From just 0.2 per cent before the Russia-Ukraine war to now accounting for 35-40 per cent of total crude imports, India's reliance on Russian oil has surged -- drawing fresh scrutiny with US President Donald Trump announcing a penalty on top of a 25 per cent tariff, or tax, on all goods going to the US.
Experts question whether a cloudburst caused the recent flash flood in Uttarkashi, India, citing insufficient rainfall and other potential factors like ice chunks, rockfalls, or landslides.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
Just a few days after the release of his OTT film, Detective Sherdil, Diljit Dosanjh announced the release of his new Punjabi film, Sardaar Ji 3.
The sons of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Syed Ahmad Shakeel and Syed Shahid Yusuf, have challenged a rule in the Delhi Prison Rules that bars those accused of offences against the state, terrorist activities, and other heinous crimes from using telephonic and electronic communication facilities. The two prisoners, currently lodged in different Delhi jails, are seeking restoration of their phone call facilities, alleging that the restrictions are arbitrary and unreasonable. The Delhi High Court has posted the matter for further hearing on May 22.
In the June 16 advisory, the US urged its citizens to exercise "increased caution" due to crime and rape, and advised them not to travel to certain parts of central and eastern parts of the country due to terrorism.
India's annual oil import bill could rise by $9-11 billion if the country is compelled to move away from Russian crude in response to US threats of additional tariffs or penalties on Indian exports, analysts said. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, has reaped significant benefits by swiftly substituting market-priced oil with discounted Russian crude following Western sanctions on Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
India has cautioned against 'double standards' regarding its energy procurement from Russia, asserting that it is based on national interests and market dynamics, following a threat of secondary sanctions from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Vijay, with his chief ministerial ambitions, is a one-man army, at least as of now, and his campaign team considers him omnipresent. He has to be present in all districts, if not all constituencies at the same time, as there is no second-line leader or platform speaker in the party, who can draw crowds, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Chinese see no need to fight directly. They have an able and willing proxy in Pakistan, points out Shekhar Gupta.
On Jawaharlal Nehru's 61st death anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recalls how India's first prime minister cultivated a unique role for the newly independent country on the world stage.
'There is no doubt about the antiquity of Tamil Nadu.'
Vice President V V Giri's resignation in 1969 triggered political upheavals that saw the ruling party defy its own presidential nominee, the expulsion of a sitting prime minister by her party president, and a historic split in the Indian National Congress, recounts Utkarsh Mishra.
Google's stance on the optimism and pro-innovation around artificial intelligence (AI) is very similar to the principles adopted by the Indian government under its IndiaAI Mission, the company's vice-president of government affairs and public policy in the Asia-Pacific Region, Wilson White, said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of rigging the Maharashtra assembly elections and expressed concerns about similar tactics being used in the upcoming Bihar polls. He alleged that the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar is an attempt to manipulate the election process.
There is no guarantee that if we speak in only Indian languages, all our faults will be washed away and India will shine. Why then do they bully and belittle the English-speaking? asks Shyam G Menon.
The visiting personnel will also ascertain difficulties, if any, being faced by the "families of our war heroes", he said.
Mr Trump's actions, because of their extreme nature and the dangerous rhetoric that accompanies them, receive the most attention, points out Mihir S Sharma.
China appears determined to upgrade Pakistan's military capabilities, sufficient to ensure local parity with India, alerts former foreign secretary Ambassador Shyam Saran.
Mock drills were conducted on Saturday in states and Union territories adjoining the western border -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- to enhance wartime emergency preparedness and response capabilities, officials said.
'The government's priority is not farmers.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's energy, dynamism and willingness to engage remains a 'prime asset' for India on the global stage but deserves greater backing, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Monday, in remarks that are likely to irk his party and widen the growing cracks in his ties with its leadership.
'I don't know whether the top Gujarati leaders of Indian politics (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) in Delhi realise that the narrative of HindiHinduHindustan will eventually destroy their own language too.'
...the DMK chief minister's campaign -- which includes criticism of the BJP's 'pro-Hindutva, anti-Tamil, anti-federal' policies and building on his own government's social welfare programmes targeting especially women and youth -- appeals to Tamil Nadu's voters in next year's assembly election, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Kanimozhi Karunanidhi-led delegation is visiting five European nations to garner support for India's campaign against cross-border terrorism.
India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with immediate effect, accusing Pakistan of breaching the pact by refusing to negotiate modifications and engaging in sustained cross-border terrorism. The decision follows a recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. Pakistan has rejected India's move, calling it an "act of war."
India's recent missile strikes on nine terrorist locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including Bahawalpur, mark a significant escalation in the long-standing military tensions between the two nations. This article provides a historical overview of the Indo-Pak military confrontations, tracing their roots back to the 1947 war following India's independence and the partition of the sub-continent, and highlighting key conflicts such as the 1965 war, the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, the 1999 Kargil War, the 2016 Uri attack, and the 2019 Pulwama attack.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday issued a three-line whip to all of its Lok Sabha MPs asking them to be present in the House for the passing of the Union Budget 2025-26.
While acknowledging that they needed strong allies for a chance in the assembly polls, AIADMK cadres seemingly prefer actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam to the BJP, owing to the latter's 'communal agenda' and consequent hardline Hindutva image, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
At the end of the day, for many worldwide, the ongoing mutual attacks between Israel and Iran would seem a contest devoid of any moral high ground and only a bout between two ordinary adversaries, one that nevertheless risks spinning out of control into a larger conflagration, notes Shyam G Menon.
Blackout was imposed in Jaisalmer, Barmer and other border areas in Rajasthan on Sunday night as a precautionary measure in the wake of Saturday's violation by Pakistan of an understanding reached with India following four days of military confrontation.
Puri said Pakistan was a country in "terminal decline" periodically using terrorism as an instrument of state policy.
In the letter issued, considering the last night attacks by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Jaisalmer regions, the provision also authorises the use of local authority funds for such emergency measures, giving them precedence over other financial obligations.
Railways ramps up project to instal AI-based cameras that can recognise faces.
The Pahalgam massacre highlights the evolution of terrorism into a multi-domain challenge. India's response must similarly evolve -- from tactical retaliation to comprehensive strategic deterrence. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina and Rahul Mishra. To establish a credible and sustained deterrent, India must also carry out continuous kinetic operations, both overt and covert, suggest Sakshit Raina & Rahul Mishra.
In what was perhaps the most critical meeting before full-scale war broke out, Shastri defined India's immediate war objectives to his defence minister, army, and air force chiefs: 'To defend against Pakistan's attempts to grab Kashmir by force and to make it abundantly clear that Pakistan would never be allowed to wrest Kashmir from India; To destroy the offensive power of Pakistan's armed forces...' A fascinating excerpt from Shiv Kunal Verma's must-read 1965: A Western Sunrise India's War With Pakistan.
Trump knows by now that the western narrative of Biden's war is a load of bullshit peppered with falsehoods and outright lies, and that the war erupted only out of the diabolic western plot to poke the bear, which got provoked finally and hit out, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We will take all necessary steps to ensure that Abir Gulaal is not released in India.'
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