India

On the eve of its 63rd Independence Day, India has signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The agreement that took around six years to negotiate will eliminate tariffs on some 4000 products by 2016. India also signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with South Korea earlier this […]

Arunachal Pradesh seemed to dominate th4e 13th Indo-China talks in New Delhi on Aug 7-8. China lays claim to parts of the north-eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh (AP). The McMohan line forms the disputed border along the AP region and was drawn after an agreement between Tibet and Britain in 1914. China rejects the […]

Five years after ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) and Bodo/NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) militants were flushed out from Bhutanese territory, India expressed concern that 30 cadres of these militants might have reentered Bhutan. Though Bhutan denied the evidence of any permanent camps it recognized the possibility of the militants regrouping in the […]

It looks like India might get a new nuclear-weapons neighbor to its north east. According to recent reports Myanmar may be on its way to developing military nuclear capability with the help of North Korea. Myanmar and North Korea have improved their military trade relations over the last few years, and nuclear collaboration as an […]

The Indian Defense Ministry has come under sharp criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for financial irregularities in awarding of defense deals. The French Scorpene submarines and the second-hand Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov were amongst the prominent deals slammed by the CAG’s report for 2008. India is set to acquire six Scorpene […]

India launched its first nuclear submarine, Arihant, on July 26 joining the ranks of only five other nations capable of developing their own nuclear submarines. The 6000 ton vessel is powered by an 85 megawatt nuclear reactor and is capable of firing Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM). Arihant was completed with the assistance of Russia, […]

Even as the governments of India and Pakistan struggle to re-establish regular dialogue between the two countries, the Pakistani Army and Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) are reported to want a seat at the table. The two agencies claim to be the real power centers in Pakistan who play a crucial role in Pakistan’s India policy. They […]

A lot is being said in the Indian media about the inclusion of Balochistan in the India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh. [ link, link] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is accused of giving Pakistan the upper hand by making Balochistan a bilateral problem, instead of the internal problem that it is. The Pakistani Prime Minister’s […]

India will send 500 specially trained troops to Sri Lanka to help with the demining process in the northern parts of the country. Demining is the process of removal of landmines. According to the United Nation Sri Lanka had 459 known minefields yet to be cleared as of October 2008. Many more were reportedly added […]

Speaking at the NAM Summit’s plenary session, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Manmohan Singh called upon member countries to fight terrorism and ensure their territories are not used as safe havens by terrorists. Singh is scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart on the sidelines of the Summit and push for greater Pakistani action against the perpetrators […]

Even as India struggles to defend itself from external terrorist organizations, the homegrown Naxalite movement continues to pose serious security concerns. On Sunday the Naxals killed 36 policemen in two separate incidents in Rajnandgaon and Sitagaon areas in the state of Chhattisgarh. Last month they seized around 2000 villages in the Lalgarh region in West […]

Reasserting its allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, the Indian Ministry of Defense today released its Annual Report for 2008-09. According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), the report says that there is clear evidence of the attack being planned and launched from Pakistan. Though Pakistan initially contested the claim, […]