India and Bangladesh foreign secretary meeting

India's strategic conundrums and the future of Indo-Bangladesh relations

India’s neighbourhood policy can be tweaked by making conditional every foreign aid, technical assistance, bilateral cooperation and multilateral facilitation. Bangladesh is the largest beneficiary of Indian grants and assistance under the Neighbourhood First Policy. Attaching conditionalities—akin to the Chinese BRI loans— can act as a deterrent to any anti-India adventurism

India a transactional democracy, government beholden to its people

The debate around freebies and promises in a democracy often centers on balancing short-term relief with long-term solutions to societal problems. Often, in these giveaways, economic prudence is a casualty in favour of transactional political advantage.

India Inc. needs to give better compensation to its blue-collar workers

The share of workers in industry has stagnated for far too long. And so have wages. As per a report of WorkIndia, more than 57 percent of blue-collar jobs in India pay less than 20,000 rupees a month.  That is probably justified because of low average productivity.

Forty years after Bhopal gas disaster: Court ruling reveals 'sorry state of affairs'

A strong India is not only about protecting the borders but equally about systems and processes that do not allow companies, particularly giants from foreign shores, to get away with anything less than standards that some of these companies are required to follow in their home countries. Even if the clean up happens, at long last, the other lesson for holding companies to account is yet to be learned.

More on Perspective

Caught in a cleft stick: Congress' invite rejection reflects its dilemma over Hindu vote

It would seem as if the Congress Party were going for broke by rejecting the invitation quite aware that it is unlikely to win even the moderately right-leaning Hindu electorate, let alone the hard Hindu right, in the foreseeable future. 

Modi's Christian outreach: Wooing a marginalised community for electoral gains?

The anti-Christian violence is a low-radar activity where the priests working in remote areas are apprehended when they are conducting prayer meetings in particular.

To avoid climate catastrophe, developed nations need to acknowledge historical culpability

For nations like Bangladesh, it is an issue of concern since it will be difficult to successfully carry out national climate action plans for adaptation and mitigation in the absence of explicit financial commitments from wealthier nations. 

New criminal justice laws in India are repressive

What is perceptible is the government’s intention to destroy the fabric of human rights protection in India and to increase the power of the government to control and oppress the people of India.

IMF prescribed mantras not in Sri Lanka's interests

From Sri Lanka’s example of periodically falling into a BOP crisis, one might wonder if IMF-prescribed solutions (or terms and conditions attached to IMF funding) ever help small nations like Sri Lanka to achieve long-term BOP stability. 

The flawed criminal justice system in India: Rape law reforms need political will to transform mindsets

The cavalier attitude and patronizing politics of a patriarchal society need to change to eliminate the social stigma of the victim in rape trials in India.

IAF set for critical replenishments to meet growing threats

Reportedly, a part of China’s dole to Pakistan in March 2022 was the multirole J-10C fighter jets which can be interconnected with their Chinese counterparts through the PLA air force's KJ-500 early warning aircraft.

Avoiding Himalayan disasters: Need to heed geological warnings

A number of such disasters could have been avoided if local geology was understood or warnings from experts had been heeded

Crying for justice: Need for Indian government to make speedy justice delivery a mission

The time for half-hearted attempts, and/or conventional methods, has gone by when it comes to delivering justice in India.

Bangladesh Army's stellar role in bringing peace and development to CHT

Local sources claim that multiple tribal terrorist groups are holding hundreds of thousands of people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts as hostages. These groups are active in controlling and influencing their areas through various sabotage and terrorist activities, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, attacks, and counter-attacks.

India celebrates Navy Day commemorating its operational power and maritime history

Indian Navy celebrates Navy Day on 4 December to commemorate "Operation Trident", the Navy’s lethal attack on Karachi harbour during the 1971 war.

COP28 commitments: Need for India to go beyond lip service and gimmicks

The pollution severely affecting the health of the population is of no consequence to India's politicians. It is high time our policymakers look at themselves in the mirror.

Roots of terrorism: Wrong to blame it on a religion

In recent years, a central phenomenon that spurred the rise of terrorist groups has been the United States cultivating fundamentalist Islamist groups through the CIA in client states such as Pakistan. 

Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) framework needs incorporation in India's Blue Economy vision

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is working towards making the UDA framework an agenda for the multilateral forums in the IOR. 

Free food and election promises: Why India's food security system needs an overhaul

The Niti Aayog estimates using a multi-dimensional approach, that poverty has fallen below 15 percent. Why then are 58 percent of Indians getting free food? Or even if their food security needs have to be addressed, would this be better served by direct benefit transfers?