The Iran Parkistan India (IPI) and Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India gas pipelines projects are a clear explanation for the India foreign and trade policies’ evolutions regarding Iran and Afghanistan.

In a move to help promote trade and bilateral ties with Pakistan, the government is set to slash 30% items or 254 products from the sensitive list under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) …

India’s national security is at risk if urgent steps are not taken to boost economic growth, attract new investment in infrastructure and legislate against corruption, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday.

India’s Neighbourhood: Challenges in the Next Two Decades

Iran obviously feels encouraged to contemplate another peace conference in the coming weeks on Syria. Last Thursday’s so-called ‘consultative meeting’ turned out to be a success. The fact that 27 countries attended the conference which was convened at short notice speaks of the sense of disquiet over the attempt to instigate ‘regime change’ in Syria. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will travel to Iran on August 29 to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit on the sidelines of which he is expected to meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari besides some other foreign leaders.

Government has seen media reports regarding India allegedly banning U.S.-sanctioned Iranian ships from entering Indian waters. These reports are incorrect. With the EU sanctions, which came into effect on July 1, 2012, some complications arose due to the non-availability of P&I club insurance to ships carrying Iranian crude oil. Consequently, a general exemption was granted by Government to foreign ships carrying Iranian crude oil on CIF basis to dock at Indian ports under certain conditions. Subsequently, the national insurance companies have agreed to extend insurance cover to Indian ships for transportation of Iranian crude to India. In view of this, the general exemption granted earlier to oil PSUs for carrying Iranian crude on CIF basis has been withdrawn. We understand that there are some issues yet to be resolved between the national insurance companies and the ship owners regarding the terms of the insurance cover to be provided to Indian ships for carrying Iranian crude oil to India. While the matter is being resolved, permission for ships carrying Iranian crude oil to India on CIF basis is being granted on a case by case basis on the request of oil PSUs. 

“In the wake of a recent expose in The Guardian (Charlie Skelton, The Syrian Opposition: Who’s doing the talking), it is now quite clear that events in Syria are not as indigenous as made out by the mainstream Western media. The rebel movement is a phenomenon that was nurtured and provided momentum by organized external forces, including many Western governments that, for many years, led a focused campaign to topple the Syrian regime.”

After the massive power failure, the big blame game. The Centre has come down sharply on Punjab, Haryana and UP saying they overdrew 4000 MW of electricity and that caused the tripping of three grids in a cascade effect yesterday, leaving 600 million people without power. The states deny that their actions triggered the huge power collapse. Till that argument is settled, the power situation is likely to be precarious.

Rising inflation threatens India’s economic growth potential

India’s inflation rate rose more than expected in April, figures show. The wholesale price index rose to 7.23% from 6.89% in March, driven by higher prices of food, fuel and manufactured items.

President Pratibha Patil said she is confident that trade between India and South Africa will reach USD 15 billion by 2015 as the two have become important trading partners. Patil and South African President Jacob Zuma appreciated businesses in both the countries for having reached the earlier target of USD 10 billion by 2012, a year ahead of the schedule.

With nations around the world vying for clean energy leadership, India has taken a bold step toward becoming a leader in solar development. In only two years under India’s ambitious national solar policies, prices for solar energy in India have dropped dramatically, approaching the price of traditional energy from fossil fuels. While the Indian government has a long way to go to reach its goals of 20 gigawatts of solar energy by 2022, India’s experience is a strong example of how national and state policies can unleash the potential of clean energy.

Illustration of Agni V long-range missile India is to test Wednesday. With map showing range and table on Agni missile series.

India is set to join an elite club of nations possessing the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) as nuclear capable Agni-V missile is due to be launched from the Wheeler Island off the Orissa Coast on Wednesday.