Interviews/Spotlights

Metamorphosis of the Defence Budget 2016-17

Metamorphosis of the Defence Budget 2016-17

By: Amit Cowshish | Issue: Courtesy: IDSA | Date: 09 Mar , 2016

There was no mention of the allocation being made for defence for the coming fiscal in the finance minister’s budget speech on February 29. It would be pointless to second guess the reason for...

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How far will Pakistan use its Taliban Leverage?

How far will Pakistan use its Taliban Leverage?

By: Mahendra Ved | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 08 Mar , 2016

Sartaj Aziz, Foreign Affairs Advisor to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, has, for the first time by a top member of the establishment, acknowledged that Pakistan has influence over the Afghan Taliban...

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All About Pay and Perks: India’s Defence Budget 2016-17

All About Pay and Perks: India’s Defence Budget 2016-17

By: Laxman K Behera | Issue: Courtesy: IDSA | Date: 07 Mar , 2016

“At a time when major powers are reducing their forces and rely more on technology, we are still constantly seeking to expand the size of our forces. Modernisation and expansion of forces at the...

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1971 War: The battle of Chicken's Neck

1971 War: The battle of Chicken's Neck

By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 06 Mar , 2016

Defence of the politically important town of Jammu and the security of the lines of communication leading to and from it was entrusted to 26 Infantry Division. This sprawling town, on either side...

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Pakistan is the real bully in the South Asian region

Pakistan is the real bully in the South Asian region

By: Sobdar Baloch | Issue: Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date: 05 Mar , 2016

The retired Pakistani generals who frequently appear on TV talk shows have been misleading the public opinion by trying to shroud the negative role of Pakistan and highlight all that which they...

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Defence Budget 2016-17: A Clear Message to the Armed Forces

Defence Budget 2016-17: A Clear Message to the Armed Forces

By: Air Commodore Ramesh Phadke | Issue: Courtesy: IDSA | Date: 04 Mar , 2016

At first I thought I had missed it but it soon became clear that the finance minister had in fact chosen not to mention the defence outlay in his long budget speech. There could be many reasons...

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High Time Siachen Dispute is Settled

High Time Siachen Dispute is Settled

By: Col (Dr) PK Vasudeva | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 03 Mar , 2016

Unfortunately, the death of the brave heart Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad 19 Madras who was rescued alive from under the 35 feet snow avalanche after five days has made the strategicians to...

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Why the PAK-FA May Win the Stealth Dogfight

Why the PAK-FA May Win the Stealth Dogfight

By: Rakesh Krishnan Simha | Issue: Courtesy: www.swarajyamag.com | Date: 02 Mar , 2016

The US and Russian fighter jet design philosophy diverge vastly when it comes to stealth. The Russians believe stealth cannot help win an air-battle, whereas the US have over-emphasised...

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Modest hike in the defence budget for FY 2016-17

Modest hike in the defence budget for FY 2016-17

By: Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 01 Mar , 2016

For the first time in recent memory, the words “defence budget” did not figure in the Finance Minister’s budget speech in the Lok Sabha on February 29, 2016. The norm has been for Finance...

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Cold Start: General KV Krishna Rao’s Greatest Legacy

Cold Start: General KV Krishna Rao’s Greatest Legacy

By: Rakesh Krishnan Simha | Issue: Courtesy: www.swarajyamag.com | Date: 27 Feb , 2016

General KV Krishna Rao, who passed away recently, was the progenitor of the Indian Army’s ‘Cold Start’ doctrine. Rakesh Krishnan Simha reviews the good General’s path breaking idea and...

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Northern Areas in the Eye of a Storm

Northern Areas in the Eye of a Storm

By: Radhakrishna Rao | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 26 Feb , 2016

The proposed Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan has been widely perceived to be linked to Pakistan acting fast on the probe into the attack on Pathankot base of the Indian...

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Siachen Dilemma

Siachen Dilemma

By: Brig Pillalmarri Subramanyam | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 25 Feb , 2016

In the wake of the recent tragedy in Siachen Glacier which had taken the lives of ten brave soldiers of the Indian Army, the voices for demilitarization of Glacier have once again grown in...

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Sharif 2.0

Sharif 2.0

By: Lt Gen Prakash Katoch | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 24 Feb , 2016

As reported in the media “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accepted that the occupation of Kargil by Pakistani troops in the year 1999 was a misadventure and a stab in the back for the then...

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Pathankot Attack: Oil, Globalization & Terror

Pathankot Attack: Oil, Globalization & Terror

By: Shelley Kasli | Issue: Courtesy: www.greatgameindia.com/ | Date: 23 Feb , 2016

Punjab, for many years, has been a transit point for drugs from Afghanistan. The drug money has become a major source of funding of elections in Punjab and over the time a well-organized drug...

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Assessing ISIS’s Emergence as a Prime Threat in SAARC Countries

Assessing ISIS’s Emergence as a Prime Threat in SAARC Countries

By: Ramtanu Maitra | Issue: Courtesy: Aakrosh | Date: 22 Feb , 2016

In recent days, the South Asian news media has been inundated with reports suggesting that terrorists aligned with the socalled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are emerging in some member...

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Evolution of Air Power Thought in India

Evolution of Air Power Thought in India

By: Air Vice Marshal AK Tiwary | Issue: Book Excerpt: Indian Air Force in Wars | Date: 20 Feb , 2016

Strength reinforced by stratagem will surely do much. What, indeed, cannot be accomplished by a combination of my physical strength, Krishna’s wisdom and Arjun’s dexterity?   — Bhima in...

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India's Dilemma: A Maritime or Continental Power - II

India's Dilemma: A Maritime or Continental Power - II

By: Daanish Inder Singh Gill | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 19 Feb , 2016

In his article ‘India needs to augment it’s Maritime power‘ , Himanil Raina hopes to counter my assertion as presented in ‘India’s dilemmas- A Maritime or Continental power?‘,  where I argued...

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Improving Management of Defence

Improving Management of Defence

By: Maj Gen Harsha Kakar | Issue: Courtesy: www.dailyexcelsior.com | Date: 18 Feb , 2016

Recent reports that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been unable to spend almost 40% of its allocated amount for capital procurements once again brings forth the hollowness in the functioning of...

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India needs to augment its Maritime Power

India needs to augment its Maritime Power

By: Himanil Raina | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 17 Feb , 2016

Daanish Gill in his piece – “India’s Dilemma – A Maritime or Continental Power‘[1] frames his argument wishing to drive home one idea.  Rather than framing his arguments in a manner that takes...

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Rocking the Boat: South China Sea Imbroglio

Rocking the Boat: South China Sea Imbroglio

By: Radhakrishna Rao | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 16 Feb , 2016

It is in the fitness of things that the US State Department has denied plans for Indo-US joint naval patrols in South China Sea over which China has claimed total sovereignty. But then the US...

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