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Opinion

Maritime security has made the country safer

Mumbai, formerly Bombay, is revered as the City of Dreams, symbolizing boundless aspirations and opportunities. Countless individuals have realized their ambitions and attained prominence within its embrace, while many others navigate its lanes amidst unfulfilled dreams and disillusionment.

Border fencing

India’s decision to allocate a staggering sum of over Rs 3 lakh crore towards fortifying its border with Myanmar undoubtedly reflects the gravity of the challenges it faces in safeguarding its territorial integrity and national security.

Blame Game

Amidst the chaos and horror of the recent massacre at a Moscow concert hall, one thing is abundantly clear: the finger-pointing and blame game have already begun.

The Missing Links

Often asked to summarise a prepared speech in five minutes, Bharat Ratna Dr MS Swaminathan would demonstrate his innate ability to fluently explain complexities of agriculture, economics, and nutrition in easyto-understand points.

Cheer for sport is a cheer for CCP

China’s reputation worsened after the safety of tennis star Peng Shuai, an alleged sexual assault victim, became a matter of international concern. Domestically, however, the Olympics are portrayed as something that benefits the Chinese people – a way for Chinese athletes to achieve glory and to showcase the Communist Party’s ability to execute a worldclass sporting event. The underlying narrative glorifies the regime and legitimises the CCP’s institutions and practices.

Decoding the defence budget

The finance minister must consider the viability of announcing independent service capital budgets in an era when the armed forces are undergoing a major transformation with the creation of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and theatre commands. Ideally, service allocation should be done by the CDS based on a common threat profile and joint capability requirements of the forces.

Economic diplomacy

The ambitious CPEC is a 3,000- km-long route of infrastructure projects connecting the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Gwadar port in Pakistan’s western province of Balochistan. India has protested to China against the project not the least because it is being laid through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). As CPEC enters its second phase, it will be riveted to industrialisation and the development of economic zones in what appears to be a paradigm shift.

Drums of War

The invasion, they contended, could also result in one million to five million refugees, with many of them moving into Poland. By the time the invasion takes place, the Winter Olympics in Beijing will have ended. And this could help Mr Putin avoid antagonizing China’s President Xi Jinping, indeed a critical ally of the Russian President

Federalism at Stake?

A better and far easier solution to fill up vacant posts at Joint Secretary level exists. Under the Central Staffing Scheme, every year applications are invited from officers of AIS, officers of State Government and members of the Central Services, to fill up Deputy Secretary and above posts in the Central Government. Posts up to Director level are filled-up mostly by officers of Central Services while the IAS predominates in JS and above level posts. So, the shortage of officers at JS level can be addressed by removing the bias against non-IAS officers