Ethiopian leader Abiy Ahmed orders military against regional government

 

Ethiopia's leader has requested the military to defy a provincial government after he says it assaulted an army installation short-term, refering to long stretches of incitement and instigation and announcing that the last red line has been crossed.

The assertion by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office Wednesday morning, and the announced assault, promptly raised worries that one of Africa's generally crowded and incredible nations could dive once more into war.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front had assumed a significant function in Ethiopia's administering alliance before Abiy got down to business in 2018 and declared clearing political changes.

The TPLF has given expanding indications of discontent, and in September individuals casted a ballot in the northern Tigray district in a nearby political decision, resisting the central government and expanding political pressures. Tigray authorities cautioned at the time that an intercession by the central government would add up to a presentation of war.

Tigray authorities have had a problem with the delay of Ethiopia's public political decision, when set for August, due to the Covid pandemic and the expansion of Abiy's time in office.

Abiy's assertion declares that the TPLF assaulted an army installation in Tigray in the early hours Wednesday and endeavored to take ordnance and other gear. The assertion blamed the TPLF for equipping and sorting out sporadic civilian armies in the previous not many weeks.

The assault has been commenced on TPLF seeing the Ethiopian National Defense Forces as an unfamiliar armed force, the assertion says.

The PM's assertion adds that following quite a while of outrageous persistence by the national government, a war anyway can't be forestalled distinctly on the altruism and choice of one side. … The last red line has been crossed with this current morning's assaults and the government is consequently constrained into a military encounter.

Modi, Patnaik banking on marketing to continue in power in Odisha: Congress

 

on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, senior Congress pioneer A Chellakumar on Wednesday blamed them for exclusively putting money on advertising to be in influence as opposed to working for the individuals.

Congress, then again, needs promoting itself, the AICC in-control for Odisha told columnists here.

Congress isn't reliant on advertising, however it will devise its own techniques to interface with the majority to win back their certainty and counter BJP and BJD in the state, he said.

We have hopelessly fizzled in conveying our accomplishments to the average person … We need advertising, said Chellakumar, who is on a visit to Odisha in front of the by-survey to Balasore Sadar and Tirtol get together seats in the state.

Without taking any kind of action, Narendra Modi and Naveen Patnaik have been effectively advertising …. Congress on its part, isn't reliant on promoting. Our gathering will chalk out its own system to counter BJP and BJD, the senior Congress pioneer said in the wake of holding a gathering with partys recently delegated area unit presidents.

In any case, Congress will put forth deliberate attempts to fortify its own association directly from the state level down to the grassroots and once the gathering set up gets restored and is in appropriate structure, a mass contact program will be dispatched across Odisha, he said.

Chellalumar said he himself will embrace a concentrated visit through the state which will start from the Hinjili Assembly fragment in Ganjam locale, the main priests voting demographic.

Notwithstanding being the body electorate of the central priest, the region doesn't have a legitimate clinic to give medical services offices to the individuals, he said.

Naveen Patnaik has not done anything to support the individuals of Ganjam area, especially his own voting public Hinjili, he guaranteed.

Hitting out at the BJD government in the express, the senior Congress pioneer said no significant water system venture has been taken up by the Naveen Patnaik system during the most recent 21 years of its standard. All the significant water system ventures and large dams were built when Congress was in power, he asserted.

This separated, the gathering is good to go to embrace a few agitational programs over the state. On October 31, a program to feature the reason for ranchers will be composed, he said including that party laborers will dispatch a mark crusade against the argumentative homestead charges which were passed in Parliament as of late, he said.

The Congress chief additionally encouraged Patnaik to acquire reasonable enactment the state to defend the interests of ranchers if the Biju Janata Dal(BJD) is truly stressed over the government assistance of the cultivating network and contradicted to the draconian homestead bills.

So as to reinforce the gathering association in the express, the locale unit presidents have been given an objective of finishing the arrangement of square and stall level boards of trustees inside two months to guarantee that Congress is in a legitimate structure to take on both BJD and BJD in the 2024 decisions in the state, he included.

Overambitious leaders quitting Cong as they feel party won't win: Adhir

Pioneer of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury feels a segment of youthful "overambitious" pioneers is getting progressively eager and abandoning the gathering because of the developing discernment that it won't come back to control at the Center at any point in the near future.
Yielding that their exit may antagonistically affect the gathering "briefly", the veteran Congress MP, be that as it may, said party "control and philosophy can't be undermined to fulfill the individual yearnings of pioneers who need ideological responsibility.
The Congress chief alluded to the chance of some increasingly youthful pioneers stopping the gathering after the prominent departure of Jyotiraditya Scindia and defiance by Sachin Pilot.
"There is a sure area of overambitious youthful leaders…..they are getting eager and feeling they are not getting their due in the gathering and are searching for different choices to fulfill their individual aspirations.
"This is going on because of a developing recognition that as the Congress wont come back to control (at the Center) without further ado, so the gathering wont have the option to fulfill every one of their requests. So they are either hopping the boat or are wanting to do as such, Chowdhury told PTI in a meeting.
Discussing Scindia and Pilot, he said they were never ignored or given quick work by the gathering.

He said there have been pioneers with extraordinary potential in a few ideological groups who didn't get their due. "In any case, did they leave their gathering to appreciate the products of intensity? The appropriate response is no. The issue is the absence of duty," he said.

India set to finalise long-pending defence deal with US during Trump visit

Current Affairs
India is set to conclude a long-pending barrier manage the United States during President Donald Trump two-day visit to India from February 24, a senior authority has told ANI. Trump will land in India on his lady visit, joined by First Lady Melania Trump, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States Jared Kushner or little girl Ivanka Trump, alongside United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Secretary of Energy Dan Brouille.
The US President will arrive at Gujarat's Ahmedabad around the early afternoon of February 24 and will address a mammoth horde of in excess of 100,000 individuals which is relied upon to turn up for an occasion at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on the lines of the 'Howdy Modi' work that was tended to by the US President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston in September a year ago.
"The way that a US President is going outside New Delhi to different urban areas - and in the event that you take a gander at the gathering that he will get - shows the adoration that the individuals of India have for the United States. What's more, that is the greatest message that will return to Washington," the senior authority said.
The President is likewise prone to visit the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati.
The senior authority emphasized that POTUS and FLOTUS are well on the way to make a fast refueling break at Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, be that as it may, the excursion is exposed to change, considering the brief timeframe casing of the movement.

On 24th February itself, POTUS will land at night to go to talks in New Delhi. On Tuesday morning, the US President will initially get a stylized greeting at the Rashtrapati Bhawan according to convention...READ MORE

Shun politics of vendetta, work with Oppn to revive economy: Mamata to Modi

Current Affairs
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government to shun politics of vendetta" and work with the Opposition parties to revive the economy.
Speaking to the media here, she also accused the centre of not clearing so far dues of about Rs 1 lakh crore to her state on various heads.
"The Prime Minister should take everybody into confidence and if necessary hold meetings with opposition parties to find out ways to revive the economy. The Centre should focus more on the economy and stop resorting to vendetta politics," said Banerjee.
She appealed to Modi to take the recent comments by the RBI about the state of the Indian economy "seriously".
"The RBI's comments are serious issues. The Centre should carefully look into it and act accordingly, instead of being busy in the politics of hatred," she said.
Banerjee said Bengal was yet to get a "single paisa" from the centre for the damages inflicted by Severe Cyclone Bulbul that hit the state last November.
"We are yet to get a single paisa on account of Bulbul. In fact, we are yet to get due of Rs 1 lakh crore from the centre on various heads. On top of that, we have to repay an annual debt of Rs 50,000 crore," she said.
Banerjee said development should not suffer because of political discrimination.

She also termed the state budget as "pro-people"...Read More

Donald Trump to make his first visit to India on Feb 24, 25: White House

Current Affairs
US President Donald Trump will embark on a two-day visit to India from February 24 during which he will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people, the White House announced on Tuesday.
President Trump will be accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and they will visit India on February 24–25, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said.
She said Trump and Modi talked on the telephone over the weekend.
"During a phone call over the weekend, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi agreed the trip would further strengthen the India-US strategic partnership and highlight the strong and enduring bonds between the American and Indian people," she said.
The President and the First Lady will travel to New Delhi and Ahmedabad, which is in Prime Minister Modi's home State of Gujarat and played an important role in Mahatma Gandhi's life and leadership of the Indian independence movement, the White House said.
Trump's predecessor Barack Obama had travelled to India in 2010 and 2015.

"President Trump's trip to India is timely in view of the bilateral trade issues that need to be resolved and in light of the collaborations between the US and India in various realms," M R Rangaswami, Indian-American philanthropist and head of Indiaspora, told PTI.Describing it as a significant visit, Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum, noted that the last three American presidents had made trips to India....Read More

Xi Jinping leaves for Chennai for second informal summit with PM Modi

International News
Chinese President Xi Jinping left for India on Friday morning for the second informal meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
He will arrive at Tamil Nadu capital Chennai late afternoon.
Later in the evening, Xi will meet Modi and hold talks on a host of issues in a relaxed atmosphere at the historic tourist town of Mamallapuram.
After an overnight meeting, the two leaders are scheduled to meet again on Saturday to continue the discussions.The Chinese President is due to leave for Nepal on Saturday afternoon.
This is the second informal summit between Xi and Modi. Their first informal meeting at the Chinese city of Wuhan last year resulted in normalisation of the relations between the two countries after the 2017 Doklam standoff.
State-run Xinhua news agency reported that Xi left for Chennai this morning.
His entourage includes Ding Xuexiang, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC), member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and director of the General Office of the CPC, Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and He Lifeng, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

 Ahead of the summit, the state media said the Modi-Xi meeting would focus more on how to move beyond the past and present differences to forge a cooperative partnership....Read More

India should integrate AI with education to become world leader: Sikka

International News
Former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka, who has announced a new AI startup with $50 million fund, believes India has the potential to become a world leader in artificial intelligence but the key to this is integrating AI into the country's education system in a massive way.
India is at "an inflection point" when it comes to AI or artificial intelligence, Sikka said.Over the next 20-25 years, AI is going to be "a very, very big disruptor" for the Indian society because what one is seeing now in terms of automation and job losses because of automation is just the beginning, said Sikka, who announced his startup Vianai Systems last week.
"But on the other hand, if we are able to bring AI education, the ability to build AI systems to India at a very large scale, and I'm talking about like billion plus people, then India can really leap frog and become the world's leader in artificial intelligence, in AI skill and AI talent," Sikka told PTI in an exclusive interview.
Doing that requires working on multiple dimensions in parallel, he said.
Last month, at the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sikka gave a presentation before the NITI Aayog how to expand the reach of AI to the Indian society in a very big way.
Representatives of some 20 Union ministries were present during his presentation on AI and India. This, he said, required creating necessary infrastructure to bring the talent through institutions, schools and educational institutions, the ability to do AI education at a large scale.

 According to Sikka, the prime minister said he personally saw whenever classes worked into digital classrooms, he was joking that children would sometimes even forget to eat their lunch because they were so engrossed in learning. "It was very encouraging...READ MORE

Modi's second term to lay groundwork for India's next 25 years: US expert

International News

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory, a top American corporate leader has asserted that in the next five years, the PM will lay the groundwork for India's economic growth and prosperity for the next quarter century.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a super-sized victory for a second term in office, winning an absolute majority and on course to touch the 300-seat mark in the 543-member Lok Sabha."Congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a decisive election victory. These next five years of Prime Minister Modi's leadership will lay the groundwork for the next 25 years in terms of economic growth and prosperity for the country," John Chambers, Chairman of the Board of Directors at US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), said.
Chambers said under Modi's leadership, India will be able to increase its GDP and see economic growth and job-creation, and improve trade and foreign investment.
"The future is bright for India and we at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum look forward to boosting ties between the two countries like never before," Chambers said, reflecting the views of the American corporate sector, which is increasingly looking at India as an alternative to China when it comes to their manufacturing base.

 Three-term Indian American Congressman Dr Ami Bera issued a statement congratulating the citizens of the country who participated in the elections over the past five weeks."These were the largest democratic elections ever and reflected India's commitment to its founding ideals. I also congratulate Prime Minister Modi on his victory and look forward to working with him and his government to advance the values and interests that bind our two nations," he said.

Adani urges Australian govt to give 'a fair go' for coal mine project

Company News
Indian energy giant Adani has urged the Australian government to give its controversial coal mine project "a fair go" and indicated that the opposition party would not derail the proposed billion dollar project if it comes to power.

Gautam Adani-led Adani Group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north.

The massive coal mine in Queensland state has been a controversial topic, with the project expected to produce 2.3 billion tonnes of low-quality coal.

''All we're every asking for a fair go and to be treated like everyone else. I think at certain points, that has not been the case. We're certainly not whining about it. We just want to get on with it now. We want a fair go," Adani Mining chief executive officer Lucas Dow, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

He said the sort of scrutiny that the project was facing on the management plans was unprecedented.
The Adani project which still requires to clear few more approvals from the Queensland Government, including groundwater modelling, recently received the clearance from the federal government for development.

Commenting if the mine project could run any risk if the Labor Party comes to power, Dow said "I think (Federal Labor) has been crystal clear that if they are to form a government they won't be in the habit of creating sovereign risk by ripping up the existing approvals."


 He said that he was satisfied by recent assurances given by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen.

Imran Khan sees better chance of India-Pak peace talks if Modi wins polls

Current affairs

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said he thinks there may be a better chance of peace talks with India if Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wins the general election due to begin there on Thursday.

Khan said that if the next Indian government were led by the opposition Congress party, it might be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir, fearing a backlash from the right.
"Perhaps if the BJP - a right-wing party - wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached," Khan told a small group of foreign journalists in an interview.

This was despite the massive alienation that Muslims in Kashmir and Muslims in general were facing in Modi's India, said Khan, who took office last August.

"I never thought I would see what is happening in India right now," said the former international cricket star.

"Muslim-ness is being attacked."

Khan said Indian Muslims he knew who many years ago had been happy about their situation in India were now very worried by extreme Hindu nationalism.


 He said Modi, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was electioneering based on "fear and nationalist feeling".The BJP's pledge this week to propose stripping decades-old special rights from the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which prevent outsiders from buying property in the state, was a major concern, though it could also be electioneering, Khan said...Read More

Kerala: Migrant labour faces worst effects of post demonetisation slowdown

PTI11_13_2016_000206A

Current Affairs

When illiterate mason Jalaluddin Shaikh sought a better life seven years ago, he journeyed nearly 2,500 km south from his home in Murshidabad, Bengal, to this riverine town in the greater Kochi agglomeration, known for its farm produce, plywood and sundry small-scale industries.

Jalaluddin, 40, had heard stories of the opportunities in prosperous Kerala, and nearly five years, he was happy, earning Rs 22,000 every month at construction sites, saving enough to send Rs 15,000 back home.

Everything changed on November 8, 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation order invalidated 86% of India’s currency.

Jalaluddin’s life worsened in June 2017, when the Goods and Services Tax (GST)--widely criticised for its hasty, often chaotic, implementation--came into effect. With the absence of cash and the complexities of the GST, business dropped and uncounted industries closed.

The downturn was exacerbated by tensions in the Arabian Gulf--the source of 36% of Kerala’s income--when many Arab countries turned against Qatar. That crisis was preceded by a general slowdown in the Gulf states since 2010, when the price of oil had dropped. As wages went unpaid and jobs and incomes were lost in the Gulf, Kerala’s construction industry suffered, as did opportunities for migrants in Kerala.


 Here in India’s seventh-richest state by per capita income, 2.5 million of 33 million people--one in 14--were migrants, according to a 2013 study by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation for the Kerala labour department. Mostly manual labour, they sent Rs 17,500 crore home every year. The government now believes about a million migrants are left, a quarter of the number projected for 2018. Although some questions were raised over the study’s accuracy, it is the only available data on migrants like Jalaluddin.

Narendra Modi unveils national pension scheme for unorganised sector

Current Affairs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Shramyogi Mandhan Pension Yojana, a pension scheme for workers of the unorganised sector in Gujarat.

Modi targeted Congress President Rahul Gandhi over poverty, saying only those oblivious to sleeping hungry at night can think that it is a state of mind.

For some, poverty is just an opportunity to click photos, Modi said, sharpening his attack on the Congress chief. "This scheme is aimed at uplift of the section of society which has been ignored and left at the mercy of God.

They (Congress) gave slogans of garibi hatao (end poverty).

Under this scheme, unorganised workers will get a pension of Rs 3000. I am told that over 14 lakh workers have been enrolled under the scheme, Modi said.

Some projected themselves as messiah of workers. But during their tenure they did not launch such a scheme, he said.

"They ruled the country for 55 years and collected votes in the name of poor," he said. "This scheme has been launched by our government as a tribute to the unorganised sector, who can earn some money till their body is fit but are worried about what will happen to them when they get old, Modi said.


 "They thought that poverty is a mental state. See how is this neta who says that there is nothing like poverty but a mental state," Modi said, targeting the Congress president...Read more

Explained: Impact of Donald Trump's attack on preferential trade with India

Current Affairs

United States president Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a plan to end preferential trade treatment for India, withdrawing benefits under a nearly 50-year-old programme for up to $5.6 billion worth of New Delhi’s exports to America.

The move comes after over a year of back-and-forth between the two countries, and pressure exerted upon the Trump administration by the American dairy export and medical devices lobbies.

“I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the United States and the government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India,” Trump said in a letter to Congress representatives on Tuesday early morning.

According to World Bank data, India is currently the largest beneficiary of the ‘generalised system of preferences’ (GSP) programme, a trade initiative that was first started back in the 1970s.

India’s commerce ministry, however, has downplayed the impact of the move, saying that withdrawal of GSP benefits will have a “minimal and moderate impact”.

“The total GSP benefits amount to about $190 million on overall exports of $5.6 billion between the two countries,” commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.

 “We had worked out a meaningful package that covered the US’ concerns but they made additional requests which were not acceptable at this time,” he added. “The GSP system is envisaged as a non-reciprocal benefit to developing countries.”..Read More

'Made in Amethi' AK-203 rifles to help troops fight terror, says PM Modi

Current Affairs

Laying the foundation stone of a Kalashnikov manufacturing unit in Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the guns produced in the new facility would be used to fight terrorists and the Naxals , and that the project was the best example of his government’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (together with all, development for all)’ motto.

The prime minister — who landed in Amethi after addressing the pre-poll Sankalp rally in Patna where he slammed the Opposition for doubting the IAF’s strike on a terror camp in Pakistan — accused the Congress-led UPA government of not only delaying the AK-203 rifles’ manufacturing project but also sabotaging the Rafale deal.

Thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for expediting the project, Modi said it would give a new identity to Amethi. The assault rifles would be manufactured at Korwa Ordinance Factory.
“The assault rifles manufactured here would help our forces against terrorists and Naxal. In due course, these would also be exported, while generating a large number of jobs for local youth and paving the way for economic development,” he said. “Those who voted for us and those who did not, all are ours...This is the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas." This was Modi’s first visit to Amethi as PM.


 In Patna, he criticised opposition leaders for their scepticism over the surgical strike by the Army post the Uri terror attack, and the air strikes in Balakot after the Pulwama suicide bombing. “Is it appropriate for these parties to speak in a language that suits Pakistan? Leaders of the neighbouring country are using it as a shield to protect themselves against the charge of promoting terrorism. They are clapping gleefully,” the prime minister said...Read More

Pak to return IAF pilot, Sushma at IOC meet, more: Today's top events

Current Affairs:

Before you start the day, take a look at the major events in the country

1. Pakistan to release IAF pilot Abhinandan

Pakistan will release the captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman today. Calling it a "peace gesture", Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan told a joint session of the Pakistan National Assembly that the India-Pakistan situation should not "get out of hand" or otherwise Islamabad "will have to retaliate".

The announcement about Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman -- taken prisoner a day earlier -- came hours after India demanded his release and ruled out talks on the issue, saying Pakistan cannot use this issue for a peace deal.

2. Sushma Swaraj in Abu Dhabi to address OIC conclave today

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday reached Abu Dhabi to attend a conclave of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a Guest of Honour.

"Recognising India's engagement with the Islamic world. EAM Sushma Swaraj arrives in Abu Dhabi for the Ministerial Meeting of India has been invited by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of UAE as the 'Guest of Honour'," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.


 Swaraj will address the plenary of the two-day 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the 57-member body. She has been invited by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to address the OIC meeting...Read More

How Saudi Prince's visit to India indicates Modi's West Asia policy success

Economy & Policy:

For a moment leave, aside the immediate context that has overshadowed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS’s) visit to New Delhi – the Pulwama attack and its Pakistan connection. The visit has actually been very fruitful and is yet another indicator that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s West Asia policy remains the one area of achievement in an otherwise indifferent record of foreign policy.
That said, it is important to acknowledge that Modi is building on the legacy of his predecessors – Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. Balancing relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel or Qatar is never easy, but New Delhi has managed to do it with considerable success. Instead of torpedoing legacy, as it did in its relationships with China, Pakistan, or for that matter Nepal, the Modi government has built on it.

In some ways this is brought out by the chief guests that India has had for the Republic Day. In 2003 it was President Mohammed Khatami of Iran, in 2006 it was King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, and in 2017 it was Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan.

The reasons for this are not too far to seek. West Asia or the Middle East is the most important external region for India from the point of view of its security and its economy. It is the closest source of hydrocarbons for a country which needs to import them in considerable amounts. Sixty-three per cent of India’s oil imports are from the region, but equally important is that some seven million Indian nationals work in the Saudi peninsula sending back remittances worth $40 billion to the country.


 The strategy of balancing relations in the region were evident in the Vajpayee period, and the UPA government continued the process. In a remarkable interview, one of the first by an Indian prime minister to a Saudi newspaper, Vajpayee described his policy in this way:...Read More

Lok Sabha passes quota Bill for economically weak in general category

Politics News:

A landmark Bill seeking to provide 10 per cent reservation in jobs and education for the general category poor was passed by the Lok Sabha , with most parties backing the measure, described by the government as "historic" and in the country's interest. As many as 323 members voted in support of the Bill and only three voted against it, underlining the cross-party support the politically crucial Bill elicited.

Replying to an over four and half hour debate, Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot sought to allay doubts raised by several Opposition members about the legislation's fate if challenged in the Supreme Court, saying he can say with confidence that the apex court will accept it. The Modi government's policy and intention is good and that is why it has enabled the reservation for the poor in the general category with constitutional amendment, he said, seeking support of all parties for the passage of The Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill 2019.

"Your doubts are unfounded. Put them to rest," he told Opposition members, many of whom dubbed the Bill as "jumla" and "gimmick", questioned its legal standing and accused the government of bringing it in haste with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls. Gehlot claimed that the Bill is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion when he assumed power in 2014 that his government would be devoted to the cause of the poor and work for "sabka saath sabka vikas (With all, development for all)".

"This is an historic decision and in the interest of the country," he said.


 Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi were present in the House when the Bill was passed. The government will table the Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Congress has shown its true colours: BJP hits back over Pulwama allegations

Politics News:

Slamming the Congress for targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Pulwama attack, the BJP dubbed its allegations "shameful" and said they have exposed its "true colours" after it kept a "facade" of standing with security forces and the government following the terror strike.

At a party event in Andhra Pradesh, BJP president Amit Shah said it was condemnable that the Congress has "politicised" the Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed on February 14, and asserted that people have full trust in Modi's commitment of ending terrorism.

Citing media reports, the Congress claimed that Modi continued shooting for a film in the Corbett National Park for his "propaganda and publicity" and stayed put in the area till the February 14 evening despite the Pulwama attack taking place in the afternoon that day.

Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also claimed that the prime minister continued to "have tea, samosas, at seven o'clock in a PWD guest house" that evening.

Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad rejected the Congress' charge as "shameful" and said Modi was there as part of an official programme related to tiger conservation.

"Was the Congress aware of the Pulwama attack? We were not aware," the BJP leader said in a jibe at the opposition party.


 The Congress attack on the Modi government would have pleased Pakistan, he said, adding that styles of what Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and the opposition party have said may be different but their contents bore striking resemblance...Read More

UAE to invest in refining, petrochemical projects, oil storage in India

International News:

Betting big on rising oil demand in the world's third largest energy consumer, oil-rich UAE it is looking at investing more in refining and petrochemical projects as well as stocking more crude in India.

UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and its partner Saudi Aramco have jointly taken a 50 per cent stake in the planned $44 billion refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

It has hired space at the underground strategic oil storages built at Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka.
"We are looking at expanding investment portfolio in the downstream sectors (particularly) oil refining and petrochemicals," said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State in the United Arab Emirates and CEO of the ADNOC.

UAE, he said, is looking to go beyond merely selling crude oil to India and wants to develop a strategic partnership.

"We are only looking at strategic partnership given that we can also bring our own crude," he said. "India is not only an important market for us. India is a very strategic partner."
UAE, he said, is looking to expand its cooperation with India and it will look at enhancing avenues of cooperation.

The minister was talking to reporters after receiving Lifetime achievement award at the Petrotech Conference from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


 Like other major producers, Aramco and ADNOC are looking to lock in customers in the world's third-largest oil consumer through investments...Read More