At the summit, India signed the SCO's memorandum of obligations, kick-starting the process of its accession into the group as a full member.
'Today, if the international community is seeking space, if not place, here, then the message is not unclear in any which way. 'It does not reflect well on the nation's standing in the international arena, where human rights issues go a long way in building bilateral relations and benefiting from international cooperation, more than any aspect of politics and diplomacy,' N Sathiya Moorthy.
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
'There is a cost to war.' 'The West knows that and so does Putin.' 'The point is, how much of the cost are both sides willing to pay?'
On a visit to India in 2013, writer Ved Mehta -- who passed into the ages on Sunday January 10, 2021 - gave Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel a rare glimpse into his state of mind and what he thinks of the changes he encounters in his motherland.
'That the two sides allowed such a situation to arise exposed the level of inaction and inefficiency in China-India border management.' 'The Modi-Xi meeting in Xiamen initiated a process to to avert such contingencies in the future.'
The government is by far the largest employer; job security is guaranteed for government employees, and their wages are set through once-in-10-year Pay Commission.
Ideas don't have border controls and visas.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for deeper ties in key areas of counter-terrorism, climate change and UN reforms.
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).
'James Crabtree ignores the emergence of a nexus between business and politics going back to the 1920s and talks of it as a new child of 21st century India,' says Shivanand Kanavi.
Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 72nd Republic Day.
Piyush Goyal's comments about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's investment in India reveals an inability to understand how businesses function, says Kanika Datta.
India needs to unleash technological and social innovations that can usher in a new developmental model the world has not seen before, TCS Vice-Chairman S Ramadorai said.
Rahul attacked Modi and BJP, alleging that 'politics of divide and polarisation is radicalising people in India'.
Trump is the first nominee of a major party in over a century to have no experience whatsoever of any political, administrative or military office.
China is on the lookout for investment pastures where its money is welcome, safe and earns a decent return. India also needs vast investment - about $1 trillion over the next 10-15 years - in infrastructure, green energy, transportation and heavy industry, says Ravi Bhoothalingam.
Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday virtually backed the non-governmental organisation Greenpeace in the backdrop of an Intelligence Bureau report warning that the NGO is a threat to the country's economic growth.
The year 2016 was officially the Earth's warmest since record-keeping began in the 1880s, the World Meteorological Organization announced on Wednesday.
Days before Narendra Modi arrives in the US to speak at the UN, meet Barack Obama, gupshup with the likes of Nadella, Pichai, Zuckerberg, and address desis in Silicon Valley, his ministers will help set the commercial and strategic tone for the prime minister's visit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Australia will not be at the periphery of India's vision but at the centre of its thought, as he called for closer bilateral security cooperation and a comprehensive global strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism.
'If you want to live a happy life, you have to help the downtrodden. You have to understand that you have been given a position which is a confluence of your own capability and the grace of God. You must use that position to exemplify to others what has to be followed.'
Here's a pick of what Warrenn Buffett had to say over the weekend, and his annual 'Woodstock for Capitalists'.
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
We are all 'Chasing the Monsoon', notes Ajit Balakishnan.
The Singapore Minister applauded Prime Minister Modi's effort to make India the manufacturing hub of the world.
'There was no need for opting for such an elaborately and expensively organised spectacle,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'If Trump is out, Modi is going to find himself in a hotspot, having to reset his relations with the new US President with whom he will have to co-exist for well-nigh his full term,' notes B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Following is the full text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech at the Central Party School in Beijing on Thursday:
'The present government swears by Hinduism. But we lost three of our sants during earlier BJP regimes.'
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.
You have to really bungle to produce 5.7 per cent growth under the conditions this government is currently facing, says Mihir S Sharma.
At a time when China is trying to make its foray into South Asia, India should use its shared history to strengthen its ties in the region, says Dr Rup Narayan Das.
He said India would continue to actively pursue and promote its geo-political, strategic and economic interests on the seas, in particular the Indian Ocean.
The prime minister also pitched for respecting freedom of navigation against the backdrop of South China sea dispute.
'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.
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The stock market responded to his speech by going up by over two per cent; the rupee also gained in strength, by about 1.45 per cent, against the dollar.
'Modi's recent decisions to improve India-China relations, adjust India's neighbourhood policies and to rebalance India's ties with the major powers are linked to his political agenda.' 'Of course, the good part is that this agenda is also in the national interest,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The new order cometh, sweeping out the old,' notes Ambassador B S Prakash.
