India, US agree in principle to logistics exchange agreement

The US Defence Secretary, Mr. Ashton B. Carter calls on the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on April 12, 2016. 

India and the United States have agreed in principle to share military logistics, the countries' defense ministers said on Tuesday, as both sides seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.

Washington has for years urged New Delhi to sign a Logistics Support Agreement that allows the two militaries to use each other's land, air and naval bases for resupplies, repair and rest.

India has had concerns that a logistics agreement would commit it to hosting U.S. troops at its bases, or draw it into a military alliance with the United States and undermine its traditional autonomy.

But after years of delays, the two sides said an agreement was in hand, although not yet ready for signing.

"We have agreed in principle that all the issues are resolved," U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters in New Delhi after talks with his Indian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar.

The two sides would finalize the text of an agreement in coming weeks, Carter said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, faced with an assertive China expanding its influence in the South China Sea and into the Indian Ocean, has signaled its desire to draw closer to the United States. China is also a close ally of India's arch rival, Pakistan.

Modi is also keen to access U.S. technology for his "Make in India" plans to build a domestic industrial base and cut expensive arms imports.

The U.S. military has made clear it wants to do more with India, especially in countering China. Carter is on his second visit to India in less than a year, aimed at cementing defense cooperation in the final months of Barack Obama's presidency.

Washington's desire for deeper security cooperation with India has been tricky without the signing of the logistics agreement, as well as two other pacts that would allow for secure communications and the exchange of nautical and other data. The agreements are considered routine between the United States and its other defense partners.

Reaching the logistics agreement would make it easier to conclude the other two pacts, a senior U.S. defense official said.

"There's increasing recognition on the Indian side that there's real mutual benefits to doing them, so I do think that the prospects are good," the official said, on condition of anonymity.

Carter said the two countries would also soon conclude an agreement on exchanging information on commercial shipping.

COLLABORATION ON CARRIER

He said the two countries were also advancing collaboration in aircraft carrier design and technology, potentially the biggest joint project since they launched a Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) in 2012.

India, which operates a re-tooled Russian-built carrier, plans to build its biggest indigenous carrier, for which is it looking at U.S. technology to launch heavier aircraft.

"We have decided to take forward discussions under DTTI more aggressively on key areas such as jet engine technology. We will also continue our very useful and productive discussions on cooperation ... on aircraft carriers," Parrikar said.

India is concerned about China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean, traditionally New Delhi's backyard, and it said on Tuesday that it had agreed with the United States to launch discussions between the countries' two navies on anti-submarine warfare and submarine safety.

(Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Ease of doing business simplified in India by Foreign entities

As a measure towards improving the ease of doing business, it has now been decided that except for a few sectors viz. Defence, Telecom, Private Security, Information and Broadcasting and Non-government organization and except a few countries, the power to grant approvals for establishment of Branch Office (BO)/Liaison Office (LO)/Project Offices (PO) in India by foreign entities, would be delegated to the Authorised Dealers Category-I Banks. Further, anyone who has been awarded a contract for a project by a Government authority/PSU would be automatically given approval to open a bank account. 

Regulations in this regard have been notified by RBI vide G.S.R. 384 dated March 31, 2016. 

Earlier these entities used to seek the approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before setting-up their BO/LO/PO office in India. While Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gives permission in those cases where 100% FDI is allowed under automatic route, all other cases are referred to the Government for approval. 

The establishment of Branch Office (BO)/Liaison Office (LO)/Project Offices (PO) in India by foreign entities is regulated in terms of FEMA 22/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000, as amended from time to time. The foreign entities can set-up their BO/LO/PO in India without registering themselves as companies/trusts etc. under Indian Laws. 

India's 2016 monsoon rains seen above average: Skymet

India's annual monsoon rains are likely to be above average, the country's only private weather forecaster said on Monday, snapping two straight years of drought that cut farm output and farmers' income.

The July to September monsoon delivers nearly 70 percent of annual rains and waters half of India's farmlands that lack irrigation facilities.

Monsoon rains are expected to be 105 percent above a long-term average, with a 35 percent probability of above average rainfall, Skymet said in a statement.

The El Nino effect is likely to wane after monsoon hits the southern Kerala coast by the end of May, the statement said.

El Nino, or warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, can lead to scorching weather conditions across Asia and east Africa, but heavy rains and floods in South America.

India's west coast and central parts will get good rains, Skymet said, bringing in relief for farmers and policy makers, who are struggling with droughts and severe water scarcity in some regions.

Above average monsoon rains play a key role in boosting demand for an array of consumer goods, as 70 percent of India's 1.3 billion people live in villages.

Agriculture accounts for about 14 percent of India's $2 trillion economy, Asia's third-biggest, but it supports two-thirds of Indian's population.

State-run India Meteorological Department is expected to issue its forecast for this year's monsoon rains soon.

Separately, Farm Secretary Shobhana K. Pattanayak said current climatic conditions indicate that El Nino is gradually fading and giving way to La Nina, indicating bountiful rains this year.

(Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal and Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath and Susan Thomas)

Tata Steel sells UK Plant to Greybull

Tata Steel has sold its Long Products Europe business, including its Scunthorpe plant, to investment firm Greybull Capital for a token £1 or €1.

Tata Steel agreed to sell one of its main British steelworks to investment firm Greybull Capital for 1 pound on Monday, saving a third of the 15,000 jobs placed in jeopardy by the Indian conglomerate's decision to sell up in Britain.

Prime Minister David Cameron has been under pressure to keep the plants open to save jobs after Tata, one of the world's biggest steelmakers, said on March 30 it would sell its loss-making British business.

Cameron, already grappling with a divided ruling party ahead of a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union, has been scrambling to try to find buyers for Tata's Scunthorpe plant and its other main plant at Port Talbot, to save jobs.

The move will safeguard 4,400 UK jobs, but workers are being asked to accept a pay cut and less generous pension arrangements.

Greybull said it was arranging a £400m investment package as part of the deal.

The business will be rebranded as "British Steel" once the deal is completed in eight weeks, it said.

The new business would include the Scunthorpe works, two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington, a design consultancy in York, a mill in Hayange, France, and sales and distribution facilities.

The token sale price reflects the difficulties involved in turning around the loss-making business, but Greybull partner Marc Meyohas said he was "delighted" with the agreement and believed the division could become a "strong business".

"At its core, it's a very, very good business," he said.

He also said Greybull had not ruled out buying other parts of Tata's UK steel business.

Sensex zooms 348 pts on hopes of good monsoon

 Mumbai, Apr 11 (PTI) Buoyed by expectations of a good monsoon this year, the BSE Sensex regained the 25,000-mark on Monday by rebounding 348 points to snap its two-day losing run, as investors widened their bets in bank and IT sectors in the last two hours of the session.

Hopes of a strong performance from IT firms in the upcoming fourth quarter earnings, beginning Friday with Infosys, also boosted the sentiment.

The government on Monday said after two years of deficient rainfall, monsoon this year is expected to be normal.

"El nino condition is declining. It is expected that La Nina condition will takeover and will perhaps favour a good monsoon this year," Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Patnaik said.

Met Department's predictions will be out later this month.

Sensex resumed higher at 24,789.40 and hovered in a range of 25,049.92 to 24,523.20 before ending at 25,022.16, showing a recovery of 348.32 points or 1.41 per cent. The gauge had lost 226.79 points in the previous two sessions.

The NSE Nifty crossed the 7,600-mark in a volatile trade.

At the close, it was higher by 116.20 points or 1.54 per cent, at 7,671.40. It hovered between 7,678.80 and 7,516.85.

Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 26 ended higher.

Adani Ports topped the gainers among Sensex constituent by surging 4.54 per cent to Rs 228.90.

Shares of Bharti Airtel too stole the show by climbing 4.20 per cent to Rs 348.35 after the company announced that it will acquire rights to use 4G spectrum of Aircel in eight telecom circles for Rs 3,500 crore.

Other big gainers included BHEL, Tata Motors, Wipro, TCS, Tata Steel, SBI, NTPC, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Bajaj Auto, ITC Ltd, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Infosys.

Among losers, Lupin, Cipla, Dr Reddy's and M&M fell by up to 1.51 per cent, which restricted the upside in the indices.

Sector-wise, the BSE teck index gained the most by surging 2.25 per cent followed by power 2.10 per cent, auto 2 per cent, IT 1.92 per cent, metal 1.78 per cent, consumer durables 1.76 per cent, capital goods 1.70 per cent and banking 1.67 per cent.

While mid-cap rose 1.09 per cent, small-cap ended 0.63 per cent higher.

Globally, other Asian markets ended mixed while European stocks were higher in their opening trade.

Kremlin does not comment on deliveries of S-300 missile system to Iran

Iran’s TASNIM news agency reported earlier on Monday that the first batch of the S-300 air defense missile system has been delivered to Iran

MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. The Kremlin does not comment on the beginning of deliveries to the Iranian side of Russia’s S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems.

"I’ll leave it without comment", Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Iran’s TASNIM news agency reported earlier on Monday, quoting Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari that the first batch of the S-300 air defense missile system has been delivered to Iran.

Iranian state television demonstrated on Monday the footage provided by the country’s Defense Ministry about the delivered first batch of the S-300PMU missile system. The weapons in camouflage covering were transported by heavy-duty army tractor units. The video showed a convoy of at least eight tractor units with trailers.

U.S. defense secretary visits India on mission to draw militaries closer

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter gestures at a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington February 29, 2016.REUTERS/YURI GRIPAS

GOA, INDIA | BY YEGANEH TORBATI AND SANJEEV MIGLANI : U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter began a three-day visit to India on Sunday, seeking to advance a relatively new defense relationship with a country Washington sees as a counterweight to the growing power of China.

In a sign of the importance Carter places on improving defense ties with India, the visit is his second in less than a year, and it kicks off in Goa, the west coast home state of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

For India, closer U.S. defense ties would bring greater access to American technology, and it too has been alarmed by China's naval forays in the Indian Ocean. But India has been historically wary of drawing too near to any one country.

"India's very reluctant to be seen as too close to the United States, but the Pentagon is very bullish on this relationship," said Shane Mason, a research associate at the Stimson Center in Washington.

It is also a favored initiative of Carter, who established a special cell within the Pentagon last year to promote cooperation with India.

"There's no question about where the United States-India relationship is going," Carter said on Friday, at a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. "We can control and influence the pace, and I want to do that."

The U.S. military has made clear it would like to do more with India, especially in countering China's moves.

Last month, Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States wanted to expand the naval exercises it held with India each year into joint operations across the Asia-Pacific.

But India, which has never carried out joint patrols with another country, said there were no such plans.

"The Indians are being careful because it's their neighborhood," said a U.S. congressional source familiar with U.S.-India military discussions. "It's been a long-standing Indian policy to deal with China on a bilateral basis."
DEFENSE MANUFACTURING

U.S. defense manufacturers hope closer ties will boost their own prospects in India, which is one of the world's biggest defense spenders but still has major gaps in its military capabilities.

India has been looking to rebuild its aging air force and last week Lockheed Martin and Boeing pitched their fighter planes to its defense ministry.

In a statement, Boeing said it was in talks with India about the possibility of making F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft in India.

A Lockheed spokesman said the company also took part in talks last week between India and the United States on fighter jet production opportunities.

Separately, the two countries are negotiating India's request for 40 Predator surveillance drones, officials said, a possible first step towards acquiring the armed version of the unmanned aircraft.

But deeper security cooperation has been tricky, because India has for more than 10 years demurred at signing three "foundational" defense agreements that would streamline military interactions.

India is concerned that the pacts, including the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA) that allows the two militaries to access each other's bases, could draw it into an undeclared military alliance with the United States.

Ahead of Carter's trip, an Indian defense source said both sides were eager to conclude the negotiations on the LSA.

"They're actually quite prosaic agreements," said Benjamin Schwartz, until last year the India country director at the Pentagon.

Nonetheless, signing them "would indicate that the Indian government is more willing to work with the U.S., even if it means that they're going to take some political heat," said Schwartz.
(This story has been refiled to correct spelling of Ash Carter's title in first paragraph)
(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsel)

CCRH has signed two MOUs with Canada and Armenia during two day International Convention on WHD

Central Council for Research in homoeopathy (CCRH) has signed two MOUs with institutions of higher education of Canada and Armenia. These MOUs between CCRH and College of Homeopaths of Ontario, Canada and another between CCRH and Yerevan State Medical University, Armenia, were signed during two day International Convention on World Homoeopathy Day organized at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. 

Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Hon’ble Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH in his valedictory address greeted the people of India on the occasion of World Homoeopathy Day and appreciated that Homoeopathy has taken major scientific leaps in the past and its body of evidence is growing by the day. The Minister also complimented the steps taken towards international cooperation during the convention, as it saw the signing of two MoUs in the field of education and research in Homoeopathy. Sh. Naik expressed his hope signing of these MoUs was only the beginning and many such bilateral cooperations will be agreed upon in the times to come. He remarked that with research becoming a prime concern in Homoeopathy, many more international collaborations are possible and highly recommended. 

The second day of International Convention on World Homoeopathy Day began with a session dedicated to the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr. Christian Samuel Hahnemann. A floral tribute was paid to the legendary figure by the chairs and discussants of the panel Dr. Renzo Galassi, President, Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis (LMHI) (Italy), Dr. Gustavo Alberto Cataldi, LMHI (Argentina), Dr. Amarilys Cesar (Brazil), Dr. Altunay Soylemez Agaoglu (Turkey), Dr. S.P.S. Bakshi, National Vice President, LMHI (India), Dr. Nandini Sharma, Chairperson WHD (India), Dr. Sandeep Kaila, Secretary WHD (India), Dr. Ramjee Singh, President, Central Council of Homoeopathy – CCH (Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India), Dr. Arun Bhasme, Vice President, CCH (India), Dr. Bhaskar Bhatt, President, HMAI (India), Dr. K.K. Juneja, Chairman, Delhi Board (India), Dr. M.A. Rao, President, Indian Institute of Homoeopathic Physicians, Dr. M.G. Oomen, Founder National President, Indian Homoeopathic Medical Association. Dr. Raj K. Manchanda, Director General, Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy. 

A session each on challenges in education in Homoeopathy in India and global scenario of education in Homoeopathy were chaired by Dr. Ramjee Singh, Dr. Arun Bhasme, Dr. Srivatsan and Dr. Lalit Verma, while Dr. A.K. Seth, Dr. Rajat Chattopadhyaya, Dr. S.K. Tiwari, Dr. Manilal S., Dr. Arvind Kothe, Dr. Munir Ahmed, Dr. Leopold Drexler (Austria), Dr. Gustavo Alberto Cataldi (Argentina), Dr. Mohammed Ashrafur Rahman (Bangladesh), Dr. Danny Pillai (South Africa), Dr. M.P. Arya (India) and Dr. M.K. Sahani (India) were in the discussant panel. The panelists discussed about the concerns and challenges in global and Indian scenario of education in homoeopathy and how there could be standardization of education for accredited curriculum for education in Homoeopathy. 

Another session on drug validation and drug development explored the therapeutic potential of nosodes (homoeopathic drugs prepared from disease material) and discussed the idea of reinventing nosodes, by way of their preparation and application in clinical field. This session was chaired by Dr. Martien Brands from Netherland, Dr. Isaac Golden from Australia and Dr. Laxmikanta Nanda from India. Dr. S.M. Singh, Dr. J.D. Daryani and Dr. Anil Khurana were the discussants. 

The speakers of the session on harmonization of pharmacopoeias and drug laws brought up many vital issues like regulation of homoeopathic medicines worldwide, need for a common international pharmacopoeia, pharmacopoeial standards on homoeopathic drugs vis-à-vis drug regulations and need for upgrading specifications of plant raw materials in homoeopathic pharmacy. 

Biomolecular research in homoeopathy was another session at the convention, which was chaired by Dr. Anisur Rahman Khuda-Bukhsh, Prof. (Dr.) Carla Holandino Quaresma (Brazil) and Prof.(Dr.) Kanjaksha Ghosh. Dr. Surender Singh and Dr. Anil Khurana were the discussants. After elaborate presentation on basic research updates by Dr. Peter Fisher, Editor, international journal – Homeopathy, presentation on topics ranging from homeo-genomic approach towards personalized therapy of cancer, hypertension and oxidative stress parameters of kidney by modulating enzyme hypertnsive rat model, anti heat shock effect of Cantharis 200 transported from one plant to another through capillary water, to protective role of Rhus toxicodendron 6c on cells of primary cell culture in relation to dengue virus infection and molecular level correlation between probable homoeopathic medicines and bio-samples of patients. 

Besides these, there were several presentations on clinical research including latest research updates, and role of Homoeopathy in malaria, dengue, natural disasters, brain injuries, chronic ear infection, sciatica etc.

NRDC inks licence agreement for commercialising “test kit for Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water”, as a part of “Make in India”

The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), under Ministry of Science & Technology, has entered into a license agreement with M/s Ramashree Chemicals Pvt. Ltd, Bhopal for commercialisation of “Test kit for Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water” developed by Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE), Gwalior, DRDO, Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India. 

The company plans to take this technology across the country through a network of dealers. The kit has been licensed to more than 20 companies in India so far and is useful to ascertain the quality of drinking water especially in developing countries. 

The kit is used for detection of H2S producing organism in drinking water, which are present along with coliforms. Waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea and jaundice are caused by polluted water supply. It is an inexpensive, reliable and convenient method of testing in field conditions and is approved by World Health Organization (WHO). The initiative of NRDC aids the “Make in India” Mission of the Government of India. 

The formal license agreement was signed by CMD, NRDC Dr. H. Purushotham, and General Manager, M/s Ramashree Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.Shri V K Joshi. 

G7 foreign ministers started meeting without German counterpart

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not able to come in time to Hiroshima from China that he had visited earlier because of an aircraft malfunction

HIROSHIMA, April 10. /TASS/. Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven met in Hiroshima on Sunday. Closed talks are held in Grand Prince Hotel located in the Hiroshima Bay harbor.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was not able to come in time to Hiroshima from China that he had visited earlier because of an aircraft malfunction. Steinmeier will miss all official activities and the bilateral meeting with Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida scheduled on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry of Japan said. At the same time, no other changes were made in the agenda, a representative of the Japan’s Foreign Ministry told TASS. The schedule changes will be announced formally, he added.

International terrorism, safety of navigation and nuclear disarmament are expected to be main topics of G7 foreign ministers meeting in Hiroshima. G7 foreign ministers will also pay attention to the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine.