A trade deal makes sense only if it is fair and reciprocal. If the cost is strategic dependence or loss of policy space, waiting is the wiser option, asserts Ajay Srivastava.
India responds to US President Trump's claim that PM Modi assured him of halting Russian oil imports, stating it is diversifying energy sources to meet market conditions and safeguard consumer interests.
The Congress leadership is reportedly upset with former Home Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on 'Operation Blue Star'. Party sources indicate that senior leaders should be cautious about making public statements that could embarrass the party.
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, describing it as "a big step" in efforts to increase global pressure on Moscow.
The US wants India to recognise internationally accredited labs, harmonise labelling requirements and the validity period of test reports and certification with global practices, and eliminate retesting requirements.
The lawmakers from the US State of Washington have urged the Biden administration to help remove or reduce the tariffs on American apples imported to India as the country's fruit industry has incurred significant losses due to New Delhi's retaliatory measures. In a letter to US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, all members of the House of Representatives from Washington State and other two senators said the tree fruit industry suffered losses due to India's retaliation to US tariffs. On average, 30 per cent of the apples, cherries, and pears produced in the Pacific Northwest are exported and India was once a strong market.
Washington is signalling to Delhi that it can rely on American support in any great game vis-a-vis China. Delhi shouldn't fall into the trap, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by US Congressmen if the US had explore the possibility of northwest India for counter terrorism capabilities in Afghanistan. Blinken's remarks on India assume great importance, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
The State Department said as India's number one overseas market, the US purchases close to one-fifth of its exports. India is also the fastest growing major market for American goods.
The US has all along interfered in India-China issues. The objective is clear: Bring the Sino-Indian standoff to a flashpoint that would compel Modi government to take shelter under an American umbrella, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
When asked to specify whom America would prefer to side with, Kelly said, "Obviously, majority of Americans respect the deep-rooted democratic set up in India in comparison to the Communist rule in China."
The United States encourages both India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue, the Obama Administration on Thursday said, while maintaining that there is no change in its policy on Kashmir.
With Hamid Karzai stonewalling every US effort to conclude a bilateral security agreement, the Obama Administration is pinning its hopes on India to persuade the Afghan President to sign the deal and end the current political imbroglio on the issue.
As the United States mobilses international support against the authoritarian Syrian regime, the Obama administration wants India and China, the two countries having major investment in Syria's energy sector, to step up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to curtail his government's brutal crackdown on protests, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
New Delhi made it clear to the US that only its own national interests will guide its policy.
Hours before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left Washington on her maiden visit to India, the United States said New Delhi can play a very constructive role not only in the region, but also as a global player. "We want to truly look forward, and look at this relationship as something that can be very constructive in the kind of role that India can play not just in the region, but as a global player too," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.
In its first substantive remarks on India, the Obama Administration wants New Delhi to support Pakistan in rooting out terrorism arguing that it has a "big stake" in the success of the democratic government in the Islamic nation.
He also asked the government to spell out its stand on the voting on the Iran nuclear issue at the IAEA board meeting next month.
"Universal adherence to the NPT itself -- including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea -- remains a fundamental objective of the US," Rose Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of State said in her opening remarks at the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 NPT Review Conference being held at the UN headquarters in New York.
The United States has said post-Kyoto protocols to tackle climate change will not make any sense if India and China are 'given a pass' and that Washington will not be a signatory to any such framework if the two Asian giants are not on board."The international community has got to come up with a new plan. And if we give a pass, again, to India and China,whatever measures we take are going to be totally cancelled and overshadowed,"Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said
"Day-to-day developments reconfirm our fears that the US wants to convert India into its subordinate ally in South Asia, even before the Indo-US nuclear deal has come into effect. This is a very ominous development," said Politburo member Sitaram Yechury. The CPI-M leader said that the 123 agreement, which was firmly anchored in the Hyde Act, has fallen short "not just of our objections but of the assurances of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself."
Superimposing the India stick on the traditional carrots of aid, weaponry and undying friendship, is a measure of Washington's desperation in dealing with Pakistan's reluctance to crack down on Jihadi terrorism. Gates' new stance will also highlight America's shrinking interest in cultivating a benign image in Pakistan. Draining the abscess of radicalism is now a greater imperative.
The trade deal, officials say, can lead to an effective trading bloc against the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
'In South Asia, unlike Southeast, East, or Central Asia, there is a natural hegemon: India. China cannot cast it aside easily'
"Only one of the five permanent members, China, openly favours Pakistan," the Dawn report noted.
ICT products make up a minuscule $ 407 million, out of the $ 35.54 billion of total inbound shipments from the US, as of now.
'It's the first-ever US presidential visit which is specially planned for India.' 'The standalone visit itself has achieved something already. Don't underestimate it.' Sheela Bhatt gives us an exclusive glimpse of what the Modi government hopes to achieve from Trump's visit.
"We talk about coming together in a constructive manner. That has been our (India's) theme always. India becoming the headmaster; that is never the intention. There are similar threats like piracy that affect all nations equally like the piracy off the Somalia coast... to that extent, yes," Verma told media persons in Port Blair when asked to comment on the US suggestion in this regard last week.
The US wants India to be converted into a military base to facilitate refuelling for its planes and recreation for the soldiers engaged in the Iraq war, Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP Brinda Karat said.
The US also called for a "meaningful dialogue" between India and Pakistan to address differences including the Kashmir issue and to bring down the recent tensions.
Since the change in administration in the US, Indian leaders have publicly and privately identified with American objectives in Afghanistan.
'Even if someone other than Trump had become president, the US distancing from Pakistan and coming closer to India was already set in motion.' 'With Trump openly declaring his intent to take on Islamic extremism, the days of US political correctness are over,' says Colonel (Dr) Anil A Athale (retd).
Aziz Haniffa, who has covered every Indian Prime Minister's visit to the US since Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, gives us a peek into what's happening in Washington, DC on the eve of the Modi-Trump summit.
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