Indian Foreign Affairs News & Discussions (non-US & Pakistan related

[SpArK]

Dabur India makes second overseas acquisition


The deal marks Dabur’s entry into the $1.5 billion ethnic hair care products market in the US, Europe and Africa
Bhavna Raghuvanshi


New Delhi: Dabur India has acquired US based Namaste Laboratories LLC and its three subsidiary companies for $100million in an all cash deal. The deal marks Dabur’s entry into the $1.5 billion ethnic hair care products market in the US, Europe and Africa. “This acquisition is in line with our strategy to build a global presence in the international FMCG market,” Dabur India Ltd. chairman Anand Burman said. The Namasté Group will be a gateway for Dabur to the US market and the acquisition will also add to Dabur’s strong presence in Africa, he added.

Dabur already has a oral and skin care business in Africa and with this entry into the continent, nearly 25% of its consolidated revenue is expected to be generated overseas, said Dabur India Ltd. Group Director PD Narang.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the 2010 calendar year and Gary Gardner, founder and CEO, Namasté will continue to run the business as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dermoviva Skin Essentials Inc – a subsidiary of Dabur India Ltd.

Founded in 1996 Chicago based Namasté Laboratories markets a portfolio of personal care products. The company is present in the US, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean region of North America with distribution platform across the US in mass, retail, beauty stores and salons.

Live Mint

 

[Abhishek_]

CAG may look into PPP books also, hints Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday stressed the need for ensuring transparency in public-private partnership (PPP) projects in infrastructure and hinted that the Comptroller and Auditor-General would soon be permitted to look into the books of such schemes.

In his address at a function to mark the 150 years of the CAG here, Dr. Singh said the official auditor “will play a leading role in ensuring that these new initiatives [PPP] deliver as intended…There is need to improve the structure of private-public partnership arrangements to ensure that they are transparent, ensure competitiveness, and adequately safeguard the public interest”.

The indication from the Prime Minister came in response to CAG Vinod Rai seeking permission to audit the books of PPP as, unlike earlier, huge amounts of public money were being spent on these projects. As of now, the CAG's role remains confined to auditing government institutions both at the Centre and in States and public sector enterprises

In her inaugural address, President Pratibha Patil asked the audit watchdog to gain expertise in reviewing infrastructure projects being executed in PPP mode, especially as public financial accountability and probity were essential for rooting out corruption.

The delay in implementation of infrastructure projects was a matter of concern, Ms. Patil said. “There are projects that have time overruns or remain incomplete or are abandoned halfway, which deprive the nation of the full benefits of investment. It is necessary to assess whether such projects are, indeed, in the public interest.”

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said: “...I would like the CAG to analyse the areas where there are leakages in government revenue and recommend corrective measures to increase not only tax but also non-tax receipts.”

The Hindu : News / National : CAG may look into PPP books also, hints Manmohan

I didn't know that the guy heading CAG is a Harvard Graduate and got appointed in 2008. That might be one reason why CAG is moving like a bat out of hell these past years. btw My father is an auditor in CAG, makes me hella proud

 

[unicorn]

India Hints at Major Policy Changes for Defence Industry

Indian Defence Industry is poised to witness major policy changes. Disclosing this at a function after presenting the Raksha Mantri's Awards for Excellence for the Year 2008-09 to Ordinance Factories (OFs) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), here today the Defence Minister Shri A.K. Antony said the first ever Defence Production Policy would be unveiled soon and major changes incorporated in the Defence Procurement Policy.

"2011 January onwards we hope to introduce the new Defence Production Policy as well as the Defence Procurement Policy. So now we are going to take some more drastic steps to achieve our goal of speedy indigenization," Shri Antony said.

"Our aim is to have a strong defence industrial base in India, because a country like India cannot indefinitely depend on foreign suppliers for majority of our equipments. At the moment 65-70 percent of the equipments are imported, we have to reverse this trend. So we will continue to support the PSUs, but at the same time PSUs alone will not be able to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces. So now we are formulating a new policy.

"Earlier we took a decision (that) hereafter no more nominations to the shipyards, nomination basis. Both public sector shipyards will have to compete with the Indian private shipyards to get projects for the Indian Navy. So all the Indian Navy's procurements in future will be from 'Buy Indian, Make Indian.' … so they will have to compete… So 'Buy Indian and Make Indian' is going to be the major component of our procurement policy. That will help us to have a strong defence industrial base in India," he added.

The Defence Minister said that there is plenty of space and opportunity for the public and the private sector to coexist and thrive. Assuring the DPSUs and OFs all out financial support for their modernization plans, Shri Antony said that they should be vigorously prepared to face competition from the Indian private sector from next year.
“There is no option, but to remain globally competitive and efficient and not rest on past laurels, or achievements,” Shri Antony said. “Both the Defence PSUs and the private sector must carve out respective niches for themselves, by developing their own fields of specialization. These specializations must complement each other’s efforts and thus generate an even more healthier and competitive environment,” he added.

The Defence Minister also stressed on the need for R&D and constant coordination between the DRDO and the Industry Partners. "A growing nation like India, a nation aspiring for the membership of the Security Council, a place on the high table of the nations still depending heavily on foreign countries for supply of defence equipments is not good for us," he added.
Commending the Ordnance Factories and DPSUs for the significant improvement in recent months, the Defence Minister said that it must lead to a further refining and development of technical skills and reliability," he said.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju stressed on the need for the DPSUs and OFs to remain cost competitive while delivering quality standards and maintaining consistency. "Timely delivery of the products is an area of concern which we are not able to meet for various reasons", Shri Pallam Raju said. "We should strive hard in ensuring adherence to delivery schedules so that our Defence PSUs and OFs will also emerge as reliable global players in the field of Defence Production", he added.
During the Financial Year 2009-10, the forty Ordnance Factories produced wide range of weapons and defence hardware amounting to `8,751 Crores while the total value of production by the nine DPSUs was ` 28,703 Crores.

source:defensetalk

 

[RPK]

India-Africa partnership to mark 21st century global economy



The prime minister of Kenya and the minister of commerce and industry of India agreed that their countries are embarking on a new era of South-South cooperation that promises to become a hallmark of the global economy.


Sharma expressed similar sentiments. “With our investments, we want to share our technology and development experience,” he said. The Indian minister added that cooperation can be especially fruitful given the similar demographic profiles. “We are a young country, the same as [countries in] Africa,” he noted.



Prominent business leaders serving as co-chairs for the Summit are: Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and Chief Executive Officer, Telenor Group, Norway; Ajit Gulabchand, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Construction Company, India; Ellen Kullman, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, DuPont, USA; Pawan Munjal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hero Group, India: Dennis Nally, Chairman, PwC International, PwC, USA.







“The India-Africa partnership is going to be a defining one in this century because of the resources, both natural and human,” said Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India.



Speaking along with Sharma on a panel entitled “The New South: Developing the Africa-India Partnership” at the World Economic Forum’s Indian Economic Summit, Raila Amolo Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, said that “we see Africa’s relationship with Brazil, India and China as strategic. They are important in the quest for socio-economic development of our continent.”



This New South stands in contrast both to the old South that emerged out of the Non-Aligned Movement of the mid-20th century and to the North-South relationship that has revolved primarily around development assistance, the prime minister noted. High on his list under this new approach are science and technology transfers and the creation of value-added products from Africa’s abundant raw materials.

 

[Abhishek_]

A programme that enriches lives of Indian students in U.S.

The United States and India this week reaffirmed and celebrated an important partnership in the field of education — the Nehru-Fulbright Educational Exchange Programme.

At an event hosted by the Indian embassy here, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said via a televised message that she was “delighted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Fulbright scholarship programme with India,” adding that it was a programme that had truly enriched and transformed the lives of students from India who had come to the U.S.

Noting that Fulbright student exchanges had led to lasting relationships developed during the course of the programme, Ms. Clinton said that there were more than 15,000 Fulbright alumni from India, notable among them being External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.

Speaking to The Hindu at the event Sashikala Sriram, a Fulbright Scholar and Principal of Bala Vidya Mandir school in Chennai, India, said that the programme had given her a rare opportunity to understand educational practices in the U.S. and she intended to take some of those insights back to her school when she graduated.

In particular Ms. Sriram said that after extensive visits to the U.S. schools across the country she had been impressed by the strong emphasis on reading as opposed to mere lecturing. She added that she was intrigued by the concept of “cooperative learning” and through her interactions with teachers and students here she had developed some ideas in this area that she would use in the Bala Vidya Mandir.

On the occasions the State Department also issued a statement recalling that during his recent trip to India, President Barack Obama had noted that education was one of the key pillars of the U.S.-India partnership and even as far back as 1950, the Fulbright Program “played an essential role in nurturing established ties and building new relationships by providing opportunities for discourse between the people of the U.S. and the people of India.”

More recently, in 2008 the U.S. and India signed an historic agreement making the two countries full partners in the governance and funding of the Fulbright Program, and in November 2009 President Obama and Prime Minister Singh announced a significant expansion of the Fulbright-Nehru scholarships under the U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, the State Department statement noted.

Speaking at the event India's Ambassador to the U.S., Meera Shankar, said that from being a U.S. funded programme, this Agreement had been converted into a scholarship programme implemented by the governments of both India and the U.S.as full partners. There had also been an increase in the total scholarship amount awarded annually to $ 4.6 million, a 100 per cent increase from the existing level, she added.

Touching upon the broader impact of the programme the Ambassador said, the Nehru-Fulbright Education Exchange Programme “which nurtured educational cooperation at a time when political ties were not so robust, has contributed to transforming the relationship between our two countries.”

The Hindu : Education : A programme that enriches lives of Indian students in U.S.

 

[RPK]

16th Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission meeting begins today

The 16th Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Joint Economic Commission meeting will begin here on Thursday during which the two nations will focus on expanding economic partnership.

Several new agreements are expected to be finalised in the meeting.

The Commission on trade economic, scientific technological and cultural cooperation will focus on expanding economic partnership between the two countries.

"Some more understandings are also expected to be reached before the summit level meeting between the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev next month," said Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs Ajay Bisaria.

"All the pacts and MOUs are expected to be signed during the Russian President's visit to India. The joint commission meeting will have a comprehensive review on all ongoing projects," he added.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will lead the Indian side in the talks, while Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov will lead the Russian side.

Basaria further said that a number of future projects would also be identified in the meeting, which includes food processing, construction and engineering services, financial services and tele medicine etc.

The Commission will also look at the ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in pharmaceuticals, energy, both conventional and civil nuclear, IT and Telecommunications besides advanced and applied sciences and high technology.

The Economic Commission, which is formally called the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, had last met on October 21 in Moscow.

The Commission, which guides the conduct of economic cooperation, was set up in May 1992, and the first session was held in Moscow in September 1994. (ANI)

 

[RPK]

The Hindu : News / International : Krishna to visit Sri Lanka

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is scheduled to make an official visit to Sri Lanka from November 25 to 27 for bilateral talks.

According to diplomatic sources, the focus of the would be rehabilitation of the nearly three lakh Tamil civilians displaced during the war between the LTTE and Sri Lankan forces and the need to move beyond resettlement and towards a political solution to the ethnic conflict.

India has been involved in a big way in resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced civilians and reconstruction in the war ravaged Northern Province.

Besides revival of the destroyed railway lines and roads, India is helping Colombo upgrade the KKS port and Palali airport in the Jaffna Peninsula.

Besides calling on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mr. Krishna will inaugurate the Indian consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota. They are in addition to the existing Consulate at Kandy to cater to the Indian-origin Tamils in the tea estates.

Ahead of the visit, a memorandum of understanding has been signed for a pilot project for construction of 1,000 houses for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Northern Sri Lanka.

The MoU is a follow up to a commitment made by India to construct 50,000 houses for IDP rehabilitation during Mr. Rajapaksa's visit to India in June.

 

[SpArK]

France, Russia looking towards India for nuclear collaboration​

France and Russia are among several other countries which are looking towards collaborating with India on nuclear power for global markets, principal scientific adviser to the government, R Chidambaram said today.

As a result of the Indo-US nuclear agreement, nuclear supplier guidelines have undergone few changes, following which many countries, including France and Russia, are talking about partnering with India, he said delivering a talk on 'Energy Technology, Energy Security and Climate Change' at the College of Defence Management (CDM) in Hyderabad.

"They (France and Russia) are not just looking at India as a temporary market but they are all looking for joining (partnership) with India and looking for global markets not only in nuclear power but other sectors," Chidambaram said.

"And that's what we should aim for... to reach for global markets as for as possible with our own efforts and later with international collaboration," he said.

After the Indo-US nuclear deal, projections on nuclear power have been raised and it (nuclear) is expected over 60,000mw by 2032 while till 2020 nuclear power was projected at 20,000mw, the former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre said.

"Export oriented IT service has created lot of wealth in the country, but if you want to think of India as a developed country you have to become a global leader in manufacturing," he emphasised.

Quoting a report issued by the Deloitte Global Manufacturing Industry group and the US Council on Competitiveness, Chidambaram said they have put India on the second rank after China in the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index for 2010.

"One of the reasons they attribute is the talent driven innovation in India being a factor for its emergence," Chidambaram said, adding, "The greatest resource in India is its human resource."

He said India is aiming for an electricity capacity of over a million megawatts by 2050 of which a large percentage should be nuclear.

"For India to become a developed economy, the per capita electricity consumption has to increase manifold and nuclear (energy) has to play an important role in this increase," he added.

Even Abu Dhabi is developing a nuclear plant as it does not want to depend on fossil fuel alone for (power production) and 30 other countries are also starting nuclear power projects, Chidambaram said.

"Closing the nuclear fuel cycle is essential if nuclear (energy) is to be a sustainable mitigating technology in the context of the climate change threat and this is in coherence with India's three-stage nuclear programme," he said.

Later, speaking to reporters, Chidambaram said work on the Kalpakkam 300mw advanced heavy water reactor would begin shortly and was likely to be completed in five years.

"Thorium is in the longer term (as fuel) for India and Kalpakkam is a technology demonstration project. This project will give us better understanding of physics of thorium-based reactors which holds the future for India's power generation capacity," he said.

Work on the country's first and biggest Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle (ICGCC) 180MW power plant will commence shortly at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh soon, he added.

France, Russia looking towards India for nuclear collaboration - India - DNA

 

[Water Car Engineer]

India's Bihar state begins to shed its 'badlands' image

While voters determine who will inhabit the 243-member provincial assembly, these issues - including the muscle and money power of the candidates - have been subordinated.

The main question now is how the state government can function more effectively and provide better governance.

It is such a change from the last time I visited Bihar five years ago, again in the thick of electioneering.

Then, Bihar began where the rule of law ended. The only industry which thrived in the badlands of the state was crime.

Kidnapping, carjacking and extortion were rampant, and Bihar's fertile soil had turned into killing fields with bloody caste wars erupting with destructive regularity.

With most criminal activity being traced back to the state's powerful elite, the morale of the bureaucracy, particularly the police, was low and not many dared to venture out after sunset - even in the capital city, Patna.

Words like governance and development had gone out of the local lexicon.

There were stretches of road between pot holes and it was rare to have a government school which had students, teachers and a building. Usually at least one of these three would be missing.

Enlightenment

Bihar was not always like that.

It once represented the best and the brightest of India, offering a rare mix of the sublime, the spiritual and the earthly.

It was here that Buddha was said to have attained enlightenment.

Nalanda university, now in ruins, was once the most sought-after seat of learning.

And the mighty empires which sprang up here in ancient times earned India the sobriquet of the Golden Bird.

Not everything good about Bihar was ancient.

Bihar was in the forefront of India's freedom struggle and Mahatma Gandhi launched some of his early campaigns against British colonial rule from the state.

It also led the way in opposing the imposition of a state of emergency by the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi which resulted in the first defeat of the Congress party in national elections in 1977.

On issues like social justice and affirmative action, Bihar has been a trailblazer in post-independent India.

Bihar began to slip about 20 years ago. Not long ago The Economist described it as a place which "everybody avoided visiting, and dreaded becoming".

'On the move'

According to Professor Arun Kumar Sinha of Patna University, Bihar's freefall has been halted over the last five years.

"The rule of law has been restored. People feel safe and the development which has taken place is for all to see."

Swaminathan Aiyar, one of India's best known commentators on economic affairs, concurs.

"Bihar is on the move," he says.

"It still has a lot of catching up to do with other more advanced states like Maharashtra and Gujarat - in attracting industry and investments - but Bihar is moving in the right direction."

In a record of sorts, Bihar has clocked a double-digit growth rate every year over the past five years.

Property prices all across urban Bihar have rocketed and pristine new shopping malls and highrise apartment blocks are springing up - not just in Patna but also in some of the tier-two towns of the state.

But the biggest game-changer is the condition of the roads.

They may not have become as smooth as the cheeks of a famous Bollywood queen of yesteryear - as former Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav famously promised.

But there is nevertheless a considerable improvement. Five years ago a 250km (155-mile) journey took 12 hours.

Now, a comparable journey - from Patna to Bhagalpur - took us less than seven hours.

is this story of change and development which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is trying to sell as he addresses more than half-a-dozen election meetings every day.

He talks about how he has succeeded in ensuring that more girls enrol in schools.

"I have given free bicycles to more than 400,000 girls as an incentive for going to school. I will more than double this number if elected again," he pledges.

As the crowds cheer him on, he adds: "Bring me back and there will be a bicycle for every boy as well."

He then talks about the need to produce more power in Bihar if the state wants to attract more industry.

It is a measure of Nitish Kumar's success that his political opponents are being forced to speak the language of development in their election meetings.

So his principal adversary, Laloo Prasad Yadav, talks about the train coach factory he sanctioned during his tenure as the federal railways minister, which has given jobs to 50,000 people.

Even Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party's star campaigner, has been forced to challenge the Nitish Kumar development story in public meetings.

"If Bihar is indeed doing so well why would millions be going out of the state looking for work?"

The opposition has a point.

Nobody can argue that Bihar has fully turned the corner despite the improvements.

But what is heartening is that all those competing for public office are now debating governance, development and bread-and-butter issues rather than focusing on emotive sloganeering and caste considerations.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11759959

 

[Abhishek_]

FTA with Canada will help boost bilateral t

rade
CUSTOMARY VISIT: Canada International Trade Minister, Peter Van Loan strikes the gong as Madhu Kannan, MD and CEO, BSE looks on, at the BSE in Mumbai on Thursday.

The Free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Canada will help push bilateral trade to $15 billion in five years, a Canadian Minister said here on Thursday.

Bilateral trade was close to $4.2 billion last year, said Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan.

“Both governments have set a target of increasing the mutual bilateral merchandise trade to $15 billion in the next five years. A free trade agreement will help us get there,” Mr. Van Loan told reporters during his visit to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

He said Canadian businesses and investors had long called for closer ties to the “Indian market place, which is one of the most exciting anywhere in the world.''

On November 16, Van Loan opened formal talks with Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on a strategic economic partnership between the two countries.

Announcing the Comprehensive Economic and Cooperation Agreement (CECA) , Mr. Sharma had said that as per a joint study group report, both countries would benefit from the CECA and the gains for Indian and Canada would be of the order of 39 to 62 per cent.

On the areas of business opportunities, Mr. Van Loan said, “Free trade between our countries would benefit many sectors, including infrastructure, high technology, aerospace and financial services. It will also benefit our workers, our businesses and our societies.”

 

[Water Car Engineer]

India, Malaysia to step up military ties

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 27 (IANS) India and Malaysia Wednesday agreed to step up military exchanges and also cooperate in counter-terrorism measures.

A joint statement on India-Malaysia Strategic Partnership released during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit that began here Tuesday also underlined the need to expand and deepen relations with a bilateral strategic partnership.


'Both sides agreed to enhance defence exchanges and cooperation through regular exchanges between the defence ministers, senior defence officials, chiefs of the armed services and regular service-to-service staff talks and regular ships visits,' the statement said.


They 'agreed to explore the possibilities of joint collaboration on projects of mutual interest in the defence sector on the basis of experience gained by both sides during the successful completion of the SU 30 MKM training programme, including in the areas of industry collaboration and partnership'.


Malaysia said it 'looks forward to participation from the Indian defence industry at the soon to be established Malaysian Defence and Security Park. Both sides also agreed to support each other's defence exhibitions'.


Manmohan Singh and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Tun Razak condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and agreed to enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, including through information sharing and with a bilateral Joint Working Group to be set up at an early date.


The statement came on the penultimate day of Manmohan Singh's visit to Malaysia that began Tuesday. The Indian leader flew into Kuala Lumpur from Tokyo and will fly next to Vietnam to take part in the India-ASEAN and East Asia summits.

India, Malaysia to step up military ties

 

[Water Car Engineer]

India, Russia discuss trade, firm up Medvedev visit agenda


New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Ahead of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to India next month, India and Russia Thursday held wide-ranging talks aimed at expanding bilateral trade and firming up pacts that are expected to be signed during the presidential trip.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov held delegation-level talks at the 16th Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Joint Economic Commission (IRIGC) meeting here.


The two sides discussed ways and means of boosting bilateral trade from $7.4 billion to $20 billion by 2015 and focused on removing visa and travel barriers to ease trade and investment between the two countries, said official sources.


The meeting focused on expanding bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including pharmaceuticals, energy, both conventional and civil nuclear, IT and telecommunications, advanced and applied sciences, hydrocarbons and hi-technology.


The meeting between Krishna and Ivanov, seen by some as a successor to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, also firmed up the agenda for the annual summit-level meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Medvedev next month. Medvedev is expected to come to India around Dec 20.

India, Russia discuss trade, firm up Medvedev visit agenda

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Centre sets up panel on financing infrastructure

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that India needed $1 trillion for developing the country's infrastructure, the Centre on Thursday announced setting up of a high-level committee on financing of infrastructure.

The committee, to be headed by former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan, will submit its report within 18 months, according to an official statement issued here. The committee would suggest steps for improving capital markets for garnering long-term savings and facilitating foreign investment flow.

Dr. Singh, during the recent visit of U.S. President Barak Obama, had sought huge investment by U.S. companies in infrastructure in India and has been pitching for the same during his recent tours abroad.

The panel will assess the investments required to be made by the Central and State governments, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and the private sector in ten major physical infrastructure sector projects. India is aiming to double its investment in infrastructure to about $1 trillion during the XII Plan (2012-17) from an estimated $500 billion in the current Plan. The XII Plan envisages investment of around Rs.41 lakh crore for the infrastructure sector. It is expected that half of the investment target would come from the private sector and the balance from PSUs.

The panel will also identify the regulatory or legal impediments constraining private investment in infrastructure and make specific recommendations to facilitate their removal.

The high-level panel will include secretaries of the Department of Economic Affairs and the Department of Financial Services, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Chairman and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Chairperson.

Besides, the panel will include the RBI Deputy Governor and chief executives of State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation, Power Finance Corporation, ICICI Bank and Infrastructure Development Finance Company.

Other members would include Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank, GMR Group Chairman G. M. Rao, GVK Group Managing Director Sanjay Reddy and Goldman Sachs Country Head Madhav Dhar. Railway Board Chairman, Secretary to Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance and secretaries in the ministries of power, road transport and highways, urban development, petroleum and natural gas, telecommunications, water resources will be special invitees to the committee.

The convener of the panel will be Gajendra Haldea, Adviser to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman.

The Hindu : Business / Economy : Centre sets up panel on financing infrastructure

 

[RPK]

Ansari favours `Look West` policy focusing on Gulf region


New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Saturday said India should 'Look West' focusing on the Gulf countries as such a policy will help it in safeguarding and promoting its interests there.

"A Look West policy towards this part of West Asia... would be as relevant for safeguarding and promoting India's interests as its Look East policy that has been in place for some years," he said.

The Vice President was speaking at a seminar on 'India and GCC countries, Iran and Iraq: Emerging Security Perspectives' organised by Indian Council of World Affairs. The GCC consists of six countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Ansari said it was in Indian interest to have friendly governments, peace and stability, access to oil and gas resources, freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf and Straits of Hormuz and market access for Indian trade, investments and workforce in the Gulf region.


Pointing out that the region was within the operational radius of the Indian Navy, the Vice President said, "The latter's participation in the anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea is a case in point. If needed, it can escort shipping and interdict forces hostile to it."

Noting that though India is comfortable with the present situation the Gulf region, Iran and Iraq, he said, "an unstable status quo also looms over the horizon. Misgivings about intentions motivate it; divergence of perceptions and policy about extra-regional politico-military presence adds to it; so does what had been called 'an undeclared arms race'."


The Vice President said there was a requirement to seek arrangements to cater to the threat perceptions and essential interests of all regional and extra-regional stakeholders for stabilising the regional situation in long-term.

Citing the example of regional groups in the Southeast Asian region, Ansari said the countries such as India, China and Japan should also be included Gulf regional cooperation and other community-building exercises there.

"It should include all other principal beneficiaries of energy supplies and open sea-lanes," he added.

Pointing out that an integrated Persian Gulf littoral would offer more opportunities for socio-economic advancement, the Vice President said, "it will the foundation for eroding political rivalries and harsh nationalist impulses and for bringing about regional stability and peace."

Advocating an "outward looking, flexible and dynamic" Gulf regionalism, Ansari said this would help these countries to benefit from enhanced economic integration and face common threats of terrorism, proliferation of WMDs, securing energy exports and security of sea-lanes.

 

[SpArK]

Russia offers India joint ventures for uranium mining​

Russia has offered joint ventures in exploration and exploitation of uranium mining within its territory and third countries, as part of moves to ease shortage of fuel for India's nuclear power plants.

"We have offered the Indians participation in the uranium mining projects in the Russian Federation and thirds countries.

The controlling stake in the joint projects must remain with Rosatom and the partners could get up to 49% share in the projects inside Russia," state corporation Rosatom spokesperson Sergei Novikov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

He said the talks on the joint projects were held by Rosatom chief executive Sergei Kiriyenko in New Delhi with the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.(UCIL) during the 16th session of Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission last week.

Rosatom spokesman said that in Elkon project in Russia's South Yakutia, the Indian stake would be less than 49% as there were already some foreign stakeholders.

He, however, did not identify them.

During Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's India visit in March earlier this year, Kiriyenko had offered UCIL stake in Elkon project and setting up nuclear fuel JVs in Russia and India.


Russia offers India joint ventures for uranium mining - India - DNA