Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken on new academic roles at the University of Oxford and Stanford University, both alma maters of the Conservative Party member of Parliament. Sunak will join Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government as a member of the World Leaders Circle and a Distinguished Fellow, while at Stanford, he will be the William C Edwards Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Sunak expressed his enthusiasm for contributing to both institutions, highlighting their leading research in global challenges, economic policy, and technological advancements. He emphasized the significance of his education at both universities in shaping his life and career. The appointments have been welcomed by both institutions, with leaders praising Sunak's expertise and experience in global affairs and economic policy.
The foreign degree no longer sells itself, families are doing the math, and for many, the numbers just don't add up.
Isn't there something significant in the UPI example for all of us to learn from and execute to enable world-scale success for our startups?, asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said Parliament's Monsoon session is like a 'Vijay Utsav' as the Indian armed forces achieved their objectives under Operation Sindoor 100 per cent, and expressed confidence that the MPs will articulate this sentiment in one voice.
Opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy appeals to MPs to vote with conscience in the upcoming vice presidential polls, urging them to prioritize the spirit of India and parliamentary traditions over party loyalty.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal assures Parliament that India will take necessary steps to protect its national interests following the US announcement of tariffs on Indian goods. The government is assessing the implications and engaging with stakeholders.
The current instability in the world is a result of long term systemic and socio-politico problems, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP), led by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, has secured a landslide victory in the country's general election. The PAP won 87 of 97 seats, with voters endorsing the party's focus on stability and economic security amidst global uncertainties. Wong expressed gratitude for the strong mandate and vowed to tackle concerns about the cost of living and housing. The results mark a significant win for the PAP, which has been in power since Singapore's independence in 1965.
India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has underscored the importance of not equating the victims and perpetrators of terror attacks, highlighting the need for global unity in combating terrorism. Speaking at Raisina Tokyo 2025, Misri expressed appreciation for Japan's support following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, India. He also cautioned against the trend of some Western countries hyphenating India and Pakistan in the context of their recent military confrontation. Misri further outlined India's economic aspirations and its commitment to becoming a factor of stability in a turbulent world.
'It has the potential to sow seeds of furthering discord when the direction of the discourse is aimed at propagating the perceived supremacy of 'cultural nationalism' from a distant past over the prevailing dominance of 'Constitutional nationalism',' argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Although China has been ruling over Tibet for past 75 years, it has no legitimacy.'
India has to fill in all the critical gaps in missiles, ammunition, sensors and stockpile in the fastest possible manner, focusing on the critical instruments that worked this time, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Debroy's economic interests and research work covered numerous areas such as economic theory, income inequality, and infrastructure financing.
'I am not an aspiration-oriented politician.' 'This is the time to redefine politics.' 'Politics of power is not real politics.'
The agency seized documents like answer sheets, OMR codes, hand-written notes related to IDs and names of candidates apart from their education certificates, the sources said.
Hailed as the architect of India's economic reforms, former prime minister Manmohan Singh in one his last interviews had said in 2019 that the country's economy was 'over-regulated', the government exerted control and interferences were aplenty with even regulators having 'morphed into controllers'.
'Militarily, it risks escalating tensions with Pakistan, potentially triggering conflict due to Pakistan's heavy reliance on the Indus.'
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
Soros, 94, in the recent past has spoken openly against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ruling BJP believe that he tried to interfere in Indian elections.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's eligibility to enrol foreign students, raising concerns over the legal status of thousands of students, including nearly 800 from India, currently enrolled at the varsity.
Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist, and his organisations like OSF have been accused by the ruling BJP of acting against India's interests. His utterances during the Adani-Hindenburg controversy also drew criticism from the party.
'Even one accident can cause problems for the entire coastal system.'
The 'aura of invincibility' around Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been 'shattered' by the Indian voters who gave the Opposition a new lease on life, this is how the international media described the outcome of India's general elections.
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong urged that the government should launch a crackdown against all anti-China terrorist groups after two deadly attacks took place in Pakistan within only six months, The Express Tribune reported.
The Indian Diaspora has been able to carve a niche in their adopted countries as a result of their talent, perseverance and hardworking nature, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
A leader of reserve and quiet dignity, former prime minister Manmohan Singh had a keen taste for Urdu verses, and his poetic banters with Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha are among the most viewed parliamentary debates on social media.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and called for a return to ballot paper voting. He also criticized the Modi government for selling off public assets, undermining democratic institutions, and promoting communal polarization. Kharge's remarks come as the Congress prepares for its AICC session in Ahmedabad, where it will present its political and economic views.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
We must bring a laser focus on our own interests, and define our friends and foes more clearly instead of trying to live by somebody else's rules. We must grow up, think for ourselves, think India First, asserts R Jagannathan.
Bibek Debroy was one of the very few economists not bound by any single area of expertise and was simultaneously curious about economics and politics, myths and maths, chess and chemistry, and what not, remembers Laveesh Bhandari.
'We are not asking for incentives, but at least taxation can be aligned such that the rupee tax on consumers remains the same.'
United States President-elect Donald Trump's plan to overhaul the government with a new department headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk and Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will be a biggest threat for China as it has to compete with far more efficient US political system, a policy advisor to the Chinese government said.
There is a growing sentiment in the world and the global South in a way embodies it. But there's also political resistance, he said.
This is possibly the first time Hasina's daughter will be by her mother's side during an official visit to close neighbour and ally India, and analysts believe this to be significant in many ways.
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
'The dominance of her party also meant that the institutions became lopsided -- whether it was the bureaucracy or the courts or the military.' 'She centralised power to the extent that you would see her representatives or her party office bearers having overly represented in these institutions.' 'That perhaps would have been the biggest blunder that she committed.'
