Global Indian News
Infusing a new burst of vitality in their time-tested relationship, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agreed to accelerate civil nuclear energy cooperation between the two nations. The two also discussed mechanisms to jointly produce cutting-edge weaponry that could take their decades-old military relationship to a new level.
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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his two-day visit to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on July 7, the second leg of his five-nation visit to Central Asia and Russia. He met his Kazakh counterpart Karim Massimov after touching down at Astana. The two leaders discussed a wide array of bilateral and regional issues. In an outreach to young Kazakh students, Prime Minister Modi spoke at Nazarbayev University, Astana in which he spoke about cultural linkages in form of yoga and Bollywood and outlined a robust vision of India’s expanding relationship with the resource-rich Central Asia. Describing Kazakhstan as a voice of responsibility in international affairs, Mr Modi backed Astana’s bid for non-permanent seat in the UN for 2017-18. Looking ahead to the SCO summit in Ufa, Russia, on July 9-10, Mr Modi said: “India’s membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will deepen our regional partnership.”
Read MoreGreece has given a resounding vote in the referendum to reject austerity measures imposed by the creditors in the terms and conditions for a bailout. The vote was 60-40 in favour of the ‘No’ side. The massive vote is a setback to the Eurozone and the dream project of a single currency which was implemented to remain permanent and strengthen the union. While the vote is a rejection for austerity, it is by no means an indicator that it is a vote to exit EU.
Many Greeks feel it is important to stay within the EU, but that does not mean they are ready to be coerced into accepting what the elite nations of Europe try to impose. Even Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras, while acknowledging that the vote was a mandate for sustainable future, said it was by no means a mandate against Europe and warned that there would be no easy solutions. The outcome for millions of Greeks was an angry message to creditors that Greece can longer accept repeated rounds of austerity that, in five years, had left one in four without a job.
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In a contentious move that has sparked a debate in diplomatic-strategic circles, India abstained from voting against Israel in the UNHRC for “alleged war crimes” committed during the Gaza conflict …
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It’s no longer a pipedream. The long-discussed TAPI pipeline is moving ahead, with India expected to push for fast-tracking this $10-billion project during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Turkmenistan.
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Marking a big-ticket breakthrough in strained ties between the once sworn enemies, the US and Cuba have decided to move beyond the baggage of past and agreed to reopen embassies …
Read MoreIf I say Amir Khusrau is our poet, I would be stoned in India,” the Tajik ambassador said recently in New Delhi, a shade dramatically. In Dushanbe, don’t be surprised if Tajiks recite to you soulful couplets of Zebn-un-Nisa, Aurangzeb’s eldest daughter better known by her pen-name Makhfil (The Hidden One). Mahabharata and Ramayana are prime time shows on Uzbek TV. And this will be a revelation for those not in the know: on Valentine’s Day, Uzbeks celebrate their love for the 16th century Mughal emperor Babur.
From Bollywood and kathak to yoga and Hindi, Central Asia is suffused with the glow of Indian culture and spirituality. It was, therefore, fitting when India launched its Connect Central Asia policy in 2012 as the two regions have been conjoined intimately through historical and cultural ties for centuries. It’s a relationship that has been enriched by culture and poetry, but geopolitically it’s only now this strategically located region is zooming back into the focus of India’s diplomatic-strategic establishment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the five Central Asian states is a compelling statement of India’s reawakened interest in the region that is critical to the country’s interlinked strategic, economic and energy interests. The forthcoming visit of Mr Modi, the first by an Indian prime minister to all five post-Soviet Stans states in one go, is a game-changer of sorts that’s set to transform India’s multifarious relations with the energy-rich Central Asian region, where China has firmly positioned itself as the leading economic power and dispenser of largesse.
It’s a digital revolution in the making. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Digital India comes to fruition, the country of 1.2 billion people will be transformed radically into a formidable knowledge powerhouse connected by info highways and powered by transparent governance.
M-governance: Mobile, not Modi
Digital India initiative bears the stamp of the Indian leader, a former tea-seller who has flagged off new dreams for India and is fond of taking slefies with world leaders, but Mr Modi was keen to emphasise at the launch of the campaign in the Indian capital that it should not be equated with him. “We have to move from E-governance to M-governance. M-governance does not mean Modi governance. It means Mobile governance,” Mr Modi said in a messianic tone as he kicked off the Digital India Week in New Delhi on July 1.
Indian corporate honchos, such as Reliance Industries chairman MukeshAmbani and Bharti Enterprises head Sunil Bharti Mittal promised to invest over 4.5 trillion rupees ($71 billion) in Mr Modi-led “Digital India” initiative.
Other organisations, including Metals and resources company Sterlite Technologies will manufacturing LCD panels in India, while a maker of energy-saving motors Japan’s Nidec Corp, will establish 5 factories; all in India’s flagship initiative – “Digital India”.
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It seems to be a golden period for China with yet another non-Bretton Woods institution challenging the West-dominated international financial institutions which have controlled the global financial system post 1945. Two days after 50 countries signed on to become members of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Chinese Parliament has ratified the creation of the New Development Bank of BRICS countries. The parliaments of India and Russia have already ratified the NDB, which will be headquartered in Shanghai, and will have an Indian as the CEO of the newly created institution.
With the setting up of these two banks, China has scored a point against the US and the West which have been ignoring the BRICS’ appeal for greater voting rights in the IMF and reform of global financial governance system. The NDB’s shareholding is on an equitable basis, with China, India, Brazil and South Africa contributing 20 per cent of the start-up capital of $50 billion, with a goal to reach a capitalization of US$100 billion.
The formal launch of NDB and AIIB is set to recast global financial landscape. Some will contend that 2015 seems to be the year of China when it became a game changer by hosting two new multilateral banks of the global South.
Russia will be hosting the twin summits at Ufa – BRICS and SCO – on July 8-9. It’s expected to be a big moment for Russia as Moscow, reeling under Western sanctions on account of its Ukraine actions, signals to the world that it still has friends and partners across a wide swathe of the developing world.
For India, too, the Ufa summit will be a milestone of sorts, albeit for different reasons. The long wait has ended: New Delhi is expected to be elevated from an observer to full-fledged member in this Eurasian organization. The induction of the world’s largest democracy and Asia’s third largest economy is expected to provide more heft to the grouping which has been dominated by Russia and China since its founding more than a decade ago.
Many initiatives and ideas will be competing for attention of leaders at the SCO summit in Ufa. The SCO countries are expected to forge closer regional cooperation in combating terrorism and taking on the Islamic State. Most important, the world will be watching the big picture as the SCO summit endorses a blueprint for development of the organization.