Posts tagged ‘prime minister manmohan singh’

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04/01/2014

Gandhi Rises in India Ruling Party as Singh Says He’ll Step Down – Businessweek

Rahul Gandhi is poised to lead India if the ruling Congress party wins the next election after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signaled his support for the next member of the country’s famed political dynasty.

India's Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi

Singh, who yesterday announced he would step down after a general election that must be held before May, said Gandhi has “outstanding credentials” to run the world’s largest democracy. His immediate task is reviving a party that has seen its popularity fall under Singh on corruption scandals, Asia’s fastest inflation and an economy struggling to expand.

“If they had gone into the election with Singh as the prime minister, the party would have been dead on arrival,” said Brahma Chellaney, a professor at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi who worked on an economic task force led by Singh. “Removing the dead wood was essential if there’s any hope of winning some degree of credibility with the voters.”

via Gandhi Rises in India Ruling Party as Singh Says He’ll Step Down – Businessweek.

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31/12/2013

India: year in review – 2013: Highs & lows

From: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-the-year-in-review-2013-highs-and-lows-1940804

Thursday, Dec 26, 2013, 13:05 IST | Agency: Zee News

A: Business and Economy

Highs

Enduring value: Rupee depreciation and revival in the US economy pitch-forked TCS to be the country’s most valued firm. Currently, the market capitalization of TCS is nearly Rs 4.13 lakh crore followed by Reliance Industries (Rs 2.89 lakh crore), and ITC (Rs 2.53 lakh crore) (as of December 24)

Rs 1 lakh crore quarterly club: While announcing the second quarter results of fiscal 2013-14 (Q2FY14), Reliance Industries became the first private sector company in India to achieve revenues of Rs 1, 06,523 crore in a quarter.

Sensex high on politics: Stock soar a new high on assembly poll verdict: Sensex touched the life-time high level of 21,483.74 in the intra-day trading on December 9, 2013. …
NRN returns: The Board of Infosys approved appointing Narayana Murthy as executive chairman of the board and additional director with effect from June 1, 2013. …
Breaking the glass ceiling: For the first time, 2013 witnessed a woman head at SBI. On October 8 the government cleared the elevation of Arundhati Bhattacharya as the chairperson of the largest public sector bank State Bank of India. …

Lows 

Free-fall: Rupee touched all-time low of 68.85 against US dollar on August 28. The major reasons behind the sharp depreciation of rupee were: wide current account deficit and slowing growth.

Murthy yet again: On May 21, the board of California based IT outsourcing company iGate Corp announced the sacking of its President and CEO Phaneesh Murthy over alleged sexual harassment claims. Moreover, it was not for the first time that he had been allegedly charged with sexual harassment claims.

Negative for India: According to the ‘Doing Business 2014’ report, India has occupied the 134 position out of the 189 economies surveyed. India’s overall rank in Ease of Doing Business has dropped from 131st position to 134th position.

Biggies say no: In July 2013, South Korean mining giant Posco cancelled plans to construct a steel plant in Karnataka. Similarly, after waiting for seven years, ArcelorMittal scrapped plans for a steel mill in Orissa. Both companies cited similar reasons for pulling out: Weak market conditions and problems in securing land and mining licences in the country.

B: Safety and Security

Highs 

Death penalty for rape: On September 13, 2013, after a nine-month-long trial, fast track court handed down death penalty to all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. …

New anti-rape law: On April 3, 2013, President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Anti-rape Bill which provides for life term and even death sentence for rape convicts besides stringent punishment for offences like acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism.

Sexual Harassment Act is a reality: The Sexual Harassment at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and Rules, 2013 finally got notified by the ministry of women and child development and came into force from December 9, 2013.

Banking on women: On November 19, 2013, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the country’s first all-women bank, Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB). …

Food for all: The National Food Security Bill, 2013 received the assent of the President and came into force from 10th September 2013. The scheme is targeted to alleviate the poverty by offering free food to the poor and needy.

Lows

Life flooded: In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 Tsunami.  According to figures provided by the Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were “presumed dead.”

(In)Secure India: India was ranked pretty low in terms of social security when compared to its Asian neighbours. Asian Development Bank’s 2013 report pegged India’s social protection index (SPI), a ratio of total expenditure on social protection to the total number of intended beneficiaries, at just 0.051, way below the Asian benchmark score of 0.2 and lower than even that of Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives.

Hopes dashed: Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh died in a Lahore hospital on May 1, 2013 after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security Pakistani jail. …


Demons at work: Nation was shocked with two back to back cases on alleged sexual harassment of women. Justice Ganguly and Ex Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal faced alleged sexual harassment charges from their colleagues. Tejpal is in judicial custody while Ganguly continues to be in chair as head of Human Rights Commission, West Bengal.

Picture imperfect: On August 22, 2013, five men allegedly raped a 22-year photojournalist inside the deserted Shakti Mills compound in central Mumbai while she was on assignment with a colleague. The girl survived and vows to live her life in dignity.

C: Politics

Highs

Jhadoo sweep: The Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made a stunning debut during Delhi polls as they won 28 out of a total of 70 assembly seats. Kejriwal himself defeated Sheila Dikshit, former chief minister of Delhi by a whopping 22000 votes from New Delhi constituency. He will be amongst the youngest chief ministers in India.

Lokpal is here: In a rare bonhomie between the two major national parties – BJP and Congress made Lokpal a reality after 46 years of wait. Despite a few digs at one another, both parties converged to push the Lokpal Bill through Parliament.

Beware and behave: In a big leap towards cleaning up Indian politics, the Supreme Court ruled that MPs and MLAs would be immediately disqualified if they are convicted in a criminal case by a trial court. The court struck down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which protects convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification if they appeal before a higher court within three months.

GenX power: In recently held state elections a high voter turnout was recorded. While, Chhattisgarh recorded a polling percentage of over 75, Madhya Pradesh of over 71 and Mizoram about 82 per cent. Rajasthan 75 per cent and Delhi witnessed over 66 per cent in the polls. The chief election commissioner V.S. Sampath believed a significant enrolment of young voters in the electoral rolls has resulted in the unusually high voter turnout in the state polls.

Yes to (NOT)A: The newly introduced NOTA (None of the above) made a notable impact in recently held state assembly elections. More than 15 lakh people exercised the option in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Lows 

Love for fodder is bad: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) founder was convicted in a 17-year-old multi-crore fodder scam for allegedly swindling more than Rs 37 crore. He was sentenced to five years in jail by a special CBI court which slapped a fine of Rs 26 lakh on the former Lok Sabha MP. He is currently out on bail.

Forgettable year for Congress: In 2013, the Congress has lost in six out of total nine states went for polls. Interestingly, barring Karnataka, Meghalaya and Mizoram Congress couldn’t increase its tally of MLAs in any state.

Short lived tenure: In a major setback to the UPA government, two senior cabinet ministers Pawan Kumar Bansal (former rail minister) and Ashwani Kumar (former law minister) quit their positions. Bansal stepped down after police arrested his nephew on suspicion of accepting a bribe in a case. Kumar’s departure came days after the Supreme Court said the government substantially changed a report by the CBI into alleged irregularities in the awarding of mining rights potentially worth billions of dollars to private companies.

Women, not the first choice: Of all the assembly polls held during the last five years, as many as 22 states registered less than 10 per cent participation of women candidates in these elections. Worse, three states also observed less than five per cent women participation during assembly elections. It includes all five states went for elections recently.

New low for democracy: Delhi assembly poll has thrown more than one surprise verdict. Apart from denying anyone absolute majority, the poll threw up a whopping 75 per cent (610 out of 808) candidates who lost their deposit with the Election Commission of India (ECI).

D: Entertainment

Highs 

Low is high: Many low budget movies like Aashiqui 2, Madras Café, Kai Po Che did very well at the box office. This signaled a new positive trend for Bollywood.

Queen Padukone: All three releases of (Ye Jawani Hain Deewani, Chennai Express and Goliyon ki Raasleela, Ram Leela) of Deepika Padukone were super hits. …
Kolaveri Di in Bollywood: Dhanush’s Bollywood debut not just proved to be a hit at the box office but the performances of the actor was also appreciated. Within two weeks of its release, ‘Raanjhanaa‘ had been able to collect Rs 52 crore at the box office.

Young entry in 100 crore club: Ranveer Singh (28) and Anushka Sharma (25) became the youngest lead actors in the 100 crore club. Ranveer

BMB is 100-crore sprint: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was the first film without a bankable superstar’ to net 100 crore. …

Lows 

Too young to die: Bollywood actress, Jia Khan committed suicide on the night of June 3, 2013. Was it suicide due to a love story having turned sour or a murder? Courts have to decide yet.

An era ends: On July 12, Bollywood’s villain and popularly known as ‘Pran Sahab’ passed away after a prolonged illness. A man who lived an innocent life outside was feared as a villain as much adored for his supporting role as an actor.

‘Himmat..’ doesn’t’ pay: Sajid Khan’s remake of 1981 film ‘Himmatwala‘ turned out to be the biggest debacle of 2013. After giving hits like ‘Housefull‘, Sajid Khan was quite sure that ‘Himmatwala‘ would do wonders at the box office but it failed miserably.

Couple, that isn’t: Hrtithik Roshan and Sussane Roshan parted ways. They got separated after 13 years of marriage and 17 years of relationship. …
Oh, Ghosh! :Bengali cinema actor, director and producer ‘Rituparno Ghosh’ died on May 30, 2013. His work brought him nation-wide fame.

E: Sports 

Highs

Tail-ender has a new tale: In the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in 2013 against England, Ashton Agar from Australia struck an astonishing 98- the highest Test score ever by a No. 11. In the same match he also made a record of becoming the first teenaged Australian spinner to take a Test wicket.

Openers delight: In October 2013, Team India created a record of scoring 362 for the first wicket against Australia in an ODI match at Jaipur.

Swan song: Sachin Tendulkar broke the jinx in his final encounter as unlike many cricketing greats around the world, he ended his career with a win in his final match. In recent time, after Saurav Ganguly, Tendulkar has become the only Indian to do so.

Bharat Ratna Sachin: Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the first sportsperson and youngest to be chosen for Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.

Back to winning: In September 2013, Leander Paes won his eighth men’s doubles Grand Slam title, and 14th overall, as he combined with Radek Stepanek to clinch US Open trophy with a dominating victory over Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the title clash, in New York.

Lows

50:50 low: This year, a total of four ODI matches, ended without any result, which is the highest number of matches in the 50 over cricketing history so far.

Unhappy Anand: Five-time title-holder Viswanathan Anand’s reign as the world champion came to a heart-breaking end with Norway’s Magnus Carlsen took the crown after a hard-fought draw in the 10th game of the World Chess Championship match in Chennai this year.

Bowled Out: Fast bowler Sreesanth was found guilty of spot-fixing during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season Six tournament. The probe was conducted by an internal by the BCCI. He has been banned for life on September, 13 2013.

King arrest; In May 2013, Gurunath Meiyappan, a top official of the Chennai Super Kings franchise and son-in-law of the BCCI president N Srinivasan, was arrested by Mumbai Police on the charges of cheating, forgery and fraud. Along Meiyappan, Bollywood actor Vindoo Dara Singh was also arrested.  He has now been released on bail.

Down & out: In December, 2012 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) at its Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, apparently for ignoring its warning against holding its elections under the National Sports Code. The IOC objected to tainted officials standing for elections and asked the Indian federation to amend its constitution to prevent them from contesting.

See also: https://chindia-alert.org/2013/12/29/xinhua-unveils-top-10-domestic-events-of-2013/

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06/12/2013

Narendra Modi, a challenge to Cong: Manmohan – The Hindu

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday acknowledged that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi did pose a challenge to the Congress and declared that “there is no room for complacency”.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addresses the media persons at the Parliament, in New Delhi. File photo

Taking questions from the audience during the Hindustan Time Leadership Summit here, Dr. Singh while responding to a query on which Mr. Modi was indeed a challenge that Congress party should take very seriously said: “As an organised political party we can not underestimate the power of opposition to unsettle the ship of the State. Therefore I am one of those who take very seriously our opposition, there is no room for complacency.”

The Congress, he said, “is going into the elections with a spirit of self confidence and that should not be mistaken whatever the may be the outcome of the Assembly elections.”

via Narendra Modi, a challenge to Cong: Manmohan – The Hindu.

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09/11/2013

India, Kuwait to take relationship beyond buyer-seller partnership – The Hindu

India and Kuwait on Friday held talks in the areas of investment, trade, and security, and of joint ventures in the energy sector, to take their relationship beyond the present buyer-seller partnership.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomes his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al- Sabah, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Five pacts signed

As Kuwait holds over $350 billionin surplus funds and accounts for 10 per cent of India’s oil imports, talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah centred around these two aspects. As many as five pacts were signed in the presence of the two leaders.

Strategic partnership

In his statement, Dr. Singh said the two leaders discussed the development of a more strategic partnership in the energy sector through long-term supply contracts and the establishment of upstream and downstream joint ventures in the petroleum and petrochemical sectors.

An indication of the importance attached by India to these areas came from separate talks between the Kuwaiti leadership and Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, besides a luncheon meeting with leading industrialists.

India has proposed several specific projects for investments by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.

Dr. Singh noted that Sheikh Jaber’s response was encouraging.

“I am hopeful that we can translate some of these proposals into concrete symbols of cooperation very soon,” he said.

A delegation of the Kuwait Investment Authority is expected visit India to explore opportunities for investing in the country as part of the $350 billion fund which is growing by $25 billion annually.

India expressed interest in a $100 billion Kuwaiti infrastructure renewal programme.

Security cooperation

The two leaders also discussed security cooperation and agreed to strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism through institutionalised dialogue and training.

Joint Secretary (Gulf) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mridul Kumar said, “We thought we will move our relationship from a buyer-seller relationship to a more strategic relationship. Now let us not only buy oil, but look at joint ventures in petrochemical complexes, fertilizers and working together in third countries.”

via India, Kuwait to take relationship beyond buyer-seller partnership – The Hindu.

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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.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi addresses a press conference as party general secretary Ajay Maken looks on, in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

“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.”

via Post Rahul wrap, Congress takes a U-turn – The Hindu.

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22/09/2013

US immigration bill to hurt Indian IT, ITES firms’ interests

Times of India: “As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepares to leave for his bilateral meeting with US President Barack Obama, New Delhi has reiterated that the proposed immigration Bill being discussed in the US Congress will hurt Indian information technology (IT) companies by adversely impacting visas for highly skilled non-immigrant workers.

Foreign secretary Sujatha Singh said Indian IT companies have a certain business model and that the procedures that are being discussed in the US Congress would make it difficult this business model to be continued successfully.

“So, what we are trying to do basically is to flag our concerns in the manner in which this is going to impact on our highly-skilled non-immigrant workers. We are trying to flag the fact that some aspects of the proposed immigration reform would adversely impact visas for highly-skilled non-immigrant workers,” said Singh, briefing reporters about the visit.

In July, the US Senate had passed an Immigration Bill that changed rules governing H-1B and L-1 employment visas intended for high-skilled workers. The Bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives.

If passed in the current form, the Bill will make it mandatory for firms with temporary foreign employees to pay a sharp supplemental fee for each such non-US national. It may also prevent any firm from hiring people on H1-B visas if 50% of its employees are not Americans.”

via US immigration bill to hurt Indian IT, ITES firms’ interests – The Times of India.

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04/09/2013

Manmohan seeks break with developed world’s policies

The Hindu: “Prime Minister refers to an orderly exit from unconventional monetary policies in the backdrop of splits between emerging markets and the U.S. and the slowing growth of India.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an “orderly exit” from unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world to avoid damaging growth prospects of the developing world. File photo

Amid imminent phasing out of the fiscal stimulus by U.S. Federal Reserve, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday called for an “orderly exit” from unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world for the last few years to avoid damaging growth prospects of the developing world.

In a statement before leaving for the 8th G20 Summit in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, he also underscored the importance of the grouping of industrialised and major developing economies to promotes policy coordination among major economies in a manner that provides for a broad based and sustained global economic recovery and growth.

The Prime Minister made a reference to an orderly exit from unconventional monetary policies in the backdrop of splits between emerging markets and the U.S. over its winding down of stimulus and the slowing growth of India and other four BRICS countries.

Dr. Singh said though there are encouraging signs of growth in industrialised countries, there is also a slowdown in emerging economies which are facing the adverse impact of significant capital outflow.

“I will emphasise in St. Petersburg the need for an orderly exit from the unconventional monetary policies being pursued by the developed world for the last few years so as to avoid damaging the growth prospects of the developing world,” he said.

Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa — grouped in the BRICS bloc seen as an alternative economic powerhouse — all go into the meeting experiencing slowing growth, embattled currencies and huge capital outflows.

The Indian rupee has lost one-fifth of its value against the US dollar this year following major capital outflows triggered mainly due to the moves by the Fed Reserve.

India is also suffering a decade-low growth and GDP rose just 4.4 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal, the weakest performance since 2009.

Dr. Singh said he will once again emphasise at the Summit that the G20 should ensure primacy of the development dimension in his deliberation, focus on job creation, promote investment in infrastructure as the means of stimulating global growth and create potential in developing countries to sustain higher growth in the medium term.”

via Manmohan seeks break with developed world’s policies – The Hindu.

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26/08/2013

Sonia says food bill is ‘big message’, Mulayam calls it poll gimmick

Times of India: “Declaring Congress’s goal to “wipe out hunger and malnutrition”, Sonia Gandhi asked all political parties on Monday to set aside differences and support the Food Security Bill so that a “big message” could be sent out about India’s capabilities.

English: Sonia Gandhi, Indian politician, pres...

English: Sonia Gandhi, Indian politician, president of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Français : Sonia Gandhi, une femme politique indienne, présidente du parti du congrès indien, et veuve de Rajiv Gandhi, ancien premier ministre de l’Inde. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Opening the Congress innings on the debate in Lok Sabha on food bill, she rejected questions over whether the country had resources to implement the landmark measure.

“It is time to send out a big message that India can take responsibility of ensuring food security for all Indians … our goal is to wipe out hunger and malnutrition all over the country,” Gandhi said about her pet agenda.

Making a strong pitch for smooth passage of the landmark legislation, the UPA chairperson said the measure is a historic opportunity to provide food security to tens of millions of people in the country which will end the problem of hunger once for all.

She sought to dismiss questions over whether the ambitious scheme could be implemented. “The question is not whether we have enough resources or not and whether it would benefit the farmers or not. We have to arrange resources for it. We have to do it,” she said in the House where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was present.

Gandhi said farmers and agriculture have always remained priority of the UPA.

Agreeing that reforming public distribution system (PDS) was a must for the food law, Gandhi noted that there was basic need to remove the leakages to ensure that benefits of the food bill reached the intended beneficiary.

Gandhi said the Congress had made a commitment to the nation in the 2009 election manifesto to bring forward such a legislation. It is one in a series of various rights promised and provided by UPA like Right to Information Act, Right to Education Act, Right to Work Act and Right to Forest Produce Act.

Poll gimmick

Contending that the Food Security Bill was being brought with an eye on elections, UPA’s outside supporter Samajwadi Party on Monday demanded that the measure be kept in abeyance till chief ministers are consulted as it would put additional burden on states.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav raised a number of questions over the bill in Lok Sabha and said it would badly hurt farmers as there was no guarantee in the provisions that all the produce would be bought by the government.

“It is clearly being brought for elections … Why didn’t you bring this bill earlier when poor people were dying because of hunger? Every election, you bring up a measure. There is nothing for the poor,” he said participating in the debate on the bill.”

via Sonia says food bill is ‘big message’, Mulayam calls it poll gimmick – The Times of India.

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19/07/2013

Strike Force Would Allow ‘War on Two Fronts’

WSJ: “The Indian government this week reportedly paved the way for the creation of a new military corps of 50,000 troops near its border with China. If correct, analysts say this is a sign that New Delhi, which has been largely focused on its frontier with Pakistan, is now shifting its attention to the long, disputed Sino-Indian boundary.

Government sources were quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying a new mountain strike corps costing nearly $11 billion over seven years, was approved by India’s cabinet committee on security Wednesday. The committee is headed by India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The force will be headquartered at Panagarh, in the eastern state of West Bengal, the news agency reported. Attempts to confirm these reports with India’s ministries of defense and external affairs were not successful.

The creation of a strike corps would give India thousands of war-ready soldiers, trained and equipped to respond rapidly to a military threat, stationed close to the border between India and China, known as the Line of Actual Control.

Analysts say it would take five to seven years for such a force to be formed fully, as large numbers of soldiers would need to be recruited and trained for combat at high altitudes and in mountainous terrains.

“The process will be incremental,” said Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor in Chinese studies at the New-Delhi based Jawaharlal Nehru University. “There won’t be large-scale training, because there is no immediate threat.”

For decades, relations between India and China have been characterized by mistrust. The tensions boiled over into a war between the two in 1962, which China won by gaining control over a large swathe of Indian territory known as Aksai China.

Beijing is still in control of the 38,000 square kilometers of land, but Indian maps show Aksai Chin as a part of Jammu and Kashmir, it’s northernmost state. China also claims 90,000 square kilometers of land in Arunachal Pradesh, a state in India’s northeast.

Neither nation has shown any inclination to return to armed conflict since, but India’s decision to create a strike corps – which analysts say has been in the offing for over two years – reflects New Delhi’s growing concern that Beijing is becoming increasingly assertive in its territorial claims.

via Strike Force Would Allow ‘War on Two Fronts’ – India Real Time – WSJ.

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01/06/2013

India’s economic growth at slowest rate in a decade

BBC: “India‘s economy grew at its slowest pace in a decade during the 2012-13 financial year, figures show.

An factory worker welds at an air conditioner manufacturing facility near Ahmedabad

The economy grew by 5% over the year, after having grown at an annual pace of 4.8% in the January-to-March quarter.

India was recording annual growth of 9% until two years ago, but in recent months it has seen a sharp decline blamed on a slowdown in its manufacturing and services sectors.

Foreign investors have also kept away due to delays in key reforms.

One factor is India’s weakening job market.

“Companies now want a perfect candidate. Because of the global recession they are cutting down the job opportunities.”

Falling orders and fewer jobs

According to the latest figures released by the ministry of statistics, India’s manufacturing sector grew at an annual pace of 2.6% during the latest quarter while farm output rose by just 1.4%.

The figures are in line with official estimates. In February, India lowered its growth forecast to 5% for the year, underlining the challenges it faced in reviving the sluggish economy.

Last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the current downturn was “temporary” and he was confident the country’s economy would bounce back to an “8% growth rate”.

However, the mood has remained pessimistic in the business community with industry leaders worried over high rates of inflation.

The slowing economy has also meant that Indian companies are putting less profit back into their businesses.

Annual capital investment growth slowed to 3.5% in the first three months of 2013, down from 4.5% year-on-year in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, complex business regulations are often blamed for driving foreign companies away.

Foreign direct investment into India has fallen, while the amount of corporate money leaving the country is on the rise.

“The government needs to go all-out to turn around investment sentiment,” said Yes Bank chief economist Shubhada Rao.

via BBC News – India’s economic growth at slowest rate in a decade.

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