The recent capture of a Pakistani terrorist following the ambush on a BSF convoy in Udhampur, close on the heels of the attack in Panjab's Gurdaspur, has thrown spotlight on the foreign policy of the Narendra Modi led BJP government vis-a-vis Pakistan. Is the Narendra Modi government any different from the Manmohan Singh or other past governments when it comes to responding to Pakistan’s constant provocations? This is the question that many commentators on media and social media are raising. All along, India has said Pakistan should not test our patience and we reserve the right to respond at a place and time of our choosing. Opposition Congress party has charged the NDA government with being "soft" on terror and reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his assertion as an opposition leader that talks should not be held with Islamabad in the shadow of gunshots. The capture of the terrorist Usman alias Naved Khan, nicknamed #SecondKasab by Indian TV channels is a blazing evidence of the fact that Pakistan is continuing to aid, abet and sponsor terror in India. The GPS recovered from the three Pakistani terrorists killed in Gurdaspur offensive indicates the terrorists started from Shakargarh in Pakistan, crossed the Ravi river, in spate and went to the national highway before branching off towards Gurdaspur. Just as in the case of terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab, Pakistan has refused to accept Usman alias Naved Khan is Pakistani or from a village in Faislabad not far from the Professor of terror Hafiz Mohammed Saeed’s headquarters in Murdke. But is Modi wrong in not going hammer and tong at Pakistan and return fire with fire, calling off diplomatic endeavours? Keeping emotions aside, real politik supports Modi's stand. Here's why Pakistan is the only country where both army and the fundamentalists have a greater say than the civilian government in defence and foreign affairs. Prime Minister,Nawaz Sharif during his election campaign as well as after assuming the office had said that he wanted good relations with India. Modi has decided to support Pakistan's civilian government and invited Nawaz Sharif in his oath taking ceremony. Despite protests inside his country, Nawaz decided to attend the oath ceremony. Following this, a situation was created so that secretary level talks can resume. To sabotage this talk, Pakistan's Ambassador in India invited Kashmiri separatists during Pakistan Day celebrations.Again during SAARC summit in Kathmandu, it was the Prime Minister of Nepal who made both Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers show some friendliness in front of media for the sake of SAARC.On the sidelines of BRICS meeting, premiers of China and Russia coordinated with Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers to end the deadlock before giving them SCO's (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) full membership. Their joint joint statement bears Narendra Modi's stamp. No mention of Kashmir, clear focus on terrorism including 26/11 is a great development. Talks are to be started first at DGMO level followed by NSA level. That means to start secretary level talks (which is always a first step towards restoring dialogue process) depends upon many conditions including outcome of NSA level talks. Narendra Modi knows that Pakistani Army as well as fundamentalists will never take that joint statement easily. They will try to sabotage this process. This happened exactly with increase in ceasefire violation, terror attack in Jammu and finally the Gurdaspur terror attack. Thus there is a dichotomy in Pakistan's policy vis-a-vis India - while the civilian government seeks peaceful relationship, a faction of Army including the dreaded ISI and fundamentalists focus on war with India. Recent developments in Pakistan has also seen ISI and fundamentalist machinations alienating their old prop the Army. The terrorist factions have become like Frankenstein's monsters and army has had to battle their one-time allies as well. Perhaps this has allowed the Nawaz Sharif government to continue as long as it has. Both India and Pakistan's civilian government want good relations with each other. Modi supports Pakistani government's efforts at controlling the trouble makers like ISI and fundamentalists. This is what Modi wants to communicate to the global community and that's why Modi's Pakistan policy is on right track.
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To strengthen the country's road infrastructure, the government will convert eight National Highways, including Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi- Agra sections, into world-class express highways, Parliament was informed today. The stretches approved for upgradation into expressways include 249 km Delhi-Chandigarh section of NH-1 and NH-22; 334 km of Bangalore-Chennai section of NH-4; 261 km of Delhi- Jaipur section of NH-8, and 277 km Kolkata-Dhanbad stretch of NH-2, Minister of state for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan said in reply to Lok Sabha today. The National Highways to be upgraded also include 66 km Delhi-Meerut section of NH-58; 200 km of Delhi-Agra section of NH-2 and 135 km length of Eastern Peripheral Expressway, he said. "Feasibility study of above projects are in different stages. The work shall be taken up after finalisation of feasibility study and completion of land acquisition activity," he said. The Minister said, "Government of India had earlier approved a plan for constructing 1,000 km of expressways under NHDP PHASE - VI at a cost of Rs 16,680 crore on DBFOT (design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis." In a separate reply to the Lower House, he also said that construction of a six-lane expressway is envisaged at centre with 4-lane highways on both sides from Delhi/Uttar Pradesh border section of NH-24 for which bids have been invited on hybrid annuity mode. Last month, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said work on 10 expressway projects will start soon and once completed they will not only reduce travel time between major cities but would also contribute significantly towards the economic growth. "All these express highways are going to be world class matching the quality and specifications in advanced nations and once completed would result in huge savings in fuel cost," he had said. He has said most of the projects will be concrete cement expressways. An express highway is a controlled-access highways, mostly 6-lane or above, where entrance and exit is controlled by the use of slip roads (ramps) that are incorporated into the design of the highway. The Indian road network of 33 lakh km is the second largest in the world and consists of 92,851 kms of National Highways, which constitute only 1.7 per cent of the road network but carry about 40 per cent of the total road traffic. (PTI)
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Food safety regulator FSSAI on Thursday (6 August) extended the deadline for food companies to get licence to run their businesses by another six months to February 4, 2016. This is the sixth time that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has extended the deadline. The last date to get the licence lapsed on August 4. "...the Central Government has directed the FSSAI...to extend the time-line mentioned in...Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011, for a further period of six months up to February 4 2016..," FSSAI said in its order. The decision has been taken after the Union Health Ministry considered representations from various stakeholders including food companies and industry associations. Industry was demanding for an extension of one year. Section 31 (1) of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provides that no person shall commence or carry on any food business except under a licence, the order added. As per the Food Safety and Standards regulations of 2011, no person or food business operator can commence any food business unless if he or the operator possess a valid license. There are about 5.5 crore food business operators in the country. Welcoming the move, All India Food Processors Association Executive Secretary D V Malhan said, "It is a good move as it will give more time to the companies to register themselves with the food safety regulator." (PTI)
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Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday (06 August) slammed the Modi government over the Naga peace accord, accusing it of not taking chief ministers of north eastern states into confidence and said it showed its "arrogance". Opening another front against the government, Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, who have been protesting against the suspension of 25 Congress MPs from Lok Sabha, charged that the voice of the three states of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh is being "suppressed". Talking to reporters in Parliament complex, the Congress president said when she called her party's chief ministers in the three states, who are directly affected by the Naga accord, she found that they were "totally blank" on the issue. "Nobody has even bothered to brief them, perhaps not in detail, but in a wide sense. After all, our chief ministers are directly affected, be it Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh or Assam. So, what do I take from this? From this I take that this government is arrogant. "This government keeps on saying that everybody has to be taken along and that they will hold consultations with all, will take the views of all Chief Ministers. Then what happened? Their arrogance is now even more clear than before. And it is an insult not only to the chief ministers, but to the people of these states and to the federal structure of our country," she said. Government had on August 3 signed an accord with key outfit NSCN(IM), which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described as a "historic" step to usher in peace in the state. Rahul noted that what Congress president said was perhaps the most important issue. "Our voice is being suppressed in Parliament. The Congress president has said that the voice of three states Manipur Assam and Arunachal is being suppressed. It's an insult to the people of these three states that their CMs have not been advised. "It's an insult to every single citizen in these three states and it's an insult to the people of India the way this government does work," Gandhi said. The accord was signed following nearly two decades of peace talks. Congress Chief Ministers like Tarun Gogoi of Assam and Nabam Tuki of Arunchal Pradesh had welcomed the accord. (PTI)
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Seeking to ensure faster settlement of commercial disputes, Cabinet on Wednesday (5 August) cleared a proposal to amend the Arbitration Act which sets a fixed timeline for arbitrators to resolve cases. Under the amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 cleared by the Union Cabinet, an arbitrator will have to settle the case within 18 months. But after the completion of 12 months, certain restrictions have been put in place to ensure that the arbitration case does not linger on, sources said. An ordinance cleared by the Cabinet in December last year, the timeline was fixed at nine months. But the formulation was changed after inter-ministerial discussions. The ordinance was cleared by the Cabinet but never sent to the President for his assent. The amendments to the law comes amidst its keenness to attract the maximum foreign investment. But foreign companies were said to be hesitant to do business in India because of the long-drawn litigations. Another amendment puts a cap on the fees of an arbitrator. The arbitrator will also have to spell out if there is a conflict of interest in the case he or she is taking up. The move to amend the law comes amid the government's move to promote 'ease of doing business' in India, which is being highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In its report submitted last year, the Law Commission had also supported amendment to the arbitration law to help India become a favoured destination, after Singapore and London, for international arbitration.(PTI)
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The Union Cabinet of India on Wednesday (5 August) approved release of wages directly to the accounts of the workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the scheme for better implementation of the MNREGA and provide empowerment of states. As per the scheme, the wage component of MGNREGA will be released following the State Employment Guarantee Fund window direct to the worker's accounts based on a fund transfer order to be generated by states' implementing agencies in accordance with procedures prescribed by Rural Development Ministry. The move is aimed at further streamlining the fund flow system and to empower state governments or grass-root implementation agencies to deliver entitlements as per the objectives of the Act. The proposed system would benefit all stakeholders and improve overall efficiency of implementation and workers would be assured of payment of wages in the second day of the pay order generation, official sources said. The scheme will also ensure bring greater transparency in movement of funds and lesser levels of corruption in MNREGA. They said while state governments would be able to spend more time in planning and improving the process efficiency, without bothering to manage funds for implementation, while the Central government would gain by releasing what is actually expendable. The gram panchayats would also be empowered to take up work according to the agreed labour budget, without struggling for release of funds. Sources say that despite implementation of the electronic fund management system (e-FMS), delays in payments have been increasing due to delays in release of funds by Central government, multi-level release system, continued parking of funds at various levels and inability of implementation agencies to get funds in time for payment. This, they added, called for further steps to improve the system to assure timely availability of funds as per demand.(PTI)
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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (5 August) removed anomalies in pensionary benefits of high court judges elevated from the bar, thereby implementing an order of the Supreme Court. For pensionary benefits, ten years practice as advocate will be added as qualifying service for High Court judges elevated from the bar, as ordered by the Supreme Court in a judgment in March last year. The Cabinet decision today seeks to give effect to this judgment. "We have accepted the order of the Supreme Court in toto," highly-placed sources said after the Cabinet meeting. In the judgment, the apex court had said in order to remove arbitrariness in the matter of pension of High Court judges elevated from the bar, the relief should be reckoned from April one, 2004. As a consequence, the government will bring a bill in Parliament amending the law relating to high court judges salaries and conditions in service, the sources said. The main question that arose before the Supreme Court in the case P Ramakrishnam Raju Vs Union of India and others was whether high court judges who were appointed under Article 217 (2) (b) of the Constitution on retirement are entitled for an addition of ten years to their service for the purposes of their pension.
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Expressing disappointment and concern over the EU banning sale of around 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences, India has deferred the talks with the European Union on the proposed free trade agreement. Chief negotiators of India and the EU were scheduled to resume the negotiations on the Broadbased Investment and Trade Agreement (BTIA) this month. "Government of India has taken a decision to defer the proposed talks between the Chief negotiators on BTIA for the present. "This decision has been taken as the Government of India is disappointed and concerned by the action of EU in imposing legally binding ban on the sale of around 700 pharma products clinically tested by GVK Biosciences, Hyderabad," the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement. The government has engaged on the issue with various EU regulators over past eight months, it said. Pharmaceutical industry is one of the flagship sectors which has developed its reputation through strong research and safety protocols over the years and therefore, the government will examine all options in this regard, it added. "It is pertinent to mention that most of these drugs are already in EU market for many years without any adverse pharmaco-vigilance report from any member state," it said. After a gap of about two years, India and the European Union were expected to resume negotiations on August 28 on the proposed free trade agreement to boost two-way commerce and investment. The India-EU trade talks, formally known as the Broad- based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), remain stuck as both sides are not satisfied with each other's offers. The talks were launched in June 2007 and have missed several deadlines. The two-way commerce between the two sides stood at about $99 billion in 2014-15. The European Union has banned the marketing of around 700 generic medicines for alleged manipulation of clinical trials conducted by India's pharmaceutical research company GVK Biosciences. The largest EU-wide suspension of sales and distribution of generic drugs ordered by the European Commission will come into effect on August 21 and it will be applicable to all 28 member nations, according to Germany's drug regulator, the Federal Institute for Medicines and Medical Products (BfArM). Industry body Pharmexcil has said that India's business loss arising from the European Union's ban on 700 generic drugs is likely to be around $ 1.2 billion. (PTI)
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Citing slowdown in China, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday (05 August) said India has a chance to become a global manufacturing hub but regretted that Congress was not allowing GST rollout which alone could push GDP by 1 to 2 per cent. The minister said in Lok Sabha that India can see 8 per cent growth as the government is taking a host of steps to boost investment besides reviving stalled projects and pumping in more funds into PSU banks. In addition, "rain Gods have been kinder this year which is expected result in a good harvest," he said. Jaitley, who was replying to a debate on Supplementary Demand for Grants amid a boycott by Congress and a number of other opposition parties, said the government will infuse Rs 70,000 crore in PSU banks in the four years and they will raise another Rs 1.10 lakh crore from the market, making them healthier to finance economic growth. "If my friends (Congress), who are not present in House today, allow implementation of GST, which was introduced by Congress, you will have an uniform tax rate, one market and it is capable of boosting economy by 1-2 per cent. "In adverse situation we can touch 8 per cent if banks are recapitalised, GST implemented, stalled projects revived and infrastructure spending improves," he said. The GST bill, which proposes to usher in a uniform indirect taxation system throughout the country, is stuck in Rajya Sabha which is unable to function because of opposition protests over various issues. Turning to China, which has been the world's fastest growing economy, Jaitley said it has slowed down and its wage bills have gone up, pushing up the cost of its products. In this context, Jaitley said, "It is for us to become a manufacturing hub. It is then the Indian economy will achieve full potential". The Finance Minister said India, which is targeting to grow by over 8 per cent in a sustained manner, is a "bright spot" among the global economies. India grew at 7.3 per cent last year and RBI has projected this year's growth to be 7.6 per cent. "In this global environment where global winds are not favourable .. In past few years, we have come down to reasonably bottom pit... Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, we are reviving the economy and it is responsibility of all of us to cooperate to enhance growth rate," Jaitley said. He said global economies are facing challenges and even for a high growth economy like China, the new normal is 7 per cent or below.
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A total ban on Internet pornography in India could mean a hit of as much as 30-70% of data browsing revenues, writes Haider Ali Khan The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, facing flak over its order to block access to 857 pornographic websites, clarified that its directive was only intended to prevent access to child pornographic content and not to curb freedom on the Internet. The government's order resulted in an angry backlash on Twitter and a debate about censorship in the world's largest democracy. The controversial order came at a time when most of the telecom companies are moving towards 4G technology. Telecom operators were worried about its impact on their revenues as nearly 70 per cent of income from data services comes from users accessing porn sites. Various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), we have been able to estimate that as much as 30-70% of the total browsing in the country is related to pornography. It is also alleged that the government is violating the privacy of an individual and their right to choose. Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio is pumping crores of rupees into the system to roll-out 4G technology. Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular have already started 4G trial run in many cities. Bharti Airtel reported a 59.1 per cent rise in data revenue to Rs 3,085 crore with average revenue per user for data rising 32 per cent to Rs 176 in the quarter which ended on 31 March. Its mobile data revenue rose 70.4 per cent to Rs 2,324 crore and accounted for 17.6 per cent of the company mobile revenue compared with 11.5 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year. Idea Cellular reported a 60 per cent increase in its fourth-quarter profit, mainly due to increasing data usage. It is also because of non-voice services such as WhatsApp where users can access and exchange porn media. India stands at the fifth position worldwide in terms of number of daily visitors to porn sites, and fourth in terms of the number of worldwide visitors using a mobile device. The average duration of a visit from India lasted eight minutes and 22 seconds, slightly lower than the international average of eight minutes and 56 seconds. Indians generally visited an average of 7.32 pages per visit. Smartphones users accounted for 49.9 per cent of traffic from India while 47.5 per cent traffic came from desktops. The remaining was from tablets, says a study.
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