Maj Gen (Dr) Pawan Anand, AVSM (Retd) Writes :The Make in India initiative in 2014 saw defence industry as one of its major pillars, aiming for self-reliance. The buzz around it raised the hopes of many industry players ranging from existing giants to start ups and MSMEs. However, while some achievements may undoubtedly be made much of, the overall picture has been disappointing, with governmental agencies driving themselves into a flurry of activity with seminars and conferences, and private players pointing out there has been no real progress on ground.
PROPOSED DEFENCE REFORMS AN OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE FORWARD
Brig Narender Kumar, SM, VSM (Retd) Writes :The proposed defence reforms announced by Finance Minister on May 16, 2020 should objectively improve military capabilities and capacities. There is a need to maintain balance between procurements ex-import and from Indian defence industry. It will primarily ensure self-reliance with quality and state of the art weapons and platforms to enhance operational efficiency of the Indian Armed Forces.
TABULA RASA[i]: THE US TALIBAN DEAL THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE REALISM AND LIBERALISM
Varija Maini Writes : The peace agreement was reached after an 18 months long on-and-off negotiations that began in late 2018 and finally terminated in end Feb 2020. There are several reasons for the delay of this agreement.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: FUTURE OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN AFGHANISTAN
Ms Naireen Khan writes: Even with the U.S government and the Taliban signing a troop withdrawal agreement to pave the way to end a 19-year-old war, peace remains elusive for the Afghan people.
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON INDIA’S CNP AND INTERNAL SECURITY: REPORT ON THE WEB DISCUSSION OF 13th MAY 2020
USI organised a Web Discussion on the topic “Impact of COVID-19 on India’s CNP and Internal Security”, on 13th May 2020. The keynote address was given by Maj Gen BK Sharma, AVSM, SM and Bar (Retd) Director, USI and the moderator for the event was Maj Gen Rajiv Narayanan, AVSM, VSM (Retd) Head CS3, USI. The main speakers were Shri Jitesh Khosla IAS (Retd) and Shri Jayanto N Choudhary IPS (Retd).
THE US-TALIBAN DEAL & THE PERPETUAL AFGHAN CONUNDRUM: OPTIONS FOR INDIA
Maj Gen Rajiv Narayanan, AVSM, VSM (Retired) Writes :On the 29 February 2020, the USA and Taliban signed the much-delayed deal in Doha, Qatar, named as ‘The Agreement to Bring Peace to Afghanistan’. It has since found much traction only in the media as the Peace Deal, but on ground things have spiralled from bad to worse,