Comment & Briefs

The international community should strengthen the hands of the Sheikh Hasina government. It has a proven track record of working against extremists and terrorists.

IDSA was tasked by the 7th Central Pay Commission in July 2014 to conduct a study on the “Nature, Quantum & Components of Defence Expenditure and Defence Pensions”. The study was carried out in accordance with the terms of reference provided by the Commission.

To argue that the IS carried out the attacks because it has visceral hatred for Western values is to miss the central point. IS has that hatred, but essentially 13/11 was an act of vengeance against France and others who have been bombing the IS.

Direct Indian military intervention against ISIS would depend on how the situation unfolds over the next year. As an emerging power sharing a littoral with the region, India has an important role to play in acting as a catalyst for West Asian stability.

Against the backdrop of the Paris attacks, there is a need to introspect about the effectiveness of the approaches adopted by major states to counter terrorism.

The Meghalaya High Court’s order directing the central government to consider invoking AFSPA in the Garo Hills is more like an advisory premised on a number of High Court and Supreme Court judgments.

The air crash might prod the US and its allies to seek a political accommodation with Russia on Syria, and a grand coalition might emerge against the IS. But, even such a coalition will take long to dismantle the IS, assuming it were doable.

The MoD Order mentions that the IFAs are expected to give due attention to macro- management issues, highlighting the need for them to be involved in the planning and plan-review process. These are laudable objectives, but a well-knit mechanism for their implementation does not seem to exist at present.

India needs to capitalise on the emerging Iranian gas supply market and the current low price scenario, before rival consumers snap up Iranian exports or prices go up. Developing broader relations that entail incorporating gas supplies from Iran would give India greater leverage at a time when other countries in South Asia are emerging as key gas importers.

India and Germany have complementarities that can make them effective partners. However, converting these complementarities into possibilities will depend on creating conducive environment for greater German investment and a better understanding of the German world view.