By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI, 17 May 2023 (IDN) — The opposition Indian National Congress (INC), which appeared to have sunk into oblivion, scored a decisive victory in the southern state of Karnataka over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the legislative assembly elections on 10 May. Karnataka is the […]
Indian State Elections: Ruling BJP Vows to Eradicate Manual Scavenging
Special IDN SDG News Feature* BENGALURU, India, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — India’s southern state of Karnataka is due to go to the polls on May 10, and sustainable development goals (SDG) issues such as sanitation, food security and free nutrition for the poor, free housing sites for the homeless and free cooking gas cylinders […]
Sri Lanka — The Status Quo Resumes?
By Charles Seevali Abeysekera BROMLEY, UK, 3 May 2023 (IDN) — Fast forward the clock nine months and the country appears to have got through the worst with funds being provided by friendly donor countries and more recently by the IMF. A semblance of normality has returned or so it appears on the surface.
US Will Finally Have Envoy in Delhi as India’s Diplomatic Value Rises
By Arul Louis The writer is a New York-based non-resident senior fellow of the Society for Policy Studies, a New Delhi-based think tank. He can be contacted @arulouis. UNITED NATIONS, 16 March 2023 (IDN) — After an almost two-year delay during which India’s importance rose for US diplomacy, Washington will finally have an envoy in […]
Sri Lankan Women Upstage Male Dominance in Trauma Surgery in the US
By Razeena Raheem NEW YORK (IDN) — In a highly-competitive profession dominated largely by men, three young Sri Lankan women in their thirties are making a name for themselves as trauma surgeons specializing in emergency surgeries on people who’ve had a critical injury or illness.
Diplomacy Challenges: Sri Lanka at 75 (Part 2)
By H.M.G.S. Palihakkara The writer is a former Foreign Secretary during Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s tenure in office and one-time Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and New York. COLOMBO (IDN) — The proposed reforms in Sri Lanka cannot be ‘unleashed’ on a crisis-ridden people in a rapid-fire single burst like what […]
India Seeks to Rekindle Old Ties with Egypt
By Navdeep Suri Observer Research Foundation published this article. The writer has had a 36-year-long career in the Indian Foreign Service. He served, among others, in India’s diplomatic missions in Cairo, Damascus, Washington, Dar es Salaam and London. NEW DELHI (IDN) — The decision to invite President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of Egypt as the […]
Behind India Ignoring Lula’s Inauguration as Brazil’s President
Viewpoint by M.K. Bhadrakumar This article was issued by Indian Punchline. NEW DELHI (IDN) — The Brazilian news agency reported that Lula da Silva’s inauguration as the new president on January 1 for a historic third term amidst a carnival-like backdrop was attended by over five dozen foreign delegations, composed of heads of government, vice […]
India and Australia to Boost Ties Through Unity Agreement
By Shastri Ramachandaran MELBOURNE (IDN) — The unprecedented benefits expected to flow both ways from the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which came into force on December 30, are by now well-known in the two countries. Both India and Australia are upbeat about the ECTA, called the Unity Agreement, as a ground-breaking measure […]
How India’s Enormous Solar Park Left the Landless Stricken
By Gareth Bryant, Devleena Ghosh, Jake Morcom, and Priya P Pillai* This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. MELBOURNE, Australia (IDN) — India, like many other countries, is looking to renewables as an antidote to soaring fossil fuel prices and to tackle climate change. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees renewables […]