No single 'gay gene' defines sexuality, finds largest-ever DNA analysis

Current Affairs

US President Donald Trump on Thursday formally launched the Space Command, which he said will defend America's vital interests in "the next war-fighting domain".
Gen John W Raymond is the commander of the US Space Command, which has been established as the 11th Unified Combatant Command of the American armed forces.
"It's a big deal. As the newest combatant command, SPACECOM will defend America's vital interests in space -- the next war-fighting domain. And I think that's pretty obvious to everybody. It's all about space," Trump said addressing a formal ceremony at the White House Rose Garden.
Among others, it was attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
The Trump administration has identified Russia and China as the countries who pose threat to the United States in space."Now, those who wish to harm the United States -- seek to challenge us in the ultimate high ground of space, it's going to be a whole different ball game," Trump said.
"Our adversaries are weaponising Earth's orbits with new technology targeting American satellites that are critical to both battlefield operations and our way of life at home. Our freedom to operate in space is also essential to detecting and destroying any missile launched against the United States," he said.

 "Just as we have recognised land, air, sea, and cyber as vital war-fighting domains, we will now treat space as an independent region overseen by a new unified geographic combatant command," said the US president....Read More

Trump launches US space warfare command, says it's key to country's defence

Current Affairs

US President Donald Trump on Thursday formally launched the Space Command, which he said will defend America's vital interests in "the next war-fighting domain".
Gen John W Raymond is the commander of the US Space Command, which has been established as the 11th Unified Combatant Command of the American armed forces.
"It's a big deal. As the newest combatant command, SPACECOM will defend America's vital interests in space -- the next war-fighting domain. And I think that's pretty obvious to everybody. It's all about space," Trump said addressing a formal ceremony at the White House Rose Garden.
Among others, it was attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.The Trump administration has identified Russia and China as the countries who pose threat to the United States in space.
"Now, those who wish to harm the United States -- seek to challenge us in the ultimate high ground of space, it's going to be a whole different ball game," Trump said.
"Our adversaries are weaponising Earth's orbits with new technology targeting American satellites that are critical to both battlefield operations and our way of life at home. Our freedom to operate in space is also essential to detecting and destroying any missile launched against the United States," he said.

 "Just as we have recognised land, air, sea, and cyber as vital war-fighting domains, we will now treat space as an independent region overseen by a new unified geographic combatant command," said the US president...Read More

Collapse us if you can, British government dares Brexit opponents

Current Affairs

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday challenged opponents of Brexit to collapse the government or change the law if they wanted to thwart Britain's exit from the European Union.
More than three years since the Brexit referendum, the UK is heading towards its gravest constitutional crisis and a showdown with the EU over Brexit due in just 63 days.
In his boldest step since becoming PM, Johnson enraged opponents of a no-deal Brexit by ordering the suspension of Parliament for almost a month.
The speaker of the lower house of Parliament, John Bercow, said that was a constitutional outrage as it limited the time the 800-year-old heart of English democracy has to debate and shape the course of British history.
But Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit supporter in charge of managing government business in Parliament, dared opponents to do their worst. “All these people who are wailing and gnashing of teeth know that there are two ways of doing what they want to do,” he said.
“One, is to change the government and the other is to change the law. If they do either of those that will then have an effect. If they don't have either the courage or the gumption to do either of those, then we will leave on October 31 in accordance with the referendum result.”
Johnson’s move to suspend Parliament for longer than usual was cheered by US President Donald Trump but provoked criticism from some lawmakers and media. “Boris is obviously preparing for an election,” said Conservative lawmaker Ken Clarke.
Ruth Davidson quit as leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland on Thursday, saying she could no longer juggle the demands of being a mother with the balancing act of Brexit...Read More

Aramco eyes two-stage IPO, favours Tokyo for international listing: Report

Current Affairs

Saudi oil giant Aramco is considering a two-stage initial public offering (IPO) with a domestic debut and a subsequent international listing possibly in Tokyo, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Aramco has said it plans to float around five per cent of the state-owned company in 2020 or 2021 in what could potentially be the world's biggest stock sale.The oil giant is now considering a plan to raise as much as $50 billion in a domestic listing, the Journal said citing unnamed sources.
It added that the world's biggest energy firm favours Tokyo as a possible venue for the second phase of the proposed plan.If confirmed, that would be a setback for London, New York and Hong Kong, which have all vied for a slice of the much-touted IPO.
Political uncertainty in Britain over its plan to exit the European Union and public protests in Hong Kong had diminished their prospects, the Journal cited Saudi officials and advisors as saying.
Aramco did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.
The planned IPO forms the cornerstone of a reform programme envisaged by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to wean the Saudi economy off its reliance on oil.
It aims to raise up to $100 billion based on a $2 trillion valuation of the company, but investors have long debated whether Aramco is really worth that much.

 Failure to reach a $2 trillion valuation as desired by Saudi rulers is widely considered the reason the IPO -- earlier scheduled for 2018 -- has been delayed....Read More

Jack Ma takes on Elon Musk over future of Artificial Intelligence

Current Affairs

Jack Ma believes artificial intelligence poses no threat to humanity, but Elon Musk called that "famous last words" as the billionaire tech tycoons faced off Thursday in an occasionally animated debate on futurism in Shanghai.
The Chinese co-founder of Alibaba and the maverick industrialist behind Tesla and SpaceX frequently pulled pained expressions and raised eyebrows as they kicked off an AI conference with a dialogue that challenged attendees to keep up, veering from technology to Mars, death, and jobs.
However, the hot topic in the hour-long talk was AI, which has provoked increasing concern among scientists such as late British cosmologist Stephen Hawking who warned that it will eventually turn on and "annihilate" humanity.
"Computers may be clever, but human beings are much smarter," Ma said. "We invented the computer -- I've never seen a computer invent a human being."
While insisting that he is "not a tech guy," the e-commerce mogul added: "I think AI can help us understand humans better. I don't think it's a threat."
Musk countered: "I don't know man, that's like, famous last words." He said the "rate of advancement of computers in general is insane", sketching out a vision in which super-fast, artificially intelligent devices eventually tire of dealing with dumb, slow humans.
"The computer will just get impatient if nothing else. It will be like talking to a tree," Musk said.

 Mankind's hope lies in "going along for the ride" by harnessing some of that computing power, Musk said, as he offered an unabashed plug for his Neuralink Corporation...Read More

Pichai a brilliant student who never showed off: IIT professor

Current Affairs

Sundar Pichai, the new CEO of the core business of Google, was a shy but brilliant student who never showed off his knowledge unnecessarily, recalls his teacher at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
The Chennai-born Pichai, then known by his full name Pichai Sundararajan, cleared the IIT entrance test in 1989 and enrolled for a four-year undergraduate course in metallurgical and materials engineering.
"He passed out in 1993 with a B.Tech (honours) degree. Being the topper, he was awarded the Bidhan Chandra Roy Memorial silver medal," Sanat Kumar Roy, professor in the institute's metallurgical and materials engineering department, told IANS over phone.
Roy, who taught metallurgical thermodynamics to Pichai, said he showed a keen interest in electronics material and did his final year thesis on the subject.
He was shy, calm and quiet, and "very, very brilliant".
"Such was his brilliance, that it was very much evident that he wanted to do something different. His interest in material sciences was visible from the second year itself. He alone opted for electronic material in his batch," recalled Roy, himself an IIT alumnus.
Pichai, who came from an ordinary middle class family was "unquestionably intelligent".

 In August, 1993, Pichai left for US, where he joined Stanford University and completed an MS course in material sciences and engineering and an AMBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was adjudged a Siebel Scholar and a Palmer Scholar...Read More

J&K Governor announces 50,000 govt jobs for Kashmiris in next 3 months

Current Affairs

The Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) administration will try filling 50,000 vacancies in government jobs in the next two-three months in the soon-to-be-created Union Territory, J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik said on Wednesday.
Malik, addressing his first press conference after Parliament revoked provisions of Article 370 in the first week of August, said the Centre would soon make a ‘big’ announcement on J&K.
In New Delhi, government sources denied reports that it has constituted a Group of Ministers, or GoM, to look into development, economic and social issues for J&K and Ladakh. While there was speculation of it, the government did not announce any special package for either Ladakh or J&K. The two union territories come into existence on October 31. The governor's promise on jobs echoes the commitment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made to the people of the region in his address to the nation earlier this month.
In his press conference, the J&K Governor sought to justify detention and imprisoning of mainstream politicians. He said times spent by politicians in jail would help them in their political careers. “Don't you want that people should become leaders. I have gone to jail 30 times. Those who will go to jail, will become leaders. Let them be there. The more they spend time in the jail, the more they will claim during elections...that I have spent six months behind bars...

 Malik also said restrictions in J&K were necessary to prevent civilian causalities. The Internet is a handy tool for anti-national elements and the restoration of connections will be deferred for some more time, Malik said. He said pellet guns were used by security personnel during protests in the Kashmir Valley, but said forces took precaution to prevent injuries...Read More

Apple to start online sales in India after govt eases local sourcing rules

Current Affairs

Apple Inc is poised to start online sales of its devices in India within months, a person familiar with the matter said, benefiting from new rules making the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market more attractive to foreign brands.
On Wednesday, India eased rules that forced companies such as Apple to source 30% of their production locally -- a requirement the iPhone maker has been lobbying against for years -- to include exports as part of the requirement.
That rule posed a problem for electronics brands because most of its devices and components are manufactured in China. The government also allowed so-called single brand retailers to set up online stores before physical shops.
With escalating trade tensions damaging ties between the US and China, New Delhi’s latest investment rules could provide a boost to Apple, allowing it to grow sales in the country and possibly help it reduce its high dependency on China by building out an alternative supply chain in India.
The Cupertino, Calif-based device and services company will begin selling its iPhone, iPads and Apple Mac computers online in the coming months. It’s also firming up the Mumbai location of its first company-owned brick & mortar store in India -- likely to open next year -- the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are confidential. Selling online will be a big step forward for Apple in a country where counterfeit products abound in online platforms increasing buyers’ distrust.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comments.

 Some of the phone maker’s older devices are assembled by Taiwanese contractor Wistron Corp...Read More

From growth slowdown to equity outflows: Why the rupee has lost its mojo

Current Affairs

The rupee’s resilience in the face economic headwinds has come to an end, with India’s currency losing its year-to-date gains in the space of just one month.
The country’s massive domestic market is now dragging on the rupee as growth at home slows, foreigners pull cash from local equities and the currency increasingly tracks moves in the yuan as the trade war heats up.
“Even though India is directly less vulnerable to US-China tensions, it can’t remain completely insulated to the wider risk aversion,” said Dushyant Padmanabhan, a forex strategist at Nomura Holdings Inc in Singapore. The economic slowdown and capital outflows don’t bode well for the rupee, he said.
The rupee is set for its worst monthly loss in six years and some analysts warn of more pain to come. JPMorgan Chase & Co expects it to approach the record low hit last October by year-end, while Nomura forecasts the currency to finish 2019 at 72.5 per dollar. That’s weaker than the median estimate of 71 in a Bloomberg survey and Wednesday’s opening level of 71.49.
Here are some of the reasons behind the currency’s rapid reversal:
Growth Slowdown

 Demand for everything from cars to cookies has waned as India’s lingering shadow-banking crisis weighs on private consumption, which accounts for almost 60% of the gross domestic product. And the increasingly bitter trade war has complicated the government’s task of re-igniting Asia’s third-largest economy...Read More

Rate cuts not enough to boost liquidity-starved housing market: Poll

Current Affairs

India's liquidity-starved economy will restrain housing market activity and price rises in coming months and into 2020, according to a Reuters poll of property market experts who were skeptical aggressive interest rate cuts will revive it.
House prices are expected to rise just 1 per cent on average this year and 2 per cent in 2020, the lowest median predictions since polling began for the two years, and well below the current 3.15 per cent rate of consumer price inflation.A majority of respondents in the Aug. 13-27 survey said risks to those already-modest predictions were skewed more to the downside.
That comes despite the Reserve Bank of India having slashed its repo rate by 110 basis points so far this year, to 5.40 per cent. It is also expected to cut it further to 5.15 per cent over the coming months to revive a slowing economy.However, much of that easing has not reached borrowers as banking and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are still grappling with very large bad loans on their balance sheets, which has led to a liquidity crunch.
The government's own assessment is that the lack of available credit is the worst in over 70 years.
"It is my expectation that we will continue to see more defaults over the next few years as developers are still facing liquidity issues due to slow sales and lack of refinancing options," said Siddhart Goel, principal consultant and founder at ARAIS Consulting.

 "Even the recent rate cuts will not have a positive impact on the situation as easing by the Reserve Bank of India (is) seldom passed on by the banks to the loan seekers and never in the same quantum...Read More

China's new drug law may open door for Indian generic medicines: Report

Current Affairs
China's revised drug law, which removes drugs that are legal in foreign countries but not approved in China from the category of fake medicines, may allow entry of Indian generic medicines in the country, media reports said on Tuesday.
China's top legislature, the Standing Committee of National People's Congress, passed the revised law on Monday to enhance management and supervision of the pharmaceutical market following numerous fake drugs and vaccine cases that had triggered a call for stronger measures to ensure drug safety.India has been demanding that China open its pharmaceutical market to Indian drugs as part of the efforts to lower the $57 billion trade deficit in about $95.5 billion total trade last year.
No major Indian pharma company managed to establish itself in China in view of the rigid regulations and the costs involved.
Legal foreign drugs, including generic drugs from India, will not be treated as fake medicine in China based on a revised drug administration law that will take effect on December 1, state-run Global Times reported.The latest revision removes drugs that are legal in foreign countries but not approved in China from the category of fake medicines.
It also states that people who take these drugs without an official approval into China can be granted leniency if the amount of the drug is small.They will be exempt from punishment if the drug does not cause health problems or delays anyone's treatment, thepaper.cn reported.

 Some experts take the move as a sign that China is opening its market to cheap generic medicines, especially from India, which caused national concern in 2018 following the release of the Chinese black comedy 'Dying to Survive'...Read More

As animal spirits sag, FM's announcements may fall short of spurring growth

Current Affairs

Weakness in India’s investment and consumption activity worsened in July, with economic growth showing little signs of recovery from a five-year low.
A gauge measuring overall activity moved one notch toward weaker territory, as six of the eight high-frequency indicators compiled by Bloomberg fell from the previous month. Car sales slumped the most in almost two decades and latest data showed infrastructure sector output grew at the slowest pace in more than four years.
The weakening came about a month before Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of steps to revive Asia’s third-largest economy. While the measures boosted market sentiment, they are expected to fall short of spurring growth.
The dashboard measures “animal spirits” — a term coined by British economist John Maynard Keynes to refer to investors’ confidence in taking action — and uses the three-month weighted average to smooth out volatility in the single-month readings.
Here are the details of the dashboard:
Business Activity

 After contracting in June, India’s purchasing managers index for services rebounded into growth territory in July. The index rose to 53.8 from 49.6 in June, with the upturn in business activity linked to the budget presented in early July and improved work orders. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.Manufacturing activity also picked up, a separate PMI survey showed, pushing the composite index to an eight-month high of 53.9 in July from 50.8 in June...Read More

Auto LPG body asks govt to cut GST, offer level playing field to spur usage

Current Affairs

The government should reduce GST on LPG used in automobiles to 5 per cent to provide the environment-friendly fuel a level playing field and spur its usage, the association of auto LPG has demanded.
The Indian Auto LPG Coalition (IAC) wants the government to treat auto LPG at par with any other clean fuel like CNG and provide similar fiscal regime as a mix of such fuels would be needed to curb urban pollution in the world's fastest-growing economy, its director-general Suyash Gupta said.LPG is a clean fuel like compressed natural gas (CNG) and has cost advantages over diesel or petrol. Auto LPG is used in 70 countries world over as compared for 4-5 nations including Iran, India, and Pakistan using CNG as automobile fuel.
Auto LPG requires a lighter cylinder than CNG and takes almost similar time as petrol/diesel for a refill, he said.
"We have written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as well as all members of the GST Council for considering reducing GST tax on auto LPG to 5 per cent from 18 per cent currently," he said.LPG used for domestic purposes is taxed at 5 per cent and high incidence of tax for its usage in automobiles provides an incentive for illegal diversion, he said.
IAC also sought a reduction in GST on auto LPG kits to 5 per cent from 28 per cent."Providing policy level support and enabling a quicker growth of environment-friendly fuels is imperative now and just not an optional issue anymore," he said.

 He said, while the government is providing Rs 10,000 crore subsidy to push for sale of electric vehicles, auto LPG does not need any subsidy allocation - just a level playing field through policy interventions such as lowering GST...Read More

Indian economy to grow at slowest pace in 5 years in June quarter: Poll

Current Affairs

The Indian economy likely expanded at its slowest pace in more than five years in the April-June quarter, driven by weak investment growth and sluggish demand, according to economists polled by Reuters.
That would reinforce concerns seen in the minutes from the central bank's August meeting, which showed policymakers were worried about weak growth and indicated further rate cuts in the next few months to boost the slowing economy.
The poll median showed the economy was expected to have grown at a year-on-year pace of 5.7 per cent in the June quarter, a touch slower than 5.8 per cent in the preceding three months. But a large minority - about 40 per cent of nearly 65 economists - expect an expansion of 5.6 per cent or lower.
The GDP data is due to be released at 12:00 GMT on Friday.
If the forecast is realised, it would be the weakest start in the first three months of a fiscal year in seven years.
"The deceleration in growth that commenced in the second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2019 is likely to have continued," said Rini Sen, India economist at ANZ.
"A host of high frequency indicators - consumption and investment - have continued to weaken. The most prominent ones include auto sales, output of consumer durables, cement and steel production."

 Domestic passenger vehicle sales in July dived at the steepest pace in nearly two decades and declined for the ninth straight month in July, largely due to a liquidity crunch causing huge job cuts in the sector...Read More

Helping reduce Indo-Pak tensions key takeaway from G7 Summit: White House

U.S. President Donald Trump meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bilateral talks during the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 26, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Current Affairs

The White House on Monday claimed helping reduce India-Pakistan tension is one of the five big takeaways from the just-concluded G7 Summit.
President Donald Trump returned home from the Group of Seven Summit held in the French city of Biarritz from August 24 and 26.
In its daily round-up for Monday, the White House said, "The five big takeaways are: A message of unity, security a billion-dollar trade deal, promoting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), developing stronger trade with Europe and helping to reduce India-Pakistan tension."
"In his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, President Trump reaffirmed the need for dialogue between India and Pakistan and also worked to build on the great economic relations between our nations," it said.
Prime Minister Modi, flanked by Trump, on Monday categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation on Kashmir, saying it was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, and "we don't want to trouble any third country" -- a position that was immediately backed by the American leader who had recently offered to mediate.
In a tweet, the White House said during the meeting with Modi, Trump also acknowledged India's role as a critical partner in Afghanistan. The accompanying two photos released by the White House reflected a jubilant mood in the meeting room in France and the handshake between the two leaders.

 Trump and First Lady Melania Trump returned home late Monday night after attending the G7 Summit...Read More

Don't hold your breath: Amazon fires aren't depleting Earth's oxygen supply

Current Affairs

Fires in the Amazon rainforest have captured attention worldwide in recent days. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office in 2019, pledged in his campaign to reduce environmental protection and increase agricultural development in the Amazon, and he appears to have followed through on that promise.
The resurgence of forest clearing in the Amazon, which had decreased more than 80% following a peak in 2004, is alarming for many reasons. Tropical forests harbor many species of plants and animals found nowhere else. They are important refuges for indigenous people, and contain enormous stores of carbon as wood and other organic matter that would otherwise contribute to the climate crisis.
Some media accounts have suggested that fires in the Amazon also threaten the atmospheric oxygen that we breathe. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted on Aug. 22 that “the Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire.”
The oft-repeated claim that the Amazon rainforest produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen is based on a misunderstanding. In fact nearly all of Earth’s breathable oxygen originated in the oceans, and there is enough of it to last for millions of years. There are many reasons to be appalled by this year’s Amazon fires, but depleting Earth’s oxygen supply is not one of them.
Oxygen from plants

 As an atmospheric scientist, much of my work focuses on exchanges of various gases between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere. Many elements, including oxygen, constantly cycle between land-based ecosystems, the oceans and the atmosphere in ways that can be measured and quantified...Read More

Foreign airlines ban MacBooks on Indian flights; DGCA mulls similar move

Current Affairs

With several international airlines banning some older models of Apple's flagship laptop MacBook Pro in both check-in or hand luggage, including in India, fears of battery fire have returned to haunt users of the device.
In June, Apple announced a voluntary recall of its faulty 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there's a chance that the devices sold between September 2015 and February 2017 could overheat and potentially cause fires.
Seeing this, India is pondering if it should ask the airlines to restrict the affected MacBook Pro models. “The DGCA is examining the issue and if need be, will do the needful,” said a senior official.
Singapore Airlines (SIA), a major operator to India, on Sunday said on its website: "Customers are to refrain from bringing the affected (MacBook Pro) models either as hand-carry or in checked baggage until the battery has been verified as safe or replaced by the manufacturer. Please visit Apple’s MacB ook Pro Battery Recall Program page to get more information on whether your product is affected, as well as on the available battery replacement options." Thai is also not allowing 15-inch MacBook Pro notebooks sold between September 2015 and February 2017 on the aircraft either as carry-on or checked luggage.

 The iPhone-maker reportedly said it had received 26 reports of the laptop's battery overheating, with as many as five consumers reporting minor burns and one suffering from smoke inhalation.Nearly 432,000 potentially affected MacBook Pro units were sold in the US and 26,000 in Canada.Apple issued a similar replacement programme last year for the latest 13-inch Pros over issues related to battery expansion...Read More

With no major fiscal support, govt's growth measures seen falling short

Current Affairs

India’s steps to boost financial market sentiment and support businesses could fall short of shoring up growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a number of measures on Friday to help re-ignite an economy that’s slowed sharply on the back of weak consumption and a deteriorating global environment. However, she didn’t outline any major fiscal support -- as businesses had been calling for -- focusing instead on steps to spur foreign funds and lending.
Economists, finance leaders, industry executives and local media raised questions about the effectiveness of the measures, which included scrapping a tax on foreign funds, allowing concessions on vehicle purchases and hastening infusion of an already announced 700 billion rupees ($9.8 billion) of capital in state-run banks.
“These are short-term palliatives,” said Priyanka Kishore, head of India and Southeast Asia economics at Oxford Economics in Singapore. “What India needs is structural reforms to take growth to above 7 per cent.”
Consumers have cut spending in India as they turn more pessimistic about jobs amid a slowdown in growth to a five-year low.
Data due this week is likely to show the economy expanded 5.7 per cent in the quarter ended June, below the 5.8 per cent pace seen in the previous three months.
The withdrawal of the additional tax on foreign portfolio investors may help to spur sentiment in the equity markets. Overseas investors pulled out more than $3 billion from the nation’s stock and bond markets since July.

 But businesses had been hoping for more...Read More

Low interstate migration is hurting India's growth and states are to blame

Current Affairs

Kerala ranked first out of seven states for migrant friendly policies on the Interstate Migrant Policy Index 2019 (IMPEX 2019), an index compiled by India Migration Now, a Mumbai-based nonprofit, which analyses state-level policies for the integration of out-of-state migrants. Maharashtra ranked second with a score of 42 out of 100 compared to Kerala’s 62, and Punjab came in third with a score of 40.
Internal migration, both within a state and across states in India, improves households’ socioeconomic status, and benefits both the region that people migrate to and where they migrate from, research shows. Yet, interstate migration in India is less than in other countries at a similar stage of economic development, studies show. A 2016 World Bank study attributed this partly to the migrant unfriendly policies in many parts of the country.
The low level of migration, especially between Indian states, partly resulted in the country’s low urbanisation rate --31 per cent in 2011. This rate is lower than in countries with lower per capita gross domestic product, such as 51 per cent in Ghana and 32 per cent in Vietnam, based on data accessed from Our World in Data, an open data website.
India ranked last in a sample of about 80 countries, in a cross-country comparison of internal migration rates between 2000 and 2010 by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

 The IMPEX 2019 measures whether a state has equitable policies for residents and migrants in terms of: labour policies, child welfare, housing, social welfare, education, health, sanitation, and political participation. It also measures whether a state has additional and ad-hoc policy initiatives wherever needed for migrants to have equality with state residents. The index contains 63 policy indicators across eight policy areas, framed as questions or queries...Read More

G7 unity under stress as it wrestles with Iran, Amazon fires and trade

Current Affairs

G7 leaders close their summit on Monday with discussion of world problems including the fires ravaging the Amazon rainforest, but overshadowed by President Donald Trump's trade wars and questions over the group's unity.
The summit in Biarritz, a high-end surfers' paradise in southwestern France, saw a dramatic shift of focus Saturday when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew in to discuss the diplomatic deadlock on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.
Zarif's presence had not been expected and it represented a gamble by French host Emmanuel Macron who is seeking to soothe spiralling tensions between Iran and the United States.
The Iranian top diplomat didn't meet Trump, French diplomats said, but the presence of the two men in the same place at least sparked hopes of a detente. Just this July, the US government imposed heavy sanctions seeking to hamper Zarif's travel, and effectively banning him from the United States.
"Road ahead is difficult. But worth trying," the US-educated Zarif tweeted after meeting Macron and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as British and German representatives.
French officials said Trump, who has imposed crippling sanctions on the Iranian economy over its nuclear programme, had been aware of the arrival.

 The sources suggested that the secretive visit had also been discussed during an impromptu two-hour lunch between the US president and Macron on Saturday."We work with full transparency with the Americans," one diplomat told reporters on condition of anonymity, despite US media reports that the White House had been taken by surprise...Read More

India, Pakistan to hold first meet on Kartarpur Corridor at Attari today

Current Affairs
Indian and Pakistani officials will meet at Attari, near Amritsar, on Thursday to finalise modalities of the corridor to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara, with India keen for visa-free access to the pilgrims to the historic shrine across the border.
The first-ever meeting on the issue, coming amid heightened tensions between both countries in the wake of Pulwama terror attack, will also discuss the alignment of the project as there is some mismatch in the coordinates.
Officials from Home, External Affairs and other ministries concerned of the two countries will attend the meeting.
Sources said that security aspect was of paramount importance and there will be no dilution in that.
They also said that Pakistan will also be conveyed that places of pilgrimage should not be used for separatist propaganda by anti-India elements. There have also been reports that Khalistan separatist groups could use the corridor route to push terrorists.
The meeting will take place exactly a month after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers were killed, triggering India-Pakistan tensions.
India has made it clear that the meeting was in no way a resumption of a bilateral dialogue.
It has said the issue was related to emotions and sentiments of the Indian citizens of the Sikh faith and its decision regarding the meeting reflects a strong commitment to operationalize the corridor on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

The Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province, located 4.5 km from the border near the Dera Baba Nanak town in Punjab's Gurdaspur district, is significant for the Sikh community as it is here that the faith's founder Guru Nanak Dev spent 18 years of his life and was his final resting place.

Massive job losses reveal India is failing to reap its demographic dividend

Current Affairs

The recent shedding of over 350,000 jobs in its automobile sector--and thousands elsewhere--is an indicator of the economic and social hurdles that jeopardise India’s demographic dividend, the growth opportunity afforded by the world’s second largest working-age population of 688 million people.
With unemployment at a 45-year high, poor health--42 infants per 1,000 still die before turning one--and low levels of education--an average person has attended school for 6.3 years--India’s demographic dividend is at risk, according to an IndiaSpend analysis of data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Indian government, and research from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
India needs state specific policies--good health and education systems, with more women entering the workforce in young states, and policies to attract migrants and elderly care systems in ageing states. India will also need to reduce caste and urban-rural inequality, especially in access to reproductive care, health, education and jobs.
As its working population is larger than the population of dependents, “India, theoretically, could have a golden period in the decade of 2020 to 2040 (and continuing later, though with decreasing results)...but it could happen only if the right policies and programmes are put in place right now,” according to a 2018 paper by the UNFPA.
However, our research shows, states vary widely in the education, skill development and healthcare facilities they are able to provide, leading to varying employability outcomes.

 As a result, states need policies specific to their unique challenges, which are determined, in part, by the stage of demographic transition they are in...Read More

Kashmir should be settled bilaterally; no place for third party: Macron

Current Affairs

India and Pakistan should resolve the Kashmir issue bilaterally and no third party should "interfere or incite" violence in the region, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday after his marathon one-on-one talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of the dynamic and multi-faceted bilateral relationship during their more than 90-minute long one-on-one meeting at Chateau de Chantilly, one of the finest jewels of French cultural heritage, located about 50 kms north of Paris.
The one-on-one interaction was followed by the delegation-level talks.
In a joint press statement after the talks, President Macron said that Prime Minister Modi briefed him about the recent decision taken by India on Jammu and Kashmir and that it is in their sovereignty.
"I told him that India and Pakistan will have to find a solution to the issue and no third party should interfere or incite violence in the region," Macron said.He said that peace should be maintained in the region and peoples' rights should be protected.
"I will also speak to Pakistan Prime Minister after a few days and tell him that the talks should be held bilaterally," the French president said.He also said that France will deliver 1st of the 36 Rafale fighter jets to India next month.

Speaking after Macron, Prime Minister Modi said the relationship between India and France is not based on any selfishness, but on solid ideals of 'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity'.He said India and France will expand cooperation in counter terrorism and security....Read More

Govt offers resolution for pre-GST disputes with tax authorities

Current Affairs
Companies will get up to 70 per cent duty relief if they settle their pre-GST disputes with the tax authorities, according to a scheme, which will become operational from next month and run till the end of 2019.
There will also be an amnesty scheme. Under this, the assessee will have to voluntarily disclose the due taxes. The assessee will have to pay the full amount, but they will not face any legal action.
Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme), 2019, was announced in the Budget. For any case pending in adjudication or appeal at any forum, this scheme offers a relief of 70 per cent from the duty demand if it is up to Rs 50 lakh and 50 per cent if it is over Rs 50 lakh.
The same relief is available for cases under investigation and audit, where the duty involved is quantified and communicated to the party or admitted by them in a statement on or before June 30, 2019.
In cases of confirmed duty demand, where there is no appeal pending, the relief offered is 60 per cent if the duty is up to Rs 50 lakh and 40 per cent if the duty is over Rs 50 lakh.
The scheme’s objective is to free as many taxpayers as possible from legacy taxes, the finance ministry said in a statement. The scheme is especially tailored to free small taxpayers from their pending disputes, the statement said.
"The government urges taxpayers and all concerned to avail themselves of this scheme and make a new beginning," the statement said.

 Abhishek Jain, tax partner at EY, said while various players in the industry had already started...Read More

Biocon's Malaysia arm gets good manufacturing certificate from EU regulator

Current Affairs

Biocon Ltd's Malaysian subsidiary has received the Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) compliance from the European drug regulator for its integrated insulin facility, helping it expand capacity to serve the diabetes market in the European Union.
It has received the Certificate of GMP compliance from the European Medicines Agency from the representative European inspection authority, Health Products Regulatory Authority (Ireland), said the company.
The Malaysian facility was inspected in May 2019. It is Asia's largest integrated insulin facility and manufactures drug substances and drug products in vials, cartridges, and insulin delivery devices.
The recombinant human Insulin (rh-Insulin) and insulin glargine manufactured at this facility are addressing the needs of over 350,000 diabetics in Malaysia. Biocon and Mylan's biosimilar insulin glargine, under the brand Semglee, had previously received regulatory approval from EMA in March 2018 and was launched in key European markets by its partner Mylan in November 2018.

 Over a period of 15 years, Biocon has provided over 2 billion doses of insulin, cumulatively, worldwide. Its rh-Insulin is registered in over 40 countries, while its insulin glargine has been approved in over 60. Biocon's biologics business registered a revenue growth of 96 per cent at Rs 490 crore in the first quarter of FY20. This business aims to impact 2.6 million patient lives in FY20 and aspires to position the company as a global leader, said Biocon in a statement.

How to revive India's economy? Encourage ecommerce, says Amazon executive

Current Affairs
India needs to encourage ecommerce and reduce red tape to help small businesses sell online and export goods to help revive sagging domestic economic growth, a senior Amazon.com executive said on Wednesday.
"There is so much opportunity to just let ecommerce thrive versus trying to define every single guard rail under which it should operate," Amazon's India head Amit Agarwal told Reuters, ahead of the launch of Amazon's biggest campus in the world in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, on Wednesday.
India revised its ecommerce rules in early 2019, creating hurdles for Amazon and rival Walmart Inc's ecommerce subsidiary, Flipkart."I feel ecommerce can actually accelerate India's economy in a big way, if it's just allowed to thrive," said Agarwal, whose comments come at a time when India's economic growth has slumped to near five-year lows.
Agarwal said Amazon works with some 500,000 sellers, and has created over 200,000 jobs in India since launching its ecommerce operations in 2013.
He said Amazon's push to get small and medium businesses in India to export has resulted in more than $1 billion in exports and it expects this to exceed $5 billion in the next three years, but red tape is holding some businesses back."Even a seller, who wants to sell out of their state, has to get a tax registration in the new state. How many small business owners would go through the onerous job of doing that?" he said.

"The number of basic paper cut opportunities out there are so many," he said. "I feel we're getting lost in the high level debate around ecommerce and data localization."India's revised ecommerce regulations, along with its push to compel multinationals to store data locally, have irked the U.S...Read More

BMW bets on India with latest 3 Series sedan, prices start at Rs 41.5 lakh

Current Affairs

Just three weeks after taking over, BMW Group India’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Rudratej Singh launched the seventh generation model of the company’s latest 3 Series sedan.
The car generates around a third of its annual sales and is the company’s flagship product. Available in three variants across diesel and petrol engines, the ex-showroom prices of the sedan start at Rs 41,50,000 and go up to Rs 48,00,000. In 2009, the 3 Series range was launched at an ex-show room price of Rs 24,00,000 to Rs 25,00,000. Singh says he doesn’t expect duties to come down anytime soon. Also, BMW does not see the current downturn in the auto segment impacting its plans in any way.
So, is this the best time to launch an expensive car? Singh thinks it is, because new cars like the 3 Series will be even costlier in March 2020 when BSVI norms kick in. “We are committed to this market for the long term, and understand that for growth in India, there will be short-term hiccups,” he said.
The automobile manufacturer is also looking to expand distribution by opening three new dealerships in the coming months.According to analysts, the steep jump in prices have been a result of high customs duty, excise, goods and services tax (GST), as well as price increases by manufacturers on the back of input costs of steel and rubber, among others.
According to recent reports, luxury or premium car sales for European manufacturers have actually slowed down over the years with the entire segment not growing beyond 40,000 units for car makers that include Jaguar-Land Rover, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Even with cars being assembled in local plants as is the case with BMW and others, prices have been far higher than in other markets...Read More

Asian indices drop as traders await US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech

Current Affairs

Equities stuttered in Asia on Wednesday as investors took a step back after recent gains, with focus now turning to a key speech by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Friday.
Rising hopes for China-US trade talks have provided a much-needed lift to markets over the past two days but with few fresh catalysts, dealers are keeping their powder dry ahead of Friday’s address.
After positive signals from US President Donald Trump and some of his top advisers on Monday over progress in the talks with Beijing, and an olive branch with the delay of a ban on Huawei purchases, there have been few developments for traders to buy on.
“Our trade-war headline inspired relief rally appears to have run its course as I suspect there is still a lot of nervousness among US investors as the global economic realities are just too hard to ignore,” said Stephen Innes at Valour Markets. Hong Kong added 0.2 per cent, Shanghai was barely moved and Tokyo ended down 0.3 per cent. Sydney fell almost one per cent, Singapore shed 0.3 per cent and Wellington was 0.9 per cent lower. Taipei finished flat and Seoul added 0.2 per cent. In early trade, London rose 0.5 per cent, Paris added 0.8 per cent and Frankfurt was
up 0.5 per cent.

The Fed released minutes of its July meeting later on Wednesday, which will provide an insight into its deliberations when cutting interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis. But Powell’s talk at the central bankers’ gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is the key event and will be closely pored over for clues about the bank’s plans for next month, with experts unable to agree on whether or not he will announce further cuts...Read More

Parle may cut up to 10,000 jobs, slash production as slowdown bites

Current Affairs

Parle Products Pvt Ltd, a leading Indian biscuit maker, might lay off up to 10,000 workers as slowing economic growth and falling demand in the rural heartland could cause production cuts, a company executive said on Wednesday.
A downturn in Asia's third-largest economy is denting sales of everything from cars to clothing, forcing companies to curtail production and raising hopes that the India government will unveil an economic stimulus to revive growth.
A sharp drop in Parle's biscuit sales means the company may have to slash production, which may result in layoffs of 8,000-10,000 people, Mayank Shah, category head at Parle, said in a telephone interview from Mumbai.
"The situation is so bad, that if the government doesn't intervene immediately ... we may be forced to eliminate these positions," he said.
Parle, founded in 1929, employs about 100,000 people, including direct and contract workers across 10 company-owned facilities and 125 contract manufacturing plants.
Shah said demand for popular Parle biscuit brands such as Parle-G had been worsening since India rolled out a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) in 2017, which imposed a higher levy on biscuits costing as low as Rs 5, or 7 cents a pack.The higher taxes have forced Parle to offer fewer biscuits in each pack, hitting demand from lower-income consumers in rural India, which contributes more than half of Parle's revenue and where two-thirds of Indians live.

"Consumers here are extremely price-sensitive. They're extremely conscious of how many biscuits they are getting for a particular price," Shah said...Read More

'You prepare for war': How one US firm tried escaping Trump's China tariffs

Current Affairs

When Larry Sloven heard last year that US tariffs threatened his China electronics business, he knew that setting up shop elsewhere would be a slog rather than an adventure.The 70-year-old had spent half his life building supply chains in southern China to produce goods for big-box US retailers. But he had never reshuffled one on short notice, with tariffs hanging over his head.
"It is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in all my 30 years in the business," said Sloven, president of Capstone International HK Ltd, a division of Florida-based Capstone Companies."You've got packaging, assembling, auditing, labour, overheads, components, logistics, transportation," he said. "I went from first gear to fourth gear very quickly."
Sloven, a native of Long Island, New York, cut his teeth in Asia in the 1970s sourcing lighting products from Japan. He then moved to Taiwan and then mainland China, making and sourcing electrical products for AT&T and Duracell, before becoming a buying agent for sporting goods retailer Dick's.
He joined Capstone in 2012 to manage its network of Chinese manufacturers from Hong Kong.Rising labour costs and tighter regulations in China had already led him to consider moving the business elsewhere in Asia. But the trade war forced his hand.
Through dozens of interviews and phone, Whatsapp and email exchanges over a year, Reuters documented Sloven's quest to uproot his supply chain operation, an effort entailing many close calls, bureaucratic headaches - and some good luck.

 Sloven is just one of thousands of entrepreneurs who have been forced by the trade war to upend their business operations in China in the biggest supply chain shift in a generation...Read More

Facebook plans to hire team of editors to help curate your news stories

Current Affairs

Facebook has long relied on algorithms to select news stories for its users to see.Now the social network wants to rely on something else for the same task, too: humans.
Specifically, Facebook plans to hire a team of editors to work on a news initiative called News Tab, which is its latest venture into the world of publishing.
The Silicon Valley company said that journalists would help curate News Tab, a new section inside of the company’s mobile application that will surface the most recent and relevant stories for readers. Facebook said it planned to hire seasoned journalists from various outlets for the roles and would put up job postings on its employment board on Tuesday.
News Tab is part of the company’s effort to highlight real-time journalism and news. It will exist outside of the News Feed, Facebook’s never-ending stream of status updates and friend requests.
“Our goal with the News Tab is to provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people,” said Campbell Brown, Facebook’s head of news partnerships. “To start, for the Top News section of the tab we’re pulling together a small team of journalists to ensure we’re highlighting the right stories.”

 Facebook has been under pressure for spreading misinformation and disinformation to millions of its users. In 2016, Russian operatives manipulated Facebook and disseminated false news stories across its network to influence the outcome of the American presidential election. On Monday, Facebook also revealed that China was behind Facebook pages and groups that were sowing disinformation about the protests in Hong Kong...Read More

Can environmental populism save the planet? It is difficult, but possible

Current Affairs

Populism and environmentalism are words seldom seen in the same sentence. One is associated predominantly with nationalists and charismatic leaders of “real people”, the other with broadly-based collective action to address the world’s single most pressing problem.
Differences don’t get much starker, it would seem. But we are increasingly seeing the two strands combine in countries around the world.Exhibit A in support of this thesis is the remarkable growth and impact of Extinction Rebellion, often known as XR.
When I finished writing a book on the possibility of environmental populism little more than six months ago, I’d never even heard of XR. Now it is a global phenomenon, beginning to be taken seriously by policymakers in some of the world’s more consequential democracies. Britain’s decision earlier this year to declare a climate emergency is attributed in part to 11 days of Extinction Rebellion protest that paralysed parts of London.
Greta Thunberg, the remarkable Swedish schoolgirl who has rapidly become one of the world’s leading climate activists, is another – rather inspiring – example of a rising tide of popular opinion demanding political leaders take action before it is too late. It is also a telling indictment of the quality and imagination of the current crop of international leaders that schoolchildren are taking the lead on an issue that will, for better or worse, define their future.

 It is striking that so many prominent figures in international politics are not just buffoonish, self-obsessed and ludicrously underqualified for the positions they hold, but are also rather old.I speak as an ageing baby boomer myself, and a childless one at that. My rather ageist point is that I simply don’t have the same stake in the future that young people do, who have perhaps 70 or 80 years yet to live...Read More

Benefits of Reverse Mortgage for Senior Citizens

World Senior Citizen Day 2019

regardless of how well senior citizens have invested their money within the old age, additional coins flow is extra than welcome. amongst the many senior citizen pushed schemes that exist in india, opposite loan is a lesser-known one. permit’s recognize this scheme in detail and the way senior citizens can benefit from it.
what is reverse mortgage?
the opposite loan scheme changed into brought in 2007-08 by means of the indian authorities to permit senior citizens get complement income. below this scheme, senior citizens obtain periodic bills each month in opposition to the house owned by means of them. they are able to mortgage their owned residential belongings as collateral with a financial institution or a financial group and get a loan in opposition to it. that is the ‘reverse’ of a domestic loan in which the borrower pays month-to-month emi.
the maximum monthly payment to the senior citizen is capped at rs 50,000 in a 12 months
benefits of opposite mortgage
new supply of income
opposite loan serves as a supplementary income source apart from conventional investment alternatives inclusive of financial institution fixed deposits, country wide financial savings certificate, put up office scheme, etc.
all-cause profits

 senior residents can use reverse mortgage income for any motive – household charges, medical bills, travel, debt charge and any every day want. there may be no restrict on how this income must be used...Read More

Odisha improves child and mental health faster; UP, Bihar lag behind

Current Affairs

Odisha, one of India's poorest states, has made significant progress in reducing child undernutrition—less than India as a whole, but more than other poor states, such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, according to government data studied by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
In Odisha, stunting--low height for age and a sign of malnutrition--reduced from 46.5% of children below five years in 2005-06 to 35.3% in 2015-16; the proportion of underweight children decreased from 42.3% of children below five years to 35.8%; and the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), the government’s child nutrition and education program, reached 34% more people in 2017 than it had in 2014.
As National Nutrition Week gets under way on September 1, 2019, and the Indian government prepares to launch Poshan Abhiyaan with an aim to improve nutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers and make India malnutrition-free by 2022, we examine the success of Odisha. IFPRI, a research advocacy based in Washington D.C., studied the progress of several countries and 28 Indian states, identifying Odisha as a "nutrition champion", along with Thailand, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nepal, Peru, Vietnam and Ethiopia.
Odisha performed better than other poorer states

 India’s ICDS programme is the world’s largest nutrition programme, launched in 1975 to address health, nutrition and pre-school education of children under the age of six years. The programme operates through a network of anganwadi centres that provide services for pregnant and lactating women, and for children aged six months to six years. The programme mandates one anganwadi per village or for a population of 1,000...Read More

Hong Kong leader setting up communication platform to help end protest

Current Affairs
Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said she hoped "calm" will prevail after a massive weekend march passed without clashes between police and demonstrators, but again refused to give ground to protester demands.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the heart of the city on Sunday in a show of peaceful protest after escalating street battles with police drew stark warnings from Beijing and threatened to undermine public support.
"On Sunday, many Hong Kong residents participated in a rally at Victoria Park that was largely peaceful," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a televised press conference."I wholeheartedly hope that this is the beginning of society returning to calm and staying away from violence." The protests began against a proposed extradition law to China but morphed into a pro-democracy movement sparking the city's biggest political crisis in decades.
They have been fuelled by anger over alleged police brutality, with tear gas and rubber bullets deployed against protesters. Lam reported 174 complaints have been made against police since protests began.
She said they would be "robustly" investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Council, whose head is appointed by the chief executive. However, the probe is unlikely to satisfy protesters who have called for an independent inquiry by an external body.In addition to universal suffrage and cancelling the extradition bill, protesters also demand the release of those detained during clashes.

 Lam, pilloried by press and protesters for failing to step down while the city plunges into crisis, said her government would continue a "fact-finding mission" on how to move forward from the demonstrations...Read More

Chandrayaan 2 reaches Moon's orbit, is just days away from landing

Current Affairs

India's second Moon Mission, Chandrayaan 2, successfully entered the lunar orbit on Tuesday morning in a significant milestone that brings India closer to joining select nations that have explored the moon. Isro Chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan had earlier described this event as a major challenge.
Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuvre was completed successfully today (August 20, 2019) at 0902 hrs IST, as planned, using the on-board propulsion system. The duration of the manoeuvre was 1,738 seconds. With this, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into a Lunar orbit. The orbit achieved was 114 km x 18,072 km.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) fired the spacecraft's liquid engine for a short while and placed it on a lunar bound orbit. From here, the spacecraft is scheduled to go through four more orbit manoeuvres to reach its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100 km from the Moon's surface.Subsequently, the lander will separate from the Orbiter and enter into a 100 km X 30 km orbit around the Moon. Then, it will perform a series of complex braking manoeuvres to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.
Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to soft land the lander Vikram, and rover Pragyan, in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70° south. The mission has 13 Indian payloads, including eight on Orbiter, three on lander and two on rover, and one passive experiment from US space agency NASA.

 The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru. All the systems of Chandrayaan-2 are healthy...Read More

Would be unwise to alienate India, turn to Pakistan as partner: US expert

Company News

Amid an increased India-Pak tension on Kashmir and an ongoing Afghan peace talks, a top American foreign policy expert has cautioned the Trump Administration against any strategic tilt towards Pakistan and moving away from India.
"The US would be unwise to turn to Pakistan as a strategic partner," Richard N Hass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in an op-ed last week.Pakistan sees a friendly government in Kabul as vital to its security and competition with arch-rival India, he wrote in his op-ed that was first published by Project Syndicate and thereafter, on the CFR website.
"There is little reason to believe that the military and intelligence services, which continue to run Pakistan, will rein in the Taliban or rule out terrorism," Hass said."Equally, the US would be unwise to alienate India. Yes, India has a tradition of protectionist trade policies and often frustrates US policymakers with its reluctance to cooperate fully on strategic issues," he wrote.
But democratic India, which will soon surpass China as the world's most populous country and will boast the world's fifth-largest economy, is a good long-term bet, he added.
"It is a natural partner to help balance China. India has rejected participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative, whereas Pakistan, struggling economically, has embraced it," Hass said.According to the top American scholar, the US would also be unwise to race for the exits from Afghanistan.

Peace talks with the Taliban mostly look like a means to extract US forces from the country, he claimed, adding that the process is reminiscent of Vietnam, where a 1973 agreement between the US and North Vietnam provided a pretext for American withdrawal from the South but not a basis for peace....Read More