On July 26, 2013, India’s dedicated meteorological satellite INSAT-3D was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by Ariane-5 VA-214 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana. This satellite has been designed and developed by the India Space Research Organization (ISRO). The orbit-raising process of manoeuvres is underway to place it in the 36,000 km high Geostationary Orbit.

On 16 July 2013, the UPA government decided in principle to open up as many as 13 sectors for foreign direct investment—ranging from 49 per cent to 100 per cent—with different caveats. Some needed approval through automatic routes, some through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), and others with distinct riders.

There is good news from the Arctic for the shipping industry.  According to data released by the Northern Sea Route Administration, the nodal agency of the Russian Federal Government, which manages the Northern Sea Route (NSR), 330 applications from ships have been received since April 2013 informing the agency of their plans to transit through the NSR this summer. Of these, 213 applications were approved and 51 rejected. The reasons for the rejection of applications and the fate of the balance of 66 applications have not been made public.

Local police are the best personnel who can prevent terror attacks by deactivating the sleeper cells and terror groups if they go after the basic principles of policing including patrolling, information gathering, and surveillance of suspects in the area concerned.

The genesis of 'Directed Energy Weapons' (DEWs) came up during the cold war when Karl Bendetson and the High Frontier panel of private citizens advised President Ronald Reagan for a crash program to develop missile defences. It was not just to defend against Soviet nuclear weapons but also because of strong indications that the Soviets were going to deploy 'powerful directed energy weapons' in space to gain control of space by using weapons like lasers, jammers etc. Towards the end of the Cold War, the US focused on ballistic missile defence and spending on DEWs.

The Arctic Circle is the new circumpolar forum to address Arctic issues. It is the brainchild of Ólafur Grímsson, Iceland’s President and his team comprising of Prince Albert II of Monaco, Greenlandic Prime Minister Kuupik Kleist, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and Russian explorer Artur Chilingarov, who seek to engage a number of stakeholders through an inclusive process. The forum was launched at the National Press Club in Washington in March 2013 and aims to provide opportunities to various stakeholders to present their views on ‘Arctic matters’.

The acceptance of the feasibility of the BRICS Development Bank at the recently concluded Fifth BRICS Summit at Durban has sent a shivering effect on a certain section who criticise the very idea.

War is not a civilized or dignified way to get hold of rights. Because in wars, national development is arrested, education, economy and technology are left backwards, leaders become cruel and unjust, the military is too expensive, and humans become victims.

This World Water Day (22 March 2013) calls for cooperation on transboundary rivers. With 276 transboundary river basins worldwide, it makes sense for countries in the Indian subcontinent and China to consider them seriously. While international institutions are trying to define a working definition of 'water security', will India be able to secure unhindered access to water for living beings across the McMahon line—the source of all perennial rivers flowing through India?

The well-being of a nation depends much on its ability to adapt to changes. Each change brings in new possibilities and also critical risks. Nepal as a nation has witnessed many changes as early as 1950.