US Ready To Offer India Wide Range Of Defence Equipment

The US is ready to help India's defence needs with the latest technologies and equipment, but New Delhi purchasing long-range S-400 missile defence system from Russia would limit cooperation, the Trump administration has cautioned.

The statement came weeks after an identical warning from a senior State Department official who had said that New Delhi's deal to procure the lethal missile system from Moscow will have "serious implications" on India-US defence ties.

The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 for the system.

India and Russia signed a USD 5 billion S-400 air defence system deal in October last year after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Senior State Department official (South and Central Asian Affairs) Alice G Wells told House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee for Asia, the Pacific and Nonproliferation on Thursday that the US now does more military exercises with India than any other country.

"Under the Trump administration, we've been very clear that we're ready to help meet India's defence needs and we are seeking a very different kind of defence partnership building on the 'Major Defence Partner' designation that India has received from Congress," Ms Wells said.

She was replying to the Congressional sub-committee on India buying S-400 from Russia and how to make India-US ties as robust and as meaningful as possible.

Just a few weeks ago, India, the United States, the Philippines and Japan did a sail by in the South China Sea, she said.

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Travellers from Italy, South Korea entering India must carry COVID-19 'negative' certificate

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an additional travel advisory which says that aside from the visa restrictions already in place, passengers traveling from Italy or the Republic of Korea will require a 'tested negative for COVID -19' certificate before they are allowed to enter the country.
• The certificates would have to be issued from designated laboratories authorized by the health authorities of these countries.  This measure by the Health Ministry for the prevention of coronavirus will come into effect from midnight March 10. The Ministry has said that this is only a temporary measure till the coronavirus outbreak subsides.
• Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had earlier confirmed that a total of 29 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in India. This number includes the three initial cases in Kerala who were treated and later discharged from the hospitals.
• Two new cases were discovered on Monday, one in Delhi with a travel history to Italy and another in Telangana. The patient from Telangana had come in contact with a Singapore national who had been infected with the coronavirus. 17 Italian tourists who were in India to tour Rajasthan were also tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
• The government had said on Tuesday that all incoming international passengers must declare their travel history to health and immigration officials at India's airports.

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Bill Introduced In US Congress Aims To Put India On Par With NATO Allies

• A bipartisan group of half a dozen influential American lawmakers has reintroduced important legislation in the House of Representatives which seeks to advance the US-India strategic relationship.
• If enacted, the legislation would ensure that the US State Department treats India as a NATO ally for the purposes of the Arms Export Control Act.
• It would send a powerful signal that defense sales to India should be prioritized according to US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which had worked on this important legislation.
• The bill HR 2123 was introduced this week by Congressman Joe Wilson, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
• "India is the world's largest democracy, a pillar of stability in the region, and has shown strong commitments to export control policies," said Mr. Wilson.
• "This adjustment to US law will further allow the US-India partnership to flourish in line with our security commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. I am grateful for the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), led by Dr. Mukesh Aghi, and their support for this legislation," he said.
• The original co-sponsors of the legislation are Congressman Ami Bera - the longest-serving Indian-American in the US Congress - and the House India Caucus Co-Chairs, Congressmen George Holding, Brad Sherman, and Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Congressman Ted Yoho. For more information click here

How P Chidambaram's legal team plans to rescue former Finance Minister

Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister has been untraceable since 4:30 pm on Tuesday following the developments in the INX Media case. Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi High Court dismissed Chidambaram's anticipatory bail plea. Following this, teams of CBI and ED officials reached his residence separately but were unable to find Chidambaram, who is also said to have switched off his phones. The ED issued a look-out circular in connection with the case.

However, the Congress leader's counsels are trying to rescue the former Finance Minister from this situation and have approached the Supreme Court. Sources close to his son Karti Chidambaram have told that the legal team will base their case in the Supreme Court on 10 arguments.

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Job creation should be top priority; even skilled people are finding hard to get jobs, says L&T's AM Naik

AM Naik, Larsen & Toubro Group Chairman and National Skill Development Corporation chief, said the government needed to take urgent steps to ensure job creation and that even skilled people were finding it difficult to find a suitable job in times of slowdown in the economy. The government should focus on building a consumption-driven economy, he said, adding that to boost economic development, it was necessary to fund the industrial growth.

Naik, during an interview, said that job creation could only be boosted if the Centre took steps to ensure economic development and more utilisation of industrial capacity. "Many industries have closed or are partially utilised, or working on certain days of the week, or just one shift a day," said Naik, adding that even though there's gross underutilisation of industry, there was a great demand for growth for a country of 1.3 billion people.

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China had expressed its opposition to India's move to create a separate Union Territory of Ladakh

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar today sent out a crucial message to China, which recently expressed its strong disapproval of the government's Kashmir move, especially the creation of a separate Union Territory of Ladakh. India had brushed away China's remarks, saying all the changes made were "internal matters". Today, at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, Mr Jaishankar said, "The two nations should ensure that it was important that differences between us, if any, should not become disputes".

India-China relationship, Mr Jaishankar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, has a "unique place" in global politics. "Two years ago, our leaders recognised that reality and reached a consensus in Astana that at a time of global uncertainty India-China relationship should be a factor of stability," he said.

Last week, after the government's move to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, China voiced its "serious concern".

Beijing asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint, and said the two nations should avoid actions that "unilaterally" change the status quo and "exacerbate tensions".

China also expressed its opposition to India's move to create a separate Union Territory of Ladakh.

India said the decisions on Kashmir were "an internal matter concerning the territory of India".

"India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise," the foreign ministry said.

Pointing to Mr Jaishankar's tenure as India's ambassador to China, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi said for many years, he has made "positive and active contribution to China-India relations".

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Kashmir Special Status (Article 370) Ends "At Once"

Article 370 of the Constitution, which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has been abolished by a presidential order that would come into force "at once", Home Minister Amit Shah said in parliament today, announcing the most far-reaching move on the state in nearly seven decades. The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of his cabinet at his house this morning. Jammu and Kashmir will also be bifurcated into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Prepping for any trouble in the state after the announcement, the centre today moved 8,000 paramilitary troops from different parts of the country to Kashmir, in addition to nearly 35,000 personnel moved in the past week.

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