'Steve was the foremost strategic analyst on South Asia,' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
General Naravane's UAE and Saudi Arabia visits communicate India's long awaited arrival in the domain of integrated foreign policy where the diplomatic and the military domains both complement each other much more substantially, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'Imagine taking care of a patient who is infected with Covid. A human nurse is unable to do that due to fear of infection. The robot can do that task, while it is controlled or supervised by the human nurse. So the robot becomes an extension of the nurse.'
The Indian economy has "some bright spots and a number of very dark stains" and the government should target its spending "carefully" so that there are no huge deficits, noted economist and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Sunday. Known for his frank views, Rajan also said the government needs to do more to prevent a K-shaped recovery of the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Generally, a K-shaped recovery will reflect a situation where technology and large capital firms recover at a far faster rate than small businesses and industries that have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.
'The crisis has strengthened America's resolve to work towards building its relationship with India as a bulwark against Chinese aggression'
As India goes into firming up trade deals with developed nations like Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the regional bloc, and the European Union (EU), it will have to be well prepared to negotiate on new-generation issues, such as data protection regulation, e-commerce, and environment. India is yet to negotiate pacts with its trading partners on these evolving issues since discussions between them have until now been largely focused on tariff and non-tariff barriers and the rules of origin. "We can no longer look at trade just as trade. We have to look at it in totality of global and regional conditions.
'Institutional ownership, by December 2018, had increased 37.5% from approximately 22% in early 2009,' points out Amit Tandon.
'What has the impact of 40 years of warfare in Afghanistan been on us?' 'Afghanistan is marginal to India's future.'
Appointing Neemuchwala is seen as a big shift for Wipro.
'Pakistan has power -- they have the power of terrorism and the reluctance of the world to act against them.'
Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of Ranchi city after some policemen, including an Indian Police Service officer, and others were injured in Ranchi on Friday while trying to control a mob near a temple, an official said.
In the changed circumstances and attitudes in Britain, we must let bygones be bygones, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
HR Guru Mayank Rautela offers practical advice.
'President-elect Biden, in particular, has deep knowledge of, and experience with, dealing with India, serving as a custodian and champion of the relationship long before it was fashionable to do so.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday described India and America as "natural partners" as he held the first in-person meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House during which they decided to further cement the Indo-US strategic partnership and discussed global issues of common interest, including threats to democracy and the Indo-Pacific.
Vodafone plc has made it clear that it will not make any fresh equity infusion in its Indian telecom business--Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL). Responding to a query, a spokesperson at the UK-headquartered telco said: "Just to confirm our position, there will be no new equity infusion from Vodafone Group." This is the first time that Vodafone has spoken about its stand after the government announced a telecom package.
Here is how the two countries stack up militarily, according to a report in AlJazeera.com.
'When the issue of terrorism came up, the Vice President suo moto referred Pakistan's role in that regard (of terrorism),' Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla told reporters when asked if the issue of Pakistan's role in terrorism came up during her meeting with Modi.
India is among 75 countries with which Switzerland's Federal Tax Administration has exchanged information on financial accounts within the framework of global standards on Automatic Exchange of Information.
The company has set an affordable ceiling price of USD 3 (around Rs 225) per dose, it added.
We import from China not because we love China, but because they sell us these things at cheap prices, points out Rathin Roy.
India is better positioned to face external shocks emanating from increasing geopolitical tensions, the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and the inevitability of climate change, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra said on Monday. Relative to macroeconomic configurations in 2013 when India was described as one of the fragile five countries, he said, "India is better positioned currently, as its macroeconomic fundamentals have improved significantly, and external sector indicators point to the availability of enough cushions to manage external shocks." He was speaking at a conference on 'Growth And Development in the BRICS Economies' organised by the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).
An alert government in Delhi should have begun government-to-government discussions with Moscow the moment it came to know that Russians were developing a vaccine. That is to say, almost an year's time has been lost, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Jaitley's tenure as defence minister saw clearance of a number of big ticket reform measures and simplification of military acquisition process.
'The missile mounted near Kailash-Mansarovar is called DF-21. It is a medium-range, 2,200 kilometres ballistic missile. Its advantage is that it can cover all cities of north India, including New Delhi'
Experts said the tensions have added to a sense of apprehension in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia that China will engage in more aggressive behaviour in pursuit of its territorial interests, which in turn has raised the possibility of a serious and coordinated pushback by leading global players.
Late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman was awarded the prestigious prize for the year 2019 in recognition of his vision to strengthen relations with India, and his efforts to promote peace and non-violence in the Gulf region, the ministry said.
'If things don't work on the ground and they continue moving at this pace, it will vanish.'
American help in defending our independence will send a strong signal to the Chinese, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The government currently holds 87.40 per cent stake in IRCTC. To meet Sebi's public holding norm, it has to lower its stake in the company to 75 per cent.
The Adani group has the maximum number of companies in the trillion club at five, followed by the Tata group (four).
'Chinese experts estimate that the new US administration is 'at the crossroads of how to re-manage and control' Sino-American differences and strategic divergences and Biden's bottom line is that the US would have 'extreme competition with China, but won't allow competition to develop into conflict',' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The virus of trust deficit seems to be taking a toll of the friendship built over the years by succeeding leaderships of the two countries,' notes Rup Narayan Das.
The tearing hurry to form theatre commands has to be replaced by a balanced and deliberate approach. We need to accept that this process will take time if executed correctly and in the best interests of the Indian armed forces, argues Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Fitch Ratings on Monday said the plan to privatise two state-owned banks in the current financial year ending March 2022 could face delays amid renewed challenges for the Indian banking sector due to the second wave of Covid-19. The government in the Budget announced plans to privatise two public-sector banks. NITI Aayog has been entrusted with the task of selecting the banks and one general insurance company for the privatisation.
Britain has finalised 1 billion pounds worth of new trade and investment with India, creating over 6,500 jobs in the UK, to be signed off at a virtual summit between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The investments confirmed by Downing Street on Monday evening form part of an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP), which will set the ambition to double the value of UK-India trade by 2030 and declare a shared intent to begin work towards a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA). "Like every aspect of the UK-India relationship, the economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer," Johnson said.
Very gradual fiscal consolidation glide path with looser-than-expected fiscal policy; good quality spending mix and reasonable assumption on fiscal math; and focus on privatisation, asset monetisation and long-term funding for infrastructure investments, according to Morgan Stanley, are the three key themes from the Budget 2021.
After his wide-ranging talks with Modi on the second and final day of his India visit, Johnson said the new defence and security partnership will enable India to strengthen its domestic defence industry as well as help the two countries protect vital shared interests in the Indo-Pacific.
'To set up a successful business, one must have a solution to an existing problem or a better way of addressing the current solution.'
'The BRICS anthem has to necessarily be an anthem of Vedic times -- Walk together, Dream together, Achieve together.' 'And who knows it better than Modi?' says Tarun Vijay.
