Why did the political system in the country react to these two decisions of the Modi government in a diametrically opposite manner? asks A K Bhattacharya.
If Modi wants to leave a real legacy, breaking India's strategic triangulation would be the real gift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
"We have a strong view that there should be Security Council reform of the United Nations, that the Security Council should reflect the modern world, which is why we've suggested that both India and Japan should become permanent members of a reformed United Nations Security Council," the Australian foreign minister said.
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Elections for the five non-permanent members of the 15-nation Council for the 2021-22 term will be held around June next year.
The talks between the two leaders covered the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as key regional and global issues, including the Ukraine conflict.
She lamented that Africa despite being the largest continent in terms of number of the countries and India, which has has one-sixth of the world's population, still don't have permanent membership of the UNSC.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
'I hope that Macho Man agrees to debate her, because I think she will do spectacularly well in the debate.'
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
On October 24, the United Nations turns 70. 'The credibility of the UN has been eroded by the fact that the Security Council does not represent the political realities of the world today,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, listing the 10 things the UN needs to do to become more relevant and effective.
In a significant victory, India has been re-elected to the UN's main human rights body for the period of 2015-17, receiving the highest number of votes in the Asia-Pacific group.
The United Nations General Assembly today elected Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela as the new non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning in January next year.
Noting that the last reforms to the Security Council were made in the sixties, Ambassador of France to India Jerome Bonnafont said "if we want the Security Council to remain a legitimate place for handling peace and security crisis in the world, it is absolutely necessary to have India as well as couple of others as permanent members."
Prime Minister Modi felt there were too many silos with no arrangement to take a comprehensive view on national security. The PM has entrusted NSA Ajit Doval to evolve a comprehensive roadmap and get it implemented, reveals Nitin Gokhale, Editor-in-Chief, Strategic News International.
Seeking China's backing for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat for India, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday called on Beijing to 'review' its policies on UN reforms to 'welcome' its neighbour to the core group of the world body."Indeed, even on the complex issue of UN reforms, it is time for China to review previously held positions and welcome the presence of, in the Security Council, a nation with which it has much in common," Krishna said.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
India and Britain have also agreed that the World Bank should be reformed to give it an environmental focus. They further agreed on improving the working of the International Monetary Fund and on giving the United Nations a greater role in its stability and reconstruction activities.
India, which has been at the forefront of the years-long efforts to reform the UNSC, began its two-year tenure at the Council on Friday last.
While Congress and the states ruled by non-NDA parties pushed for the Centre meeting its statutory obligation of covering the deficit, the Union government cited a legal opinion to say it had no such obligation if there was a shortfall in tax collections. The Centre as well as BJP-JD-U-ruled Bihar were of the opinion that the states should borrow to make up for the shortfall in the tax revenues that have been compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, sources said.
At a joint media briefing with Lavrov, Jaishankar listed issues such as "factors of instability" such as terrorism and its cross-border manifestation and said it remains a "major concern".
Here is an explainer on the functioning of the seven-year-old body.
The people will view it from their viewpoint, their immediate interest, historical experiences, their insecurities, he said.
India and Africa on Wednesday declared their support to each other for a permanent seat in the expanded United Nations Security Council and favoured reforms of the world body to make it more representative and democratic.
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Syed Akbaruddin, on Thursday lambasted Pakistan for peddling a false narrative on New Delhi and said there are no "takers for your malware here".
The agency had received Rs 946.51 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, which was later increased to Rs 968.86 crore in the Revised Estimates.
Sushma in her address at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting said that terrorism is an enemy of basic human rights.
"Time has come for Pakistan to decide in its own interests. We will do what's in Pakistan's interests," Qureshi told Geo TV in an interview.
Visiting Namibian Foreign Minister Marco Hausiku conveyed his country's "strong support" to India's candidature for permanent membership of the Security Council during talks with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The Security Council as it is today is unable to bring peace and security in the world and so there is reason for countries like India to become members of the Council, Ambassador Asoke Kumar Mukerji tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
The US welcomed the election of India as a non-permanent member of the powerful UN Security Council along with South Africa and Brazil and hoped these countries would play an important and constructive role in resolving key global issues together.
"Will the President, while he is in India and probably while he is speaking to the Parliament, utter the words, 'The United States supports India's permanent membership in a reformed UN Security Council' or not?
India said the prevailing architecture of the UN Security Council has proved to be grossly inadequate in effectively dealing with current challenges such as the conflicts in the Middle East and the rise of ISIS as it called for urgent reform of the UN body.
Addressing the UNGA plenary session Clegg called for enlarging the Security Council 'to make up for the failure to fully face new challenges posed by a global map' that has radically changed since the world body was founded 65 years ago.
The race for the UN secretary-general for 2022-2027 is already over and another term for Antonio Guterres is a foregone conclusion, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The biggest challenge will be to convert his regime into a coalition of minds. But given the fact that he is instinctively an authoritarian leader and supporter of the hard Hindutva line, the survival of his government will depend on his ability to balance between his heart and mind, between instinct and pragmatism, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
India has slammed the "indifference" of some UNSC towards restraining terrorists, saying it has questioned the Security Council's ability to combat terrorism.
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.
Britain has backed India for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council to make the world body more credible and effective.
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