Courtesy: Synthesio.com
Many Arab Republics are mired in political discord after the departure of the old tyrannical regimes opened up spaces for new struggles. In Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, attempts to address the turmoil through constitutional reform are facing challenges. Will a democratic federalism be attained when the battles are done?
Courtesy: wikimedia\commons
Brazil follows a more decentralised form of federalism and gives special importance to the municipalities. Porto Alegre’s successful 'participatory budgeting' is a role model for the world. India can learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the Brazilian system
Courtesy: Wikimedia
A powerful National Counter Terrorism Centre may appear to contravene the federal spirit, but it is a necessary step. The opposition of several state governments to the potential encroachment upon their powers by the NCTC can be addressed if the centre and states share the responsibility of combating terrorism
Courtesy: in.com
The government in New Delhi can address roadblocks in centre-state relations in various ways: by allowing fiscal federalism through such measures as a reallocation of resources; customising central schemes to state-specific needs; and by formulating policies through consultation, not confrontation
Courtesy: Associated Press
The debates and delays over the Goods and Services Tax exemplify how fiscal federalism is evolving through threats to its original design and rearguard action by states. Rebalancing the centre-state relationship is not easy, but an enlightened fiscal federalism is indispensable to keeping the republic together
Courtesy: Cibin Varghese
The Khilafat movement started in Mumbai nearly 100 years ago in response to the dismantling of the Caliph-headed Ottoman Empire by the Allied powers. The present revival of the office of the Caliph by the Islamic State in West Asia, although rooted in a different context, evokes this sliver of Mumbai’s history
Courtesy: MEA/Government of India
With a 1600-kilometre-long shared border, and a maritime boundary in the North East, Myanmar is critical to India’s Look East policy. However, India has to look beyond the China bogey in order to find ways to truly consolidate ties with Myanmar
Courtesy: MEA/Government of India
Myanmar, currently listed as one of the least developed nations by the UN, provides its neighbouring countries the opportunity to invest in one of the world’s last few business frontiers. Sushma Swaraj on her maiden visit to Nay Pyi Taw should continue to strengthen ties based on economic goals to develop largely underdeveloped areas along the common border as well use Myanmar’s increasing weight in the ASEAN grouping
Courtesy: Joshua Martin
U.S. defence secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit is the third in a flurry of visits by top American officials before the scheduled Modi-Obama meet in September. Hagel’s visit will aim to enhance an already well-established defence-trade partnership and allay fears of the Pentagon’s bias towards Pakistan
Courtesy: Ministry of Finance/GoI
If Budget 2014 is used as a reference point to examine how closely the Modi government kept to its election promises, it is evidently not easy to extirpate the old ways of doing business. This is clear, for example, in the punitive capital gains tax rate on debt mutual funds. Budget 2015 must correct the anomalies