Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

RBI Tower ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Nichal P) Source- The National Interest Author- Christopher Whalen Back in August of last year, TNI described why India’s economic prospects are brighter than those of China (“Beware, China: India's Economy Could Have an Even Brighter Future,”). That judgment seems to have been confirmed by subsequent events. As we noted at the time, "When all is said and done, the difference between India and China can be summed up in one word: freedom." India is now clearly outperforming the other emerging nations, particularly China, a nation hobbled by a command economy and one of the most corrupt political systems on the planet. “As Brazil, Russia and China hit hurdles, it’s the poorest member of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s emerging-market group that’s proving a darling of global investors,” Bloomberg News reported in February. “The International Monetary Fund is predicting India will next year grow faster than ea

Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Srisez  Source- The Diplomat Author- Anthony Fensom India has emerged as Asia’s leading light as China’s slowdown continues and other developing economies struggle to pick up speed, according to the latest economic indicators. On Wednesday, China released data showing the world’s second-biggest economy expanded at its weakest pace since 2009 in the March quarter, slowing to an annualized gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 7 percent on lower investment growth and a weak property sector. While in line with Beijing’s official target and the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, industrial production slowed to its lowest level since 2008 and fixed asset investment hit a record low, causing Asian stocks and market interest rates to fall. For the quarter, China’s economy grew by 1.3 percent, down from 1.5 percent growth in the previous quarter, with analysts urging further monetary easing to counter

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena  ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Author MaithriPala Sirisena Official) Source- The Diplomat Author- Shannon Tiezzi While Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is in India on his first official trip abroad, Beijing wants to make sure no one thinks China is being left out. With Sirisena in India, China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will travel to China at the end of February. As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying pointed out, Samaraweera will be the first cabinet minister from Sri Lanka to visit China since Sirisena’s government took office. “Both sides attach great importance to the visit,” Hua said, adding China’s “hope that the visit by Foreign Minister Samaraweera will be an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on the development of China-Sri Lanka relations under the new circumstances.” Those “new circumstances” – namely, the election of a n