Manmohan là Đặng Tiểu Bình của Ấn Độ nhưng hành động của ông vẫn chưa đủ

Manmohan is Deng of India, but he is not doing enough

 

Sanjay Sharma

TNN
Feb 28, 2011


CHANDIGARH: While prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh-led government presents another budget to maintain the growth saga on Monday, an India-born former World Bank economist who shaped China and Eastern Bloc's transition from controlled to market economies has termed Dr Manmohan Singh the Deng Xiaoping of India and Nehru a cause of under-development of the country and its human resources.

Dr IJ Singh, who is now a life-term professor in the national war college of America, told TOI in a first ever interview to the media, "Dr Manmohan Singh is the Deng Xiaoping of India but he is not doing enough to pace reforms in the economy." Deng is considered the father of China's fast-paced economy and new wealth creation. During his 25 years with the World Bank, Singh worked in some capacity or the other to help controlled economies like China, Russia and other eastern bloc countries to switch over to market economies. Son of the first turbaned Sikh ICS officer with the British Sardar Kapur Singh who favoured a homeland for Sikhs, IJ Singh said the Nehruvian economic model created "sink holes."

A junior of PM Manmohan Singh in the World Bank, he was particularly harsh on Indira Gandhi saying, "She destroyed most of India's institutions." The economist was scathing in his criticism of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru saying the "Commanding Heights" of Nehru on the pattern of the Soviet economy have become "sink holes" for the Indian economy and turned it into a country which has the largest number of poor and malnourished in the world. "I taught the Chinese to let an artist pursue art, teacher teach and specialists follow their own pursuits, while the government should invest in health, education and infrastructure and the private sector take care of the rest of the activities," he said praising the Chinese.

During Mao's regime, experts were forcibly made to do farm labour. Though extolling Indian democracy, he, however, showed his frustration saying India should concentrate on health, education and infrastructure. Indian democracy is awonder with many different people, cultures, regions and religions peacefully participating in keeping it healthy.

 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/union-budget-2011/Manmohan-is-Deng-of-India-but-he-is-not-doing-enough/articleshow/7591484.cms

Mỹ lên kế hoạch tăng cường quan hệ quân sự và kinh tế với Ấn Độ

U.S. plans to boost defence, economic ties with India

IANS
Washington, February 26, 2011

The U.S. plans to boost its ties with India in two key areas of defence and economic partnership as a follow up to President Barack Obama’s November visit to India, according to a senior administration official.

The United States plans to capitalise on the opportunities offered by the “notable results of the President’s trip” in the weeks and months to come, Geoffrey Pyatt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asia said on Friday at the Emerging India Summit at Emory University in Atlanta.

“The challenge now before us is to define an agenda for both governments that capitalises on what we have achieved and meets the ambitious vision agreed by” Mr. Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said speaking on “The Regional and Global Impact of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership”.

Describing defence cooperation as “a critical cornerstone of the bilateral relationship” Mr. Pyatt said, with India expected to spend nearly $45 billion on military modernisation over the next five years, the U.S. welcomed opportunities to offer India superior technology and further deepen their defence cooperation.

He noted two American aircraft, the F/A 18 Super Hornet and F-16IN Viper, are among the contenders in the competition to provide Indian Air Force 126 frontline Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft, or MMRCA.

“The U.S. proposals will dramatically enhance India’s own aerospace industrial base and defence capabilities and demonstrate our commitment to share with India cutting edge technologies - including the only operationally-mature AESA radar,” Mr. Pyatt suggested.

The U.S. was also actively working to elevate its government-to-government economic partnership with India to be commensurate with their robust global strategic partnership.

“The challenge for us in Washington and New Delhi is to keep pace with the ambition and velocity of our private sector colleagues in New York and Mumbai - or Ahmedabad and Atlanta!” Mr. Pyatt said citing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“U.S.-India economic cooperation has been a driver of our transformed bilateral relationship, and in many ways is the decisive factor behind India’s changing place in the international system,” he said.

“With the fulcrum of geopolitics shifting quickly to Asia, India plays an increasingly critical role in U.S. strategy,” Mr. Pyatt said. “Indeed, amid the democratic transformation of Egypt and the continuing unrest in Bahrain, Libya and Yemen, India’s value as an anchor of democratic stability in the Indian Ocean region has only increased.” he added.

 

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1492264.ece

Ấn Độ: Ngân sách Liên bang 2011-2012 tập trung vào lạm phát và tăng trưởng

Budget 2011-12 to focus on inflation and growth

OOMMEN A. NINAN
The Hindu
February 27, 2011

The Union Budget 2011 will be presented by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, in the midst of rising global commodity prices, which can increase inflationary pressure. Even though the Government is likely to stress on growth as well as economic reforms, it will have to adress the key issue of inflation in the first place.

As the Economic Survey has also warned, food inflation has been in double digits for 76 weeks since June 5, 2009. “The inflationary pressures on the domestic front are likely to be exacerbated by the higher levels of global commodity prices,” said the Finance Minister while tabling the Economic Survey for 2010-11 in Parliament on Friday prior to his Budget presentation on Monday.

Further, the easy money policy being followed by developed nations and the political turmoil in the Middle East will have a bearing on headline inflation at home.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark 30-share index, Sensex, lost 8.2 per cent since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked interest rates and revised upwards its inflation estimate. With the increases announced on January 25, the RBI has cumulatively increased the repo rate by 175 basis points and the reverse repo rate by 225 basis points since mid-March 2010. Additionally, the cash reserve ratio (CRR) was increased by 100 basis points.

The Survey has also mentioned the projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of continued pressure on commodity and non-commodity prices. The Middle East turmoil has already taken global oil prices to a two-year high of around $120 a barrel. Even though the government has already said that it expects inflation to moderate to around 5 per cent by June-July and its policy makers like Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia gyrates the topic of inflation by saying “it will come down soon”, inflation and inflationary pressures are continuing unabated making common man's life miserable. Though the Government favours a higher growth rate even at the cost of rising inflation, markets believe that high inflation would endanger an ambitious growth expectation.

Agriculture

“Primary articles inflation has been an issue due to surging demand and supply shortage,” said K. Ramanathan, Chief Investment Officer-Single Manager Investments, ING Investment Management India. He said more focus needs to be there on increasing acreage/arable land and productivity in agriculture. Focus should also be there in reducing risks due to poor monsoon. While manufacturing inflation has been benign so far increasing global commodity especially oil prices have the potential to derail economic growth. Reduction in import duty on crude and excise duty on petrol and diesel would also reduce inflationary pressures to some extent.

“The formulation of this budget against the current challenging macroeconomic backdrop is likely to be a difficult task for the government. Given upcoming State elections, drastic expenditure reforms are unlikely in the 2011-12 budget,” said Anubhuti Sahay, Economist, Standard Chartered Bank.

Also, the growing perception that government policies, or a lack thereof, have worsened the fiscal situation leaves little room for a significant deviation from the fiscal consolidation path, at least in the initial budget announcement. Investor sentiment has already been dented by downside risks to growth and upside risks to inflation. While announcing a fiscal deficit of 5.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2011-12 on the heels of a 5.2 per cent deficit in 2010-11 might be seen as a positive step towards deficit reduction, the inability to meet the 4.8 per cent target set in the government's fiscal consolidation plan is likely to weigh on market sentiment.

“We are not convinced that the government can do much in the short-term on inflation and growth,” stated a report of Nomura Financial Advisors and Securities (India) Private Ltd. Furthermore, the report states that the budget could entail the risk of a rise in excise duties, which would put further pressure on existing margin pressures and inflation. “We do not see much respite for interest rates which we expect to remain elevated amidst ongoing systemic liquidity shortages and a high level of expected market borrowings.” Fiscal imperatives and a limited ability to hike expenditure could further cap upside to systemic liquidity.

The current bout of inflation in India is primarily being driven by rising global commodity and domestic food prices. Management of inflation and inflationary expectations is the domain of the central bank which can, at best, tweak short-term rates in the hope of reining in aggregate demand. The global commodity cycle, the key determinant of manufacturing and fuel inflation, constituting about 80 per cent of the WPI index, is exogenous to the government.

Demand factors

Food inflation is now morphing into a structural feature and is being driven by rising food demand in a fast-growing economy plagued by a creaky food supply chain, endemic inefficiencies and poor infrastructure in the critical agricultural sector. “This year, inflation seems to be driven by demand factors, despite higher supply levels,” the Survey said. This is in contrast to the fact that in the last fiscal, inflation was mostly driven by a deficient monsoon, leading to scarcity of certain food products like pulses, cereals and sugar.

“We expect the budget to be a tight rope balance on the fiscal deficit side,” said Mr. Ramanathan. As per the fiscal deficit reduction road map, the deficit is to be cut to 4.8 per cent of GDP.

Higher claims on subsidies (food, fertilizer and oil), pressures to increase social spending in the background of several State elections and absence of one-offs like the 3G bounty (which accounted for almost 1.3 per cent of GDP in 2011) would be the challenges the finance minister has to contend with.

One way of increasing revenue would be to normalise the reduction in excise duty and service tax to pre-crises levels. Possible increase of 2 per cent in both these accounts can be expected in the budget. Another source of increased revenue would be increasing MAT rates to align with the 20 per cent rate proposed in the Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010. Buoyancy in tax revenue would continue due to sharp increase in nominal GDP growth. Given that this would be the last year of the current five-year Plan, there would be limited room for pruning Plan expenditure growth.

On the non-Plan expenditure side, interest payments and defence expenditure account for around 50 per cent and scope for reduction here is limited. Given the high global commodity prices and rising oil prices, the subsidy bill also would be substantially higher next year. In this backdrop, containing fiscal deficit to 4.8 per cent of GDP would be an arduous task.

The speed of the reforms process has perceivably slowed down in the recent past. Market participants would look for measures that indicate the government's resolve to continue with the reforms process. One such measure that could boost the market, according to Mr. Ramanathan, could be allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, defence (up to 49 per cent) and in insurance. Other measures that would give market confidence would be the passage of several pending bills like the Mines and Minerals Bill and Land acquisition (Amendment Bill). Fiscal deficit number of 4.8 per cent as well as reemphasising commitment to increase investments in infrastructure, sort out policy and procedural delays in sectors like power and road transport would be other measures that could boost the market.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1495450.ece

Tuyên bố báo chí của nhóm G4 (Brazil, Đức, Ấn Độ và Nhật Bản) ngày 11 tháng 2 năm 2011

Joint Press Statement of Ministerial Meeting of the G4 countries (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan)

February 11, 2011

1. The Minister of External Affairs of India, the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, the Minister of External Relations of Brazil and the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan met in New York on 11 February 2011, for the second time in the last six months, to exchange views on Security Council reform.

2. The Ministers agreed that as democracies with shared political values including respect for the rule of law, respect for human rights and a commitment to multilateralism, the G4 countries hold a number of common positions on the major contemporary challenges to international peace and security. They noted with satisfaction the important contributions being made by their countries to the working of the Security Council and to the maintenance of international peace and security. They reaffirmed their willingness and capacity to take on major responsibilities in this regard. They stated that the international system would benefit from the expansion of the UN Security Council, which would ensure that the Council is truly reflective of current geopolitical realities and make it stronger, more representative, legitimate, effective and efficient.

3. In this context, the G4 countries reiterated their commitments as aspiring new permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as their support for each other's candidatures. The G4 countries also reaffirmed their view of the importance of Africa to be represented in the permanent membership of an enlarged Council. They also reconfirmed the need for additional non-permanent members and improvement in the Council’s working methods.

4. The Ministers expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Joseph Deiss and Ambassador Zahir Tanin, the Chair of the intergovernmental negotiations, for their facilitating role in the negotiations among the Member States. The Ministers stressed that the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations made it clear that the overwhelming majority of the Member States support expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of the Security Council membership, as well as increased representation of developing countries in both.

5. The Ministers recognized that there is widespread support for a Member-States driven initiative to take the process of the much-needed reform of the Security Council towards a concrete outcome in the current session of the UN General Assembly.

6. The Ministers, therefore, agreed to press ahead, with all necessary steps to achieve at the earliest an expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent membership categories of the Security Council. Towards this goal, the G4 countries reaffirmed their readiness to reach out to other countries and to work in close cooperation with them in a spirit of flexibility.

7. Finally, the Ministers agreed to meet again within the coming quarter to review progress on the decisions taken.

S. M. Krishna
Minister of External Affairs of India

Guido Westerwelle
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany

Antonio de Aguiar Patriota
Minister of External Relations of Brazil

Takeaki Matsumoto
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan

New York
February 11, 2011 

 

Source: http://meaindia.nic.in/mystart.php?id=530517168

Danh mục các Biên bản ghi nhớ về hợp tác kinh tế giữa Ấn Độ và Indonesia được ký vào tháng 1/2011

List of Business MoUs signed during the State Visit of President of Indonesia

No	MOU	SIGNATORIES
1	Development of Industrial Complex Based on Heavy Minerals Resource Utilisation	Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Panggah Susanto, Director General of Base Manufacturer Industries, Ministry of Industry, Republic of Indonesia and Trimex Sands Pvt. Ltd. India Mr. Pradeep Koneru, Trimex Pvt. Ltd. India
2	Railway Line for Transporting Coal and Coal Terminal from Tanjung Enim to Tanjung Api-api	Provincial Government of South Sumatera H.E. Mr. Alex Noerdin, Governor of South Sumatera, Indonesia – PT. Bukit Asam Tbk - Indonesia Mr. Soekrisno Soekoer, President Director of PT Bukit Asam Tbk, Indonesia – and Adani Holding Ltd. Mr. Gautam S. Adani, Adani Holding Ltd., India
3	Infrastructure (railway and seaport)	Provincial Government of South Sumatera H.E. Mr. Alex Noerdin, Governor of South Sumatera, Indonesia Reliance Coal Resources Private Ltd A.N Sethuraman – Group President
4	Aluminium Smelter	Provincial Government of South Sumatera H.E. Mr. Alex Noerdin, Governor of South Sumatera, Indonesia and National Aluminium Company Limited
5	Setting up and Operationalized Gas Based Power Plant with Capacity 2x1100 MW or 3X660 MW	Regency Government of Kendal, Central Java Province Ms. Widya Kandi Susanti, Regent of Kendal PT. Megra Urip Pesona Indonesia Mr. Teddy Garnadi, Director and Adani Global Mr. Gautam S. Adani
6	Training and Internship for Civil Servants and National Electric Company	Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board Mr. Gita Irawan Wirjawan, Chairman of Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) and Tata Power Mr. Prasad R. Menon, Managing Director of Tata Power, India
7	Mining, construction of steel plant and its infrastucture	Provincial Government of Central Kalimantan H.E. Agustin Teras Narang – Governor of Central Kalimantan and International Coal Ventures Private Ltd. Mr. Chandra Shekhar Verma – Chairman
8	Setting up of Airport at Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta	PT Angkasa Pura I Tommy Soetomo – President Director and GVK - India Dr. GVK Reddy – Chairman & Managing Director
9	Off Take Fertilizer	PT Pupuk Sriwijaya - Indonesia Arifin Tasrif – President Director and National Fertilizers Limited – India V.K Sharma – Chairman & Managing Director
10	Information Technology (IT)	Lippo Group – Indonesia Theo Sambuaga – President PT Multipolar Technology (Lippo Group) - Indonesia Harijono Suwarno – President Director and HCL Technologies - India Rajiv Sodhi – Senior Corp Vice President
11	Financing of Coal Based Power Plant	PT Eastern Infrastructure International – Indonesia Kris Wiluan – Chairman & Managing Director and Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited - India B Prasada Rao - Chairman & Managing D
12	Setting up of Airport at Buleleng, Bali	Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board Gita Wirjawan – Chairman PT Pembangunan Bali Mandiri Ketut Suardhana Linggih – President Director and GVK – India Dr. GVK Reddy – Chairman & Managing Director
13	Cargo Ship Building and Oil and Gas Terminal	PT. PAL – Indonesia Harsusanto Soenawar – President Director and Pipavav Shipyard Ltd Bavesh Gandhi – Vice Chairman SKIL Infrastructure Ltd. Nikhil Gandhi - Chairman
14	Road Infrastructure for Mine and Port	PT Surya Kepanjen D.W Soewondho – Director and SEW Trident Global Pte Ltd Srikanth Chilappagari – President Director
15	Information Technology Security Transfer of Technology	PT. Walden Global Services Ikin Wirawan and Secure Matrix India Private Ltd. Saurabh B Dani – Vice Chairman
16	Dredging of Batanghari River and construction of Coal Terminal in Jambi	Governor of Jambi Mr. Hasan Basri Agus and Archean Mr. Erumbala Pradeep
17	Estabilishment and of Management and Innovation Institute	Indorama Mr. Sri Prakash Lohia, Chairman and DAV College Trust & Management Society Mr. Prabodh Mahajar
18	Free Trade Zone Cooperation	Batam Free Zone Authority Mr. Mustofa Widjaja, Chairman and Santacruz Special Economic Zone

New Delhi

January 25, 2011

Source: http://meaindia.nic.in/meaxpsite/declarestatement/2011/01/25js03.pdf

Tuyên bố chung: Tầm nhìn Đối tác chiến lược mới Ấn Độ - Indonesia trong thập niên tới

Joint Statement: Vision for the India-Indonesia New Strategic Partnership over the coming decade

January 25, 2011

1. The Prime Minister of India H.E Dr. Manmohan Singh welcomed the President of the Republic of Indonesia H.E Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on a State Visit to India from January 24-26, 2011 and as the Chief Guest on the occasion of India's Republic Day on January 26, 2011. The two leaders held extensive talks on bilateral, regional and global issues of shared concern on January 25, 2011. The two leaders recalled the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries six decades earlier and decided to mark the year 2011 as the celebration of six decades of diplomatic relations between the two countries and to hold related events to mark the anniversary in the two capitals.

2. The two leaders reaffirmed the political commitment of both countries for upgrading bilateral relations in order to achieve sustained progress and prosperity for the two countries in the rapidly evolving and dynamic regional and global political and economic situation. They also acknowledged that Indonesia and India are natural partners as two developing democratic countries in the region, committed to multiculturalism, pluralism and diversity. They have responsibility for, and are capable of, responding to global and regional challenges, and they must play an active role in the promotion of democracy, peace and stability in Asia Pacific region and the world at large.

3. The Prime Minister of India and the President of Indonesia expressed satisfaction at the steady growth of political, security, economic, science and technology and cultural exchanges between the two countries. They noted the development of active cooperation through numerous frameworks governing defense, science and technology, space cooperation, agricultural science, culture, tourism, and youth affairs & sports. The two leaders also acknowledged cooperation in education, media, air services, energy resources including oil, gas, coal, and renewable energy, prevention of smuggling, prevention of illegal trade in narcotics, disaster management, cooperation in the area of small and medium enterprises, meteorology, climatology and geophysics including climate change, health, marine and fisheries. They reiterated their common desire for accelerating the implementation of cooperation in these areas and monitoring such cooperation through the mechanism of Action Plan on Implementing the New Strategic Partnership drawn up during the Indonesia-India Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in June 2007.

4. With a view to facing the challenges in food security as means of providing basic human needs for the two countries, both leaders encouraged the implementation of the MoU in the field of agriculture and allied sectors that was signed on December 1st, 2008, and also the implementation of work plan for period of 2009-2013 in the area of agriculture development, joint research in agriculture science, technology development on post harvest and processing, agriculture marketing system and export, joint research on Animal Diseases and capacity building.

5. The two leaders realized the importance of education on human resource, economic and social development in both countries, therefore committed to strengthen it through the signing of Memorandum of Understanding on Education which covers all level of education.

6. The two leaders agreed to have summit level meetings on the sidelines of multilateral events. Both sides recognized the importance of the biennial Joint Commission Meetings (JCM) at the level of the Foreign Ministers, and agreed that the next JCM should be held in the first half of 2011. While welcoming the steady exchange of Ministerial visits between the two countries, the two sides encouraged to promote regular exchanges at the Cabinet level, inter alia, between the Ministers of Energy including Oil, Gas, Coal, Power and Renewable Energy, Commerce and Industry, Health, Agriculture, Science and Technology, Defense, Education, Home/ Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, and Tourism. The two leaders also encouraged regular exchanges between Parliament as another brick to strengthen bilateral ties and solidify democratic values.

7. With a view to developing a 'Vision Statement 2025' for the Indonesia-India Strategic Partnership, the President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of India announced the establishment of an Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG). The deliberations of the EPG would guide the future progress and prepare a blue-print of Indonesia-India relations over the next 15 years.

8. The two leaders unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. Recognizing the common threats to national security from transnational crimes, including international terrorism, the President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of India resolved to significantly enhance bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism. The two leaders resolved to commit their countries in improving sharing of intelligence, the development of more effective counter terrorism policies, enhance liaison between law enforcement agencies, provide assistance in the areas of border and immigration control to stem the flow of terrorist related material, money and people and specific measures against transnational crimes, including international terrorism through the already existing mechanism between Indonesia and India. The two leaders desired that the next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism should be held in the first half of 2011.

9. The President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of India noted that Indonesia and India are strategic partners, neighbouring countries sharing a common maritime boundary, with a common interest in cooperating in the maintenance of regional peace and security. They expressed satisfaction at the steady expansion of bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries and stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, through regular exchanges between the defence establishments of both countries. The two leaders welcomed institutionalization of biennial dialogue at the level of Defence Ministers.

10. The two leaders stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation in the areas of science and technology. They expressed satisfaction at the progress achieved during the 2nd Joint Science and Technology Committee Meeting in October 2010. The agreed areas of cooperation are in the field of biotechnology, marine, agriculture, information and communication technology, health and medicine, energy, disaster management, aeronautic and space technology.

11.The two leaders noted the importance of and agreed to establish a cooperation between Indonesia and India in the fields of meteorology, climatology, including climate variability and change, geophysics and Early Warning of Coastal Hazards as well as related issues through the science and technology development and application and efficient management in creating disaster risk management community effectively and in a timely manner.

12. The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the growing trade and investment ties between Indonesia and India. Noting that the bilateral trade volume between Indonesia and India had increased nearly threefold since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries in 2005, the two leaders agreed to set the new target for bilateral trade volume of US$ 25 billion by 2015.

13. The two leaders also noticed the importance of encouraging outward investment from both countries. In this regard, Indonesia stressed India as a potential partner because its investment realization in Indonesia has steadily increased for the last twenty years. With regard to the National Investment Roadmap, Indonesia would also welcome further investments from India, especially in the fields of energy, food and infrastructure.

14. The two leaders announced a number of important initiatives to further tap the potential of bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. It was agreed to have a Biennial Trade Ministers Forum, including the establishment of a ‘Trade and Investment Forum’ between the Trade Ministers to exploit the potential of trade and investment opportunities in both countries.

15. The two leaders welcomed the entry into force of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Goods on October 1, 2010, and expected the utilization of the Agreement would increase in the following years.

16. Both leaders were pleased to announce the commencement of negotiation on Indonesia - India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (II-CECA), building on what has already been achieved under the India-ASEAN FTA. The decision to embark on negotiations will take forward the shared goal in the New Strategic Partnership 2005 of increasing the volume of bilateral trade and investment. Both leaders agreed that the CECA would be a comprehensive agreement, covering economic cooperation, trade in goods and services, and investment and hoped that it would further contribute to building a higher-level and mutually beneficial economic cooperation between the two countries.

17. Noting the mutual interest of both countries in the development of energy resources and the introduction of investment associated with such resources along with new technologies, the two leaders announced the establishment of an Energy Forum co-chaired by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia and the Minister of Coal of India, supported by expert forums in the respective countries to accelerate the implementation of programs of mutual interest.

18. The two leaders reiterated that as major countries deliberating the great issues of our time - the reform of the United Nations, tackling the global economic and financial crisis and working together on global issues like climate change, Indonesia and India can and must work together effectively in fora like the UN, UNFCC, WMO, WTO and the G-20 to make a difference and to help achieve consensus on these important issues.

19. The President of Indonesia and the Prime Minister of the India were pleased to note the growing cultural ties between the two countries. Recalling the long history of cultural and historical links between the two countries, they stressed the importance of cultural exchanges in building strong people-to-people ties which would reinforce ties in all areas. They agreed on a number of new initiatives including the exchange of cultural festivals. Ramayana festivals, reciprocal seminars on historical and cultural ties between India and Indonesia and cooperation in tourism promotion.

20. With a view to enhancing people-to-people links, both leaders agreed to enhance and strengthen cooperation in the cultural sector as means to promote extensive people-to-people contacts by committing to implement cultural exchange programme for 2011-2014.

21. The two leaders recognized that a quantum leap in tourism between India and Indonesia is desirable to strengthen vibrant and longstanding people to people ties. As a step towards this objective, the Prime Minister announced a scheme of granting visa on arrival to the citizens of Indonesia.

22. In order to strengthen and reinforce consular cooperation and traditional friendly relations between India and Indonesia, the Prime Minister of India announced the establishment of a Consulate General of India in the Province of Bali which was warmly welcomed by the President of Indonesia. The establishment of the Consulate will reinforce the strong cultural links between Indonesia and India.

23. President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Singh concluded that their meeting was a historic milestone as they sought to elevate their new Strategic Partnership to a higher level for the benefit of their nations and the entire mankind. President Yudhoyono invited Prime Minister Singh to visit Indonesia, which was graciously accepted.

24. President Yudhoyono expressed his appreciation and gratitude to President Patil, Prime Minister Singh and the people of India for their extraordinary warmth and hospitality during the visit.

New Delhi
January 25, 2011

(This translation (transliteration) is solely powered by Google and is not official translation of Ministry of External Affairs, India)


Source: http://meaindia.nic.in/mystart.php?id=530517097

Các thỏa thuận được ký kết giữa Ấn Độ và Indonesia trong chuyến thăm Ấn Độ của Tổng thống Indonesia tháng 1/2011

Agreements signed during the State Visit of President of Indonesia

Sl No.	Details of the MOU/Treaty	Signatory from Indian side	Signatory from Indonesian side
1	Extradition Treaty	Shri S.M. Krishna Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs	H.E. Dr. Marty Natalegawa Minister of Foreign Affairs
2	Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty	Shri S.M. Krishna Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs	H.E. Dr. Marty Natalegawa Minister of Foreign Affairs
3	MoU for cooperation in the field of Education	Shri Kapil Sibal Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development	H.E. Mr. Muhammad Nuh Minister of National Education
4	MoU on the Establishment of Biennial Trade Ministers’ Forum	Shri Anand Sharma Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry	H.E. Ms. Mari Elka Pangestu Minister of Trade
5	Protocol for extension of the MoU on Cooperation in Marine & Fisheries	Shri R. Gangadharan Secretary Deptt. of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Agriculture	H.E. Mr. Fadel Muhammad Minister of Marine Affairs & Fisheries
6	MoU for the Development of Urea Manufacture Plant in Indonesia	Dr. Sutanu Behuria Secretary, Deptt of Fertilizers	H.E. Mr. M.S. Hidayat Minister of Industry
7	Air Services Agreement	Ms. Vijaya Latha Reddy Secretary (East) Ministry of External Affairs	H.E. Mr. Freddy Numberi Minister of Transportation
8	Mou on ooperation in Oil and Gas	Shri S. Sundareshan Secretary Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas	H.E. Dr. Marty Natalegawa Minister of Foreign Affairs
9	MoU on ooperation in the field of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises	Shri Uday Kumar Varma Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for MSME	H.E. Dr. Marty Natalegawa Minister of Foreign Affairs
10	MoU on ooperation in Science & Technology	Dr. T. Ramasami Secretary, Department of Science & Technology	H.E. Dr. H. Suharna Surapranata Minister for Science and Technology
11	MoU between Press Council of India and Press Council of Indonesia	Justice G.N. Ray Chairman Press Council of India	Dr. Bagir Manan Chairman Press Council of Indonesia

Source: http://meaindia.nic.in/meaxpsite/declarestatement/2011/01/25jd01.pdf

Bộ trưởng Quốc phòng Ấn Độ Antony: Kỷ nguyên của MiG ở Ấn Độ sẽ kết thúc vào năm 2017

End of the MiG era by 2017, says Antony 

 

TNN
Feb 24, 2011

NEW DELHI: Russian-origin MiG-21s were the first truly supersonic fighter jets to be inducted into IAF in 1963, which then was a move by India to counter the F-104 Starfighters provided to Pakistan by US.

The MiG-23s, MiG-25s, MiG-27s and MiG-29s, each with their own specific roles, followed in later years. The MiGs, in fact, once constituted over 75% of India's combat fleet, and still constitute a bulk of it. But now, with IAF going in for modern fighters, the end of the entire MiG era, except for the latest MiG-29s, is in sight.

"We have got a clear-cut plan to replace them. By 2017, the entire MiG series will be replaced in a phased manner, that is from 2014 onwards,'' said defence minister A K Antony in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

In the years ahead, India's frontline combat fighters will have 270 Russian Sukhoi-30MKIs already being inducted for around $12 billion, the 126 new medium multi-role combat aircraft to be acquired in the $10.4 billion MMRCA project and the 250 to 300 fifth-generation fighter aircraft to be built with Russia in the gigantic $35 billion project.

Moreover, induction of the first 40 of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft will also begin towards end-2013, with the first two squadrons becoming fully operational at the Sulur airbase (Tamil Nadu) by 2015 or so, a full three decades after the LCA project was first sanctioned to replace the ageing MiG-21s.

Antony, on his part, assured Parliament that large-scale induction of Sukhoi-30MKIs, LCA and MMRCA would take place within the next few years, while acknowledging such an exercise could not take place in the past due to "historical reasons''.

While the single-engined, delta-winged MiG-21s did indeed provide yeoman service to India over the decades, the high crash record of these highly-demanding fighters have also scarred the nation.

Of the 793 MiG-21s inducted into IAF since 1963, over 350 have been lost in accidents. IAF has recorded 40 crashes in just the last three years, a majority of them being MiGs, which killed 16 pilots, 24 service personnel and five civilians.

With several design limitations due to their 1960s and 1970s vintage, coupled with shoddy maintenance and poor quality control of spares, as well as inadequate training to rookie pilots, the MiG-21s even came to be known as the "flying coffins''.

Even the track-record of the "Bisons'', the 125 MiG-21s upgraded with new avionics, improved gearboxes and cockpits, and the capability to fire some BVR (beyond-visual range) missiles, has not been free from controversies. But faced with the huge delays in Tejas, IAF plans to operate the "Bisons'' till at least 2017.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/End-of-the-MiG-era-by-2017-says-Antony/articleshow/7557331.cms

Pakistan ngày càng nghi ngờ Mỹ

Pak increasingly sceptical of US

The Washington Post
Islamabad, February 23, 2011

Raymond Davis, the American CIA contractor jailed in the fatal shooting of two Pakistani men last month, has quickly assumed the role of Pakistan’s public enemy No. 1. But not far behind him are those who have come to be known as “Raymond Davises.” Davis’s name has become a byword for a presumed army of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of shadowy American operatives stalking Pakistani streets. So important is his silence to protecting their mission, according to some Pakistani media reports, that the US might spring him from prison in an action-movie-style rescue operation — or have its agents poison him.

Officials and analysts said the speculation about multitudes of American gunslingers also reflects widespread hostility toward the US presence could represent a particularly ominous turn for US’ rapidly expanding mission in Pakistan.

The growing belief that many Americans work as sinister agents could imperil other programs or endanger those carrying them out, US and Pakistani officials said. But as outrage over the Davis shooting mounts, suggestions that all US personnel are spies are feeding popular suspicion about the battery of American programs here and renewing reservations about the US presence in general.

“They may be justifying their work as for an NGO or other US agency, but the prime purpose of their stay in the city is to spy,” Fakhr-e-Alam Khan, a leader of a religious party, said.


Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Pak-increasingly-sceptical-of-US/H1-Article1-665969.aspx

Trung Quốc, Pakistan tăng cường hợp tác quân sự

China, Pak to enhance military ties

Saibal Dasgupta
TNN
Feb 24, 2011

BEIJING: China and Pakistan have announced a packed military exchanges' schedule in 2011. This would include two joint military exercises, Chinese media quoted visiting Pakistan Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne as saying on Wednesday.

The two countries would participate in a multinational naval drill in March besides two bilateral army and air force exercises.

Chinese People's Liberation Army chief Gen Chen Bingde told the Pakistani general that China is willing to work with his country to develop the mechanism of defence and security talks, deepen strategic cooperation and contribute to the peace, stability and common development in the region and the world, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Gen Wynne said ties between the two countries are based on the principle that the China has a role in maintaining regional peace and stability. ``That's why we can move forward on joint efforts on the development of sophisticated weapon systems, including aircraft and tanks, and in the area of anti-terrorism,'' he said.

Earlier, Gen Chen said China is devoted to pushing forward relations between the two militaries at the 8th round of China-Pakistan Defence and Security Talks in Beijing on Wednesday. The two sides pledged to enhance strategic communication and cooperation between their militaries. The mechanism of defence and security talks was launched in 2002.

Gen Wynnes visit is significant as Beijing is worried about the impact of revolutions spreading through Middle East and its possible influence on its separatists on the China-Pakistan border. Reports in official Chinese media said the two countries did not discuss this issue. But the Chinese are likely to discussed it as the Pakistani military, often accused of being pro-US, is equally worried about the developments.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-Pak-to-enhance-military-ties/articleshow/7559420.cms

Mumbai trở thành thành phố có giá thuê văn phòng đắt thứ 6 thế giới

Mumbai is world's 6th most expensive city for office space

 

PTI
Feb 23, 2011

NEW DELHI: Mumbai slipped by one place to sixth in the list of the world's most expensive office locations in 2011, according to global realty consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

The 2011 list was topped by Hong Kong, while London and Tokyo came second and third in the rankings, which valued Mumbai's office occupancy cost at USD 114 per square foot a year. India's financial capital occupied the fifth position in 2010, Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) said.

"Apart from being overtaken by Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai CBD (Central Business District) lost one position on the global ranking also because of the fact that it has not seen any change in the rental values over the previous year," the consultant said.

As per C&W's estimates, the Brazilian city moved up to fifth position from 13th in 2010 as rental values rose very sharply. The average rental for opening an office in Rio de Janeiro has been estimated at USD 120 per square foot a year.

New York, which was a place below Mumbai in the 2010 list, moved up by a single notch to fifth place this year with an annual occupancy cost of USD 115 per square foot, C&W said.

Hong Kong topped the list of the world's 10-most expensive office locations this year with an average rental of USD 241 per sq foot every year. It jumped up two places in the list from third position last year.

London hung on to its distinction of being the second most expensive place to rent an office in the world, with an average rental of USD 233 per square foot per year.

Japan's capital, Tokyo, slipped to the third spot this year from first rank last year, with an average rental of USD 166 per square foot per year.

The other cities that found places in the list are Moscow, Paris, Zurich and Milan, the survey said.

"Asian markets have been recovering and growing at a much faster rate than their European or North American counterparts, an aspect that is reflected in the Indian markets as well," C&W India Executive Director Arvind Nandan said.

Most major micro markets saw growth in leasing activities in office market spaces, he added.

The survey said that after recording the largest rental decline in 2009, Asia witnessed a sharp rebound in 2010, with rents in Hong Kong rising by 51 per cent.

In India, Bangalore witnessed the highest rental growth of 12.68 per cent in 2010, followed by Pune (9.09 per cent), vis-a-vis the previous year.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbai-is-worlds-6th-most-expensive-city-for-office-space/articleshow/7555728.cms

Ấn Độ gửi tàu chiến tới Libya để sơ tán công dân của mình

Warships being sent to evacuate Indians from Libya

 

TNN

Feb 24, 2011

NEW DELHI: Warships of Indian Navy are being despatched to evacuate Indians from Libya as the situation in the North African country continued to deteriorate because of clashes between supporters and opponents of Muammar Gaddafi.

The ministry of external affairs asked the defence ministry to ready the warships to sail for Libya.

The exact number of warships needed for the operation, which is likely to be a largescale one, and from where they will be despatched is being worked out.

As the situation in Libya continued to worsen, foreign minister S M Krishna told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that it may not be possible to spell out how much time it will take to evacuate all Indians even though, he said, the government was doing all it could to ensure their safety. Replying to queries from MPs over the issue, Krishna said all Indian nationals were safe "as of now".

"It`s an extremely difficult proposition to spell out any timeframe for the evacuation. I can say that the government is serious and is concentrating on evacuating Indians in earliest possible time," Krishna said.

There are about 18,000 Indians living in Libya, mainly in capital Tripoli and Benghazi. Krishna said there was need for a "much larger scale operation" as each ship could accommodate only 800-1,000 people. The minister also announced that an inter-ministerial committee headed by foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had been formed to coordinate efforts to ensure safety of all Indians in Libya.

Chinese news agencies reported on Wednesday that Beijing managed to evacuate close to 3,000 people to neighbouring Tunisia by road.

Krishna said the Indian ambassador to Libya had spoken to all Indian nurses stranded in Benghazi and that they were all safe. He added that because this was an evacuation, unlike the special flights operated earlier by Air India for Indians based in Egypt, no fare would be charged.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Warships-being-sent-to-evacuate-Indians-from-Libya/articleshow/7559139.cms

Ấn Độ đặt mục tiêu xuất khẩu lên 450 tỉ USD vào năm 2014

Exports target set at $450 b by 2014

Special Correspondent

The Hindu
NEW DELHI, February 24, 2011

Expressing confidence that exports will touch $225 billion in the current fiscal year, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday said India was aiming to double its exports to $450 billion in the next three years.

Road map for future

Releasing the ‘Draft strategy paper on exports,' which laid out the road map for the future on the exports front, Mr. Sharma said, “The long-term vision of the Commerce Ministry is to make India a major player in world trade by 2020 and assume a role of leadership in international trade commensurate with the country's growing importance.''

Exports grew by 32.5 per cent year-on-year to $20.60 billion in January on account of increasing demand in the Western markets. During April-January this fiscal, exports went up by 29.4 per cent to $184.60 billion.

As regards the engineering sector, Mr. Sharma said the sector had done considerably well and now the need of the hour was to move up the value addition chain for high value precision engineering both for domestic and export markets. “Together with the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), we have set ourselves a target of tripling engineering exports of $120 billion by 2015,'' he said.

Mr. Sharma sought public comments from the stakeholders on the draft strategy paper by March 23 to achieve the target of $450 billion by 2014.

“The reason for taking this initiative is the widening trade balance. We hope to close that gap and bring the imbalance in trade to below 10 or 9 per cent of the GDP,'' he said.

In the current fiscal, merchandise shipments were expected to touch $225 billion, much beyond the target of $200 billion, he remarked. Exports stood at $178.60 billion in 2009-10, a decline of 3.6 per cent over the previous fiscal.

“We have constituted a group of government and industry experts to come out with a clearly defined road map and strategy on how to occupy the space which is emerging on the horizon. The electronic hardware industry is an area in which we have so far not yet reached our true potential and it is my belief that as our engagement with the world increases, we will be able to facilitate the establishment of electronic hardware manufacturing facilities for the export market in India,'' he added.

“We are giving one month to the stakeholders to get back to us. All the comments received will be collated and a final strategy will be made by March 31,'' he said.

PTI reports:

Elaborating on the measures for raising exports, the paper emphasises upon the need for increasing the focus on new markets like the ASEAN countries, Africa and Latin America.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1483916.ece

Tại sao Trung Quốc lo ngại các cuộc nổi dậy mang màu sắc hoa nhài

Why China fears jasmine rebels

Reshma Patil, Hindustan Times
Beijing, February 21, 2011

China’s police outnumbered protestors and easily suppressed the first Middle East-inspired mass protests organised online in 13 cities on Sunday. But the leadership of the second-largest economy showed its insecure side with online censorship of searches for 'jasmine revolutions' and a show of strength to prevent scattered groups from shouting slogans for ‘food, water, work and fairness.’

The protests were largely unreported in the state media. The Global Times indirectly referred to the events with an editorial saying China’s rise requires ‘maturity’ from its citizens. “In theory, it is not totally unfeasible that the nation could fall into social turmoil should its public governance fail,’’ it said.

A day after the protests, President Hu Jintao presided over a meeting of the Communist Party central committee. Officials were ordered to ‘remain sober, be aware of difficulties and work hard’ for the new five-year plan. Ahead of its parliament session in March, Beijing showed intent to control the potential of social tension arising from inflation, unemployment and income inequalities.

“The situation in China is not like that in the Middle East, but there is anger among people,’’ Beijing-based writer-activist Dai Qing told HT. Dai pointed out that Beijing authorities had learnt lessons from the 1989 protests. “The political wisdom of the authorities is not to try reform but only ‘harmonise’ and put people under control,” she said. “But a jasmine revolution is not the way. A democratic society will need lots of people to do lots of work from the factory, village and community upwards; not just to go to big cities to shout slogans.”

Over the tense weekend, the Party leaders indicated that controls on the Internet and dissidence will get tighter. China’s domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang ordered provincial officials to ‘detect conflicts and problems in time’ and ‘reduce social confrontations.’

Hu, who is preparing for a transition of power next year, reminded the top brass to ‘solve prominent problems that may harm harmony and stability.’ The state media said that Hu called for improved management of the ‘virtual society’ and guidance of public opinions online. “Hu acknowledged that despite China's development and growth in national strength, the country is still in a stage where many conflicts are likely to arise. There are still many problems in social management,’’ said Xinhua.

In recent weeks, since China officially surpassed Japan as the second-largest economy, its officials reacted by emphasising that 150 million Chinese citizens still live on less than a dollar a day. ‘Libya’ is the latest search blocked on Chinese microblogs.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/why-china-fears-jasmine-rebels/article1-665222.aspx

Xuất khẩu hàng thủ công của Ấn Độ sẽ đạt 170 tỉ Rupee trong 3 năm tới

Handicrafts exports to touch Rs. 17,000 cr in the next three years

PTI
New Delhi, February 17, 2011

India’s handicrafts exports is expected to touch Rs. 17,000 crore in next three years on account of increasing demand in markets like the U.S., Latin America and Africa.

“We are focusing on new markets, which are unexplored or under-explored like in Latin America, Central Asia, Africa and South East Asia. Demand is there for Indian handicrafts items,” Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) Chairman Raj Kumar Malhotra said.

During April-January period of this fiscal, the country’s handicrafts exports stood at Rs. 7,284 crore, an increase of 26.7 per cent over the same period last year.

“I hope that we may end up the fiscal by about Rs. 11,500 crore...and in the next years we hope to touch Rs. 17,000 crore,” Malhotra told reporters here after announcing about the Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair from February 19.

On the impact of global economic recession on the sector, he said that “we are still not out of the woods and that is why we are not setting any ambitious target for the next three years...the sector needs some more time.”

The government is targeting to more than double the country’s merchandise exports to about $500 billion in the next three years.

The main handicrafts items exported from India include metal and wood wares, hand-printed textiles and scarves, embroidered goods, shawls and imitation jewellery.

The U.S. and Europe are the major destination of India’s handicrafts exports. The sector is labour-intensive and employs about 60-70 lakh people.

In the fair, as much as 2,300 exhibitors from across the country are expected to showcase their products. Over 6,500 foreign buyers from 31 countries mainly from Latin America, Central Asia, Africa would participate.

“We are hoping to get orders worth Rs. 800 crore in the fair. Last year we got business of the order of Rs. 500 crore,” he said.

On the forthcoming Budget, the sector has asked the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to exempt the sector from income and service tax.

“EPCH has also asked the Finance Minister to further extend the interest subsidy scheme,” he added. The scheme is expected to end this year.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article1464743.ece