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India has decided to build 558 roads totaling 27,986 km by 2030 at a cost of over Rs 50,000 crore along the borders with China and Pakistan. India stands justified in building these roads on land under its possession. It is not making any construction on land illegally occupied by China or Pakistan.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When misfortune strikes, it does so in droves. Ask the United Democratic Front (UDF) Government ruling Kerala. It will vouch for the veracity of this saying.

Elections to West Bengal Assembly are scheduled for 2016 but preparations have already begun with the political parties positioning themselves already. How else can you explain the present open fight between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress in Parliament and outside? The BJP chief Amit Shah made the fact that West Bengal is on the horizon of the BJP clear when he took over.

A stormy start to Parliament's winter session already seems to underline the 'exciting times ahead' that the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley himself presages, though in a positive sense, for 'the whole set of second generation reforms' he intends to unleash in February next in the Union Budget for 2015-16.

Ahead of the imminent talks in Lima (Peru) and a binding legal treaty to curb carbon for emissions across the world to save the planet from the worst fallout, the United Nations (UN) has come out with a doable global carbon neutrality paradigm. A comprehensive synthesis report of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) titled The Emissions Gap Report, just released, highlights “a worrisome worsening trend” in carbon dioxide emissions and pitches for global carbon neutrality by mid-to-late century. This would help limit global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius and head off the worst effect of climate change that is reflected in a welter of devastating weather-related aberrations across continents in recent years including the one in Kashmir and Kedarnath earlier in India.

First phase of voting has already taken place in Jharkhand, which saw a 62 per cent turnout of the voters, which is surprisingly higher than the voting percentage witnessed during last Lok Sabha election. In the Hindi heartland of UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, the polling percentage is normally low and a turnout of more than 55 per cent of voters is assumed to be high and more than 60 per cent is taken as fairly high.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forthcoming visit to India provides a great opportunity to the two time-tested allies for a wide-ranging strategic tie-up in the energy sector, encompassing hydrocarbon, coal, nuclear and non-conventional energies, both at local and global levels to benefit both the countries as well as other stakeholders. Russia has probably the world’s largest reserves of oil and gas. According to Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergey Donskoy, as of 1 January 2012, recoverable reserves of oil in Russia under category ABC1 (equivalent to proven reserves) were 17.8 billion tons and category C2 reserves (equivalent to probable and possible) were 10.9 billion tons. It is a major energy exporter to the European Union. Russian Federation has the world’s second largest coal reserves. It is also 3rd largest producer of nuclear power.

KOLKATA: In the three and a half years since it lost power in West Bengal, the CPI-M’s downhill journey has continued. It is still losing ground – not to the Trinamool Congress but to the BJP. Once upon a time the Bengal Leftists were in the habit of quoting poet Sukanta Bhattacharjee’s line Banglar mati djurjoy ghanti chine nik durbritta (let the reactionaries know the soil of Bengal is an impregnable bastion). The memory of that era is fast receding into oblivion. The rude fact of life is that the middle and lower-level workers of the party are deserting its ranks and joining the BJP.

Twentyfive years ago this month, the Berlin Wall was dismantled by East German citizens who responded to an official announcement of a relaxation of the harsh travel restrictions they faced. Thousands spontaneously flocked to the Wall, overwhelmed the guards, and were soon joined by West Berliners in tearing down the barrier. The authorities had lost the will to stop them.

It is the season of clean chits. First, the Nehru-Gandhi family’s loyalist, A.K. Antony, gave a clean chit to the dynasty to absolve it of any blame for the Congress party’s miserable showing in the last general election. Then, the Mukul Mudgal committee exonerated N. Srinivasan of any wrong-doing in the IPL betting scandal. Finally, the Nanavati commission cleared the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government of the charge of complicity in the 2002 riots.