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.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit India early next month as part of a three-nation Asia tour to consult with the Indian leadership on key regional and global issues including Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Myanmar.
Market experts on why the bulls will be on the rampage first thing on Monday after the scrapping of enhanced surcharge on FPIs and other measures to ease the systemic liquidity squeeze and boost demand. Prasanna D Zore reports.
The fall was led by L&T, IndusInd Bank, PowerGrid, NTPC, TCS, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel and SBI, declining up to 2.64 per cent.
Remaining in the denial mode, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday termed as "India's long-time habit" the assertion that his country was behind the Uri attack.
The NSE Nifty also gained 53 points, or 0.49 per cent, to settle 10,855.15 after shuttling between 10,870.40 and 10,749.40.
One subject of the third round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will be cybersecurity.
Growing American exports to China will help boost the US economic recovery.
NSE Nifty, after shuttling between 10,809.60 and 10,725.90, finished 30.95 points, or 0.29 per cent lower at 10,741.10.
The nation ranked 138 among 180 countries, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index report.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would have his tete-a-tete with Obama in Bali in a surreal setting, says MK Bhadrakumar, and draws comparisons to the US-China encounter in Honolulu
'The challenge before the two countries is to turn the peak into a plateau and enter an irreversible phase of cooperation,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Congress vice president said that people across the world are questioning why tolerance levels in India are falling.
'Another rejection of mediation between India and Pakistan will leave Mr Trump disappointed.' 'In that case, he is likely to point out the war-like situation on the border and press for direct talks which have been stalled on account of continuing terrorism from Pakistan,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'It seems a wiser decision to pull out at the right moment than regret after joining the pact,' explains Dr Rahul Mishra.
'There are reports of political dissent mounting on Xi Jinping's handling of the Wuhan fallout.'
China, a veto-wielding member of the UNSC, has blocked the move by India and other member nations three times in the past to designate Azhar.
India spent USD 63.9 billion on its military in 2017, an increase of 5.5 per cent compared with 2016 and of 45 per cent since 2008.
The recent meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington agreed to set up a surveillance system to monitor the economic performance of countries with the greatest potential for "spillover effects" - the economic impact that extended beyond their boundaries.
If the rupee falls further, it would negatively impact the dollar-based returns of foreign investors, and could influence foreign flows into India.
The US will also try to persuade Beijing to make it easier for foreigners to make portfolio investments in China.
US President Barack Obama has called for a spirit of constructive cooperation and healthy competition with China, as differences with Beijing on key global and bilateral issues remained even after his meeting with President Hu Jintao at the White House.
'India will come increasingly in the US crosshairs if it insists on maintaining its strategic autonomy, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The state visit of the Chinese President, Hu Jintao, beginning today is different from Obama's November trip to India, it added. "It (Hu's US visit)'s a little different than our trip to India, in the sense that the economic relationship that we have with the Chinese is different on a scale with what we do with India," said Robert Gibbs.
The prime minister also welcomed convergence of views between India and ASEAN for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
The ballooning of crude prices has significantly increased the country's oil import bill and it can also lead to a worsening of the current account deficit and fiscal deficit for the domestic economy.
'From the Indian perspective, Trump's invitation to Imran Khan to visit the White House is a bitter pill to swallow,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In controversial remarks more than likely to raise New Delhi's ire less than two months before President Barack Obama India tour, a top United States' State Department official strongly defended a greater Chinese role in South Asia even as he acknowledged India's sensitivities over such a Beijing role.
'Only when China treats India as an equal can we consider them real friends.'
"US President Barack Obama should have visited the world's largest democracy last year itself. India is the future and meetings between the countries should be a continuous process," said Pete Dagher, Obama's campaign manager, who is also a political analyst.
The stagnation in US-Russia relations does not augur well for New Delhi's strategic interests, says Harsh V Pant and Raj Kumar Sharma.
India will become the world's fourth largest passenger vehicle market in the next three years, but will require an investment of about $20 billion to build up to nine new plants to meet the demand by then, according to global consultant Booz&Co.
A landmark treaty banning cluster munitions will come into force from August 1, the United Nations announced, but all major powers, the US, China, Russia Israel and India are shunning it.
Investors not stop their SIPs or STPs due to election-related uncertainty.
Claiming that China is the origin of malicious cyber activities targeting the US, a noted American security expert on Thursay said the government should vigorously monitor and defend its computer and critical infrastructure networks.
Days ahead of the second US- China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, the United States has reiterated that China needs to move towards a market-oriented exchange rate.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has sought level playing field for American companies in China.
As it has done in the past, Beijing put a technical hold on the proposal just as the deadline was about to end.
The US, China and the UK remain the top three defence spenders while India has the fourth largest military budget, followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, according to the '2016 Jane's Defence Budgets Report', released by research firm IHS Markit.
Industrialists Anand Mahindra and Ratan Tata will co-host a power lunch for CEOs with the visiting US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on April 7.
