Author: Rajendra Abhyankar, The Asia Foundation

Defence Secretary Robert Gates’ three-day visit to New Delhi last month not only bolstered India’s role in promoting security and stability in Afghanistan and the region, but also boosted bilateral defence cooperation and trade. His visit helps pave the way for President Barack Obama, who is expected to visit India this summer, and helps answer an important question the two countries have asked each other since India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Washington last year – Do we take a ‘strategic pause’ to heal some rising negativity brewing in the relationship, or do we look for the ‘next big idea’ to keep up the momentum?

In a clear push for closer bilateral military cooperation in the face of what Secretary Gates called the ‘greatest common challenge of terrorism,’ Gates’ visit highlighted the potential influence the defence sector can have on future bilateral relations. Read more…

Author, Rajendra Abhyankar, Asia Foundation

For a country where job-creation has always been more important than wealth creation, the idea of a jobless recovery just does not exist. To meet the needs of its vast population, 65 per cent of whom are below age 35, the government is under constant pressure to create (literally) new jobs and succeeds by bringing in 12 to 15 million jobs each year. Yet, India is running to standstill. Hence the crucial importance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) that assures 100 days employment to every able-bodied person in the countryside. With the economic forecast looking up, the scheme has just been restructured to cover a larger segment of the population.

Read more…