Walter Lohman, director of Asian Studies Centre at the Washington, DC and former policy aide to Senator John McCain, said India's role in America's effort to maintain its commitment to ensuring the peace, security, prosperity, and freedom in East Asia was relatively minor.
Seeking deepening of ties with ASEAN, India on Saturday said it would soon draft a five-year plan of action starting 2016 to take the "trajectories" of common interests with the 10-member grouping to a new level and particularly emphasised on improving connectivity in the region to further boost trade and people-to-people contact.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Had India agreed to join the trade pact, Indian markets would have been flooded with cheap Chinese products.
'The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are an asset that any country aspiring to become a major power would give anything to own.' 'It is disappointing that India has not capitalised on this potential,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan advised people to refrain from non-essential travel to Iran, Italy, South Korea and Singapore.
India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Here's your opportunity to sample ilish dishes from the royal homes of Bengal, says Avishek Rakshit.
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Al Qaeda 'had been preparing to spread its ideology to India', says Bruce Hoffman, Director Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University.
Born in Rangoon (now Yangon, Myanmar) Rupani, 61, joined an RSS shakha as a schoolboy, before graduating to the BJP via the Sangh's students wing -- the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
During Hasina's visit, which is her first after Modi assumed office in 2014, the two sides will be signing at least 25 pacts in various key sectors including civil nuclear cooperation and defence, but any agreement on the Teesta water sharing is unlikely to be inked.
The chances of the posts opening remain slim, with security agencies recently identifying 10 suspects who smuggled in weapons, narcotics and fake currency.
Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
It is a complete mayhem in West Bengal, Manipur and Odisha with more than 60 dead
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness that the city has been recognised as a World Heritage Site.
In a grand ceremony with overtones of a United States presidential inauguration, heads of state and government, India Inc honchos, opposition leaders, Bharatiya Janata Party members and showbiz stars rubbed shoulders as they watched President Ram Nath Kovind administer the oath of office to India's 58 new ministers.
West Pakistan refugees say they are willing to give Prime Minister Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah time to come good on their promise.
Military officials said India is also strengthening its surveillance mechanism to keep an eye on Chinese activities along the borders in the strategically sensitive Tibetan region and has even been regularly deploying choppers to carry out recce.
Two bombs went of in Imphal on Sunday ahead of the Republic Day celebrations.
The best in international photojournalism was recently announced by World Press Photo's Annual Photo Contest. Despite fierce competition, the jury was forced to select just a handful of images from more than 73,044 photos by 4,548 photographers across 125 different countries. This year's grand prize was awarded to Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt, earning him the title of Press Photographer of the Year. Here are some of the winners.
India said it is committed to building up Indian Ocean Rim Association in line with its own expanding bilateral ties with the members of the grouping.
'China's deep involvement in the stability and economic and political success of Pakistan actually produces some elements of congruence with India's core interest in a stable and productive relationship with Pakistan.' 'It is not far-fetched for us to pursue that congruence and with ingenuity work out with China a formula that also satisfies our formal position on PoK,' argues Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
The ancient Nalanda University re-started its academic session on Monday in a low-key manner at its newly-established campus at Rajgir.
ADB has often expressed its interest in promoting sub-regional integration in South Asia and perhaps could be involved as a facilitator.
The funds officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland now accounts for only 0.07 per cent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system.
'Many tourists are keen to break the law and see the tribals. But what difference would it make? They are humans like us. We do not like intruders, neither do they. Very little of their homes is left, so we might as well let them be,' says Chintan Purohit.
Post DeMo and GST, business outlook remain diminished among both buyers and sellers
Sanjeev Vashishta, chief executive officer at SRL Diagnostics, talks to Deepak Patel about expansion plans and regulations for the sector.
NIA officials told rediff.com that they have intimated both the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing to seek more information from Bangladesh regarding the operational capabilities of an outfit named Hizbut Tahrir, which since the past three years has been working closely with the Indian Mujahideen.
Amid rising coronavirus cases in India, the government has asked people not to panic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there has only been a few cases of local transmission so far and that it is "not a health emergency" in India at present.
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu reported one case each, officials said.
Indian businesses in the US have created about 91000 jobs in the US.
'India is still hierarchical, but not as much as Japan and people appreciate a flat working culture,' Charles Frump, managing director, Volvo Cars India, tells Pavan Lall.
'Disagreements between reporters and the White House has always been there, but this is the most tense I have seen it since I have been there.'
Dai Bingguo, who served as the China's boundary negotiator with India from 2003 to 2013, told Chinese media, "If the Indian side takes care of China's concerns in the eastern sector of their border, the Chinese side will respond accordingly and address India's concerns elsewhere."
Rupani on Sunday met Governor O P Kohli and staked claim to form the government, a day after he was elected by BJP legislators to succeed Anandiben Patel.
Heart rending scenes were witnessed at a meeting of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Hyderabad as a local Muslim organisation held a meeting to launch the Burmese Refugees Relief and Rehabilitation Committee, India.
