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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country through his “Mann ki Baat” programme over the All India Radio network. In the 68th edition of Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister said that the youth had enthusiastically participated in the ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ App Innovation Challenge. He noted that nearly two thirds of the entries were made by the youth of tier two and tier three cities. Awards have been given to around two dozen Apps in different categories, he said. He asked the All India Radio listeners to familiarise themselves with these Apps and to connect with them. The Prime Minister mentioned several of these apps, including Kutuki Kids learning app, an interactive app for children; an app for micro blogging platform called ku KOO ku; Chingari App which is becoming popular among the youth; ‘Ask Sarkar’ app for getting correct information about government schemes and Step Set Go- fitness app etc. Prime Minister Modi said that today's ‘small start-ups’ will transform into big

My dear countrymen, Namaskar. Generally, this period is full of festivals; fairs are held at various places; it’s the time for religious ceremonies too. During these times of Corona crises, on the one hand people are full of exaltation and enthusiasm too; and yet in a way there’s also a discipline that touches our heart. Broadly speaking in a way, there is a feeling of responsibility amongst citizens. People are getting along with their day to day tasks, while taking care of themselves and others as well. At every event being organised in the country, the kind of patience and simplicity being witnessed this time is unprecedented. Even Ganeshotsav is being celebrated online at certain places; at most places eco-friendly Ganesh idols have been installed. Friends, if we observe very minutely, one thing will certainly draw our attention- our festivals and the environment. There has always been a deep connect between the two. On the one hand, our festivals implicitly convey the message of

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a seminar on Atmanirbhar Bharat in Defence Manufacturing via Video Conferencing. The virtual seminar was jointly organised by Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence (MoD). Stressing on the need to become Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) in defence manufacturing, the Prime Minister said our aim is to boost defence production, develop new technology and give significant roles to private players in the defence sector. Complimenting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his entire team for working on a mission mode and taking relentless efforts, the Prime Minister said that the objective of achieving self-reliance in defence production will definitely gain momentum soon. Prime Minister Modi said when India became independent, it had a great potential and ecosystem for defence production in India but for decades no se

A high-level delegation comprising Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the Afghan Taliban’s political office in Doha arrived in Pakistan this week, to discuss the way forward in the Afghan peace process with the leadership of Pakistan. This was the second visit of Mullah Baradar to Pakistan in the last 10 months. He had also visited Islamabad in October 2019, just after President Donald Trump had abruptly called off the peace talks with the Taliban, citing the militant group’s continued attacks against the US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan. The talks in Islamabad were also attended by the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed. The spy agency is known for its mentorship and close ties with Afghan armed groups, especially the Taliban, since the time of the former Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Pak spy agency is believed to have used its influence with the Taliban to bring them to the table for talks and ult

India-Vietnam relations which was elevated to ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Vietnam in 2017, continues to be an important factor not only in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, but also for regional peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. This has acquired added traction in the backdrop of China’s belligerence in the South China Sea and elsewhere as well. It augurs well that there have been regular interaction between the leaders of the two countries at various levels both through bilateral institutional mechanisms and also on the margins of multilateral meetings. It is against this backdrop that the 17th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held via video–conference. The JCM assumes strategic significance. The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. S. Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister and Mr. Pham Bin Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and

Roads are an important lifeline for any nation. Equally important are transportation networks. The pace of growth of a country depends on the production of goods and services as well as their movement. For the progress of a huge and populous nation like India, construction of new and developed roads are crucial. Roads provide connectivity and ensure smooth traffic flow. The development of road network infrastructure is among the major reforms initiated by the government in different sectors to make India “Aatmanirbhar” or self-reliant. Over the last few years, India’s road infrastructure has seen consistent improvement. Connectivity has improved and road transportation become a highpoint of rapid development. Roads are providing better access to services, ease of transportation and freedom of movement to people. India has one of the largest road networks in the world, spanning around 5.5 million kilometres. It comprises national and state highways and urban and rural roads. T

In a step to enhance economic engagement and further boost bilateral relations, India and Uzbekistan held their first meeting of the National Coordination Committees this week. The objective of the committees is to monitor the implementation of joint projects agreed between the two countries. The meeting was co-chaired by India's Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan and Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Sardor Umurzakov. The meeting was held in an online format in view of the prevailing health and travel conditions. According to a statement of the Ministry of External Affairs, the two sides reviewed the bilateral activities in the fields of trade and economy. They also took note of the negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, preferential trade agreement, mutual market access for agricultural produce, implementation of identified projects under India’s Lines of Credit, cooperation between the state

Advancing India’s ‘Act East’ policy and the Indo-Pacific outlook, the Sixth Roundtable of the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) was held last week virtually. This year’s discussions focussed on “ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in the Post-COVID Era”. AINTT was conceptualised by India in 2009 and aims at bolstering ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership by addressing the knowledge gap and offering policy recommendations on possible areas of cooperation. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand Don Pramudwinai and Secretary General of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi participated in this year’s rountable. Dr. Jaishankar argued that the pandemic has emphasised the deeply competitive international politics on the one hand and the stress on multilateralism on the other. One of the primary questions remain how COVID-19 will shape the world order. India and Southeast Asia have mutuality of interest in globalisation. In his re

Last week, Pakistan government issued two notifications imposing what it called “further” financial sanctions on 88 terrorists. The notifications ratified a ban on many key leaders of terror outfits and entities. These include 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-D’awa chief Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e Mohammad chief Masood Azhar the brain behind attack on the Indian Parliament, underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim who has been carrying out smuggling and other illegal activities culminating into his becoming India’s most wanted terrorist responsible for 1993 Mumbai blasts which killed more than 200 persons, Taliban leaders Jalalludin Haqqani and Khalil Ahmad Haqqani. Others banned include members of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jangvi, Harkat-ul-Ansar and several other notorious organizations. The notifications provide for seizure of their movable and immovable properties and freezing of their bank accounts. The notifications prohibit transferring money through financial institution

The Corona pandemic has affected the lives, social relationships and, most importantly, economic conditions of billions of people residing in more than 200 countries of the world. Significantly, it has also affected politics and political processes in democratic countries, where periodic elections are crucial part of the system of governance. It is to underline that the most powerful, resilient and the richest democracy in the world, the United States of America, has also been affected severely by this pandemic in many ways, including the disruption in the political processes. Every fourth year, Americans vote for a new President. Occasionally, they re-elect an incumbent for another term of four years. The big question today is whether the US presidential election will be held smoothly and whether the incumbent President, Donald Trump, would be re-elected. The political processes in the run-up to the presidential election on 3rd November 2020 are anything but smooth. The COVID19 rela

The revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution last year, has upset the domestic and foreign policies of Pakistan. Since Kashmir had been the focal point of its foreign policy, the Pakistan Tehreek-Insaaf government has made all attempts to internationalize it. Islamabad especially had high hopes from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene a high-level meeting on the Kashmir issue. Since Saudi Arabia is considered the centre of the Islamic countries and one of the main influencers of the OIC, Pakistan had always tried to have the Kingdom on its side. But all its hopes were dashed, when in a talk show Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi underlined that OIC and Saudi had belied its hopes on the Kashmir issue and stressed that Pakistan is losing its patience on the matter. He further said that Pakistan would be forced to form an alliance with like-minded Islamic countries, minus Saudi Arabia and call a conference outside OIC, if Kashmir is no

India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla was on a two day visit to Dhaka. He carried Prime Minister Modi’s message for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Indian Foreign Secretary was personally received by her. He is the first foreign dignitary that she has received after many months given the outbreak of COVID19 pandemic. Bilateral exchanges between New Delhi and Dhaka in the last few months were conducted through virtual meetings. Given the fact that South Asian economies are severely affected by the pandemic, the visit assumes significance. The Indian Foreign Secretary also met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen during his visit. During the hour long meeting between Indian Foreign Secretary and Bangladesh Prime Minister, both the countries discussed the ways and means to restart the existing connectivity network, cooperate and update each other on the develo

India and the United Arab Emirates share a vision for peace and prosperity. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Zayed al Nahyan, the two countries have invested considerably in enhancing bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, defence, security, science & technology, education and culture. The two sides have worked to elevate ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership through bilateral mechanisms such as the Joint Commission Meetings. The 13th session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation was held virtually and was co-chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Foreign Minister of the UAE, Abdullah Bin Zayed al Nahyan. This was the first time that the Joint Commission Meeting was held virtually given the disruptions caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it underlined the indomitable spirit of the two countries to continue sharing ideas and exchang

United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) decision to normalise relations with Israel is the most dramatic event since the historic Arafat-Clinton-Rabin handshake on the White House Lawns in September 1993. Though there were signs of a rapprochement between the two countries; the announcement, interestingly was made by US President Donald Trump. It unravels a new page in Israel's overtures towards Arab countries of the Gulf. Within the next few weeks, a formal agreement will be signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Emirates Crown Prince and de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Washington. The announcement comes with an exciting twist. In return for normalisation of ties, President Trump declared that “Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas” in the West Bank outlined in his Peace Plan announced in January this year. For a host of domestic and international reasons, Netanyahu was not keen to annex parts of the West Bank as he promised b

While the Chinese elite, especially the top brass of China’s Communist Party leadership, have long been suspected of parking their money and assets in Hong Kong, insulating their financial gains from the mainland, and therefore, out of view of the Chinese people, an investigation by the New York Times has confirmed just that. In a recently published report in the NYT, titled, ‘Luxury Homes Tie Chinese Communist Elite to Hong Kong’s Fate’, it has been claimed that relatives of top bosses of the CCP have amassed huge wealth using Hong Kong’s financial landscape of international business for their own gains. Close relatives of three of the top four in the CCP have over $51 million-worth investments in luxury real estate in Hong Kong. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s close relatives have come under the lens—not the first time—for their assets in Hong Kong and business dealings with relatives of other top officials of the CCP, who own huge assets and investments in Hong Kong. Observer