Budget 2018-19

  It’s almost one year since the bitter  Galwan valley  clash between India and China took place After almost one year since the bitter Galwan valley clash between India and China took place, New Delhi has gradually started clearing the pending investment proposals from Beijing. While the small ticket foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals are being cleared in the initial stage, sources said that India is not opposed to Chinese FDI per se. “India has never banned Chinese FDI. The only change in the regulatory structure is the requirement of an approval from the authorities for  Chinese companies  to invest. This is not a very retrograde step and yes we will apply caution and I don’t see why that should lead to such concerns,” a policymaker on condition of anonymity said. It is also learnt that India will study the proposals one by one and in cases which pose no threat to security will be approved. “The government has always maintained that there is a need for...

  Russia on Wednesday said it was following developments at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh Russia on Wednesday said it was following developments at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, and is encouraged by India and China focusing on “disengagement efforts” and to promote constructive dialogue. Deputy Chief of the Russian mission Roman Babushkin said Russia encourages both sides to take opportunities in advancing their ties at common multilateral platforms like the BRICS, SCO and RIC trilateral grouping. “We are following developments at the LAC. We are encouraged by India and China to consider disengagement efforts in order to promote constructive and forward looking dialogue which is a very important precondition for regional stability,” he said at a media briefing. Both India and China are members of the  Shanghai Cooperation Organisation  (SCO), Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping and BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa). Ru...

The detente in South Asia shows all three countries responding to initiatives from the Biden administration After a year of some of the worst fighting on India’s frontiers with Pakistan and China, all three countries are suddenly talking peace as they wait to see how President Joe Biden will shift policy in the region India and China’s top diplomats on Thursday discussed plans to disengage troops from their Himalayan border, which last year saw the deadliest clashes since the 1970s. The phone call between Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, which stretched for more than an hour, came shortly after India and Pakistan released a rare joint statement by senior army officials announcing a halt in operations along their border. The moves reduce tensions in one of Asia’s top flashpoints, where three nuclear-armed countries regularly challenge each other’s territorial claims. While India and  Pakistan  have fought three wars since Britain left the subcontinen...

  There are reports that China has constructed a new village in the ‘disputed’ region of Arunachal Pradesh Current Affairs:  In a cautious reaction to a report that China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh, India on Monday said it keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on the country’s security, and takes necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Ministry of External Affairs said India has stepped up the construction of border infrastructure, including roads and bridges for the improvement of livelihood of its citizens. The response from the ministry came when asked about a report by NDTV channel, saying China has constructed a new village in the disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh and it consisted of about 101 homes. The news channel said the report is based on satellite images accessed exclusively by it. “We have seen recent reports on China undertaking construction work along the border areas with India. China...

  Trump’s campaign committee raised $83.1 million in September while spending $139.3 million, the filings showed President Donald Trump’s campaign burned through almost half of its cash in September, as his re-election effort cut back on advertising in some key battleground states and he lags in the polls behind his much better-funded Democratic adversary, Joe Biden. The latest filing with the Federal Election Commission showed that Trump entered the final 34 days of the presidential election with $63.1 million in the bank, down from $121.1 million at the end of August, when his campaign began to scale back some television spending and even abandoned advertising in the key states of Pennsylvania and Michigan for a period. Trump’s campaign committee raised $83.1 million in September while spending $139.3 million, the filings showed. The campaign announced Thursday that his broader re-election effort, which includes the Republican National Committee and two joint fundraising committe...