Ø Setting
aside their border dispute, New Delhi and Beijing on Friday signed 24
agreements, which would, for the first time, spur a pervasive dialogue among
Indian and Chinese states, cities and businesses as they become the key drivers
of foreign policy with China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s introduction of a
bottoms-up approach towards India’s engagement with China was evident from his
remarks during the launch of the India-China Forum of State Provincial Leaders,
with the Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Maharashtra present at the event.
Ø To the
cheers from the audience of students at Tsinghua University here, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday that India had decided to “extend
electronic tourist visas to Chinese nationals.”
Ø The
Chhattisgarh government has warned Bastar Collector Amit Kataria and Dantewada
Collector K.C. Devsenapati for not turning up in “uniform as per protocol”
while receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bastar on May 9.
Ø The Union
Cabinet’s approval of a set of amendments to the Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986 raises serious doubts and concerns. One of these proposes
to ban the employment of children below 14 years in all occupations except
family enterprises and the audio-visual entertainment industry, on condition
that such work does not interfere with their education. One amendment proposes
to regulate “adolescents” in the 14-18 age group by prohibiting their
employment in hazardous occupations unsuitable to their age. There is no doubt
that the 1986 Act itself needs to be amended. First, the law has proved to be
weak and ineffective in curbing child labour. Second, it is in contradiction
with Article 21-A of the Constitution and the Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Act, 2009 that makes schooling compulsory for all in the
age group of six to 14 years. Third, the 1986 Act does not regulate adolescent
labour as mandated by ILO Conventions 138 and 182.
Ø The
omnibus communiqu?, which emerged after talks between Prime Minister Narendra
Modi and his counterpart Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People on Friday
said a hotline between the two Army Headquarters would be established and
additional points along the frontiers would be opened to enable local border
commanders to hold crisis-management meetings. Annual exchange visits between
the two military headquarters and neighbouring military commands would
continue. During talks, Mr. Modi “reiterated the importance of clarification of
Line of Actual Control (LAC)”. The Prime Minister said the Chinese leadership
was “responsive,” when he suggested that “China should take a strategic and
long term view of our relations”. Without directly to referring to
Pakistan — a country with which China has a special relationship — Mr. Modi
said the two leaderships decided “to enhance strategic communication and
coordination on our region.” Indian officials clarified that China’s
differences with neighbours in the South China Sea were not discussed — a
position that is bound to draw the attention in some countries of the ASEAN
bloc and Japan. The joint statement made it amply clear that outer space
and nuclear energy are emerging as new areas for collaboration in the future. A
Space Cooperation Mechanism had been established, which would steer a five year
“outline” for partnership, which would also cover lunar and deep space
exploration, between the Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) and the
China National Space Administration.
Ø Shortly
before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Friday of the extension
of e-visa facility for Chinese nationals, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar had
said that “no decision” had been taken on the issue yet, leading to speculation
that Mr. Modi had overruled objections within the security establishment to
announce the move. Building on the theme of closer contact between
populations, among the 24 agreements signed after the official meetings, at
least 13 MoUs mention strengthening “people-to-people ties,” including the
“sister-city” relationships between Hyderabad and Qingdao and Aurangabad and
Dunhuang, while setting up consulates in Chengdu and Chennai, and building ties
between India and yoga colleges in Kunming and Yunnan. The e-visa announcement
will boost an MoU on tourism cooperation, as 2015 and 2016 have been designated
‘Visit India’ and ‘Visit China’ years respectively, given that Chinese tourists
to India now number less than two lakh a year. Another MoU between
Doordarshan and China’s state-run CCTV raised eyebrows in the wake of controversies
over CCTV’s depiction of the Indian map without Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal
Pradesh in it.
Ø Prime
Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday for the third and final leg of
his three-day China visit . Mr. Modi is scheduled to meet with CEOs of top
Chinese companies and initial a number of agreements worth $10 billion. He will
also address the Indian community here before leaving for Mongolia on the
second—leg of his three-nation tour that will also take him to South Korea.
Earlier addressing a gathering at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, Mr Modi
pitched India as the next frontier of “economic revolution” and said his
government was doing away with “unnecessary regulations”, building a
predictable tax regime and creating a liberal environment for foreign
investments.
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