Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan pull out of SAARC Summit

New Delhi, Sept 28 (PTI) Apart from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also pulled out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November, indirectly blaming Pakistan for creating an environment which is not right for the successful holding of the meet, resulting in its collapse.

Amidst heightened tension with Pakistan over Uri terror attack in which 18 jawans were killed, India had announced its decision of pulling out of the Summit late last night citing increased "cross-border" attacks.

While Bangladesh has categorically said that "the growing interference" in its internal affairs by one country has "created an environment which is not conducive to the successful hosting of the SAARC Summit", Afghanistan pulled out citing "terrorism in the region" for its abstention.

"Bangladesh, as the initiator of the SAARC process, remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation, connectivity and contacts but believes that these can only go forward in a more congenial atmosphere. In view of the above, Bangladesh is unable to participate in the proposed Summit in Islamabad," it said.

Afghanistan has also conveyed to SAARC Chair Nepal that President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani would not be able to attend the Summit, sources said.

"Due to increased level of violence and fighting as a result of imposed terrorism on Afghanistan", President Ghani "with his responsibilities as the Commander-in-Chief will be fully engaged, and will not be able to attend the Summit", a communication by the country said.

Bhutan said while it is committed to the SAARC process and strengthening of regional cooperation, it is concerned over the "recent escalation of terrorism in the region, which has seriously compromised the environment for the successful holding of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November 2016." 

"Further, the Royal Government of Bhutan shares the concerns of some of the member countries of SAARC on the deterioration of regional peace and security due to terrorism and joins them in conveying our inability to participate in the SAARC Summit, under the current circumstances." 

The decision by India and three countries of the eight- member grouping not to attend the summit would lead to its collapse since as per the SAARC charter the Summit can not be held even in the absence of one head of the government.

The Uri attack has triggered a strong response from India which has reviewed the 56-year-old Indus Water Treaty (IWT), and decided to reconsider the MFN status granted by it, unilaterally, to Pakistan.

The Foreign Secretary had also issued a demarche yesterday to Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit over the attack while confronting him with the proof of "cross-border origins" of the terror strike.

Modi not to attend SAARC Summit

New Delhi, Sep 27 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November amidst heightened tension between India and Pakistan.

Announcing the decision tonight, India said that "one country" has created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the Summit.

"India has conveyed to current SAARC Chair Nepal that increasing cross-border terrorist attacks in the region and growing interference in the internal affairs of Member States by one country have created an environment that is not conducive to the successful holding of the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November 2016," External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

"In the prevailing circumstances, the Government of India is unable to participate in the proposed Summit in Islamabad," it said.

"We also understand that some other SAARC Member States have also conveyed their reservation about attending the Islamabad Summit in November 2016," it said.

According to sources, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan are the other countries

which have said no to attending the Summit.

In its communication to Nepal, India has said it remains steadfast in its commitment to regional cooperation, connectivity and contacts but believes that these can only go forward in an atmosphere free of terror. .

Pakistan using international aid to finance terrorism: India

Geneva, Sep 27 (PTI) Upping the ante against Pakistan, India has said it is a "terrorist state" which for years with complete impunity has been using billions of dollars from international aid to train, finance and support terror groups as militant proxies.

Describing Pakistan as the "true epicentre" of global terror, India also said Islamabad's trust in the methods of terror are so "deep" that it does not hesitate in using them on its own people in Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas.

In its Right of Reply in response to a statement by Pakistan at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council, India said, "the latest terrorist attack in Uri, where 18 Indian soldiers lost their life and over 20 injured, only underlines that the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan remains active." 

"The recovery of GPS, grenades with Pakistani markings, communication matrix sheets and equipments and other stores made in Pakistan, and patterns of infiltration and attacks, is clear evidence of involvement of terror organisations based in Pakistan or territory under its control," it said yesterday.

India also asserted that it awaits "credible action" by Pakistan to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the Pathankot attack to justice.

India stated that in Pakistan, the region is dealing with a "terrorist state", which has for years with "complete impunity channelised billions of dollars from international aid, to training, financing and supporting terrorist groups as militant proxies against it neighbours".

"Internationally proscribed terrorist entities and their leaders continue to roam the streets of Pakistan freely and operate with state support; even raising funds openly in flagrant violation of Pakistan's international obligations," India said.

It called upon the Council to urge Pakistan to engage in "honest introspection" and focus its energies on acting against perpetrators of terrorist attacks on neighbours from its own territory.

"Countering terrorism emanating from Pakistan, that has turned out to be the most acute violator of human rights, is the only way to address the risk to peace and stability of the region," it said.

India strongly demanded that Pakistan must live upto its public commitment to refrain from supporting and sponsoring terrorism against it.

It reiterated that India is not the only victim of Pakistan's preaching, practicing, encouraging and nurturing terrorism and the "deleterious" impact of Pakistan's "irresponsible and short-sighted" approach of terrorism as state policy has started showing in other countries of South Asia and beyond.

Sensex tanks 374 pts after investors turn to US Prez debate

Mumbai, Sep 26 (PTI) Equities started the week on a distinctly weak note after the Sensex tumbled 374 points on Monday -- the most in two weeks -- tracking global sell-off ahead of the US presidential debate and an OPEC meeting due this week.

The barometer closed at 28,294.28, a nearly 1-month low.

Also, the broader NSE Nifty broke below the 8,800-mark level.

Investors are also anxiously waiting for the upcoming monetary policy review on October 4, the first to be held under new RBI Governor Urjit Patel.

Sentiment was in tatters after heavy losses in Asia and a lower opening in Europe, mirroring weekend losses at the Wall Street due to lower crude oil prices.

The slide came on the heels of a global rally last week fuelled by relief that US and Japanese central banks had decided to maintain their easy-money policies.

Shares have lost their momentum after hitting their highest close in 18 months last week after valuations turned expensive, with most sectoral indices ending in the red.

The 30-share index stayed in the negative zone for the whole day and settled lower by 373.94 points, or 1.30 per cent -- its biggest single-day fall since September 12 -- at 28,294.28. This is the weakest closing since August 29 when it had closed at 27,902.66. It had lost 105 points on Friday.

The broader Nifty also succumbed to selling pressure and slipped below the 8,800-mark to hit a low of 8,715.10 before ending at 8,723.05, down 108.50 points, or 1.23 per cent.

"The market had mirrored the downswing in global equities which is impacted due to today's US presidential election debate. Additionally, the upcoming meeting on Wednesday of oil producers will be eagerly watched for any potential freeze in oil production, given the drop in oil prices," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

ONGC was the top Sensex loser, skidding 3.84 per cent to close at INR 250.50, followed by Tata Motors, which fell 3.22 per cent to INR 535.55.

Others that weighed included ICICI Bank, NTPC, GAIL, Bharti Airtel, ITC, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, Hind Unilever and L&T, falling by up to 3.16 per cent.

Coal India, however, struck a contrarian note as it topped the gainers list by rising 1.19 per cent. RIL gained 0.58 per cent to close at INR 1,109.35 after touching a 7-year high of INR 1,128.90 on the back of strong fundamentals.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net sellers at INR 299.98 crore on Friday, according to provisional data.

Out of the 30-share Sensex, 25 ended lower.

Realty fell the most by 2 per cent, followed by auto 1.72 per cent, infrastructure 1.62 per cent, banking 1.56 per cent and FMCG 1.37 per cent while oil & gas and metal rose 0.08 per cent each.

Small-cap and mid-cap indices closed lower by 0.55 per cent and 0.53 per cent, respectively.

Japan's Nikkei fell 1.25 per cent and Shanghai Composite plunged 1.76 per cent while Hang Seng sank 1.58 per cent.

In Europe, most indices retreated, with London's FTSE falling 1.22 per cent, France's Paris CAC-30 1.83 per cent and Germany's Frankfurt 1.49 per cent in their early hours.

Abandon 'dream' of obtaining Kashmir: Swaraj to Pakistan

United Nations, Sep 26 (PTI) India today firmly told Pakistan to abandon its "dream" of obtaining Kashmir through terror attacks and asserted that it is an integral part of the country and will always remain so.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, while addressing the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, said, "It (Pakistan) persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets." 

"My firm advice to Pakistan is: abandon this dream. Let me state unequivocally that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and will always remain so," she said in her speech.

Countering Pakistan's claims that India has imposed pre-conditions on talks, Swaraj said India got the terror attacks of Pathankot and Uri "in return" for taking the initiative to resolve issues with Islamabad not on the basis of conditions but on friendship.

"We conveyed Eid greetings to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, wished success to his cricket team, extended good wishes for his health and well being. Did all this come with pre-conditions attached," Swaraj said.

"And what did we get in return? Pathankot, Bahadur Ali, and Uri. Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan's complicity in cross-border terror," she added.

Her speech came just over a week after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in a deadly attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists from across the border on an army base in Kashmir's Uri.

PSLV-C35 Successfully Launches Eight Satellites into Two Different Orbits in a Single Flight

In its thirty seventh flight (PSLV-C35), ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle successfully launched the 371 kg SCATSAT-1 Satellite along with seven co-passenger satellites today morning (September 26, 2016) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the thirty sixth consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The total weight of all the eight satellites carried on-board PSLV-C35 was 675 kg. PSLV-C35 is the first PSLV mission to launch satellites carried onboard into two different orbits. This PSLV mission was the longest of the PSLV missions conducted till date and was completed in 2 hours 15 minutes and 33 seconds after lift-off.

After PSLV-C35 lift-off at 0912 hrs (9:12 am) IST from the First Launch Pad with the ignition of the first stage, the subsequent important flight events, namely, strap-on ignitions and separations, first stage separation, second stage ignition, payload fairing separation, second stage separation, third stage ignition and separation, fourth stage ignition and cut-off, took place as planned. After a flight of 16 minutes 56 seconds, the vehicle achieved a polar Sun Synchronous Orbit of 724 km inclined at an angle of 98.1 degree to the equator (very close to the intended orbit) and 37 seconds later the primary satellite SCATSAT-1 was separated from the PSLV fourth stage.

After separation, the two solar arrays of SCATSAT-1 satellite were deployed automatically and ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore took over the control of the satellite. In the coming days, the satellite will be brought to its final operational configuration following which it will begin to provide weather related services using its scatterometer payload. The data sent by SCATSAT-1 satellite will help provide weather forecasting services to user communities through the generation of wind vector products as well as cyclone detection and tracking.

After the successful separation of SCATSAT-1, the PSLV-C35 mission continued. Still carrying the seven co-passenger satellites, the fourth stage of PSLV coasted over the South polar region and then started ascending towards the Northern hemisphere. A safe distance between the orbiting SCATSAT-1 and PSLV-C35 fourth stage was maintained by suitably manoeuvring the stage.

At 1 hour 22 minutes and 38 seconds after lift-off as the fourth stage was in the North polar region, the two engines of PSLV fourth stage were reignited and fired for 20 seconds. As a result of this, it entered into an elliptical orbit measuring 725 km on one side of the Earth and 670 km on the other.

And 50 minutes later, as the PSLV fourth stage was again coasting near the south pole, its engines were fired for another 20 seconds. This second firing made the fourth stage to enter into a circular orbit of 669 km height inclined at an angle of 98.2 degree to the equator.

37 seconds later, the Dual Launch Adapter was successfully separated from the PSLV-C35 fourth stage. 30 seconds after this event, ALSAT-1 was the first co-passenger satellite to be separated successfully. Following this, the NLS-19, PRATHAM, PISAT, ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B, and Pathfinder-1 were separated from the PSLV fourth stage in a predetermined sequence thereby successfully completing PSLV-C35 mission.

Of the seven co-passenger satellites carried by PSLV-C35, two – PRATHAM weighing 10 kg and PISAT weighing 5.25 kg – are University/Academic institute satellites and were built with the involvement of students from IIT-Bombay and PES University, Bangalore and its consortium, respectively.

The remaining five co-passenger satellites were international customer satellites from Algeria (three – ALSAT-1B, ALSAT-2B and ALSAT-1N), Canada (one- NLS-19) and the United States (one – Pathfinder-1).

With today’s launch, the PSLV’s capability to launch satellites into two different orbits has been successfully demonstrated. The total number of satellites launched by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV has now reached 121, of which 42 are Indian and the remaining 79 are from abroad.

US welcomes India's move to sign Paris climate deal

New Delhi, Sep 25 (PTI) The US today welcomed India's surprise decision to ratify the key Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2.

"We welcome the news India will join the #ParisAgreement October 2," US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said.

"Congrats Prime Minister @narendramodi for your leadership to #ActOnClimate," Verma tweeted.

Earlier, in a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India will ratify the Paris Climate Change agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"There is one work left in the CoP21 (Conference of Parties). Ratification is yet to be done and India too is yet to do it. Today on the birth anniversary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, I announce that India will ratify the decisions on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," he said while addressing BJP's National Council meet in Kozhikode, Kerala.

Modi said he had chosen the date, which is next Sunday, as Mahatma Gandhi's life was an example of minimum carbon footprint.

During the Paris climate meet in December last, more than 190 nations had agreed on setting ambitious goals for capping global warming and funnelling trillions of dollars to poor countries facing climate catastrophe.

The pact will come into force after it is ratified by at least 55 countries that account for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Talking about the need to ratify the COP21 decision, Modi said there is a looming threat due to global warming to many coastal countries and cities. Even Kerala, where the conclave was being held, is also a coastal area.

While Western countries, including the US, had been supporting an early ratification of the pact, India had been seeking more time to complete its national processes as it fears that any hasty decision may impact its developmental projects.

The issue of India ratifying the Paris deal had come up for discussion between Prime Minister Modi and US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos earlier this month.

Text of PM’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme on All India Radio on 25 September, 2016

वासियो, आज 25 सितम्बर है, पंडित दीनदयाल उपध्याय जी की जन्म जयंती का आज अवसर है और आज से उनके जन्म के शताब्दी वर्ष का प्रारंभ हो रहा है। मेरे जैसे लाखों कार्यकर्ता जिस राजनैतिक विचारधारा को लेकर के काम कर रहे हैं, उस राजनैतिक विचारधारा को व्याख्यायित करने का काम, भारत की जड़ों से जुड़ी हुई राजनीति के पक्षकार, भारत की सांस्कृतिक विरासत को पुरस्कृत करने के प्रयास वाली विचारधारा के साथ, जिन्होंने अपना एक राजनैतिक दर्शन दिया, एकात्म-मानव दर्शन दिया, वैसे पंडित दीनदयाल जी की शताब्दी का वर्ष आज प्रारंभ हो रहा है। ‘सर्वजन हिताय-सर्वजन सुखाय’ अन्त्योदय का सिद्धांत - ये उनकी देन रही है। महात्मा गाँधी भी आखिरी छोर के व्यक्ति के कल्याण की बात करते थे। विकास का फल ग़रीब से ग़रीब व्यक्ति को कैसे मिले? ‘हर हाथ को काम हर खेत को पानी’, दो ही शब्दों में पूरा आर्थिक agenda उन्होंनें प्रस्तुत किया था। देश उनके जन्म-शताब्दी वर्ष को ‘गरीब कल्याण वर्ष’ के रूप में मनाए। समाज का, सरकारों का, हर किसी का ध्यान, विकास के लाभ ग़रीब को कैसे मिलें, उस पर केन्द्रित हो और तभी जाकर के देश को हम ग़रीबी से मुक्ति दिला सकते हैं। मैं पिछले दिनों जहाँ प्रधानमंत्री का निवास स्थान है, जो अब तक अंग्रेज़ों के जमाने से ‘रेस-कोर्स रोड’ के रूप में जाना जाता था। पंडित दीनदयाल उपाध्याय जन्म शताब्दी वर्ष निमित्त प्रधानमंत्री के निवास स्थान वाले उस मार्ग का नाम ‘लोक कल्याण मार्ग’ कर दिया गया है। वो उसी शताब्दी वर्ष के ‘ग़रीब कल्याण वर्ष’ का ही एक प्रतीकात्मक स्वरूप है। हम सब के प्रेरणा पुरुष, हमारी वैचारिक धरोहर के धनी श्रद्धेय पंडित दीनदयाल उपाध्याय जी को आदरपूर्वक नमन करता हूँ। 

मेरे प्यारे देशवासियो, विजयादशमी के दिन ही 2 साल पहले ‘मन की बात’ की मैंने शुरुआत की थी। इस विजयादशमी के पर्व पर 2 वर्ष पूर्ण हो जाएँगे। मेरी ये प्रामाणिक कोशिश रही थी कि ‘मन की बात’ - ये सरकारी कामों के गुणगान करने का कार्यक्रम नहीं बनना चाहिए। ये ‘मन की बात’ राजनैतिक छींटाकशी का कार्यक्रम नहीं बनना चाहिए। ये ‘मन की बात’ आरोप-प्रत्यारोप का कार्यक्रम नहीं बनना चाहिए। 2 साल तक भाँति-भाँति के दबावों के बावजूद भी - कभी-कभी तो मन लालायित हो जाए, इस प्रकार के प्रलोभनात्मक वातावरण के बावजूद भी - कभी-कभी नाराज़गी के साथ कुछ बात बताने का मन कर जाए, यहाँ तक दबाव पैदा हुए - लेकिन आप सब के आशीर्वाद से ‘मन की बात’ को उन सब से बचाए रख कर के सामान्य मानव से जुड़ने का मेरा प्रयास रहा। इस देश का सामान्य मानव मुझे किस प्रकार से प्रेरणा देता रहता है। इस देश के सामान्य मानव की आशा-आकांक्षायें क्या हैं? और मेरे दिलो-दिमाग पर जो देश का सामान्य नागरिक छाया रहता है, वो ही ‘मन की बात’ में हमेशा-हमेशा प्रकट होता रहा। देशवासियों के लिये ‘मन की बात’ जानकारियों का अवसर हो सकता है, मेरे लिये ‘मन की बात’ मेरे सवा-सौ करोड़ देशवासियों की शक्ति का एहसास करना, मेरे देश के सवा-सौ करोड़ देशवासियों के सामर्थ्य को बार-बार स्मरण करना और उसी से कार्य की प्रेरणा पाना, यही मेरे लिये ये कार्यक्रम बना। मैं आज 2 वर्ष इस सप्ताह जब पूर्ण हो रहे हैं, तब ‘मन की बात’ को आपने जिस प्रकार से सराहा, जिस प्रकार से संवारा, जिस प्रकार से आशीर्वाद दिए, मैं इसके लिए भी सभी श्रोताजनों का हृदय से आभार व्यक्त करता हूँ। मैं आकाशवाणी का भी आभारी हूँ कि उन्होंने मेरी इन बातों को न सिर्फ प्रसारित किया, लेकिन उसको सभी भाषाओं में पहुँचाने के लिए भरसक प्रयास किया। मैं उन देशवासियों का भी आभारी हूँ कि जिन्होंने ‘मन की बात’ के बाद चिट्ठियाँ लिख करके, सुझाव दे करके, सरकार के दरवाज़ों को खटखटाया, सरकार की कमियों को उजागर किया और आकाशवाणी ने ऐसे पत्रों पर विशेष कार्यक्रम करके, सरकार के लोगों को बुला करके, समस्याओं के समाधान के लिये platform प्रदान किया। तो ‘मन की बात’ सिर्फ 15-20 मिनट का संवाद नहीं, समाज-परिवर्तन का एक नया अवसर बन गया। किसी के भी लिये इससे बड़ा संतोष का कारण क्या हो सकता है और इसलिए इसको सफल बनाने में जुड़े हुए हर किसी को भी मैं धन्यवाद देता हूँ, उनका आभार प्रकट करता हूँ। 

मेरे प्यारे देशवासियो, अगले सप्ताह नवरात्रि और दुर्गा-पूजा का पर्व, विजयादशमी का पर्व, दीपावली की तैयारियाँ, एक प्रकार से एक अलग सा ही माहौल पूरे देश में होता है। ये शक्ति-उपासना का पर्व होता है। समाज की एकता ही देश की शक्ति होती है। चाहे नवरात्रि हो या दुर्गा-पूजा हो, ये शक्ति की उपासना, समाज की एकता की उपासना का पर्व कैसे बने? जन-जन को जोड़ने वाला पर्व कैसे बने? और वही सच्ची शक्ति की साधना हो और तभी जाकर कर के हम मिल कर के विजय का पर्व मना सकते हैं। आओ, शक्ति की साधना करें। एकता के मन्त्र को लेकर के चलें। राष्ट्र को नई ऊंचाइयों पर ले जाने के लिये शांति, एकता, सद्भावना के साथ नवरात्रि और दुर्गा-पूजा का पर्व मनाएँ, विजयादशमी की विजय मनाएँ। 

PM warns Pakistan Uri attack will not be forgotten

Kozhikode, Sep 24 (PTI) Launching a blistering attack on Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today warned its leadership that the Uri terror attack will not be forgotten and the sacrifice of 18 jawans will not go in vain.

In his first public address after last Sunday's deadly attack by terrorists from across the border, he said India will mount an all out offensive to isolate Pakistan diplomatically to expose its activities in exporting terror, killing of innocent people and spilling blood.

"Terrorists should hear out clearly that India will never forget the Uri attack.... I want to tell the leadership of Pakistan that the sacrifice of our 18 jawans will not go in vain," Modi told a largely-attended public meeting on the Kozhikode beach held on the sidelines of the BJP national council meet. .

GST threshold fixed at Rs 20 lakh, rate to be decided in Oct

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) In a big step forward on GST implementation, the Centre and states today reached an agreement on keeping traders with annual revenue of up to Rs 20 lakh out of the new national sales tax regime that will subsume all cesses.

While the two sides, at the meeting of the GST Council, agreed on the contentious issues of revenue threshold - below which traders will be exempted from GST, and sharing of administrative powers, the all crucial GST rates will be decided in the meeting to be held on October 17-19.

The newly constituted Council decided to keep the revenue exemption limit at Rs 20 lakh for all states with the exception of north eastern and the hill states where the limit will be Rs 10 lakh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said here.

Resolving issues over dual control over small traders, it decided that states will have exclusive control over all dealers up to a revenue threshold of Rs 1.5 crore in a year.

A mechanism would be worked out for traders above Rs 1.5 crore to ensure that a dealer is regulated either by the Central government or the state government and not both.

Broad principles for compensating states for any loss of revenue when the new regime is rolled out from April 1, 2017 were also discussed at the two day meeting of the panel that is headed by Union Finance Minister and includes representatives of all states.

On service tax, it was decided that in absence of expertise with states, the Centre will continue to exercise control over all the 11 lakh service tax registered dealers irrespective of their revenue levels, he said.

Jaitley said the next meeting on September 30 will finalise the draft rules regarding implementation of exemptions.

While 2015-16 will be the base year for calculating revenue compensating to states for any loss of revenue arising from rollout of GST, the final methodology will be worked out in next meetings, he said.

The exemption threshold fixed is lower than Rs 25 lakh that most states had demanded. Some states were pitching for Rs 10 lakh limit to limit their revenue loss.

The same for North-Eastern states is twice of the Rs 5 lakh that was under deliberation till yesterday.

The exemption list has also been cut down to 90 items from the current 300 goods and services. Also, the meeting decided that all cesses will be subsumed in the GST, Jaitley said. .

India-Russia Joint Military Exercise Indra-2016 Begins in Vladivostok

The eighth edition of India-Russia Joint Military Exercise ‘INDRA-2016’ has begun in the Ussiriysk District in Vladivostok, Russia. Main focus of this edition of the joint exercise is on ‘Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate’. To achieve interoperability in joint operations, troops from both sides would acquaint themselves with the respective approach to such operations. A comprehensive training programme spanning eleven days has been drawn up for the purpose.
The troops of Indian Army marched smartly alongside the Russian Army in an impressive opening ceremony of Exercise Indra 2016. Both Contingents marched in unison, past the saluting dais, exhibiting their resolve to further the Indo-Russian friendship. Brigadier Sukrit Chadah, Indian Contingent Commander addressed the two contingents and highlighted the need for jointness between the two nations to defeat terrorism. Mr Loz, Vice Governer Primosski krai Province and Maj Gen Andrei Ivanovich Sichevoe, COS 5th Army from the Russian Army also addressed the contingents.
250 soldiers of the KUMAON Regiment are representing the Indian Contingent and the Russian army is being represented by 250 soldiers from the 59th Motorized Infantry Brigade. Indra series of bilateral exercises is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and Russia since 2003. The Indian contingent is scheduled to return to India on termination of the Exercise in the first week of October ‘16.