Internationalisation also plays a crucial role in addressing the long-standing issue of brain drain. For decades, large numbers of Indian students have pursued higher education abroad, particularly in North America, Europe, and Australia. While this has strengthened India’s global presence, it has also resulted in substantial outflow of talent and financial resources. Many students who leave choose not to return, contributing their skills to other economies.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project has the potential to serve as a model for inclusive urban planning. However, this outcome depends on whether economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability are treated as equal priorities. Without adequate safeguards, the project risks becoming another instance where redevelopment favors corporate interests over human needs.
While in operational terms, India’s democracy was downgraded by several international bodies in recent years to ‘partly free’, its perceptible decline is perhaps most evident in the distrust generated by the bureaucratic fiat of a selective voter revision. As the exercise has struck off names without a clear audit or requisite time for discussion for explaining and correcting such deletions, the tag of the world’s largest democracy appears troubled by these developments.
Economic benefits also arise because of the jobs created in the childcare industry. Investing in childcare offers a clear pathway to unlock short and long-term economic gains, while enabling women and children to realise their full potential. If every young child in the pre-primary age group had access to childcare, millions of mothers could enter paid work between 2023 and 2030. In India alone, this could mean 6.2 million mothers joining the workforce.
The path forward lies in returning to the principles espoused by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee—Insaniyat (humanism), Kashmiriyat (the unique cultural identity of Kashmir), and Jamhooriyat (democracy). As Vajpayee aptly said, “Friends can change, but not neighbours.” The vilification of Pakistan by the Hindu Right, amplified by a hate-spewing media, has real consequences for Indian Muslims. It poisons the domestic atmosphere and jeopardizes social cohesion.
So high military spending is inevitable. But it is clear that peace is not possible without economic prosperity at home. It is also clear that projecting power abroad is not possible without high, sustained and inclusive economic growth. It is clear that a conflict free, relatively peaceful India will attract the maximum foreign capital in the world. For this to happen, we have to invest in building peace, and reiterate to the world, that this is not an era of war.
Gender politics pervades security decisions. The war-mongering media chorus was mostly male; the decision-makers at the televised but closed-door meetings were mostly male; those who will go into battle and therefore, those killed or injured will be mostly male; and those whose words about security get read and quoted are mostly male. Women still play a minor role in all these areas but are largely the majority of those bereaved, displaced, assaulted sexually, left supporting families and without assets.
The commissioning of the Vizhinjam Port under a public-private model reflects a progressive shift in the Indian communist movement without compromising its core values. It demonstrates that modern communism in India can adapt pragmatically while upholding its commitment to equity.Can one then say that the Vizhinjam Port is a symbol of ideological transformation and a turning point for the communist movement in India?
If Baglihar was the only dam being built by India on the Chenab and Jhelum, this would be a limited problem. But following Baglihar is a veritable caravan of Indian projects – Kishanganga, Sawalkot, Pakuldul, Bursar, Dal Huste, Gyspa. The cumulative live storage will be large, giving India an unquestioned capacity to have a major impact on the timing of flows into Pakistan
In 2019 the National War Memorial was at long last constructed in Delhi and from 2021 IPKF veterans and their family members began getting together there in March every year to commemorate the sacrifices of their comrades. This year, marking the fifth get-together since 2021, the response for the get-together was well over hundred Veterans, Veer Naris (widows of personnel killed in action) and various family members, including some grandchildren of the IPKF personnel.
Islam is a great religion, and its followers have a responsibility to ensure that extremists do not continue to tarnish its image. While the global community must persist in its fight against terrorism, the voice of the Muslim community carries special weight in this context. It is imperative that Muslims around the world help reclaim their faith from those who misuse it to justify violence.
IAF is also the only major air force that operates seven different fighters – Su-30MKIs, upgraded MiG-29 Ms, retrofitted Mirage 2000Hs, Jaguars, MiG-21s and Rafales, making their maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) an ordeal.
Thanks to Ambedkar, India adopted modernity via an extremely enlightened constitution which is a living, throbbing document, open to amendments. But constitutional morality is not in our genes. It has to be cultivated as a habit. In our actions and administration; the spirit of the constitution must not be forgotten. This is but one of innumerable exhortations of one of the tallest leaders of modern India
Doctors from India, Australia, America, New Zealand, Norway, Nepal and Sri Lanka discussed rural healthcare challenges at the three-day World Rural Health Summit in Bengaluru
This is not the new world order that was envisaged when the WTO was formed, or indeed when the series of multilateral institutions took shape in the aftermath of the chaos of the World Wars, or indeed the world in which countries like India agreed to go with frameworks like the new intellectual property rights regime
At the 6th BIMSTEC Summit, Dr. Muhammad Yunus assumes leadership, signaling a transformative era for regional cooperation. His four-point proposal emphasizes people-centric growth, climate action, digital equality, and youth leadership—offering a visionary path for South and Southeast Asia.
The RSS’s infiltration into civil society and political institutions has long been underway, but this influence has intensified since the BJP came to power in several states and at the Centre. Beyond shakhas, the RSS now organizes community groups for women, children, and the elderly to keep them ideologically aligned. Recently, a picnic was organized in my area; when a Muslim woman expressed interest in joining, she was bluntly told she would feel uncomfortable due to the nature of the discussions and activities
When the dust settles, Trump may find that most imports continue unabated—only now, U.S. consumers are paying more. Yes, the higher tariffs could marginally boost government revenues, but the burden will ultimately fall on the American public. And there’s more: once other countries respond with reciprocal tariffs on U.S. exports, American producers will struggle in overseas markets. Competing against countries like China—who often leverage non-transparent pricing and generous credit terms—will become even tougher.
The apathy of the authorities and civil society in a recent incident when drunk policemen in the Indian state of Punjab assaulted a serving colonel of the Indian Army at an eatery is appalling to say the least. Such public apathy, surely, does not enhance the morale of a soldier.
