Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
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Aerial photo taken on April 29, 2022 shows a view of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui, northwest China’s Gansu Province. The Maiji Mountain Grottoes is one of the four most famous grottoes in China. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Aerial photo taken on April 29, 2022 shows a view of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui, northwest China’s Gansu Province. The Maiji Mountain Grottoes is one of the four most famous grottoes in China. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Aerial photo taken on April 29, 2022 shows a view of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui, northwest China’s Gansu Province. The Maiji Mountain Grottoes is one of the four most famous grottoes in China. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Aerial photo taken on April 29, 2022 shows a view of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui, northwest China’s Gansu Province. The Maiji Mountain Grottoes is one of the four most famous grottoes in China. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Aerial photo taken on April 29, 2022 shows a view of the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui, northwest China’s Gansu Province. The Maiji Mountain Grottoes is one of the four most famous grottoes in China. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
The 19th edition of the multi-sports Games was scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province, less than 200 km southwest of Shanghai, which is currently battling its worst Covid-19 epidemic
The J&K delimitation process is crucial as only after the exercise is over will the union territory head for elections. The last delimitation panel took seven years to give its award in 1995.
The delimitation commission of Jammu and Kashmir signs final order for the delimitation of the union territory,
The Jammu and Kashmir delimitation commission on Thursday signed the final order for the delimitation of the union territory. The panel, that was tasked to redraw the boundaries of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, concluded the delimitation exercise today, paving way for the much-awaited assembly polls in the Valley.
The delimitation ‘award’ will be made public detailing the number of constituencies and their size by bringing out a gazette notification once the report is submitted to the government. The decision is crucial as only after the delimitation exercise is over will the proposed elections take place in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been without an elected government since June 2018.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised the restoration of the region’s statehood after the elections.
The panel, formed by the Centre in March 2020, is headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, and comprises chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and deputy election commissioner Chander Bhushan Kumar, state election commissioner (SEC) KK Sharma and chief electoral officer Hridesh Kumar as its ex-officio members. It was granted a year’s extension and then another extension of two months in February this year to complete its task, for the term that was to otherwise end on March 6.
On Monday, the commission met various delegations in Jammu before leaving for Srinagar to meet the stakeholders there for the submission of its report. It met over 200 delegations and members of the civil society from Ramban, Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar, Kathua and Doda districts and heard them and received their representations.
Since the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in August 2019, the commission has proposed increasing the number of seats in the union territory from 83 to 90. Besides, there are 24 seats in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) which continue to remain vacant. Further, for the first time, nine seats have been proposed for scheduled tribes (STs).
The panel has also proposed six additional seats for Jammu and one for Kashmir. As of now, the Kashmir division has 46 seats and Jammu division 37.
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As per reports, the last delimitation panel took seven years to give its award in 1995 while this commission took little over two years to complete its task despite the coronavirus pandemic, a functionary pointed out.
China’s capital city Beijing has shut more than 40 subway stations, about a tenth of the network, and 158 bus routes, service providers said. Most of the suspended stations and routes are in the Chaoyang district, the epicentre of Beijing’s outbreak, reported The Express Tribune.
ANI | Beijing | May 4, 2022 1:27 pm
(Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
Dozens of metro stations and bus routes in Beijing have been shut down as COVID continues to spread and millions of residents in Shanghai still remain under strict lockdown even after more than a month.
China’s capital city Beijing has shut more than 40 subway stations, about a tenth of the network, and 158 bus routes, service providers said. Most of the suspended stations and routes are in the Chaoyang district, the epicentre of Beijing’s outbreak, reported The Express Tribune.
Beijing is also resorting to mass testing. Twelve out of 16 Beijing districts were conducting the second of three rounds of tests this week, having done three mass screenings last week.
The city has also closed schools, some businesses and residential buildings in high-risk areas. Investment in China by international companies has also been badly affected which further undermines China’s growth.
On Wednesday, metros and buses were shut down in a campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19. A day earlier, on Tuesday, another city, Zhengzhou, announced work-from-home and other COVID curbs for the coming week.
Home to 12.6 million people the central city of Zhengzhou also has a factory of Apple’s iPhone manufacturer Foxconn. The city joins dozens of big cities in full or partial lockdown, as per the media outlet.
Shanghai’s lockdown has come under heavy criticism, with people unable to access essential medical care.
In a bizarre incident, an elderly person in a Shanghai nursing home was mistakenly taken to the morgue while still alive, local media reported, as the city’s prolonged lockdown continues to put a strain on city health facilities amid renewed COVID-19 outbreak.
The country’s much-publicized “zero-covid” strategy that the government credited for bringing the country out of the pandemic till recently is falling apart as the rapidly mounting cases are again forcing mass lockdowns like those seen in 2020
LIC IPO: Insurance giant opens India’s largest share sale
Image caption, The Life Insurance Corporation is nearly as old as independent India
Shares in the Indian state-run insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) have gone on sale in a $2.75bn (£2.18bn) initial public offering, witnessing strong demand from institutional investors.
The government is offering a 3.5% stake in what will be India’s largest share sale, despite both the size and valuation of the issue being slashed significantly to reflect current market conditions.
What are the details of the IPO?
The date for share listing is 17 May, the government’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management said.
Bids for anchor investors opened on 2 May but the share sale for the public opens on 4 May and closes on 9 May.
General investors can buy equity shares at a price band set at $11.75-12.36 (£9.38-9.87) per share.
The company’s policyholders, employees as well as small mom and pop investors will be entitled to an additional discount of up to 60 rupees, according to papers filed by the company with India’s securities watchdog.
Broking firm Zerodha expects at least 8-12 million additional online trading accounts to be opened by investors keen to apply for the IPO, a 10-15% bump up to the 80 million accounts currently in operation.
LIC is nearly as old as independent India. Formed by nationalising and merging 245 private insurance companies, it started issuing policies in 1956, holding a monopoly on India’s insurance sector until the turn of the millennium.
More than two decades after private competition was allowed, LIC continues to hold a leadership position, with 66% market share as of 2021.
Its sheer size makes the insurance behemoth a systemically important company for India.
At over $500bn, its asset base is bigger than the GDP of several countries. And with nearly 280 million policies in force, it manages four times more policies than the entire population of the UK.
It is also India’s largest asset manager, with massive investments in state and central securities as well as the stock market.
According to the ratings agency CRISIL, LIC’s equity investments in listed companies represented 4% of the total market capitalisation of the National Stock Exchange. It has also been the default financier of the government in trying times, bailing out flailing state-run companies.
LIC also owns a sprawling portfolio of real estate across India.
Why is LIC a part of India’s social fabric?
With 1.3 million distributors selling policies across pretty much every nook and corner in India, the ubiquitous “LIC agent” has held a unique place in independent India’s public consciousness.
Srinivasalu Naidu, a septuagenarian who has sold policies door to door for the past 30 years, told the BBC he was known in his heyday as “LIC Naidu”, a much revered figure in his village in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Agents like him have been critical to the company’s growth and mission to build trust and create a savings culture across the remote corners of the country.
“People didn’t buy policies from me just as insurance, they did it as an investment. For their kids’ education or wedding. They trusted their life savings with me,” said Naidu.
Image caption, With nearly 280 million policies in force, LIC manages four times more policies than the entire population of the UK
Private banking giant UBS estimates 10 out of every 100 rupees saved by Indian households go into LIC, a much larger amount than even the deposits attracted by India’s largest bank, the State Bank of India.
Are there any concerns over the IPO?
Given LIC’s social relevance and scaled-down valuation, India’s opposition politicians have accused the government of selling “family silverware” and prioritising shareholders over politicians.
According to analysts, even at the upper price band, LIC’s issue has been valued far lower by the government than its three listed private peers – HDFC Life Insurance Co., SBI Life Insurance Co. and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co.
“It is not justified at all. You should also involve the opposition (in deliberations), when you are disinvesting something like the LIC which is a social security net,” Dr Shama Mohamed, a spokesperson of the Congress party, told the BBC.
Last month, PM Narendra Modi’s government decided to defer the mega IPO amid global stock market volatility due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It had initially planned to raise about $8b by selling 5% of LIC to fund its widening fiscal deficit – the gap between earnings and expenditure.
Amid surging fuel costs and lower growth projections, the pruned fundraising target is expected to put additional pressure on New Delhi’s already stretched finances.
But analysts say the size and price are appropriate given the current environment, with foreign investors pulling out nearly $20bn from Indian equities since October 2021. And the government is confident that LIC’s dominant leadership position and fair valuation will attract significant investor interest.
“Even if we have a bit of a constrained environment, we can still pull it off because that’s the kind of optimum demand scenario which exists,” Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary at the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, told journalists in Mumbai last week.
In the long run, a stock market listing is expected to improve how the firm is run and bring in more transparency.
But at a time when its competitors have all gone digital, LIC’s overt dependence on physical distributors has been flagged as a cause of concern by analysts, who believe it will continue losing market share in the years ahead.
“On the margin front, it will be kind of hard for LIC to compete if it sticks to the distributor model. They will have to re-innovate the company and become relevant for what the insurance market will be tomorrow,” says Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha.
According to economic commentator Vivek Kaul, LIC pays agents twice as much in commissions in the first year, compared to private insurers, which is not sustainable in the longer run.
Covid-19 has also had an impact on the company. Its growth in new business premiums declined significantly as lockdowns disrupted operations, reiterating the need for LIC to significantly leverage technology to drive operating efficiency.
But analysts expect India’s young population and massive under-penetration of life insurance to give LIC a long runway for expansion.
According to analysis from the broking firm Anand Rathi, India’s protection gap – or the difference between the insurance required and actually available – was 83% or US$16.5 trillion in 2019, the highest in Asia-Pacific, “thereby presenting a huge potential for growth”.
Tsering spoke to HT about the state of the Tibetan struggle, Chinese actions in Tibet, his expectations from the international community, and his engagements in the US.
Tsering has served as Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in exile. (AP)
Washington: During a recent visit to Washington DC, Penpa Tsering, the head of the Central Tibetan administration, met senior officials of the United States (US) National Security Council and the State Department as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi and other members of the US Congress. His first visit to the US as Sikyong took place at a time when the competition between the United States (US) and China remains intense, with frequent US statements on China’s human rights violations in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Sitting in The Office of Tibet in Washington, amid a flurry of meetings, Tsering, who has also served as Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, spoke to Hindustan Times about the state of the Tibetan struggle, Chinese actions in Tibet, his expectations from the international community as well as India and Nepal, and his engagements in the US. Excerpts:
For the past few weeks, several states had been experiencing severe heatwave conditions with the maximum temperature nearing 50 degrees celsius in some cities. The scorching heat had also escalated the power demand in the country, with power cuts being reported from several states.
Several states had been experiencing heatwave conditions in the past few weeks(Rahul Raut/HT file photo)
Some relief from the simmering heat expected as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted an ‘abatement’ of heatwave conditions across most parts of the country. In a series of tweets, the Met Department said that thunderstorms and gusty winds are very likely to be witnessed over northwest India till Wednesday, over northeast till tomorrow and over eastern and southern peninsular India till Friday.
“Heatwave is over in most parts of India including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and UP. Western disturbance is quite active. Temp will not rise for next 6-7 days. Northwest India has yellow alert for thunderstorms. Delhi to receive rainfall on May 3rd,” RK Jenamani, senior scientist, IMD, told ANI.
Here are the five big predictions by the Met department over the current weather situation in the country.
1. The Met department has predicted squally winds of speed between 40-60 kilometres per hour over South Andaman Sea & adjoining north Andaman Sea and Eastcentral Bay of Bengal on May 4 and 5.
2. Squally or stormy winds with speed reaching 50-60 kmph gusting to 70 kmph likely to prevail over Andaman Sea adjoining Eastcentral & Southeast Bay of Bengal on 06th May. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these areas, the weather department predicted.
3. Scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with isolated thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds (speed reaching 40-50 kmph) very likely over Bihar, Jharkhand, Gangetic West Bengal & Odisha during next 5 days.
4. Isolated heavy rainfall very likely over sub-Himalayan regions in West Bengal and Sikkim on Monday; over Arunachal Pradesh on Monday and Tuesday.
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5. “Isolated heavy rainfall over Assam-Meghalaya & Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura during between Monday and Wednesday. Isolated very heavy rainfall likely over Assam-Meghalaya & Tripura on Tuesday,” the prediction read.
For the past few weeks, several states had been experiencing severe heatwave conditions with the maximum temperature nearing 50 degrees celsius in some cities. The scorching heat had also escalated the power demand in the country, with power cuts being reported from several states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday issued a departure statement before he leaves for Germany in his first visit to Europe this year. “My visit to Europe comes at a time when the region faces many challenges and choices. Through my engagements, I intend to strengthen the spirit of cooperation with our European partners, who are important companions in India’s quest for peace and prosperity,” the prime minister said.
PM Modi’s Europe visit comes at a time when the Ukraine war is in its ninth week. He is set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen and France’s Emmanuel Macron in Paris, who was recently re-elected as the president for a second term.
“President Macron has very recently been re-elected, and my visit just ten days after the result will not only allow me to convey my personal congratulations in-person, but also reaffirm the close friendship between the two countries. This will also give us the opportunity to set the tone of the next phase of the India-France Strategic Partnership,” the prime minister said in the departure statement published on his official website.
“PM Modi will exchange India’s perspectives on Ukraine during his visit to Germany, France and Denmark,” foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
An exchange of views “on strategic, regional and global developments that concern us both” is set to be the focus of his meeting with the German chancellor, he said.
The prime minsiter will be in Germany for two days from Monday. The next two days, he will be in Denmark for the second edition of the India-Nordic Summit, and then he is set to make a stopover in Paris before returning.
“My visit to Berlin will be an opportunity to hold detailed bilateral discussions with Chancellor Scholz, whom I met at G20 last year in his previous capacity as Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister. We will co-chair the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC), a unique biennial format which India conducts only with Germany. Several Indian ministers will also travel to Germany and hold consultations with their German counterparts,” he said.
The members of the government’s technical expert panel on immunisation are yet to reach a consensus on revising the gap between the second covid vaccine dose and precaution dose.
Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla had been advocating for reducing the gap to 6 months for quite some time. (Photo by Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times))
NEW DELHI: It may take longer to revise gap between the second covid vaccine dose and precaution dose as members of the government’s technical expert panel on immunisation are yet to reach a consensus on the matter, according to people familiar with the matter.
“The matter is being discussed but for anything to be decided conclusively, a consensus has to be reached. There are voices in favour but also some that feel the gap is just fine at the moment. The discussion should continue on this in the next meeting,” said a person aware of the matter, requesting not to be named.
Serum Institute of India’s chief executive officer, Adar Poonawalla, had been advocating for reducing the gap to 6 months for quite some time.
Precaution dose was opened under the national Covid immunisation programme on January 10 for the high-risk group, before the government took a stand on expanding it for all adults from April 10.
The Centre clarified that the precaution doses will be homologous, which means that if you have received the Covishield vaccine for your first and second doses, your third dose will also be of Covishield and similarly if your first two doses were of Covaxin, the booster shot will also be the same.
The two vaccines that are the mainstay of national Covid immunisation programme are Covaxin and Covishield. Bharat Biotech developed Covaxin in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, and Serum Institute of India locally manufactured Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine under the brand name Covishield.
The government has not yet allowed mixing and matching of precaution dose as several trials are currently going on in the country to know the effect of existing vaccines as boosters.
Also, no fresh registration is required for the precautionary dose as all due beneficiaries are already registered on the Co-Win portal.
Apart from that, construction works for Nischintapur Railway Yard which will connect Tripura with Akhaura in Bangladesh are on the verge of completion.
ANI | Agartala | March 23, 2022 9:20 am
(File Photo)
Surveys for several railway projects in Tripura including the second Indo-Bangla railway link through the Belonia sub-division of the South Tripura district have been completed by the officials.
Tripura Transport Minister Pranajit Singha Roy informed the State Assembly that Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is expected to visit the state on March 25 to inspect the ongoing projects.
Some new projects may also be launched by the minister during his visit to the North-East state. Roy was addressing the house on Calling Attention motion moved by treasury bench Chief Whip MLA Kalyani Roy on ”The need to further improve the overall management of passenger and freight traffic, including increasing the number of passenger trains through the introduction of double lane rail services in the state of Tripura”.
Replying to the query, the Transport Minister said that on June 4, 2020, the Tripura government sent a proposal to ‘North East Region Vision 2035’ to transform the existing single line tracks into double lines to enhance railway connection as well as improve the number of passenger and freight engines.
With regards to new projects in the pipeline, he said that survey works of three new railway projects that consist of 30 kilometres long Belonia (India) – Feni (Bangladesh), Dharmanagar (North district) – Pancharathal (North district), and Kailashahar (Unakoti district) Railway has been completed.
Another project is underway to link Dharmanagar in North Tripura with Belonia in the South district connecting Unakoti, Dhalai, Khowai, and certain parts of the West Tripura district.
“The survey work for these projects have been completed and Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on January 21, 2022, made a special request to the Union Railway Minister to incorporate the following projects in the Railway Budget and provide necessary financial assistance”, the transport minister told the house.
Apart from that, construction works for Nischintapur Railway Yard which will connect Tripura with Akhaura in Bangladesh are on the verge of completion. “About 98 percent of the work is completed and 75 percent of work for Sabroom Railway Yard has also been complete”, he said.
According to the ministers, all these ambitious projects are expected to be completed by the next financial year.
“The construction of 12.30 kilometres long Agartala-Akhaura in Bangladesh railway link that aims to increase passenger and freight engine movement between these two locations will be completed shortly. The DoNER ministry and Ministry of External Affairs of the Central Government have been extending all sorts of help for speedy completion of the project.”
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 