Ajey Lele replies: The Chinese space programme is much more advanced than the Indian programme. China succeeded in putting its astronaut in space a decade ago in 2003, whereas India has no immediate plan for manned space mission. Shortly, they would be launching their third mission to Moon where a robot would be actually landing on the Moon, while it may take some more time for India to launch its second Moon mission. Also, China has a satellite navigation programme with global reach, which is not the case with India.

In spite of the above, some believe that India is in a space race with China. It is important to appreciate that “space race” is essentially a Cold War era concept. In the 21st century, for a nation like India, “pragmatism” is the key when deciding on its geopolitical priorities. For India, space is of importance for social and economic reasons. India's space programme is India-specific and not China-specific. It would be naive to think that just because a Chinese satellite could not make it to Mars, India is trying to race with China.

For more on India’s Mars mission, please refer to Ajey Lele’s following recent publications:

Ajey Lele, “The late beginner advantage”, Indian Express, November 11, 2013.

Ajey Lele, Mission Mars: India's Quest for the Red Planet, Springer, 2013.

S. Samuel C. Rajiv replies: The US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom (P5) and Germany (the P5+1) are currently giving push to the 'engagement' track with the latest round of talks which began on October 15, 2013 at Geneva. While existing unilateral and multi-lateral (UNSC and EU) sanctions are in place, no additional sanctions are as yet being contemplated as a part of the 'sanctions' track.

The 'dual-track' policy of sanctions and engagement has till date not shown much progress in modulating Iranian behaviour. It is pertinent to note that in the past, as the nature and volume of sanctions increased, Iranian intransigence correspondingly increased. Iran for instance suspended its voluntary implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol (AP) after its referral to the UNSC in February 2006.

However, various reports as well as Iranian officials have acknowledged the vulnerable state of the Iranian economy and its currency as a result of trade and oil-related sanctions. President Hassan Rouhani's overwhelming victory defeating candidates like Saeed Jalili (who was the chief nuclear negotiator) has given rise to the strong perception that the Iranian public have rejected the confrontationist approach of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Government. Supreme Leader Khamenei has also supported the path of dialogue, crucially in a speech to the IRGC commanders in September 2013. With the Obama Administration showing its commitment to the dialogue process, the hopes for progress at the current round of negotiations are huge.

Possible outcomes could range from Iran signing the IAEA AP, temporarily suspending its enrichment activities, the shipping out of excess quantities of enriched uranium (a possibility alluded to by the Iranian Parliament Speaker) in exchange for graduated sanctions relief, provision of spare parts for its civilian aircrafts, among others in a 'grand bargain'.

These elements are in the realm of the 'possible' given the unique circumstances surrounding the current negotiations, including Rouhani 'the pragmatist' being in power, Khamenei's support for negotiations, weak state of the Iranian economy, and the positive vibes generated by the renewed interactions between the US and Iran topped by the first telephonic conversation between presidents of the two countries in more than three decades.