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13 February 2020

India’s billion-dollar quantum push

India's Budget 2020 has just allocated Rs 8,000 crore to the Department of Science and Technology for the development of quantum technology, i.e. the use of quantum physics for computation. This opens up a wealth of possibilities and cybersecurity vulnerabilities too, but it is a sign of the Indian government’s seriousness in protecting the nation’s cyber infrastructure

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13 February 2020

Pakistan under FATF’s critical review

The upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary session 16-21 February will be crucial for both Pakistan and Iran as the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing measures undertaken by the two countries will be reviewed by the 39 member states of the FATF. Decisions will be taken on their retention or removal from the grey list and black list respectively

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30 January 2020

Case for a Universal Declaration of Digital Rights

It is time to formulate a Universal Declaration of Digital Rights that upholds the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. Life, liberty and security in the digital realm need the same protection today. Human beings’ rights to digital self-determination, including control of personal data, are also sacrosanct

The dashing Actor Prithviraj Kapoor as the Greek King Alexander in Sikander (1941). Prithviraj is spoken of by Hindi movie industry insiders as being a Hindu Pathan, as he spoke fluent Pushto and hailed from Peshawar. Courtesy: Sifra Lentin
30 January 2020

The Khans of Bombay’s Hindi film industry

Bombay’s Hindi film industry has welcomed Pathan talent – venerated actor Dilip Kumar, scriptwriter Salim Khan and musician Adnan Sami Khan are some prominent examples. Many of them originally came from undivided India’s Pathan homelands in what is today’s Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, entering the industry at an opportune time. Today, their descendants wear the Khan name with pride

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30 January 2020

China’s energy challenges: lessons for India

China’s clean-up of its cities and its success in improving urban air quality hold important lessons for India. But the outbreak of the corona virus and reports that news about it was initially suppressed tell a different story. While physical infrastructure is important, equally vital are a free media and an open society, where people are not afraid to speak

TH23-RAJIVBHATIA-XISMYANMARVISIT3 Courtesy: The Hindu/Handout
27 January 2020

Myanmar’s growing dependence on China

Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar on January 17 highlighted the economic aspect of the two countries’ bilateral relationship. China has been Myanmar’s top partner for years. But more than the 33 agreements signed, the visit threw light on the region’s changing geopolitics and Myanmar’s own compulsions in growing closer to China

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24 January 2020

Mexico, the other North American partner

This year marks the completion of 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Mexico – but the full potential of this bilateral relationship has not been explored. Mexico exports oil to India, and hosts facilities of the Indian auto, IT and pharma sectors. There are three profitable reasons to intensify the bilateral, fulfilling both the diplomatic and business agenda