The decision to buy 36 Rafale fighters exposes the complexinstitutional mechanisms in defence procurement.

Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led government came to power in India in 2014, the nomenclature of policies has been either Sanskritised or Indianised. With tech savvy Prime Minister on the steering wheel, the government is communicating with the general public through catchy one-liners that are quite apt for character-restricted social media like Twitter. Latest in this catchy pronouncement is the Foreign Secretary’s 'SAARC Yatra', as he rounded up tours of four neighbouring countries in the first week of March.

It can be argued that water resources development and management in Odisha is governed by whims rather than institutions. The election manifesto (2014) of the party ruling the state presently  promised to add 10.00 lakh hectare (ha.) land of irrigation coverage in next five years. This is the only document which can be referred to as 'perspective plan in water sector' so far.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) has effectively replaced Al Qaeda and its affiliates at the vanguard of the global jihadist movement. Under the leadership of Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, the movement remains determined to build upon its powerbase in Iraq and Syria and unite the entire Muslim world under its version of the Islamic Caliphate. In his Ramadan address in October 2014, Baghdadi laid out plans for the expansion of IS networks into what it calls Khorasan – parts of the Indian subcontinent and its near-neighborhood.

The 'POTUS' – The President of the United States left India after witnessing a colourful 66th Republic Day celebrations on January 26  as the chief guest.  Despite a brief spoil sport played by nature on the Day, the shortened three-day visit (Jan 25-27) of the US President to New Delhi has created an uneasy ripple in Beijing.