India and the World

Vietnam is India’s all weather-friend: Vietnam envoy

- by India Writes Network

India’s multifaceted ties with Vietnam are poised to acquire greater strategic and economic weight. The visit of India’s External Affairs Minister to Vietnam August 25-26 is set to impart a fresh momentum to this burgeoning partnership, bound by a confluence of strategic, economic and energy interests. Sushma Swaraj’s trip will set the stage for the state visit by India’s President Pranab Mukherjee to Vietnam in September.

In this exclusive interview with Manish Chand, Editor-in-Chief, India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org), Vietnam’s ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Tan speaks about Vietnam’s expectations from the forthcoming visit by India’s foreign minister, the growing knowledge partnership between India and Vietnam and predicts an all-round acceleration in bilateral ties in days to come.

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India asks Pakistan to stop meddling, calls off foreign secretaries’ talks

- by India Writes Network

In a strong signal to Pakistan to refrain from meddling in its internal affairs, India has unilaterally called off talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries, which was scheduled in Islamabad on August, over Pakistani envoy’s “unacceptable” invitation to meet separatist leaders of Kashmir.

The unilateral cancellation of the scheduled talks, which aimed at exploring ways to revive the dialogue process, bodes ill for bilateral ties, which started off on a positive note with the visit of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to New Delhi for the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May. The talks between Mr Modi and Mr Sharif in Delhi had kindled hopes for improved relations under the new dispensation in New Delhi with both leaders asking their foreign secretaries to meet and explore ways to take the engagement process forward.

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India and SCO: Greater Engagement in Extended Neighbourhood

- by India Writes Network

While the Modi government’s focus on SAARC and Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries is important, it should also include Central Asia within its matrix of co-development. Geo-strategically, Central Asia constitutes a part of India’s extended neighbourhood and it is, therefore, necessary to safeguard our legitimate national interests in the region. Central Asia is strategically located and without a doubt, its strategic importance in international affairs has been steadily growing. For India, Central Asia is important because of old cultural and civilizational linkages, the region’s strategic location, energy resources and trade opportunities. Central Asia’s energy reserves will be vital to the global economy over the coming decades.

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Taking on hackers: India plans cyber security centre

- by India Writes Network

Stepping up efforts to tackle the surge of cyber attacks on the government and other sensitive establishments, India’s government is expected to set up a cyber security centre to provide real-time assessment of cyber security threats and an integrated national plan to tackle them. The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) will facilitate a more robust cyber security arrangement that provides defence for key national Indian computer networks. The NCCC will work with agencies like the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) to develop a holistic defence system that addresses cyber threats pro-actively. Setting up the NCCC is projected to cost over $ 190 billion. It will be a multi-agency body under Department of Electronics and IT.

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Modi’s Independence Day anthem: Re-make India and Make in India

- by India Writes Network

Freedom from poverty. Freedom from the poison of casteism and communalism. Liberating India from the curse of gender bias. Making India a manufacturing and export hub. Building a new and clean India, based on financial empowerment and inclusion of all Indians, cutting across all parochial categories.

These were some strands of Prime Minister Narendra’s Modi’s anthem of national renewal outlined in his maiden Independence Day address. On a radiant and bright morning, Modi spoke to thousands of people assembled at the Red Fort complex, kindling new hopes about his vision of a national renaissance. Refreshingly, Modi, sporting a polka-dotted blazing orange turban, spoke extempore, without notes, and eloquently underlined the need to forge a national consensus on key issues and making the country into a formidable manufacturing hub, underpinned by enterprise and innovation.

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