China on Friday expressed its “diametrical opposition” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China had lodged “strong representation with India,” that it was “not conducive to properly resolving and controlling disputes between the two sides, nor in conformity with the general situation of growth of
bilateral relations,” Xinhua quoted her as saying.
In a statement posted in English on the Chinese Foreign Ministry website, Ms. Hua urged “the Indian side to take China's solemn concerns seriously, meet the Chinese side halfway and commit itself to fairly and properly resolving the bilateral boundary question through negotiation.”
The Xinhua report said that Mr. Modi visited a “disputed zone in the eastern part of China-India borders” on Friday to participate in activities marking the founding of the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh,” a State that Indian authorities “illegally and unilaterally declared in 1987.”
“The Chinese government has never recognised the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’,” Ms. Hua said. She said China’s stance on the “disputed area on the eastern part of the China-India border is consistent and clear.” According to Xinhua, the “so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ was established largely on the three areas of China’s Tibet — Monyul, Loyul and Lower Tsayul — currently under Indian illegal occupation. These three areas, located between the illegal “Mcmahon Line” and the traditional customary boundary between China and India, have always been Chinese territory.
“In 1914, the colonialists secretly contrived the illegal “Mcmahon Line” in an attempt to incorporate into India the above-mentioned three areas of Chinese territory. None of the successive Chinese governments have ever recognised this line. In February 1987, Indian authorities declared the founding of the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh.’”
‘Terror boat’: Coast Guard rejects officer’s apology
Paving the way for disciplinary action against Deputy Inspector-General B.K. Loshali for his comments about the December 31 ‘terror boat’ incident, the Coast Guard on Friday rejected the written apology tendered by him and indicated that proceedings would be initiated.
Mr. Loshali had claimed that he had ordered the boat from Pakistan to be blown up, contradicting the official version that the occupants of the boat set it on fire. “I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off,” Mr. Loshali reportedly said.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday rejected the officer’s claims and reiterated the government’s stand. He indicated that Mr. Loshali would be subjected to disciplinary hearing if needed after checking the video.
“The Defence Ministry stands by what it has stated in writing to you,” Mr. Parrikar had said, adding: “We will take action against the person if required, if he has made the statement, after making a proper inquiry.”
The government released a video footage of the burning boat in support of its claims. The video shows a burning boat rocked by explosions.
Maharashtra spurs new activism against tobacco
Former Maharashtra Home Minister R.R Patil’s death due to oral cancer has spurred new activism against tobacco use in the State.
State Health Minister Deepak Sawant has chalked out a 10-point plan to rid educational institutes, government offices, public buildings and trains of gutkha and pan masala. Mr. Sawant said he would work to enforce the existing laws — Section 116 of the Bombay Police Act and Sections 268 and 269 of the Indian Penal Code prohibiting tobacco chewing in public spaces — by constituting an intra-agency committee to coordinate efforts to implement them.
The BrihanMumbai Municipality Corporation health committee chief Gita Gawli has written to Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria demanding stringent action against use of tobacco in public. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has urged all party leaders to initiate action to fight cancer.
INS Vikramaditya’s operation crippled
Russian pilots asked to prove single-engine landing of MiG-29 K on carrier
Barely a week after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar witnessed the ongoing theatre-level naval exercise TROPEX-15 on board the newly acquired INS Vikramaditya , reliable information suggests that the aircraft carrier’s operation is crippled, owing to issues with its integral fleet of MiG-29K fighter jets.
Nearly 30 of the RD-33MK engines powering the twin-engine MiG-29K aircraft attached to the ‘Black Panther’ squadron have packed up ever since aviation activities got under way from the deck of the refurbished Soviet-era carrier that was inducted into the Indian Navy in Russia in November, 2013.
“The naval fighter carries out high-speed landing by hooking on to any of the arrester wires stretched across the flight deck. In case it fails to hook, it should take off all over again. If an engine fails during flight, the fighter is forced to do a single-engine landing. But its power to take off just in case the arrester wires are missed is suspect. Therefore, the carrier doesn’t operate too far away from the shores,” a source said.
In other words, Vikramaditya remains tethered to the region — forced to operate within a 200 nautical mile radius of Karwar with an airfield in the vicinity, said a naval veteran familiar with the development.
Training still on
A senior officer, however, said flying operations and training of Indian naval pilots from the deck of Vikramaditya were being done in a phased manner. “The aircraft is just too good and has a very powerful engine. To allay the fears of pilots, we have asked Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG to prove single-engine landing of MiG-29 K on board the Russian carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. This will happen in a fortnight,” the officer said.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have never been better, Pakistan's Interior Minister said on Thursday, adding there had also been “a quantum leap in trust” between Islamabad and Washington.“I think Afghanistan and Pakistan, working in close hands and in close cooperation, it will do wonders for the cooperation in the field of counterterrorism,” Nisar Ali Khan said as he met with top U.S. diplomat John Kerry.
“Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have never been better, and that is a very, very positive development.”
Pakistan’s army chief General Raheel Sharif held talks in Kabul on Tuesday with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on boosting security and continuing operations against Taliban militants, the Pakistani military said. The two men had also praised improved relations between the neighbours. Mr. Khan was attending a three-day White House summit on ways to battle violent Islamic extremist groups. — AFP
Rajan warns against ‘Appellate Raj’
‘We need checks and balance, but we should ensure a balance of checks’
In a veiled attack on suggestions made by the government-appointed Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (FSLRC) panel for overhaul of financial sector laws, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, on Friday, said the country should not end up in ‘Appellate Raj’ after escaping the ‘License Permit Raj.’
The comments assume significance in the wake of the high-profile FSLRC having suggested creating a single appellate authority for all financial sector watchdogs, including the RBI.
The proposal, which was aimed at providing checks and balances for decisions made by the regulators, has been hanging fire for a long time due to opposition from various quarters, including the RBI.
“We need checks and balance, but we should ensure a balance of checks. We cannot have escaped the License Permit Raj only to end up in the Appellate Raj!,” Dr. Rajan said at an event here.
While he did not make any direct reference to the FSLRC or its suggestions, the RBI Governor said: “If we create a multiple appellate process against the government or regulatory action that is slow and undiscriminating, we contain government access but also risk halting necessary government actions.
“If the government or the regulator is less effective in preparing its case than private parties, we ensure that the appellate process largely biases justice towards those who have the resources to use it, rather than rectifying the miscarriage of justice,” he said.
Strong accountability
Observing that the democratic accountability is strong in India, he said “We may have a long way to go ... (as far as) the capacity of the government, by this I mean regulators like the RBI also, to deliver governance and public services.” Dr. Rajan further said that in thinking of reforms, the country needed to move from theoretical idea of how a system might work in a country with enormous administrative capacity to how it will work in actual Indian situation.
India, Dr. Rajan said, needed to choose “a happy medium between giving the administration unchecked power and creating complete paralysis.”
The economic inclusion, he said, should mean easing access to quality education, nutrition, healthcare, finance and markets to all citizens for ensuring sustainable growth.
Dr. Rajan said a strong government should be led by those who have expertise, motivation and integrity and can provide the needed public goods. He also warned that strong governments might not always move in the right direction.
“Hitler provided Germany with an extremely effective administration — the trains ran on time, as did the trains during our own Emergency in 1975-77. His was a strong government, but Hitler took Germany efficiently and determinedly on a path to ruin, overriding the rule of law and dispensing with elections.”
“It is not sufficient that the trains run on time, they have to go in the right direction at the desired time,” he said. — PTI
New accounting standardrules notified
Moving closer to the implementation of new accounting norms, the government has notified the rules for the Indian Accounting Standards
(Ind AS), which will be mandatory for companies from April 1, 2016.
Ind AS norms, which are converged with global standards IFRS, can be followed by corporates on
a voluntary basis from April 1, this year.
For companies having net worth of Rs.500 crore or more, the new norms would be mandatory from April 1, 2016. In a notification, the Corporate Affairs Ministry said the ‘Companies (Ind AS) Rules 2015’ would come into force with effect from April 1. Last month, the ministry had announced the Ind AS roadmap. — PTI
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