India is a top market for defence hardware, buying some $12.7 billion in arms during 2007-2011, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
via India defence spending seen rising 10 pct to $36 bln in 2014/15 | Reuters.
14/02/2014
Kejriwal resigns as Delhi Chief Minister – The Hindu
Arvind Kejriwal on Friday night resigned as Chief MInister of Delhi after suffering a defeat in the assembly on the Jan Lokpal Bill, bringing to an end a tumultuous run of 49-days in power on top of an anti-graft civil society movement.
Goverment sources told PTI that he has sent his resignation to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung shortly after a meeting of the Cabinet.
Earlier, Mr. Kejriwal gave enough indications that his government may quit after the BJP and Congress combined to defeat introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill which he tabled in the Assembly defying Lt Governor’s advice.
“This appears to be our last session. I will consider myself fortunate if I have to sacrifice the chief minister’s post 1,000 times and my life to eradicate corruption,” he said in a brief speech in the Assembly after his government suffered defeat on its pet anti-graft legislation.
via Kejriwal resigns as Delhi Chief Minister – The Hindu.
12/02/2014
* H&M to open first store in India in 2014 | Reuters
Hennes & Mauritz will open its first store in India this year, it said on Wednesday, as the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer becomes the latest to take advantage of the opening of Asia’s third-largest economy to foreign operators.
H&M, which said last year it plans to spend around 100 million euros ($137 million) on an initial 50 stores in India, received final approval in December from the Indian government to invest in the country.
“We are very excited to open our first store in India. It is one of the most exciting countries in the world right now, with so much potential,” H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement.
via H&M to open first store in India in 2014 | Reuters.
10/02/2014
China considers new powers for pollution watchdog as part of government shakeup | Reuters
China could grant its undersized environment ministry new powers over resources, possibly allowing it to veto future projects, and more muscle to punish polluters as part of a government shake-up to tackle decades of unchecked growth.
Sources with ties to the leadership told Reuters that the government was considering a sweeping reorganization of cabinet ministries next month that will dissolve the Ministry of Land and Resources and transfer some powers to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), long regarded as too weak to punish law-breaking polluters.
Amendments to China’s 1989 environmental law, likely to be rubber-stamped at the annual session of the country’s legislature next month, are expected to also give the environment ministry the powers to impose unlimited penalties on firms that fail to rectify problems and allow regulators to suspend or shut down persistent offenders.
A nationwide monitoring system will be established to force industries to disclose exactly how much pollution they cause, and it will become a criminal offence to misuse or switch off pollution control technology and misreport emission levels.
via China considers new powers for pollution watchdog as part of government shakeup | Reuters.
10/12/2013
China to judge local governments by their debt: Xinhua | Reuters
China will soon rate the performance of local governments partly by how much debt they incur, as Beijing tries to wean the country off heavy government investment, state media said.
The central organization department, which oversees the appointment of senior party, government, military and state firm officials, said debt will be key when evaluating performances, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
Large-scale government investment has helped China\’s gross domestic product expand at double-digit rates for the past three decades. But analysts say China\’s economy has now hit a turning point, and domestic consumption must grow and investment fall to ensure a healthy expansion.
via China to judge local governments by their debt: Xinhua | Reuters.
19/11/2013
How U.S. and China may administer the “Six Wars”
Hope the scenarios do not actually play out as predicted by The Inndian Defence Review. See – https://chindia-alert.org/2013/10/20/six-wars-china-is-sure-to-fight-in-the-next-50-years-stratrisks/
27/09/2013
Post Rahul wrap, Congress takes a U-turn
The Hindu: “Party hints at withdrawal of the controversial measure.
With Rahul Gandhi slamming the ordinance against disqualification of convicted lawmakers, the government is expected to take back the controversial measure, the Congress indicated on Friday.
“Rahulji’s opinion is the opinion and the line of Congress… Now Congress party is opposed to this ordinance. The views of the Congress party should always be supreme,” party general secretary and communication department in-charge Ajay Maken said when asked about the fate of the ordinance in the wake of Mr. Gandhi’s views and whether it is likely to be withdrawn.
The Congress clearly appeared flummoxed by Mr. Gandhi’s stand as Mr. Maken, at a meet-the-press programme at the Delhi Press Club, completely backtracked from his statement praising the ordinance as “perfect”, made minutes before the party vice-president took the stage and denounced the measure calling it “complete nonsense” and “wrong” on the part of the government.
Mr. Maken sidestepped questions on whether Mr. Gandhi’s remarks meant a “rebellion” against the government or a public snub to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his government.
“Rahul Gandhi is our leader. His views are views of the Congress party. The situation with any issue evolves with time and it has evolved and no one should have any objection to it,” he merely said in reply to such questions.
“What Rahul Gandhi said is the most important thing… that this ordinance will not help us fight corruption. He is our leader and I think this is our official political stand. Rahulji’s opinion is the opinion and the line of Congress… Now Congress party is opposed to this ordinance,” he said.”
25/09/2013
BJP flays ordinance on convicted Indian MPs
The Hindu: “The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said the government’s decision to promulgate an ordinance on convicted MPs is an attempt to make “cheats, frauds, murderers” and the likes as lawmakers.
“BJP is shocked at this Ordinance. We would like to know whose great idea it is — is it Prime Minister Manmohan Singh or Rahul Gandhi or is it UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi,” party general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.
“Who was eager to promulgate an Ordinance to make frauds, cheats, rapists and murderers as our MPs and MLAs?” he said.
Mr. Rudy hailed the Supreme Court verdict on the issue, saying the apex court had in a “historic judgement” said that an MP or an MLA would stand disqualified immediately if convicted by a court for crimes with punishment of two years or more.
The Ordinance, which was cleared by the Cabinet on Tuesday, seeks to negate this order and BJP has opposed this move.
“We Indians have already lost faith in the political system and very soon the country will trash this democracy for good, thanks to this Congress government,” Mr. Rudy said.
His observations came a day after Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj termed the Ordinance as unconstitutional and requested the President not to give his assent to it.
“We are opposed to it. We request the President not to sign it. President is not obliged to sign an Ordinance that is unconstitutional,” Ms. Swaraj had said on Twitter.”
23/09/2013
Food security law may leave out many dalits, tribals
Times of India: “A good number of dalits and tribals may be left out of the ambit of the ambitious Food Security Act, with the socio-economic caste census reporting lesser number of households of the two communities than found by the decennial census, a fraught prospect that has led to jitters in the government.
As per the preliminary figures of socio-economic caste census (survey),1702 tehsils across 27 states have fewer SCs and STs than found in the decennial population census 2011. The census figures of SC/ST population exceed the survey numbers by 1%.
It implies that fewer SCs/STs would be part of the poverty list to be shortlisted by the much-awaited survey. Once finalized, the survey is to serve as the blue book of poor households for entitlement schemes and its first big use would be in the implementation of food security scheme that Congress has called a “game-changer”.
The discrepancy has been found in the poorest states like Bihar (124 tehsils), Madhya Pradesh (163), Odisha (132) as also in Andhra Pradesh (450) and Maharashtra (154). However, the absolute number of households in Andhra is not high because the tehsils are small in size, sources said.
According to sources, rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has shot off letters to 26 chief ministers and the administrator of Daman and Diu, seeking proactive initiative to detect omissions.”
via Food security law may leave out many dalits, tribals – The Times of India.
See also: https://chindia-alert.org/political-factors/indian-tensions/
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