Washington, Aug 5 : India has become the third Asian country after Japan and South Korea to get the Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) status after the US issued a federal notification to this effect, paving the way for high-technology product sales to New Delhi, particularly in civil space and defense sectors.
India is the 37th country to be designated the STA-1 status by the United States.
The federal notification, issued yesterday, gains significance as the Trump Administration made an exception for India, which is yet to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Traditionally, the US has placed only those countries in the STA-1 list who are members of the four export control regimes: Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), Australia Group (AG) and the NSG.
In its federal notification, the Trump Administration notes that India is a member of three of the four multilateral export regimes.
Mainly because of the political opposition from China, India’s membership application has been pending before NSG, which takes decision by consensus.
By placing India in the STA-1 list, the United States has acknowledged that for all practical purposes India adheres to the export control regimes of the NSG.
This exception for New Delhi is intended to send a strong political message to China and the world, taking into account that America’s closest ally Israel is yet to be given this status, primarily because it is not a member of these multilateral export control regimes.
New Delhi, Aug 4: A bill to establish a National Sports University in Manipur to promote sports education was passed by the Lok Sabha on Friday, as several members sought the inclusion of sports as part of a comprehensive education curriculum.
The National Sports University Bill 2018, which seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated on May 31, was passed by a voice vote.
Replying to the debate on the bill which had started on August 1, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the university would be set up in Manipur at a cost of Rs 524 crore to promote sports coaching and research.
The legislation was earlier introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2017, but could not be passed. Hence, the government had to come out with an ordinance, the Minister said.
A sportsperson will be the university vice chancellor, while its academic council will also comprise sports personalities, Rathore said.
Replying to concerns raised by members during the debate on the bill, he said all medal winners in the country were funded from the National Sports Development Fund in which all citizens can contribute money.
He said the government provided stipends to sportspersons, besides a variety of monthly allowances to them for food and other things. He said the government has also increased the salary of coaches.
The bill seeks to set up a specialised university in Manipur, which would be the first of its kind, to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching.
Besides, the proposed university would also function as the national training centre for select sports disciplines by adopting best international practices.
Among other things, the legislation proposes to empower the university to establish ‘Outlying Campuses’ throughout the country and also outside India.
“Apart from academic programmes and research, the university and its Outlying Campuses’ will also impart training to elite athletes, sports officials, referees, and umpires and evolve as centres of excellence in the various discipline of sports,” said the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.
In order to make the university a world-class institution, the government has signed an agreement with two Australian universities — University of Canberra and Victoria University — for development of curriculum, research facilities and laboratories, among others.
Earlier, N K Premchandran (RSP) asked what was the need for bringing an ordinance for this. He said a university has to be autonomous in character but the provisions of the bill defy this.
As per the provisions of the bill, he said, the central government had the full authority and control over the institution which, therefore, will not be autonomous.
Anurag Singh Thakur (BJP) said this was an extraordinary effort of the government to promote sports in the country.
He said sports tournaments provided a platform to explore young talents and there should be a special fund for MPs to organise such events. He also suggested a comprehensive school education policy with thrust on sports.
Thakur, who has been associated with cricket as an administrator, also suggested using former defence personnel, who had excelled in sports, to train sportpersons.
Thokchom Meinya (Congress) from Manipur welcomed the establishment of the National Sports University in his state and said the new varsity was expected to breach the void in the area.
Jithender Reddy (TRS) said from 1928-1980, India got only eight medals and all were in hockey.
Prasun Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) said that sports education should be made compulsory from school.
Banerjee, a former captain of the famous Mohan Bagan football club, also demanded that a sports university be established in West Bengal.
“If necessary, slash funds from election expenses and spend the money on sports as our sportspersons cannot win the World Cup if they don’t get sufficint infrastructure,” he said.
Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo (BJD) said the eastern part of India has been neglected by the government.
Demanding a major hike in the sports budget, he said while India’s sports budget was Rs 2,000 crore, UK’s sports budget was Rs 9,000 crore and USA’s stood at Rs 12,000 crore.
He claimed that even the Doordarshan only focused on two or three sports and and “neglected” others, while demanding that advertisement space should be given to all of them.
M B Rajesh (CPI-M) pointed out that China had established sports university in 1993 and currently it has 20 top class sports universities. “So we are 25 years behind China.”
In a lighter vein, Rajesh said Croatia’s population was 40 lakh, “which is equal to the number of people whose name is not in Assam’s NRC.”
“But Croatia has produced legendary football players and we failed to do that,” the CPI(M) member said.
Dhananjay Mahadik (NCP) said that our country should also have infrastructure for car racing. “Corporate Social Resonsibility (CSR) money and Members of Parliament Local Area Develoment Scheme (MPLAD) funds should also be allowed to be used to creating sports infrastucture,” Mahadik said.
Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu (TDP) expressed hope that more sports universities will come up in the country in the near future. He also demanded that the government should formulate New Sports Policy as previous one was formulated in 2001.
New Delhi, Aug 3 : The government has cleared the recommendation of the Supreme Court collegium to elevate Justice K M Joseph, who heads the Uttarakhand High Court, to the top court, ending a long standoff with the judiciary.
The government has also given its nod to appoint Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Orissa High Court Chief Justice Vineet Saran to the SC.
Justice Joseph’s name was recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court by the collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on January 10.
On April 30, the government had returned the recommendation for reconsideration on the ground that he lacked seniority.
The executive had also pointed out that several high courts remain unrepresented and Justice Joseph’s elevation would be against the principle of regional representation.
His parent high court is the Kerala HC.
Justice Joseph had struck down the imposition of President’s rule in Uttarakhand in 2016 after the dismissal of a Congress government led by Harish Rawat.
The collegium on May 16 in-principle reiterated the decision to recommend Justice Joseph’s name.
Sources said their warrants of appointment are likely to be issued by Monday.
The number of judges in the top court after the appointments would go up to 25. There would still be six vacancies.
Washington, Aug 3: The Trump administration is considering to increase the proposed tariff of 10 per cent on import of Chinese products to 25 per cent, a top trade negotiator has said.
Such a move would more than double its proposed tariff on import of Chinese products worth USD 200 billion.
“The bottom line is the president is going to continue to hold China responsible for their unfair trade practices. This has gone on for long enough and he is going to do something about it,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday.
On June 18, Trump had directed US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to identify USD 200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 per cent, in response to China’s decision to cause further “harm” to US workers, farmers, and businesses by imposing retaliatory duties on US goods.
This process was initiated on July 10.
“This week, the president has directed that I consider increasing the proposed level of the additional duty from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. The 25 per cent duty would be applied to the proposed list of products previously announced on July 10,” Lighthizer said.
He said the Trump administration continues to urge China to stop its “unfair practices”, open its market, and engage in true market competition.
“We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake. Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behaviour, China has illegally retaliated against US workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses, he alleged.
Lighthizer said the increase in the possible rate of the additional duty is intended at providing the Trump administration with additional options to encourage China to change its “harmful” policies and behaviour, and adopt policies that will lead to fairer markets and prosperity for all of Americans.
“The United States has joined forces with like-minded partners around the world to address unfair trade practices such as forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft, and we remain ready to engage with China in negotiations that could resolve these and other problems detailed in our Section 301 report,” he said.
Sanders said the United States would like to see the playing field level.
“The president, as both he and about 15 members of his administration have said repeatedly, we’d like to see the unfair trade practices stop,” she said.
“But until that happens, the president is going to hold their feet to the fire. He is going to continue to put pressure on China and he is not going to sit back and allow American industries and American workers to be taken advantage of,” Sanders asserted.
New Delhi, Aug 2: Charging the Government of ‘ducking’ the ‘Doklam Question’ in the Lok Sabha, the Congress on Wednesday said the Modi Government hid behind a sheet of misleading opaqueness on the issue and demanded that .Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement on the issue and tell about the Government’s policy on de-militarizing the Doklam plateau.
In a statement issued here, AICC media in charge Randeep Surjewala said,’Modi Government hid behind a sheet of misleading opaqueness on Doklam today. External affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj claimed in Parliament on Wednesday that the 73 day standoff in Doklamhas been “resolved with diplomatic maturity without losing any ground” and “there is no change in the status quo (on the ground). The face off at sight has been resolved on August 28, 2017.”
The Modi Government and Ms Sushma Swaraj were conspicuously silent on the Chinese military buildup and new road construction in the South Doklam region, overlooking the ‘Chicken Neck’. She said nothing about the creation of ‘a full-fledged Chinese military complex’ at Doklam right upto 10 m from Indian Army Post, reflected in the satellite imagery released earlier by the Congress party, besides media reports. ‘
Questioning the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, he said,’ The Prime Minister met this Chinese counterpart Mr Xi Jinping on July 26, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa. This was the third bilateral meeting of PM Modi with his Chinese counterpart in the past four months. Disappointingly, the Modi Government could not give a conclusive reaction to the numerous media reports and developments regarding the Doklam stand-off that have compromised India’s National Security and endangered its Strategic Interests.
During the July 20th ‘No-Confidence’ Motion debate in Parliament, the PM spewed false political rhetoric but could not provide any clarity on the status of Chinese military and infrastructure build up at North and South Doklam. Earlier, both Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj visited China from April 20-24, but not a word on Doklam came out of those ‘agenda-less’ visits.’
He said that Mrs Swaraj’s statement in Parliament on Wednesday reflected the Modi Government’s uncertain Foreign Policy and continuous ‘Flip-Flops’ to the Chinese Misadventure in Doklam.
‘ Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s vacuous statement on Doklam in Parliament today speaks volumes about the Modi Government’s uncertain Foreign Policy and continuous ‘Flip-Flops’ to the Chinese Misadventure in Doklam which is harming India’s Strategic Interests.
In national interest, the Congress party demands that the PM make a statement and take the nation into confidence by placing the entire spectrum of facts on the floor of the Parliament. The PM must tell his Government’s policy on de-militarizing the Doklam plateau,’ he said.