Prime Minister was asked about China extending its influence in the neighbourhood, including Nepal and Pakistan, and whether India's armed forces were prepared to deal with the situation.
"I think security concerns are the primary responsibility of every civilised country and you have my assurance that we will and we have been paying adequate attention to protect and preserve the security of our country," he said.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Foreign Intervention
Intervention is as ancient and well-established instruments of foreign policy as are diplomatic pressure, negotiations, and war. From the time of the ancient Greeks to this day, some states have found it advantageous to intervene in the affairs of other states on behalf of their own interests and against the latters' will. Other states, in view of their interests, have opposed such interventions and have intervened on behalf of theirs.
In the context of Nepal, looking at the political and economic events that have happened in the past few days, it seems like the index of intervention of foreign players in domestic affairs of Nepal is on the rise. The brewing discord between our two " Super power wanna be neighbors "and the power struggle between them to be the regional hegemons have greatly influenced the political and economic ideologies of our political parties. No matter which side of of the isle they represent (left or right ) the politcial parties has converted into panders. These pander now believe in Laissez-faire/anarchism philosophies.Which seek no government intervention at all and threaten to subvert the current government with tactics like blackmailing.Representative of these political parties are making a business trips to Beijing and Delhi to see, which country makes a best offer to deflower the very young Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal .
In the context of Nepal, looking at the political and economic events that have happened in the past few days, it seems like the index of intervention of foreign players in domestic affairs of Nepal is on the rise. The brewing discord between our two " Super power wanna be neighbors "and the power struggle between them to be the regional hegemons have greatly influenced the political and economic ideologies of our political parties. No matter which side of of the isle they represent (left or right ) the politcial parties has converted into panders. These pander now believe in Laissez-faire/anarchism philosophies.Which seek no government intervention at all and threaten to subvert the current government with tactics like blackmailing.Representative of these political parties are making a business trips to Beijing and Delhi to see, which country makes a best offer to deflower the very young Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal .
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Selling to the poor
With Western consumer being more thriftier and developing a culture to save.Firms around the world are eying the world last untapped markets THE POOR
Click here to read the article
Click here to read the article
Sunday, October 25, 2009
DEMISE of DOLLAR ??
ON MARCH 5th an index of the value of the American dollar against six other big currencies touched 89.11, its highest point this year. Since then, however, it has been a steady downward drift for the greenback. On Tuesday October 20th, for example, the dollar index had slipped to 75.24, its lowest point in more than a year....
Click here to read the full article
I am sure you will enjoy this policy paper - The future of dollar
Click here to read
Click here to read the full article
I am sure you will enjoy this policy paper - The future of dollar
Click here to read
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Maoists are acquiring weapons through Bangladesh, Myanmar and possibly Nepal
"We know now that the weapons are coming through Bangladesh and Myanamar and possibly Nepal. The border is very porous. The Indo-Nepal border is a very porous border." - P.Chidambaram,Home minister of India
Click her to read the full article
Click her to read the full article
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Melting Himalayan ice prompts conflict fear
On the outskirts of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, climate researchers twiddle with computers displaying maps of the Himalayas. At the press of a button, rivers and mountain passes change colour and watercourses expand to show villages swept away by simulated flood waters.
Not all the researchers at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development are pondering the devastation that would result from the bursting of high-altitude glacial lakes, though. Some are considering what awaits millions of people when the ice and snow caps of the “water towers of Asia” – so called because of the 10 big rivers originating in the peaks – are depleted by global warming. Few are willing to guess when this will happen, but their charts and photographs of retreating snowlines and glaciers have the whiff of inevitability.
Already mountain hydrologists can pinpoint where water stress will be greatest in the years to come. As the availability of water in Himalayan-fed river systems that support 1.3bn people drops, researchers expect the border between India and Bangladesh to be the first flashpoint of an intensifying battle across south Asia.
“If we don’t address this [issue], it will further aggravate political conflict,” warns Golam Rasul, senior economist at the research centre.
His comments came as India publicly displayed its sensitivity over upstream control of water, challenging Beijing over potential plans to build dams in Tibet on the Brahmaputra river and to finance dams in Pakistani Kashmir on the Indus river.
Scientists warn that the nature of the monsoon, and precipitation over the Himalayas, has already changed for the worse. Sporadic, rather than sustained, torrential rain- fall removes topsoil and fails to revitalise the land.
In some parts, they say, “severe and acute” local conflicts between communities are on the rise.
The foothills of the Himalayas are one of the most intensely irrigated food-producing areas of the world. Scientists say that while glacier melt has caught the world’s attention, a receding snow cap is more threatening to the livelihoods of farmers on the plains below.
The critical period for water availability is between February and June, when farmers rely particularly on melting snow for irrigation.
The water treaties agreed in the region, some not updated since the 1960s, are viewed as inadequate. Transborder dialogue is halting, with contact mainly at the technical level through scientific institutions rather than governments.
“The political situation is not mature enough to go into basin-wide agreements,” says Andreas Schild, director general of the Kathmandu research centre. “The local population is starting to be worried. They are asking themselves: ‘Why are all these foreigners coming up to look at our glaciers?’ ”
Disputes over river waters have dominated relations between India and Bangladesh for decades. About 54 rivers flow into Bangladesh from India and, with an agrarian economy dependent on rivers, Dhaka has raised concerns about the amount of water that flows into its territory, particularly along the Ganges.
Mr Schild says not enough is known about the extent of the water resources in the Himalayas. But none of the scientists regrets the new focus their work is receiving. Fear over climate change, ahead of the intergovernmental summit in Copenhagen in December, is prompting broader issues about sustainability in the region to be addressed.
Margareta Wahlstrom, assistant secretary general of the United Nations, said the debate about global warming was spurring governments in the region to review disaster prevention strategies. The shifting swirls of yellow, blue and mauve on the scientists’ computer screens may yet avert catastrophe.
Source:FT
Not all the researchers at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development are pondering the devastation that would result from the bursting of high-altitude glacial lakes, though. Some are considering what awaits millions of people when the ice and snow caps of the “water towers of Asia” – so called because of the 10 big rivers originating in the peaks – are depleted by global warming. Few are willing to guess when this will happen, but their charts and photographs of retreating snowlines and glaciers have the whiff of inevitability.
Already mountain hydrologists can pinpoint where water stress will be greatest in the years to come. As the availability of water in Himalayan-fed river systems that support 1.3bn people drops, researchers expect the border between India and Bangladesh to be the first flashpoint of an intensifying battle across south Asia.
“If we don’t address this [issue], it will further aggravate political conflict,” warns Golam Rasul, senior economist at the research centre.
His comments came as India publicly displayed its sensitivity over upstream control of water, challenging Beijing over potential plans to build dams in Tibet on the Brahmaputra river and to finance dams in Pakistani Kashmir on the Indus river.
Scientists warn that the nature of the monsoon, and precipitation over the Himalayas, has already changed for the worse. Sporadic, rather than sustained, torrential rain- fall removes topsoil and fails to revitalise the land.
In some parts, they say, “severe and acute” local conflicts between communities are on the rise.
The foothills of the Himalayas are one of the most intensely irrigated food-producing areas of the world. Scientists say that while glacier melt has caught the world’s attention, a receding snow cap is more threatening to the livelihoods of farmers on the plains below.
The critical period for water availability is between February and June, when farmers rely particularly on melting snow for irrigation.
The water treaties agreed in the region, some not updated since the 1960s, are viewed as inadequate. Transborder dialogue is halting, with contact mainly at the technical level through scientific institutions rather than governments.
“The political situation is not mature enough to go into basin-wide agreements,” says Andreas Schild, director general of the Kathmandu research centre. “The local population is starting to be worried. They are asking themselves: ‘Why are all these foreigners coming up to look at our glaciers?’ ”
Disputes over river waters have dominated relations between India and Bangladesh for decades. About 54 rivers flow into Bangladesh from India and, with an agrarian economy dependent on rivers, Dhaka has raised concerns about the amount of water that flows into its territory, particularly along the Ganges.
Mr Schild says not enough is known about the extent of the water resources in the Himalayas. But none of the scientists regrets the new focus their work is receiving. Fear over climate change, ahead of the intergovernmental summit in Copenhagen in December, is prompting broader issues about sustainability in the region to be addressed.
Margareta Wahlstrom, assistant secretary general of the United Nations, said the debate about global warming was spurring governments in the region to review disaster prevention strategies. The shifting swirls of yellow, blue and mauve on the scientists’ computer screens may yet avert catastrophe.
Source:FT
Anand Sharma to sign new trade treaty with Nepal
KATHMANDU: Indian commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma is arriving in Nepal on Tuesday to ink the new India-Nepal Trade Treaty that will now get a seven-year shelf life instead of the earlier five with the provision to have it automatically extended every seven years.
With the signing of the new treaty in Kathmandu on Tuesday between Sharma and his Nepali counterpart Rajendra Mahato, Nepal gets more time to provide a more stable framework for bilateral trade and investments.
The two ministers will also sign a new agreement upgrading the 1996 agreement to control unauthorised trade from third countries. Both the agreements had been initialled during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s five-day visit to New Delhi in August.
The new trade treaty will now see bilateral trade being conducted in Indian rupees at par with trade in convertible currency in respect of tax rebates and other benefits available to such trade. This indicates ending the existing complicated mechanism of tax refunds. The switch will provide Nepal direct control on customs duty revenues on import of manufactured goods from India. Other tax rebates and export promotion benefits will also become available on exports from India to Nepal, the combined impact making imports from India cheaper both for sale and further manufacture in Nepal.
The new trade treaty will also have India enhance the time limit for temporary import of machinery and equipment into India for repair and maintenance from three to 10 years. Besides, India will allow several new items to the list of primary products Nepal wants to export, like floriculture products, atta, bran, husk, bristles, herbs, stone aggregate, boulder, sand and gravel. All these items will have duty free access to India without any quantitative restriction.
India will also facilitate export under the MFN treatment of articles manufactured in Nepal, which do not fulfill the criteria for preferential access and establish four additional Land Customs Stations and open air traffic for bilateral trade. The new LCS are Maheshpur/Trutibari (Nawalparasi); Sikta-Bhiswabazar; Laukha-Thadi; and Guleria/Murtia. Bilateral trade by air will be allowed through Kathmandu/Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai airports.
The treaty will also boost Nepal’s technical standards, quarantine and testing facilities and related human resource capacities. Both countries have agreed to facilitate cross-border flow of trade through simplification, standardization and harmonization of customs, transport and other trade-related procedures and development of border infrastructure. The two sides will also undertake measures to reduce/eliminate non-tariff, para-tariff and other barriers that impede promotion of bilateral trade.
New Delhi has agreed to establish a joint mechanism, comprising local authorities, to resolve problems arising in clearance of goods at customs points and the two sides will review and simplify the existing administrative arrangements for operationalization of fixed quota for acrylic yarn, copper products and zinc oxide.
Sharma will also be attending the SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Area agreement) meeting of SAARC commerce ministers in Kathmandu. His visit will be followed by that of Indian Home Secretary G K Pillai, who will hold a meeting with his Nepali counterpart Gobinda Kusum on November 6-7, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said.
Also in the pipeline are a meeting by the commerce secretaries of both countries in Kathmandu as well as the Joint Committee on Water Resources to expedite the Pancheswor Multipurpose Project.
Source:TOI
With the signing of the new treaty in Kathmandu on Tuesday between Sharma and his Nepali counterpart Rajendra Mahato, Nepal gets more time to provide a more stable framework for bilateral trade and investments.
The two ministers will also sign a new agreement upgrading the 1996 agreement to control unauthorised trade from third countries. Both the agreements had been initialled during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s five-day visit to New Delhi in August.
The new trade treaty will now see bilateral trade being conducted in Indian rupees at par with trade in convertible currency in respect of tax rebates and other benefits available to such trade. This indicates ending the existing complicated mechanism of tax refunds. The switch will provide Nepal direct control on customs duty revenues on import of manufactured goods from India. Other tax rebates and export promotion benefits will also become available on exports from India to Nepal, the combined impact making imports from India cheaper both for sale and further manufacture in Nepal.
The new trade treaty will also have India enhance the time limit for temporary import of machinery and equipment into India for repair and maintenance from three to 10 years. Besides, India will allow several new items to the list of primary products Nepal wants to export, like floriculture products, atta, bran, husk, bristles, herbs, stone aggregate, boulder, sand and gravel. All these items will have duty free access to India without any quantitative restriction.
India will also facilitate export under the MFN treatment of articles manufactured in Nepal, which do not fulfill the criteria for preferential access and establish four additional Land Customs Stations and open air traffic for bilateral trade. The new LCS are Maheshpur/Trutibari (Nawalparasi); Sikta-Bhiswabazar; Laukha-Thadi; and Guleria/Murtia. Bilateral trade by air will be allowed through Kathmandu/Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai airports.
The treaty will also boost Nepal’s technical standards, quarantine and testing facilities and related human resource capacities. Both countries have agreed to facilitate cross-border flow of trade through simplification, standardization and harmonization of customs, transport and other trade-related procedures and development of border infrastructure. The two sides will also undertake measures to reduce/eliminate non-tariff, para-tariff and other barriers that impede promotion of bilateral trade.
New Delhi has agreed to establish a joint mechanism, comprising local authorities, to resolve problems arising in clearance of goods at customs points and the two sides will review and simplify the existing administrative arrangements for operationalization of fixed quota for acrylic yarn, copper products and zinc oxide.
Sharma will also be attending the SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Area agreement) meeting of SAARC commerce ministers in Kathmandu. His visit will be followed by that of Indian Home Secretary G K Pillai, who will hold a meeting with his Nepali counterpart Gobinda Kusum on November 6-7, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said.
Also in the pipeline are a meeting by the commerce secretaries of both countries in Kathmandu as well as the Joint Committee on Water Resources to expedite the Pancheswor Multipurpose Project.
Source:TOI
China, India Stoke 21st-Century Rivalry
LEH, India -- In the brewing discord between two giant, ambitious nations, even a remote meadow in the Himalayas is worth fighting over.
Some two-dozen Chinese soldiers converged earlier this year on a family of nomads who wouldn't budge from a winter grazing ground that locals say Indian herders had used for generations. China claims the pasture is part of Tibet, not northern India. The soldiers tore up the family's tent and tried to push them back toward the Indian border town of Demchok, Indian authorities say.
Increasing Friction
Chering Dorjay, the chairman of India's Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, says he arrived on the scene with a new tent and Indian intelligence officers and urged the herders to stay put. "The Chinese, it seems, are gradually taking our territory," he says. "We will feel very insecure unless India strengthens its defenses."
Dueling territorial claims along this heavily militarized mountain border, coupled with economic tensions between the two nations, are kindling a 21st-century rivalry. The budding distrust has created a dilemma for the U.S. about how to court one nation without angering the other.
China and India cooperate occasionally. But in recent years, they have competed vigorously over trade, energy investments, even a race to land a man on the moon. Some Indians want their nation to move closer to the U.S. as a hedge against a rising China -- a strategic shift that's likely to complicate ties among all three.
"China is trying to become No. 1," says Brajesh Mishra, a former national-security adviser for India. "This is the seed of conflict between China, India and the U.S."
The prime ministers of India and China are expected to meet this weekend at a summit of Asian leaders in Bangkok, following several weeks in which their nations traded barbs over trade and disputed territory. "Both sides will exchange views on issues of mutual concern," China's assistant foreign minister, Hu Zhengyao, told reporters Wednesday.
Next month, after a planned visit to China, President Barack Obama will host a U.S. visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a meeting meant to highlight what the White House says is a "growing strategic partnership." Commercial and military ties between the two countries have been getting stronger. Last year, the U.S. loosened restrictions to allow India to buy sensitive technology and nuclear equipment for civilian use. Soldiers from both countries are participating this month in a joint defense exercise.
Indian defense analysts say India needs closer U.S. ties to hedge against potential hostilities with China. "If China's rise is peaceful, and it integrates into the global economy, everything should be fine," says retired Indian Brig. Gen. Gurmeet Kanwal, director of the Center for Land Warfare Studies, an army think tank. "Should China implode, it's better to have a friend like the U.S."
In addition to the defense concerns, trade friction is growing between India and China. India leads all members of the World Trade Organization in antidumping cases against China. India has banned imports of Chinese toys, milk and chocolate, citing safety concerns, and has launched investigations into export surges of Chinese truck tires and chemicals, among other products.
On Oct. 15, Indian heavy-industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh asked the finance ministry to impose taxes on imports of inexpensive Chinese power equipment. "We don't want India to be turned into a dumping ground," he told reporters.
At the moment, the biggest threat to India-China relations may be their competing claims for big swaths of territory along their border. In recent years, China has settled border disputes with a host of nations, including Russia, as part of what it calls its "good neighbor policy." But China and India have made little progress, despite 13 rounds of meetings since 2003.
China says the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is historically part of southern Tibet. India wants China to hand back territory it calls Aksai Chin, desolate high-altitude salt flats that residents of Ladakh claim as part of its ancient Buddhist kingdom. India's discovery of a Chinese-built road in the region helped spark a border war in 1962.
Earlier this month, China objected to a visit by Indian Prime Minister Singh to Arunachal Pradesh to campaign for local elections, saying it was disputed territory. "We request India to pay great attention to China's solemn concerns, and not stir up incidents in the areas of dispute," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.
India's foreign minister countered that Arunachal Pradesh is Indian territory, and demanded that China stop investing in infrastructure-related projects in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan claim the whole of Kashmir.
The 1962 border war, which India lost, complicated the boundary between the two countries. These days, Chinese and Indian forces in some border areas have agreed to go out on different days to patrol contested territory. "We want to avoid an eyeball-to-eyeball conflict," says Gopal Pillai, India's secretary for the home ministry, which oversees the border police.
India and China are intent on turning fast economic growth into national strength. When their interests have converged, they have proven a powerful combination. On Wednesday, they announced plans to cooperate at December's climate-change talks in Copenhagen, a pact likely to see both fighting carbon-emission caps proposed by industrialized nations. During global-trade talks, they both resisted Western pressure to open farm markets.
"China's economic and military growth is not a threat to India. And India's shouldn't be a threat to China," says Cheng Ruisheng, a former Chinese ambassador to India. "We should be an opportunity to one another."
But many Chinese resent any comparison with India, still a largely poor agrarian nation with only about one-third of China's per-capita income. And they're generally wary of India's warming ties with the U.S.
Indians, for their part, bristle over the flood of Chinese imports and China's increasingly cozy ties with India's neighbors, including Nepal, Sri Lanka and arch-rival Pakistan. In a speech last November, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, then its foreign minister, identified an expansionist China as one of India's top challenges. "Today's China seeks to further her interests more aggressively than in the past," he told the National Defense College in New Delhi.
[Unbalanced]
The Indian government has closely scrutinized proposals by Chinese companies to invest in India. It recently demanded that thousands of Chinese citizens in India convert short-term business visas into employment visas -- a move that effectively boots unskilled Chinese workers from the country.
The Chinese government has objected to a proposed Asian Development Bank program that India hoped would help fund a water project in the disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh. This year, the Chinese embassy began issuing visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in a manner that Indian officials say leaves China with a way to later claim that it isn't recognizing the visa recipients as Indian citizens. A spokeswoman for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi says "every country has the right" to set its own visa policies.
U.S. defense contractors could benefit from India's desire to modernize its military. While the U.S. has banned weapons sales to China, it has ramped up such sales to India. Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. are among the defense contractors competing to supply India's air force a new fleet of jet fighters -- a deal that could be valued at $10.4 billion.
Some Chinese analysts say friction between India and China are playing into what they say is a U.S. wish to contain China. "If border tensions between India and China continue to simmer, I can't say the U.S. will be displeased," says Shi Yinhong, a specialist in Sino-U.S. ties at People's University in Beijing.
The contested territory in northern India lies in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The region abutting China, known as Ladakh, consists largely of rocky mountain terrain with isolated green pastures grazed by yaks, goats and horses. Many of the herders and traders living on both sides of the blurred border share the same Tibetan heritage and Buddhist faith. The main town on the Indian side, Leh, was an ancient caravan stop.
Today, the area crawls with Indian soldiers. Indian border police tightly regulate visitors traveling east toward China.
The Indian army has accelerated a road-building program in the region.
The roads, which run beside Indian army camps and over a pass above 17,000 feet, are dotted with offbeat signs: "I'm curvaceous, be slow," warns one. "I like you darling, but not so fast," says another.
India intends to use the new mountain roads in part to move military supplies. In September, an Indian cargo plane landed at a new high-altitude airstrip near the border.
Indian villagers near the border have been caught in the middle of the conflict. When villagers were constructing an irrigation canal a few years ago, Chinese soldiers tried to wave them off, says Rigzin Spalbar, chairman at the time of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The villagers hurled abuse at the soldiers, but were angry at Indian soldiers for doing nothing, he says. The Chinese "are pestering us to test India's reaction," he says.
[Ladakh] Peter Wonacott/The Wall Street Journal
The Indian army built this road in Ladakh, near the China border, where there have been disputes over territory.
Indian residents of the area claim Chinese soldiers have painted Chinese characters on rocks in territory that India claims as its own. The residents say the border has never been as tightly patrolled as it is now.
Konchok Gurmet, 70 years old, lives in Spangmik, a village ringed with Tibetan prayer flags on Panggong Lake, beside the border with China.
He says that until a few years ago he was able to smuggle horses and wool across the border in exchange for Chinese crockery, clothes and thermos bottles.
These days, locals say, border forces on both sides turn smugglers back. After violent protests in Tibet last year, China has been sensitive about who crosses over. Indian police worry that herders and smugglers may be offering the Chinese information on military positions and infrastructure projects, locals say.
According to Mr. Pillai, the Indian home secretary, infrastructure development on both sides of the border has heightened interest in establishing an exact line.
The confrontation between the Indian goatherds and Chinese soldiers, which occurred in January, began after the herders crossed a river to reach a pasture they'd used for generations, Mr. Pillai says.
The Chinese viewed the river as the border line. Indian security forces haven't pressed the claim, he says, because the pasture now is encircled by Chinese sentry posts. "We'd find it difficult tactically to hold that land," he says.
China's ministry of defense declined to comment on the incident, and the Chinese foreign ministry has denied any incursions into Indian territory. "China's border patrol is always conducted in strict accordance with rules," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman last month.
Mr. Pillai says more troops are moving to the border with China, which he describes as a "gradual" buildup of "defensive positions."
Some residents of Arunachal Pradesh -- the Indian state that China claims -- say it's about time.
"India needs to wake up. China is going to flex its muscles," says Kiren Rijiju, a former member of parliament from Arunachal Pradesh. "Being one of its largest neighbors, we are a soft target."
Source:Wall Street Journal
Some two-dozen Chinese soldiers converged earlier this year on a family of nomads who wouldn't budge from a winter grazing ground that locals say Indian herders had used for generations. China claims the pasture is part of Tibet, not northern India. The soldiers tore up the family's tent and tried to push them back toward the Indian border town of Demchok, Indian authorities say.
Increasing Friction
Chering Dorjay, the chairman of India's Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, says he arrived on the scene with a new tent and Indian intelligence officers and urged the herders to stay put. "The Chinese, it seems, are gradually taking our territory," he says. "We will feel very insecure unless India strengthens its defenses."
Dueling territorial claims along this heavily militarized mountain border, coupled with economic tensions between the two nations, are kindling a 21st-century rivalry. The budding distrust has created a dilemma for the U.S. about how to court one nation without angering the other.
China and India cooperate occasionally. But in recent years, they have competed vigorously over trade, energy investments, even a race to land a man on the moon. Some Indians want their nation to move closer to the U.S. as a hedge against a rising China -- a strategic shift that's likely to complicate ties among all three.
"China is trying to become No. 1," says Brajesh Mishra, a former national-security adviser for India. "This is the seed of conflict between China, India and the U.S."
The prime ministers of India and China are expected to meet this weekend at a summit of Asian leaders in Bangkok, following several weeks in which their nations traded barbs over trade and disputed territory. "Both sides will exchange views on issues of mutual concern," China's assistant foreign minister, Hu Zhengyao, told reporters Wednesday.
Next month, after a planned visit to China, President Barack Obama will host a U.S. visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a meeting meant to highlight what the White House says is a "growing strategic partnership." Commercial and military ties between the two countries have been getting stronger. Last year, the U.S. loosened restrictions to allow India to buy sensitive technology and nuclear equipment for civilian use. Soldiers from both countries are participating this month in a joint defense exercise.
Indian defense analysts say India needs closer U.S. ties to hedge against potential hostilities with China. "If China's rise is peaceful, and it integrates into the global economy, everything should be fine," says retired Indian Brig. Gen. Gurmeet Kanwal, director of the Center for Land Warfare Studies, an army think tank. "Should China implode, it's better to have a friend like the U.S."
In addition to the defense concerns, trade friction is growing between India and China. India leads all members of the World Trade Organization in antidumping cases against China. India has banned imports of Chinese toys, milk and chocolate, citing safety concerns, and has launched investigations into export surges of Chinese truck tires and chemicals, among other products.
On Oct. 15, Indian heavy-industries minister Vilasrao Deshmukh asked the finance ministry to impose taxes on imports of inexpensive Chinese power equipment. "We don't want India to be turned into a dumping ground," he told reporters.
At the moment, the biggest threat to India-China relations may be their competing claims for big swaths of territory along their border. In recent years, China has settled border disputes with a host of nations, including Russia, as part of what it calls its "good neighbor policy." But China and India have made little progress, despite 13 rounds of meetings since 2003.
China says the eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is historically part of southern Tibet. India wants China to hand back territory it calls Aksai Chin, desolate high-altitude salt flats that residents of Ladakh claim as part of its ancient Buddhist kingdom. India's discovery of a Chinese-built road in the region helped spark a border war in 1962.
Earlier this month, China objected to a visit by Indian Prime Minister Singh to Arunachal Pradesh to campaign for local elections, saying it was disputed territory. "We request India to pay great attention to China's solemn concerns, and not stir up incidents in the areas of dispute," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.
India's foreign minister countered that Arunachal Pradesh is Indian territory, and demanded that China stop investing in infrastructure-related projects in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan claim the whole of Kashmir.
The 1962 border war, which India lost, complicated the boundary between the two countries. These days, Chinese and Indian forces in some border areas have agreed to go out on different days to patrol contested territory. "We want to avoid an eyeball-to-eyeball conflict," says Gopal Pillai, India's secretary for the home ministry, which oversees the border police.
India and China are intent on turning fast economic growth into national strength. When their interests have converged, they have proven a powerful combination. On Wednesday, they announced plans to cooperate at December's climate-change talks in Copenhagen, a pact likely to see both fighting carbon-emission caps proposed by industrialized nations. During global-trade talks, they both resisted Western pressure to open farm markets.
"China's economic and military growth is not a threat to India. And India's shouldn't be a threat to China," says Cheng Ruisheng, a former Chinese ambassador to India. "We should be an opportunity to one another."
But many Chinese resent any comparison with India, still a largely poor agrarian nation with only about one-third of China's per-capita income. And they're generally wary of India's warming ties with the U.S.
Indians, for their part, bristle over the flood of Chinese imports and China's increasingly cozy ties with India's neighbors, including Nepal, Sri Lanka and arch-rival Pakistan. In a speech last November, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, then its foreign minister, identified an expansionist China as one of India's top challenges. "Today's China seeks to further her interests more aggressively than in the past," he told the National Defense College in New Delhi.
[Unbalanced]
The Indian government has closely scrutinized proposals by Chinese companies to invest in India. It recently demanded that thousands of Chinese citizens in India convert short-term business visas into employment visas -- a move that effectively boots unskilled Chinese workers from the country.
The Chinese government has objected to a proposed Asian Development Bank program that India hoped would help fund a water project in the disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh. This year, the Chinese embassy began issuing visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in a manner that Indian officials say leaves China with a way to later claim that it isn't recognizing the visa recipients as Indian citizens. A spokeswoman for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi says "every country has the right" to set its own visa policies.
U.S. defense contractors could benefit from India's desire to modernize its military. While the U.S. has banned weapons sales to China, it has ramped up such sales to India. Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. are among the defense contractors competing to supply India's air force a new fleet of jet fighters -- a deal that could be valued at $10.4 billion.
Some Chinese analysts say friction between India and China are playing into what they say is a U.S. wish to contain China. "If border tensions between India and China continue to simmer, I can't say the U.S. will be displeased," says Shi Yinhong, a specialist in Sino-U.S. ties at People's University in Beijing.
The contested territory in northern India lies in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The region abutting China, known as Ladakh, consists largely of rocky mountain terrain with isolated green pastures grazed by yaks, goats and horses. Many of the herders and traders living on both sides of the blurred border share the same Tibetan heritage and Buddhist faith. The main town on the Indian side, Leh, was an ancient caravan stop.
Today, the area crawls with Indian soldiers. Indian border police tightly regulate visitors traveling east toward China.
The Indian army has accelerated a road-building program in the region.
The roads, which run beside Indian army camps and over a pass above 17,000 feet, are dotted with offbeat signs: "I'm curvaceous, be slow," warns one. "I like you darling, but not so fast," says another.
India intends to use the new mountain roads in part to move military supplies. In September, an Indian cargo plane landed at a new high-altitude airstrip near the border.
Indian villagers near the border have been caught in the middle of the conflict. When villagers were constructing an irrigation canal a few years ago, Chinese soldiers tried to wave them off, says Rigzin Spalbar, chairman at the time of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
The villagers hurled abuse at the soldiers, but were angry at Indian soldiers for doing nothing, he says. The Chinese "are pestering us to test India's reaction," he says.
[Ladakh] Peter Wonacott/The Wall Street Journal
The Indian army built this road in Ladakh, near the China border, where there have been disputes over territory.
Indian residents of the area claim Chinese soldiers have painted Chinese characters on rocks in territory that India claims as its own. The residents say the border has never been as tightly patrolled as it is now.
Konchok Gurmet, 70 years old, lives in Spangmik, a village ringed with Tibetan prayer flags on Panggong Lake, beside the border with China.
He says that until a few years ago he was able to smuggle horses and wool across the border in exchange for Chinese crockery, clothes and thermos bottles.
These days, locals say, border forces on both sides turn smugglers back. After violent protests in Tibet last year, China has been sensitive about who crosses over. Indian police worry that herders and smugglers may be offering the Chinese information on military positions and infrastructure projects, locals say.
According to Mr. Pillai, the Indian home secretary, infrastructure development on both sides of the border has heightened interest in establishing an exact line.
The confrontation between the Indian goatherds and Chinese soldiers, which occurred in January, began after the herders crossed a river to reach a pasture they'd used for generations, Mr. Pillai says.
The Chinese viewed the river as the border line. Indian security forces haven't pressed the claim, he says, because the pasture now is encircled by Chinese sentry posts. "We'd find it difficult tactically to hold that land," he says.
China's ministry of defense declined to comment on the incident, and the Chinese foreign ministry has denied any incursions into Indian territory. "China's border patrol is always conducted in strict accordance with rules," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman last month.
Mr. Pillai says more troops are moving to the border with China, which he describes as a "gradual" buildup of "defensive positions."
Some residents of Arunachal Pradesh -- the Indian state that China claims -- say it's about time.
"India needs to wake up. China is going to flex its muscles," says Kiren Rijiju, a former member of parliament from Arunachal Pradesh. "Being one of its largest neighbors, we are a soft target."
Source:Wall Street Journal
Climate change
"We stand committed that our per capita carbon emissions will never exceed the average of the per capita carbon emissions of developed countries."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Mobile Banking in Nepal
Access to credit market and other financial product for low house and small business are very limited in Nepal. Even though , Micro finance institution have played a major role in providing micro credit to the low income household and small business; lack of capital, technology and professionalism have limited the reach of these Micro Finance Institutions and NGOs . Recently, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has decided to allow commercial banks to open a subsidiary micro-credit institution, to provide credit to the low income household. Commercial banks should make a good use of this opportunity and start their own micro credit institution to be the banker to the poor. Micro credit subsidiary of the commercial bank will have the capital ,financial and technical expertise of the their parent company to work efficiently . Given the fragile political condition of Nepal, Commercial banks will be skeptical to built retail brick-and-mortar infrastructure in rural Nepal. So, mobile banking could be the future of banking in small villages and downs. With more than 5.5 million cell phone subscribers and less the one third of the total household with bank accounts the future of mobile banking is very bright in Nepal…
Thursday, October 8, 2009
THE FUND ,THE BANK and NEPAL
Political impasse, sluggish economic growth, droughts, floods and rising commodities prices have make cast a shadow on the high hope for Naya Nepal. In this time of crisis what could have offered comfort is a well-established and functioning financial sector that offers a range of products suited for the rural clientele and enables and supports those with meager incomes to tide them over tough times and secure their livelihood. Even though , in last 20 years the financial sector has flourished rapidly and the quantity and the type of financial institution have augmented ,access to financial service for low-income household in rural area has been unsatisfactory .Total number of Nepalese household bank account and borrowing from formal sector is still marginal .Inflow of domestic and foreign remittances through informal channel has mismanaged billion of dollars of remittances for consumption of imported goods and services rather than for saving and investment . With relucent of the non-state commercial banks to serve rural Nepal, and the lack of commercial orientation of MFIs; the state should be the ultimate banks for the poor. The Finance ministry, the central bank of Nepal and other states own bank with the assistance of the World Bank and The IMF should attempt to enhance the economic condition of rural Nepal, which is being hit hard by the food storage and poor infrastructure and lack of access to credit.
While addressing the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF in Istanbul, Finance Minister of Nepal stated lack of basic infrastructure and social services ,high credit and deposit rate in the banking sector, climate change and, widening disparities between rural and urban economy as major concern of Nepalese economy . Commitment of G20 leaders, IMF and the World Bank for assisting the low income countries to overcome the global financial crisis has been very impressive. New initiatives taken by the IMF are expected to boost concessional lending to $17 billion through 2014. These low interest-rate loans now come with no strings attached. The Fund in order to make its lending procedures for flexible and fast has created a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, Which includes program, likes the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).Even though ,Nepal has formally expressed it interest to join Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility ( which will be replace soon by ECF) ,a program to advert any balance of payment crisis . In addition of rejoining PRGF, Nepal should join RCF, a program which provide single, up-front payout to meet the urgent needs .RCF offer loans for countries in post-conflict or other fragile situations. In the wake of the crisis the G-20 & IMF has also addressed the issue like financial sector regulation and supervision. Developed, emerging and developing economies’ are committed to improve the capacity of national authority to respond to systemic crises. Crises often present opportunities and lead to revamping of systems and procedures, the Government of Nepal should make a good use of expertise of policy makers and economist at the fund and the bank to prevent property and stock bubble bust ......
While addressing the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF in Istanbul, Finance Minister of Nepal stated lack of basic infrastructure and social services ,high credit and deposit rate in the banking sector, climate change and, widening disparities between rural and urban economy as major concern of Nepalese economy . Commitment of G20 leaders, IMF and the World Bank for assisting the low income countries to overcome the global financial crisis has been very impressive. New initiatives taken by the IMF are expected to boost concessional lending to $17 billion through 2014. These low interest-rate loans now come with no strings attached. The Fund in order to make its lending procedures for flexible and fast has created a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, Which includes program, likes the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF).Even though ,Nepal has formally expressed it interest to join Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility ( which will be replace soon by ECF) ,a program to advert any balance of payment crisis . In addition of rejoining PRGF, Nepal should join RCF, a program which provide single, up-front payout to meet the urgent needs .RCF offer loans for countries in post-conflict or other fragile situations. In the wake of the crisis the G-20 & IMF has also addressed the issue like financial sector regulation and supervision. Developed, emerging and developing economies’ are committed to improve the capacity of national authority to respond to systemic crises. Crises often present opportunities and lead to revamping of systems and procedures, the Government of Nepal should make a good use of expertise of policy makers and economist at the fund and the bank to prevent property and stock bubble bust ......
Power of Vendors
The current global economic crisis is the perfect example to exhibit the real power of the street vendors. The cash based, informal economy proved to be a safe haven. When millions of jobs were being lost in the formal economy around the globe, there was no layoff for in the informal economy. Informal sectors, in addition absorbed lots of workers, who has lots their job due to the financial crisis in the formal sector .
In the context of Nepal, where population has out stripped the job creation, the number of Nepalese entering the informal economy will continue to rise in upcoming years. Even though, informal economy often don't pay taxes, and they routinely lack the capital and expertise to be as productive as big enterprises, leading to less innovation, informal economy will provided markets access to meet the needs and create jobs to serve thousands of urban poor. Majority of the urban poor do their retail shopping in the streets. Despite of the burgeoning mall culture, the number of people, who enjoys their chana chatpatey and pani puris in the street corner, by far exceeds the population, who sips coffee lattes in the food court of some mall .The informal sector has a huge business opportunities to serve the base of the pyramid (BOP) and tapped the unmet need of the urban poor.
With the bleak political stability and sluggish economic growth, I highly doubt that the formal sectors of the economy will be able to create thousands of new jobs to absorb the unemployed workforce population in the near future. Government of Nepal instead of showing apathy to the informal sector should embrace the underground economy, which has already been the permanent fixture –in both happy and rainy days .Government should come up with prudent measures and polices like providing micro credits and enterprise development vocational training to facilitate the informal economy ,which has alleviated thousands of Nepal out of poverty and has been a significant contributor to keep the nation’s economy afloat.
In the context of Nepal, where population has out stripped the job creation, the number of Nepalese entering the informal economy will continue to rise in upcoming years. Even though, informal economy often don't pay taxes, and they routinely lack the capital and expertise to be as productive as big enterprises, leading to less innovation, informal economy will provided markets access to meet the needs and create jobs to serve thousands of urban poor. Majority of the urban poor do their retail shopping in the streets. Despite of the burgeoning mall culture, the number of people, who enjoys their chana chatpatey and pani puris in the street corner, by far exceeds the population, who sips coffee lattes in the food court of some mall .The informal sector has a huge business opportunities to serve the base of the pyramid (BOP) and tapped the unmet need of the urban poor.
With the bleak political stability and sluggish economic growth, I highly doubt that the formal sectors of the economy will be able to create thousands of new jobs to absorb the unemployed workforce population in the near future. Government of Nepal instead of showing apathy to the informal sector should embrace the underground economy, which has already been the permanent fixture –in both happy and rainy days .Government should come up with prudent measures and polices like providing micro credits and enterprise development vocational training to facilitate the informal economy ,which has alleviated thousands of Nepal out of poverty and has been a significant contributor to keep the nation’s economy afloat.
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