India and the World

Modi pushes for people-centric reforms, revives global faith in India Story

- by Shweta Aggarwal

With the world’s gaze turned on the India growth story and the trajectory of the country’s economic reforms in Asia’s third largest economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the international community about his commitment to “people-centric” reforms and the need to insulate it from “the political process.”
“There is bound to be resistance to change or reform. But it cannot be done in stealth,” Mr Modi told the leaders of the world’s leading economies during a special intervention on the first day of the G20 plenary session in Brisbane November 15. His remarks came in response to an invitation by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is hosting the Leaders’ Summit.
In a veiled allusion to the pulls and pressures of democratic politics and India’s argumentative society, Mr Modi underscored that there was a need to “insulate reforms from the political process,” indicating his government’s willingness to go ahead with difficult second-generation economic reforms despite opposition from critics and sections of his own party to FDI in in multi-brand retail.
Ever since his election as the leader of the world’s largest democracy in May 2014, the world has been curious to know about Mr Modi’s vision of the prospects of the economic reforms in Asia’s third largest economy, which were bogged down in policy paralysis under his predecessor.

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World bets on ‘Doer’ Modi: From Paris to Riyadh, hopes high

- by India Writes Network

As US president Barack Obama met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the gala dinner for G-20 dinner hosted in Canberra by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the American leader could not but help remark to the Indian leader: “You are a man of action.”
In speaking thus, President Obama was possibly speaking not just for himself but for the galaxy of world leaders gathered for the G-20 Summit in the Australian capital as they queue up to have a bilateral meeting with Mr Modi, the most sought after leader at the G20 power pack gathering.
For the world is eager to engage with the new Modi-led government in the hope that it will take swift and clear decisions, particularly in the economic arena from which numerous countries stand to benefit. The diplomatic outreach by world leaders to the Indian prime minister was clearly evident on the margins of the G-20 multilateral meet on November 15. And not merely because for many among them it was their first opportunity to touch base with the new Indian leader but also because Mr Modi for now is perceived as a “doer”.

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Modi targets black money, pitches for BRICS Bank by 2016

- by Manish Chand

Fourth months after his BRICS debut in Fortaleza, Brazil, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the leaders of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa in the picturesque Australian city of Brisbane and underlined that the repatriation of black money parked abroad, that runs into billions of dollars, was “a key priority,” and linked it to security challenges facing the world.

Mr Modi, whose government has vowed to vow bring black money kept in secret bank accounts by Indians abroad a national priority, made a strong pitch for “close coordination” on the issue during an informal meeting of the five-nation BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brisbane November 15.

Building on the architecture of the BRICS Bank fleshed out in Fortaleza at the July 15 summit, the Indian leader said that BRICS should set 2016 as the target for the inauguration of the BRICS Bank.

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Smart diplomacy, but no solution to climate talks and free trade

- by India Writes Network

With China breaking away from the fold of the developing world India will have the hard task of defending the principle of CBDR, and urge for greater emission cuts in industrialised world. The China-US deal on climate talks and the India-US pact on food security can only facilitate talks on climate change and keep multilateral talks going, but a permanent solution to the problems is not in sight.
The extension of Peace Clause is just like a lolly pop. The real issue is ensuring free and fair trade and acknowledging the right of food security in developing countries as enshrined in the UN Millennium Development Goals.

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India at G20: The Power of 20

- by Manish Chand

Call it the Power of 20. It’s the world’s most powerful economic club, bringing together 20 most developed and emerging economies in the world, spread across five continents. The G20 comprises around 90 per cent of the global GDP, 80 per cent of the world trade and more than two-third of the world’s population. Six years and eight summits later, it’s a high moment for G20 as the leaders of the world’s premier economic forum gather for their 9th summit in Brisbane, the picturesque gateway to Australia, November 15-16.

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WTO deadlock ends: India, US strike deal, boost for Modi

- by Shweta Aggarwal

Signalling a triumph of the negotiating prowess of the Narendra Modi government, India and the US have managed to strike a compromise formula on food subsidies, which paves the way for salvaging the stalled World Trade Organization (WTO) deal on easing of customs rules.
The mid-way formula that ended months of impasse in global trade negotiations envisaged an indefinite “peace clause” on food security until a permanent solution is found, a key demand of India for which Indian negotiators played hardball, resisting concerted pressure from developed countries. A “peace clause” provided legal security to member countries and protects them from being challenged under WTO’s subsidy caps. In India’s case, it effectively means that the country can continue with its food security programmes without attracting WTO penalties pending a permanent solution to the contentious issue of subsidies.

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Economic diplomacy: India seeks ASEAN investments, backs regional trade pact

- by India Writes Network

With the business of diplomacy being increasingly business, India’s reform-minded prime minister has robustly pitched for increased investment and deployment of expertise from ASEAN countries in his project of urbanisation and economic renewal in Asia’s third largest economy.
Attending his first India-ASEAN summit in Myanmar’s capital November 12, Narendra Modi alluded to “a new economic journey in India” and sought greater investments from ASEAN countries in the priority sectors identified by his government: infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, agriculture, skill development, urban renewal, smart cities.
“Make in India is a new mission. We are placing as much emphasis on ease of doing business in India as we are on making policies attractive. I invite you to this new environment in India. Indian companies are also keep to invest in and trade with ASEAN,” he told the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Underlining speedy decision-making and speedy action as his driving mantra, Mr Modi assured the ASEAN leaders that “there will be major improvement our trade policy and environment.” “We will also move ahead with connectivity projects with ASEAN with speed,” he said at the swanky Myanmar International Convention Centre.
Significantly, Mr Modi exhorted the two sides to conduct a review of India-ASEAN free trade agreement in goods “to improve it further and make it beneficial to all.” “I also urge that the FTA on Service and Investment be brought into force at the earliest,” he said.
India and ASEAN are looking to scale up bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2015 and double that volume by 2022. The two-way investments are on an upswing: ASEAN investments in India over the last eight years amounted USD 27.9 billion, and Indian investments in ASEAN reached $32.4 billion.

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