12 MEDIA WATCH
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1 - 7 December 2018
SCRUTATOR’S There was turbulence at the Supreme Court during the hearings of the case involving the two seniormost officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), whose ongoing feud has brought the body, its personnel and even the government itself into disrepute. Irritated by the flagrant breach of its orders for strict confidentiality in matters pertaining to the subject the Supreme Court Bench scathingly observed to the CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma and others, ‘we do not think any of you deserve a hearing’ – and promptly adjourned Alok Kumar Verma further proceedings. Reasons for Court’s strictures Leaks of CBI Director General Manish Kumar Sinha’s petition accusing top government officials and CBI chief Alok Kumar Verma’s response to Central Vigilance Committee’s inquiry, the Supreme Court had ordered that both documents be in sealed cover. As this order had not been followed, the Court said: ’We don’t think any of you deserve a hearing…Our efforts to maintain the respect and dignity of the of the institution (CB I) is, unfortunately, not shared by others. ‘The purpose of sealed-cover proceedings was to keep the sensitive issue confidential…but it was on the front page of the newspapers.’ Senior and junior counsels representing Alok Kumar Verma are at odds on the advice given to their client. Confusion is worse confounded (Times of India, Hindu November 21). Terror attack in Punjab A grenade attack on the Nirankari Satsang Bhagwan (templer) near Amritsar by two hooded men on a motorcycle near Amritsar in Punjab which claimed three lives and injured 15, has been attributed
strike and other such strikes in Punjab over the last two years. The Punjab police had busted may other terrorist attempts to hit the State. Amarinder Singh detected the hand of Pakistan’s Interr Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) in activities designed to disturb the peace (Times of India, Hindu November 22). RBI-Govt accord The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have reached an accord under which the RBI will extend the timeline by a year for full implementation of Basel III rules capital, thereby freeing up Rs 3.7 trillion for potential lending. The extension of the deadline will give the government breathing space on bank recapitalization. The government and RBI were in dispute on a number of issues, including a liquidity squeeze on in the bankiung system (Mint, Hindu November. XIAOMI in rural expansion China’s XIAOMI, the biggest smartphone manufacturer in India and the largest sales, is planning to increase both offline sales channels and introduce new, which franchised outlets called MI stores in III tier towns and tier IV cities. The consumer electronic company, which sells products from smartphone s - of which India is the world’s largest market - televisions, etc (Mint November 21).
India, Russia frigate deal India has signed a $500 million deal with Russia on the construction of four advanced stealth frigates, two of which are to be built at the local Shipyard Limited with technology transfer There will also be a lot of Indian technology as well in the vessels, including the supersonic BrahMos cruise missiles and other weapons sys. While the ships are Russian, the engines will be supplied directly from Ukraine. The Goa shipyard has a good track record, meeting delivery dates, sometimes ahead of schedule. The basic structure of the two frigates already complete and is expected for delivery by Russia’s Yantar shipyard in 2020, the rest to follow through to 2026 (Hindu, Times of India November 21). India, Singapore call for open seas India and Singapore have reiterated their call for freedom of navigation and freedom of the skies along these sea routes in keeping with international law and the United Nations Convention against the tense backdrop of China’s muscular rhetoric and conduct in the South China Sea. Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Singapore counterpart Ng Eng Hen during their meeting in Visakhapatnam were in accord that disputes on these issues should be resolved peacefully (Times of India November 21).
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Relations between the two countries were raised to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vietnam a couple of years ago. Cooperation between the Indian and Vietnamese services have expanded exponentially in all fields, from training programmes to weapon systems and exercises, which are set to continue to higher levels (Times of India November 21). India-Bhutan Dialogue With the installation of a new government in Bhutan following the recent general election, Indian foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale concluded a two-day visit to Bhutan for conversations with the country emergent leadership. Economic and development cooperation topped the agenda. Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tsering is likely to visit India soon, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi reciprocating with a visit to Bhutan sometime early in 2019 (Times of India November 21). Venkaiah Naidu’s call for liberal leadership Speaking in New Delhi at the 104th birth anniversary of former Supreme Court judge Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said there was a
India, Vietnam draw closer Addressing the Vietnam National Assembly in Hanoi, President Ram Nath Kovind said India offered a model of regional cooperation that ‘opens not one but many roads’ – perhaps a veiled reference to China’s mooted ‘One Belt, One Road Initiative. With Vietnam scheduled to host the first maritime security dialogue with India in 2019, Hanoi was keen to push its relationship with India to a higher level of engagement. Army chief heads for Hanoi Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat is to follow in the footsteps of President Kovind to Hanoi for talks with his
Nampoodripad. ‘We need men and women who are sensitive to the complex interplay of socio-economiccultural and political realities of contemporary India,’ said the Vice President (Hindu November 21). Warning to India One of Pakistan’s foremost scientists, Pervez Hoodbhoy, has warned India against becoming like Pakista through bigotry and religious obscurantism. Writing in the country’s Dawn newspaper, he said he was appalled by the obscenities posted of the Sangh Parivar social media targeting Jawaharlal Nehru. It was Nehru, he averred, who had sowed the seeds of India’s scientific temper that had flowered in Indian physicists such as Ashok Sen FRS, a leading contemporary string theorists. US companies in India for talent US multinational companies are beating a path to India to plumb the country’s engineering talent. In 2017, 976 of them opened Research & Development centres across the country, with numbers set increase this year. The Indian staff is expected to rise to 435,000 this year, up from the 343000 last year. The numbers do not include ITspecialists (Times of India November 17). Festival sales drive up TVS, Bajaj revenues ALHH TVS Motor and Bajaj have increased their market share in scooters and motorbike segments by17 per cent respectively during the recent festive season. Bajaj Auto bucked the trend in the motorcycles with growth of 33 per cent.TVS Motor has maintained double-digit growth in scooters and higher growth in motorcycles. Jaswant’s son in tussle with Raje
Venkaiah Naidu
need for men and women to listen respectfully to different voices, and called on citizens to nourish institutional structures put in place by the nation’s Constitution. He recalled the Justice Iyer had served at one time in the State government of Kerala under Communist Chief Minister E.M.S.
Manvendra Singh, son of the late Jaswant Singh, once a BJP stalwart and foreign minister in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is standing on a Congress party ticket in the Rajasthan Assembly elections from Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s constituency. The outcome will be awaited with keen interest across India, with an general election due in May/June 2019 (Times of India November 18).
New Chapter in India, Australia ties
Small town Indians globe trotting
Amarinder Singh
to the outlawed Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) following the arrest and interrogation of one of the assailants by the police. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced this at a press conference. He said the Pakistanbased KLF mastermind Harmeet Singh Happy had coordinated the
Cash in hand families from India’s small towns have developed an itch to travel abroad and living the experience. Some 30-40 per cent for both online and offline tour operators now come from the tier II and III towns, according to tour companies like the internationally renowned Thomas Cook, among others. Such growth is way higher than figures from the cities year-onyear, proof that disposable incomes are on the increase plus the immense strides in the development of airport infrastructure (Mint November 16).
General Bipin Rawat
Vietnamese counterpart Lieutenant General Pham Hong Huong, as well as tour the country’s different military establishments during his fourday visit to the country.
President Ram Nath Kovind with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Australia marks a new chapter in their relationship. See page 3.