The Head Lines
The Hindu
:Siachen tragedy could trigger demilitarisation
The Business Standard :Top three cos lose Rs 29k cr in market valuation
The Indian Express
: N-Korea says rocket launch a success, Kwangmyong 4 placed into
orbit
The Times of India
The Deccan Herald
:How a medical mystery in Brazil led doctors to Zika
:N Korea launches space rocket in defiance of sanctions threats
The Hindustan Times :Veggies to WiFi speed, frivolous RTI queries keep PMs office busy
The Statesman
:'Arunachal to receive smooth fund flow from Centre'
The Telegraph
:Battleship Bollywood
India has a pivotal maritime role: Pranab
Presidential yacht sails past the Indian flotilla, including destroyers, missile boats and
submarines
The International Fleet Review, the second in the country, on the vast expanse of the Bay of
Bengal off Visakhapanam on Saturday provided a big opportunity to the Indian Navy to
showcase its might, even as its ships anchored alongside foreign vessels in a spirit of
camaraderie and bonhomie.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, reviewed the fleet
on the Presidential Yacht INS Sumitra accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Robin K. Dhowan.
Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu were also present.
As the Presidential column set sail, around 100 ships of the Indian Navy and navies across
the globe dotted the seascape in six columns with their sailors clad in white in grand
salutation. There were 24 foreign ships, 65 Indian Navy ships, three submarines, two Coast
Guard ships and three merchant marine ships. Fifty-one navies sent either their ships or
delegations to the IFR.
Calling on navies to re-focus their efforts to counter the rising tide of non-traditional
maritime challenges in view of the global nature of political and economic environment, Mr.
Mukherjee said the country had established a credible record of cooperative initiatives to
promote stability of the oceans by realigning its maritime strategy.
Mr. Mukherjee said Indias geographical location on major shipping routes of the
Indian Ocean gave it a pivotal maritime role, and the Indian Navy played a central role
in ensuring the safety of the vital sea lines of communication across the ocean.
Describing the fleet at the IFR as imposing international parade of ships, Mr. Mukherjee
said its bringing together navies from across the globe to the Indian shores for IFR 2016 has
signified our common desire to use the seas to promote peace, cooperation and friendship as
also develop partnerships for a secure maritime future as the blue commons link one
another, true to the theme of IFR United Through Oceans.
Indias aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and INS Viraat, the worlds oldest aircraft carrier on
its last voyage, stood majestically even as the baby of the Indian Navy, ASW INS Kadmatt,
formed part of the Indian fleet.
The review with Mr. Mukherjee sailing on the indigenously built naval offshore patrol
vessel INS Sumitra began with sail training ship INS Tarangini and went past the Indian fleet,
including destroyers, carrier ships, frigates, offshore patrol vessels, missile boats, training
ships and three submarines and ships of the Indian Coast Guard as a part of the review.
USS Antietam, HMS Defender, HMAS Darwin, Provence of the French Navy, one each from
Japan and Russia and two ships from China were among the foreign ships that participated.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-has-a-pivotal-maritime-rolepranab/article8203581.ece?homepage=true
US welcomes Indian ratification of N-pact
The US has welcomed India's ratification of an international convention on nuclear energy
accident liability, removing the last hurdle for the landmark India-US nuclear deal and paving
the way for US firms to build nuclear plants in India.
"The United States welcomes the action by India to join the Convention on Supplementary
Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC)," State Department spokesman John Kirby told
reporters here Friday.
"Indian membership in the CSC marks another important step towards creating the global
nuclear liability regime called for by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
Nuclear Safety Action Plan." He said.
It will "also facilitate participation by companies from the United States in the construction of
nuclear reactors in India, which will mean more reliable electricity for Indians," Kirby said.
It will also reduce "India's reliance on carbon-intensive sources, that will benefit the
environment, and will offer India greater energy security for its large and growing economy,"
he said.
Kirby suggested the ratification would help the implementation of the India-US nuclear deal
which has been stalled over India's tough 2010 nuclear liability law that holds the plant
supplier liable for damages in the event of an accident.
"We believe it's an important step toward creating a global nuclear liability regime and it'll
facilitate international cooperation in expanding the use of nuclear power in India," he said.
But only the Department of Energy could spell out the next steps.
Ratification of the convention which will come into force for India on May 4 marks the
conclusive step in the addressing of issues related to civil nuclear liability in India,
according to Indian officials.
Other steps included the launch in June 2015of the India Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) with
a liability cap of 15 billion rupees ($222 million) to assuage suppliers' concerns.
According to a media report Toshiba Corp's Westinghouse Electric hopes to clinch a deal to
build six nuclear reactors in India by end-March in time for a possible visit by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi to Washington to attend a global nuclear summit.
Westinghouse which is negotiating with the state-run operator Nuclear Power Corp of India
Ltd (NPCIL) hopes to make a "commercially significant announcement" during Modi's
expected US visit in March and sign a final contract later in the year, the report said.
The contract would give a big boost to India's $150 billion nuclear power programme, and a
broader push to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
www.thestatesman.com/news/business/us-welcomes-indian-ratification-of-npact/121667.html#pyQuQtJlrJrfvVYJ.99
Indian economic recovery losing steam: Nomura
http://www.thestatesman.com/news/business/indian-economic-recovery-losing-steamnomura/121850.html#qOGKIAlz37BA6vPU.99
India's economic recovery is losing some steam and there is a likelihood of slowdown in the
growth momentum, says Japanese financial services firm Nomura.
While improving urban consumption demand and a robust transportation sector are
supporting growth, weak external conditions and sluggish investment demand are weighing
on the pace of the recovery, it said.
There is a "downside risk" to its baseline forecast of 7.8 per cent GDP growth in 2016, it said,
adding however that Nomura Composite Leading Index, with a reading still above 100,
"suggests a mid-cycle consolidation, rather than the start of a downturn."
"The economic recovery, which began in the fourth quarter of 2014, is headed into a
consolidation zone into the second quarter of 2016," Nomura said in a research note, adding
that the growth recovery is not yet broad-based.
While urban consumption demand (passenger cars, aviation traffic, diesel consumption,
consumer credit) remains the brightest spot in the economy, boosted by higher real disposable
incomes and lower commodity prices, rural consumption demand (of two-wheelers) remains
subdued.
"Overall, Nomura's proprietary indices for India, together with the high frequency data,
indicate some slowdown in the growth momentum towards end-2015 and a high likelihood of
further monetary policy easing," it said.
Meanwhile, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on February 2, left the key interest rate
unchanged citing inflation risks and growth concerns, while pegging further easing of
monetary policy on government's budget proposals.
Premvir Das: Military cooperation with the US has its limits
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/military-cooperation-with-the-us-has-itslimits-116020601230_1.html
There has been much talk in recent years of the flourishing defence cooperation between
India and the USA and future possibilities...Wisdom, however, lies in recognising the ground
realities.
Only two decades ago, our military interface with the US was in the pits, literally. Even after
the tensions of the Cold War began to recede and India started to see the world and its
interests in it through a different prism, suspicions on both sides remained high. In 1995, the
two countries signed what was termed a Minute on Defence Cooperation. Then came India's
nuclear tests in 1998 and things went back to zero as the US imposed stiff sanctions on this
country. From then until now, steady progress has been made in the relationship and defence
has been an important driver. Acquisition of sophisticated aircraft for the navy and the air
force that provide strategic reach has led the purchase segment even as exercises at sea have
given a visible public face to the military engagement. However, the two, while advantageous
to both sides in different ways, must, sooner or later, plateau and that may well be happening
even now for reasons that are not difficult to understand...
India's world is somewhat different. From being a relatively docile nation hesitant to play any
leading role in global affairs other than by professing its non-alignment, it is now moving to a
stage where it seeks to be more proactive in its interfaces and in its region, the Indo-Pacific in
particular. This means engagement, including in defence relationships with several
participants, without becoming the alliance partner of any. So, while the US is a country with
which India shares many common interests, it is not the only one. Similar synergies exist
with other players, of which Russia (with which India has had a strong military relationship
for decades), Japan, France, UK, Australia, Israel, Vietnam, Iran, South Africa and littorals of
the Indian Ocean region and South East Asia are only a few. It has such cooperation
arrangements with several countries and it is not surprising that as many as 54 are represented
at the International Fleet Review being hosted by the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam. One or
more of these nations might also be America's allies but their aspirations are not the same as
ours, or the desire to seek changes in the world order consistent with our own. India's need
to seek a new paradigm in international equations runs on a different plane, if not
counter to the American theme.
So, while healthy and mutually beneficial interaction with the US must be a key objective of
our foreign policy, developing advantageous relations with the others is important. In such
bilateral interfaces, relations with China have also to be given due weight. As the major Asian
power with which India shares a long and disputed land boundary, it cannot be left out of our
calculus. ..
As far as the purely military relationship is concerned, levels of suspicion have greatly
diminished in the last 15 years but they have not disappeared; one reason for this is the
mollycoddling of Pakistan's military establishment by the Pentagon, which is unlikely to be
gone anytime soon. To address and overcome the negatives should be work in progress for
both sides. As for procurement, some facts need recognition. Several major warships that the
Indian Navy operates are of Russian origin and almost every single frontline vessel that is
built in India is equipped with some Russian weapons and/or sensors. The SU-30s and MiG29s are at the forefront of our air strike power, as are armoured vehicles like the T-90 tanks on
land. To expect that things will change dramatically in the foreseeable future is unrealistic.
The impending induction of Rafale multi-role aircraft from France costing about $10 billion,
more than all US purchases so far, will further constrain acquisition of American military
hardware.
In recent years, many important American functionaries - among them the present secretary
of defence - have actively pursued closer ties between the militaries of the two countries,
independent of the fact that India is not and is unlikely to ever be a US ally. This is a positive
approach which we must reciprocate. In brief, both countries have to realise that there are
limits to our defence cooperation and the relationship has to be developed within the
parameters that these will, inevitably, set. Any expectation that this engagement will reach the
sky is rather simplistic.
The writer is a former Director General, Defence Planning Staff, and has been a participant in
Track II India-US dialogues for many year.
Rajasthan and Haryana Panchayat Amendments strike at the heart of Universal Adult
Suffrage
The amendments to the Panchayati Raj Acts in Haryana and Rajasthan violate the basic tenet
of Universal Adult Suffrage and it exclude a sizable section of people from the lower strata of
society.
...In the panchayat elections in Haryana, which concluded on January 24, more than half of
the panches were elected unopposed. The numbers of unopposed candidates at panchayat,
block and district level, too, have increased in both Rajasthan and Haryana. Even more
shockingly, more than 5,000 (that is, more than eight per cent of the total) posts
of panch remain vacant in Haryana because no one was eligible to contest! As per the
numbers available for the 2010 elections, more than three nominations were received for each
post of panch with an average of two contesting for each post.
The post of Sarpanch is central to the idea of local self-governance and is fiercely contested
(about six persons contested for each post in the last Haryana election). However, due to the
draconian exclusionary educational requirements, 13 panchayats in Rajasthan and 22
panchayats in Haryana could not elect a Sarpanch at all! While data is not available for
Haryana, all of the 13 vacant panchayats in Rajasthan are those reserved for SC, ST and
women showing the disproportionate impact on the very groups that were sought to be
empowered in local self-governance by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. Five of
these 13 Panchayats are in one district and show the regional political exclusion of backward
areas through these amendments. In Rajasthan, the State Election Commission has held two
by-elections in the last one year for these vacant panchayats; however, despite three election
cycles, nine panchayats remain vacant and are being administered by the bureaucracy (four
were filled through marriage or educated minor coming of age in the next election). These
vacant posts militate against both the citizens right to contest for public office and her right
to choose her own public representative.
Can it be anybodys case that these vacant panchayats have democracy? If democracy is the
bedrock of our Constitution, then each of these vacant panchayats is a rebuke and negation of
our assertion that India is a democratic republic. These vacant panchayats alone constitute
grounds for a review petition against the Supreme Court order.
.... However, if these amendments remain unchallenged, they could set a normative precedent
for eligibility not just for candidates at the panchayat level but for those contesting
assembly and parliamentary elections, thus undermining the concept of participatory
democracy. Indeed, there is no bar on Parliament applying similar restrictions on elections to
state legislatures or Parliament itself through mere amendments to the Representation of the
People Act.
There can be no democracy a system of Government of, by and for the people if
we exclude 50 per cent of the population at the lowest tier from contesting for public
office.
http://www.thehinducentre.com/the-arena/current-issues/article8184292.ece
CTUs to Hold All India Protest Day on March 10
The central trade unions reviewed the drastically deteriorating conditions of work and life of
the working people and the governments going ahead with labour law amendments,
disinvestment of PSUs and allowing FDI in strategic sectors. The government, it appears,
does not want to wait for legislating these anti-worker labour law amendments; it is taking
away the rights of workers by way of executive orders and directing the state governments to
carry out such pro-management amendments. The trade unions condemned one such directive
issued by the secretary, ministry of labour and employment, government of India on this
January 12 granting exemption to the so-called start up enterprises from inspection and
application of nine major labour law legislations, thereby legitimising the violations.
The central trade unions took note of and extended solidarity to the sectoral struggles of
workers/employees in banks, defence, coal, port and docks and telecommunications sectors,
the anganwadi workers on their respective demands and also the central government
employees, including railways, resolve to launch action against retrograde recommendations
of the 7th Central Pay Commission. They also expressed their serious concern over extremely
harsh punishment of double life imprisonment given by the Court to eight workers of Pricol
Ltd., Coimbatore and appealed to all workers to extend help and solidarity.
The central trade unions also decided to organise massive national convention of workers at
Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi in the last week of March, 2016 to decide about the next
course of united action programme.
The fight against anti-labour policies will continue. The central trade unions directed its
constituents to prepare jointly for protest action on March 10, 2016. They also appealed to
independent employees/workers/unions and federations to participate in the protest action
against the offensive of the government on workers and common people.
"We are waiting for the Congress to respond to the call for an alliance. Many state
Congress leaders have spoken in favour of an alliance. We are keeping a watch," CPM
state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra told reporters after the meeting in Siliguri.
He spoke to Left leaders from the 54 Assembly seats in north Bengal to assess the front's
strengths and weaknesses in the region and said the party was waiting for the Congress's
response to the call for an understanding.
CPM sources said the meeting was held to assess where the party stood vis--vis Trinamul in
the seven north Bengal districts. According to the sources, the meeting was significant as the
Congress could strike a hard bargain in the region in the event of a seat-share deal. The
Congress is strong in four of the seven districts and Murshidabad.
"We gave our inputs to Surjyada as it would help central and state leaders when they
negotiate with the Congress," a CPM leader from Cooch Behar said.
The sources said that among the three options the CPM was mulling, one was allowing the
Congress to contest the majority of the 54 seats in north Bengal and the 22 in Murshidabad.
The Congress is a force to reckon with in Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur and
Jalpaiguri.
"In case such an arrangement is agreed upon, we need to know where we stand to gain or
lose," a CPM state secretariat member said.
According to the CPM sources, the party was considering the possibility of not fielding any
candidate in Murshidabad, the home turf of state Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury, in case of
an understanding. "It seems Adhirbabu is keen on an alliance and it is a positive development.
We might consider not contesting any of the 22 seats in Murshidabad," a CPM state
committee member said.
A Congress MLA said if the Left gave the party "space" in north Bengal, "we can reciprocate
with a similar gesture in south Bengal".
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160207/jsp/bengal/story_67937.jsp#.Vrbzu1h97IU
