AIR World Service English

Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on Saturday. Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was elected as the 7th executive President of the country, after getting 52.25 % of the votes cast. He had declared that he would take oath of office in the Sri Lankan city of Anuradhapura. World leaders including Indian Prime Minister have congratulated Gotabaya Rajapaksa on his victory. Prime Minister Modi in his message to Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed his commitment to work closely with the newly elected Sri Lankan President to deepen the ties between India and Sri Lanka. Conveying the good wishes on behalf of the people of India and on his own behalf, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that under the able leadership of Mr. Rajapaksa the people of Sri Lanka will progress further on the path of peace and prosperity and fraternal, cultural, historical and civilizational ties between India and Sri Lanka will be further strengthened. The Prime Minister reiter...

The winter session of Indian Parliament will begin from November 18 and continue till December 13. A number of bills are likely to be taken up during the Winter Session. Further, two crucial ordinances are on the list to be converted into law during the session. The upcoming session will be crucial for three key factors – Policy Push, Productivity and political consensus on issues of vital National Interest. The Winter Session of Parliament is expected to be tumultuous, as the Opposition is expected to corner the Centre over various socio-political and economic issues. In the last two years, winter sessions have been convened on November 21st and ended in the first week of January.  While the previous Monsoon session this year saw the passage of landmark bills such Triple Talaq, Motor Vehicles Act, and amendments to the National Investigation Agency Act, the hallmark of the session was the revocation of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, that were imped...

In India’s multilateral engagements, the BRICS has occupied a very important strategic space in its foreign policy, ever since the four nation grouping came into existence. In the shifting sands of geo-politics and geo-economics, the emerging economies of the BRICS are important entities to be reckoned with by the world at large. In this context, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in the 11th BRICS summit in the Brazilian capital Brasilia, assumes traction. Ahead of the summit, highlighting the significance of the summit, Prime Minister Modi had said India and other BRICS nations look to build mechanisms for counter terrorism cooperation within the BRICS framework. The Indian Prime Minister in his address to the BRICS Business Council underscored that these countries together account for 50% of world’s economic growth. He said, “Despite the recession in the world, the BRICS countries accelerated economic development drove millions of people out of poverty and achieved ...

The successful conclusion of the 11th BRICS Summit in Brasilia is a measure of the grouping’s dynamism and ever growing relevance. As the joint statement noted, BRICS countries have been the “main drivers of global growth over the last decade”. The advent of BRICS reflects the shifting trends of the new emerging global economic order. BRICS has not just questioned the West’s global domination, it is attempting to shape a new thinking and a new world-view. The theme of the 11th BRICS Summit was “economic growth for an innovative future”. Innovation is indeed the calling card of the future. The history of innovation is the story of ideas. If we don’t innovate, we sleepwalk into oblivion. As expected, the joint statement issued by BRICS leaders has called for an urgent need to strengthen and reform the UN and other multilateral organizations including the WTO and IMF. At a time when multilateralism is under attack from various international quarters, BRICS’ unflinching commitment ...

One of the key priorities of the second Modi government is building on the ‘global strategic partnership’ with the United States (US) which has emerged in recent years as an indispensable partner in India’s economic transformation and the realisation of its aspiration to play a bigger role on the global stage. The defence partnership is a key pillar of the bilateral relationship. In recent years, this aspect of the bilateral relations has blossomed. India and the United States are conducting their first tri-services Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise called ‘Tiger Triumph’ off the coast of Andhra Pradesh between 13-21 Nov. US Marine Corps and a Special Forces reconnaissance team, Indian Navy’s P8i long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, among others, arel participating in the Tiger Triumph exercise. The ‘harbour phase’ will be in Visakhapatnam from November 13 to 16 and the second phase in Kakinada from November 17 to 21....

In an unprecedented move, the Pakistani establishment right from its’ President to the Foreign Minister, commented on a matter that is absolutely internal to India. The unanimous verdict by the five judge bench of the Supreme Court of India on 9th November, 2019, settled the centuries old Ayodhya land title dispute in Uttar Pradesh for the construction of a Ram temple. This has been widely welcomed by all sections of the society. The bench also allocated five acres of land at a prominent place in Ayodhya to be identified by the Union government and the state government for the construction of a Mosque. The disputed land is to remain with a Trust to be formed by the Union government within three months. The settlement of the land title in Ayodhya has been welcomed by all parties in the dispute. Expressing his deep satisfaction at the judgment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation, the same evening said the manner in which every section of Indian society, every comm...

India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar paid a successful visit to Serbia. Apart from meeting his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic; Dr. Jaishankar called upon Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Speaker of the National Assembly in Belgrade. The interactions focussed on transforming the bilateral partnership in sync with the needs of the 21st century. The highlight of the visit was signing of the Defence Cooperation Agreement that is likely to anchor their bilateral ties in the future. Indo-Serbian ties are rooted in history. With Serbia being part of erstwhile Yugoslavia, the two countries were founding members of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM). The Movement had propelled the names of Pandit Nehru and Joseph Tito in each other’s national consciousness. Their shared past are also reflected in the interactions of Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore with Serbia’s intelligentsia. This exceptional warmth in their friendship, however, did not translate into a more ...