India’ World | The Way to Break China’s Stranglehold on Rare Earths

Donald Trump recently announced a new Rare Earth Element (REE) deal with China. As per the deal, China is set to lift its export controls on any REEs exported to the United States in exchange for exemptions granted to Chinese students amidst the president’s crackdown on immigrant student visas.

By Tannmay Kumarr Baid and Pranay Kotasthane

Read the full article here.

NDTV | Opinion: Inside China's 'Low-Cost' Arms Exports, Serving Everyone From Pak To West Africa

China's arms exports to Pakistan are one part of a complex military production, export, and diplomacy ecosystem that Beijing has built. Over the years, China has focused on becoming self-reliant in the defence manufacturing domain. This process has included making export variants of major weapons. That said, there are challenges that China faces in its defence export agenda. These include political issues and quality-related concerns that make Beijing the lesser-preferred option over the world's top three defence exporters: the US, Russia, and France. Nonetheless, China's defence export market is expanding. And this has significant implications for India.

By Anushka Saxena and Manoj Kewalramani

Read the full article here.

StratNews Global | Stuck at Security: The Global Navigation Conundrum and Military Implications

This Oped examines the technical and regulatory landscape of GNSS devices, the security rationale behind their restriction, and the implications for military professionals globally. Drawing on recent developments in India, we explore how outdated regulations and a lack of technical clarity can hinder both civilian and military users, and what lessons can be learned for other nations.

By Dr. Y. Nithiyanandam

Read the full article here.

StratNews Global | AI is not India’s Y2K Moment but it does Offer India a Leadership Role in the Global South

I argue that the AI race is not a Y2K moment for India. There are fundamental differences between the Y2K moment of yore and the ongoing AI saga. That said, India can still emerge as a leader in the Global South if it prioritises the development of open software and hardware associated with AI.

By Lokendra Sharma

Read the full article here.

MoneyControl | ASEAN in the Crosshairs: Balancing great powers

Read the article here.

Moneycontrol | Geospatial technology and its role in India’s Act East policy

India is enhancing regional influence through infrastructure like KMMTTP, reducing reliance on Bangladesh, while leveraging geospatial technology to manage complex terrains, monitor security threats, and counter China's growing strategic presence.

By Swathi Kalyani

Read the full article here.

The Hindu | The political deadlock in Taiwan

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s biggest policymaking hurdle has been that his party had failed to achieve a majority in the Legislative Yuan, with the opposition KMT winning 52 seats out of the 113 parliamentary seats. Subsequently, the KMT has blocked vital steps to secure Taiwan’s internal democratic and legal processes.

By Anushka Saxena

Read the full article here.

MoneyControl | Invisibilising Taiwan

A flawed interpretation of a UN General Assembly resolution has allowed multilateral bodies such as the WHO to keep Taiwan from contributing to its work in full measure. Individual countries, too, have used this resolution to limit engagement with Taiwan. To counter China’s influence, Taiwan has to expand its diplomatic outreach to ensure it’s not shut out.

By Anushka Saxena

Read the full article here.

India’s World | Dissecting the Cyber Aspect of Operation Sindoor

While heightened cybersecurity alertness from both the government and the private sector has certainly helped, it is the cyber strength built over the years that has primarily ensured the resilience of the Indian cyber landscape.

By Lokendra Sharma and Karthik Bappanad

Read the full article here.

The Indian Express | BRI’s debt trap and China’s expanding footprint

When Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) marked its decadal milestone in October 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “Viewing others’ development as a threat or taking economic interdependence as a risk will not make one’s own life better or speed up one’s development.” However, instead of mutually-beneficial interdependence, China today has managed to make 140 countries highly asymmetrically dependent on it for economic investment and trade. Many of these dependencies are a result of the over $1.175 trillion worth of construction contracts and non-financial investments Beijing has undertaken under the BRI. Now, analysts suggest that loans to the tune of a whopping $35 billion may be up for repayment in 2025, and most countries affected are financially vulnerable, developing economies.

By Anushka Saxena

Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | India needs a new nuclear dream

Homi Bhabha’s three-stage nuclear dream of the 1950s has helped the country in indigenising PHWRs and developing nuclear weapons, but has not met the promise of limitless power through thorium utilisation. India needs a new nuclear dream that focuses on five areas — from doubling down on PHWRs to pursuing direct thorium utilisation, and drawing in the private sector by tweaking nuclear liability law

By Lokendra Sharma

Read the full article here.

Deccan Herald | Hydropolitics a new reality for Pakistan

The Jhelum and Chenab rivers, where Pakistan previously enjoyed greater rights under the treaty, represent over 45,000 sq km of basin area with mean annual flows exceeding 45 million acre-feet.

By Swathi Kalyani

Read the full article here.

The New Indian Express | Luanda Meets Lutyens: How India is going beyond energy to deepen ties with Angola

Read the article here.

The National Interest | 'Indian Threat', '1962 War': How Chinese 'Experts' Are Batting For Pak Over India (Copy)

India and Pakistan are embroiled in hostilities in the aftermath of a terror attack on civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir on April 22. India’s military response is the result of Pakistan’s military-jihadi complex perpetrating terrorism and discord in Kashmir. With Operation Sindoor, India has set a new normal by expanding the scale of its response to terrorism. This includes moving beyond Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and terror camps and sites to striking targets closer to military installations across Pakistan. 

By Anushka Saxena

Read the full article here.

Deccan Herald | Maritime Trade in Volatile Weather

India must invest more in weather monitoring systems to safeguard and leverage its maritime commerce

By Swathi Kalyani

Read the full article here.

The Hindu | Redrawing the not-so-pretty energy footprint of AI

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly eased access to art and reduced the time and the effort required to complete certain tasks. For example, ChatGPT-4o can generate a Studio Ghibli-inspired portrait in seconds with just a prompt. But this ease comes at a significant energy cost that is often overlooked — one that has even led to Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) melting. As AI tools advance, this environmental impact will continue to become more detrimental, making this an unsustainable technology. How can AI be developed sustainably? And can leveraging nuclear energy, specifically Small Modular Reactors (SMR), be a possible alternative?

By Anwesha Sen & Sourav Mannaraprayil

Read the full article here.

NDTV | 'Indian Threat', '1962 War': How Chinese 'Experts' Are Batting For Pak Over India

In the aftermath of the terror attack on civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiankun commented that Beijing firmly opposes all forms of terrorism. And yet, China's posturing around the state of India-Pakistan relations has largely stuck to three assertions, which express its implicit support for Pakistan's position. 

By Anushka Saxena

Read the full article here.

ThinkChina | Xi’s purge: Can a divided army fight?

The absence of CMC Vice-Chairman He Weidong raises questions on the stability of the Chinese PLA. As Beijing continues to emphasise “actual” combat preparedness and turn the heat on Taiwan, there is little scope for a military that cannot win a conflict it promises to.

By Anushka Saxena

Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | China's thorium reactor is a wake-up call for India

India should pursue direct thorium utilisation in parallel to the three-stage nuclear power programme as it’s only the first stage which has been mastered so far. Also, there’s a need to diversify reactor designs to complement the current set of pressurised heavy water reactors

By Lokendra Sharma

Read the full article here.

The Hindu | India’s AI compute conundrum

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced the launch of a continuous empanelment process for AI compute providers, which allows firms to apply on an ongoing basis to supply AI compute and related services. While this may seem like a good move in the short term, the process impedes market dynamics and creates bureaucratic hurdles for both providers and users of compute infrastructure. Allowing markets to function freely and offer services that meet consumer needs is necessary for long-term sustainability.

By Rijesh Panicker & Bharath Reddy

Read the full article here.