Comment & Briefs

The US and other countries, including India, should open the floodgates of military and economic assistance to the Afghan state and help build the capacity and capability of its security forces and administrative machinery.

Mohamed Nasheed, in alliance with the Jumhooree Party, poses a formidable challenge to the Abdullah Yameen government. Yameen is using the judiciary as a tool to crush this challenge and further his own political objectives.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit is likely to improve the atmospherics to a significant extent, introduce a positive vibe into the process of engagement and serve as a stepping stone for deepening the relationship further.

ADB’s yet another deferment of the decision on funding the DBD is a serious setback to Pakistan’s relentless efforts to obtain funds for constructing this mega hydro-power project on River Indus.

One area where the 2015-16 defence budget is likely to hurt the most is in capital acquisition, which has already been under acute pressure in recent years due to the overwhelming share of the ‘committed liabilities’ arising out of contracts already signed

The collective silence of the guardians and the state-parties by no means signifies the NPT’s good health, especially when they continue to emphasise upon the slow pace of disarmament and enduring pressures on the non-proliferation regime.

The bad news in this year’s defence budget is that it does not recognise that things are not going in the right direction but only the beaten track. And the poor track record in fully utilising the resources allocated for ‘Modernisation’ is the worse news.

It is a fairly simple exercise to estimate what the defence budget will be given available indicators. My assessment is that the Budget Estimate for defence is likely to be around Rs. 250,000 crore, with 105,000 crore for Capital Expenditure and 145,000 Crore for Revenue Expenditure.

The thumb rule in making a policy U-turn is “minimise damage or maximise advantage”. What is extraordinary about the Modi government’s U-turn is that it maximises losses and minimises advantages.

There is a general feeling among analysts that while US government lawyers may have been satisfied that the CLNDA is compatible with CSC in light of explanations offered by the Indian government, this view is being reportedly challenged by nuclear industry lawyers.