Rupee Slides, Prices Bite, India Slips By Shivaji Sarkar The Iran war is hitting many countries beyond they could have imagined. The IMF forecast has subdued global growth. India is no less a sufferer. IMF makes India slip to sixth largest economy as rupee sinks, oil prices hit inflation high and a combination of factors
War & Diplomacy in Iran By Dr. D.K. Giri (Prof of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions) It is said that war is a failure of diplomacy. This is eminently evident in the case of Iran which is perceived as a threat to Israel and danger to the Middle-East with its nuclearisation venture. But the failure
India’s Economic Strength By Dhurjati Mukherjee The much-touted economic strength of India has come into question. Not just because of reports of GDP over estimation but the future trend of growth, hampered by geopolitical conditions and the rising prices of oil and gas. Stagnant real wages and somewhat static manufacturing growth data revealed that consumption
US & Saudi Arabia By Ewa Fronczak (Expert, Centre Foe International Relations) Will the escalating tensions involving Iran disrupt the implementation of the landmark US–Saudi agreement on rare earth elements? The question is far from academic. Access to these materials—especially heavy rare earths—is vital for the United States to maintain its technological and military superiority
By Inder Jit (Released on 16 October 1990) More and more people are swearing by secularism today than ever before in the past two decades. Equally interestingly, more and more people are today swearing by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution. Both Houses of Parliament concluded their special session on Punjab on October
Goodbye Maoists By Poonam I Kaushish Goodbye Maoists. After over six decades of relentless Maoist insurrection which cast a long shadow across North, South, East and West, the dreaded ‘Red Corridor’ is clear of all encumbrances. With over 1858 Maoists killed between 2016-24 and over 2000 cadres having surrendered since 2024 just two districts are now in
West Asian Conflict By Dhurjati Mukherjee The West Asian conflict has affected global fertiliser supply. Shipments of it have piled up on the wrong side of the Strait of Hormuz. In India, Algeria and Slovakia, fertiliser plants have shut down or slowed their output due to rising natural gas prices. Australian wheat farmers are planning
By Juliusz Gojlo (Expert, Centre for Intl Relations, Poland) “Amateurs talk strategy; professionals talk logistics.” The observation attributed to US Chief of Army Staff Omar Bradley captures a fundamental truth about modern warfare—one that is becoming increasingly evident in the unfolding conflict in the Gulf. Beneath the spectacle of missile strikes and advanced weaponry lies
Trump Should Go By Dr. D.K. Giri (Prof of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions) The American President Donald John Trump is the leader of the most powerful economy and military of the world. The common refrain has been that, “Britain is the oldest democracy, India the biggest and USA is the greatest”. As the 45th
By Inder Jit (Released on 8 April 1975) President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed‘s quiet initiative in attending King Faisal‘s funeral, could well help open a new chapter in friendship and mutual cooperation with Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. From all accounts, the President’s unprecedented gesture in proceeding to Riyadh, notwithstanding the physical strain involved in
High Fuel, No User Grounds UDAN By Shivaji Sarkar At a critical time of fuel scarcity, the push to the nearly a decade-old India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme—UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik)—is confronting a hard truth: aviation cannot be socially engineered into viability. Despite a renewed push involving tens of thousands of crores in public
Israel & Palestine By Jerzy Wójcik (Expert, Centre for International Relations, Poland) Contrary to optimistic vision of stabilisation and economic development in the Middle East contained in Trump administration’s US strategic documents, Israeli political elites appear to perceive the coming years as a period of systemic uncertainty. From their perspective, Israel is at a historic
Political Tsunami in Nepal By Dr. D.K. Giri (Prof of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions) Nepal is prone to earthquakes. And there has been a tsunami on 7 March 2016, the day of national elections in Nepal. A rapper-turned politician, Balendra Shah – popularly known as Balen, secured a massive mandate defeating the traditional mainstream
By Inder Jit (Released on 23 Aug 1983) L’affaire Deputy Speaker has become more and more intriguing. It continues to pit the Opposition in the Lok Sabha not only against Mr. Lakshmanan, the Deputy Speaker, but against the Speaker, Mr Bal Ram Jakhar, himself. Issues of importance to Parliament and its functioning are involved. The
Ensuing Elections By Dhurjati Mukherjee Lack of decency and morality are political trends reiterated by leaders. The clamour raised by some states and drama enacted specially by West Bengal, regarding SIR (special intensive revision) bear testimony they don’t want the mandatory revision. Is it because the parties don’t want elimination of false voters or have
Uniform Civil Code By Poonam I Kaushish As the world lives a calamity amidst the ongoing destructive war between US-Israel vs Iran which spares no nation as thousands continue getting killed and billions of dollars worth of oil-gas infrastructure destroyed, Prime Minister Modi tries to calm peoples’ fears as five States get poll-battle ready, the
India In Korean War By Dr. D.K. Giri (Prof of Practice, NIIS Group of Institutions) The war in Iran has taken unanticipated turns. American President Donald Trump seems to have got stuck in a war that does not appear to end as per his calculation. It is like the war in Ukraine where Russian President
Oil & Gas Crisis By Dhurjati Mukherjee Predictions and projections may not turn out to be accurate. While promises of politicians mostly are found to falter, this may not be the same in case of professional economists who predict something based on some scientific calculations. In this connection, the West Asian crisis has complicated the
Impeachment Motion By Poonam I Kaushish Phew! Its electioneering season again as Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala go to polls next month with Parties rolling out a perfect electoral cake to the strains of ‘Vote For Me’ to cream the electorate. Amidst this poll nautanki 193 MPs moved an impeachment motion against Chief Election
The Great Miscommunication By Shivaji Sarkar It’s about miscommunication and unfathomed losses. Never has the Gulf wars jolted India so hard. India’s recent anxiety over a supposed petroleum and LPG “shortage” is less a story of actual scarcity and more a case study in poor official communication. There may well be supply pressures in parts
