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When an Indian Air Force MiG-23 trainer went down this week, it was the second crash in the past few days and the seventh this year. It highlights the growing problem of maintaining technological and operational standards that are concomitant with India's role as a regional power. Two of the crashes involved planes that are of 1960s vintage. The MiG-21, which forms the backbone of the Indian Air Force, was first deployed in the 1970s. The T-72 tanks comprising the bulk of the army's armoured corps are at least a generation behind current standards . The situation calls for a well thought out government response. But that is unlikely to happen while the defence purchase system remains as it is, opaque and plagued with problems. Obtuse thinking on the part of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and bureaucrats is one of them. Deals to procure new combat aircraft to replace the outdated MiG-21s as well as attack helicopters and light utility helicopters...

Posted by Teeth Maestro May 18, 2008 | I just came across this write up found on Chowk published on November 7th 2007, its definitely worth reading. In addition to Mr. Shaukat Aziz, current Prime Minister of Pakistan, numerous former Citibankers occupy highly influential positions in the government and the private sector in Pakistan. Citibank is one of the largest banks, and operates one of the largest private banks in the US and globally. Of the 40 private banks reviewed by the Federal Reserve during its industry wide examination of private banking in the 1990s, only one — Citibank — was reviewed in detail by Federal Reserve examiners three years in a row. It is a private bank that has struggled with a wide range of anti-money laundering issues. Although Citibank, under Shaukat Aziz's leadership (from May 1997 to October 1999) and his successors' has done much to tighten controls, it was beset by numerous scandals during the 1990s. A 1999 US Congress investigation (exac...