One of the major benefits for BRICS is economic cooperation.
Shutterstock
BRICS goes into its eighth summit with lots of hurdles. Sanusha Naidu consideres its future prospects.
China and the US are at the centre of multilateral trade talk disagreements.
Shutterstock
With no sign of resolution in the near future the collapse of multilateral trade negotiations, tagged as the Doha round, risks breeding a major crisis.
The Indian government risks a serious escalation of violence if the Pakistani government and militant groups in that country respond with even more attacks.
Mukesh Gupta/Reuters
As the latest attack on an Indian army camp shows, India’s shift in policy from strategic restraint to preemptive self-defence is a serious gamble.
Members of the Non-Aligned Movement meet at the session of the 17th summit of heads of state and government.
DIRCO
The Non-Aligned Movement member states enjoy cohesion on few issues. Historically, their heterogeneity ranged from absolute monarchs to socialist presidents.
Zvonimir Atletic / shutterstock
Nearly 5m tonnes of coal will soon be shipped through the Sundarbans each year.
EPA/Farooq Khan
A long-festering military and diplomatic sore has been dramatically reopened. Can it ever be healed?
The Brahmaputra is known for its unpredictable fury. Assamese plains dwellers are often victims of floods but also earn a livelihood from the river.
Utpal Baruah/Reuters
At the heart of the Himalayas, the ongoing conflict between China and India for the hydro-power race will affect the whole region.
Most smartphones in India can’t even access 3G networks.
Shailesh Andrade/Reuters
A new player is shaking up the Indian mobile market. But will it be enough?
Portrait of Kipling by John Collier, c.1891.
Rudyard Kipling wasn’t just the author of The Jungle Book and Just So Stories – his early work as a cub reporter in India showed a precocious talent for journalism.
Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan. He left the job after concerted political attacks.
Reuters/Shailesh Andrade
Attacks on the South African Reserve Bank and events in India that led to the exit of the governor of the country’s central bank are a warning that banks aren’t immune from political meddling.
Urdu-language maxims adorn a school in the Swat Valley, Pakistan.
EPA/Bilawal Arbab
India and Pakistan wanted to replace colonial English with national languages after independence. The process is still far from over.
Johannesburg skyline: the challenge is to create a city that is liveable, safe and resource efficient.
Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Populations revolt when lives are improving but not fast enough to meet their rising expectations.
EPA
Almost 70 years after Indian independence, tribes once classed as criminals are still fighting for their freedom.
Shutterstock
There are worrying ramifications of the case against an honest bureaucrat in a corruption scandal in India.
People at a temple in Ahmedabad, India. The country’s government struggles to come to terms with racism against African immigrants.
Reuters/Amit Dave
Racial violence has its parallels in other forms of violence in India. The prejudice runs across multiple channels from caste, region, religion to gender.
Dalit protest.
EPA
Tens of thousands of Dalits protested against a lack of freedom – on India’s Independence Day.
EPA/Divyakant Solanki
India’s prime minister won a landslide victory promising to improve his people’s lives. There’s a very long way to go.
Bursting with life, but can they live the ones they want?
Young Lives/ Sebastian CastanÞeda Vita
For too many adolescents in the world’s poorest countries, life is like a cliff edge.
India’s GST still needs to pass some check points but it promises economic reform.
Sivaram V/Reuters
India stands to economically benefit from the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax. Australia could also cash in.
Australian universities should explore ways of working with Indian institutions.
from www.shutterstock.com
Australia will face stiff competition from other countries, such as the US and UK, so it must have a clear strategy for how to deepen its engagement with India’s higher education sector.