Representational Photo

India Needs A Strong Political Culture That Upholds Democratic Values

It may be argued that invoking the Bhutanese king’s principled stance as a reference point for a country as vast and diverse as India is deeply flawed—or, at best, a theoretical abstraction. Yet the fact remains: the ethos of good governance knows no geographical boundaries. If the highest leadership of a small, landlocked nation with limited resources could believe in, and strive towards, such ideals, why should our country fall short of visionary leadership, especially when it is far larger and endowed with greater capacities, opportunities, and strategic advantages?

India Needs To Get Real With The US and China

In this backdrop, opening up India fully to Chinese, including inviting the Chinese delegations, is akin to arranging visits of KFC owners to poultry farms! The hubris that this was to familiarize two big political parties and two economic powers with each other must have amused Beijing endlessly. Finally, insecurity is palpable in India’s handling of China and the US.  About time we get over this.

Somnath Temple: Instrumentalizing History As A Political Tool

History is not a tool to divide society and perpetuate the injustices of the past. It is there to show us what wrongs have happened in the past which should not happen again. We need to march towards a just society where all live the life of dignity and respect, a society where all of us enjoy equal citizenship rights.

Sri Lankan Government In A Fix Over Proposed Education Reforms: PM Under Pressure

Public opposition towards the reforms escalated after a web link to a gay dating site was found in one of the lessons in the grade six English language module.  This website was subsequently blocked by the regulator for internet users in Sri Lanka.  The lesson was intended to teach ten-year-old kids how to make online friends.

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India's Gandhian Resolution on Trumpian Tariffs

This is aiming for a high moral ground, but Gandhian satyagraha will demand much more from India. It will challenge India on aligning with Israel while it bleeds Gaza. And it will raise many other difficult questions that if followed through will help India stand erect and tall in a world that still bows to Gandhi.

Rethinking the EV Push: India's Transition to Electric Mobility Must Factor Socio-Economic Realities

The transition to EVs also introduces geopolitical challenges, particularly concerning critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements (REEs). China plays a dominant role in the global supply chain for these REEs, not only as a leading extractor but also as the largest processor and refiner. This centralized control gives China significant strategic leverage over countries that depend on these resources, including India.

Message from Tianjin: Balance of Power Issues Can Upset SCO Applecart

Despite the public display of bonhomie at Tianjin, however, the SCO is ridden with major differences in harmonising national interests of member States, with some entering into active skirmishes, trade barriers or imbalances, equations with major powers and double standards on issues such as countering terrorism or protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Student Suicides In India A Cause For Concern

Most children are always afraid of failing exams. The pressures by parents to perform well in competitive exams create a sense of fear. Such accretion of fears  at a young vulnerable age make the mind highly strung emotionally, and any trigger can snap it. So, saying that pressures of education, ragging, break-ups etc. lead to suicide is wrong. These kids were already prone to suicide – the trigger could be anything.

Trump & Modi: Rekindling the Bromance!

Yet, amid this global chess game, the Trump-Modi tweets reminded us of one undeniable fact: politics is now as much about social media bromance as it is about border disputes and trade wars.

Maharashtra: An important stakeholder in India’s para diplomacy

Several countries have presence in Maharashtra. Some of the countries which have shown interest in recent years are Germany, Japan and South Korea whose leaders have taken great interest in establishing manufacturing centres in Maharashtra. The Pune industrial belt has drawn car manufacturers the world over, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and General Motors. It is often referred to as the ‘Detroit of India’

Teachers as daily wagers: To Become Knowledge Economy, India Needs to First Fix its Education Foundations

The combined effects of teacher shortages, contractualisation, and parallel schooling are devastating for India’s long-term competitiveness. It leads to poor learning outcomes, misaligned workforce skills where employers consistently complaining of skill shortages, because curricula lag hopelessly behind. No wonder that of the college educated youth in the age group 24 to 29, the unemployment rate is more than 30 percent.

Trump Tariffs in South Asia: Bangladesh Has an Advantage

Several Indian export firms have begun approaching Bangladeshi manufacturers to produce apparel jointly, underscoring Dhaka’s emerging advantage after US tariff hikes on India and China. Chinese investors, too, are showing interest in building garment factories in Bangladesh, drawn by its new trade advantage. Bangladesh, by capitalizing on India and China’s relative “disadvantage now has the opportunity to expand its export footprint. 

Whither Growth? India’s failing health and education systems signal deeper malaise

In that, the failing health and education sectors in India are a symptom of a larger disease, of an imagined growth story and a fantasised giant economy that sees numbers but not the purpose, that has ignored those at the lower rungs of the ladder in the quest to shine in its fancy airports and bullet trains

Will Modi’s tax-reform promise work to unshackle Indian industry?

However, execution will determine whether Modi’s second GST gamble succeeds. Missteps could mean fiscal slippage, strained centre–state relations and political blowback in a crucial election cycle. What is being promoted as a festive bonanza risks being remembered as another midnight reform whose lofty promise faltered in practice.

With Rising Global Condemnation, India Should Rethink Close Economic Ties With Israel

Clinging to the narrative of “strategic autonomy” while doubling down on a partner facing escalating global condemnation will not safeguard India’s sovereignty. Instead, it risks compromising India’s diplomatic standing and economic resilience.

Alternate Dispute Resolution Growing in India - the Amika Way

The Amika assures non-adversarial ways to dispute resolution, informs clients that they save time, money, and, most importantly, the relationships, and ensures complete confidentiality of the material exchanged during mediation sessions.

Saving The Last Green Lung: Fight To Save India's City Forests

The grassroots movements taking shape, like the one in Jaipur, tell us that the issues of the environment are increasingly resonating with ordinary people. Ordinary citizens, particularly the youth, are tending to stand up for the rights of nature, for their right to breathe clean air and live with nature around them, even in crowded urban landscapes.

Creeping Rise of Anti-Semitism is Dangerous for Sri Lanka

The government in Colombo finds itself in a difficult position, refraining from disclosing its official stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—a well-established policy of the Sri Lankan government for years. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa vociferously campaigned for Palestinian statehood while discreetly seeking military support from Israel to crush LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka. The current Sri Lankan government maintains the same ambiguity.

India Needs Urgent Reforms To Meet Trump Tariff Challenge

India chose to draw the line on three things. Firstly, no liberal access to agriculture and dairy market in the country. This is especially for maize, corn, soyabean and dairy produced from cattle fed with animal protein. Secondly, no access for genetically modified crops or agriculture products. Thirdly no import of ethanol for fuel purposes.