Diplomacy

Budget without many surprises

- by India Writes Network

Clothes truly make a man. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s budget, presented to Parliament today, turned out to be constructed the manner in which he was dressed — a Modi jacket over a shirt, trousers and chappals (flip flops) for shoes. Nothing objectionable of course and yet unexceptional.

West Bengal and Bihar, the states which go to the polls soon, will receive special central assistance in addition to the increased allocation they have already got per the recommendations of the Finance Commission. This explains the renewed bonhomie between the BJP and Nitish Kumar and Didi (Mamta Banerjee) respectively, Chief Ministers of Bihar and West Bengal.

Fiscal devolution kick starts Cooperative Federalism
The biggest plus from the budget is implementation of the spirit of “cooperative federalism” by transferring 42% of Union tax proceeds to states from around 32% earlier, per the recommendations of the Finance Commission.

Transfer of an additional 20% as central grants will further boost total transfers to states to 62% of Union tax revenues. This “big bang reform” in fiscal devolution sets the stage for State governments to take direct responsibility of the functions allocated to them under the constitution. They can no longer plead a lack of resources.

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India, Pakistan renew talks, terror, border peace top agenda

- by India Writes Network

India and Pakistan renewed their engagement after months of frosty tensions as Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar conveyed New Delhi’s concerns on terrorism and 26/11 justice even as the two subcontinental neighbours agreed to narrow down differences to find common ground and map the way forward.
Mr Jaishaknkar held wide-ranging talks with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhary, seven months after India had cancelled foreign secretary-level talks on account of Pakistan’s envoy’s meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Mr Jaishankar struck a cautiously optimistic note on the future trajectory of this accident-prone relationship.
“Naturally, my visit provided an opportunity to discuss our bilateral relations. We engaged on each other’s concerns and interests in an open manner. We agreed to work together to find common ground and narrow differences,” Mr Jaishankar said after the talks.

India’s top diplomat stressed that he “reiterated our known concerns on cross border terrorism, including on the Mumbai case.”

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Mamata’s Dhaka visit sets tone for Modi visit

- by India Writes Network

Boosting further the relations between India and Bangladesh, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee undertook a three-day visit to the neighbouring country from February 19. The visit was at the invitation of Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AH Mohmood Ali to participate in the celebration of Bhasha Divash (International Language Day) on February 21. The visit ended successfully, reinforcing the warmth between the two countries.

Mamata Banerjee’s visit was important for many reasons. West Bengal shares around 2000 km, out of the total 4098km, of the border that India has with Bangladesh. This is the longest border that any of the Indian States have with Bangladesh. With such a long border, the relation between the countries greatly depend on the attitude of the bordering States have towards Bangladesh. Cooperation of the bordering States is important for developing the bilateral relations between the two countries. The sharing of the water of the intra-State river Teesta is a good example. In spite of the positive political will, India and Bangladesh could not sign the water sharing agreement during former Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in 2011 because of the objection of the agreed draft agreement by Mamata Banerjee.

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PM needs to focus on infrastructure for growth

- by India Writes Network

While India is one of the fastest growing economies in the worldtoday, a major obstacle for sustaining its real GDP growth has been the lack of adequate infrastructure, which can support the growth process. Low levels of public investment have made India’s physical infrastructure incompatible and without improving the rate of infrastructure investment, the overall growth rate would remain modest. Therefore, there has been a growing emphasis by the Government of India to mobilise infrastructure investments to the tune of$1 trillion during the 12th plan (2012-17) across sectors such as roads, railways, seaports, airports, power, telecom, water and irrigation of which 50% is expected to come from the private sector in the form of both debt and equity. However, there is a realisation that expecting private sector to contribute nearly 50 per cent to the total infrastructure deficit is a stiff ask given that there are lack of bankable projects and mistrust between the private and government sector.

The 11th FYP had projected investment requirements in infrastructure to be about $514 billion. This target was doubled in the 12th FYP to nearly $ 1 trillion highlighting that GDP growth averaging 9% per year can be achieved only if this infrastructure deficit can be overcome. It was opined that domestic savings can contribute significantly to boosting infrastructure investment. However these savings have to be intermediated into infrastructure to achieve these targets.

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Good news for spouses of US H-1B visa holders

- by India Writes Network

Reinforcing its credentials as a nation of immigrants, the US has announced that it will provide work permits to spouses of H1B visa holders, triggering much rejoicing among Indian-American community.

This policy step will benefit thousands of high-skilled Indian spouses who migrate to America, but are not eligible to work under current immigration policies.

The move has been welcomed by Indian- Americans. “This decision is going to directly affect many of our life members as they would now be able to join the professional workforce and chase the American Dream,” the Telugu Association of North America said in a statement.

According to official estimation, the number of people eligible to apply for employment authorisation could be as high as 179,600 in the first year and 55,000 annually in subsequent years. US State Department statistics show that almost 76 per cent of those who received H-4 status in 2013 were from South Asian countries.

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India concerned over Maldives crisis, MDP pitches for Delhi’s mediation

- by India Writes Network

With the political crisis in the Maldives deepening, India has expressed concerns over the “arrest and mishandling” of former President Mohamed Nasheed as the leading opposition party pitched for India’s intervention.
The Maldives government on February 24 vigorously defended the arrest of Mr Nasheed on terrorism charges and accused him of performing “stunts” to grab global attention.
The latest crisis in the troubled Indian Ocean island nation poses a tricky diplomatic situation for India, coming as it does barely weeks before India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Male around mid-March. India has vital stakes in peace and stability in the Maldives, which is being ardently courted by China. China’s President Xi Jinping visited Maldives and managed to sell the idea of Maritime Silk Road to the Indian Ocean atoll nation, better known for its coral blue pristine islands frequented by tourists and honeymooning couples.

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