the events that shaped the world last week.
'If push comes to shove, Pakistan does have the capability to make it difficult for the US and NATO forces to make even a withdrawal of troops out of Afghanistan in orderly fashion,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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Pakistan on Friday said a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly would be an "useful opportunity" to build trust and consolidate ties.
'We want to celebrate my brother's return in a big way, says Father Kumar's brother.
Three Indian Air Force officers held as Prisoners of War in a jail in Rawalipindi made a heroic escape. They reached as far as the Pak-Afghan border in Pakistan's Wild West -- within sniffing distance of freedom -- only to realise that they had finally met their match. Or so it seemed. The three escapees were never feted for their audacious attempt 41 years and truly deserve official recognition. Why not honour them at least now, says MP Anil Kumar.
Pakistan on Wednesday brushed aside India's unhappiness over Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz's meetings with Kashmiri separatists in New Delhi, saying such meets were "customary" and the Kashmir issue remains the "core dispute" between the two countries.
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