NIgeria elections Courtesy: Flickr/Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
25 March 2015

Nigeria: a precarious election

The upcoming Nigerian elections is set to be a defining one for the country. Rampant corruption and the terrorist threat from Boko Haram have dampened the economic and social climate. The world is watching keenly as for the first time in a decade it is unclear which party will emerge victorious

picstitch (5) Courtesy: Wikimedia commons
19 March 2015

Assessing India’s infrastructure aid diplomacy

With the Modi government’s focus on improving neighbourhood relations, India cannot afford delays in its aid projects in the region—especially because aid is an effective foreign policy instrument. Why are these projects getting delayed? Is the government taking remedial steps to improve India’s aid programme?

Lagarde 2 Courtesy: IMF
19 March 2015

IMF, RBI and interest rates

The IMF’s 2014 review has some good GDP news but its reservations on interest rates bears closer attention. It can take 32 months for the effects of a an interest rate cut to be felt. What does this mean for the Indian economy?

Israel-India Courtesy: Wikimedia commons
12 March 2015

India-Israel: A renewed confluence?

Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya'alon’s recent offer of defence technology for Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India initiative may signal expanding bilateral relations, and it is an opportune moment for the two countries to consolidate long-term common ground in areas such as counter-intelligence and naval cooperation

Under the dome_India's daughter Courtesy: YouTube
12 March 2015

India, China and censorship

In the past week two documentaries that went viral in China and India were banned. In China, a documentary about pollution. In India, a documentary about the Nirbhaya rape incident in 2012. India's decision to ban the film suggests that the government's approach to censorship is starting to look more like China's

SAARC Courtesy:
2 March 2015

An Indian democracy template for SAARC?

Indian foreign secretary S. Jaishankar’s visit to SAARC countries from March 1 is an opportunity to examine the political trajectories in the region. While democracy in some countries like Sri Lanka is on an upswing, in others, like Bangladesh, it is in decline. With China’s growing economic influence in South Asia, can Indian democracy be an effective counterpoint?