Innovation: The New Mantra for Science and Technology Policies in India, Pakistan and China “Innovation” has become a buzz word in recent science and technology policies of various countries. It has also been given ample importance in the science and technology policies and programmes of India, China and Pakistan. It is interesting to know on what exactly these countries are focusing in their recent science and technology policies and how these new policies and programmes will help them in social development, economic growth, technology innovation and pursuing national interests. Swati Bute March 07, 2013 Backgrounder
India’s Defence Budget 2013-14: A Bumpy Road Ahead A GDP growth of less than seven per cent combined with the fiscal consolidation path that the Finance Minister has articulated in his budget speech means a lot of pressure on the defence ministry whose plan for current and future expenditure up to 2017 is based on past GDP growth rate of 8 to 9 per cent. Laxman Kumar Behera March 04, 2013 IDSA Comments
The Defence Budget 2013-14: Reasonable in the Existing Circumstances but Need for Re-orientation and Reform There is a need for an overhaul of the defence planning and budgeting systems to make them outcome oriented, which will lead to the development and maintenance of requisite capability through the defence forces as an entity over a specified long-term horizon. Gautam Sen March 04, 2013 IDSA Comments
India’s Defence Budget: Trends Beyond the Numbers In the larger scheme of things, fiscal prudence is a good trait and the reduction in deficits desirable, yet an overtly ambitious approach of reducing deficits into a number game may lead to developments that may hurt us not only in the security arena but in economic growth as well. G. Balachandran , Shruti Pandalai March 04, 2013 IDSA Comments
Countering Terrorism: The Way Forward A National Counter Terrorism Head needs to be established with the single point authority for all CT activity and with authorization to muster all resources within the country. The authority vested in him will be matched by his accountability to every terrorist strike. V. Mahalingam March 03, 2013 IDSA Comments
“We do not need to be told. We do not need to be taught”: Sri Lanka at the 22nd UNHRC, Geneva This year, India needs to be reminded that the situation in Sri Lanka has drastically deteriorated: the GoSL has weakened democracy, dismantled the judiciary and not followed through on any of the areas of reform that were called for last year. Thiruni Kelegama March 01, 2013 IDSA Comments
Neville Maxwell’s War Neville Maxwell's book, India's China War (Jaico Publishing House, Bombay, 1970) has already been subjected to extensive comments by a number of senior journalists in this country. By and large, the comments are not commendatory and one correspondent reflected the official view that it had woven a string of half-truths and misrepresentations around a preconceived conclusion. It is natural for an ordinary Indian to be indignant over the book. K. Subrahmanyam March 2013 Strategic Analysis
Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West by Ahmed Rashid In the recent past, Pakistan has earned the distinction of being the most dangerous place on earth. According to some analysts it is a failed state, while others insist that since there is every possibility of resurrection, it should not be considered a failed state. However, almost everyone would agree that the state is in the midst of a severe crisis and poses a great danger to peace in the world in general and the region in particular. Ashish Shukla March 2013 Strategic Analysis
Rethinking Class in Russia by Suvi Salmenniemi (ed.) Class is a normatively charged concept rooted in ideas of oppression, exploitation and domination. The collapse of the Soviet Union engendered an unprecedented rise of social inequalities in Russia. Social differentiation, poverty and the emergence of a newly rich class on the eve of the Soviet collapse have seldom been analysed from a class perspective. Rethinking Class in Russia addresses this lack by exploring how class positions are constructed and negotiated in new Russia, by taking an ethnographic and cultural studies approach to the topic. Awadhesh Kumar Jha March 2013 Strategic Analysis
Russian Energy Security and Foreign Policy by Adrian Dellecker and Thomas Gomart (eds.)London/New York, Routledge, 2011, 256 pp., $135, ISBN 0-203-81673-0 (master e-book), 978-0-415-54733-8 (hbk), 978-0-203-81673-8 (ebk) Russian Energy Security and Forei This book is a collection of essays by eminent scholars focusing on the energy security of Russia and how it plays a dominant role in Russia's foreign policy. The main objective of the book is to probe the link between Russia's foreign and energy policies. However, energy security is a key element in Russia's national security is analysed systematically and coherently. Abhimanyu Behera March 2013 Strategic Analysis