Pak has no locus standi on map issue: India

New Delhi, May 17 (PTI) India today reacted strongly to Pakistan seeking UN intervention on the Indian draft bill on map, saying it was an "entirely internal legislative matter" and Pakistan or any other party has no locus standi on it.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said India "firmly rejects" repeated and increasing attempts by Pakistan to impose on the international community matters that it has always been open to address bilaterally with it.

"The proposed Bill is an entirely internal legislative matter of India, since the whole of the state of J&K is an integral part of India. Pakistan or any other party has no locus standi in the matter.

"The Government firmly rejects Pakistan's repeated and increasing attempts to impose on the international community matters that India has always been open to address bilaterally with Pakistan," Swarup said in response to a question on Pakistan Foreign Office press release on India's Geospatial Bill.

Earlier, in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) issued a statement saying it has expressed "serious concern" to the UN over a draft bill in the Indian Parliament over the map of Kashmir and has asked the world body to uphold its resolutions and urge India to stop such acts which are in "violation of international law".

"Pakistan has expressed serious concern to the United Nations Secretary General and the President of the UN Security Council, through letters by our Permanent Representative in New York, with regard to the Indian government's efforts to introduce a controversial 'Geospatial Information Regulation Bill' in the Indian Parliament," it said.

It further said that "in violation of UNSC resolutions, the official map of India has been depicting the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India which is factually incorrect and legally untenable".

Wrong depiction of the map of India could land the violators in jail with a maximum term of seven years and impose a fine up to Rs 100 crore, according to the draft 'Geospatial Information Regulation Bill 2016'.

17 May 2016, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2016)

Theme 2016: ICT entrepreneurship for social impact

In 2016, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD-2016) will focus on the theme: “ICT entrepreneurship for social impact”, in accordance with Resolution 68 and as endorsed by ITU Council 2015.

ICT entrepreneurs and start-ups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a particularly relevant role in ensuring economic growth in a sustainable and inclusive manner. They are involved in the development of innovative ICT-enabled solutions with a unique potential to make a long-lasting impact in global, regional and national economies and as an important source of new jobs, especially for youth, in the current knowledge economy.

The theme for WTISD-16 is in line with ITU’s work in unlocking the potential of ICTs for young innovators and entrepreneurs, innovative SMEs, start-ups and technology hubs as drivers of innovative and practical solutions for catalysing progress in achieving international sustainable development goals, with a focus on SMEs from developing countries.

About the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day

The purpose of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. 17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union.    World Telecommunication Day World Telecommunication Day has been celebrated annually on 17 May since 1969, marking the founding of ITU and the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention in 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973. World Information Society Day In November 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society called upon the UN General Assembly to declare 17 May as World Information Society Day to focus on the importance of ICT and the wide range of issues related to the Information Society raised by WSIS. The General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/60/252) in March 2006 stipulating that World Information Society Day shall be celebrated every year on 17 May.   World Telecommunication and Information Society Day In November 2006, the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, decided to celebrate both events on 17 May as World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. The updated Resolution 68 invites Member States and Sector Members to celebrate the day annually by organizing appropriate national programmes with a view to: stimulating reflection and exchanges of ideas on the theme adopted by the Council debating the various aspects of the theme with all partners in society formulating a report reflecting national discussions on the issues underlying the theme, to be fed back to ITU and the rest of its membership WTISD 2016: Message from UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon The international community is now mobilized around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recognizes the great potential of information and communication technology (ICT) to accelerate human progress, bridge the digital divide and advance knowledge. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals specifically call for employing ICTs to realize the overall vision of a life of dignity for all people. These technologies provide smart solutions to address climate change, hunger, poverty and other global challenges. They are key instruments for providing mobile health care and access to education, empowering women, improving efficiencies in industrial and agricultural production, and safeguarding the environment. Start-ups and technology hubs in the ICT sector are the drivers of innovative and practical solutions that can contribute to inclusive growth. Small to medium-sized enterprises make up more than 90 per cent of all businesses worldwide, and represent a path out of poverty for many developing countries. Young people are especially fluent in the use of ICTs. Leaders should invest in young innovators, who are part of the largest generation of youth in history. As entrepreneurs, they can pioneer transformative technology, create jobs and benefit whole economies. I call upon governments, businesses and civil society leaders to develop new technologies that have a lasting social impact. ICTs can create more inclusive societies for persons with disabilities. They can help children to learn and the elderly to stay active. And ICTs can connect people around the world in common cause. On this World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, let us resolve to harness the power of technology to create a better future for all.

Commerce & Industry Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman to lead Indian delegation at India-Myanmar Business Conclave at Yangon

Myanmar has witnessed a landslide victory by the National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the elections held in November 2015. The new democratic Government in Myanmar has been established. Minister for Commerce & Industry, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman will be the first Minister from India to visit Myanmar after the change of regime in Myanmar. She will lead a high level CEO delegation to Myanmar from 18-20 May,2016 

An India Myanmar Business Conclave is being organized by India at Yangon on 18-20 May 2016 as part of its Act East policy. A 25-member business delegation comprising of whos-who of the business world from India is attending the Conclave. The delegation includes amongst others Dr Naushad Forbes (President CII), Mr Rakesh Mittal (Bharti Enterprises), Ms Shobana Kamineni (Apollo Hospitals), Ms Arundhati Bhattacharya (State Bank of India), Dr Rajiv I Modi (Cadila Pharma) and Mr Madhu Kannan (Tata Sons). The delegation from India will be led by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry. Many leading business persons from Myanmar including many Ministers shall attend the Conclave. 

The two days are expected to witness live and involved sessions on various sectors including Agriculture, Manufacturing and Employment, IT, Health, Education, Skill Development, Power & Renewable energy, Connectivity (Air, Sea, Land), Tourism and Hospitality, SEZs, Industrial Zones and Finance. 

Highlight of the event is a Government-Business Round table on the theme: ‘Forging Partnerships for Myanmar’s Development’. The Round table is expected to see leading personalities from the Government and business on both sides. 

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman is also scheduled to have bilateral interactions with many Ministers of the new Myanmar Government including U Win Khaing, Myanmar Minister for Construction, Dr. Than Myint, Myanmar Minister for Commerce and U Khin Maung Cho, Myanmar Minister for Industry. 

This is the first visit of any Minister from India after the change of regime in Myanmar. With this visit India wishes to give a strong signal of its commitment to partner Myanmar in its new path for economic and social development. 

SP names Amar Singh, Beni Verma for RS election

Lucknow, May 17 (PTI) Over six years after it expelled Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party today "unanimously" declared him as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls, setting the stage for his possible return to the party.

The party also nominated six others, including former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, an influential Kurmi leader who recently quit Congress and returned to the Samajwadi Party, and realtor Sanjay Seth for the biennial polls scheduled next month.

When asked about when would Singh, a former confidante of Mulayam Singh Yadav, rejoin the party, Shivpal Singh Yadav, a UP Minister and brother of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said," It will be decided by Netaji (Mulayam) and Amar Singh. We have earlier also sent Congress leaders Pramod Tiwari and P L Punia to Rajya Sabha."

Amar Singh along with his close associate Jaya Prada were expelled from the Samajwadi Party in February, 2010. He floated his own political party, Rashtriya Lok Manch, in 2011, and fielded a large number of candidates in 2012 assembly polls. However, none of his candidates won. He had joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha poll from Fatehpur Sikri but lost.

Samajwadi Party denied there were "differences" over some candidates and claimed the decision on fielding them for the Rajya Sabha polls was "unanimous".

"The SP parliamentary board has unanimously decided seven names for Rajya Sabha. There were no differences and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav was authorised to take the final decision. The names were read out in the meeting," Shivpal, also the party spokesman, told reporters.

The board has taken the decision after much thought and it will strengthen the party, he said, refuting reports of certain "objections" raised over some candidates at the meeting held today.

The seven candidates are -- Beni Prasad Verma, Amar Singh, Sanjay Seth, Sukhram Singh Yadav, Reoti Raman Singh, Vishwambhar Prasad Nishad and Arvind Pratap Singh.

Seth is a controversial Lucknow-based builder, who was earlier recommended to be nominated an MLC by the ruling party but his name was not approved by Governor Ram Naik. The governor had also rejected the government's proposal to nominate Rajvijay Singh and Kamlesh Pathak to the Legislative Council, contending that they did not qualify for it due to criminal cases pending against them..

SC to hear plea to ban water supply to liquor industry in Maha

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a plea seeking complete ban on water supply to distilleries and breweries in drought-hit regions of Maharashtra.

The Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court had recently asked the state government to curtail water supply to the liquor industry by 60 per cent from May 10, which would be operative till June 27.

A vacation bench of Justices A M Sapre and Ashok Bhushan posted the matter for hearing on May 23 after a lawyer mentioned the plea saying that instead of curtailed water supply, there should be no supply of water at all as the entire region is facing acute water shortage.

The bench, which agreed to hear the plea, said that filing petition on the issue is not going to solve the problem.

"From where the drinking water will come. There is no water. Do you think by filing petition water will come," the bench said.

The counsel further said that people are dying in the region due to the shortage of water supply and there is a limited water stock available.

He said people are being deprived of the drinking water as it is being given to the liquor industries.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had also asked Maharashtra to cut supply to other industrial units in Marathwada by 25 per cent after May 10.

India to renegotiate tax treaty with Singapore: Jaitley

New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) India will have to renegotiate the tax treaty with Singapore to extend the capital gains tax provisions of the recently-concluded tax pact with Mauritius, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday.

Without giving any timeline for such renegotiation, he said it "is a separate sovereign state, it (Mauritius treaty) does not ipso facto automatically extend. The principles will have to be applied, but applied through a process of renegotiation."

Speaking at an Indian Women Press Corps event here, he said further: "But sooner or later, that process will commence and hopefully conclude."

India on May 10 amended the 34-year-old tax treaty with Mauritius. After toiling for almost a decade to redraw the treaty, India will begin imposing capital gains tax on investments in shares through Mauritius from April next onwards.

The redrawn Mauritius treaty will trigger a similar amendment in India's tax treaty with Singapore.

"I am not giving it a timeline, because if you recollect, the renegotiation process of the Mauritius treaty started first in 1996 and it continued till about 2002 and then there was a pause. Singapore was entered into in 2005 and one of the covenants of Singapore was that provisions of what happens in Mauritius treaty would extend to it," Jaitley said.

Mauritius and Singapore accounted for USD 17 billion of the total USD 29.4 billion India received in FDI during April-December 2015.

The minister said that since the discussions are between two sovereign states, he cannot "unilaterally" fix its timetable.

Following the revised agreement, short-term capital gains tax will be levied at half the rate prevailing during the first two-year transition period from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2019. Short-term capital gains are taxed at 15 per cent at present. The full rate will kick in from April 1, 2019.

In August 1982, India had signed the treaty with Mauritius to eliminate double taxation of income and capital gains to encourage mutual trade and investment.

National Conference on ‘Gaushalas’ Inaugurated

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries organized a day-long national conference on ‘Gaushalas’ (cowsheds) here today. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar, said that villages were traditionally planned in such a manner that there were facilities for human beings and fodder for animals. He invited suggestions from the participants for the kind of policy-based decisions that can be taken to improve the situation. The Minister said that the draft of a policy is being prepared, which will include a provision to provide protein-rich fodder free of cost to the people living in villages adjoining the jungles. The Environment Minister also emphasized the need to protect pasture lands. He also suggested that if there is 500 acres of land, 25 acres be set aside for growing good quality grass and fodder. 

Shri Javadekar said that the technical sessions will discuss three issues – (i) how to increase the milk productivity of Indian cows; (ii) Making provision for feed, fodder and ancillary requirements for Indian cows and (iii) Management of cows in the post-productive phase. 

Addressing the gathering, Union Minister of Agriculture, Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that livestock are the backbone of the rural economy. He said that livestock forms the basis of occupation of 60 million people. The Minister also pointed out that the distribution of livestock is much more balanced than distribution of land in rural economy. 

The Agriculture Minister said that there are 19 crore livestock in the country, which is about 14% of the world’s livestock and out of this, 15 crore are indigenous livestock. He also emphasized that the government has granted funds to establish National Breeding Centres for the promotion and protection of indigenous livestock. He said that the government has granted Rs 582 crore in the last two years for the promotion and protection of indigenous livestock. Shri Singh also referred to the average annual increase in milk production over 10 years was 4.62% in India, while it was 2.2% in the world. He stated that the annual increase in milk production for 2014-15 & 2015-16 is 9.59%. ‘While the availability of milk the world over is 296 grams, in India it is 340 grams’, Shri Singh added. 

Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Ajay Narayan Jha made the welcome remarks. A Power Point presentation on “Special characteristics of indigenous cattle & strategies to improve their productivity” was also made on the occasion.

Indian, Japanese officials to discuss bullet train

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) A high-level delegation led by NITI Ayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya will meet Japanese officials in Tokyo tomorrow to finalise key issues relating the Rs 98,000 crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project.

This is the second meeting of the joint committee set up to execute the bullet train project, according to Railway Ministry.

During the meeting, the committee will finalise the schedule of the project, terms related to the appointment of general consultant and procurement conditions, it said.

Besides Panagariya, the Indian delegation will comprise A K Mital, Chairman Railway Board, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary Department of Economic Affairs, S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary, and Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industry Policy and Promotion.

The Japanese side will be led by Hiroto Izumi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan. Other members from Japanese side will comprise senior officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and senior officials from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The flagship project is being financed by JICA, which is providing a soft loan of about Rs 79,380 crore, amounting to 81 per cent of the total project cost.

Since the loan negotiation and finalisation of loan agreement will take some time, the government has requested for a proper schedule of project implementation to achieve timely completion, the railways said in a statement.

India had also requested for appointment of general consultant, will enable start of preparatory activities like designing and preparation of tender documents, before the finalisation of loan agreement. .

Aishwarya opts for Ellie Saab gown for third outing at Cannes

Cannes, May 15 (PTI) In a gold lace Elli Saab number with an embellished bodice, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her third appearance at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, as she arrived for the screening of Steven Spielberg's "The BFG".

The 42-year-old actress accessorised her look with diamond open-ended neck piece, rings and side swept hair.

She was also captured striking a pose with Hollywood actress Blake Lively. For her first appearance at the ongoing festival, the "Jazbaa" actress opted for a studded champagne coloured couture gown by Kuwait's designer Ali Younes.

Aishwarya experimented with a metallic sheath overlaid by a sparkly floor-length cape. She wore her hair in loose waves.

For her second outing, the actress wore a red Naeem Khan gown. Aishwarya is celebrating 15 years of representing India and L'Oreal at the French Riviera.

PM addresses International Convention on Universal Message of Simhastha

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi shaking hands with the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, at the International Convention on Universal Message of Simhastha, in Ujjain on May 14, 2016. The Union Minister for Mines and Steel, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan and the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Raman Singh are also seen

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed the International Convention on the Universal Message of the Simhastha, at Ninaura near Ujjain. 

The Prime Minister received President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka, at Indore airport. President Sirisena accompanied the Prime Minister from Indore, and both leaders arrived at the Convention together. 

Addressing the gathering, which has also been described as a “Vichar Kumbh” on the sidelines of the Kumbh Mela, the Prime Minister described this convention as the birth of a new effort. He said this was a modern edition of what might have happened in ancient times, when thought-leaders of society would gather at the sites of Kumbh melas, to reflect and provide new vision to society. 

Speaking at length on Indian tradition and culture, he said that the mantra of a ‘Bhikshuk’ is “may good happen to the person who gives me alms, and even to the person who does not.” The Prime Minister gave several other illustrations of the values and humanism which define Indian culture. 

Referring to the launch of the Simhasth Declaration, which was dedicated to the world by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Prime Minister said this will mark the start of a new discourse not only in India but around the world. 

The Prime Minister suggested that a ‘Vichar Kumbh’ should be held every year, to discuss issues such as afforestation and education of the girl child.