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R-Day Chief Guest Brazilian President to arrive tomorrow

New Delhi (NVI): Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro, who will be the Chief Guest at the upcoming Republic Day, will arrive here tomorrow on a four-day State visit.

This will be the third time when a Brazilian President will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade, previous instances being 1996 and 2004.

This will be the first high-level visit of the year to India.

Bolsonaro will be accompanied by eight ministers, four members of Parliament, senior officials and a very large business delegation.

During this visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro will hold official talks, with focus on economic and financial dialogue, bio-energy, oil and gas and mineral resources, science & technology, defence and space cooperation, said a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry.

The two countries aim to increase bilateral trade to $25 billion in the next three-four years.

The Indian government sees it as greater economic cooperation between India and Brazil.

Govt provides Rs 10,500 crore viability gap funding for pipeline laying

New Delhi (NVI): In an effort to transform India into a gas-based economy, the government is providing Rs. 10,500 crore viability gap funding for laying pipeline in Eastern and Northeastern India for the first time, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dhamendra Pradhan said.

Speaking during the the national conclave on emerging opportunities in natural gas sector here today, Pradhan said the gas pipeline network in Eastern and North-Eastern India will be ready from Kutch to Kohima and Kashmir to Kochi.

He also said that 4 lakh crore rupees worth of investment is likely to be made in such projects which is a challenge as well as an opportunity.

“The sources of import have been diversified and the government is holding discussions with gas-exporting countries for getting more gas on favourable terms,” he said.

He also informed the present share of gas in the energy basket of the country is 6.2 per cent and the target is to take it to 15 per cent by 2030.

“The world average is 24 per cent while within the country, the Gujarat has 26 per cent share of gas based energy,” he said.

“The domestic gas production is likely to increase in the current financial year to 34.55 billion cubic metre,” he added.

“Pricing and LNG marketing freedoms have been given to gas producers, LNG terminal capacity is being augmented and national gas grid is being developed,” he said.

“CBG is a great initiative which has the potential to generate wealth from waste, provide employment, protect the environment, and give boost to the economy,” he said.

Calling upon the states to fully cooperate and support the gas infrastructure activities and projects, Minister said that ministry of petroleum and natural gas has prepared a draft Policy of City Gas Distribution (CGD), which may be adopted by states to facilitate such activities.

“PNGRB is likely to soon start bid round 11 for CGD and States make like to give suggestions in identification of geographical areas,” he said.

He called upon the states to adopt qualification packs developed by Hydrocarbon Sector Council in their Vocational Training Institutes.

He also called upon the States to actively promote CNG usage in State transportation and mining sector.

Pradhan called upon all the entities who have bagged CGD rounds to not delay their work and immediately start action. He also called upon PNGRB to strictly monitor the progress.

Pradhan also announced that Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) will have a Help Desk for holding any future interaction with all stakeholders. He assured full support to all the stakeholders who are part of the gas based supply chain.

15th Finance Commission meets representatives in Goa

15th Finance Commission meeting was held in Goa. (Source: @digambarkamat)

New Delhi (NVI): The 15th Finance Commission today met with representatives of the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) of Goa. The Finance Commission was headed by its Chairman NK Singh. Members and senior officials of the commission also accompanied Singh.

During the meeting, the representatives of the RLBs informed the Commission that the first State Finance Commission was constituted in 1999 and the Government of Goa had accepted its recommendations in November 2001.

The second State Finance Commission submitted its report in December 2007, but the Goa government did not accept its recommendations.

Later, the 3rd State Finance Commission was constituted in January 2017, 10 years after submission of report of the 2nd State Finance Commission, and has not yet submitted the report even after three years.

The main recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission were that grants to Rural Local Body of Rs 134 crore should be provided. Out of that Rs 120 crore was Basic Grant and Rs 14 crore was for Performance Grant. By the end of March 31, 2019, only Rs 50 crore as Basic Grant and Rs 2.62 crore as Performance Grant, has been sanctioned which is 42% of the total grant recommended by 14th Finance Commission

The 15th Finance Commission desired to know the reasons behind not implementing the recommendations of the 2nd State Finance Commission. It also sought information as to why submission of the report of the 3rd State Finance Commission was awaited even after three years of its constitution.

In view of the fact that in 2016-17 & 2017-18, 191 village panchayats had generated Rs 24 crore and Rs 25 crore respectively as Tax Revenue, the Commission has also sought information for the status of accounts of Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The Commission has noted all the issues raised by the RLB representatives and has assured to address them in the recommendations to the Union Government.

UN chief Guterres warns of four global threats

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Source: @UN)

New Delhi (NVI): UN Chief Antonio Guterres has raised concern over four challenges the world is facing today, while also calling for 21st-century solutions to address them.

As 2020 also marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Guterres while addressing the General Assembly on Wednesday said, “Commemorating the 75th anniversary with nice speeches won’t do. We must address these four 21st century challenges with four 21st century solutions.”

While speaking about his priorities for this year at the UNGA, Guterres described the four threats as “four horsemen” — epic geopolitical tensions, the climate crisis, global mistrust, and the downsides of technology. “These four horsemen can jeopardize every aspect of our shared future,” he said.

“The first horseman comes in the form of the highest global geostrategic tensions we have witnessed in years. Devastating conflicts, terrorist attacks, nuclear menace is growing,” he said.

“More people have been forced from their homes by war and persecution than at any time since the Second World War. Tensions over trade and technology remain unresolved. The risk of a Great Fracture is real,” Guterres added.

Talking about the second threat – the existential climate crisis, he said, “Rising temperatures continue to melt records. The past decade was the hottest on record. Scientists say that ocean temperatures are now rising at the equivalent of five Hiroshima bombs a second. One million species are in near-term danger of extinction. The planet is burning,” he added.

“The third horseman is deep and growing global mistrust. Disquiet and discontent are churning societies from north to south. Each situation is unique, but everywhere frustration is filling the streets. More and more people are convinced globalization is not working for them, he said while speaking on third issue.

“The fourth and the final threat is the dark side of the digital world,” he said, asserting that technological advances are moving faster than “our ability to respond to – or even comprehend – them”. He said that despite enormous benefits, new technologies are being abused to commit crimes, incite hate, fake information, oppress and exploit people and invade privacy.

He said the world is not prepared for the profound impact of the fourth industrial revolution on the labour market and the very structure of society.

“Artificial intelligence is generating breathtaking capacities and alarming possibilities. Lethal autonomous weapons — machines with the power to kill on their own, without human judgement and accountability — are bringing us into unacceptable moral and political territory,” he said while acknowledging the developing insecurity and side-effects of AI.

No scope of third party mediation on Kashmir: India

New Delhi (NVI): There is no role for any third party in Kashmir issue and it has to be resolved bilaterally with Pakistan, India said today, two days after US President Donald Trump offered his “help” on the matter.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the government’s stand is clear on the issue and there is no scope for third party mediation.

“There is no role for any third party in this matter,” Kumar said at a media briefing while responding to a question about Trump raising Kashmir issue during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Davos.

“If at all, there are any bilateral issues between India and Pakistan, that should be discussed, it needs to be done between the two countries under the provisions of Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration. But again as we have said in the past the onus, is on Pakistan to create such conducive conditions,” the MEA spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, Trump had said that the US was watching the developments between India and Pakistan in relation to Kashmir “very closely”. He also offered his “help” to resolve the issue.

On Imran Khan’s remarks at Davos, the MEA spokesperson said, “We have seen reports about certain remarks on India and India-Pakistan relations made by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at Davos. We are hardly surprised by the content and tone of his remarks.”

He said Khan’s comments “are not only factually inaccurate and contradictory but also demonstrate a growing sense of frustration.”

Kumar said Pakistan has to “realise that the global community has seen through this double-standard of playing the victim card in their fight against terror on the one hand, and supporting terror groups targeting India and other countries on the other.”

Kumar said that Pakistan has to take credible, irreversible and verifiable action against terror groups operating from its soil rather than making misleading and alarmist statements to divert the attention of the international community.

On January 16, India had slammed China for helping Pakistan in trying to raise the Kashmir issue at UNSC and asked Beijing to refrain from such actions in future. This was yet another instance of Pakistan facing global embarrassment for trying to misuse the UNSC platform to forward its Kashmir agenda.

Coronavirus hit Wuhan city goes into lockdown

Representational image

New Delhi (NVI): China is putting on lockdown Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, considering it the epicentre of novel coronavirus, that has killed 17 and infected nearly 600, as health officials around the world scramble to prevent a global pandemic.

The authorities have suspended planes and trains in and out of the city of 11 million people, as well as buses, subways and ferries.

The move is meant to “effectively cut off the virus spread, resolutely curb the outbreak and guarantee the people’s health and safety,” the notice said, according to Xinhua news agency.

Residents have been told not to leave. Worried about a food shortage, one said it felt like “the end of the world”.

Health officials fear the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home and abroad during week-long holidays for Lunar New Year, which begins on Saturday.

Cases have been detected as far away as the United States, stoking fears the virus is already spreading worldwide.

In contrast with its secrecy over the 2002-03 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed nearly 800 people, China’s communist government has this time provided regular updates to avoid panic ahead of the holidays.

Authorities had confirmed 571 cases and 17 deaths by the end of Wednesday, China’s National Health Commission said. Earlier, it said another 393 suspected cases have been reported.

Several regional airlines – including Malaysia’s AirAsia and Singapore Airlines budget carrier Scoot – have announced a temporary halt to flights to and from Wuhan.

Tourist footfall in Kashmir dropped to 10 year low in 2019

Mubashir Bukhari

Srinagar (NVI): Tourist arrivals dropped to a 10 year low in Kashmir last year, the official figures of J&K tourism department indicate. The abrogation of Article 370 and the travel advisory that followed was cited as the main reasons for the drop in tourists arriving in the Valley in 2019.

The official data by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department reveal that as many as 4,99,584 tourists including 32,985 foreigners visited the Valley in 2019. It is 59.3% less compared to 2018 when 8,41,202 tourists including 56,029 foreigners visited Kashmir.

Of the total arrivals of 2019, more than 80 per cent tourists arrived before July. Around 4 lakh tourists visited the valley till July 2019.  In the preceding five months starting from August, only 43,059 visitors arrived in Kashmir.

The month of July recorded the highest footfall when the 1,52,525 backpackers stayed in the valley. Centre on August 2 issued an advisory for tourists and Amarnath pilgrims, asking them to curtail their visit in Kashmir after citing militant threats.

After the government withdrew its advisory on October 9, 2019, tourist flow increased and nearly 12,086 people visited the valley in November.

December again saw a dip in tourist arrivals despite all preparations to attract tourist to Gulmarg and Pahalgam for Christmas and New Year celebrations. Only 6,954 visitors preferred to visit Kashmir during last month of the year.

January, February, March, April, May and June in 2019 recorded 25,095, 15,927, 21,237, 61,815, 64,826 and 1,15,100 tourist arrivals respectively.

In the past decade, Kashmir has witnessed highest tourist arrivals in 2012, when 13,08,765 visitors arrived here. Prior to that 7.36 lakh and 10 lakh tourists visited Kashmir in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, 11.71 lakh, 11.67 lakh and 9.27 lakh tourists visited Kashmir respectively.

Travel agents claim that lack of internet services and uncertainty in Kashmir was the main reasons for the dip in tourist arrivals after August.

“There is currently no activity in trade due to the lack of internet services. Even now when winter is at its peak, lack of internet service is affecting adventure sports in Gulmarg,” said President Tourism Alliance, Manzoor Ahmad Pakhtoon.

Director Tourism Kashmir, Nisar Ahmad Wani, said the department had intensified its promotional activities to lure tourists towards Kashmir.

A Preliminary Economic Loss Assessment Report by Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries revealed that Kashmir Inc suffered a loss of Rs 17,800 crore post abrogation of Article 370.

Tributes paid to Netaji

New Delhi (NVI): President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today led the nation in paying tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 123rd birth anniversary.

Kovind paid floral tributes to Bose and tweeted that Netaji remains one of the most beloved national heroes and an icon of India’s freedom struggle. Netaji’s courage and patriotism inspire the people, he said.

Modi tweeted: “India will always remain grateful to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose for his bravery and indelible contribution to resisting colonialism. He stood up for the progress and well-being of his fellow Indians.”

Bose was born in Cuttack, Odisha on January 23, in the year 1897.

Better known for his revolutionary slogan “Give me your blood, and I shall give you freedom”, Netaji was the great freedom fighter who raised the Indian National Army (INA) 1943 to fight against the British rule.

He inspired thousands of Indian youth to join the struggle for independence from the British colonial rule.

Airbus, Lockheed Martin among big players at Defence Expo-2020

F-21 fighter aircraft which is on offer to the Indian Air Force, will also be on display at the Def-Expo.

New Delhi (NVI): The 11th Defence Expo in the country and first in Lucknow from February 5 to 8, will witness the cutting edge defence technology showcased by some of the big global manufacturers like Airbus and Lockheed Martin.

The mega event, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has the theme ‘India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’.

There will be a robust security cover around the venue and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has already reviewed the security measures in place.

European aircraft maker Airbus will exhibit models of C295 aircraft which is considered a tough and reliable plane with excellent performance on short or unpaved runways.

Apart from this, the company will also display the AS565 MBe Panther, the H145M and the H225M helicopters.

Lockheed Martin, the global aerospace and security company from US will also showcase the F-21 fighter aircraft which is on offer to the Indian Air Force.

Some other attractions at the exhibition will be Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile, Airliner A330 MRTT- a new generation air refueller, H145M and H225M helicopters.

Defence manufacturers from the United States, South Korea, France, Czech Republic, Sweden, the United Kingdom will participate in the event next month.

New technologies may hinder job security and growth: Report

Representative image

New Delhi (NVI): The speed to technological disruption is making it difficult for regulators to keep pace but regulatory response needs to be measured in order to protect innovation, according to a new report from The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), sponsored by Philip Morris International (PMI).

A new research report, ‘Regulations and the societal benefits of disruptive technologies’, examines how best to balance the introduction of new regulation with the societal benefits of new technology through industry case studies and in-depth interviews with senior executives and academics. It includes two case studies–one on the development and impact of regulation on electric scooters and the other on the introduction and use of blockchain technology in rural finance.

The report finds that disruption typically results from friction caused by the introduction of a new technology that makes accepted ways of doing things obsolete. This change can cause fear among segments of society around issues like job security and the loss of tradition.

“Disruption is here to stay and it is important that regulators are able to keep pace, but also balance that speed with decisions that are based on consideration of stakeholder concerns and empirical evidence as opposed to a knee-jerk reaction,” says Chris Clague, editor of the report and a Managing Editor in Thought Leadership at The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Disruption is not a new thing, and technology that creates more efficient ways of doing things has helped the world progress for hundreds of years. However the pace of such change has become much faster, and regulators have found it difficult to balance societal concerns with societal benefits given the greater speed and the increased scale and scope of the impact from new technology, according to the report.

Starting with electric scooters, the report examines the impact and regulatory response following the introduction of the technology in developed nations like the UK and the US. It also investigates how regulators are approaching fears around the application of blockchain technology in rural finance.

Both case studies illustrate how realising the full benefits of these new technologies requires regulators to listen to stakeholder concerns, as well as the arguments for change from industry, and carefully examine the actual impact of such a technology before making any decisions that could have a long-term, negative impact.

Regulations that result in an outright ban on technologies can stifle innovation, financial growth and societal benefit. Any regulatory change in response to disruption from a new technology should be based on a wide range of information and perspectives, as well the experience of others, to be both constructive and effective.

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