Modi’s Maiden Foreign Visit: Consolidating Bharat for Bhutan Relations Modi’s visit to Bhutan is politically significant. After inviting SAARC leaders to his swearing in ceremony; his choice of Bhutan as the first country came as no surprise. Bhutan is also the only country where the bilateral relationship is free from tension and expectations from each other are also easy to attain. Smruti S. Pattanaik | June 18, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Rescue Pakistan chorus is back again Before India once again goes down the path of wondering how it can rescue Pakistan from itself, some home truths about Pakistan – the state and society – need to be understood. The single most important home truth is that Pakistan's hatred for India far outweighs any fear or concern or even loathing it may have about the terrorism and extremism that the Taliban have come to stand for. Sushant Sareen | June 18, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Indian Mujahideen Arrests: Lessons Learnt and Future Directions The arrests of the key Indian Mujahideen operatives has come as a major breakthrough in the fight against terrorism; however, there are a few causes of concern - such as lack of inter-agency coordination, growing radicalization in the society and the potential resurgence of the IM - that the government needs to urgently address. Pushpita Das , Husanjot Chahal | June 06, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Restoring India-China Reciprocity on the Border The principal opposition of the Chinese on the McMahon line is that it is illegal and a mere product of British imperialistic designs on China. Such assessments completely disregard the fact that the McMahon line is entwined with the Tibet issue – the lynchpin of China’s territorial sovereignty and party legitimacy Abanti Bhattacharya | June 05, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Implications of new rules in the US for India’s Defence Management Despite “indigenisation” being an important policy objective in defence procurement it will be useful to observe the recent US regulatory developments on detection and avoidance of counterfeit components in defence procurement. The new US developments could also perhaps inform the MoD efforts for streamlining its own Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) Sandeep Verma | June 05, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Russia and the unravelling of economic sanctions The recent additional economic sanction on Russia is yet another severe jolt. But faced with a gripping economic problem, sanctions can just be the incentive that Russia needs to implement structural reforms and reduce its dependency on the West. The emergence of anti-West and patriotic sentiments can help the Kremlin to push through difficult initiatives. Rajorshi Roy | May 30, 2014 | IDSA Comments
The mirage of peace in Pakistan Sharif’s does not have any manoeuvring space to cut any comprehensive deal with the Taliban. He may not be averse to conceding their demand to shariatise Pakistani structures, yet he can’t do so unless he has the nod from the Army. On its part the Army does not want to decimate the Radical Islamists because it still sees in them a force multiplier and important strategic asset. P. K. Upadhyay | May 29, 2014 | IDSA Comments
The new Indian government and parleys with Pakistan While Nawaz Sharif was careful not to publicly bring up the Kashmir issue, it does not necessarily portend any change in policy. It remains to be seen whether Sharif will be able to cash in on the conciliatory gesture of Prime Minister Modi and assert his own priority of improving relations with India vis-a-vis the hostile elements within his country. Sumita Kumar | May 28, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Reforming Defence Contracting Procedures It may perhaps be useful to examine some features of India’s Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) for streamlining of the capital acquisition process for defence procurement. After all, the DPP may well be the only procurement regulation in the world that discriminates against its own domestic bidders Sandeep Verma | May 28, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Foreign policy agenda for the new government India has unprecedented opportunity to follow a foreign policy to meet its developmental aspirations and security needs, both of which are complementary. Sustained economic growth is essential for India to follow a proactive foreign policy.