India must use defence allocations prudently The Statesman 10 Feb 2026 Historically, a year following a crisis, the defence budget witnesses a jump, whether it be 1962, 65, 71, Kargil or Sindoor. The reason claimed is making up deficiencies but more likely the crisis has been a wake-up call for a government, which sidelined defence allocations. This year was […]
India-EU Security and Defence Partnership The Excelsior 06 Feb 2026 The India-EU free trade agreement has been dubbed as the ‘mother of all deals,’ by both India and the EU. A part of the agreement was the Security and Defence Partnership (SDP), inked by defence minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart, EU High Representative, Kaja Kallas. India becomes the […]
Ironies the West must confront The Statesman 03 Feb 2026 The speech by Mark Carney, the Canadian PM, received a standing ovation at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He mentioned, ‘great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.’ He went on to add, […]
America matters but it is not indispensable to the world First Post 31 Jan 2026 Trump threatened Europe on Greenland, placing it in a quandary. Post his discussion with Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, Trump backed down from threats of tariffs and use of military power, while claiming victory. Trump mentioned ‘we’re going to have total access to Greenland,’ […]
Perpetuating a legacy, never mind the cost The Statesman 28 Jan 2026 Trump’s frustration on leaving behind a legacy is growing as realization dawns that this is his last Presidency. His exasperation on not having been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, which would match the accomplishments of his nemesis, Barrack Obama, has become a global joke. However, for him, […]
Pak and China push fake narrative on JF17 The Excelsior 23 Jan 2026 In recent days Islamabad has been pushing the narrative of increased global demand for the Pak-China manufactured JF17 aircraft. Pakistan and China both claim that their aircraft (JF10 and JF17) brought down a Rafale in Operation Sindoor, without an iota of evidence, with the intent of increasing […]
Taming Trump: Why India-EU trade deal matters strategically too First Post 20 Jan 2026 After success in Venezuela, failure in resolving the Russo-Ukraine conflict, stalling strikes in Iran, Trump is turning his attention to annexing Greenland. His belief is that Greenland, which controls routes to the Arctic, is now in crosshairs of Russia and China and could be taken […]
An attack on Iran will have consequences The Statesman 20 Jan 2026 The current Iranian regime is facing its strongest test with ongoing protests since its ascendency to power in 1979. Protests have occurred regularly in Iran. 2009 was the Green Movement, 2019 the civil unrest, 2022-23, uprising on civil liberties, following the death of female activist, Mahsa Amini […]
Why stability in Venezuela is essential even for the US First Post 16 Jan 2025 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is under arrest in the US, facing drug related charges. He is unlikely to ever return to Venezuela. The operation to arrest him, Operation Absolute Resolve, was a success. The CIA had managed to bribe senior members of the military […]
Modernize or perish Raksha Anirveda 15 Jan 2025 Every war provides lessons, some suitable, some not. Added is the growing impact of technology on the battlefield which ensures that nothing can be hidden from the adversary. The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict of 2020 and 2023, the Hamas terrorist strike on Israel of Oct 2023 and Tel Aviv’s subsequent retaliation, the Russo-Ukraine […]