Author: Surjith Mohan

India has placed a high priority on acquiring Rafale planes for its armed services. In 2016, the French and Indian governments inked a contract for the acquisition of 36 Rafale combat planes from Dassault Aviation. The deal had a 7.8 billion euro estimated value. Fast forward to 2023, and during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s impending trip to Paris, a deal for 26 naval Rafales is allegedly likely to be inked between India and France. This has both positive and negative features. The positive is that it promotes commonality; the negative is that it exposes the huge gaps that still exist…

The foreign trips of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are crucial to India’s international participation and diplomatic endeavours. During his term, he has given overseas travel a lot of attention. In his approach to foreign policy, he has taken an active role in interacting with world leaders and advancing India’s interests on the international stage. On Saturday, July 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs from New Delhi for an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since becoming prime minister, he has travelled to the nation five times. The present visit in such a short period of time looks exceptional…

India’s strategy towards China involves a combination of diplomatic engagement, economic cooperation, and military preparedness. On the diplomatic front, India has sought to strengthen its relationships with other countries in the region, such as Japan and Australia, as a counterbalance to China’s growing influence. Economically, India has sought to expand trade and investment ties with countries in the region, while also reducing its dependence on Chinese imports. In terms of military preparedness, India has increased its defence spending and modernized its armed forces to better deter potential aggression from China. However, the border disputes between the two countries have been…

When compared to a year and a half ago, when its economy had just recently begun to recover from a destructive spike of the delta variety, India’s stock market remains unchanged in dollar terms. Despite this, its weight in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index has increased dramatically, surpassing Taiwan and South Korea to grab the second slot. Nearly all of the gain came at the expense of the index’s largest component, China. Stocks in the second-largest economy in the world have dropped by two-fifths since June 2021 as a result of Beijing’s isolationist COVID-19 policies, turmoil in the real estate…

The phrase “India is ready to take over Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” may be less common now that the elections are done, but we should still wait for the next round of voting. This may return. While it is undeniable that New Delhi has decided that all of Jammu and Kashmir, including China-held Aksai Chin and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, is a part of India, a more nuanced explanation is necessary to comprehend the effects of regaining PoK. A 1994 parliamentary resolution that was approved by both chambers states that Ladakh and all of Jammu & Kashmir are fundamental components of India. The whole…

Asia’s economy is expanding at the quickest rate in the world, yet a sizeable chunk of its workforce is young. The majority of child labourers are located in this area of the world. According to the International Labour Organization, half of all child labourers globally reside in the Asia-Pacific region. The most basic rights still remain unachieved for these children. Despite the region’s substantial efforts and improvements to its legal systems, there is still more work to be done, notably in respect to human trafficking and the adoption of modern monitoring technologies to bolster enforcement. Nearly 10% of all children…

The recent discovery of a mountain of cash and bullion in the homes of a close associate of Trinamool Congress (TMC) senior leader Partha Chatterjee has shocked the nation and embarrassed the party. Mamata Banerjee has removed him from the cabinet and suspended him from all party positions. The law must punish everyone involved in this heinous scam. However, such a large cash hoarding is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the amount of unaccounted cash that pervades the functioning of our democracy. This is something that all political parties are aware of. The BJP, on the…

India-Russia Relations: Foreign policy observers observing a new global realignment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may find India’s foreign and economic policies toward the United States and Europe on the one hand and Russia on the other to be seemingly contradictory. Especially given New Delhi’s admission to the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF) in May and its participation as a partner country at the G-7 meeting in Germany last month. At a time when the West has expressed concern about New Delhi’s stance on the Ukraine invasion, these developments are in line with the lofty goal of economic decoupling from…

Young ladies using cell phones “(they) make plans to run away, make plans to meet, make plans to go and get raped.” In a loud and obvious manner, claimed Ashok Vats, speaking for the BJP. “Make plans to go and get raped.” I watched the video clip multiple times because I couldn’t believe somebody would even have the audacity to say such things on national television during a conversation about sexual assaults against two teenagers, one of whom was only 15 and the other 17. However, I was accurate in what I heard. He did say something so offensive. His…