The spectacle of senior politicians of all hues eating at Dalit homes has become a farcical show of tokenism. These orchestrated media events serve as a photo opportunity for the leaders ahead of elections and do nothing to ameliorate the plight of the marginalised communities. The political parties seem to be vying with one another to have lunch/d

India’s ambitious plan to set up 10 indigenous reactors to augment nuclear power by 7,000 MWe is a transformational step towards nuclear energy self-sufficiency. The Union Cabinet’s approval for new plants of 700 MWe capacity each marks the biggest expansion in the country’s history because the combined capacity of these new units will more t

The re-election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate and reformist cleric, with a resounding mandate signifies the triumph of pragmatism over an outdated order of theocracy and a public yearning for engagement with the world. Rouhani, a progressive voice seeking to transform the Islamic republic from an ideological bastion of militant Is

In sharp contrast to the anti-Muslim rhetoric that characterised his election campaign, United States President Donald Trump now appears to be reaching out to the Muslim world in his new avatar as a pragmatic deal-maker. Choosing Saudi Arabia for his first foreign visit after assuming office, the maverick Republican leader adopted the language of r

The prolonged monopoly of the public sector defence laboratories has stifled the growth of defence manufacturing in the country and spawned a bureaucratic culture that kept private players at bay in strategic areas. Time has now come to break the new ground and tap the full potential of the sector by involving private industry as an equal partner.

The unanimous ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Pakistan to stay the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav till the pronouncement of final judgment marks a significant diplomatic victory for India. The government’s risky gambit of approaching the ICJ, the United Nation’s judicial arm, on a bilateral matter has paid dividends

With his credibility in tatters, American President Donald Trump appears to be hurtling towards possible impeachment on charges of obstruction of justice. A string of embarrassing revelations during the last few days has kept the White House on tenterhooks, throwing up a scenario reminiscent of the Watergate scandal that had brought down President

The matters that must be decided by evidence-based science are sought to be hijacked by alarmist ideologies that manufacture fear to block the introduction of new technologies.

The vulnerability of the global networks was exposed when computer systems across 150 countries were hit by a virulent cyber attack, crippling the businesses and raising fears over new forms of threats from cyber criminals. The WannaCry ransomware is a computer malware that uses a security flaw in Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system to lock t

The Indian information technology sector is undergoing a harsh reality check. The reports of mass layoffs at software majors like Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro and Tech Mahindra have fuelled fears over the future of the $150-billion IT industry employing over four million people. However, the temptation to paint a grim picture and write obituaries of t

On the face of it, China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative looks like an innocuous trans-regional project to promote trade. However, behind the veneer of business connectivity lurks its hegemonic ambition to dominate the region and shape a new world order. No wonder then that India has stayed away from the high profile OBOR summit bein

The decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stay the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on espionage charges, is a diplomatic victory for India. However, there should be no room for complacency, given Islamabad’s propensity for mischief and its poor track

Indian judiciary is respected the world over for its independence, fairness and impartiality and enjoys unflinching public faith. But, the unsavoury episode involving a confrontation between a judge of the Calcutta high court, Justice CS Karnan, and the Supreme Court has caused severe embarrassment to the institution and exposed the deficiencies in

For a party that had earned resounding public mandate on an anti-corruption plank, it is ironic that an ugly spectacle of graft charges against the top leadership is triggering its implosion. The crisis in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), precipitated by its leaders washing their dirty linen in public, marks a new low in politics. Party supremo and Delhi

Beleaguered Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s prescription that Prime Minister Narendra Modi alone can resolve the unrest in the Valley reflects a sense of desperation and urgency in the wake of the fast deteriorating situation. Facing an all-round flak for inept handling of the crisis, she appears to have lobbed the ball in the

It’s an international space diplomacy that has no parallel in the world. The recent launch of an indigenously developed communications satellite by India as a gift to the SAARC member countries is being hailed as an unprecedented goodwill gesture. The Rs 450 crore South Asia Satellite (SAS) demonstrates not just the technological prowess of India

Invoking the Orwellian images of State surveillance to oppose the Aadhaar card system is wholly irrational and misplaced. To think that an identification tool for streamlining citizen services will automatically amount to usurping citizens’ rights is a warped notion, particularly in this technology-driven age. While genuine concerns over privacy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s gratuitous call for multilateral dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue reflects a delicious irony as it comes from an authoritarian ruler who has abandoned his country’s secular past and embraced the muscular brand of political Islam. His visit to New Delhi, the first international outing after giving hi

Demographic dividend is often touted as one of the key advantages that India enjoys. However, this power of the youth can be fully harnessed only if it is nurtured as an educated workforce. Since the development of human resources holds key to progress, any government spending on education, particularly at the school level, must be treated as an in