India, China agree not to let differences affect ties

Beijing, Aug 17 (PTI) India and China have had "candid" exchange of views on some "specific issues" and they agreed not to let the "differences" affect their overall ties as they vowed to resolve the issues through dialogue and consultation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today.

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India just before the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the 8th BRICS leaders meeting, with the main purpose of having strategic communication with India," the ministry said.

"The most important consensus reached by the two sides during the visit was that the two agreed to support each other in making" both the summits a "success", the ministry said in a written response to a question from PTI on Wang's visit.

Besides visiting Goa to see arrangements for the BRICS, (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit which is due to take place there in October, Wang held talks with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on August 13 in New Delhi and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The two sides also had candid exchange of views on some specific issues emerging in the course of exchanges between China and India," it said.

"Both (sides) agreed that the two countries have far more common interests than differences, far more aspects of cooperation than competition, and thus should place specific differences at a proper position in bilateral relations so as not to impact the overall friendliness," it said.

"Meanwhile, the two sides should continue to work on solutions to specific problems through dialogue and consultation," it said, apparently referring to differences over India's admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and listing Masood Azhar, the head of the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Muhammad, as a terrorist by the UN.

"The most important consensus reached by the two sides during the visit was that the two have agreed to support each other in making the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the BRICS leaders meeting in Goa a success, in a bid to enhance cooperation and solidarity among developing countries and elevate the status of emerging markets in global governance," it said.

"The two sides reiterated that they attach great importance to developing bilateral relations, and believe that the mainstream of China-India relationship is good, and that the two sides should bear in mind the larger picture of friendly cooperation between the two countries, press firmly ahead with pragmatic cooperation and build a closer China-India partnership of development," it said.

Ready to talk on terror but not Kashmir: India to Pak

 Islamabad/New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) India today rejected Pakistan's proposal to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks on Kashmir and asserted that it would like to discuss aspects related to cross-border terrorism which are central to the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Responding to Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry's invitation, India's Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar expressed his willingness to travel to Islamabad but maintained Pakistan has no locus standi in addressing any aspect of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internal matter of India, except to put an end to cross-border terrorism and infiltration.

The response was handed over to Pakistan by Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad Gautam Bambawale.

"Since aspects related to cross-border terrorism are central to the current situation in J&K, we have proposed that discussions between the Foreign Secretaries be focused on them.

"We have also conveyed that Government of India rejects in their entirety the self-serving allegations regarding the situation in J&K, which is an integral part of India where Pakistan has no locus standi," the sources added.

Pakistan on Monday had invited India for talks on Kashmir, saying it is the "international obligation" of both the countries to resolve the issue.

The invitation was extended amid tension in bilateral ties due to the war of words between the two nations over the issue.

Last week, while reacting to a statement by Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz regarding the invitation, India had made it clear that it would talk on "contemporary and relevant" issues in Indo-Pak relations and at this time it included stoppage of Pak-supported cross-border terrorism. .

Sensex slips 88 pts on disappointing macro data

Mumbai, Aug 16 (PTI) Market benchmark Sensex declined 88 points to close at 28,064.61 on Tuesday as investors cut down their bets after industrial output growth slowed down to 2.1 per cent in June and inflation hits two-year high.

Lower international advices following a sharp rally in the yen and disappointing Japanese second-quarter GDP figures also hit investor sentiment.

An official data on Friday showed industrial output grew by 2.1 per cent in June, although down from 4.2 per cent a year ago, on account of poor show by manufacturing and heavy contraction in capital goods.

Besides, retail inflation shot up to nearly two-year high of 6.07 per cent in July, well above RBI's comfortable level, on surge in prices of food items as demand for sugar, oil & fats and spices rose ahead of the festival season.

WPI inflation today hit a 23-month high of 3.55 per cent in July.

"Markets have begun to refocus on macros, and the first of those have disappointed. Both the CPI and WPI have diminished chances of a rate cut in October," said Anand James Chief Market Strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

The BSE Sensex resumed higher at 28,190.04 and hovered in a range of 28,199.10 to 27,942.65 before closing at 28,064.61, showing a fall of 87.79 points or 0.31 per cent. The gauge had gained 377.52 in the previous two sessions.

The 50-issue Nifty fell 29.60 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 8,642.55. Intra-day, it hovered between 8,682.35 and 8,600.45.

Shares of Unitech slumped 16.91 per cent after the real estate firm expressed inability before the Supreme Court to refund money to the home buyers over its two delayed projects in Noida and Gurgaon.

Stock of Infosys slipped 1.16 per cent to Rs 1,050.95 after the tech major announced it will ramp-down about 3,000 jobs, following Royal Bank of Scotland's decision to cancel a project to set up a separate bank in the UK.

Overseas, Asian stocks ended lower as the price of crude oil took a breather from a three-day rally. Japanese stocks fell by 1.62 per cent as the yen strengthened against the dollar.

Other indices like China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan moved down by 0.09 per cent to 0.49 per cent.

European also edged lower key indices in France, Germany and the UK down between 0.04 per cent and 0.13 per cent.

Modi not first to talk about Balochistan, UPA did it too: Cong

New Delhi, Aug 16 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not the first to raise concern over the situation in Balochistan, Congress said today, insisting that the party-led UPA government had consistently spoken about the "spiralling violence" and "heavy Pakistani military action".

"Congress and UPA government have condemned the human rights violations in Balochistan as also in PoK by Pakistani forces and establishment on multiple occasions in the past," party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said, noting that the first time the UPA did so was on December 27, 2005.

Besides, he said, none less than the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in reply to a parliamentary question on March, 2, 2006, categorically condemned the spiralling violence in Balochistan and heavy military action, including use of helicopter gunships and fighter jets by the government of Pakistan to suppress the people of Balochistan.

Earlier, in the wake of reported killing of 50 Baloch people in the Pakistani army action, a spokesman for the External Affairs Ministry had expressed hope that the government of Pakistan would exercise restraint and take recourse to peaceful discussions to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan, Surjewala said.

His statement came a day after the Congress appeared to be speaking in different voices on the issue and the AICC even distancing itself from the remarks of senior leader Salman Khurshid on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reference to Balochistan in his Independence Day address.

Congress had termed Khurshid's remarks as "his personal view".

In his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort yesterday, Modi had talked about the situation in PoK, Gilgit and Balochistan and said people from there have thanked him for raising their issues.

Noting that Modi must realise the "folly" of BJP and its leadership in opposing Congress and UPA earlier, Surjewala said the Prime Minister instead of indulging in self-praise and self-promotion as he did in the Independence Day address, needs to have a sense of history and must thank his predecessor Singh.

"Rhetoric from Red Fort and headline management by PM Modi is fine but he needs to tell the nation about the BJP government's actual 'Pak Policy' that leaves even the most vocal supporters of Modi completely confused and bewildered," he said. .

Ancient camping site dating 8500 BC discovered by ASI at 14000 feet above sea level on the way to Saser La to Ladakh

An ancient camping site dating ninth millennium BC has been discovered by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under Ministry of Culture, on the way to Saser La which leads to the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh. While exploring in Nubra valley during 2015-16, Dr. S.B. Ota, Joint Director General in ASI observed both sides of hill and valley as the serpentine road, gradually climbed along the Saser Stream. After covering a distance of about 22 km, he noticed a section, exposed due to road construction, showing successive layers comprising burning residue and immediately stopped to explore the area. It was a small flat area with snow-covered peaks on one extreme, dry barren land with loose rocks all around and gushing stream within the deep western gorges, an ideal place for camping in a picturesque setting.

A charcoal sample collected from the Site, was subsequently sent to BETA LAB, Florida, USA, for radiocarbon date determination in order to understand the antiquity of the above stated camp-site. The outcome i.e. 8500 BC (10500 years before present) was beyond even ASI’s expectation. Such an early antiquity on the basis of a scientific date was the very first for that region.

Realizing the significance of the evidence, a team of ASI officials including D.G. and Dr. Ota, Joint D.G. and other experts inspected the site in the month of July 2016 in order to assess the probabilities of further archaeological research. During this visit, more charcoal samples and associated bones were collected. Two of the charcoal samples from lower and upper deposits sent for dating have provided new radiocarbon dates of c. 8500 BC and c. 7300 BC (c. 10500 and 9300 years before present) respectively. These dates have indeed confirmed the earlier date. Apart from that, new dates also indicate repeated human activity at this camping site for about eight hundred years. Preliminary studies of charred bones collected from here, carried out by Prof P.P. Joglekar of Deccan Collage, Pune, have shown the presence of Gorel and Yak.

Still, the quest regarding the site in question continues. The research so far carried out has proved the antiquity and nature of human activities to an extent, but their camping patterns, extent of camping area, tools and other cultural aspects are yet to be traced. To address these issues, proper archaeological excavations and explorations are being planned by the ASI. It will not be an easy task to undertake these works in such a rugged terrain at an altitude around 14000 feet, with low oxygen and no habitation. However, these are the added attractions for those who work with passion.

Brief Highlights of Prime Minister’s Address on Independence Day

Red Fort, Delhi - August 15, 2016 -Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort in New Delhi on the occasion of 70th Independence Day today. Following are the brief highlights of the speech:

1. Today on this special day, I convey my greetings to 125 crore Indians & the Indian community living overseas. May this energy guide the nation to scale newer heights of progress in the years to come

2. We remember Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Pandit Nehru, countless people who sacrificed their lives so that we attained Swarajya.

3. It is true that India faces a lot of problems, but we have the capacity to find solutions.

4. Today, more than Karya, I want to talk about Karya Sanskriti of the Government

5. There was a time when past governments used to be surrounded by accusations, not so anymore. They are now surrounded by aspirations."


6. It is our responsibility to convert our Swaraj into Suraaj, which can not be done without sacrifice, discipline and staunch resolution 7. Today I will be speaking not just of policy but vision. Not just the speed of work, but actual experience of progress

8. Suraaj means the progress of the common man, a govt that is sensitive to the requirements and aspirations of the common man. Responsibility and accountability are to be the roots of such a Suraaj."

9. We want to change the situation where people are scared of income tax authorities, particularly among middle class families

10. Two crore people apply for passports in the country. Even poor people get passport in one or two weeks

11. In the past any businessman who wanted to invest in this country had to spend more than six months just registering his business. However, with this government we have simplified the procedure to an extent that in last July itself, 900 such registrations have taken place.

12. Interviews for more than 9,000 posts in Group C and D jobs have been abolished.

13. In the the last 70 years people's expectations have changed. Announcement of policies and budget doesn't convince them. We have to show what has been achieved on the ground

14. Earlier, 70-75 km of rural roads used to be laid per day. Now we lay upto 100 km of rural roads a day

15. One nation, one grid and one price- we have worked on this.

16. Renewable energy is a focus area for us.

17. In the field of solar power we have seen a growth of 116 per cent. It is unprecedented.

18. 30,000-35,000 km of transmission lines used to be laid in a year in the past. Now at least 50,000 km per day are being laid.

19. Cooking gas was available to 14 crore people in the last 60 years. In the last sixty weeks alone, four crore people got these connections

20. We must break through our predilection towards pessimism. If we do that, it gives us energy. To get 21 crore people into the network of institutional credit is one such thing that people thought was impossible. But it happened.

21. Out of 18,000 villages, more than 10,000 villages have been electrified and I have been told they are with us, watching this celebration of Independence Day.

22. Just at 3 hour distance from Delhi is a village in Hathras, that took 70 years to get electricity.

23. Govt has made LED bulbs available at Rs. 50 per bulb, says the Prime Minister.

24. When things like the coming together of Iran, Afghanistan and India come together for Chabahar port, then one can see the impossible becoming possible.

25. We haven't allowed inflation to go beyond 6 per cent. There were two years of successive drought in the country. Production of pulses became a concerns, but despite all that we tried our best to control the situation and compared to previous governments, I and my government did not allow the cost of a poor man's thaali (plate) to be unaffordable.

26. As we celebrate the 350th anniversary of Guru Gobind Singhji I remember what he said: "He who hasn't served others, how can his hands be considered holy?" I say our farmers do such work and have sown 1.5 times the pulses that were sown earlier, despite the discouragement of successive droughts.

27. Our scientists have created 131 types of high yielding variety seeds, so that we maximise output. I congratulate them. The shortage of fertiliser is like something out of a bad dream of the past. That shortage is history.

28. To empty government coffers has been a tradition of past governments, I have tried to keep away from such a temptation. For me more than what the world thinks of the government, what the image of the country is, is important. Substance over symbolism. Empowerment over entitlement. The nation is more important than the party.

29. Government is continuity and if there are good points in the works done by them, we, with bowed heads will continue that work. I take meetings over PRAGATI systems, where we oversee 118 such programmes launched by previous governments but had run aground. 270 projects worth Rs. 10 lakh crore had been stuck. This was criminal negligence and we have tried to move them forward.

30. When there is clarity in policy, clarity in intent, decisions are unhesitating. Every year, when it came to Uttar Pradesh, a common story was the arrears due to sugarcane farmers. Today, I can say 95 per cent of payments have been done. Under Ujjwala Yojana, we have 50 lakh households of smoke-free kitchens.

31. We will remain relevant and be able to lead the global economy only if we come up to global standards. In the last few days you must have seen how rating agencies have appreciated our moves on ease of doing business.

32. Ramanujacharya used to say that we must look at everyone with the same gaze, never humiliate anyone. This was said by Ambedkar, Gandhi too. If society practices this discrimination it will break society. If discrimination is entrenched, our determination to fight it and our sensitivity to fighting it should be that much higher. Just economic progress is not enough, social equity is more important. We have to fight social evils together.

33. GST will give strength to our economy and all parties are to be thanked for its passage.

34. This govt does not believe in postponing things. We have fulfilled our promise of one rank one pension. We have released all files relating to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. That was another promise we had made.

35. Unity in diversity is our greatest strength. Our cultural tradition of respect for others, and assimilation is the reason why our civilisation has persisted.

36. Violence has no place in our country. This country will not tolerate terrorism and Maoism.

37. I tell those who believe in human values, to weigh in the scale of humanity, when innocent children were massacred in a school in Peshawar. In India, every school was weeping, there were tears in the eyes of every parliamentarian. That was a reflection of our human value, but look at the other side which glorifies terrorists

38. I say to our neighbours, Let's fight poverty, by fighting our own people we will destroy ourselves, only by fighting poverty together will we prosper

39. In the last few days the way the people of Balochistan, Gilgit, from Pak occupied Kashmir have thanked me, it is the honour of 1.25 billion people of India. I thank those people from Balochistan, Gilgit and Pak occupied Kashmir.

40. We have decided to raise pensions for freedom fighters by 20 per cent.

41. The Government will bear the health-care expenditure upto Rs 1 lakh per annum for the BPL families.

42. When we speak of freedom fighters, a few are mentioned far more than others. Our Adivasi brothers fought valiantly largely unsung, many have heard of Birsa Munda but few others. In the next few days, it is our intention to record the history of such Adivasi freedom fighters in the areas of their origin on a museum.

43. One society, one mission, one goal

44. 'Bharat Mata ki jai', 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jai Hind.'

Dipa misses bronze by a whisker, best Indian gymnast in Oly

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 14 (PTI) Dipa Karmakar missed a bronze medal by a whisker to finish fourth in the women's vault finals in the Rio Games but still created history by producing the best-ever performance by an Indian gymnast in the Olympics history here today.

The 23-year-old Dipa, who had become the first Indian woman gymnast to have qualified for the Olympics, scored an average of 15.066 points, a mere 0.15 less than the eventual bronze winner Giulia Steingruber (15.216) of Switzerland.

The gold went to American pre-event favourite Simone Biles (15.966), adding to the two gold she has already won in team event and all-round in this Olympics.

Reigning vault world champion Maria Paseka of Russia got the silver with an average of 15.253 points.

Dipa, who had scored 14.850 in the qualifying round, could have got more points had she not landed on her haunches in her risky 'Produnova' vault for which she is now known all over the world.

Coming in as the sixth competitor in the finals, the Tripura girl went for the 'Tsukahara' in her first attempt in which she collected 14.866 points. She went for a difficulty level of 6 and got 8.855 for the execution.

In her 'Produnova', Dipa did everything right except that she did not have a perfect landing as her buttocks just touched the ground and thereby she lost points.

She scored 15.266 from her 'Produnova' with 8.266 points for execution for a difficulty level of 7. The average of the two attempts gave her 15.066, a mere 0.15 difference with bronze winner Steingruber.

Dipa, who won a bronze in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, had some anxious moments as she waited for her score to come on the scoreboard.

Her coach Biswesar Nandi hugged her after the 'Produnova' vault and Dipa herself gave a thumbs up to the camera but it seemed that it dawned on both of them that it was not a perfect landing in the most risky vault which very few in the world attempted.

Dipa was the second competitor to perform the 'Produnova' in the finals, the other being 2008 Beijing vault silver winner Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, who finished seventh in the eight-woman finals with an average point of 14.833.

Dipa, however, will hold her head high as she has scripted history by becoming the first India to qualify for the vault finals in her first Olympics.

Apart from being the first Indian woman, she was also the first Indian gymnast to have qualified for the Olympics after 52 long years.

Since independence, 11 Indian male gymnasts have taken part in the Olympics (two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964), but this was the first for an Indian woman at the Olympics.

President’s address to the nation on the eve of India’s 70th Independence Day, 2016

Fellow citizens: 

1. On the eve of sixty-ninth anniversary of our Independence, I extend warm greetings to all my brothers and sisters in the country and abroad. 

2. As we celebrate our seventieth Independence Day, I respectfully bow to the heroes of our independence struggle - known and unknown - who fought, suffered and sacrificed their lives to win freedom for us. Mahatma Gandhi’s luminous leadership finally made the British Quit India in 1947. When we gained independence in 1947, nobody believed that India will survive as a democracy. Yet, seven decades later, one and a quarter billion Indians with all their diversity have proved those forecasts wrong. The strong edifice of democracy built by our founding fathers on the four pillars of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity has withstood several threats from both within and without and has grown from strength to strength. 

Fellow citizens: 

3. This is for the fifth time that I speak to you on the eve of Independence Day. In the past four years, I have seen with some satisfaction a stable and progressive democracy in full play with peaceful transfer of power from one party to another, from one government to another, and from one generation to another. Notwithstanding the different hues of political thought, I have seen the ruling party and the opposition coming together in pursuit of national agenda of development, unity, integrity and security of the nation. In the just-concluded session of Parliament, the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill for the introduction of GST amidst non-partisan and quality parliamentary deliberations is reason enough to celebrate our democratic maturity. 

4. In these four years, I also saw with, some disquiet, forces of divisiveness and intolerance trying to raise their ugly head. Attacks on weaker sections that militate against our national ethos are aberrations that need to be dealt with firmly. The collective wisdom of our society and our polity gives me the confidence that such forces will remain marginalized and India’s remarkable growth story will continue uninterrupted. 

5. The safety and security that we provide to our women and children determines the well-being of the state and society. Every incident of violence against a woman or a child inflicts a wound on the soul of the civilization. We cannot call ourselves a civilized society if we fail in this duty. 

Fellow citizens: 

6. Democracy is more than a periodic exercise of choices to elect the government. The great tree of liberty requires constant nourishment through the institutions of democracy. Disruptions, obstructionism and un-mindful pursuit of a divisive political agenda by groups and individuals lead to nothing but institutional travesty and Constitutional subversion. Polarizing debates only deepen the fault lines in public discourse. 

7. Our Constitution is not only a political or legal document but also an emotional, cultural and social contract. My distinguished predecessor Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had said on the eve of Independence Day fifty years ago and I quote: “We have adopted a democratic Constitution. It helps us to maintain our individuality in the face of mounting pressures for standardized thinking and acting…….. Democratic Assemblies serve as safety valves for social tensions and prevent dangerous explosions. In an effective democracy, its members should be willing to accept law and lawful authority. No man, no group can be his or its own law giver” (unquote). 

8. The Constitution has clearly defined the duties and responsibilities of every organ of the state. It has established the ancient Indian ethos of “Maryada” as far as Authorities and Institutions of State power are concerned. The spirit of the Constitution has to be upheld by adherence to this “Maryada” by the functionaries in the discharge of their duties. 

Fellow citizens: 

9. One unique feature that has held India together is our respect for each other’s cultures, values and beliefs. The very essence of plurality lies in cherishing our heterogeneity and valuing our diversity. In the networked environment of today, a caring society can only be developed by harmonizing religion with modern science. Swami Vivekananda had once observed and I quote: “What is needed is a fellow-feeling between the different types of religion, seeing that they all stand or fall together, a fellow-feeling which springs from mutual respect, and not the condescending, patronizing, niggardly expression of goodwill” (unquote). 

10. It is true, as was pointed out in a famous speech made on this very day 69 years ago by Pandit Nehru that in a nation’s history, moments come when we step out from the old to the new, when the soul of a nation finds utterance. But it is also important to realize that such moments are not strokes of luck that come upon us by surprise. A nation can and must strive to create such a moment. We must take destiny in our own hands to build the India of our dreams. Backed by strong political will, we have to create a future which will economically empower six hundred million youth, build a digital India, a start-up India, and a skilled India. As we build an India of hundreds of smart cities, towns and villages, we must ensure that they are humane, hi-tech and happy places leading to the creation of a technology-driven but compassionate society. We should promote and reinforce a scientific temper by questioning our beliefs which are not compatible with scientific way of thinking. We must learn to challenge the status quo and refuse to accept inefficiency and slipshod work. In a competitive environment, a sense of immediacy and some impatience is a necessary virtue. 

Fellow citizens: 

11. India will grow, only when all of India grows. The excluded ones have to be included in the development process. The hurt and the alienated have to be brought back into the mainstream. In this age of technological advance, machines are being pitted against men. The only way to survive this is to acquire knowledge and skills, and learn to innovate. Inclusive innovations linked to the aspirations of our people can benefit a wide spectrum of society as well as preserve our diversity. We as a nation must nurture creativity, science and technology. Here, our schools and institutions of higher learning have a special responsibility. 

12. We often celebrate the achievements of our ancient past but it would be wrong to rest on our laurels. It is much more important to look to the future. It is time to join hands to cooperate, innovate and advance. India has had remarkable growth in recent times, often growing above eight percent per annum over the last decade. International agencies have acknowledged India’s status as the fastest growing major economy in the world and recognized major improvements in indices of ease of doing business and logistics performance. The start-up movement and the innovative spirit of our young entrepreneurs have also attracted international attention. We must build on our strengths so that, this lead can be sustained and furthered. A normal monsoon this year gives us reason to cheer, unlike the past two years when below normal rains created agrarian distress. The fact that despite two consecutive drought years, inflation has remained below 6 percent and agricultural output has been stable, is a testimony to our nation’s resilience, and to how far we have progressed since Independence. 

Fellow citizens: 

13. Our foreign policy has shown considerable dynamism in recent times. We have reinvigorated our historic bonds of friendship with traditional partners of Africa and Asia Pacific. We are in the process of forging new relationships based on shared values and mutual benefit with all countries, especially our immediate and extended neighbourhood. There will be no stepping back on our “neighbourhood first policy”. Close bonds of history, culture, civilization and geography provide the people of South Asia with an extraordinary opportunity to carve out a common destiny and to march together towards prosperity. This opportunity must be seized without delay. India’s focus in foreign policy will remain on peaceful co-existence and harnessing technology and resources for its economic development. Recent initiatives have enhanced energy security, promoted food security, and created international partnerships to take our flagship development programmes forward. 

14. The world has witnessed a spate of terror activities having their roots in radicalization of people on the basis of religion. These forces apart from killing innocent people in the name of religion also threaten to disturb geopolitical divides, which could prove disastrous for world peace. The inhuman, mindless and barbaric modus operandi of such groups have been visible in France, Belgium, United States, Nigeria, Kenya and closer home in Afghanistan and Bangladesh recently. These forces now pose a danger to the entire comity of nations. The world will have to fight them unconditionally and in one voice. 

Fellow citizens: 

15. For all the challenges that we see in front of ourselves I have a great belief in our innate and inherent capacity as an ancient country whose soul and jijivisha- the will to live and excel can never be suppressed. Various forces external as well as internal have tried to smother this soul of India over millennia but every time this soul has emerged more powerful and more glorious having neutralized, assimilated and incorporated every challenge that it faced. 

16. India through its unique civilizational contribution has repeatedly conveyed the message of peace and harmony to the trouble-torn world. In 1970, historian Arnold Toynbee had the following to say about India’s role in contemporary history. I quote: “Today, we are still living in this transitional chapter of the world’s history, but it is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning, will have to have an Indian ending, if it is not to end in the self-destruction of the human race” (unquote). Toynbee further went on to say that at the cross roads of human history, the only way of salvation of mankind is the Indian way. 

Fellow citizens: 

17. On this occasion, I convey my special greetings and gratitude to the members of our armed forces, paramilitary and internal security forces who are at the fore front of guarding and preserving the Unity, Integrity and Security of our motherland. 

18. In the end, I would once again invoke the Upanishads as I had invoked in my first address on the eve of Independence Day four years ago. For this invocation shall live forever, as will Mother India: 

“May God Protect us; 

May God Nourish us; 

May we Work Together with Vigour and Energy; 

May our Studies be Brilliant; 

May there be no Hostility amongst us; 

May there be Peace Peace Peace.” 

Jai Hind. 

Priti Patel MP, UK Secretary of State for International Development calls on PM

The Rt. Hon. Priti Patel MP, UK Secretary of State for International Development called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today. 

The Prime Minister congratulated Ms. Patel on her appointment as Secretary of State for International Development. The Prime Minister recalled that Ms. Patel has had a long association with India in her previous roles, and visited India many times. 

The Prime Minister recalled his successful visit to UK last year in November, and appreciated the follow up action taken on the outcomes of the visit. 

Ms. Patel briefed the Prime Minister on the activities and future plans of Department for International Development in India. Ms. Patel also discussed bilateral cooperation in the spheres of skill development, infrastructure financing, innovation, energy, and ease of doing business. 

Sania, Bopanna seal semis spot with comfortable win

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 13 (PTI) Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna subdued Britain's Andy Murray and Heather Watson with remarkable ease to breeze into the mixed doubles semifinals of the Rio Olympic Games here.

The fourth seeded Indian pair dominated the quarterfinal contest, winning 6-4 6-4 in just 67 minutes.

One more victory will ensure India a silver medal and a defeat in the semifinals would give Sania and Bopanna a chance to fight for the bronze.

India has only one tennis medal in its entire Olympic history that came through Leander Paes, who won a singles bronze at 1996 Atlanta Games.

Murray came into the contest after winning his singles quarterfinal that lasted more than two hours and was a pale shadow of himself.

The world number two, winner of three Grand Slams and singles defending Olympic champion, seemed conserving his energy for the bigger battle ahead. His heavy legs and stifled movement on the court made the task easier for the Indians.

Watson did not look like a player who won the Wimbledon mixed double title this year, struggling badly with her serve and ground strokes in the opening set.

Sania and Bopanna were a better team than the Britons, who never posed a threat to the Indians. Bopanna was solid with his booming serve while Sania played superbly from the back of the court.

Bopanna began with a double fault and Sania's consecutive volley errors meant that Indians were first to blink.

However, the Indians immediately got the break back as Watosn dropped serve at love. A flurry of unforced errors by the Briton set Indians nicely with three chances and Bopanna found a backhand winner on the first break point.

Sania saved a breakpoint in the next and held to make it 2-2.

A nervous looking Watson struggled with her serve and was again down 0-40. The Indians seized the advantage. Murray failed to put across a strong forehand return from Sania, putting the Indians ahead 4-3.

Sania came out serving solid in the next set as India led 5-3. Bopanna served out the first set without fuss, hitting two aces.

The British players played better as a team in the second but the Indians were up for the task and broke Murray in the fifth for a 3-2 lead.

That lead stayed with the Indians and Bopanna sealed the issue on the third match point with an overhead smash.