By Khanh Vu Duc and Duvien Tran  The United States’ military of the 21st century will be leaner, not by strategic choice but rather fiscal necessity. The new US defense budget aims to reduce army personnel to levels not seen since before World War II. While a heavily indebted US must learn to do more with less, its strategic partners around the globe, including in Asia, must likewise downgrade their expectations and boost their burden-sharing.  According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a research institute focused on global security issues, 4.4% of US gross domestic produce was spent on … Continue reading Less money, less faith in US ‘pivot’

By Swati Lodh Kundu  Nearly four years after implementation in India of the Right to Education Act (RTE) in April 2010, the situation remains as grim as ever. Although India currently spends less than 4% of gross domestic product on education, there has been a steady increase of allocation of funds towards free and compulsory education to the 6-14 age group, especially since RTE came into existence. Yet, a rising proportion of students in rural areas choose private schools over government ones. The dependence on private tuition is also growing, with as much as 26% of students continuing with paid … Continue reading ‘Cloud’ may save education in India