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Archives for July 2018

Bangladeshi currency seized in Bengal

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The Border Security Force on Thursday seized Bangladeshi currency totaling 8.02 lakh Taka, or Rs 6.55 lakh in Indian currency, in West Bengal’s Nadia district, a senior BSF official said.

The suspect, however, fled the spot, he said.

Acting on a tip-off, BSF troopers kept a vigil near the India-Bangladesh border in Mankhola and seized the packet containing the Bangladeshi currency thrown by the fleeing smuggler.

As many as 377 artificial earrings were also seized, a BSF release said.

The seized currency was handed over to the Customs Department at Nadia district’s Tehatta.

BSF’s south Bengal frontier has seized foreign currency totaling Rs 53.21 lakh and arrested four Indian smugglers in 2018 so far.

Possibility of losing to US on exports subsidies issue: Official

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India faces the possibility of losing in the trade disputes with the US on its challenge to export subsidies, but the government is working on schemes to make them WTO compliant, an official said here on Thursday.

“We have a whole lot of challenges in World Trade Organization (WTO)… we respond strongly (but) there is a real possibility that we will lose this dispute because India has crossed the income threshold to be able to give direct export linked subsidies,” Union Commerce and Industry Secretary Rita Teaotia said while responding to a query on the US challenging India’s export subsidies in the WTO.

“What we are now trying to do is WTO compliant,” she said at an event organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

Teaotia said that anything which entails a refund of the statutory levy is legitimate for the purpose of exports in trade rules while incentive given only for exports is not legitimate.

“Right now, we have an expert group studying to see what the WTO compliant supports are and what the global practices are in a transparent way. This exercise is almost complete. In fact, we are having the first round of presentation next week.

“Hopefully, we would have a draft set of schemes for the discussion in a month or so,” she said.

The Centre is looking to support for regulatory compliance, Teaotia said.

Incentives on service exports, duty free import of inputs, refund on statutory levies are legitimate for the purpose of exports, she said, adding that refund of uncovered taxes under GST regime are some of the supports that will likely to continue under the revised schemes.

She also said that the government was looking to at an integrated multimodal logistics legislation which covers all stakeholders.

Flagging off the issues related to tea blending, she said some factories or aggregators mix teas in such a way that purity of crop tends to fail and due to this, market share falls in the international markets.

Teaotia also pointed out the auction platforms of tea in India “has not had kind of acceptability that it should have had” and it is the reason for which, 100 per cent tea does not come to auction.

She said Tea Board’s new Vice Chairman has one of the first responsibilities to look at the acceptability of auctions platforms and how these platforms can be revamped in such that everybody buys into it.

She requested the industry to find out ways to make platforms better because the platforms are for the industry to serve its purpose.

“This was the discussion that we had this morning. There will be interactions next week with the groups of the industry to find out what people want to see on the platforms,” Teaotia added.

CBI charge sheet in Mallya case will name ex-Minister: BJP lawmaker

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BJP’s Nishikant Dubey on Thursday said in the Lok Sabha that the CBI will file a charge sheet against Vijay Mallya and name a former Finance Minister, leading to loud protests from the Congress.

Participating in a debate on The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, the lawmaker asked if two Finance Ministers during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance rule were involved in sanction of loans to Mallya.

“You get the loan sanctioned without collateral and if he has run away, you say he has run away. Who gave the loans? Who created the situation? Which Congress leaders he had relations with? The CBI is going to file a charge sheet and it will have the name of a former Finance Minister,” he said.

The leader of the Congress in the house Mallikarjun Kharge immediately asked how was Dubey aware of the impending CBI action and said it showed “all this is pre-planned.”

“You people are doing this to fix (opponents),” he said.

Dubey said that he had not taken any names and there had been several Finance Ministers in the past.

TDP MP Jayadev names Mahesh Babu’s film in LS

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TDP MP Galla Jayadev, who initiated the debate on the no-trust motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday, mentioned Telugu blockbuster “Bharat Ane Nenu” of his brother-in-law and popular actor Mahesh Babu.

The industrialist-politician kicked off the debate with the mention of the movie to stress the point before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that “promises should be kept”.

“The latest Telugu blockbuster ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’ which means ‘I Bharat’ is a story about a young NRI who returns to India after his father, who is a Chief Minister, dies suddenly.

“Bharat enters politics reluctantly and becomes a young, dynamic and beloved Chief Minister,” said the Guntur MP.

“The recurring theme in this movie is about trust and his mother’s advice Bharat keeps recalling. A promise is a promise. If a man makes a promise and does not keep it, he does not have the right to call himself a man.

“It was a blockbuster because the general mood of people reflects well in this film. People are tired of empty assurances and unfulfilled commitments,” he said.

Jayadev, whose family owns Amara Raja Group, is the son-in-law of veteran Telugu actor Krishna, father of Mahesh Babu.

One of the wealthiest MPs, Jayadev had declared assets of Rs 683 crore during 2014 elections.

His mention of Mahesh Babu’s movie triggered varied reaction on social media. Some remarked that he is trying to promote his brother-in-law’s movie while others commented that this goes on to show how politics and films are deeply intertwined, especially in Andhra Pradesh.

2 dead in Uttarakhand cloud burst

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Two persons have died and three others have been buried in rubble on a hillside after a cloudburst triggered heavy rains in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, an official said on Friday.

The downpour late on Thursday followed the cloudburst at Malari that led to a major chunk of a hill to collapse. Five labourers involved in some civil project, sleeping by the hillside were trapped in it.

Two of the bodies have been extracted while the search continues for three more.

A team of experts belonging to the State Disaster Management Department has been rushed to the site.

The heavy rains and inclement weather have also disrupted the Char Dham pilgrimage, the official told IANS. The Badrinath-Lambagad highway has been blocked, and also the Gangotri National Highway between Therang and Gangnani, near Nagdevta due to debris coming down on the road.

“Owing to some landslides and the subsequent debris falling on the highway traffic has been halted at Gangotri, Gangnani, Bhatwadi and Uttarkashi,” he added.

Labourers of the Border Road Organization (BRO) are working to clear the road as there is a long queue of vehicles that are part of the annual ‘Char Dham’ (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath) pilgrimage.

The Hemkund pilgrimage continues uninterrupted.

With Spanish help, Delhi club has big plans for Indian football

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India’s track record in football is a long, sorry saga of official ineptitude, corruption and neglect despite the game being hugely popular with a lot of hidden talent across the country. But Anuj Gupta and Vijay Hakari, the business owners of Sudeva Moonlight FC, a city-based club which plays in the second division I-League, are doing their bit to bring about some much needed change — with Spanish help.

Having bought an 85 percent stake in Spanish third division club CD Olímpic de Xàtiva, the Sudeva Moonlight FC owners have embarked on an ambitious project to develop upcoming Indian players. They have brought former Real Madrid player Oscar Rubio — who is now a coach — to select young boys from around the country and give them a chance to train and play in Spain.

“We are the first ever Indian club to buy a club in Spain. I have appointed Oscar to come to India and find talent who can play for our club in Spain.

“Last year, we we opened a company in Switzerland which acquired the Spanish club. We are looking at different options. We visited different parts of Spain — places like Malaga, Madrid, Murcia and Valencia,” Gupta told IANS.

“We found this club which seems to be perfect because the climate is quite mild throughout the year because it is near the sea. It seemed perfect because there the climate is around 23 degrees centigrade throughout the year and it is very close to Valencia which is a big city and a hub of Spanish football,” he added.

“From every aspect it seemed that Indians will be able to adjust to the climate culture, food. Prior to that, I had gone to Germany and Belgium as well. But I thought Spain will be the best option for Indian kids.”

As one of the first steps toward their ambitious project, Sudeva Moonlight FC conducted a countrywide talent search from July 14-20 in the age groups of U-13, U-15, U-18 and U-23.

Conducted in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangaluru, the trials shortlisted a total of 48 kids. While 225 attended the trials in Delhi, 120 budding players attended in Mumbai and 140 turned up in Bengaluru.

“We have a residential academy in Delhi as well. At the moment we are only focussed on getting kids from India. But our plan is to get kids from all over the world. They will train twice a day… and if they are less than 18 years of age they will be studying in schools. If they know Spanish they will study in public schools, if they don’t know Spanish they will study in a multi-lingual school,” Gupta informed.

“For those over 18, we have tied up with an university which is one of the most well-known sports universities. Where they have a curriculum in English related to sports. They will be giving BSC in sports science and masters degree in sports management,” he added.

“I want my footballers to study something related to sports as, when they are playing, they learn about the science of sports as well.”

While the kids came to know about this particular project through social media, Gupta also wants to search out budding players from rural regions.

“I have also gone to the tribal belt of Orissa and selected five tribal boys from there. My partner Vijay Hazari also travels to different places in India to spot talent. We have already visited 25 cities and towns this year,” Gupta said.

“I am currently training a boy from Howrah (West Bengal) named Subho Pal. He is my best trainee right now. He is probably the best player in the U-13 age group in India. He comes from a very poor family. He came to know about Sudeva and came for a trial,” he added.

“He is with us for the last one-and-a-half years. Before that, he was trained by former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal (Nigerian) star Chima Okorie for five years.”

Gupta, however, feels that boys from rural backgrounds should be first given a taste of urban lifestyle in India before sending them to foreign countries.

“Boys from rural backgrounds should first train here and polish up their skills before going abroad. Otherwise they will not be able to adjust in Spain. We cannot send them directly. Boys from the cities have a better chance of adjusting in foreign countries,” he said.

“Oscar has selected two tribal boys from the Orissa trials. But I know that I cannot send them directly to Spain. First they need to get used to the Delhi environment.”

Gupta has high expectations from this venture. But he is apprehensive that finances may prove to be a hurdle in the long run.

“In the first year, I want to take at least 10 kids to the Xàtiva academy. The younger the kids, the better. Let us hope and see,” he said.

“But his programme has to be funded by a corporate group in the long term. Unfortunately, the most talented kids do not come from financially strong backgrounds. There is a cost of training these kids, we also have to give them food and accommodation. It is difficult for us. I am trying to convince some corporates to use their CSR funds to train and sponsor them for a couple of years,” Gupta added.

The road ahead might be difficult, but Gupta is dreaming big.

“I want to make Xàtiva as a hub of Indian football. It is a small town, I want to make it a hub. I have the right to give any kid I want the opportunity to play there,” he said.

“I is very important to bridge the gap between European football and Indian football.”

Saina, Sindhu, Srikanth, Prannoy retain places in BWF rankings

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India’s star shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal retained their positions in women’s singles in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

While Saina skipped last week’s Thailand Open, Sindhu made it to the final before losing to reigning World Champion Nozomi Okuhara, who climbed up two spots to 6th.

Despite her runner-up finish, Sindhu is still placed at No.3 while her compatriot Saina remained on 10th.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy climbed up four spots to break into the World top-50 for the first time, achieving a career-best ranking of 50.

Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, who returned to action this week in Singapore, also climbed up two places to 90th. Sai Uttejitha Rao, who hogged the limelight at the All India senior ranking tournament in Bengaluru recently, was one of the biggest movers as she climbed up 13 places to 115.

In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth and H.S.Prannoy stayed put to their No.5 and No.11 spots, while Sameer Verma and B.Sai Praneeth dropped one place each to 19th and 25th respectively.

Parupalli Kashyap, who reached the pre-quarters of Thailand Open last week, found his way back into the World top-50 as he climbed six spots to 48th.

Among the others, Subhankar Dey dropped three places to 67th while Lakshya Sen faltered five places to 76th.

In men’s doubles, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dropped to 22nd while Manu Attri and B.Sumeeth Reddy climbed one place to 28th.

Women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N.Sikki Reddy dropped one place to 28th. In mixed doubles, Satwik and Ponnappa climbed up nine spots to be ranked 47th.

India, US to hold first ‘2+2’ strategic dialogue on Sep 6 in Delhi

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Foreign and defense ministers of India and the US will hold their first edition of the “2+2” strategic dialogue on security and defense ties in Delhi on September 6, the US State Department announced on Friday.

The twice deferred meeting was earlier scheduled to take place in Washington on July 6. But it had to be put off purportedly because US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was to travel to North Korea for unscheduled meetings with officials of that country.

The first “2+2” meeting was to take place in April. That was also to be hosted by the US but was called off after then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was suddenly sacked by President Donald Trump.

Announcing the new date and venue, the State Department said “the inaugural US-India 2+2 Dialogue will be held in New Delhi on September 6”.

It said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis will meet with their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman “to discuss strengthening strategic, security, and defence cooperation as the US and India jointly address challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond”.

US Ambassador in New Delhi Ken Juster said the US “look(s) forward to productive discussions between our two countries on ways to strengthen US-India strategic, security, and defense cooperation”.

The “2+2” dialogue for strategic level talks was agreed between the two sides during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June 2017 US trip. The new format replaces the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue between the foreign and commerce ministers of the two countries held during the Obama administration.

The sudden decision to call off the talks in July triggered speculation that it signalled a lower priority the Trump administration was according to the ties with India.

It was also said that the US may not have been happy with India going ahead with its plan to buy military equipment from Russia despite American sanctions targeting Moscow under the Countering America s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Sources in New Delhi said the two sides in their September 6 meetings will seek finalisation of key defence agreements like the Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) — a defence foundational pact that will enable India to obtain critical, secure and encrypted defence technologies from other countries.

The sources said Indian and the US ministers would also discuss developments and issues of mutual interest in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. Russia and China are also expected to come up during the talks.

They said India would seek waiver from the CAATSA that can hit Indian military purchases from Russia and also the import of crude oil from Iran which has also been sanctioned.

The US sanctions against Russian oligarchs and companies have threatened India’s proposed purchase of five regiments of Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced air defense system, a $5.5 billion military deal almost ready to be signed for a closure.

The US has said the CAATSA also prohibits American allies from dealing with sanctioned individuals and companies of Russia, and if New Delhi went ahead with its new military purchases, it would complicate “our ability to work out inter-operability”.

India’s deep military and strategic ties with Russia date back to the beginning of the Cold War even as New Delhi led a movement of “non-aligned” countries that declared their tilt with neither Washington nor Moscow. However, India always leaned toward the then USSR.

India still buys over 60 per cent of its defence equipment from Russia. At present, the Indian armed forces are 70 per cent equipped with Soviet or Russian weapons.

Defence Minister Sitharaman last week said the CAATSA, essentially a US law, was not binding on India and would therefore not affect India’s foreign policy and strategic decisions with other countries.

No trust vote: Modi positive MPs will rise to the occasion

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Ahead of the no-confidence motion against his government moved by the opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday hoped that MPs will rise to the occasion and ensure a constructive debate.

“Today is an important day in our parliamentary democracy. I am sure my fellow MP colleagues will rise to the occasion and ensure a constructive, comprehensive and disruption-free debate.

“We owe this to the people and the makers of our Constitution. India will be watching us closely,” Modi said ahead of the no trust vote in the House.

The opposition-sponsored move came during the opening day of the monsoon session.

The government has expressed confidence of defeating the motion.

Turkey condemns Israel for controversial ‘Jewish state’ law

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Turkey has condemned Israel for passing a new law that proclaims Israel as a “Jewish nation-state”.

The law adopted by Israeli parliament disregards the norms of universal law and the rights of Palestinian Israeli citizens, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The law’s declaration of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital city is null and void in the eyes of the international community, the ministry added.

The ministry also called on the international community to respond to the law that eliminates the vision of a two-state solution.

The controversial law, supported by the right-wing government, passed by 62 votes in favour and 55 votes against after discussions that lasted until early Thursday morning.

The law defines Israel as an “exclusively Jewish state,” stating that only Jews have the right of self-determination in Israel and revokes the status of Arabic as an official language.

Arabs represent about 20 per cent of Israel’s 9 million population.

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