The Melbourne Global Centre – Delhi recently hosted a special session on writer-diplomat Abhay K.'s book Nalanda: How it Changed the World. The discussion explored Nalanda Mahavihara’s historical role as a global hub of knowledge. Abhay K. emphasized the university’s wide-ranging academic disciplines, from astronomy and mathematics to medicine, philosophy, and poetry, noting how its interdisciplinary learning, diverse faculty, and merit-based scholarships offer a model for contemporary education.

During the event, Abhay K. remarked, “We aimed to highlight Nalanda’s contributions, its origins, and its decline. It is essential to understand Nalanda’s full narrative rather than fragments. This is precisely why I wrote the book. This conversation at the Melbourne Global Centre celebrates Nalanda’s international and universal outlook. Today, participants from Australia and India have come together to discuss the world’s first university, Nalanda.”

The session included students and officials from the Australia India Institute. Lisa Singh, CEO of the Australia India Institute–Delhi, commented, “This has been an important day for our institute and a personal privilege to engage with Abhay K., an esteemed author and poet. Experiencing his narrative style interwoven with poetry through this book has been truly enlightening.”

Abhay K. also highlighted the revival of Nalanda University, whose new Rajgir campus was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024. He traced the spread of Buddhist thought from Nalanda to countries like China and Mongolia, emphasizing its strategic location and global influence. The event reaffirmed Nalanda’s legacy as a world-renowned centre of learning and its lasting impact on modern education and thought.
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Speaking at the House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee hearing on “The US-India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific”, Dhruva Jaishankar, Executive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, highlighted India’s growing role in maritime security. He said the Indian Navy has stepped up patrols and contributed to maritime burden sharing in the Indian Ocean and Pacific, particularly in response to China’s recent military expansions.

Jaishankar noted that China has modernized its nuclear arsenal, expanded its navy, and developed new unmanned and cyber capabilities. He also recalled the 2020 border clashes, which left 20 Indian military personnel dead, and pointed to China’s network of dual-use ports across the Indo-Pacific as a strategic concern. He added that India and the US share strategic interests, including trade imbalances with China, rare earth export restrictions, and stabilizing the Middle East.

Sameer Lalwani, Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund, cautioned that the India-China relationship remains adversarial due to ongoing border disputes and China’s coercive economic policies. He also noted India’s declining dependence on Russia for defense and energy and stressed the need to close the “say-do gap” in US-India initiatives to fully realize strategic and deterrence benefits.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.

During his visit to Brazil, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi met with Admiral Marcos Sampaio Olsen, Commander of the Brazilian Navy, to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two navies. Their discussions focused on operational engagements, training exchanges, hydrography, information sharing, maritime domain awareness, defence industry collaboration, technology development, innovation, and capacity building. The Indian Navy highlighted that this high-level meeting underscores the mutual commitment of both navies to strengthen strategic convergence and deepen the India-Brazil maritime partnership, contributing to stability in global maritime domains, especially in the Global South.

A significant outcome of the visit was the signing of a tripartite MoU between the Indian Navy, Brazilian Navy, and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited on exchanging information related to the maintenance of Scorpène-class submarines and other naval vessels. The agreement aims to enhance lifecycle support, share expertise in maintenance, logistics, and training, and strengthen defence R&D and technological collaboration between the two countries.

This visit follows recent exchanges, including a 40-member delegation from Brazil's Naval War College visiting India in November and a Brazilian defence delegation visiting the College of Defence Management. In July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brazil led to a strategic roadmap for deepening bilateral ties over the next decade, with defence and security as one of the five priority areas. The leaders also welcomed growing defence cooperation, including joint military exercises, high-level delegation exchanges, mutual protection of classified information, and the launch of a Bilateral Cybersecurity Dialogue.
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The Central Zoo Authority (CZA), under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has approved the transfer of 30 White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis) and five Slender-billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris) from the Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre (VCBC) in Rani, Guwahati, to the 6th Addition of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve in the Bishwanath Wildlife Division.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on social media that the release of these vultures from VCBC, Rani into Kaziranga’s new addition marks a major conservation achievement, comparing their return to the heroic flight of Jatayu in the Ramayana. Both species—the white-rumped and slender-billed vultures—are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, offering them the highest level of protection.

Kaziranga Field Director Sonali Ghosh noted that Assam is the main stronghold for slender-billed vultures, especially around Kaziranga, though their numbers are decreasing due to threats like poisoning from pesticide-treated cattle carcasses. White-rumped vultures are more widespread in the state but face similar declines, prompting conservation efforts at centres like the VCBC in Rani, which houses a substantial captive population.

Vultures hold cultural and ecological significance in India. They have long symbolised balance and purity in many rural communities and are celebrated in Hindu mythology through figures like Jatayu and Sampati. India’s vulture populations, once in the tens of millions, underwent a catastrophic collapse—declining by over 97% between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. By 2007, white-rumped vultures dropped to around 11,000, while slender-billed numbers fell to nearly 1,000. Current estimates (2023–2025) still show very low populations, with only about 750–1,000 slender-billed vultures.

The anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, used in livestock, was identified as the main cause of this crash. Vultures feeding on treated carcasses suffered kidney failure and visceral gout, and even minimal contamination was enough to trigger mass mortality across India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The decline led to ecological consequences such as exploding feral dog populations and increased rabies cases, contributing to over 500,000 human deaths between 2000 and 2005. Although diclofenac has been banned for veterinary use since 2006, vulture numbers remain critically low.

The 6th Addition of Kaziranga was chosen as the release site because of its dense forests, natural food availability from large herbivore carcasses, and strong anti-poaching and vulture-friendly veterinary practices. A release aviary has been set up near the Tewaripal forest camp, where the birds will undergo a soft release following scientific protocols. Awareness campaigns on vulture importance and threats have also been conducted among local communities and veterinarians.

This transfer is a major milestone in rewilding efforts for white-rumped and slender-billed vultures. The VCBC-Rani, managed by the Assam Forest Department and BNHS, has been crucial in conserving South Asia’s rapidly declining Gyps vultures. BNHS plans to release additional captive-bred vultures—starting with six in January 2026—in Kamrup and Biswanath districts. Supported by the Assam Forest Department and the RSPB, these efforts aim to rebuild vulture populations, prevent poisoning, and involve local communities. This initiative strengthens Assam’s long-term commitment to restoring vulture numbers and ensuring the success of future conservation and reintroduction programs across Northeast India.
Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.

Andrea Heng and Susan Ng discuss the impact of the US reviewing visa applicants’ social media histories, especially as tourist numbers are expected to rise for the football World Cup, with insights from Steven Okun, CEO of APAC Advisors.

Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from CNA.

After three days of discussions between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami, Florida, no clear progress was achieved by Saturday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will now shift his focus to Europe, heading to London on Monday for direct talks with the leaders of Britain, France, and Germany. Andrea Heng and Genevieve Woo speak with Dr. Cedomir Nestorovic, Professor of Geopolitics at ESSEC Business School Asia Pacific, for the latest insights.

Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from CNA.

Pippa and Kiran talk about the prime minister’s Monday speech and consider whether it will distract from claims that the chancellor misled the public with her budget statements. Also: disorder at Your Party’s inaugural conference.

Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from The Guardian.

Author and columnist Sean Kelly argues that even though Labor holds a strong majority and the opposition is distracted by internal conflict, there are indications that Anthony Albanese’s government may squander the chance voters have given them. Kelly speaks with Guardian Australia’s political editor Tom McIlroy about his new Quarterly Essay, where he explores Labor’s shift from idealistic ambitions to a more pragmatic approach. The former staffer to Rudd and Gillard says that although Albanese’s cautious style has helped him win two elections, it may now prove to be the prime minister’s biggest vulnerability.
Disclaimer: This Podcast is taken from The Guardian.