avinash.godbole

New Delhihosted its first BRICS Summit on 29th of March 2012. The BRIC grouping, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China has come a long way since they started meeting in 2009. With the inclusion of South Africa in the group in last year’s Summit in Sanya, China, it has become stronger not only in numbers but also more representative in terms of its geographic spread. The New Delhi Summit promises to take the group forward.   Introduction to my article on BRICS published on the IITM-CSC website on 29th March 2012.

Soccer and North Korea’s Moment in the Spotlight “ T heir style of playing”, said the great Maradona, “is unattractive but pretty useful in the end” while talking about the soccer style of the North Korean team. Of course, no one expected any graceful or memorable performance from the team that crashed out of the first round from the ongoing World Cup by the margin of 1:12 goals. The DPRK team lacked stars, experience, supporters, sponsors. Moreover, news reports seem to suggest that the small bunch of fans supporting the North Korean team were in fact Chinese and were paid for playing the Vuvuzela in support of North Korea. Even then, on the field the team showed that it belonged at the highest level even in their unceremonious exit. The margin of defeat and the goal difference only exemplifies their lack of exposure, which in turn calls for more engagement with North Korean sports. It is hoped and believed that engaging Korean sports would open the window to the secretly guarded Nor...