'The US wants Modi to succeed because we want India to succeed. For our part, when India thinks of its partners in the world, we want it to think of the US first. That means positioning our country as the preferred provider of the key inputs that can help to propel India's rise.' 'The meeting between Modi and Obama is, and must be, an opportunity for true strategic dialogue -- not a scripted exchange of talking points, but an open discussion of the big questions. What kind of world do we want to live in? What are our true priorities? And most importantly, why does this partnership still matter?'
If the aim is to become a player with some strategic space of its own, not just in the Indian Ocean region but also in the adjoining region, then greater interaction with China is desirable, even necessary.
'It is a tense border and there are numerous elements that keep these tensions alive.' 'India is willing to militarily respond if provoked.'
Inflation is down and there's every chance that crude prices will be subdued through the next year.
If Afghanistan is going to make any gains through democratic reforms, the newly elected president must start with addressing corruption at all levels of government and developing a comprehensive government financing plan independent of American support.
The Niti Aayog has finalised the first draft of a new national energy policy.
Biometric authentication is based on the unscientific and questionable assumption that there are parts of human body that does not age, wither and decay with the passage of time.
Sushma Swaraj, like Clinton, has a strong political base in her own party and is likely to have her imprint on foreign policy, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Capital flows have become much more skittish and volatile during this period, with short-term horizons dominating allocations.
Even if they score administratively, state governments ruled by the party suffer from an inability to communicate positively, say observers.
'It is a very hard won situation that the army has brought about in J&K in 25 years, we don't want to fritter it away...' 'By 2010-2012 the terrorist strength had come down to 300, 400. From a high of 3,000 to 4,000 to 300 to 400 was no mean achievement for the army,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'If Indian armed forces entered Pakistan and succeeded in inflicting major damage on the Pakistani army and occupied territory in the Pakistani heartland, there is reason to think the Pakistani military would use some nuclear weapons against the incoming Indian forces to compel India to stop.'
A culture of science and innovation must be embedded in society wherein people not only use new technology but understand it as well. Without this, obscurantism and blind faith can sit side by side with digital technology and, in fact, use the same technology to reinforce their hold on people, says Shram Saran.
In the crazily complex cauldron that is India, where caste, community, class and cash are just the primary ingredients, no one has yet come up with a fool-proof method to ascertain how voters make up their minds, on which button to press, in the privacy of their 'confessional' booths, notes Krishna Prasad.
'Independence Day has been India's annual general meeting. For the most part, it has been a forgettable experience of ritual observances. Not so this year... Mr Modi instead presented what I call a moral balance sheet of India,' says Shreekant Sambrani.
The Korean summit, laden with symbolism in everything from the choice of location to the mango mousse for dessert, could just be the first round in a continuing dialogue, says Dr Rajaram Panda.
'The brazen politics, in this series of bullying of AMU by functionaries of the Union and provincial governments, utterly disregarding the fact that the matter is sub judice, is quite obvious.' 'One needs to see through the desperate politics of the BJP which governs both Uttar Pradesh and the Centre, especially its woes over its Dalit support base,' says AMU Professor Mohammad Sajjad.
'The military aim in a future conflict, if it can't be avoided, should be to cause maximum damage to the adversary's war waging capability and capture limited amount of territory as a bargaining counter,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'It is in the interest of both sides that the visit of the US President is seen as being successful. Both sides have invested considerable political capital in it. This rapid exchange of visits and the decisions taken have to be justified, beyond the symbolism, which is no doubt important in itself. This opportunity to impart a fresh momentum to ties should not be missed,' says former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal.
'If you are in Punjab, Modi is omnipresent as if he is going to be chief minister of Punjab.'
'If he is in Uttarakhand, he presents himself to be the chief minister of Uttarakhand.'
'When he is in UP, he is touted as the chief minister of UP.' 'There is a personality cult which is being built around a person... that he is the panacea of every democratic exercise in India, from panchayat to Parliament.' 'Modi at some point will pay the price for trying to build a very ambitious personality cult.'
In 1954, a bench of eight Supreme Court judges declared that the Constitution-makers did not recognise the Fundamental Right to Privacy. It is hoped that a larger bench as and when constituted will uphold the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right overruling the 1954 decision, says the distinguished lawyer, P P Rao.
'As each week brings fresh tales of the woes of Rio on the eve of the Olympics, I wonder whether my friends had a foreboding that the Gods of the Olympics will bring only misfortunes to their country.' 'For, surely, Brazil is now getting ready to host the Games with a joyless spirit, says B S Prakash, formerly India's ambassador to Brazil.
'This generation has seen no communication.' 'You have not given them any stake.' 'They don't have a feeling of belonging.' 'They have only seen a man in uniform with a gun.' 'That is why it is taking a more vicious form today -- the attacks on the security forces and the retaliation is causing heavy loss of lives.'
India and China on Wednesday signed in all nine agreements, including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, after restricted and delegation-level talks that lasted over two hours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang met for the second time this year for talks which the Indian leader described as "fruitful and productive".
'The finance minister and the government have met the immediate challenge. The wine this time is new and also in a new bottle, which, though not full, is less than half empty.'
'Biometric Aadhaar-based surveillance is not only about violation of privacy, but also about the treasure hunt for unprecedented financial surveillance and economic intelligence in the economic history of mankind,' asks Gopal Krishna.
DMK Working President MK Stalin is worried about divisions in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam after the death of Jayalalithaa and keen that it should not affect the functioning of the administration.
India is likely to announce its targets for the Paris deal by September-end.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday disagreed with those in the Congress who were dismissive of the challenge posed by Narendra Modi but asserted that the party would approach the 2014 Lok Sabha polls with self-confidence, irrespective of the results of the just concluded elections in five states.
Since many of Modi's urban policies were initiated in Ahmedabad, the city may act as a template to examine what can be expected in a country that is witnessing the biggest migration from rural to urban areas in the world
Amid souring ties, the president visited Beijing for three days. On his return to India, a hope of better ties has arisen, says senior correspondent R Rajagopalan, who travelled with Pranab Mukherjee to the Asian superpower.
Sanjay Mathur, managing director and head of economics research for Asia Pacific (ex-Japan), Royal Bank of Scotland, tells Business Standard that in the emerging market pack, India needs to learn lessons from Korea and Taiwan, which have managed their economic situations well.
This is the full text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to media persons ahead of his interaction with them in New Delhi on Friday
'Will 'Make in India' be able to harness the demographic dividend so it does not become a disaster?' 'Will 'Digital India' live up to the lofty promises the government and private sector made as part of its recent launch?'
'The Congress can't return to power unless it reins in prices, lowers interest rates, taxes the rich,' says Praful Bidwai. 'If this means sacking those most responsible for the UPA's pro-big business policies including Finance Minister Chidambaram, so be it!'
Let Bihar be damned under its contradictions of having gone 'dry' and then having been submerged under flood, which is a recurrent phenomena? After all it is a godforsaken land, having lost its promises of overcoming its problems, says Mohammad Sajjad.
One hopes the higher courts take the extraordinary steps needed to secure justice for the victims. The Gujarat carnage demands nothing less because of its unique nature and sponsorship by the State, argues Praful Bidwai.
By refusing permission for the proposed ship-breaking facility, India can send a categorical message to the foreign ship owning countries that they should keep their own waste and recycle
We should be prepared for a phase of increased tensions in India-Pakistan relationship thanks to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, says Shyam Saran.
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