Newsletter 25 Feb

Top 5 News

1- India and the United States were making progress on trade, energy and military deals, U.S. President
2- Fresh violence in Delhi; death toll rises to 7
3- Shah holds meeting with Delhi LG, CM, leaders of political parties
4- RBI receives Rs 1.23-trn bid for Rs 25,000-cr long-term repo operations
5- Delhi, Aligarh CAA violence linked; PFI, Bhim Army key suspects: Intel

National

India and the United States were making progress on trade, energy and military deals, U.S. President

Todays’ Program of President Trump

The Trumps paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial in Rajghat in Delhi
A ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan,
PM Modi and US President Trump today held extensive talks covering the entire spectrum of bilateral ties, including the key areas of defense, security, and trade and investment at the Hyderabad House here.

The two leaders are also expected to deliberate on

Regional issues, including the US’ proposed peace deal with the Taliban, the situation in the Indo-Pacific, the threat of terrorism and the situation in the Gulf region.
After the talks, the two sides will seal defense deals worth around USD 3 billion.

US President Donald Trump’s message in the visitor’s book at Raj Ghat, ‘The American people stand strongly with a sovereign and wonderful India – The vision of the great Mahatma Gandhi. This is a tremendous honor!‘

PM Modi receives US President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump, at Hyderabad House.

Great honor to see thousands of people gathered to welcome me, people love you: US President Donald Trump to PM Modi.

Joint Press Conference

Modi-

We (India and USA) resolved to step up efforts to make those who support terrorism, responsible.
Today we discussed every important aspect of US-India partnership, be it defense and security, energy strategic partnership, trade or people to people ties. The strengthening in defense ties between India and US is an important aspect of our partnership.

US President

Earlier today we expanded our defense cooperation with agreements for India to purchase more than US$ 3 Bn of advanced American military equipment, including Apache and MH-60 Romeo Helicopters – finest in the world.

These will enhance our joint defense capabilities.

During our visit we discussed the importance of a secure 5G wireless network & the need for this emerging technology to be a tool for freedom, progress, prosperity, not to do anything with where it could be even conceived as a conduit for suppression and censorship.

In our discussions, PM Modi and I affirmed our two countries’ commitment to protecting our citizens from radical Islamic terrorism. In this effort the US is also working productively with Pakistan to confront terrorists who operate on its soil.

Our teams have made tremendous progress for a comprehensive trade agreement & I’m optimistic we can reach a deal of great importance to both countries. Since I took office, US exports to India are up nearly 60% & exports of high quality American energy have grown by 500%.

US working positively with Pakistan to deal with terrorism.

Foreign Secy, MEA India, HV Shringla “On security and defense there was an understanding that we have a strong strategic partnership that is now referred to as comprehensive strategic global partnership”.

I think the two leaders also decided to move towards what was referred to as a ‘big deal’ in the trade sector.

He added, President Trump and PM Modi decided to move towards what was referred to as “big deal” in trade sector.

“It has been an honor to be here. You have a very special PM, he really knows what he is doing. He is a tough man. He has done a fantastic job. We work very closely together” President Trump while interacting with business leaders in Delhi.

How International Media Saw:

Reuters: India and the United States were making progress on trade, energy and military deals, U.S. President said on Tuesday as he held talks with Indian leaders after a rousing reception on his first official visit to the country.

BBC: “Donald Trump in India: Key deals signed on defense but not on trade: India and the US have signed defense, energy and telecoms deals but failed to reach a much-talked about trade accord. President Trump hailed a “very productive visit” but said he would keep working with Indian PM Modi for “a comprehensive trade deal.”

CNN: Seven dead, 90 injured in New Delhi clashes ahead of Trump’s arrival

Melania Trump interacts with students in Delhi

First Lady of the US, Melania Trump interacts with students at Sarvodaya Co-Ed Senior Secondary School.
School in south Delhi on Tue to attend a session of the ”Happiness Class”. She was greeted by young students, who garlanded her and also applied ”teeka” on her forehead.
Melania Trump watched a dance performance by students.

Fresh violence in Delhi; death toll rises to 9, and more than 100 injured, so far

But for several hours, Reuter’s witnesses saw the outnumbered policemen mostly stand beside those backing the citizenship law, a majority Hindu group, and do little to quell the violence. The police also stood by as a mob vandalized a store with a Muslim name, pulling out vehicles and setting them alight.
Schools have been shut and exams postponed
Fresh violence broke out in parts of northeast Delhi with mobs pelting stones, vandalizing shops and threatening locals on Tuesday, a day after 7 people were killed in violent clashes over the CAA.
Smoke was seen going up in some places and streets, including in the epicenter of the trouble Maujpur, were littered with stones, bricks and burnt tyres, testimony to the spiraling violence and bloodshed that took on a communal taint on Monday and injured about 150 people.
As per The Telegraph, fearful residents stayed indoors as the area smoldered with tension.
PIL seeks arrest of BJP leaders Kapil Mishra and Anurag Thakur alleging their role in inciting North-east Delhi violence.
- Prohibitory orders, banning the assembly of more than four persons, were imposed on Monday.
- According to police sources, 48 police and 3 firemen and 98 civilians were injured in Monday’s clashes between pro and anti CAA groups at Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Chandbagh, Khureji Khas and Bhajanpura.
- With US President Donald Trump in the city, Delhi police ramped up security in the area. It is being assisted by paramilitary personnel.
- Officials said police personnel are talking to local peace committees in a bid restore amity.
- “Mischief-makers are being dealt with strictly on the spot,” a senior official said.
- There have been no arrests yet.
- DCP (Shahdara) Amit Sharma underwent an operation on Monday night for the head injury sustained during the clashes.
- Police have also banned carrying of weapons and printing, circulation of “communally sensitive” material.
- A delegation comprising members of the Jamia Coordination Committee, Jawaharlal Nehru Union Students’ Union, Pinjra Tod, met senior police officials and Dy CM Manish Sisodia late on Mon night to raise concerns about the situation.
- Sisodia has expressed solidity with Shaheen Bagh Protest before election.The violence started a day after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kapil Mishra warned anti-CAA protesters to end their peaceful sit-ins in the northeastern Jafrabad and Maujpur areas of the Indian capital.(Aljazeera)

Shah held meeting with Delhi LG, CM, leaders of political parties

Union HM Amit Shah on Tue held a meeting to discuss the prevailing situation in the national capital after violence in northeast Delhi over the amended citizenship law left seven people, including a head constable, dead.
Delhi’s Lt Governor Anil Baijal, CM Arvind Kejriwal, Commissioner of Police Amulya Patnaik, Congress leader Subhash Chopra, BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, Ramvir Bidhuri Union Home Secy Ajay Bhalla, Director of IB, Arvind Kumar attended the meeting.
- The move came after the home minister reviewed the law and order situation in the national capital on Monday night as violence rocked northeast Delhi.
- A head constable was among seven people killed and at least 50 others, including several paramilitary and Delhi Police personnel, were injured as violence spiraled over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi on Monday.
  - Frenzied protesters torched houses, shops, vehicles and a petrol pump, besides hurling stones.
  - Rumor-Mongering should Stop, Says Home Ministry Amid Violence In Delhi
  - Home Ministry sources today said special police officers have been deployed in violence-prone areas and more will be called in if needed.
  - The Ministry has warned people against spreading fake news and rumor-mongering over the clashes in northeast Delhi areas between groups for and against the controversial citizenship law.
  - CM Kejarival, after meeting, stated to media, that everyone should be raised above politics and work jointly to restore normalcy. He also added 26 policemen injured and getting treatment at different hospital.
  Arson, looting reported in the following areas of northeast Delhi: Karawal Nagar, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, Vijay Park, and Yamuna Vihar.

RBI receives Rs 1.23-trn bid for Rs 25,000-cr long-term repo operations

In the auction for three-year maturity liquidity operations made last week, the RBI had received bids worth Rs 1.94 trillion for Rs 25,000 crore on offer.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Mon received bids worth Rs 1.23 trillion for Rs 25,000 crore on offer for its one-year long-term repo operations (LTRO).
In the auction for 3-year maturity liquidity operations made last week, the RBI had received bids worth Rs 1.94 trillion for Rs 25,000 crore on offer.
On Monday’s auction, the RBI received 52 bids, which the RBI allotted on a pro-rata
- The idea behind the LTRO, and also relaxations on cash reserve ratio (CRR) for incremental lending to the retail and micro, small and medium enterprises, announced as a policy measure on the same day, is to bring down the cost of funds for banks without necessarily lowering the deposit rate. The banks can then lower the lending rate, and extend credit at a cheaper rate. The central bank plans to go for Rs 1 trillion worth of LTRO for now.

On Feb 11, Banks to get 5-year CRR relief for lending to auto, housing, MSMEs. While home finance can go for a longer period, and vehicle finance loans can reach seven years, analysts say five years is a good enough window for banks.

UP Intelligence report revealed that on Feb 23, 2020 Bhim Army officials, who staged a protest in Ambedkar park in Aligarh, met PFI officials after submitting a memorandum to the city magistrate

A series of incidents related to arson and firing in Delhi’s northeast district in the past two days, has also been linked with simultaneous violent protests in Aligarh, a report of UP State Intelligence has revealed on basis of Call Detail Records (CDRs) of a few key mobile phone numbers.
Report revealed that Bhim Army officials, who staged a protest in Ambedkar Park in Aligarh, met PFI officials after submitting a memorandum to the city magistrate.
Subsequently, a group of students from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) also met the Bhim Army and PFI leaders. The report said that a large delegation led by Bhim Army later reached a religious place in the heart of the town and started removing posters and raising slogans against the government.
When the police intervened, the agitated crowd started pelting stones on the police force. Later violence also started in Upper Court and Jamalpur area of the city where large protest related to CAA were being already staged.
“A series of violent incidents started simultaneously at different places. It seems it (stone pelting) was organized and linked with violence that erupted in North east district of Delhi. We are verifying some crucial phone call data,” said a Circle Officer of Aligarh police on phone.
The timing and pattern of CAA related violence in Delhi and Aligarh has similar footprints. “At both places the violence started with stone pelting. As crowds swelled, the rioters, many of them armed, indulged in arson and looting shops.
“In Aligarh shops were looted in Khair road area, while in Delhi’s Jaffrabad locality a petrol pump was set on fire and several shops were looted.
“The violent protest targeted policemen. In Delhi, a head constable Ratan Lal died while DCP Amit Sharma was seriously injured in targeted attacks.
“In Aligarh Inspector Ravibdra Kumar Singh and several constables were attacked by the mob. The anti-CAA protesters also destroyed state property including police vehicles.
Earlier a report sent by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the Ministry of Home Affairs said PFI transferred money from its account to several people involved with anti-CAA protests.
A total of 73 such bank accounts have been identified in western Uttar Pradesh. The ED reports says that major transactions have taken place from PFI’s main account in Delhi.
PFI’s national headquarters is located in Shaheen Bagh, which boasts of staging the biggest anti-CAA dharna in the country. Links between PFI leaders and office bearers of the Bhim army has also been established by the ED.Reports said that Mohammed Pervez Ahmed, State President of PFI, Delhi, is a key participant in Shaheen Bagh protest. Parvez is also linked with several WhatsApp group of Bhim Army.

Bihar Writes To Centre About Population Register, Wants New Queries Out

The letter, written by a senior state government official, who is the nodal officer for census and the NPR -to the Registrar General of India, makes two key points.
- The controversy over the CAA, NRC and the NPR is expected to hit the Budget Session of the Bihar Assembly that’s expected to begin on today.
- The opposition – including Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (State based party) is likely to demand a resolution and register their protest over the issue.
- CM Nitish Kumar, who has gone on record saying that NRC and NPR cannot be held in the state in their current form, has written to the center asking for a formal order in this regard.
Two key points:

All the new questions like the birth place of mother and father should be dropped from the form and old questions be allowed to remain.
The basis of the new NPR should be 2010 not 2015, as due to an error, the total population recorded in the last census was the less than the one before, held in 2010. CM, Kumar, in a meeting in Darbhanga on Sunday, said, “I won’t allow any kind of injustice against the minority community till I am the Chief Minister”.

International

With human rights under attack, UN chief unveils blueprint for positive change

People’s basic human rights – their birth-right – are “under assault”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, as he launched a Call to Action aimed at boosting equality and reducing suffering everywhere.
“Human rights are our ultimate tool to help societies grow in freedom,” he told Member States on the opening day of the UN Human Rights Council’s 43^rd session in Geneva.
“To ensure equality for women and girls. To advance sustainable development. To prevent conflict, reduce human suffering and build a just and equitable world.
In his speech to the top UN right body, in which he detailed a seven-point blueprint for positive change, Mr. Guterres issued an appeal for solidarity.
“People across the world want to know we are on their side,” he said. “Whether robbed of their dignity by war, repression of poverty, or simply dreaming of a better future, they rely on their irreducible rights – and they look to us to help uphold them.”