IDR Blog
India Set to Boost the Lift-Off Power
In a major breakthrough in the quest of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to build a heavy lift capability, the cryogenic engine, forming a part of the upper stage of the next generation, high performance Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-III successfully passed its qualification test on 19th Feb 2016. The three...
Myanmar in China’s Push into the Indian Ocean
China, of late, has been pitching to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean through Myanmar by building a deep-water port, which includes a special economic zone (SEZ) at the cost of US$280 million. The project is coming up at Kyaukphyu in the troubled southwestern Rakhine Province of Myanmar. The Kyaukphyu SEZ project was awarded to a...
Time to Compensate Soldiers Based on Job Content
For a nation of population of 1.3 billion, loss of ten persons may appear routine, but death of ten soldiers in avalanche in Siachen on 05 February 2016 became a subject of debate world over. An avalanche is a natural phenomenon but events post 5th February on Sonam Post made India sit up and take note. Rescue missions were undertaken at...
Israel's Concerns over Hezbollah Gaining Battle Experience
Lebanon’s Hezbollah was originally a small-scale guerrilla group in Southern Lebanon formed to resist Israeli invasion in the 1980s. In the present scenario, Hezbollah is considered a Shiite Islamist militia, political party, social welfare organisation and a designated terrorist organisation.[1] Hezbollah built its reputation on a dogged...
ISIS: The Widening Gyre
Relatively close together in time, individuals claiming to be related to the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL or Daesh in Arabic) have carried out terrorist attacks in Lebanon, France and the US and blown up a Russian plane with tourists coming from vacations in Egypt. It is difficult to know if there is some sort of ‘central command’ to the ISIS...