With India’s northeastern region being a pivot area of New Delhi’s Act East Policy, its importance again came into focus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s annual bilateral summit with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on October on 28-29.

With Modi describing Japan as the cornerstone of India’s Act East Policy and the two countries agreeing to work together in more concrete terms for the development of the Indo-Pacific region, the Northeast has emerged as a key link in this chain.

The Indo-Pacific region stretches from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa and both India and Japan agree that the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) regional bloc has to play a central role for the peace and prosperity of the region.

According to an India-Japan Vision Statement issued following the Tokyo summit, both Modi and Abe “reiterated their unwavering commitment to working together towards a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“The two leaders also affirmed that Asean unity and centrality are at the heart of the Indo-Pacific concept, which is inclusive and open to all,” it stated.

Under the Act East Policy, the Northeast, which shares historical and traditional bonds with the Asean region, is seen as the springboard for India’s increasing engagements with Southeast Asia and for this New Delhi has roped in Tokyo in a big way.

Japan’s role in development work in the Northeast is also expected to boost connectivity between the member-states of the Bimstec sub-regional grouping.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec), which came into existence in 1997, comprises seven countries lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal — Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Membership in the bloc allows India to engage more with the extended neighbourhood in Southeast Asia under New Delhi’s Neighbourhood First Policy via northeastern India.

This will also help keep in check China’s growing influence in the region through Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pet Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project.

India has not joined the BRI on the grounds that it has put participating nations in debt traps and also does not respect the territorial integrity of other countries.

Last year, India and Japan established the Act East Forum to serve as a driving force for cooperation between the two countries in the Northeast and the second meeting of the Forum was held on October 8 in which key infrastructure projects, including road development, in the region were identified.

“The two Prime Ministers welcomed the progress made for the development of India’s northeastern region through the India-Japan Act East Forum by identifying and implementing projects for enhancing connectivity, sustainable forest and ecological management, disaster risk reduction and people-to-people exchanges,” the Vision Statement said.

At an interaction organised by the New Delhi-based think tank Brookings India ahead of Modi’s visit to Japan, Japanese Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu referred to a statement by Modi that Japan is the only country with which India will partner on the connectivity agenda.

Hiramatsu said that India and Japan can not only contribute to some infrastructure project in the Pacific, his country is also keen to support development work in the northeastern part of India.

He said that the Act East Forum was set up to discuss how Japan and India can collaborate together in many areas, including infrastructure, people-to-people exchange and disaster management in the Northeast.

He also mentioned some of the key infrastructure projects in the region identified during the second meeting of the Act East Forum.

These include National Highway 40 between and Shillong and Dawki, National Highway 51 between Tura and Dalu — both in Meghalaya — and National Highway 54 between Aizawl and Tuipang in Mizoram.

The possibility of a corridor linking Gelephu, the border area between Assam and Bhutan, and Dalu, the border town between Bangladesh and Meghalaya, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is also being explored.

This will include the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge project, which will be the longest river bridge in India when completed, as the third phase of the Northeast Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project.

Development of main district roads (MDRs) and other district roads (ODRs), which will have positive socio-economic effect, is also being considered.

“We are very happy to have connectivity projects together in the Northeast to eventually connect with neighbouring countries like Myanmar or Bangladesh,” Hiramatsu said at the interaction.

Disaster management is another area of cooperation India and Japan are discussing and Hiramatsu said that his country has a lot of experience to share with the Northeast, a region that is prone to floods and earthquakes.

The October 8 Act East Forum meeting decided to expedite Japan’s contribution to resilient infrastructures in the Northeast and through capacity development project on highways in the mountainous regions.

Both sides are also discussing knowledge sharing on the issue through a Japan-India workshop on disaster risk reduction.

Following the October 29 summit in Tokyo, India and Japan also exchanged notes on seven yen loan agreements for key infrastructure projects in India, including two in the Northeast — renovation and modernisation of the Umiam-Umtru Stage-III hydroelectric power station in Meghalaya, and sustainable catchment forest management in Tripura.

Biodiversity conservation and forest management projects in Nagaland and Sikkim are also under consideration.

People-to-people ties also form a key aspect in Japan’s engagement with northeastern India and for this it has been decided to promote Japanese language education in the Northeast.

Gauhati University and Cotton University in Assam, English and Foreign Languages University in Meghalaya, and the National Institute of Technology in Nagaland have expressed interest in this.

IANS

With Monsoon waning and post-monsoon showers receding, state appointed Drishti Lifesaving lifeguard agency, has started the process of setting up safe swim-zones along the state’s coastline, a statement issued said.

Cyclonic winds had triggered underwater and rip currents in the seas that had led to the deferring.

“Starting November 1, all beaches will be open for swimming and beach activity,” Drishti said.

The agency maps the weather and sea conditions each morning and accordingly sets up safe swim-zones along the beaches which are manned by its 600-strong lifeguard force.

Although most beaches in Goa are safe, Drishti advises all to adhere to some basic safety measures — ideally swim only in the swim-zones marked with red and yellow flags. Non swim-zones are marked with red flags.

There are signage at the entrance of each beach enlisting safety tips, the statement said, adding that 24 ‘no-selfie’ zones had been identified to prevent accidents.

Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country and attracts nearly eight million tourists, of which half a million are foreigners.

(IANS)

Kevadia (Gujarat) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled the 182-metre high ‘Statue of Unity’ in honour of country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and dedicated it to the nation.

Built on Sadhu Bet Island on Narmada river, the imposing statue is touted to be the world’s tallest.

The Rs 2,389 crore monument is a tribute to Patel who played a major role in integrating the princely states into the Indian Union after the partition of 1947.

It is almost 29 metres taller than China’s Spring Temple Buddha that stands at 153 metres, and almost twice as high as the 93-metre Statue of Liberty in New York.

Three Indian Air Force planes flew past the Patel figure and created the tricolour in the sky after Modi inaugurated the giant.

The Gujarat government expects the statue to boost tourism, with one estimate putting the daily numbers at 15,000.

Apart from the Patel bronze figure, other major attractions include inauguration of a 17-km-long Valley of flowers, a Tent City for tourists near the statue and a museum dedicated to the life and times of Patel.

The Tent City, located around four km from the Statue of Unity can house more than 500 tourists in one go.

A viewing gallery at a height of 153 metres has been created inside the statue to enable tourists to have a view of 1,210 metre long concrete Sardar Sarovar Dam, 3.2 km upstream as well as the nearby Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges.

As per a government statement, the statue has been built using over 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforced steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 tonnes of bronze, which was used for the outer cladding of the structure.

Modi was accompanied by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

(IANS)

Pakistan has attacked growing arms sales to India by several countries, including the US and Russia, calling them “double standards” that jeopardise regional balances.

”
The policy of double standards towards South Asia, based on narrow strategic, political and commercial considerations, must be eschewed,” Jehanzeb Khan, a First Secretary, in Pakistan’s UN Mission, said on Monday during a debate on conventional weapons in the General Assembly committee dealing with disarmament.

He did not name India or the countries selling weapons to India, but the context made the references clear.

Khan said in an obvious reference to India that in South Asia “one state’s military spending grossly and vastly outnumbers that of others” and that “this has the potential of fueling instability and jeopardising the delicate regional balance.”

“Islamabad was concerned over the growing transfers of conventional armaments especially in volatile regions that are inconsistent with the imperatives of maintaining peace, security and stability,” he added.

He said, “Pakistan, for its part, is committed to the establishment of a strategic restraint regime in South Asia, which includes an element of conventional force balance.

He did not say how Pakistan would achieve a conventional force balance with India given the wide disparities in the economies of the two countries nor did he acknowledge that India’s military capabilities have to take China into account.

Pakistan is smarting under US decisions to block military aid.

Last month, Pentagon said it would withhold $300 million aid in what is known as coalition support funds citing Islamabad’s failure to curb terrorist organisations including the Haqqani Network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The Congress cut $500 million in payments to Pakistan from the Defence Department budget in March.

In January President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was blocking most military aid to Pakistan estimated to be in the range of $1.3 billion.

Meanwhile last month, India and the US signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) paving the way for India to access and buy advanced weapons and military technology.

The US is also pitching several advanced military jets and other weaponry to India.

This month India defied the US, which has threatened sanctions on those making military purchases from Russia, and signed a deal with Moscow to buy an advanced air defence missile system, the S400, at an estimated cost of about $5 billion.

IANS

India has donated $300,000 to a programme to train commanders for UN peacekeeping, according to Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Known as the “Pipeline to Peacekeeping Command Programme,” it will “over a period of three years, help develop the capacity of future commanders and managers to lead by example and raise awareness of UN standards of conduct among their personnel,” Dujarric said Friday.

India’s contribution will be used with a “a specific focus on issues of conduct and discipline,” he added.

“This programme will be the first of its kind with a focus on issues of conduct and sexual exploitation and abuse, and we are grateful for the lead of India on such a significant new initiative,” said Atul Khare,the Under Secretary-General for Field Support.

India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin, who handed over the check to Khare,Asaid, “India is a strong supporter of the United Nation’s Zero Tolerance Policy on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and remains committed to contribute through all means possible for this cause.”

The Department of Field Services described the programme as helping equip commanders and managers “to respond to allegations of misconduct including through collaborating with the various stakeholders in mission settings during the investigation and disciplinary process.”

IANS

Lucknow A municipal corporation chairman in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonebhadra district was shot dead on Thursday, said police, who arrested one suspect.

Chopan Municipal Corporation chairman Imtiaz Ahmad, 40, was playing volleyball at the Grewal Park when unidentified gunmen riddled him with bullets fired from a pistol and carbine.

Rushed to a district hospital, Khan was pronounced dead.

One suspect was arrested and his interrogation was underway, a police official told IANS. Two other suspects were on the run.

Khan was elected the town corporation chief for the second time.

Superintendent of Police Kireet Rathore was trying to ease the tension that erupted in the area following the murder.

(IANS)

Srinagar Life in Srinagar and other places of the valley was affected on Thursday by a separatist-called shutdown protesting miliatnt killing.

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) headed by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik called for the valley-wide shutdown against the killings of two Kashmiri militants in the outskirts here in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sabzar Sofi, a Ph.D scholar who joined militancy in 2016 and his associate were killed in a gunfight in Nowgam on Wednesday.

Shops, public transport and other businesses remained shut in the city and other district headquarters of the valley and only private transport was seen in the uptown areas here.

Schools and colleges in Srinagar district remained suspended for the second day in a row.

Rail services between north Kashmir’s Baramulla and Bannihal town of Jammu region was also suspended.

Heavy deployments of security forces were made in the old city areas and other sensitive places in the valley.

Geelani and Umer Farooq remained under house arrest for the third day while Malik continued in preventive custody to prevent their participation in the protests.

(IANS)

New Delhi It was misty morning in the national capital on Thursday with “very poor” air quality, and minimum temperature recorded at 15 degrees Celsius.

“The sky will remain partly cloudy throughout the day,” said an India Meteorological Department official.

The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 33 degrees Celsius.

Lower wind speed over Delhi during morning hours have lead to the “very poor” air quality, with particulate matter being the major pollutant.

The average concentration of PM2.5, or particles with diameter less than 2.5mm, during the morning hours was 168 units in Delhi, and 164 units across the National Capital Region. The safe limit for the same is 60 microgrammes per cubic meters.

Areas, including Dwarka sub-city in south Delhi, Mundaka in the west, Rohini in northwest and Anand Vihar in the east registered “severe” air-quality due to abnormal particle pollutants.

(IANS)

Mumbai Israeli TV show “Honey Badgers” is getting an Indian twist, and its creator Naor Zion says he is really looking forward to it.

Aditya Birla Group’s Applause Entertainment has taken the right of the Armoza Formats’ scripted series. The Indian adaptation will be known as “Udan Patolas”.

Earlier in October, Zion met the team behind the ‘desi’ twist here.

“I’m really looking forward to the Indian adaptation of the show. Right from the first meeting, I had such a great impression of Applause and I remember telling my colleague that they couldn’t have cast better,” Zion said in a statement.

“I must say everyone, from the director, producer and the entire team at Applause have done very intelligent work in the way they have adapted the show.

“Armoza is the pioneer of the selling formats in Israel and I think there are many similarities in both the firms, which I think is a good sign,” he added.

Directed by Shakti Sagar Chopra and produced by Sol Production, “Udan Patolas” revolves around four Punjabi girls — Amarinder Gill, Noorpreet Dhillon, Punni Chandok and Lovely Singh Chabbra. It tells story of their journey in Mumbai with focus on the unbreakable sisterhood.

It features Sukhmani Sadana, Apoorva Arora, Poppy Jabbal and Aasttha Ssidana.

Sameer Nair, CEO, Applause Entertainment, said: “‘Udan Patolas’ is a fun tale of four young women in Urban India and will resonate with everyone. The original series dwelt on the relatable journeys of its lead characters with wit and charm.

“Adapting its context to a customised Indian setting and story makes for a delightfully entertaining show.”

The original show follows the lives of four small-town friends who change their identities to get jobs at one of the world’s top financial firms. They fake it all to appear more sophisticated and achieve their fantasy of opening up their own investment company.

Fazila Allana, founder and producer, Sol Production Pvt Ltd, feels “Udan Patolas” will be “fun, quirky, interesting, observational and thought provoking”.

(IANS)

Agencies from Bahrain, India, Lesotho and South Africa have been awarded the UN Investment Promotion Awards (IPAs) for excellence in boosting investment helping countries meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The prizes were presented on Monday on the opening day of the 2018 World Investment Forum, organized by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and taking place in Geneva from October 22-26, reports Xinhua news agency.

The awards showcase best practices in attracting investment into SDG-related projects that can inspire investment promotion practitioners in developing and developed countries, said UNCTAD.

“IPAs have a critical role to play in mobilizing investment to achieve the SDGs,” said UNCTAD Director of investment and enterprise James Zhan.

“The award-winning agencies show that by mainstreaming the SDGs, IPAs can make a valuable contribution to social and economic development,” said the official.

Invest India received its award for excellence in servicing and supporting a major global wind turbines company in the establishment of a blade manufacturing plant in India while committing to train local staff and produce 1 gigawatt of renewable energy.

The IPA Awards have been given annually since 2002 as part of UNCTAD’s investment promotion and facilitation program.