Politics

India has started delivering COVID-19 vaccines to remote and hard-to-reach places using locally made drones. (Screenshot from Daybest website)
COVID vaccines

India uses drones to deliver COVID vaccines to remote places

Technology could allow government to administer over 10m shots per day

12 October 2021
Joe Biden meets with Narendra Modi at the White House on Sept. 24: Biden's lukewarm disposition toward Modi shows that Washington and New Delhi remain far apart.
Opinion

Narendra Modi falls victim to India's never-ending image problem

How better PR can bring New Delhi and Washington closer together

10 October 2021
India once again claims the container terminal deal in Colombo after being dumped by Sri Lanka earlier this year. (Source photos by Yuji Kuronuma and AP)
International relations

Sri Lanka walks India-China tightrope with port deal

Adani Group to build Colombo terminal in $700m agreement

7 October 2021
Indian security forces patrol in Srinagar on Sept. 18: More foreign militants have infiltrated into the Kashmir region since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August.
Afghanistan turmoil

Foreign militant numbers rise in Kashmir for first time in 2 years

Fears over possible attacks grow following Taliban takeover in Afghanistan

30 September 2021
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the Quad summit in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 24. Seated clockwise from left, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Indo-Pacific

Quad expands cooperation to space at first in-person summit

Leaders agree to boost vaccine distribution, expand 5G and meet annually

25 September 2021
India has signed a $3 billion deal to buy 56 C295 twin turboprop transport planes from European aircraft maker Airbus.
Aerospace & Defense Industries

India seals $3bn deal with Airbus for 56 military transports

Tata to build 40 planes locally; New Delhi to receive 16 finished aircraft

24 September 2021
Joe Biden, center, is joined virtually by Scott Morrison, left, and Boris Johnson during his remarks about a national security initiative on Sept. 15: AUKUS should prompt a moment of sober reflection.
Opinion

Quad must wrestle with post-AUKUS Asian dilemmas

Trilateral security pact reveals Washington's new ambition

24 September 2021
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is preparing to seize an opportunity to export about $10 billion to $11 billion worth of COVID-19 vaccines over the next three years. (Source photos by Reuters)
COVID vaccines

India gears up to export vaccines as Quad summit approaches

Nation adds burden as it rushes to fully inoculate all its adults by December

22 September 2021
A vial of the Covishield vaccine in Mumbai: The local version of the AstraZeneca vaccine is approved by the WHO for emergency use.
COVID vaccines

India protests exclusion of its vaccines under new UK travel rules

Foreign secretary calls lack of Covishield recognition 'discriminatory'

21 September 2021
A draft of a joint statement obtained by Nikkei shows how Quad leaders intend to take a stand against China's use of science and technology to maintain authoritarian regimes around the world.
Indo-Pacific

Quad leaders to call for securing chip supply chain

Japan, India, Australia and U.S. leaders to link advanced tech with human rights

19 September 2021
A vaccination takes place at a hotel in Patna on Sept. 15. India is in a race against time as it fears a spike in cases during the October to December festival season.
COVID vaccines

India jabs 22m in single day as it races to vaccinate all adults

Nation must maintain pace of 10m shots a day to reach December goal

18 September 2021
President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the U.S. state of Idaho on Sept. 13. He will host the leaders of Japan, India and Australia at the White House on Sept. 24.
Indo-Pacific

White House says Quad summit to take place Sept. 24

China, pandemic and climate change on agenda for first in-person meeting

14 September 2021
A schoolgirl poses next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the job of revamping one of India's most revered pilgrimage sites to his trusted architect.
Politics

India's plan to revamp Mahatma Gandhi home meets fierce criticism

Activists warn of 'Gandhi Theme Park' at best or 'second assassination' at worst

13 September 2021
The Patrouille de France flies during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games and handover of the flag in Paris on Aug. 8: the Olympics are still more about geopolitics and expressions of power than celebrations of human achievement.
Opinion

Five ways to improve the Olympics

Games must do more to include economically disadvantaged nations

12 September 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the BRICS summit via a video link in Moscow on Sept. 9.
Afghanistan turmoil

BRICS summit: Putin blasts US over Afghanistan 'crisis'

Leaders urge 'inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue' to ensure stability, law and order

10 September 2021
Siblings who arrived from Afghanistan with their families are seen in Pakistan on Sept. 1. Thousands, if not millions, of people are expected to attempt to escape Afghanistan, leaving nations in the region anxious about a flood of refugees coming in. 
Asia Insight

Turkey, Iran and Pakistan raise entry bars for Afghan refugees

Nations across region worry influx could exacerbate political and social problems

7 September 2021
Zydus Cadila's vaccine was developed in India on a plasmid DNA platform that "can be easily adapted to deal with mutations," the company says.
COVID vaccines

India to roll out DNA-based COVID shots for teens in October

120m adolescents await first-of-their-kind needle-free vaccine doses

1 September 2021
Afghans walk on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 22.
Afghanistan turmoil

Resurgent Taliban and shaken economy upend life in Afghanistan

Heavier reliance on opium production and drug trade likely as international aid ceases

30 August 2021
U.S. service members assist at an Evacuation Control Check Point (ECC) during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 26. 
Your Week in Asia

Afghanistan deadline, India GDP and Hong Kong domestic workers

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

29 August 2021
Warships participate in the 2020 Malabar exercise involving the four Quad members: the U.S., Japan, India and Australia.
International relations

Quad navies gather for drills as Australia courts India on trade

'Good luck with that,' expert says of Canberra's push for alternative to China

26 August 2021
India ramped up security in Kashmir after the February 2019 air strikes.
Afghanistan turmoil

India fears Kashmir terrorism after Taliban resurgence

Militant group's victory seen as chance for Pakistan to expand influence

26 August 2021
India's government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facilitating the repatriation of Hindu and Sikh minorities in Afghanistan but has not committed to Muslims. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Getty Images)
Afghanistan turmoil

India adopts a wait-and-watch policy for Afghanistan

New Delhi to go slow with regime as it repatriates Hindu and Sikh minorities

24 August 2021
Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds a news conference in New Delhi on July 28: Blinken assured: "We also recognize that every democracy, starting with our own, is a work in progress"
Opinion

Biden's Indo-Pacific policy blueprint emerges

New administration is demonstrating flexibility, attentiveness and pragmatism

23 August 2021
Afghan nationals gather to urge the international community to help Afghan refugees, in New Delhi on Aug. 18.
Afghanistan turmoil

Afghan refugees in India worry about safety of loved ones

Taliban takeover of war-torn Afghanistan dashes hopes of ever returning

22 August 2021
India's Supreme Court recently upheld a Singapore-based arbitration tribunal's ruling in favor of Amazon in a dispute with Future Group.
Comment

On Amazon and taxes, India shows willingness to heed arbitration

New Delhi seeks to balance sovereignty with openness to foreign capital

19 August 2021