Author: India Writes Network

Tune into the ‘MO-bama Show’ on radio

- by India Writes Network

From joint op-eds to ‘Chalein Saath Saath,’ the intricate symphony of the multi-hued India-US relations will add new notes in the joint radio address by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. On the last day of his three-day visit to India, President Obama will join Mr Modi in the latter’s monthly radio oration entitled “Mann Ki Baat,” on state-run All India Radio January 27.
“This month’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode will be a special one, where our Republic Day guest @BarackObama & I will share our thoughts together,” Modi shared the news on the microblogging platform Twitter January 24. “I am eagerly looking forward to the special ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme with President @BarackObama, which will be aired on 27th January.”
The joint radio address with a visiting foreign leader is a first-ever such exercise and a communication coup of sorts – it underlines the new Indian prime minister’s grasp of the intermeshing of diplomacy and media in an image-driven world.
Both Modi and Obama are consummate orators, and have used diverse media tools to communicate with the classes and masses. Since taking charge of the world’s most populous democracy, Modi has hosted three monthly radio shows that began in October, talking on a range of issues, including his vision of India and the growing drug addiction among the Indian youth. Obama, on his part, makes a weekly radio address from the White House. In the US, the presidents have used radio to inform, inspire and preach.

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Modi dreams big for India, promises $20 trillion economy

- by India Writes Network

Buoyed by renewed global confidence in the India story, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised the bar by declaring a new ambitious target of scaling up the Indian economy 10-fold to $20 trillion. To make sure that his claim was not seen as grandiose showmanship, the Indian prime minister unveiled a raft of reforms, including reforming country’s the labyrinthine tax system to attract foreign investment and streamlining the governance system to make it faster and more effective.

Underlining the importance of fast-tracking institutional reforms, Mr Modi declared at a business conclave, organised by The Economic Times, that he was preparing the ground to turn India into a $20-trillion economy from $2 trillion. “In 20 years of liberalisation, we have not changed a command-and-control mindset. We think it is okay for government to meddle in the working of firms. This must change,” he said in New Delhi in a speech that was generously interspersed with the word reform and its improvisations.

However, in a carefully-worded formulation, the prime minister made it clear that his government would not cut subsidies that will adversely impact the poor. “I believe that subsidies are needed for them (poor). What we need is a well-targeted system of subsidy delivery. We need to cut subsidy leakages,” he told the country’s industry titans in New Delhi January 16.

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India-US defence ties: Making co-development mantra work

- by India Writes Network

The India-US relations have gained visible momentum, especially in the arena of defence trade and cooperation. Through joint ventures (JVs) and defence co-production, India and the US have an opportunity to take their strategic partnership to new heights, a crucial area which will be in focus during the visit of US President Barack Obama to India, the first American president to be invited as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations. The JVs of Indian and American companies and the co-production of military hardware will prove mutually beneficial and add strategic heft to bilateral relations, with a careful considerations on factors like maturity of markets and technology absorption capabilities.
Co-production is going to act as an enabling lever to energise the US’ strategic partnership with India. As India takes steady steps to spur economic recovery through second generation economic reforms, American defence contractors understand the present favourable business climate in India. There are examples of Indian and US defence companies in joint ventures like those of Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), to focus on the design, development, marketing, supply and support of civilian and select defence radars for India and the global markets. The other examples include Lockheed Martin and TATA to build C-130 components, and Sikorsky and TATA to build cabins for S-92 helicopters. India and the US share common political values and a strategic vision and are destined to be long-term partners. The defence ties would be one aspect of cooperation which would assume growing importance as both the countries join hands to combat terrorism, cooperate in counter-terrorism efforts, and in addressing a host of non-traditional security challenges, maritime security and intelligence sharing. Needless to say, the co-development and co-production of military equipment would only serve to buttress an increasingly strong defence and strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies.

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