Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
In what is likely to be one of the most significant takeaways from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the US, India is set to get at least 11 “major manufacturing technologies” as part of the India-US fighter jet engine deal, top government sources have told.
For the first time in his nine years in office, Modi will travel to the US on an official state visit from June 21-24, which includes a state dinner and an address to the joint session of the Congress.
The deal on transfer of critical technologies is set to be finalised during Modi’s trip to the US, said sources. This is in sync with the India-US defence cooperation, which is based on the “New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation” that was renewed for 10 years in 2015.
In 2016, the defence relationship was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP), a key status given to India.
PM writes to G20 leaders: Let African union be a member too (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Less than three months before the G20 summit in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed inclusion of the African Union (AU) into the grouping — effectively making it G21.
Sources said Modi has written to G20 leaders to propose that the African Union be given “full membership at the upcoming Delhi Summit of G20, as requested by them”. The G20 summit is scheduled to take place in Delhi on September 9-10.
However, any expansion of membership of the G20 grouping is based on consensus, and all G20 leaders have to come to an agreement on the issue.
Sources said the idea germinated after the ‘Voice of the Global South’ summit in January this year, in which most of the African continent’s 54 countries participated.
The discussions were carried forward in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, which houses the headquarters of the African Union.
There is only one country from the entire African continent in the grouping – South Africa. Many African leaders have argued that Europe is represented by five countries as well as the European Union (EU), and the African Union merits similar representation as well.
Govt & Politics
G20 Agri ministers meet: Russia distances from parts of outcome document; China against Ukraine mention (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Russia dissociated itself from three paragraphs of the ‘Outcome document & chair’s summary of the G20 agriculture ministers’ meeting’, which mentions Ukraine war and Black Sea Grain Initiative, while China stated that the meeting outcome should not include any reference to the Ukraine crisis.
The two-day meeting, which was held in Hyderabad on June 16-17, adopted a 22-page outcome document containing a total of 26 paragraphs. “All G20 Agriculture Ministers agreed to Paragraphs 1,2 and Paragraphs 6-26 along with its Annex,” reads the document.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 are taken from the Bali Leaders’ Declaration. Russia dissociated itself from Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this, China stated that the meeting outcome should not include any reference to the Ukraine crisis.
While paragraph 3 and 4 have reference to the Ukraine war, the paragraph 5 states, “We underline the importance of full, timely, improved and continued implementation by all relevant stakeholders of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the Memorandum of Understanding between Russia and the UN Secretariat, that was brokered by Türkiye and the UN on 22 July 2022 as a package, to reduce global food insecurity and to enable unimpeded flows of more food and fertilisers to developing countries in need.”
Opinion
25 years before Biparjoy, a cyclone rained havoc (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
“It was not a cyclone, it was a tsunami,” says former Chief Minister Suresh Mehta, who was Gujarat Industries Minister in 1998, describing how a “2,000-tonne ship climbed onto the shore riding the waves and had to be eventually scrapped as it could not be pushed back”.
While Biparjoy, the latest ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ to hit the Gujarat coast, seems to have lost steam, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) saying it has turned into a “deep depression”, the uneasy wait for the cyclone brought back memories of another cyclone, 25 years ago, that battered Kutch and left a trail of death and destruction in its wake.
The ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ hit the Gujarat coast on June 9-10, 1998, with a speed of 167 kmph, impacting the districts of Porbandar, Jamnagar and Kutch and killing thousands.
While a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) report recorded the official death toll at 1,680, it is believed that the numbers could have been much higher as many bodies that were flung into the sea could not be traced.
World
Blinken heads to Beijing for high stake visit as tension soar in US-China ties (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off two days of high-stakes diplomatic talks in Beijing aimed at trying to cool exploding US.-China tensions that have set many around the world on edge.
Blinken opened his program by meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for an extended discussion to be followed by a working dinner.
Neither Blinken nor Qin made any substantive comments to reporters as they began the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Despite Blinken’s presence in the Chinese capital, prospects for any significant breakthroughs are slim, as already strained ties have grown increasingly fraught in recent years.
Animosity and recriminations have steadily escalated over a series of disagreements that have implications for global security and stability.
Blinken is the highest-level American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years.
Biden and Xi agreed to Blinken’s trip early at a meeting last year in Bali.
Saudi seeks better maritime security in Gulf as Iran ties resume after 7yrs (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Saudi Arabia wants enhanced maritime security in the Gulf region as part of its rapprochement with long-time rival Iran, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and reestablish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability including in the Gulf, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.
I would like to refer to the importance of cooperation between the two countries on regional security, especially the security of maritime navigation and the importance of cooperation among all regional countries to ensure that it is free of weapons of mass destruction.
Speaking after talks with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Prince Faisal also said the Saudi king and crown prince are looking forward to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi "accepting the invitation to visit the Kingdom soon, God willing."
Iran has never equated security with militarism but sees it as a broad concept including political, cultural, social, economic and trade aspects.
The kingdom broke ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
Economy
Banks may settle debt in wilful default category (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Banks reported as many as 16,044 borrowers with a cumulative debt of Rs 346,479 crore in the wilful default category — borrowers who refuse to repay loans despite having the capacity to make payments — as of December 2022.
Some of these borrowers will be able to approach lenders for a compromise settlement following the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decision to change the rules for eligibility that virtually reverses its earlier policy of keeping wilful defaulters out of its compromise settlement scheme.
The amount stuck in the wilful default category has jumped by 41 per cent, or over Rs one lakh crore in the last two years from Rs 245,767 crore in December 2020, according to data compiled by Transunion Cibil, a credit information company registered with the RBI. While most of the 16,000 plus wilful defaulters may not be eligible for the compromise settlement, some of them are likely to approach the lenders for the ‘settlement’.
Banks can undertake compromise settlements or technical write-offs in respect of accounts categorised as wilful defaulters or fraud without prejudice to the criminal proceeding underway against such debtors, the RBI said in a circular on June 8, 2023.
Compromise settlement refers to a negotiated settlement where a borrower offers to pay and the bank agrees to accept in full and final settlement of its dues an amount less than the total amount due to them under the loan contract.
This settlement invariably involves a certain sacrifice by way of write off and/or waiver of a portion of the lender’s dues on a one-time basis.
Banks had approved several compromise settlements running into hundreds of crores with huge haircuts – or the reduction of outstanding payment or loans that will not be repaid by the borrowers – between 2000 and 2014, leading to huge losses for banks in the last two decades.