Bilateral Relations

Ramaphosa is likely to be the chief guest of the 2019 Republic Day ceremonies, an official source said on Thursday. Mr. Ramaphosa had hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in July. He is also expected to take part in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, to be …

Missile and torpedo firings to be part of this year’s bilateral naval exercise The 25th edition of the India-Singapore bilateral naval exercise, SIMBEX, has begun at the tri-services command in Port Blair.The exercise, which kicked off on Saturday off the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, will conclude on …

In tune with its rise as an Internet giant, China is roping in India as a niche digital partner, as part of Beijing’s drive to cyber-connect with Eurasia — its new frontier for trade and investments. At a conference on defining common international standards for two-dimensional (2D) barcodes — the …

They top the list of 1,084 applicants Nearly half the applications pending for Indian citizenship are from Pakistanis, according to a Home Ministry database. Out of the 1,084 applicants who applied for Indian citizenship before 2011, as many as 526 are from Pakistan. There were 103 applications pending from Afghanistan, …

Visit to help both sides learn from each other on VVIP security A delegation of a Chinese group that takes care of the security of the top seven members of the nation’s leadership will visit New Delhi in November, as security ties between India and China begin to expand. The …

The two PMs visit factory making industrial robots Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, held informal talks at a picturesque resort near Mount Fuji and visited a factory making industrial robots on Sunday as they spent eight hours together on the first day of the two-day …

Amid Sirisena-Wickremesinghe stand-off, New Delhi assures Colombo of continued development aid India on Sunday reminded Sri Lanka of constitutional process, in an official statement following the ongoing political crisis that erupted after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. India’s response came as both the leaders began an outreach …

U.S. President Donald Trump will not travel to India as the chief guest for the Republic Day Parade, and the White House has conveyed its regrets to the Narendra Modi government, The Hindu has learnt. The government is now exploring several other options for the event. According to multiple government …

Govt. prefers to watch developments including Parliament vote, weighs options Even as the European Union and the United States expressed concern over the manner in which Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena withdrew support to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and swore in former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place, and China …

As work gets under way on one of India’s prize projects in the Indian Ocean to upgrade facilities on the Agalega islands in Mauritius, the government is watching a battle brewing in the Mauritius parliament over the project. After facing resistance over placing its helicopters in the Maldives’ Addu Atoll …

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday suspended Parliament, a day after he sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, plunging the island nation into political turmoil. Through an extraordinary gazette, President Sirisena said Parliament was prorogued until November 16. The announcement came just …

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a $777 mn deal with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to supply additional Barak-8 Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) systems for seven warships of the Indian Navy. “IAI’s partnership with India dates many years back and has culminated in joint system development and …

As the deadline for a joint committee of Parliament on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, nears an end, some members asked whether it was possible to present the Bill in a truncated form by excluding Bangladesh. The Bill proposes citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists …

A Cabinet meeting in Delhi proposed building a passage for the pilgrims accessible “365 days and 24 hours”, sources told The Hindu . Hours later, the Cabinet decision was conveyed by Ministry of External Affairs in a letter to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. “The government of India urges …

Indians divided over paying homage to the Mahatma on a cremation ground A fortnight after the Indian Embassy in Tehran was forced to cancel a Gandhi Jayanti event on the Indian Community Cremation Ground of the city, the Ambassador has triggered a fresh controversy after he presided over a “tree …

Mohamed Nasheed is determined to return to the islands on November 1, despite his fear that President Yameen will try to hang on to power It is very likely that power will be transferred in the Maldives, even if outgoing President, Abdulla Yameen, attempts to influence the Supreme Court’s deliberations …

Three Indian students have made it to the finals of the prestigious annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global science competition for teenagers to share their passion for mathematics and science. The three Indian students are among 15 finalists, chosen from 12,000 students who had submitted engaging and imaginative videos to …

Outgoing Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has told the Supreme Court that disappearing ink and specially treated ballot papers were to blame for his heavy election defeat last month. The comments came as the court considered a petition by Mr. Yameen to have the September 23 election result annulled due to …

The status of Britain’s Brexit talks with the EU continue to be governed by uncertainty as Prime Minister Theresa May stood by her rejection over the weekend of a deal being negotiated with the EU by her own officials. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, the British Prime Minister insisted that …

The Himalayan nation of Bhutan, often described as a “Shangri-La” where happiness is equated to wealth, is holding elections this week. But the Lhotshampa people, brutally driven out of the small kingdom in the 1990s, won’t be voting. The Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa were branded as immigrants and stripped of citizenship rights …