Narendra Modi | CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

09/03/2015

Kashmir fight adds to hurdles for Modi’s reform push | Reuters

A ruckus over the release from prison of Masarat Alam Bhat, the man who led the most serious revolt in decades against the Indian military in Kashmir, is adding to mounting problems for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he tries to push economic reform through parliament.

Masarat Alam Bhat (2nd R), a Kashmiri separatist leader, speaks on his mobile phone at his residence in Srinagar March 9, 2015. REUTERS-Danish Ismail

The Lok Sabha was temporarily adjourned on Monday after opposition parties demanded to know why the separatist leader was released at the weekend by Kashmir’s state government, which Modi’s nationalist party supports.

“I am angered and condemn the release, just like other lawmakers,” Modi said in parliament. “I can assure you that my government was not informed about the decision by the state government and neither were we consulted.”

Modi swept to office ten months ago promising rapid economic transformation but disparate opposition parties have united to block his agenda, forcing the government to rely on executive orders called ordinances to pass unpopular policies.

With two weeks remaining of the current session of parliament before a recess, the government needs to win support for ordinances, including those raising the foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector, or they will expire.

via Kashmir fight adds to hurdles for Modi’s reform push | Reuters.

Mufti Sayeed praises Pakistan on first day as Indian Kashmir CM

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

Tags: Aero India, All India Trinamool Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, economic reform, India, Indian Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir, Lok Sabha, Masarat Alam Bhat, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Narendra Modi, New Delhi, opposition parties, state government

09/03/2015

China says progress being made on India border talks | Reuters

Progress is being made on drawn-out border talks with India, China’s foreign minister said on Sunday, likening the process to climbing a mountain that becomes harder the closer to the summit you get.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gestures as he speaks at a news conference at the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's parliament, in Beijing, March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

The neighboring giants have had numerous rounds of talks over the years without making much apparent process, in a dispute which dates back to a brief border war in 1962.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the problem as one “left over from history”.

“After many years of hard efforts, the border talks continue to make progress, and the dispute has been brought under control,” Wang told reporters on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of parliament.

“At the moment, the boundary negotiation is in the process of building up small and positive developments,” he said. “It’s like climbing a mountain: the going is tough, and that is only because we are on the way up.”

China lodged an official protest last month when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited one of the border regions in dispute.

via China says progress being made on India border talks | Reuters.

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Diplomacy, Foreign invasion, History, India alert, Neighbour conflict, Politics, Territorial dispute | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Arunachal Pradesh, Barack Obama, Beijing, China, India, Indian Ocean, Liu, Narendra Modi, New Delhi, prime minister of india

06/03/2015

PM Narendra Modi heads to Seychelles, Mauritius, Lanka; tour begins on March 10 – The Times of India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave on March 10 on a three-nation visit — Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka — the external affairs ministry announced on Friday with no mention, however, of the Maldives, which was being considered earlier.

On his first trip abroad in 2015, the Prime Minister will be visiting the three countries from March 10 to 14, the ministry said.

On March 11, in Seychelles, Modi will hold bilateral discussions with President James Alexis Michel to strengthen bilateral maritime ties and enhance development cooperation.

Modi will be in Mauritius on March 11 and 12 where he will have extensive meetings with his Mauritian counterpart, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, to further enhance the special and unique relations.

The Indian Prime Minister will also be the chief guest at Mauritius’s National Day celebrations.

via PM Narendra Modi heads to Seychelles, Mauritius, Lanka; tour begins on March 10 – The Times of India.

Posted in Economics, GeoPolitics, India alert, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Arunachal Pradesh, Barack Obama, Beijing, Bharatiya Janata Party, China, India, Mauritius, Narendra Modi, New Delhi, President James Alexis Michel, prime minister of india, Seychelles

05/03/2015

Modi to ramp up help for Indian Ocean nations to counter China influence | Reuters

(Reuters) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi will offer island nations in the Indian Ocean a broad range of military and civilian assistance next week in a bid to wrest back some of the influence China has gained by spending billions of dollars in the region.

Sri Lanka's President Mithripala Sirisena (C) shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) as his wife Jayanthi Sirisena looks on during Sirisena's ceremonial reception at the forecourt of India's Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace in New Delhi February 16, 2015. Sirisena is on a four-day state visit to India. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Modi will make the pledges during a visit to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles after decades of neglect by successive Indian governments. His trip to Sri Lanka will be the first in 28 years by an Indian prime minister.

China has built seaports, power plants and highways across the small island nations. Its navy has also made forays into the Indian Ocean, including when submarines docked last year in Sri Lanka, rattling New Delhi, which has an uneasy relationship with Beijing.

New Delhi is hoping to tie the islands into a closer security embrace, Indian officials said.

“India has a role as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region,” said a defence official involved in preparations for Modi’s trip, which begins on March 10. “We are providing patrol ships, surveillance radars and ocean mapping for the island states.”

At the top of Modi’s agenda is Sri Lanka, the tear-shaped island off the southern coast of India where a new government, concerned at Beijing’s growing influence, is reviewing infrastructure contracts the previous administration awarded to China. It has also ruled out additional Chinese submarine visits in the near future.

Modi is expected to tighten defence and security cooperation and push for final approval for a 500 MW power plant to be built by India’s state-run National Thermal Power Corporation under a 2012 agreement in Trincomalee, a strategic port in eastern Sri Lanka, Indian officials said.

The two sides were also in talks to upgrade military training, a Sri Lankan government official said.

via Modi to ramp up help for Indian Ocean nations to counter China influence | Reuters.

Pakistan Enjoys India-China Rivalry In S Asia

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, GeoPolitics, India alert, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing, China, India, Indian Ocean, influence China, island nations, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Narendra Modi, New Delhi, prime minister of india, Sri Lanka

03/03/2015

Modi Eats 28-Rupee Lunch at the Parliament’s Canteen – India Real Time – WSJ

Last year President Xi ate at a local restaurant and caused a furore – https://chindia-alert.org/2013/12/31/tale-of-xis-dumplings-draws-crowd-society-chinadaily-com-cn/.

Now it’s Prime Minister Modi’s turn to mix with the ‘common man’. though in this case it is with fellow parliamentarians.

“He may sometimes wear expensive, custom-made suits with his name stitched into the pinstripes but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi can also sit comfortably with the common man.

The leader of the world’s largest democracy surprised everyone Monday by showing up to eat lunch with the regular riff-raff of Parliament.

Around midday he sat down at canteen used by members of Parliament and dug in to a vegetarian lunch. While the canteen is inside India’s grand Parliament building, the prime minister’s meal was simple.

Not unlike what most Indians ate on Monday, Mr. Modi nibbled on some vegetables and dal with rice and chapati.

His dessert was a bit fancy though, a fruit salad.

“We were stunned,” said Madhu Sheel Kalra, the canteen’s supervisor, who has worked there for 20 years and never seen a Prime Minister stop by for a meal.

Ramashankar, the waiter who served Mr Modi at table number three, said it was one of the proudest moments of his life.

“I felt so happy,” said Mr. Ramashankar, who goes by just one name.

Meanwhile a new factoid about India’s popular prime minister emerged: He’s not a practicing member of the clean-plate club.

“He didn’t finish everything but he enjoyed what he had,” said Ramashankar.

Mr. Modi paid the bill himself. The subsidized meal was only 28 rupees. That’s about half a dollar.

Waiters said he didn’t leave a tip–few parliamentarians do–but he left a nice comment in the guest book, in Sanskrit.

“Blessed are those who serve food,” he wrote.”

via Modi Eats 28-Rupee Lunch at the Parliament’s Canteen – India Real Time – WSJ.

Posted in India alert, Politics | 1 Comment »

Tags: Afghanistan, Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing, Bharatiya Janata Party, China, India, Narendra Modi, New Delhi, prime minister of india

27/02/2015

Mufti-Modi meeting clears decks for BJP-PDP government in J&K – The Hindu

Decks were cleared for the first ever formation of a BJP-PDP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir following a “historic” meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PDP chief Mufti Mohammed Sayeed where the two leaders gave their approval for a common minimum programme (CMP) for governance. The swearing-in will be on March 1.

PDP patron Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: PIB

Clearly the PDP expects the NDA government to resume dialogue process with Pakistan and Hurriyat leaders as Mr. Sayeed emphasised, after the meeting, the need to engage with Islamabad. The government, he said, must take off from where former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee left when he had extended a hand of friendship to the then Pakistan leadership. “History has given us another chance. We want to repeat history.’’

“It was a war of nerves,” he admitted to a questioner when asked about the BJP and the PDP reconciling two extreme ideologies but added that “common ground has been found” and both sides were “flexible”.

Repeating the BJP slogan of sab ka saath sab ka vikas, he said, the Prime Minister has won the mandate of the people of the country and has full legitimacy to decide on this alliance and adding that “this had to be done’”.

“We will now give a healing touch to the State,” he said.

via Mufti-Modi meeting clears decks for BJP-PDP government in J&K – The Hindu.

Why the PDP-BJP alliance is the best combination for J&K

Posted in India alert, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: 1958, Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bihar, Common minimum programme, India, Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

27/02/2015

India in sweet spot of lower deficits, more growth – Economic Survey | Reuters

India can increase investment to drive economic growth without borrowing more, a key government report said on Friday, in an indication that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will stick to debt targets in his maiden full-year budget on Saturday.

Labourers work at the site of a monorail project in Mumbai February 27, 2015. REUTERS-Shailesh Andrade

The Economic Survey, the basis for Jaitley’s budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, forecast growth of 8.1 percent to 8.5 percent under new calculations that make India the world’s most dynamic big economy. The forecast marks an acceleration from growth of 7.4 percent in the current fiscal year.

“India has reached a sweet spot and … there is a scope for Big Bang reforms now,” the report said, adding the country was on course to hit double-digit growth rates.

Indian stocks rallied, with the benchmark Sensex gaining 1.7 percent, on hopes that Jaitley would deliver a business-friendly budget.

At first glance the growth outlook appears impressive. But it follows a big overhaul of India’s economic data, which previously showed the economy struggling to recover from its longest growth slowdown in a generation.

Other indicators of India’s economy are not as rosy as GDP data suggests. Earnings of the country’s top 100 companies shrank by 6 percent in the last quarter, private investment and consumer demand are weak and merchandise exports are falling.

The author of the report, economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, even said he was “puzzled” by the new GDP figures and played down suggestions that India’s $2 trillion economy was on a roll.

“India’s economy is still recovering, and not surging,” Subramanian told a news conference.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a landslide general election victory last May, capitalising on dissatisfaction among Indians over their economic lot and promising ‘better days’ of more jobs, investment and growth.

The report by Subramanian, a renowned development economist lured away from a Washington think tank by Modi, suggested the economy was now building momentum.

That, above all, reflects a near halving in international prices of oil, India’s biggest import.

As a result, the report predicts the current account deficit will be below 1 percent of GDP in 2015/16, a far cry from a figure of 4.7 percent in 2012/13 that preceded a currency crisis in India.

via India in sweet spot of lower deficits, more growth – Economic Survey | Reuters.

Posted in Economics, growth, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Arun Jaitley, Arvind Subramanian, Ashish Kumar, Asian Development Bank, Business Standard, Economic growth, finance minister, Gross domestic product, India, Narendra Modi

25/02/2015

Delhi’s AAP Provides More Free Water and Power to the People – India Real Time – WSJ

Once again, Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party, has opened up a big bag full of freebies.

Eleven days after being sworn into power again, Delhi’s new government has taken a big step forward in delivering on its promise to make power and water more affordable.

The beneficiaries of the electricity rate cut: households consuming less than 400 units of electricity. Starting next month, electricity tariffs will be cut in half for this section of consumers, Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s deputy chief minister, said Wednesday.

More than 90% of consumers in the capital- more than 3.5 million families- fall in this bracket, he said. The state government will set aside 700 million rupees, or about $113 million, to pay for the power handout. For the full, new fiscal year starting in April, the Delhi government estimates the cost of the subsidy will be around $230 million.

In Delhi, one of the world’s biggest megacities, power generation and distribution lies in the hands of both the state government and private companies. It taps neighboring states for most of its power as it only produces about 20% of the electricity it consumes.

via Delhi’s AAP Provides More Free Water and Power to the People – India Real Time – WSJ.

Delhi wants honest government: Manish Sisodia

Posted in India alert, Internal politics, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, Bharatiya Janata Party, Chief Minister of Delhi, Delhi, Delhi Government, Delhi Legislative Assembly, Manish Sisodia, Narendra Modi, Sisodia

25/02/2015

India to embark on rail investment splurge thanks to cheap oil | Reuters

India’s decrepit state-run train services stand to receive at least a 25 percent boost in investment to over $9 billion, funded solely by falling fuel costs, according to officials familiar with a railway budget set to be unveiled on Thursday.

A worker cleans a railway track at a railway station in Kolkata October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri/Files

The world’s fourth largest rail network could get even more if Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes it a priority, as China did during its rapid economic growth over the past two decades.

There are high hopes that his nine-month-old government will plough money into investment in infrastructure needed to haul the economy out of a rut when it presents its first annual federal budget on Saturday.

The separate rail budget – a relic of the country’s British colonial past – could show how far Modi’s India is prepared to drive investment in a vital transport sector.

“The fall in diesel prices and a pick-up in freight earnings have given us a golden chance to raise investments,” said one government official.

Falling oil prices have saved billions of dollars in subsidy spending across the economy, but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is under pressure to prevent the fiscal deficit from busting a target of 3.6 percent of gross domestic product.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, according to the officials, has factored in savings from

via India to embark on rail investment splurge thanks to cheap oil | Reuters.

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

Tags: Arun Jaitley, Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi, Economic growth, finance minister, Gross domestic product, India, Investment, Jack Lew, Narendra Modi, United States Secretary of the Treasury

24/02/2015

Modi’s bid to ease land for companies could impact reforms | Reuters

A bid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make it easier for businesses to buy farm land for infrastructure and industry has sparked a backlash that could stymie his efforts to get reforms through a parliament session that began on Monday.

Labourers work along the construction site of a road at Ghilot in Rajasthan, October 1, 2014. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/Files

While the change is aimed at unlocking hundreds of billions of dollars worth of projects, which have been stuck for want of land, opposition parties and rights activists say it discriminates against farmers.

“We will protest and fight the government on this issue inside and outside parliament,” Ghulam Nabi Azad, a senior leader of the opposition Congress party, told the Indian Express.

Modi issued an ordinance in December to exempt projects in defence, rural electrification, rural housing and industrial corridors from provisions of a law enacted by the previous Congress party government that mandated the consent of 80 percent of affected landowners for any deal.

He had also ended the need for companies to conduct a social impact study of such projects, which would involve public hearings and, industry executives fear, drag on for years.

The ordinance is a temporary order and needs the approval of both houses of parliament to come into force. It will lapse if parliament does not ratify it this session.

via Modi’s bid to ease land for companies could impact reforms | Reuters.

Posted in Economics, India alert, Infrastructure, land reform, Politics, Reform | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Bharatiya Janata Party, Delhi, farm land, Ghulam Nabi Azad, India, Indian National Congress, Jammu and Kashmir, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Narendra Modi, parliament session, Peruvian Democratic Party, Rajya Sabha

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon

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Posts tagged ‘Narendra Modi’

Kashmir fight adds to hurdles for Modi’s reform push | Reuters

China says progress being made on India border talks | Reuters

PM Narendra Modi heads to Seychelles, Mauritius, Lanka; tour begins on March 10 – The Times of India

Modi to ramp up help for Indian Ocean nations to counter China influence | Reuters

Modi Eats 28-Rupee Lunch at the Parliament’s Canteen – India Real Time – WSJ

Mufti-Modi meeting clears decks for BJP-PDP government in J&K – The Hindu

India in sweet spot of lower deficits, more growth – Economic Survey | Reuters

Delhi’s AAP Provides More Free Water and Power to the People – India Real Time – WSJ

India to embark on rail investment splurge thanks to cheap oil | Reuters

Modi’s bid to ease land for companies could impact reforms | Reuters

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