Current Affairs: India & World - Major Issues 25 Aug to 25 Sept 2010

CAG Weekly
(Current Affairs & GK)
By Om Prakash (Goldy sir)

Gas pipeline agreement to be signed on Monday

• The Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement (GPFA) for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline will be signed in Ashkhabad, according to a release put out by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources here.
• Pakistan will be represented by Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, and the statement issued here states that his Indian counterpart will also be present at the signing of the GPFA.
• After signing the GPFA, the four countries are planning to enter another round of negotiations to finalise the Gas Sales Purchase Agreement during a proposed TAPI summit in the Turkmenistan capital itself.
• The TAPI pipeline project envisages transporting natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. India is a late entrant as the other three countries had signed the Inter Governmental Agreement in 2002. For the induction of India, a revised GPFA was initiated in 2008, the Ministry statement said
• The 1,680 km long pipeline is expected to carry 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) gas from Turkmenistan. It will deliver 0.5 bcfd to Afghanistan and 1.35 bcfd to Pakistan and to India.

Doha Round to miss deadline

• The contentious Doha Round of trade talks of the World trade Organization (WTO) will miss the 2010 deadline due to domestic compulsions of U.S. that has made the agreement almost impossible.
• Speaking at a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry on the issue, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar said the global trade agreement would not happen this year as was originally envisaged in the Delhi declaration adopted in September last year. “The deal is not going to get done in 2010,'' Mr. Khullar said.
• The U.S. demand for enhanced access to Chinese, Indian and Brazilian markets, while at the same time stepping up protective trade measures, had further mired the already stalled Doha trade negotiations.
• The multilateral trade agreement under negotiations among 153 members of the WTO since 2001 was to be concluded in 2004. Since then, it has missed several deadlines in the face of differences between developing and developed countries on giving commitments on market opening.
• The U.S. is not ready yet, whatever be the compulsion, political or economic or very high unemployment. Right now, it is not happening. At this point of time we should primarily be focussing for the best in 2011,'' he said.
• He expressed hope that serious negotiations might begin only from January 2011. With Congress elections in November, political rhetoric in the U.S. in favour protectionism had increased in the last few weeks leading to several protectionist measures including ban by Ohio on outsourcing.

India exhorts G-20 nations to coordinate policies

• India on Friday exhorted the G-20 member countries to work together to support a well-functioning international economy by coordinating their policy actions in a manner that can ensure strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
• Delivering his keynote address at a conference on ‘International cooperation in times of global crisis: Views from G-20 countries' here, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee pointed out that the financial and economic crisis of 2007-09 had not only exposed the fragility of existing global financial and economic institutions and the limitations of existing macro-economic policy tools but had also provided an opportunity to the world for new thinking in the world of finance and globalisation.

Why the penchant for Swiss accounts?

• The recent protocol amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Switzerland has probably raised expectations in certain quarters as to the imminent availability of details of Swiss bank accounts allegedly opened by Indians to evade taxes or for any other purpose not quite legal in India.
• The Finance Minister has clarified that the protocol, while improving upon certain key provisions of the agreement, will not be binding on past transactions. The revised pact seeks to bring exchange of information between the two countries — now confined to taxation matters only — on a par with international standards.
• Even this limited enhancement of the protocol is seen as a major step forward by experts in the field. But to those who are convinced that astronomical sums are hidden in Swiss accounts, which the government of the day is loathe to identify, leave alone lay its hands on, the official clarification would be seen as another one in a long line of explanations that justify the government's inability or inaction. The term Swiss account has become generic for bank accounts in 70-odd financial centres around the world, which like Switzerland promise a high degree of banking secrecy.
• The issue of ‘recovering' money allegedly stashed away by Indians in secret Swiss bank accounts has fascinated several generations of people. Governments of the day, whatever be their political hues, have been defensive. There are strong grounds to believe that large sums of money have been deposited in these secret accounts and the trend is continuing.

India – laos

• President Pratibha vsit to Laos
• India will provide the Lao People's Democratic Republic the first tranche worth $72.55 million for two power projects as part of a package of monetary and technical assistance in areas ranging from power and irrigation to culture.
• The agreements committed to cover several areas. In the field of culture, a cultural exchange programme has been signed for 2011-2013, the centre piece of which is a project for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) assistance in the restoration of the 6th century temple complex of Vat Phou in the province of Champassak.
• This pre-Ankorian site, established by the Khmer rulers, was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2001.
• Work on the complex that was started by the ASI in 2009 will be resumed under the present agreement. At the talks, Ms. Patil informed her Laos' counterpart that with the approval of the Nalanda University Bill by Parliament, India was looking forward to receiving students from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries including Laos.

India, Poland to strengthen ties

• India and Poland discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relationship, especially in defence, trade and investment, during delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visiting Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk.
• Defence cooperation with Poland surged in the Cold War era from the early 70s when much of the Indian defence equipment was of Soviet origin and has continued, albeit at a low key since.
• India is at present looking to Poland for maintenance of Soviet\Russian equipment, including aircraft and for the supply of auxiliary equipment such as tank recovery vehicles.

INDO _US

• Not so much of a liability now
• In its final form as legislated, the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 represents an improvement over the government's initial and intermediate drafts. Weaknesses remain but Parliament has done well to exclude private nuclear operators from the ambit of the law, widen the scope of the operator's right of recourse against suppliers, and raise the liability cap of an operator in the event of an accident to Rs.1,500 crore.
•  The earlier limit of Rs.500 crore was woefully inadequate. Even though the new cap will not cover the scale or extent of nuclear damage in the event of a serious accident, the law at least allows future governments to raise the cap.
• The most important change introduced is, of course, in Section 17(b), dealing with the right of recourse. The first draft allowed the operator to recover damages from a supplier in the event an accident was caused by gross negligence on the latter's part.
• Under pressure from foreign companies and governments, the United Progressive Alliance government tried to delete this section or nullify its significance by linking its operation to the existence of a contract or to mens rea on the part of the supplier. Eventually, however, it was forced to swallow the strengthening of this provision. The operator will now have a right of recourse against the supplier if a nuclear accident is caused by equipment with latent or patent defects or by sub-standard services.
• Predictably, foreign and Indian private sector lobbyists like the U.S.-India Business Council and various chambers of commerce have launched a campaign against 17(b). They say the section is inconsistent with international norms and will lead to a collapse of the Indian nuclear industry because private vendors won't supply equipment for fear of being held liable.
• These arguments are untenable. International ‘norms' in such matters do not fall from the skies but are the product of market conditions. With India looking to buy as many as 40 large reactors over the next decade or so, it has every right to expect that suppliers shoulder at least the liability burden from an accident caused by defective products.
• Moreover, the operator will be able to make a claim only if it can prove in court that an accident for which it has paid compensation was actually caused by an act of the supplier. If some private lobbyists are worried about the supplier being held liable after “80 years” for products sold now, they should at least concede that the operator will not find it easy to establish fault liability eight decades on. In any event, with operator (and hence supplier) liability capped around $320 million for a plant likely to be sold for more than $5 billion, the insurance burden will be far from onerous — especially if it is set against the human lives, welfare, and futures at stake.
• India to raise Ohio outsourcing ban issue at Trade Policy Forum
• India will formally convey its disappointment to the U.S. over the ban imposed by the State of Ohio on offshore outsourcing at the high-level bilateral Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting in Washington later this month.
• Mr. Sharma and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk will co-chair the September 21 meeting of the TPF, which is the principal trade dialogue between the U.S. and India.
• Obama raises pitch against outsourcing
• US President Barack Obama on Thursday once again targeted the outsourcing of jobs overseas by American companies, increasing the pressure on local firms in an attempt to secure some benefit in the polls ahead of the crucial November elections in his country.
• Obama’s party, the Democrats, faces a hugely disillusioned and angry electorate on November 2, and is widely expected to lose control of the House of Representatives. The US president has spent the last few days trying to rally his base with promises to protect jobs and spur economic growth.
• His reference to ending tax breaks does not mean that US companies get tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. Instead, the US tax code allows them to keep the income they earn overseas without incurring a tax liability. In order to encourage more local hiring, Obama also gave a speech in January this year where he suggested a $5,000 credit for every job a company created (net new job) and an overall limit of $500,000 credit per company for availing such benefits.
• While there is still no specific proposal elaborating how Obama plans to end the tax breaks, such measures could mean that large outsourcing customers such as GE and Citibank might have to pay certain taxes on their income from international markets, making it less attractive for customers to send IT projects to cheaper offshore locations such as India. To this end, Obama is proposing reforming the taxation of the overseas income of multinational corporations. Under current law, firms don’t pay taxes to the US government on income earned abroad until they bring the money back to the United States.
• Many experts say that ending these tax breaks will not stop outsourcing. The economic logic of sending jobs to low-cost centres is so compelling that companies will keep doing it.
• Ohio bans offshoring of IT projects by govt depts
• The US state of Ohio has banned outsourcing of government IT and backoffice projects to offshore locations such as India, raising fears of similar moves by other American states struggling to cope with high unemployment rates.
• The move is yet another blow to the Indian IT industry, which is facing higher visa costs and rising protests against outsourcing in other US states. Offshoring work to India is a $50-billion industry, and the Indian tech industry has benefitted immensely from American firms wanting to take advantage of its low wages and top-quality skills. The industry employs about three million people across India and has largely been responsible for the sea change in the West’s perception about the country.
• Last month, the US Congress passed a controversial legislation increasing visa fees for funding the country’s Mexico Border Security program. States such as Virginia are facing a massive backlash against outsourcing that could further affect the prospects of Indian IT firms. Last week, the West Virginia Public Workers Union filed a lawsuit against proposed outsourcing of IT jobs by the state’s office of technology.
• Though Indian companies largely rely on private companies for the bulk of their business and orders from state governments are rare, that approach has slowly been changing.
• Nasscom, on its part, said at a time when top American firms such as IBM and Accenture are gaining more business from the Indian government’s IT spend, such measures by US states are discriminatory.
• Govt may ease norms to infuse funds into core sector projects
• The finance ministry has sought a lower credit rating threshold for investment in infrastructure sector by insurance companies to facilitate greater flow of the long-term savings into creation of physical assets.
• According to government estimates, infrastructure sector needs over $1 trillion funds in the 12th Five-Year Plan period beginning 2012.
• The current rules allow insurance companies to invest only in AAA or AA credit-rated debt paper. Moreover, at least 75% of investment in debt instruments for every fund in the case of life insurers and investment assets of general insurers should have a AAA rating.
• These restrictions has meant that though life insurance companies are required to put at least 15% of their funds from traditional policies into infrastructure and housing, the actual allocation is a lot less.
• At the end of March 2009, less than 9% of life insurer’s fund from traditional products were invested in the housing and infrastructure products.
• The Deepak Parekh committee on infrastructure financing had gone a step ahead and suggested that insurance companies be allowed to invest in secured debt with a BBB rating, usually considered investment grade.
• Physical infrastructure has emerged as the single biggest constraint to the country’s attempts to achieve 9%-plus economic growth. Channelling long-term insurance funds to the infrastructure sector has become particularly important as banks cannot meet the needs given the asset-liability mismatch such lending causes. Banks’ deposit funds that typically have a 3-5 year maturity and providing long-term loans from such fund opens them to risks if they are not able to replace the deposits at the same costs. Banks also have restrictions on how much they can lend to an individual project. Pension and insurance funds have no such constraints as their investments are also long-term.
• India-U.S. discussions in full swing prior to Obama visit
• In an unmistakable indication of backroom discussions shifting up a gear before U.S. President Barack Obama's India visit in November, the State Department announced on that United States National Security Adviser General Jim Jones met with Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to “continue preparations for the President's upcoming visit.”
• Ms. Rao is in Washington principally to keep the discussions moving forward and it has been announced that next week Industry Minister Anand Sharma will be in town to similarly add momentum to bilateral trade policy discussions.
• The visiting Indian officials were said to be holding meetings with senior U.S. counterparts, including Under Secretary for Political Affairs William Burns, Under Secretary for Defence Michèle Flournoy, Under Secretary of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security Eric Hirschhorn, and Chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee Howard Berman.
• While it would appear that the U.S. has in general had a positive attitude towards the bilateral relationship, the Indian side has been pressing for further progress with issues such as the H1-B visa fee hike, India's interest in securing U.S. support for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council and its hope that export control restrictions would be eased. According to sources, counter-terrorism, in particular its cross-border aspects including infiltration, has been an important component of the ongoing talks between the two countries.
• So has the civil nuclear liability bill, even if progress on the ground in this area was expected to be gradual. In this sphere, the main argument that India has sought to convey to the U.S. was that the liability bill passed in the Indian Parliament did not contain provisions that were additional to what already existed in common law and did not contradict the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.
• Nuclear bill must be compatible with global standards, says U.S.
• A senior United States official once again raised Washington's discomfiture with the Nuclear Limited Liability Bill approved by Parliament last month and felt India should harmonise it with international laws.
• “India has to make its own decision but in making decisions, it will be wise for India to look at the practices of other countries and ensure that its regulations and its laws are consistent with those of other countries,” said U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Robert Hormats. He was speaking to journalists after an interactive session on India-U.S. bilateral economic relationship organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Aspen Institute.
• The government here, on the other hand, claims that the legislation is compatible with international standards.
• The Nuclear Liability Bill ran into objections from the U.S. soon after it was passed on August 30. The first off the block was the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), which suggested the next day that the Indian law appeared to be incompatible with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC).

Indo-Nepal

• Have Indo-Nepal relations come under strain?
• The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is in the middle of a controversy. It stands accused, yet again, of ‘gross interference' and ‘attacking press freedom in another country', and faces censure from a parliamentary committee, politicians across the spectrum, and civil society groups.
• sections of the media, recently including Kantipur television which is a part of the larger Kantipur group, reported that a product of Dabur Nepal was substandard and contained harmful substances. On August 27, the embassy said, “Indian joint ventures have informed the embassy they have been approached by such media houses for advertisement and are being threatened with negative publicity if those requests are not met.” It termed the news reports as ‘baseless adverse publicity against products of such ventures' and said such allegations in the past had proven to be false.
• Marked by hostility-The present spat is essentially a reflection of the hostile relationship between the Indian government and the Kantipur group — the biggest media house in Nepal. The Hindu has been able to piece together the broader context based on conversations with all stakeholders, who wished to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. Earlier this year, Indian officials concluded that Kantipur's coverage — reporting and editorial line — was ‘distinctly anti-Indian' and ‘insensitive to security concerns'. Several stories appear to have contributed to this perception.
• Jamim Shah, a Nepali entrepreneur reported to have deep links with the underworld and Dawood Ibrahim, was shot in broad daylight in February this year. Kantipur news reports alluded to the possibility of Indian agencies being involved in the incident. It also republished a report from more than a decade ago when a political figure, Mirza Dilshad Beg, with links to Ibrahim, was shot dead — the speculation then was similar about how Indian security agencies may have encouraged other underworld groups, particularly Chotta Rajan, to plan the killing. A few months later, Kantipur reported extensively on the localised clashes in Meghalaya which resulted in the killings of some Nepali nationals. Indian officials felt the reports on the incidents were ‘grossly exaggerated' to stoke ‘anti-Indianism'.
• The passport issue-Kantipur was also at the forefront of opposing a government decision to award contracts to supply machine readable passports to India. A parliamentary committee, sections of the ruling alliance, and the Maoists had opposed the move, claiming the Indian bid was higher and would ‘harm Nepal's security'. Kantipur published a letter — which was leaked — written by Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood to the Nepali Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala in which he requested the government to cooperate because among other reasons, this involved ‘India's security interests'. The domestic backlash forced the Nepal cabinet to revoke the decision. Additionally, while India was a firm backer of the Madhav Kumar Nepal government and sought to isolate the Maoists, Kantipur adopted an editorial stance asking for Prime Minister Nepal's resignation for the sake of consensus.
• Advertisements, newsprint-All of this seems to have fuelled the Indian perception — which had first taken root after a change in top editorial staff in Kantipur publications last year — that the media house, through ‘baseless and unsubstantiated reporting' was targeting India's ‘core interests', stoking ‘ultra nationalism', and ‘favouring the Maoists'.
• India first stopped providing embassy advertisements to Kantipur. It then decided, sometime in May, to ratchet up the pressure and coordinated with other agencies back home, especially the Department of Revenue Investigation and customs, to stop newsprint imported by Kantipur from South Korea at the Kolkata port. Simultaneously, Indian officials are learnt to have showed files of Kantipur's ‘anti-India reporting' to Indian joint venture representatives in Nepal and asked them to stop all advertisements in Kantipur television, the Kantipur daily, and The Kathmandu Post. The corporate houses complied.
• In the third week of June, Kantipur went public accusing India of deliberately blocking newsprint at Kolkata. The Embassy called the allegations baseless, and attributed the delay to a ‘routine administrative investigation'. Political parties, media organisations and civil society expressed solidarity with Kantipur.
• Soon after, Ambassador Sood and Kantipur's owner Kailash Sirohiya met for almost two hours at the embassy. Sources say the ‘open discussions' centred on Indian perceptions about Kantipur's anti-India tilt, with Mr. Sirohiya saying there was no such deliberate design and the embassy had never conveyed these concerns to them. A broad agreement was struck where Kantipur is understood to have assured India that it would be more ‘sensitive' in its coverage while India agreed to release newsprint.
• India did gradually resume newsprint supply and Kantipur's editorial tone underwent a subtle shift. It began to report less on India-related matters with some critical articles being kept out. But the issue of advertisements remained unresolved. The embassy line to the joint ventures did not change, even as Kantipur waited for the advertisements to resume and asked embassy officials for help. Meanwhile, some of these advertisements were shifting to its arch-rivals in Nepal's increasingly competitive media market.
• It is in this context that the Dabur controversy erupted. Some other media houses — a tabloid paper and a television channel — had been writing on the issue of Dabur's alleged substandard products since the end of May. The company's representatives had refuted these reports — it issued public interest notices, co-operated with the certification authorities, and wrote to the press council asking it to censure ‘baseless reports'.
• The timing of Kantipur's discovery of the issue appears to be directly related to the group losing patience in its talks with Indian officials, and feeling insecure. It seems to have concluded that its ‘silence' over the past two months was being construed as a ‘sign of weakness', and so thought that ratcheting up the pressure by targeting companies and building public opinion could challenge the Indians and force it to change its position. But going public could well have the effect of strengthening the ‘tough' approach within the Indian establishment that had advocated such a course of action in the first place.
• Introspection-While Kantipur's dilemmas are understandable, its recent coverage does have traces of national chauvinism and appears opportunistic, linked to the advertisement embargo. While keeping big business — both domestic and Indian — to account, it should be careful and responsible enough not to tarnish companies whose contribution to manufacturing, trading, employment, and revenue is important to the Nepali economy.
• But it is the Indian government that needs to do a serious review. First, there is the ethical propriety of using such strong-arm tactics against the media in a country where India claims to be ‘supporting democratic forces'. But then there are real pragmatic issues. The Indian state used Indian big business operating in Nepal for questionable political purposes. The companies became willing pawns in the bigger game; this has boomeranged and joint ventures are paying the price.
• India is now ranged against not only the country's biggest political party, the Maoists, but also its biggest media house, Kantipur. It has opened up multiple fronts at the same time in Nepal, all in the name of ‘national security', and stands exposed, with even its traditional allies finding it hard to defend India in public. Delhi may be smug about Nepal's overwhelming structural dependence on India, but it underestimates the depth of resentment against India in Nepal at its own peril.

NACO signs MoU with Global Trust Fund on HIV/AIDS prevention

• India and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) have signed a three-year grant agreement for $128.4 million or Rs.609.9 crore to support the continuation of flagship programmes of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).
• The agreement was signed on Wednesday between NACO director-general K. Chandramouli and GFATM executive director Michel Kazatchkine.
• The programmes covered under the grant agreement include Integrated Counselling and Testing Services (ICTS), Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) services and HIV-TB collaborative services.

Russia complains of ‘harsh' treatment to overstayers

• Senior Russian Embassy officials  met their Ministry of External Affairs counterparts here to understand why their nationals, accused of overstaying, were being treated harshly by the police.
• In particular the Embassy has flagged the case of two Russians in Goa who have been sentenced to one year's imprisonment and fined Rs. 10,000 each for overstaying. There is also the case of Olga Timoshik who is in custody at a police station in Ropar, Punjab. In all Russia has submitted a list of 15 who, it feels, are being treated rather harshly when they had only overstayed and not committed any other crime.

Fencing along Manipur-Myanmar border progressing well, says police official

• The erection of an insurmountable fence along an eight km long stretch of the Manipur-Myanmar border is progressing satisfactorily.
• Disclosing this to journalists here on Monday, Major General C.A. Krishanan, Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South), said the work would be completed on schedule. The fence, once completed, will help State and security forces to check the free movement of rebels and their new recruits to their base camps on no man's land.

‘G-20 must surmount effects of economic crisis'

• Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan has advocated greater coordination and effort among the G-20 countries to overcome the effects of the global economic crisis.
• Taking part in a G-20 Speakers' Consultation at Ottawa, Mr. Khan felt the central problem was how to ensure sustained global recovery at a time when markets had become very nervous about debt sustainability, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said in a release here on Monday.
• Prudent policies-Referring to India, he said prudent policies that prevented financial institutions from taking excessive risks went a long way in maintaining financial stability at the time of global crisis.
• Coordination between the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India in making the right mix of monetary and fiscal policies, significant domestic savings, plus domestic reforms of the productive sectors, were among the other factors behind it.
• India's commitment-Mr. Khan reiterated India's commitment to the wellbeing of people, especially the poor and the deprived. He referred to Mahatma Gandhi's talisman to policy makers, which read: ‘whenever you are in doubt, recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him'.
• Highlighting the need to build a sustainable development model based on Gandhian approach of enlightened unselfish ethical life of plain-living and high thinking, he emphasised need for the advanced world to reduce consumption and simplify life.
• The G-20 Speakers' Consultation - Presiding Officers of the Upper and Unicameral Houses of the G-20 was held from September 2 to 5.

Caste discrimination — U.K. Dalits win the argument, nearly

• There's a palpable mood of optimism among Britain's 2,00,000-strong Dalit community as it waits for the Government to take a decision on its long-standing campaign for caste discrimination to be recognised as racism. The buzz is that, barring a last-minute hiccup, Britain could soon become the first European, indeed Western, country to declare caste prejudice unlawful under its race laws — a move which will not please New Delhi which has consistently opposed caste being clubbed with race.
• Britain's new Equality Act already empowers the Government to declare “caste to be an aspect of race” without seeking fresh parliamentary approval.
• Clause 9 of the Act says: “The fact that a racial group comprises two or more distinct racial groups does not prevent it from constituting a particular racial group. A Minister of the Crown may by order — (a) amend this section so as to provide for caste to be an aspect of race …”

China to work with India on curbing tiger poaching

• India and China this week agreed to cooperate in sharing intelligence on illegal trade in tiger parts between the countries, which conservationists say is seriously endangering India's tiger population.
• Chinese officials in the State Forestry Administration told visiting Indian counterparts in talks that they were open to exchanging actionable intelligence on wildlife crimes, also acknowledging that poaching and illegal trafficking were “the biggest threat” to wildlife conservation in the region.
• The two countries have agreed to set up nodal officers to facilitate the sharing of real-time information, as well as initiate collaborative investigations into “the backward and forward linkages of wildlife crimes” and organised criminal syndicates operating in the region.

No troops deployed in Gilgit-Baltistan, says China

• China denied the presence of its troops in Gilgit-Baltistan, but voiced support to Islamabad's claims on the disputed region by describing it in a statement as “a northern part of Pakistan.”
• India views the region as an integral part of Jammu and Kashmir that is under illegal occupation. China has, in the past, refrained from voicing its support to either Indian or Pakistani claims to the disputed region.

India monitoring China's intention in Indian Ocean, says Krishna

• India on Tuesday said it was closely monitoring China's intention as it was showing “more than the normal interest” in the Indian Ocean affairs.
• “The Government of India has come to realise that China has been showing more than the normal interest in the Indian Ocean affairs. So we are closely monitoring the Chinese intentions,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said in the Lok Sabha.
• Responding to queries during a call-attention motion on “The situation arising out of the recent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy,” Mr. Krishna assured the House that “appropriate action and measures” would be taken to safeguard the country's territorial integrity and the welfare of its fishermen.
• Initiating the motion, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.R. Baalu said that when the Indo-Sri Lanka agreement was signed on the Katchatheevu islands in 1974, the then External Affairs Minister, Swaran Singh, had said that fishing and navigation rights had been safeguarded for the future. Under the agreement on the island, which falls in the Sri Lankan territory, Indian fishermen can rest and dry their nets during fishing in international waters.
• Mr. Baalu asked the Centre to revisit the agreement and increase patrolling in the waters to protect the fishermen.
• Mr. Krishna, however, ruled it out, saying: “We cannot go back on the solemn agreement between two governments.” India and Sri Lanka were discussing, through the Joint Working Group — constituted to deal with issues related to fishermen and to work out bilateral institutional arrangements for ensuring the safety and security of the fishermen of both countries — and addressing such issues in a humane and practical way.
• Sri Lanka is a friendly country, an aspect that is needed to be kept in mind, the Minister said, adding that Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is currently in Colombo discussing such matters. Mr. Krishna said he was planning to travel to Colombo in October, when issues related to fishermen would be discussed further.
• India had consistently taken up issues relating to incidents of firing on or apprehension of fishermen with the Sri Lankan government to ensure that its Navy acted with restraint and our fishermen were treated in a humane manner.
• Unhappy over the reply, All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members, led by M. Thambidurai, staged a walkout, while Mr. Baalu raised several other questions.
• The Minister said that after the October 2008 understanding between the two countries on fishing arrangements, incidents of apprehension and firing on Indian fishermen in the waters between India and Sri Lanka had come down significantly.
• In 2008, a total of 1,456 Indian fishermen were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy, while in 2009, the number had come down to 127 fishermen, and till July this year, only 26 fishermen were apprehended.

India announces $20m more aid for Pakistan

• India has announced an additional monetary assistance of $20 million to Pakistan to help it tackle the worst-ever floods witnessed in recent past.
• Making the announcement in the Lok Sabha, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said the decision followed Pakistan's willingness to accept India's initial offer of $5 million, to be routed through the United Nations. He made a similar announcement in the Rajya Sabha.
• Of the total money, $20 million would go to the ‘Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan' through the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Efforts. The rest would be contributed to the U.N. World Food Programme. Mr. Krishna recalled that India offered $5 million, when he spoke on the telephone to his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on August 13. On August 19, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told his Pakistan counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani that India was ready to do more.
• Initially, Pakistan was reluctant to accept the aid, but agreed after the U.S. intervened. However, Pakistan asked India last week to route the aid through the U.N.

Why is ASEAN dragging its feet on RTA for services with India?

• Most countries in the powerful economic bloc fear “being swamped” with professionals from the country, especially in areas such as education, health, IT and accountancy.  New Delhi feels the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) is getting panic attacks in the midst of trade talks aimed at opening up its services segment to players from India.
• Experts watching the situation say Indian negotiators made a big mistake by entering into a deal on goods before signing a pact on services. They add that while Asean stood to gain a lot from the agreement already signed, India still awaits a breakthrough in talks to sign a services deal, which will be manna for its services industry. 

Gift to Germany’s far-Right

• Senior figures in central banks rarely hit the headlines but Thilo Sarrazin of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, has done just that. His recent book on German society has been attacked for xenophobia, racism, and serious factual errors.
• Senior politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have condemned Mr. Sarrazin.
• He has apologised for writing passages on a “Jewish gene,” and faces expulsion from the Social Democratic Party. It is clear however that he has tapped into a vein of deep disquiet.

India to engage China's military as influence expands

• When Indian officials last month wanted to engage with their Chinese counterparts over the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) objection to the visit of the chief of the Army's Northern Command, they were faced with a problem. They were directed to voice their concerns to an official in the Foreign Ministry. Yet, this was a government department that had had no role in the decision, and, according to some officials, had even voiced reservations that the PLA's move would unnecessarily strain relations against the backdrop of a recent warming up of ties.
• According to many analysts, China's military which, unlike most military organisations, also shapes (its) foreign policy, has begun to exert an increasing influence over policy decisions. Yet, Indian officials say they have few avenues to engage with the PLA, and warn that a lack of understanding over the PLA's strategic intentions has become an increasing source of mistrust in the relationship.
• Indian officials say that while there is a need for broader and more regular engagement with the PLA on foreign policy issues, their efforts to expand contact had, so far, “come up against a brick wall.” At present, India's only regular access to the PLA is through the defence attaché in the Embassy in Beijing, who acts as a conduit between New Delhi and the PLA.
• Foreign policy actor-The PLA is unlike any other military organisation. It is not apolitical – it has an influential political department that also comes up with policies, though is secretive about its functions. It also exists outside the purview of the government, serving the Communist Party and not the State.
• The PLA has been “an official foreign policy actor” throughout the history of the People's Republic of China, according to Linda Jakobson of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, who has recently authored a report on the different actors shaping China's foreign policy. Despite decades of reforms to professionalise the PLA and distance it from decision-making, there are signs that sections now aspire for the military to have an even more active role in decision-making, she said. Often, the PLA's policy considerations contradict those of the government. For instance, while the government may see benefits in engaging with India on climate change and trade, for the PLA, the border dispute will always be a primary consideration, as protecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity is its top priority. Hence, even if ties are warming up in other areas, the PLA would still put forward a policy recommendation, such as refusing a visa to a visiting General, to push its own interests. In recent months, analysts say, the PLA's considerations have begun to increasingly influence China's foreign policy, whether towards the United States, its Southeast Asian neighbours across the South China Sea, or India.

OIC invites Mirwaiz

• The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has invited Hurriyat Conference (moderate) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to attend two meetings in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's 65th session.
• In a communication to Mr. Farooq, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu invited him to the Foreign Ministerial meet of the contact group on Kashmir, which includes Pakistan, Iran, Niger, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Don't blame us, Pakistan tells India

• The Foreign Office said India should adhere to accepted human rights standards instead of “stereotypically” blaming Pakistan for the “widespread uprising of the Kashmiri people.” This statement came nearly 24 hours after India rejected Pakistan's “gratuitous statements” on Jammu and Kashmir.
• To India's sharp reaction to Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi's call to exercise restraint in Kashmir, the Foreign Office said: “It is evidently self-serving and, to say the least, callous to be dismissive of the widespread uprising of the Kashmiri people, including youth and women, against Indian occupation.”
• Pointing out that Kashmir was an international dispute and subject of several United Nations Security Council resolutions, the statement said India should “undertake serious introspection of its policies that are in sharp variance to its international commitments, including adherence to accepted human rights standards.”

Mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Durban

• The next mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, a conclave of the Indian diaspora, will be held in the South African city of Durban from October 1.
• The theme of the two-day event will be ‘India and Africa: Building Bridges', officials said. About 600 to 800 delegates from all over Africa are expected to participate in the conference.
• That Pakistan chose to wait nearly a day to respond is seen as reluctance to exacerbate matters as the call for ‘Azadi' in the Valley has caused a degree of unease here. “It is worrisome that 67 per cent of people there want freedom from both India and Pakistan,” is a common refrain. Though Pakistan has always advocated Kashmiris' right to self-determination, the call for complete freedom from both countries is being watched with wariness for fear of repercussions in Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Individual issues will not affect engagement: China

• Exchanges between India and China will remain unaffected by disagreements over individual issues, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, during a week in which two high-profile Indian delegations are visiting Beijing amid renewed strains in the relationship.
• The two countries, in talks this week, explored taking forward cooperation in education and infrastructure projects, with Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal and Minister of Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath leading delegations here.
• The visits come after ties strained following China's decision to refuse a visa for Lieutenant General B.S. Jaswal, chief of the Army's Northern Command, following which defence exchanges had been temporarily suspended.

ASI makes swift progress at Ta Prohm temple

• The Archaeological Survey of India's Rs. 17-crore project on conservation of the Ta Prohm complex, third most visited site after Angkor Wat and the Bayon temple in the Angkor region, has made brisk and visible progress since the work began in 2006. This has set to rest fears and some criticism in international quarters about the ASI's technical capabilities and aesthetic vision.
• On her visit to Cambodia, President Pratibha Patil repeatedly highlighted India's mission to restore Ta Prohm. Although no fresh funds were committed for the project, the speed with which the ASI restored some of the architectural elements of the original temple and its environs, making the complex both accessible and safe for tourists, had elicited praise from APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of the Angkor Region), government body in overall charge of this famous World Heritage Site.

Cambodia seeks continued assistance from India

• Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who called on President Pratibha Patil  Cambodia looked forward to continued assistance from India on providing lines of credit, particularly for agriculture that remains a priority area for his country.
• An agreement for a line of credit for $15 million from India to Cambodia for the completion of the Stung Tassal Water Development Project was signed. Mr. Hun Sen said his government would putforward four proposals for projects to develop irrigation and water resources.
• He said cooperation in the area of oil and gas, mineral exploitation, agriculture and tourism must be expanded. To achieve this it was essential to have direct air links. The special regard Cambodia has for India was evident on Tuesday in the elaborate yet warm welcome extended by King Norodom Sihamoni to Ms. Patil.

India-Bangladesh team scales Mount Jogin

• An India-Bangladesh Army mountaineering team scaled the 20,353 ft. Mount Jogin-III peak in the Garhwal Himalaya range in India last Saturday.
• The eight-member expedition led by Major Shariful Islam Jomadder of the Bangladesh Army was flagged off from New Delhi on August 10. Earlier the Bangladesh team undertook extensive training at the National Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi.
• This is the first such joint expedition for the Bangladesh Army and its team reportedly displayed a high level of physical fitness and technical skills during the climb, which began from Gangotri on August 30.