Bullet trains to Ganga clean-up: Here’s what’s in Japan’s goody bag for Modi

September 2, 2014

Tokyo, Sep 2: Living up to the hopes and expectations of several watchers, the Japanese government on Monday announced a public-private investment of 3.5 trillion yen (Rs 2.03 lakh crore) in India. The two countries have set a target of doubling Japan's foreign direct investment and the number of Japanese companies in India within five years.

Modi and Abe
Japanese funding will also be made available for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in Indian government's initiatives in the fields of manufacturing, clean energy, skill development, water security, food processing and agro industry, agricultural cold chain and rural development.

In a joint press conference, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe commented on a number of issues including strategic maritime cooperation, security cooperation and taking forward nuclear talks.

"The two prime ministers ... affirmed their shared commitment to maritime security, freedom of navigation and overflight, civil aviation safety, unimpeded lawful commerce, and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law," the joint statement said.

They also agreed to accelerate talks on the possible sale of an amphibious aircraft to India's navy - likely to become Japan's first overseas military sale in nearly 50 years and a result of Abe's more muscular approach to defence in the face of an assertive China.

Abe and Modi agreed to look into upgrading a 'two-plus-two' format for security talks by bringing together their foreign and defence ministers, and directed officials to launch working level talks on defence equipment and technology cooperation.

They also agreed to hold regular maritime exercises, and that Japan would continue to participate in US-India drills.

The two leaders also welcomed a substantial agreement on a commercial deal on the manufacture and supply of rare earth chlorides, a key element of defence industry components and hi-tech wares, by India to Japan.

Here's a quick wrap-up on everything that happened since Modi began his five day official visit to Japan:

On Indo-Japanese relations:

The Indian Prime Minister said that better relations between the two countries would be better for the world and reiterated that the world was sure that the 20th century would belong to Asia.

"The 21st century belongs to Asia ... but how the 21st century will be depends on how strong and progressive India-Japan ties are," Modi said.

On Japanese investments in India:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a special team in his office to fast-track investments from Japan.

"Two nominees selected by Japan will also be part of this decision-making team, which will evaluate the business proposals," he said.

The 3.5 trillion yen( $34 billion of investment from Japan to India including Official Development Assositance(ODA) during a 5-year period will be under the aegis of India-Japan Investment Promotion Partnership for development of projects including infrastructure and building of smart cities.

Thirdly, Japan will invest substantially in the Metro project in Ahmedabad

On a civil nuclear deal:

Modi said there had been progress on a civil nuclear deal and there had been discussions on the matter. "We have asked officials at our end to take it forward so that there can be strategic co-operation on the issue," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said he hoped that some sanctions on Indian companies would be lifted and said that the agreement on defence equipment showed that relations between the two countries had improved.

"Over nuclear co-operation there has been progress over the last several months. I was able to have discussions with PM Modi on the issue and we were able to deepen our understanding on both sides," Abe said.

Lifting of ban on HAL

Japan government also lifted ban on HAL and five other Indian entities, which had been imposed in the aftermath of the 1998 nuclear tests.The removal of the ban will enable these companies to have cooperation with Japanese firms, including transfer of technology.

On bullet trains:

Japan has also expressed readiness to provide financial, technical and operational support to introduce bullet trains in India.

On security and defence cooperation:

"We agreed to comprehensive agreements on defence and security co-operation," Abe said on Monday. Japan said it would remove six of India's space and defence-related entities from Japan's foreign fund user list.

On maritime cooperation:

The two countries agreed to hold regular maritime drills, and that Japan would continue to participate in U.S.-India drills.

On smart cities:

A pact was signed, at the start of Modi's visit, under which his constituency Varanasi will be developed as a 'smart city', with cooperation and experience of Kyoto, the Japanese 'smart city' which is a confluence of heritage and modernity.

There will also be public-private initiatives to set up Electronics Industrial Parks in India and Japan.

On cleaning Ganga:

Modi reportedly discussed his Ganga cleaning plans with Abe. The Japanese PM has asked him to suggest ways in which Japan can help the country in the issue.

On education:

India will promote Japanese language education. The two countries have discussed a big push for collaboration in information technology.

On Energy

On energy cooperation, the two countries decided to collaborate in the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and upstream development of oil and gas as well as clean coal technology.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 15,2024

modiPM.jpg

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would formally kickstart the BJP's Lok Sabha election campaign in Karnataka on Saturday from Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's home turf— Kalaburagi.

He is scheduled to address a mega public meeting at the district headquarters town's N V Ground at 2 pm.

Kharge, who had represented Kalaburagi (Gulbarga Lok Sabha segment) twice in the past, lost to BJP's Umesh Jadhav by a margin of 95,452 votes in the 2019 general elections here— the octogenarian leader's first electoral loss in his political life spanning several decades.

BJP has once again fielded Jadhav from the segment.

Speculations are rife that the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, who has the role of managing the party nationally and coordinating with the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, may not contest the coming polls and, instead, the Congress is likely to field his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, a businessman, who also manages educational institutions.

On March 18, Modi will be in Shivamogga, the home district of veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, and is scheduled to address a huge public meeting at 2 pm.

Yediyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is the sitting MP from Shivamogga and has been re-nominated by the party. Yediyurappa's other son B Y Vijayendra, who represents Shikaripura assembly constituency in the district, is the state BJP President.

BJP has announced candidates for 20 seats in the State, which has a total of 28 constituencies.

After being ousted from power by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls, the BJP now is making a strong bid to regain the lost ground in Karnataka.

The BJP won 25 out of total 28 seats in the previous elections, and had ensured the win of a party supported independent candidate in Mandya. The then ruling Congress-JD(S) alliance had come a cropper winning just one seat each.

It is a role reversal of sorts for JD(S), which joined the NDA last September and has forged an electoral alliance with the BJP. The regional party is expected to contest in three seats— Mandya, Hassan and Kolar.

Sharing details of Modi's visit, state BJP General Secretary Sunil Kumar on Wednesday said BJP National President J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath along with other leaders will visit different Lok Sabha constituencies for campaigning in the coming days.

Speaking about the party's poll preparations, he said: "We have divided 28 Lok Sabha constituencies into eight clusters for Lok Sabha elections. Keeping in view the local political and geographical background, programmes and strategies are being worked out in those eight clusters."

Several senior leaders including Shah and Nadda have already visited one of these clusters, Kumar said, adding, "Workers' convention, well-wishers' contacts have been made and election preparations are on in all these eight clusters. In the second phase, large public meetings will be held."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 28,2024

New Delhi: After India summoned an American diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated on Wednesday its call for "fair, transparent, timely legal processes".

We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller while responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi.

The meeting at the foreign ministry's South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Mr Kejriwal.

Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party's frozen bank accounts, saying, "We are also aware of the Congress party's allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections."

He said the US encourages "fair, transparent and timely legal processes" for each of these issues.

"With respect to your first question, I'm not going to talk about any private diplomatic conversations, but of course, what we have said publicly is what I just said from here, that we encourage fair, transparent, timely legal processes. We don't think anyone should object to that," he said.

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the third Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader after Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh to be taken into custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

The US State Department on Tuesday said it is monitoring reports of Mr Kejriwal's arrest and called on New Delhi to ensure "a fair and timely legal process" for the jailed Chief Minister.

India objected to it and warned of "unhealthy precedents".

"States are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents," the foreign ministry said.

"India's legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted," the ministry stressed.

The US remarks came days after Germany's Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government had reacted strongly and summoned the German envoy, labelling their remark "blatant interference in internal matters".

The excise policy was introduced to bring an overhaul to the liquor business in Delhi, but was scrapped after Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy. The ED believes the bribe money from the policy was allegedly used for funding the AAP's election campaigns. It has also called Mr Kejriwal a "conspirator" in the case.

His arrest just ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election has also prompted furious protests from the opposition camp.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 18,2024

election.jpg

New Delhi, Mar 18: The Election Commission on Monday afternoon issued orders for the removal of six Home Secretaries - including the top bureaucrats from Gujarat, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

The poll panel also directed the transfer of West Bengal's Director-General of Police, the top cop of a state that has seen several instances of poll-related violence in recent years. The poll panel further said a shortlist of three potential replacements had to be prepared and submitted by 5 pm.

The re-shuffle, not an uncommon move by the Election Commission before major polls, also includes the transfer of the Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand Home Secretaries, as well as senior officials attached to the offices of the Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers.

In addition, Iqbal Singh Chahal, who is Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and other officials in municipalities across Maharashtra, have been removed too.

All of this comes less than a month before the 2024 Lok Sabha poll; the ECI on Saturday said voting will begin on April 19 and run over seven phases till June 1.

This is, in fact, the first bureaucratic re-jig by the ECI since it announced polling dates.

The ECI's move comes after a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and his two associates, the newly-appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu. This step comes as part of the poll panel's commitment to ensure a level playing field for all political parties in the forthcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, as well as by-polls for 26 seats in 13 states.

Sources said the personnel removed were found to be holding dual charge in the offices of the respective chief ministers of each state, and this could compromise, or be seen to be compromising, required neutrality, particularly in relation to law-and-order before, during and after polling.

Bengal's ruling Trinamool has not yet reacted to the removal of DGP Rajiv Malik, who is seen by some to be close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party. In the past, the state government has questioned the last-minute re-shuffle of senior civil service and police officials so close to an election, arguing it actually hampers prep work since the new faces need time to adjust to the post.

Bengal has frequently witnessed violence during polling season; in June last year over a dozen people were killed across the state as voting for a panchayat election was underway.

The Trinamool accused the opposition of instigating violence and criticised central forces for their failure to protect voters, while the Congress claimed the state had let thugs loose on the people.

While announcing the dates on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner said the poll panel would take a very dim view of any violence during the election. Mr Kumar said the ECI is prepared to come down hard on any such incident. "We're putting political parties on notice," he declared.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.