THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA

THE HIMALAYAN TALK: PALASH BISWAS TALKS AGAINST CASTEIST HEGEMONY IN SOUTH ASIA INDIA AGAINST ITS OWN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

PalahBiswas On Unique Identity No1.mpg

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Darkest Dussehra for Indian people! In this dangerous times ,we have no option but to differentiate the genuine initiative of the prime minister with all his limitation to support him so that he could break away the shackles of Hindu nation agenda.

Darkest Dussehra for Indian people!

In this dangerous times ,we have no option but to differentiate the genuine initiative of the prime minister with all his limitation to support him so that he could break away the shackles of Hindu nation agenda.

Palash Biswas

Darkest Dussehra for Indian people!

Religious wartime nationalism invoked unprecedented which is followed by unprecedented violence on the earth on fire.


What a scenario?


Four-year-old Lucky Kumari and two-year-old Lado stand outside their home in Patna's Azad Colony, staring at an uncertain future. For the sisters, a fun-filled outing with family on Friday amid Dussehra festivities turned into a terrible tragedy in a matter of hours as a stampede outside the Gandhi Maidan killed over 40 people, including their mother. Their father is battling for his life at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Patna Medical College and Hospital.


The tragical Patna stampede might be yet another accident with religious flavour.We had a major water tsunami not very long ago in the Himalayas,mind you.


Whatever may be the faith,whatever might be the religion,it is a matter of personal privacy with some social bondage as it had been for thousands of years.Major events like the Kumbha with millions of participants had been managed quite peacefully for centuries.


But then the religious rituals meant religious rituals and it had nothing to do with power politics.


But then the religious rituals meant religious rituals and it had nothing to do with identity politics.


But then the religious rituals meant religious rituals and it had nothing to do with ambush marketing.


But then the religious rituals meant religious rituals and it had nothing to do with event management.


But then the religious rituals meant religious rituals and it had nothing to do with desi or Videsi companies.


All types of myths,religious icons,totems,rituals and occasions are events managed with marketing strategy for the sustenance of the ruling hegemony connected to the global illuminati zionist.


I have been explaining all these years in my speeches and writing how hindutva agenda is an ingredient part of destructive reforms,the genocide culture.


I have explained it earlier why the Indian retailers must die.


No,not only the retailers,but all those who are not members of India incs aligned with multi national companies and US interests may not survive at all and they have no idea about this despite being so connected.


Mergers and acquisitions involving domestic companies jumped to the highest level since 2011 to $26.1 billion during the first nine months this year.


What does it mean?


While RIL began oil production from its KG-D6 block in September 2008 and gas output in April 2009, ONGC, which has made 11 oil and gas discoveries in KG-D5 block, is at least four years away from first gas


What does it mean?


Power generation in the country during April-June was 22 per cent higher than in the same period last year. This was also when there were several reports of coal stocks with power plants close to critical levels.

What does it mean?


Falling for the fourth week in a row, India's foreign exchange reserves fell by $1.415 billion to $314.181 billion in the week to September 26 on account of a hefty drop in non-US currency assets.

What does it mean?


Gold should be put to work for the Indian economy, creating jobs, developing skills, generating exports and revenues, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Saturday unveiling its Vision 2020 for the industry.

What does it mean?

Just read:

New Delhi: E-commerce major Amazon's chief executive, Jeffrey P Bezos, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.


"Jeffrey P. Bezos, President, Chairman and CEO of Amazon.com, called on the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi today," an official release said.


Mr Bezos have been visiting Indian cities this week. Amazon, the world's largest e-tailer, has already committed $2 billion investment in the country.


Earlier this week, he had said that Amazon is evaluating setting up a data centre in India to tap into the multi-billion cloud opportunity.


"We are always evaluating new locations. We have AWS (Amazon Web Services) . We started it long time ago and it has grown into a very large business, separate from our consumer business," Mr Bezos had said.


"We are building new data centres and are looking where we should put them and evaluating these in India as well," he had said.


For Amazon, which launched its marketplace in India last year, the country is one of its fastest growing markets and is on track to touch $1 billion in gross sales.


Mr Bezos had said the pace at which internet penetration was increasing in India was stunning and that was one of the tailwinds for the growth of e-commerce.


"India is unbelievably energising; the people are focused on learning and extremely inventive," he had said.


In this dangerous times ,we have no option but to differentiate the genuine initiative of the prime minister with all his limitation to support him so that he could break away the shackles of Hindu nation agenda.


Though they spoke different.The Voice remained the same.Though the prime minister is trying his best to break the shackles of RSS branded Hindutva,I am afraid,it would end in the same way as first time Black President of United States mandated twice Barack Obama completes his second term under a long long shadow of ruling satanic illuminati zionist.Though Modi is trying to take over RSS having finished his party and seems all set to become the Hitler of India playing BR Ambedkar inclusive,the first Shudra OBC prime minister may not be able to liberate India from the destructive corporate global hindutva agenda and has to meet the fate of the first black president of United States of America.


The joint Indo US statement on the summit released by white house speaks on consent only,speaks on bilateral relations,strategic relations,trade and defence,but it might not disclose the personal details of the talk of the twin leaders in interactive position and no way,we may know whether they tried to resolve the stand off they face within.


We may not resist either the global orders of overwhelming reforms or the emerging global hindutva as majority of Indian communities,classes and demographies have been already recruited as Hindutva cadres all on the name of identity and religion.


In this dangerous times ,we have no option but to differentiate the genuine initiative of the prime minister with all his limitation to support him so that he could break away the shackles of Hindu nation agenda.


Mind you,the global trends seem to be most volatile as Barack Obama is trapped in yet another oil war.


US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the "brutal murder" of British national Alan Henning, and vowed to bring to justice those who were responsible for it.


"The United States strongly condemns the brutal murder of United Kingdom citizen Alan Henning by the terrorist group ISIL," Obama said yesterday.


Henning worked to help improve the lives of the Syrian people and his death is a great loss for them, for his family and the people of the UK, he said.


"Standing together with our UK friends and allies, we will work to bring the perpetrators of Alan's murder – as well as the murders of Jim Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines – to justice," he added.


"Standing together with a broad coalition of allies and partners, we will continue taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL," Obama said.


The 47-year-old from Manchester in northwest England had volunteered to help drive an aid convoy to Syria for a Muslim charity, and was kidnapped 10 months ago.


This is the fourth such video released by the Islamic State group.


Oct 04 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

One Voice, Different Stages


Nagpur

Our Political Bureau





PATTING EACH OTHER RSS chief praises Modi, says there is a sense of optimism about new govt's policies, Modi praised back too; Bhagwat also calls for ban on beef exports; says Islamic terrorism blowback of western greed

Bhagwat Slams India's `Lust for Chinese Goods'

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has demanded a ban on beef exports from India, slammed Indians' lust for cheap Chinese imports and called Islamic terrorism a blow back of western greed in an ad dress to cadres that surprised many with its largely concilia tory tone but raised the hack les of several others with its live telecast on state TV.

In his annual Vijayadashami speech at ReshimBagh headquar ters of the RSS, Bhagwat on Friday touched upon topics ranging from ecology to cow slaughter to Islamic jihad as he lauded the Modi-led BJP government's performance and hinted at four states ­ Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam ­ as being possible focus areas for the Sangh's future political activities.

Bhagwat's address this year was being especially watched for his observations on the BJP government's performance and also cues on its future social and economic policies. Also being closely watched was for any signs of triumphalism especially after the active role Sangh cadres played to bring the BJP to power and whether it would use its influence with the government to re-assert India's Hindu identity . The RSS chief has in recent speeches asserted India's identity as a Hindu nation and said that all Indians are Hindus.

Bhagwat didn't mention any border incursions by the Chinese unlike his last year's speech, but he slammed Indian consumer's attitudes towards encouraging China which affected any possibility of increase in "self-reliance" and "Swadeshi" consumption. "Our tendency of buying daily need goods, even buying foreign made-especially Chinese--statues of our Gods and Goddesses, simply because they are cheaper in price, needs to be abandoned," he said.

The RSS leader said there was a sense of optimism prevalent in the country on account of the new government's policies. "The government should now ensure that these policies maintain their momentum in a determined and well organized manner. We need to wait for some more time, with a sense of hope and faith," he said.

Suhas Palshikar, veteran political scientist, who have been tracking Sangh Parivar politics, said there was hardly anything new in Bhagwat's speech. "There always is a certain variation, but the issues of cow slaughter, Bangladeshi immigrants etc have their usual community-oriented message," said "These are mentioned not as a hint to the government or the BJP , but to the cadres. Through these issues, the RSS would like to exert pressure on the party and the government," Palshikar said.






Oct 04 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)

We're on Mars, You Can Rule the Earth: Modi to Indians


New Delhi:

Our Political Bureau





TWO SPEECHES, ONE DISCOURSE Modi's first radio address & RSS chief's Dussehra speech attempt to goad countrymen to take big strides with supreme confidence

Two of the country's most powerful figures ­ Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat ­addressed the nation on Friday , the many unprecedented characteristics of their speeches laying down new political markers in both form and substance amid laments and protests.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for long a regular tenant of television screens, gave his first sound-only address to the na tion on All In dia Radio, kicking off what he said will be monthly or fortnightly radio addresses to the people under the `Talking from the Heart' banner. It was the first time in decades that a prime minister has used only the radio to address people, and predictably the speech was picked by most television channels.

The 15-minute radio address also saw Modi adopt a different style, one that was more conversational and personal and in sharp contrast to his recent addresses at Red Fort in New Delhi and New York's Madison Square Garden. Modi sought to inspire 1.2 billion Indians to do their part and get the economy moving. Modi encouraged citizens to reach him through all channels available with suggestions to improve the state of the nation. He even named some people who had written to him with suggestions, a rare instance of a prime minister acknowledging ordinary citizens by name in a national address.

While Thursday saw Modi embrace one of Mahatma Gandhi's core tenets of cleanliness as part of his Swachh Bharat campaighn, on Friday, he sought to co-opt another one ­ khadi. Modi exhorted people to buy at least one khadi product a year, an act, he said, would help better the lot of millions of poor people.

It was at this point that his speech aligned with that of Mohan Bhagwat, Sar Sangchalak of the Rashtriya Syayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the intellectual fountainhead of the Sangh parivar of which Modi and the BJP are part. Bhagwat, who delivered his annual Vijay Dashami and spoke a few hours before Modi in Nagpur, created history as his speech was for the first time telecast live by state-broadcaster Doordarshan, attracting howls of protests from the BJP's opponents and some commmentators.

The RSS chief praised the Modi government for initiatives on national security, economy and international relations in a short period. "We don't have a magic wand to change, but the government seems committed," the RSS chief said in his address to the cadres that spanned disparate topics such as banning beef exports to in ternational relations to rekin dling a sense of national pride.

Bhagwat said Modi's recent visit to the US has sent positive signals and has ushered a new enthusi asm among people of the country.

"A new ray of hope has entered in the hearts of the people. The en tire country was feeling proud of the visit and the subsequent talks with the US government," he said, adding the world needs India.

His address, while criticized by opposition parties such as the Congress and the Communists and also the Sangh's ideological opponents, found endorsement from Modi, a former swayamsevak who was deputed to BJP in the late 1980s.i "Mohan Bhagwat ji talked about important national issues in his speech. The issues of social ret form that he raised are very rele vant today," Modi said on Twitter.







A multi-faceted relationship

But Prime minister's US trip reveals limits of summit meetings

Business Standard Editorial Comment  |  New Delhi  

October 1, 2014 L

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to the United States can be called a success because of the manner in which it has helped the ties between the two countries blossom into a multi-faceted relationship of a kind that does not exist with any other country, ranging as it does from investments, infrastructure collaboration, urban development, technology, trade, space, health co-operation and skills development to climate change and energy. He has also succeeded in keeping interest in India's potential at an elevated level, and the optimism that surrounds the existence of a government with a majority and, thus, the ability to take tough decisions has not dwindled. In terms of ensuring concrete results and forward movement in this multi-faceted bilateral relationship, however, the trip could have achieved a lot more.


For instance, the security aspects of the joint statement issued after the meeting between Mr Modi and United States President Barack Obama were largely aspirational, although security co-operation is unquestionably the strongest leg of the relationship at the moment. The United States affirmed that India is "ready for membership" of the Nuclear Suppliers Group; and there was a strong statement about freedom of navigation, including in the South China Sea. However, the nature of any maritime co-operation was not really spelt out. Counter-terrorism provided the most specific commitment. Intriguingly, of the five terror groups mentioned, while Al Qaeda was first, three India-focused ones occupied the next three slots, with the United States' Afghan bugbear, the Haqqani Network, bringing up the rear. The happy serendipity of the United States Treasury Department finally making a long-planned move on the financing of Pakistan-based terror groups added to the sense that here, at least, there was some commonality of interests.


If, however, there is an overall impression of stasis, this is because there is little chance of major breakthroughs at such summit meetings. It is unwise to expect major visits to move relationships forward. The actual spadework has to be done through massive official-to-official contact on a regular basis, particularly in areas that have become irritants to the overall relationship. On this trip, for example, consider the various areas in which progress might have been hoped for, and which were in fact discussed, according to the joint statement. India will have hoped for some sort of concession when it comes to the treatment of immigration of high-skilled Indians, or Indian companies that rely on temporary workers to be profitable in the United States. None was forthcoming. The United States, in turn, got nothing but a working group - to meet annually - on intellectual property. India did not get the "totalisation agreement" on social security payments non-resident Indians want; the United States did not get the bilateral treaty on investment protection that its companies want.


Clearly, Mr Modi's own presence can not substitute for the hard preparatory work required, and the compromises that need to be made on the minutiae in order to get the big, headline-grabbing breakthroughs. The biggest lesson from the prime minister's summit is that the real work is at home. The United States trip was perhaps politically necessary for Mr Modi. But repair of the relationship must begin with greater reform at home.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/a-multi-faceted-relationship-114100101341_1.html

Modi, Obama take defence ties to advanced stage

US to boost investments in India capital markets

BS Reporter  |  New Delhi  

October 2, 2014

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wound up his five-day visit to the US on Tuesday night with an agreement with US President Barack Obama to renew the 2005 Framework forUS-India Defense Relationship for another 10 years taking strategic ties between both countries to an advanced stage. India and US also agreed to set up an institutional mechanism to boost investment into Indian capital marketsand infrastructure, increase trade between the two countries fivefold to $500 billion and resolve issues related tointellectual property rights through talks.


During the first ever summit level meeting between both leaders that went on for over 110 minutes, Modi and Obama decided to give a fresh lease of life to the Political-Military Dialogue in an effort to develop a robust platform for co-production of defence items.


"To facilitate deeper defense cooperation, they welcomed the decision to renew for ten more years the 2005 Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationshipand directed their defense teams to develop plans for more ambitious programs and activities. The two leaders also agreed to reinvigorate the Political-Military Dialogue and expand its role to serve as a wider dialogue on export licensing, defense cooperation and strategic cooperation," said the joint statement.


Additionally, both sides also decided to boost maritime security to ensure freedom of navigation and movement of shipping and commercial activity.


"To achieve this objective, the two sides considered enhancing technology partnerships for India's Navy including assessing possible areas of technology cooperation. They also agreed to upgrade their existing bilateral exercise MALABAR."


The two sides also agreed to jointly address the issue of terror by dismantling the havens of Al Qaida and Dawood Ibrahim, wanted for masterminding the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai.


To boost investment by institutional investors and corporate entities, Modi and Obama promised to establish a joint investment initiative, led by the Indian finance ministry and the US Department of Treasury. The initiative will focus on capital market development and financing infrastructure.


Besides, an infrastructurecollaboration platform will be established. The platform, to be convened by the finance ministry and the commerce department, would enhance participation of US companies in infrastructure projects in India, said a joint statement, issued after strategic talks between Modi and Obama.


The statement didn't mention any targeted investment related to infrastructure development. While Japan had agreed to invest $35 billion in this segment in India through five years, China had promised $20 billion.


Through the next five years, India needs about $1 trillion for infrastructure development, 40 per cent of which is to come from the private sector, according to a study by the Confederation of Indian Industry.


In 2013-14, US inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India were the fifth-highest ($806 million), after Mauritius, Singapore, the UK and Japan. However, this was lower than over $ one billion that India received from US in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 each.


Before leaving for Frankfurt en route to New Delhi , Modi also addressed the US-India Business Council (USIBC, urging top US companies to expand their base in India before "it is too late".


USIBC told him it had identified investment of $41 billion by its members in India, through the next three years.


Modi told USIBC in the next six months, he would effect all that was necessary to ease the business environment in India.


On Wednesday night, Modi returned to the national Capital on a Special Air India plane after a five-day visit to the US. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and a few of his ministerial colleagues were present at the Palam Technical area to receive Modi, in a departure from normal practice where ministers no longer line up to see off or receive the Prime Minister during his foreign trips .


Modi and Obama committed themselves to promoting an environment attractive for companies to invest and manufacture, through the Trade Policy Forum. Amid differences over intellectual property rights, the two sides promised to set up an intellectual property working group, as part of the forum.


Modi invited US industry to be the lead partner in developing smart cities in Ajmer, Visakhapatnam and Allahabad. India plans to develop 100 smart cities, for which an allocation of Rs 7,060 crore was proposed in the Union Budget.


The two sides also established a contact group on civil nuclear energy cooperation to deliver electricity from US-built nuclear power plants in India.


"They looked forward to advancing the dialogue to discuss all implementation issues, including, but not limited to, administrative issues, liability, technical issues and licensing to facilitate the establishment of nuclear parks, including power plants, with Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi technology," the joint statement said.


Obama affirmed India met the requirements of the missile technology control regime and was ready for membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). He also supported India's membership to the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group.


To tackle climate change, India and the US signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide up to $1 billion to aid India's transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient energy economy. The MoU was signed between Export-Import Bank and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.


Other initiatives include a new programme to scale up renewable energy integration into India's power grid and setting up the Clean Energy Finance Forum to promote investment and trade in clean-energy projects.


Both leaders said they were committed to working towards a successful outcome of the 2015 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris.


Given the current logjam in World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, owing to India's tough stance on food security, the two sides directed their officials to hold talks with each other, as well as with other WTO members, on steps in this regard.


With the threat of the Islamic State looming large, Obama and Modi underlined the need for continued global efforts to combat and defeat terrorism.


"The leaders stressed the need for joint and concerted efforts, including the dismantling of safe havens for terrorist and criminal networks to disrupt all financial and tactical support for networks such as Al Qaida, Lashkar-e Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the D-Company (the network of Dawood Ibrahim) and the Haqqanis," the joint statement said.


The two leaders reiterated their call to Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the November 28 terrorist attack in Mumbai to justice.


'THANK YOU AMERICA...'


... is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, as he concluded his five-day visit. A snapshot of the agreements between the countries

  • To intensify cooperation in maritime security; important as China's maritime ambitions expand

  • Both leaders express concern about rising tensions over maritime territorial disputes

  • Obama promises to enhance India's voice and vote in international financial institutions

  • USAID to support the national urban development mission and Clean India campaign

  • Both sides discuss role US can play in modernising India's railway network

  • Modi and Obama to hold public-private discussions in early 2015 on new areas of cooperation, including advanced manufacturing

  • To strengthen US-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy

  • To ease travel between the two countries, India to introduce visa-on-arrival for US citizens in 2015

  • Obama to support Modi achieve his goal of preparing young Indians for 21st century jobs

  • Leaders commit to partner on the Digital India initiative

  • To launch new phase of programme to develop affordable vaccines for dengue, malaria and tuberculosis

  • New pact likely soon to support the Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, to be launched in 2021

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/modi-obama-take-defence-ties-to-advanced-stage-114100200029_1.html


India says US agrees to its stand on IPR

Says bilateral forum, mentioned in Obama-Modi statement, already exists

BS Reporter  |  New Delhi  

October 4, 2014



"The US agreeing to discuss IPR issues through the bilateral mechanism of the Trade Policy Forum is in fact a re-affirmation of India's stand that issues need bilateral discussion and not unilateral action," the department of industrial policy and promotion said in an official statement.


However, the department clarified that there already existed the Innovation and Creativity Focus Group in the forum since 2010 to consult not less than twice a year on improving IPR protection. Besides, the group is expected to foster innovation, creativity and collaboration between US and Indian innovators.


The DIPP, a department in the commerce and industry ministry, said the joint statement iterated what had existed in the earlier forum.


It added IPR issues were critical for both countries and India had been repeatedly raising the issue of copyright piracy and misappropriation of traditional knowledge with the US.


The official statement said India had consistently pointed out that its IPR regime was compliant with the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and that any issues had to be discussed in the forum.


The Indo-US joint statement on the IPR issue would only strengthen the bilateral institutional mechanism, the statement added. Earlier this year, the US Trade Representative's much-awaited Annual Special 301 Report had maintained a status quo on India, by keeping it on a "priority watch list" for an allegedly lax IPR regime but refrained from labelling it a "priority foreign country", which might have led to sanctions.


However, the report expressed growing concerns over India's IPR protection and enforcement. The report had said Indian laws and their enforcement would be closely monitored by initiating an "out of cycle" review. India has been on the priority watch list since 1989, when the Special 301 was first released. Special 301 is a trade and industry practices report maintained by the USTR in which the US designates certain countries under two categories, priority foreign country and priority watch list. This is for IPR violators and offenders. The first designation is for the worst offenders that could face trade sanctions. India was earlier designated a priority foreign country in 1994. India has, however, consistently been urging the US to hold bilateral talks to resolve IPR issues, instead of taking unilateral steps. In today's statement as well, the DIPP said, "India has refused to be subjected to unilateral action proposed by the US under the Special 301 report."


US companies, especially pharmaceutical firms, have been pressuring the administration to take strict action against India over its IPR policy.


The US was particularly miffed with the Supreme Court's judgment in April 2013 rejecting the patent application by Swiss company Novartis for its cancer drug, Glivec. Prior to this, American companies were upset when the controller general of patents, designs and trademarks granted a compulsory licence to Natco Pharma to sell a generic version of Bayer-Onyx's cancer drug, Nexavar.


SPECIAL 301

Special 301 is a trade and industry practices report of the USTR that designates certain countries for IPR violations. India does not accept report as it is unilateral

  • India wants US to resolve differences over IPR through bilateral talks

  • But the US had kept India on priority watch list allegedly due to lax regime

  • Tag of priority foreign country might have led to sanctions

  • India was designated a priority foreign country in 1994

  • India-US statement talks of resolving issues by setting up bilateral mechanism under Trade Policy Forum

  • India says mechanism already exists; the US has agreed to bilateral talks to resolve IPR differences, instead of unilateral action

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-says-us-agrees-to-its-stand-on-ipr-114100400062_1.html

Oct 04 2014 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)

Political row erupts after DD telecasts RSS chief's speech


New Delhi

TIMES NEWS NETWORK





Oppn: Misuse Of State Machinery

Public broadcaster Doordarshan's live telecast of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's customary Vijaydashmi speech triggered a controversy on Friday , with the political class and social commentators calling it a dangerous trend of state patronage of majoritarian politics.

In RSS's Foundation Day address, Bhagwat was beamed live nationally as he touched upon issues like illegal immigration from Bangladesh, jihadi activities and threats to Hindus. Even universal concerns like terror, when spoken about by RSS, acquire a sensitive edge. The opposition parties, which did not expect the Modi government to openly patronize the RSS like this, reacted with alarm. The Congress and Left parties hit out at the DD broadcast, while some public intellectuals described it as "misuse of state machinery".

But brushing aside the criticism, Narendra Modi hailed Bhagwat's address and the issues raised by him as "very relevant". The PM also tweeted an online link to the summary of the speech from his personal Twitter handle, indicating that he was not apologetic about his government's decision to put the RSS chief 's speech live on Doordarshan. BJP , too, backed the decision, while the broadcaster said it had covered the speech as a news event.

Calling it as setting a "dangerous trend", Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said, "This is not an organization which is completely neutral. It is a controversial orga nization." He asked what would happen if other religious outfits like Jamaat-e-Islami or Church of North India sought similar coverage from DD. Another Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said this reinforced the fear that the country was ruled "from and for Nagpur" -a shorthand for Hindutva agenda. For the first time in years, an RSS chief 's annual Vijaydashmi speech contained no criticism of the Union government and instead had generous doses of praise. The 64-year-old sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat, without mentioning the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the new government was moving in the right direction in "making the Bharat of our dreams".

"The people brought a drastic change in the government.

This change is not even six months old but positive signs from time to time give hope of the emergence of Bharat on the international horizon," Bhagwat said, adding, "It appears the people's desire for a secure and progressive life will soon start reflecting in governance." Holding the Western nations responsible for the spread of international terrorism, Bhagwat said the "selfish interests" of the West had led to the growth of newer incarnations of terrorism across the world.

Slamming the US for the West Asian crisis and the rise of ISIS, he said some countries are "expanding their empires" in the name of globalization.

Bhagwat indicated a larger role for the RSS in the come days, asking people not to depend on the government to do every thing and said socio-cul tural organizations like the RSS could be put to greater use, particularly in areas of encouraging the use of Swadeshi and containing Left-wing violence.

The RSS chief said policy initiatives in the first 100 days by the government on the economy, security, international relations and several other areas have raised hopes of the common man. Oct 3 marked the 89 th anniversary of the organization.

"The government must now ensure these policies maintain their momentum in a determined and well-organized manner. We need to wait for some more time, with a sense of hope and faith," the Sarsanghachalak said. He praised the Modi government for improving the country's image during his US visit and congratulated the scientists for the successful mission to Mars.

The RSS chief 's Vijaya Dashmi speech is the most important public event in the organization's calendar and provides a policy direction to its supporters. Last year, Bhagwat had exhorted the people to come out and vote ("poll turnout must be 100%") and urged lakhs of swayamsevaks to pitch in with mobilizing opinion. Incidentally, the voting percentage in the general elections touched 80% in several states.

Union transport and rural development minister Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis and several party MLAs sat through the speech that lasted more than an hour, and was preceded by a drill and martial arts demonstration by hundreds of swayamsevaks.

In the past, every RSS chief has targetted the government's failures on issues ranging from security dangers from China, to FDI threatening local traders.








Oct 04 2014 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)

Pvt firms to make UAVs for defence

Sidhartha

New Delhi





Govt To Issue 6 Licences | B'lore Co To Benefit Most | Civilian Use Not Allowed

It's raining UAVs in India. After years of delay , the government is set to issue at least half-a-dozen licences for manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to private players, although civilian use still remains a closed area.

Sources in the government told TOI that the department of telecommunications, which was the main stumbling block, has agreed to allow the UAV manufacturers to use the spectrum band allocated to defence forces, paving the way for issuing licences. During the UPA regime, it was the defence ministry which was holding up proposals as it did not want the private sector to enter the defence production arena, even if no foreign investment was permitted.

But, a change of guard at the Centre and the BJP government's push to cut the import bill by allowing private partici pation in the defence sector seems to have paved the way for a consensus between the ministries, at least on the issue of UAVs. The sources said that last month, the licensing committee decided on seven licences, several of which will go to littleknown names. Bangalore-based Dynamatic Technology is expected to bag the biggest block of licences from the panel, comprising representatives from several ministries, clearing a plan to allow it to make 10,000 unmanned aerial systems and vehicles.

Among the bigger players is Ashok Leyland, whose proposal to manufacture 600 UAVs along with armoured vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, was pending with the government.

There are others that have smaller orders. For instance, Taneja Aerospace & Aviation is expected to be given a licence to manufacture only 10 UAVs, while Avaana Software & Services can make 200. Then, there is Basant Aerospace, SasMos HET Tech, Swallow Systems and Om UAV Systems, which are likely to get permission to manufacture up to 100 units each for the defence. Sources said there are close to a dozen other proposals for manufacturing UAVs that are pending, including those from Punj Lloyd, Mahindra Aero Structures, Piramal Systems & tech, Idea Forge, Aman Aviation & Aerospace Solutions, OIS Aerospace, Kadet Defence, Deepti Electronics and Spectrum Infotech.

Several companies, whose proposals have been cleared, will only get licences when their FDI proposals are cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, said an official, adding that the process may take around two to three months.









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