Modi's second state visit to UAE begins

Agencies
February 10, 2018

Abu Dhabi, Feb 10: Today will mark a watershed moment for the UAE-India relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in Abu Dhabi for his second state visit.

The two countries are expected to sign as many as 14 agreements during the two-day visit starting February 10, shifting gears of the strategic partnership in a gamut of areas including space technology, skills development, finance and defence cooperation and investments.

Modi's two-day visit on February 10 and 11 will also see work starting on the construction of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, fulfilling the long-pending wish of the Hindu community in the Capital.

Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015 becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the emirates in 34 years after Indira Gandhi.

Modi will arrive in Abu Dhabi today evening from Palestine. He will meet His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and will attend a state banquet.

On Sunday morning, Modi will visit Wahat Al Karama (Martyrs' Memorial) and pay tribute to the martyred war heroes of the UAE. He will then proceed to Dubai where he will deliver a keynote address at the 6th World Government Summit, in which India is the chief guest country.

Modi will also address a 1,800-strong gathering of the Indian community at the Dubai Opera, which is expected to be a scaled down version of his public address in 2015. More than 50,000 Indians had thronged the International Cricket Stadium in Dubai to listen to their Prime Minister on his first visit.

The Opera event is significant as Modi will flag off the laying of the foundation stone of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, which will happen simultaneously and will be live-streamed into the iconic Dubai Opera auditorium.

Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said the latest visit by the Indian PM will mark the dawn of a new era in the India-UAE relations.

"During the year, we have seen major UAE investments into India, a significant increase in defence and security cooperation, a transformation in our energy ties from a buyer-seller relationship to a strategic partnership."

New trajectory in UAE-India ties

Since Modi's first visit, the trajectory of the India-UAE ties have hit a renewed pace with two countries forging a new era of cooperation through the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.

During Modi's tenure, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited India twice - in February 2016 and January 2017.

The two governments signed 17 bilateral agreements in January 2016, and 14 agreements in February 2017. 

The UAE targets to invest $75 billion in India's infrastructure development. UAE's investments in India is also soaring. In October last year, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) signed an agreement with India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to invest $1 billion in India. DP World has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India's National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) in May 2017 to invest $1 billion in India.

The UAE is home to more than 3.5 million Indians - the biggest Indian diaspora in the world, and 1,706 flights weekly operate between the two countries.

Comments

An Indian
 - 
Saturday, 10 Feb 2018

Before commencing construction work of Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi, the UAE government must have put condition to Modi to solve the Babri Masjid issue.

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Khaleej Times
June 7,2020

Dubai, Jun 7: Emirates airline on Sunday confirmed that it extended the period of reduced pay for its staff for another three months as airlines around the world struggle to preserve cash due to the grounding of fleets.

An e-mail has been sent across to Emirates employees about extending the wage cuts till September 30. In some cases, the salary will be reduced by 50 per cent.

Emirates had previously reduced basic wages by 25 to 50 per cent for three months from April, with junior employees exempted.

The Dubai-based world's largest international carrier employs around 60,000 people across its spectrum. While the parent Emirates Group employs over 100,000 workers.

On Thursday, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways confirmed to Khaleej Times that it also extended salary cut of its employees till September 2020.

"Regretfully, Etihad has extended its salary reduction until September 2020, with 25 per cent reduction for junior staff and cabin crew, and 50 per cent for employees at manager level and above. Housing allowance and a number of benefits continue to be paid," the airline's spokesperson said in a statement last week.

In March, Etihad had announced temporary reduction of basic salaries for the month of April to all staff, including executives, between 25 to 50 per cent.

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Agencies
May 14,2020

Mumbai, May 14: The Shiv Sena on Thursday raised questions over the Centre's Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package announced to revive the COVID-hit economy, and asked if India is not a "self-reliant" country at present.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' wondered how Rs 20 lakh crore will be raised, and opined that an environment needs to be created where industrialists, trade and business sectors are encouraged to invest.

On the path of new self-reliance, India cannot afford industrialists running away, and for that "political institutions like the ED and CBI need to be put in lockdown for some time," it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced new financial incentives on top of the previously announced packages for a combined stimulus of Rs 20 lakh crore, saying the COVID-19 crisis has provided India an opportunity to become self-reliant and emerge as the best in the world.

The Sena said the country is being told that the package will be beneficial for MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), poor labourers, farmers and the tax-paying middle class.

"The package (as per the Centre) will reach 130 crore Indians and the country will become self-reliant. Does this mean India is not a self-reliant country at present?" the Marathi daily asked.

It is good that PPE kits and N95 masks are now being manufactured in India, it said.

"Any country progresses ahead while learning from crisis and through struggle. Before Independence, not even a needle was manufactured in India but in 60 years, India became self-reliant in science, technology, agro business, defence, manufacturing and atomic science," it said.

An institution like the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which is helping in the manufacturing of PPE kits, is part of the self-reliant India, it noted.

Wondering how Rs 20 lakh crore, as announced in the central package, will be raised, the Sena said an "environment needs to be created where industrialists, trade and business sectors will be encouraged to invest".

"India, on path of new self-reliance, cannot afford industrialists running away, and for that political institutions like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) need to be put in lockdown for some time," the paper said.

Despite announcing the 'lockdown-4' and the economic package, why its impact has not been reflected in the share market? it asked.

"Investors are in a dilemma. The prime minister and chief ministers must show them trust and support," it said.

"Earlier it was Pandit Nehru and now it is Modi. If (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi had not laid the foundation of a digital India, there wouldn't be video conference of PM, CMs and bureaucracy in times of coronavirus," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

It agreed with Modi that coronavirus will stay for long, and lives need not revolve around it.

"We need to get back on our feet again," the Sena said.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
June 27,2020

New Delhi, June 27: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government of India is not ready to stop all imports from aggressive China in spite of mount calls to boycott Chinese products in India.

The Centre is reportedly considering to stop only non-essential imports from the neighbouring country.

However, the Inward shipment in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, certain electronics and others will continue until a domestic alternative is found.

“India will gradually move towards import substitution. It will not happen overnight. In the meantime, attention has to be paid on production and job creation. We cannot throttle our industry. There are certain absolutely essential imports. Needless to say, those will keep going,” official sources said.

Sources said that both the government and the industry are in the process of identifying products that can be domestically manufactured in the medium term. There are certain chemicals, automotive components, handicrafts, cosmetics, agriculture items and certain consumer electronics, which can be manufactured domestically in the short to medium term. The government is doing all it can to raise the capacity of domestic industries.

However, there are certain other imports in the automobile and the pharmaceutical sectors which cannot be done away within the short to medium term. Their domestic production at the moment may not be that cost-effective.

The six-crore strong traders’ body CAIT has been at the forefront of such a demand and has launched a campaign to celebrate Indian Diwali this year with a total absence of Chinese goods.

“Ease of doing business, capital availability at lower rates and globally competitive logistics and energy costs are some of the prerequisites that the government should look into to ensure the growth of the domestic auto component industry,” according to Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) Director General Vinnie Mehta.

Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava said, “People who are boycotting Chinese goods have to remember that in some cases it may lead to their being asked to pay more for the same product."

Meanwhile, domestic rating agency Acuite Ratings & Research has analysed the current import portfolio from China and found 40 sub-sectors have the potential to lower their import dependency on China. These sectors contribute to $33.6 billion worth of imports from China and about 25% of these imports can be substituted by local manufacturing without any significant additional investments.

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