[NEWS OF THE DAY]

India’s growing presence in Brazil is visible, says EAM Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar interacted with the association of entrepreneurs of Brazil, LIDE on Tue, and said that India and Brazil are not only partners but can share best practices for their mutual growth and progress. The EAM also visited the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo which is the largest Industry association in Brazil and reaffirmed that several opportunities await both nations in business cooperation under the umbrella of strengthened bilateral ties. Jaishankar is on an official visit to Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina from Aug 22-27. During his visit, in addition to bilateral engagements with his counterparts, External Affairs Minister will call on the top leadership in all 3 countries. (here) Ukraine crisis has led to an “energy challenge” and India has ramped up energy investment and will invest $1.6 bn in Brazil said Jaishankar. He added India will be buying more crude oil from Guyana, Mexico, and Brazil.

Rajnath Singh attends SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting in Tashkent

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the annual meeting of defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states on Wed. Defense cooperation issues among the SCO member states were among the issues believed to be discussed during the meeting. A joint communique is expected to be issued later. Singh is also scheduled to address his counterparts. Rajnath Singh, on Aug 23, reached Tashkent, Uzbekistan on a 3-day official visit. On the first day of his engagements, Rajnath Singh held bilateral meetings with his Uzbek counterpart Lt General Bakhodir Kurbanov; Defence Minister of Kazakhstan Col Gen Zhaksylykov Ruslan Zhakslykov, and Belarusian Defence Minister Lt General Viktor Khrenin. The entire spectrum of defense cooperation with the 3 countries was reviewed during the meetings, with a focus on identifying avenues to expand mutually beneficial collaboration. During the stay in Tashkent, Singh will pay homage at the monument of late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri and meet the Indian Diaspora in Uzbekistan. (here)

Indian Army Chief Manoj Pande to visit Nepal from Sept 4 to 8

The Indian Army Chief, Manoj Pande, will be visiting Kathmandu from Sept 4 to 8, a Nepal Army official confirmed. This will be his first visit to the Himalayan nation since his appointment to the post on Apr 30 earlier this year. As per sources, during the visit, the two sides are scheduled to discuss various aspects of bilateral defense cooperation. Gen Pande, the 29^th Army Chief of India, will be conferred the honorary title of Nepali Army by President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari during the visit, which has remained a customary tradition between the two countries. Following tradition, Chief of the Nepali Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma visited India last year at the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Gen Pande. Gen Sharma was given the honorary title of Chief of the Indian Army by the former Indian President Ram Nath Kovind during a special function. Earlier in June, Nepal’s ambassador to India, Dr. Shanker Prasad Sharma, met with Gen Pande in New Delhi. (here)

BrahMos missile misfire: Services of 3 Indian Air Force officers terminated

The services of 3 Indian Air Force (IAF) officers, a Group Captain, and two Wing Commanders were terminated on Tue in connection with the BrahMos missile misfire incident. A BrahMos missile was accidentally fired on Mar 9, 2022. A Court of Inquiry (Col), set up to establish the facts of the case, including fixing responsibility for the incident, found that deviation from the SOP by the officers, and these three officers were primarily held responsible for the incident. The BrahMos missile got accidentally fired from an airbase and landed inside Pakistan at a place called Mian Channu. The Pakistan govt had registered its objection to the incident but much before that, an investigation was launched by India. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh said, “A missile was unfortunately accidentally launched on Mar 9. The incident occurred during a routine inspection. We later came to know that it had landed in Pakistan.” he said. “Thankfully, no damage was reported due to the accidental launch of the missile,” he added. (here) [At that time, Indo-Pak relation watchers said that nothing incidental between India and Pakistan.]

Indian PM Modi to travel to Japan to attend the state funeral of Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on Sept 27^th, say Japan govt officials as quoted by Kyodo news. The 2-day 2+2 meeting will have Indian Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar meeting their counterparts foreign minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and defense minister Yasukazu Hamada at a time of tension in the area after the visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and some aggressive military exercises by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

Big churn in PM’s nuclear power plan; NTPC ‘set to develop’ massive atomic plant

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nuclear power push gathers traction. India’s largest power producer NTPC is looking to develop another massive nuclear project just weeks after announcing its entry into the sector. A venture between NTPC & Nuclear Power Corporation is in an advanced stage of talks with the govt to develop two 700-MW reactors in M.P. This comes on the heels of an announcement earlier this month from NTPC, which said it’s seeking to make its nuclear power debut with 2 reactors in Haryana. The country is currently building 6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, the most after China, which has nearly 3 times that volume under construction, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Modi is aiming to more than triple India’s nuclear fleet over the next decade to expand the share of electricity from cleaner sources, as the nation seeks to zero out carbon emissions by 2070. The nation has 6.8 GW of nuclear power, barely 1.7% of its total generation fleet. Delhi-based NTPC currently runs 92% of its capacity on fossil fuels and plans to reduce that to about half by 2032. (here)

[NATIONAL]

US Treasury official to start India visit today

US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo is set to start his 3-day visit to India on Wed during which talks will be held on economic and security issues between the two countries. He will travel to Mumbai and New Delhi for meetings that include the Prime Minister’s office, the Fin Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Treasury Department says Adeyemo will “discuss key shared priorities such as bolstering energy security, addressing food insecurity globally and combatting illicit financial flows.” He will also underscore “our two countries’ deep economic, security, and cultural ties” and discuss ways to build “more resilient supply chains” through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that India joined as a founding member in May. The Adeyemo will meet with senior govt counterparts and business executives in Mumbai on Aug 24 and 25, the statement said. Adeyemo will also meet with students and entrepreneurs the statement added. The official’s visit comes as the US appeared to defend India’s policy choices amid the Ukraine conflict. India continues to engage with Russia on several issues including India’s energy security despite mounting sanctions on Moscow amid the war in Ukraine. Last week, External Affairs Minister defended India’s crude oil imports from Russia and termed it the “best deal”. (here) India will seek broader consensus before it supports US-led efforts to cap the price of Russian oil, which American officials are expected to push for this week when they travel to Mumbai and New Delhi. That message will likely be conveyed to Adeyemo and his team at meetings with Indian govt officials and company executives from Wed to Fri. His boss, Janet Yellen, and the department have led efforts to get allies on board the price cap idea, which they anticipate will starve Russia of revenues that fund its invasion of Ukraine without taking oil off the market and triggering a price spike. (here)

Uzbek Woman Arrested in UP while trying to Cross Over to Nepal with fake documents

An Uzbek woman has been arrested while allegedly trying to cross over to Nepal on fake documents, a senior immigration official said here on Tue. Shokhsanam Sapakhonova (31) was arrested Mon night in the Sonauli area after her visa and passport were found to be fake. She had come from Chandigarh and was on her way to Nepal, Immigration Officer at Sonauli said. Sonauli is a common transit point between the two countries. As per the officer, the woman entered India on Feb 20, 2020, and stayed in many big cities. A case has been registered against her under relevant sections, an official said, adding the Intelligence Bureau has been informed about the matter and the woman is being questioned. Officials claimed that she entered India with the help of some agents and has a criminal background. (here)

Indigenous Pinaka extended range rockets running through trials

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is today running trials of its Pinaka extended range rocket weapon systems at Rajasthan’s Pokhran firing range, news agency ANI said quoting DRDO officials. According to reports, multiple successful tests – of indigenously developed rockets for the Army – have already been conducted. In Apr the DRDO and the Army tested the Pinaka Mk-I (an enhanced rocket system) and the Pinaka Area Denial Munition (ADM) rocket. The successful trials gave the defense manufacturing industry a boost and encouraged series production; though the rockets are designed by DRDO, they are being manufactured by a private firm. The defense ministry has called this and other such projects critical to help fulfill prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ ambition and has reiterated also the importance of such endeavors in enabling ‘Atmanirbharta’ to develop cutting-edge defense equipment. (here)

‘LEAD CONGRESS’: Sonia Gandhi tells Ashok Gehlot ahead of her foreign trip, say sources

ZeeNews: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is also a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi-led BJP govt at the Centre, has emerged as the top choice for the Congress president’s post, sources close to the party claimed. (sources)- interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has requested him to take over before she heads abroad for medical check-ups and treatment. Though there is no official confirmation regarding this. The Gehlot camp has also not confirmed the development, but sources have confirmed that the Congress is looking beyond the Gandhis for the top post. All this comes as the Congress party’s internal election deadline of Sept 20 draws close. The detailed schedule for the election of the Congress president will be out soon and the whole process in all likelihood will be completed around the given time frame of Sept 20 without any “major postponement”, party sources said on Tue. The other name doing the rounds for the top party post was Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. (here) Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill resigns as party spokesperson: Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill on Wed tendered his resignation as the national spokesperson of the party claiming that the vision of the decision-makers no longer was in sync with the aspirations of the youth.

Adani Group Set to Acquire Majority Stake in NDTV

The Adani Group said on Tue its media unit will buy a majority stake in NDTV after indirectly acquiring 29.18% of the TV channel, which the promoters of the company said was done without consent or notice. Adani’s indirectly bought a 29.18% stake in New Delhi Television Ltd and said it will launch an open offer for another 26% stake. The open offer would be worth Rs 493 crore ($61.73 million), according to a press release issued by the company. Earlier on Tue, Adani said it bought Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL) for Rs 114 crore. VCPL owns warrants of NDTV shareholder RRPR and on Tue exercised its rights to convert those warrants into shares amounting to 99.5% of RRPR. Gautam Adani competes with Mukesh Ambani, chairman of oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries, which also has an interest in India’s vibrant media industry and owns Network18. (here)

[NEIGHBORHOOD]

Warning on China’s BRl does not reflect B’desh Fin Min’s actual position, clarifies Ministry

The Bangladesh Finance Ministry has issued a clarification on recent remarks made by the country’s finance minister Mustafa Kamal on China’s risk-prone investment projects. In a rejoinder issued by the Bangladesh Finance Ministry, spokesperson Gazi Towhidul Islam said that Kamal’s remarks on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) do not reflect his actual position. Earlier, the Bangladesh finance minister had warned the developing countries that they “must think twice” about taking more loans through BRI as global inflation and slowing growth added to the strains on indebted emerging markets. In an interview with Financial Times, Kamal also said China needed to be “more rigorous in evaluating its loans amid concerns that poor lending decisions risked pushing countries into debt distress.” After the interview, the Finance Ministry Spokesperson Islam wrote a rejoinder stating that the Finance Minister in its interview made it clear that any project in any country could be financed if it is proven financially viable. He stressed that Bangladesh would never take on finance from any authority if it were not feasible. The operative part of the rejoinder states that the Minister was “in no way warning about Chinese loans”. Even in June 2022, Bangladesh refuted all the claims made by China on the Padma bridge and said that the newly constructed multi-purpose Padma bridge project has been entirely funded by the Govt of Bangladesh” and no “bilateral or multilateral funding agency has financially contributed to its construction.” (here)

China’s tensions with Indonesia may spike over Natuna Islands

The joint combat exercise between Indonesia and US held this month has reminded China that it can’t afford to ignore Jakarta which is strategically critical to the Indo-Pacific region. Under the banners of 14 nations, the 16^th annual Garuda Shield exercise, the cornerstone of the military partnership between the US and Indonesia, was held this month. Expanding from a bilateral training event between the Indonesian Army and the US Army, this year’s “Super Garuda Shield” is now one of the biggest joint, multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific region. The strong and diverse Super Garuda Shield 2022 featured several “firsts,” including the first-ever tri-lateral airborne jump among the US, Indonesia, and Japan, which concluded early today. The multinational exercise’s planning, operations, exchanges, and activities increase all participating nations’ military defense capabilities and work to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. More than 4,000 combined forces personnel, including 1^st-time participants Australia, Singapore, and Japan Ground Self Defense Force along with Canada, France, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and the UK. “When we’re together like this, we are stronger,” said Commanding Gen, U.S. Army Pacific, General Charles Flynn. While Indonesia and China enjoy generally positive ties, Jakarta has expressed concern about Chinese involvement in its EEZ in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety, especially due to the Natuna Island issue. (here)

Mainland China, Taiwan, and the US spread the blame for rising tension, with charges of salami tactics all round

After Beijing’s unprecedented live-fire military exercises around Taiwan to protest against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to the island, Beijing and Washington were in unlikely agreement: the Taiwan Strait was being changed piecemeal through what is called the salami tactic. But they blamed each other for it. Washington said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drills were a significant escalation to change the cross-strait status quo and that Pelosi was not the first US lawmaker to visit Taiwan. Beijing said the trip was the latest of Washington’s efforts to bolster Taiwan’s independence forces and hollow out the one-China principle agreed upon when Beijing and Washington struck official ties in 1979. “Normalising Chinese military presence around the island is part of them showing that Taiwan is under the domestic jurisdiction of Beijing,” said Sheryn Lee, a senior lecturer at the Swedish Defence University. “So actually, from Taiwan’s perspective, this is the more dangerous,” Lee said the drills allowed Beijing to learn as well as to fatigue Taiwan’s military response. The exercises could also prompt further PLA activities against Taiwan’s islands off the South China Sea and secure unobstructed access to the waters between Japan and Taiwan. (here)

Pakistan’s political turmoil echoes in the US, UN corridors

The political turmoil in Pakistan echoed far away in the US as well, where the UN chief urged Islamabad to keep the legal process impartial while the State Department underlined the need to follow “democratic, constitutional and legal” principles. The controversy that followed PTI chief Imran Khan’s controversial remarks against a female judge and the Islamabad police also drew the attention of the US media and Washington’s think tanks, where experts urged ruling and opposition forces in Pakistan not to rock the boat. On Mon afternoon, the issue came up at a UN news briefing in New York as well when a reporter asked if the UN chief was aware of the recent political developments in Pakistan. Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General, said the UN chief was “aware” of the charges brought against Imran Khan and emphasized the “need for a competent, independent and impartial legal process”. The US State Department said Washington was also aware of the charges against Imran Khan but considered it “a matter for the Pakistani legal and judicial system”. (here)

Pakistan’s current account deficit lowers to $1.2bn in July

Pakistan’s current account deficit shrank to $1.2 billion in July compared to $2.2 bn in June — a 45.45% month-on-month drop, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Wed showed. The SBP attributed the decline to a sharp drop in energy imports and continued moderation in other imports. “The narrower deficit is the result of wide-ranging measures taken in recent months to moderate growth & contain imports, including tight monetary policy, fiscal consolidation & some temporary administrative measures,” it said in a tweet. However, the current account deficit increased 42% year on year. A deficit of $851 mn was reported in Jul 2021 compared to $1.1bn this year, web-based financial data and analytics portal Mettis Global reported. Meanwhile, the trade of balance in services, while still negative, dropped by 62% month-on-month on the back of a 40% decrease in imports compared to a 17% decline in exports. The trade of balance in services stood at $260m in Jul compared to $682m in June, the data showed. (here)

Qatar Investment Authority aims to invest $3 billion in Pakistan

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) plans to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, Qatar’s Emiri Diwan said on Wed, lending support to the cash-strapped economy. Pakistan is in economic turmoil and faces a balance of payments crisis, with foreign reserves having dropped as low as $7.8bn, barely enough for more than a month of imports. The country is also contending with a widening current account deficit, depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar, and inflation that hit more than 24% in July. The announcement was made during a visit to Doha by PM Shehbaz Sharif, who held official talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Wednesday after a meeting with the QIA on Tue. (here)

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and govt talks reach impasse amid economic crisis

With terror incidents continuing unabated, the ongoing talks between the Pakistani govt and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) being held in Afghanistan are heading for a collapse. This might further complicate Pakistan’s govt’s efforts to end nearly two decades of militancy in the restive border region. In July, Pakistan recorded 99 terrorism-linked fatalities as compared to 102 in June. Data shows civilian fatalities fell from 20 to 11 (45%) and security forces deaths came down from 51 to 38 (25.49%), while terrorist fatalities increased from 31 to 50 (61.29%). But despite the fall in fatalities among security forces, the number of deaths in this category remains high. Though no organization has claimed responsibility for most of these killings, given the fact that most of the fatalities occurred within the area of the TTP’s operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it is quite likely that the terror group was behind these attacks. In July, Pakistan’s economic conditions worsened noticeably and are likely to deteriorate further. On July 29, the rupee fell to an all-time low in the open market, trading as high as 250 against the dollar. The rupee has depreciated by 20% in the past few months. One of the reasons for the plunge of the rupee is the market panic due to political instability. (here)