Archive for ‘India alert’

« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
18/02/2015

Modi wants more technology transfer from global defence firms | Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked global defence contractors to transfer more technology to India as part of the lucrative deals that they win to modernise its armed forces.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends an event organised by the Christian community to celebrate the beatification of two Indians by Pope Francis late last year, in New Delhi February 17, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

The country’s offsets policy, which requires contractors to invest a percentage of the value of the deal in India, will be tweaked to encourage more technology transfer, and less simple assembly or production, Modi said at the opening ceremony of the Aero India airshow at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru.

“We have the reputation as the largest importer of defence equipment. This may be music to the ears of some of you. But this is an area where we do not want to be number one,” Modi said before an air display of Indian military planes.

“It will no longer be enough to buy equipment and simply assemble here.”

India is forecast to spend $250 billion over the next decade to upgrade its military, which still largely relies on Russian equipment it bought from the 1960s to the 1980s, and catch up with strategic rivals like China.

via Modi wants more technology transfer from global defence firms | Reuters.

Related articles

Posted in Defence, Economics, India alert, Technology, technology transfer | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16/02/2015

India seals nuclear energy pact with Sri Lanka, hopes to push back Chinese influence | Reuters

India sealed a nuclear energy agreement with Sri Lanka on Monday, its first breakthrough with the new government of the tiny Indian Ocean island where China has been building ports and highways in a diplomatic push in recent years.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) gestures to Sri Lanka's President Mithripala Sirisena's wife Jayanthi Sirisena (2nd L) as India's President Pranab Mukherjee (L) looks on during Sirisena's ceremonial reception at the forecourt of India's Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace in New Delhi February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Under the deal, India will help Sri Lanka build its nuclear energy infrastructure, including training of personnel, the Indian foreign ministry said.

Later, India could also sell light small-scale nuclear reactors to Sri Lanka which wants to establish 600 MW of nuclear capacity by 2030, a Sri Lankan official and an Indian analyst said.

The deal came as Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena began a visit to India, his first trip abroad since he swept to power in January, which has provided New Delhi with an opening to repair ties that had become tense under his predecessor.

“The bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation is yet another demonstration of our mutual trust,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement.

India had grown increasingly wary of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa‘s pursuit of closer ties with China, which became a key supporter of the island’s economy after its 26-year-civil war ended in 2009.

China has built a seaport in the south of the country and signed a deal to develop a $1.5 billion port next to the commercial port in Colombo, raising fears Beijing is seeking influence in the island state with which New Delhi has had historical ties.

Ties worsened further after the Rajapaksa government allowed Chinese submarines to dock last year.

Modi said the two countries also agreed to expand defense cooperation, but gave no details. “This is my first visit and it has given very fruitful results,” Sirisena said.

Since coming to power last year, Modi has reached out to neighbors, offering to build power stations and ports, in a bid to push back against China.

Next month he plans to travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives where too Beijing is seen to be expanding its diplomacy as part of a strategy to build a network of ports in the Indian Ocean through which much of its trade and energy supplies transit.

Sirisena has pledged to pursue a more global foreign policy.

via India seals nuclear energy pact with Sri Lanka, hopes to push back Chinese influence | Reuters.

Related articles

Posted in India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
15/02/2015

Modi calls for innovation in renewable energy – The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for innovation and research to develop renewable energy to provide affordable electricity to every household.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet meet in Delhi on Sunday. Photo: Ramesh Sharma

Inaugurating the first Renewable Energy Global Investors Meet (RE-Invest), Mr. Modi called for collaboration between the 50 nations with abundant solar power to develop technological solutions.

Stating that the role of energy in development was very important, he said, “We want to increase speed and at the same time scale new heights of development and one of the sectors is energy.”

“We are focussing on renewable energy not for laurels but to lighten homes of the poor and bring a change in their lives,” he said. “We have ponds, can we think of solar panels on top of these ponds? We need to think of innovative ideas.”

He said the cost of electricity from solar photovoltaic cells has come down from Rs. 20 per unit to Rs. 7.50 and research and innovation can help bring it down further.

Hybrid power generation involving solar and wind energy should be encouraged as it will help save on transmission and power evacuation infrastructure cost, he said.

Mr. Modi also called for developing domestic manufacturing of renewable energy equipment to create jobs.

Conserving energy, he said, is the need of the hour.

via Modi calls for innovation in renewable energy – The Hindu.

Related articles

Posted in Economics, Electricity, energy, hydroelectric, India alert, renewable energy, solar power | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
14/02/2015

Modi’s ‘Make in India’ gets GE boost – The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated American multinational General Electric’s (GE) first manufacturing plant in India that will manufacture a range of diversified products for sectors such as energy, aviation, oil & gas transportation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the inauguration of General Electric's multi-modal manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune on Saturday.

This multi-modal facility will support GE’s global operations as well as cater to the growing demand from the Indian market.

To support Mr. Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, GE Vice-Chairman John Rice announced the second phase expansion of this unit by saying that it was a testimony of GE’s commitment for the Indian market.

Mr. Modi assured global investors that the government’s reforms push will continue and one can expect predictability in government policies.

Thanking GE for committing additional investment in India, Mr. Modi said: “This will give a boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative. I welcome all global investors to invest in India and I am assuring you that your products manufactured here will be globally competitive.”

He also urged GE to participate in the defence production programmes of the government as well as that of modernisation of Indian railway.

via Modi’s ‘Make in India’ gets GE boost – The Hindu.

Related articles

Posted in Economics, India alert, Manufacturing | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
14/02/2015

PM Modi sending top diplomat to Pakistan in thawing of ties | Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is sending his top diplomat to Pakistan as part of a regional tour, the first top-ranking visit since Modi broke off talks last year over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) talks to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif (R) during the closing session of 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu November 27, 2014. REUTERS/Niranjan Shrestha/Pool/Files

The sign of a thaw in ties comes weeks after a visit to India by U.S. President Barack Obama.

The United States has long privately encouraged dialogue between India and Pakistan hoping that better ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours could lead to cooperation in other areas such as Afghanistan.

Modi called his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, early on Friday to wish his country luck in the World Cup cricket tournament beginning this weekend and to tell him that new Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyan Jaishankar will soon visit Islamabad as well as other regional capitals.

Sharif told Modi he welcomed the proposed visit of the Indian envoy to discuss all issues of common interest, the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department welcomed the move.

via PM Modi sending top diplomat to Pakistan in thawing of ties | Reuters.

Posted in History, India alert, Neighbour conflict, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
12/02/2015

Racing the elephant against the dragon | The Economist

IN 1991 India’s finance minister presented a budget to India’s parliament that would change the economic history of his country. His reforms dispensed with mounds of the red tape that reined in Indian growth, and opened up many industries to foreign capital. But India was a late-comer to the liberalisation game; China had been opening its economy since the 1970s and accelerated its efforts in the 1990s. China’s reforms have been the more successful; except for a brief period in 1999, the Chinese economy has consistently outperformed its smaller neighbour. But that picture may soon reverse.

Official statistics published on February 9th revealed that India’s GDP rose by 7.5% in 2014, a shade faster than China’s over the same period. Later this month Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, is likely to push new reforms. India also enjoys a demographic advantage. Whereas China’s workforce began to shrink in 2012, more than half of India’s current population is younger than 25. India, rather than China, may henceforth be the symbol of rapid emerging-market growth.

via Daily chart: Racing the elephant against the dragon | The Economist.

Related articles

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Economics, GDP, growth, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
12/02/2015

India Passes China to Become World’s Fastest-Growing Economy – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Everyone from the World Bank to Goldman Sachs had predicted it wouldn’t happen for another two years but recent recalculations indicate that India has already dethroned China as the world’s fastest-growing big economy.

Late Monday, India’s statistics ministry surprised economists when it unveiled the new numbers for the growth of India’s gross domestic product. It ratcheted up India’s GDP growth figures using a new methodology that pegs expansion in Asia’s third-largest economy at 7.5% last quarter and 8.2% the quarter before that. Economists and the ministry, using the old methodology, had originally said growth was closer to 5.5% during those quarters.

While economists, investors and executives are still wondering how growth could have been so high during those quarters when other indicators suggested times were tough, the new official numbers mean that India outpaced China, taking the pole position as the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

India has been able to catch up because China’s growth has been slowing. The Middle Kingdom’s GDP expansion was 7.3% in both the third and fourth quarters of 2014. While there are smaller economies which may have had stronger growth, this puts India on top after decades driving in China’s slipstream.

Of course, China’s economy is still four times the size of India’s.

“There’s no comparison between these growth rates because of the size of the economy of China,” said Ashish Kumar, director general of the Central Statistics Office as he announced the new GDP growth numbers.  “If this kind of growth continues and China continues to perform at a lower level, then still it will take 20 to 30 years to catch up.”

Still, if it can keep up this pace at least India will be gaining some ground. More importantly, a return to high growth might mean India is following in China’s footsteps and entering a take-off phase.

The South Asian nation needs to revamp its economy to help create more manufacturing jobs and savings if it wants to become the next China, said Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC in a recent report.

“That’s a challenging transformation,” he said. “India may never quite match the rapid ascent of China, but even at a slightly slower speed it will start to make waves.”

via India Passes China to Become World’s Fastest-Growing Economy – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

Related articles

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Economics, GDP, growth, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
10/02/2015

BBC News – Delhi election: Arvind Kejriwal’s party routs Modi’s BJP

An anti-corruption party has won a stunning victory in the Delhi state elections in a huge setback for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Man's Party, Arvind Kejriwal waves to the crowd as his party looks set for a landslide party in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015

The BJP admitted defeat after Arvind Kejriwal‘s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 67 of the 70 assembly seats.

Mr Modi congratulated the AAP leader, whose career seemed doomed a year ago when he quit as Delhi’s chief minister over a crucial anti-corruption bill.

It is the BJP’s first setback since it triumphed in the 2014 general election.

Correspondents say the win marks a remarkable comeback for Arvind Kejriwal, a former tax inspector.

His party was routed by the BJP in last May’s general elections, months after the AAP made a spectacular debut in the 2013 Delhi elections.

Mr Modi has enjoyed huge popularity since taking office last year, winning a string of local elections and wooing international investors and world leaders.

Final results gave Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just three seats. India’s main opposition Congress party failed to win even a single seat.

via BBC News – Delhi election: Arvind Kejriwal’s party routs Modi’s BJP.

Posted in Economics, India alert, Internal politics, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
06/02/2015

Companies set to back huge India solar expansion | Reuters

India could start installing 20,000 megawatts of solar power capacity as early as April after companies pledged to support the government’s drive for clean energy, an official told Reuters.

A worker cleans photovoltaic solar panels inside a solar power plant at Raisan village near Gandhinagar, in Gujarat, February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files

Details of the plan, which has drawn commitments from U.S., German and Chinese companies, will be announced on Friday, said Upendra Tripathy, secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

“We have got commitments from very established industry, both foreign and domestic for next year,” he said in an interview at his office.

Foreign companies will be allowed to decide where they manufacture the required equipment, he said.

via Companies set to back huge India solar expansion | Reuters.

Related articles

Posted in Economics, India alert, renewable energy, solar power | 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
05/02/2015

BBC News – Fresh protest against Delhi church attacks

Police in the Indian capital, Delhi, have detained dozens of people who were protesting against recent attacks on churches in the city.

Indian Christians hold placards protesting against recent attacks on churches in the Indian capital as they assemble outside the Sacred Heart Church in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015

There have been five attacks on churches in Delhi since December.

Christian groups accuse hardline Hindus of carrying out the attacks, but police say there is little evidence for this.

Some protesters have accused India’s Hindu nationalist BJP government of not doing enough to reassure the city’s Christian minority.

Thursday’s protest came after a church in Delhi was vandalised on Monday, and an unexplained fire gutted another in December.

Protesters carrying placards reading “Enough is Enough, What are police doing?” gathered outside the city’s main Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral in central New Delhi.

Police said the protesters were detained as they were marching towards the residence of Home Minister Rajnath Singh in a high-security area where protests are not allowed.

via BBC News – Fresh protest against Delhi church attacks.

Posted in India alert, Politics, religion, Religious clash, Social & cultural | Leave a Comment »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries  |   Newer Entries »
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India