Peace and Disarmament

ISRO added another feather to its cap by successfully launching, on May 23, 2016, the first of four experimental versions of its Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology demonstrator (RLV-TD) programme under which a series of … Read moreIndia’s Reusable Launch Vehicle

The Geospatial Bill, May 2016 has been released by the Ministry of Home for public discussions before being placed in the Parliament. The Bill is not about geospatial data or applications of geospatial data for … Read moreGeospatial Bill or the Monumental Stupidity of the Home Ministry

Decision making in India as regards military equipment acquisitions has always been opaque, murky and somewhat enigmatic. The apparent arbitrariness of decisions and technology choices, not to mention actual skulduggery, has long opened the doors … Read moreStrange Rafale Deal and Other Murky Acquisitions

To nobody’s surprise, India and the US led by BJP’s PM Narendra Modi and the Democrat President Barrack Obama renewed the 10-year Defence Framework Agreement first entered into by governments led by the Republican President … Read moreWhat Direction US-India Defence Deals?

We are all too familiar, and unpleasantly so, with the advent of military drones and their extensive use particularly by the US in theatres all over the world and especially, although not exclusively, in counter-terrorism … Read moreOther Drones

THE negotiations between Iran and nominally P5+1, but in reality the US, have led to an interim accord in which Iran will temporarily restrict its nuclear program and the US will ease some of the … Read moreIran and the P5+1 Accord

Vahanavati is not a government pleader appointed to fight a government case. He is supposed to give his legal opinion to the government on what the law is supposed to be, not what the government … Read moreSabotaging the Parliament and Nuclear Suppliers’ Liability

The world seems to be moving on two different tracks on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Almost the only narrative in the US is did Assad regime use chemical weapons, but what should … Read moreBogey of Chemical Weapons in Syria

Among the slew of liberalized norms for FDI announced by the government a fortnight ago was a much anticipated relaxation in norms for FDI in defence industries. The prevailing cap on FDI stood at 26% … Read moreFDI in Defence: Wrong Diagnosis, Wrong Remedy

DOUBLING OF GAS PRICE   THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has decided that from March 2014, the price of gas will double – it will rise from $4.2 per MMBTU to $8.40! This … Read moreFrom Self-reliance to Reliance Is the Govt’s New Motto

P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; } Earlier this week, the UN made history by adopting the first ever global Treaty to regulate trade in conventional armaments. The Treaty, among other measures, seeks to prevent and eradicate … Read moreArms Trade Treaty — Towards What End?

India’s serial imports in military hardware continue unabated, with a string of acquisitions being approved and announced recently. There is regular fine-tuning of the Defence Procurement Policy, mostly at the behest of and oriented towards … Read moreWanted: White Paper on Defence Production