Diplomacy is at work: Khurshid on marines decision to return

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March 22, 2013
New Delhi, Mar 22: External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said that diplomacy is at work resulting in Italy's decision to send back two marines charged in the fishermen killing case and parried questions on Italian media reports that Congress President Sonia Gandhi influenced that government's decision.

kurshidWelcoming Italy's decision to send back two marines, the minister said the decision has to be conveyed to the Supreme Court through proper procedure and he would apprise Parliament about it.

"I would like as I have said to share whatever developments have happened with Parliament but I can certainly say we have been in constant contact.

I have repeatedly said that you should not write off diplomacy to soon... So at last I can say that diplomacy continues to work when everybody else thinks that everything is lost and please give diplomacy a little more chance to do things that are important for our country," he said.

Khurshid also said that "Law remains as it is. Nothing changes as far as the law is concerned and my understanding can't change the law".

Italy last night said it will send back to India two marines to face trial for killing two fishermen after receiving an assurance from the Indian government about the protection of their fundamental rights.

Asked about reports in the Italian media that Gandhi influenced the decision on the marines, he said, "The diplomacy that we do under this government, diplomacy that we do for that matter for any policy implemented by this government is obviously given a direction, given an impetus by the Prime Minister and the Congress President.

"It is a government that is led by them and then for anyone else amongst us to take credit I think would be unbecoming. They lead it from the front. We don't share.

We cannot share with you everything that is said to us privately within the confines of government but the bottomline of what we are expected to I think becomes clear in the public sphere," he said.

On what would be the BJP's reaction to the decision of the marines to return, Khurshid said, "I don't know whether it is an issue or not an issue but I hope they take it in the right context.

I hope that if something has been in the national interest and that bolsters the national interest, it should be welcomed by everybody".

On apprising the Supreme Court about the matter, he said, "No I don't think that the information to the apex court can be given in this manner and the matter is listed on April 2.

"So, they (parties concerned) will have to decide and if they want any modification of the order that was made, there are procedures. The lawyers will be able to follow so that will come in due course. Today is Friday and as you know that the court will not be sitting on Saturday and Sunday.

"So on Monday, if felt appropriate by any party, they can bring it to the notice of the court and it has to be done properly.

"As far as we are concerned, we will take Parliament on board. We will share it with Parliament because this has been a huge issue while Parliament was in session," he said.

Italy's previous decision not to send marines - Massimiliano Lattore and Salvatore Girone - to face trial triggered a diplomatic standoff, with the Indian Supreme Court barring the Italian ambassador from leaving the country.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week termed as "unacceptable" Italy's refusal to send its two marines back to India and said the issue will be taken up with that country.

"In light of the assurances received, the Government has considered the opportunity, in the interests of Fusiliers Marina, to maintain the commitment made at the permission to participate in the vote back in India by March 22," the Italian government had said in a statement.

"The marines agreed to this decision," it added.

Marines coming back to face trial in India
marines

Rome, Mar 22: The Italian government has said it will return to India two marines facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of two fishermen off the Kerala coast.

The announcement on Thursday reversed an earlier decision by the Foreign Ministry that the duo would not return on Friday (March 22), as agreed, after they were granted permission to return home to vote in the Italian elections.

The case escalated tensions between India and Italy. The Indian Supreme Court announced that the Italian Ambassador could not leave the country.

Special Correspondent reports:

According to Italian news agency ANSA, which quoted Italy’s deputy foreign minister Steffan de Mistura, the breakthrough came after the Indian government assured the Italian authorities there would be no death penalty against the two marines.

The Italian government also obtained a written assurance from the government that the fundamental rights of the two marines would be protected.

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News Network
May 7,2020

New Delhi, May 7: Food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy on Thursday said its co-founder and CTO Rahul Jaimini will move away from active role in the company during the month to pursue another entrepreneurial venture.

Jaimini will be joining Pesto Tech, a career accelerator start-up, as their co-founder, Swiggy said in a statement.

He will continue to be a shareholder and board member of Swiggy, it added.

Functions currently led by Rahul, including platform engineering, analytics, IT and labs, will be realigned to Dale Vaz, Head of Engineering and Data Science, who has been with the company for close to two years, the statement said.

"Technology was crucial to what we set out to build when we started Swiggy. Nandan (Reddy) and I could not have asked for a better partner to handle this aspect of the company," Swiggy co-founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety said.

It was Rahul's immense passion to 'build for the billions' that drove technological innovations that set Swiggy apart as we grew phenomenally over the years, he added.

"Working with technology that has large scale impact is what excites me, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to do just this at Swiggy and grow tremendously over the years," Jaimini said.

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Agencies
July 24,2020

Lucknow, Jul 24: The Congress in Uttar Pradesh on Friday protested against what it dubbed as deliberate and systematic deletions of chapters dealing in freedom struggle and the party's role in it from the syllabi of Classes 10 and 12 of the Secondary Education Board.

Congress leader Anugrah Narain Singh said: "The deletions effected in Class 12 syllabus clearly has political overtones. Chapters dealing with the freedom movement and the Congress role in it have been cut out. The BJP has no role of its own in the country's history and, therefore, wants that the new generations should not learn about the Congress contribution as well."

A Congress delegation submitted a memorandum to UP Eduction Board Secretary Divya Kant Shukla to demand restoration of the deleted chapters and topics.

BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi accused the opposition Congress of "turning every occasion into a political opportunity during the pandemic".

"The Congress is unnecessarily making an issue out of this. Only some portions have been deleted from the syllabi due to shortening of the academic session due to the nationwide lockdown. People already know about the Congress and the cut in the syllabi is only temporary. The Congress is unnecessarily trying to create a political controversy," she said.

Prof Yogeshwar Tiwari of the History Department in the Allahabad University dubbed the changes made in the syllabi as "unfortunate". "The history is not of the Congress alone -- it is the history of the nation and every student must know about it," he said.

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News Networkwork
May 14,2020

Bengaluru, May 14: ABB India has posted a profit after tax of Rs 66 crore during the first quarter (January to March) due to lower volumes including service revenue and unfavourable mix.

In Q1 CY19, it had reported a profit after tax of Rs 89 crore. ABB India follows calendar year as its fiscal year.

The company reported a profit including exceptional items and before tax of Rs 87 crore. The resultant under-absorption and mark-to-market impact due to forex volatility were partly offset by refund incomes and a one-time gain on sale of solar business during the quarter.

Revenues for the first quarter stood at Rs 1,522 crore, impacted by lower sales, non-receipt of delivery clearance, lower service revenue in the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This impact primarily occurred in March, the company said in a statement.

ABB India said it continues to maintain a stable cash position of Rs 1,464 crore as on March 31 in a market where cash collection continues to be a challenge.

Besides, despite many activities coming to a standstill in March, the quarter was marked by commissioning for a mining major at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, electrical and automation systems for a cement major and port and electrics, drives and automation for a leading mill in Bangladesh.

Terminal installation and commissioning for LPG, power management electrical control system for a leading refinery and commissioning of two units of a power plant in Kerala are some of the other projects where ABB's involvement ensured continuity and safe operations, it said.

On a global scale, the impact of COVID-19, as well as the fall in oil prices, has significantly impacted the short-term outlook. The global economy is expected to contract in 2020 after a rapid deterioration in outlook driven by the pandemic.

Despite unprecedented stimuli by governments and central banks around the world and initial signs of recovering economic activity in China, macro-indicators point to a global recession of uncertain duration as many countries continue to face restrictions with anticipated long-term economic consequences, said ABB India.

While the company is taking prompt action to adapt its operations and cost base to safeguard profitability, it expects the results in the coming quarter to be impacted due to the loss of volumes.

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