All About Pay and Perks: India’s Defence Budget 2016-17 The two heads of expenditure which have witnessed significant growth in the defence budget 2016-17 are the salary component of the armed forces and the defence pensions. Laxman Kumar Behera March 03, 2016 Issue Brief
Defence Budget 2016-17: A Clear Message to the Armed Forces It is time India devised appropriate tactics to meet the current threat. It is imperative that the armed forces prepare for ‘the most likely scenario’ rather than ‘the worst case scenario’. But to be fair, this can only be done when there exists a clear national military policy/strategy. Ramesh Phadke March 02, 2016 IDSA Comments
Metamorphosis of the Defence Budget 2016-17 The defence budget for the next fiscal has been completely restructured, making it difficult to make like-to-like comparisons. The growth in the defence budget is bound to disappoint the strategic community, notwithstanding the economic factors that may be responsible for it Amit Cowshish March 02, 2016 IDSA Comments
The Escalating South China Sea Dispute – Lessons for India For Indian observers, it is useful to extrapolate known Chinese position in the Indian Ocean Region and assess Beijing’s likely strategic behaviour. Indian policymakers might well recognise the fact that once China finds itself in a position of maritime advantage, diplomatic engagement has limited utility as a bargaining tactic. Abhijit Singh March 01, 2016 IDSA Comments
Union Budget 2016-17: Deciphering the Defence Budget The underutilisation of allocated funds suggest that the meagre funds available in the modernisation budget after catering for committed liabilities have not been fully utilised. Thus, a thorough introspection for better expenditure management is needed. Vinay Kaushal March 01, 2016 IDSA Comments
The China–Pakistan axis: Asia’s new geopolitics by Andrew Small ‘“It is a little naive to think that the trouble with China was essentially due to a dispute over some territories. It had deeper reasons.”—Jawaharlal Nehru’ (p. 68). ‘“China has a good understanding of almost everything in Pakistan, political security or economic, that might affect the bilateral relationship, but there is one piece they just don’t get: Islam”—Pakistani Sinologist, Islamabad’ (p. 81). Satyam Malaviya March 2016 Strategic Analysis
Routledge handbook of Chinese media by Gary D. Rawnsley and Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley In the last three decades, the Chinese economy and society have witnessed unprecedented change and development. Since the introduction of the economic reforms in 1978 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China has transformed itself from an agrarian, underdeveloped economy to become the second-largest economy in the world, also uplifting its large population out of poverty; 600 million have undergone this transformation.1 Economic reforms have had a very strong impact on many aspects of Chinese society. One sector which has faced massive change is the Chinese media. Gunjan Singh March 2016 Strategic Analysis
Midnight’s furies: the deadly legacy of India’s partition by Nisid Hajari In 2015, when India and Pakistan are into their 69th year of independence, this is an occasion to look back on the lost plot of their strategic engagements. The partition of an undivided India, built upon a malicious traction of ‘two-nation theory’ was further firmed-up with Pakistan’s dealings with its neighbourhood through a consistent conflict-ridden worldview. More so, this idea turned into action—and further obsession, when matters would relate to India. Atul K. Thakur March 2016 Strategic Analysis
Re-emerging Powers and the Impasse in the UNSC over R2P Intervention in Syria The article examines the influence of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) members that acts as an important condition of success for implementation of the three-pillared Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle in case of Syrian conflict. Analysis has revealed two distinctive features of the BRICS’s positions. Firstly, BRICS has placed particular emphasis on there being a reasonable prospect of success before supporting intervention. Christo Odeyemi March 2016 Strategic Analysis
Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries: Nepal’s Transit Route Negotiations with India There are multiple levels of relationship between India and Nepal. This article deals exclusively with their bilateral transit relations, focusing on their negotiations in the context of Nepal as a landlocked developing country (LLDC). While LLDCs consider their free access to the nearest seaport through a transit country as a natural right, the transit countries often bargain with them from a position of strength. Nihar R. Nayak March 2016 Strategic Analysis
