I am making way for younger blood: Krishna

October 27, 2012

krishna

New Delhi, October 27: S M Krishna, who resigned as External Affairs Minister, on Saturday said it was “time up” for him to make way for younger blood and appeared to keep his options open on playing a role in Karnataka politics.

“...the flavour of the season is that youngsters must take over the reins of responsibility and I felt that it was time up for me to make way for younger blood to take over. I am glad that this initiative has been by and large appreciated,” he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a day after he quit the government.

Asked whether it was the Prime Minister or he himself who decided to step down as Union Minister, Mr. Krishna said, “The decision came from within. And my wife had a major role to play in the decision making.”

He also said that his decision to make way for younger blood does not denigrate the importance of experience.

“This in no way denigrates the importance of experience. I think experience is an important attribute. And particularly in pursuing the foreign relations with other countries there has to be patience and patience abundantly and also perseverance,” he said.

Asked about his statement that his resignation does not denigrate experience and whether he would play a role for the party in Karnataka where assembly elections are due next year, he said, “Well, I said youngsters should lead. And then we are there to support the youngsters in their efforts to forge ahead.”

To a suggestion that his stint in the MEA was short, the former Karnataka Chief Minister said his tenure was for a “respectable” period.

Mr. Krishna said he had also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi who appreciated his work as the External Affairs Minister. “She wanted me to continue in whatever I am going to do as member of Parliament,” he said.

On his tenure in the Ministry, he said there has been an all-round improvement in India’s relations both with its immediate neighbours and the immediate neighbourhood.

“Nobody can claim that all the issues have been resolved with our neighbours. But statesmanship lies in the fact that how well you manage those issues which seem to be confronting you all the time...whether it is in reference to China or Pakistan, I think the last three years has seen quite a bit of improvement in our relationship,” Mr. Krishna said.

He said New Delhi had issues with China on border front but it did not affect the overall relationship that India has pursued to have with Beijing.

“It is the same case with Pakistan. I think under the direction of the Prime Minister, we took up the initiative and I made two trips to Islamabad and my counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar came to Delhi. That certainly did help improve the relationship between our two countries,” he said.

He said Pakistan and China are two classic cases where Indian interests have always with theirs.

“But we have been able to manage with both the countries and today I can say with a sense of conviction that we have a manageable relationship with both the countries,” he said.

He said there are “so many” regrets on what he was unable to do as External Affairs Minister. “Foreign affairs is not two plus two...such easy deductions are not possible but one should keep working towards that.”

He said transparency is one issue on which he was a stickler to the irritation of his colleagues. He said transparency was an unstoppable trend in the light of whatever is happening around. “It is the only effective answer to those who criticise government.”

He said in the field of Haj and passports, the ministry have achieved a lot by doing a “remarkable” work.


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News Network
January 22,2020

Jan 22: Microsoft Corp’s chief executive officer said he worries that mistrust between the US and China will increase technology costs and hurt economic growth at a critical time.

Using the $470 billion semiconductor industry as an example of a sector that is already globally interconnected, Satya Nadella said the two countries will have to find ways to work together, rather than creating different supply chains for each country.

“All you are doing is increasing transaction costs for everybody if you completely separate,” Nadella said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait at Bloomberg’s The Year Ahead conference in Davos. That’s a concern as the executive said the world is on the cusp of a revolution around technology and artificial intelligence.

“If we take steps back in trust or increase transaction costs around technology, all we are doing is sacrificing global economic growth,” he said.

The agreement signed last week between the US and China was “not sufficient,” said Nadella, but represented “progress” on the issue of intellectual property protections for US technology companies working with China.

Nadella said he worries about the development of two separate internets, noting that to some degree they already exist “and they will get amplified in the future” with massive technology companies already in place in China.

The viewpoint clashes with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has been sceptical about the idea that ongoing US-China trade tensions could ever lead to a bifurcated system of two internets.

China and the US are the two leading AI superpowers, however the cooling political relations between them have slowed the international collaboration.

Nadella also warned that countries that fail to attract immigrants will lose out as the global tech industry continues to grow. The CEO has previously voiced concern about India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, calling it “sad.”

“However, Nadella said he remained hopeful.

“The fact that there is a 70-year history of nation-building, I think it’s a very strong foundation. I grew up in that country. I’m proud of that heritage. I’m influenced by that experience.”

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Agencies
April 27,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 27: Over 1.5 lakh Non-Resident Keralites (NRK)s, stranded in various countries, have registered online for returningto the state, once the Centre gives the nod and air services resume

The Norka (Non Resident Keralites Affairs) department had commenced the registration process at around 6pm on Sunday and within an hour 25,000 had registered, government sources said.

Till Monday morning, over 1.5 lakh NRKs have registered, the maximum is from UAE-- over 60,000.

The aged, pregnant women, children, critically ill patients, those with expired visas and those who had gone abroad on visiting visa are among thelarge numbers of people who are waiting to return.

Those wanting to return, have to get themselves tested for COVID-19 in the respective countries, where they are and register after getting a negative certificate for the infection.

Theregistration is for arranging quarantine facilitiesin the state, if necessary, and not for getting any priority on flight bookings,the sources said.

After the NRKs register themselves, the government would draw up a list on how to bring them back as per priority.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 12: Imarti Devi, who recently resigned as Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday said that she was happy with Jyotiraditya Scindia's decision to join the BJP.

Imarti said: "All 22 MLAs are here (in Bengaluru) on their own. We're happy that Scindiaji has taken this decision. I'll always stay with him even if I had to jump in a well."

"When we were in the Congress, Kamal Nathji never heard us," she said.

Another rebel leader and former minister Mahendra Singh Sisodia said: "Betrayal is not done by Jyotiraditya Scindia. Instead, betrayal was done by the Congress and Kamal Nathji."

"Congress betrayed the people of Madhya Pradesh. We are with Jyotiraditya Scindia," he said.

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