4 MARCH 2016

Ø  Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that the Centre was examining the Tamil Nadu government’s request for freeing the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, but made it clear that the government was constitutionally bound to act by the ruling of the Supreme Court. This happened a day after the State government wrote to the Centre to seek its opinion — necessary under Section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure — on its decision to remit the life sentences of all the seven convicts. “We received a letter from the Tamil Nadu government yesterday [on Wednesday] and we are examining it. But I want to state… that the Supreme Court has given a verdict and to abide by it is our constitutional responsibility, not only constitutional but also moral responsibility,” Mr. Singh told Parliament. On December 2, 2015, the Supreme Court held that the Centre and not the State government would have the “primacy” and that the States could not exercise suo motu the power to decide whether or not those convicted in the cases investigated by the CBI or another Central agency could be released. The Congress opposed the AIADMK government’s decision to remit the sentence of the convicts, calling it “very unfortunate”. “The letter should not be entertained at all,” Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said. “The assassins must not be released to uphold the integrity of the country for which Rajivji gave his life.” However, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi refused to give his opinion, saying it was up to the government to take a call. The DMK, with which the Congress has stitched up an alliance, has also wanted the convicts released. DMK chief M. Karunanidhi has demanded that the Centre take steps for their release.

Ø  Rafael of Israel and Kalyani group are setting up a joint venture (JV), Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems, to build weapon systems in India. It could start with the production of Spike Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) which the Indian Army is in the process of procuring. However the final deal for Spike is yet to be cleared and contract negotiations are currently underway. The deal which was cleared in 2014 ran into trouble but informed sources said that the issues have been sorted and negotiations will be completed soon without giving a time frame. Sources said the deal is on the top of the agenda during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel later this year. Under a tripartite agreement the JV is expected to manufacture sub-assemblies and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) will do electro optics and do hot integration at its Hyderabad facility which currently manufactures French Milan ATGMs. The work on the facility has already commenced. It is all about when the final contract is signed, according to a source. As reported by The Hindu earlier the unit will be set up in the hardware technology park in Hyderabad. Conforming to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms in defence the Kalyani group will hold 51 percent stake with Rafael holding the rest. The initiative is in line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy and will enable the development and production of high end technology systems within the country. The Rs. 3,200 crore deal for the ATGMs was cleared in 2014 by the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley which put an end to uncertainty after the U.S. offer of joint production of Javelin missiles. The deal includes 8,000 plus missiles, 300 plus launchers and requisite technology transfer to the Indian entity which was initially supposed to be BDL. Spike is a third generation, fire and forget anti-tank missile.

Ø  India and China jockeyed over their plans to build connectivity during the Ministry of External Affairs’ first ‘Raisina Dialogue’ international conference that ended on Thursday, with India projecting its own plans in the Indian Ocean and across Central Asia as a counter to China’s estimated 1-trillion dollar One Belt One Road (OBOR) project. The theme of the conference was ‘Asian connectivity’, which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said was “central to the globalisation process” and “particularly important for Asia’s growth and development.” Comparing India’s approach to China’s (without referring directly to either China or the OBOR), the Minister said that India’s plans for connectivity were “cooperative rather than a unilateral approach”, adding that an “environment of trust and confidence is the pre-requisite for a more inter-connected world.” Replying to Ms. Swaraj, former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, in his keynote address, rejected the allegation that the OBOR was an “exclusive” initiative for China. China views South Asian countries as very important partners and we stand ready to focus on roads, manufacturing, free trade zones. OBOR is not an exclusive initiative, and we welcome participation of various countries and regional organisations. making a special mention of the BCIM (Bangladesh China India and Myanmar) roadways and trade route project. Speaking directly after, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, focussed instead on the government’s project of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the BBIN (Bangladesh Bhutan India and Nepal) sub-regional connectivity initiative, warning against hidden agendas in promoting connectivity. We cannot be impervious to the reality that others may see connectivity as an exercise in hard-wiring that influences choices. This should be discouraged, because particularly in the absence of an agreed security architecture in Asia, it could give rise to unnecessary competitiveness.

Ø  The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a challenge by cellular operators against a Delhi High Court order fixing liability on them to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 1, 2016. A Bench of Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur and U.U. Lalit said the matter would be listed on Friday following an urgent mentioning made by senior advocate Kapil Sibal. The High Court had upheld the decision of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) making it mandatory for cellular operators to pay consumers Re. 1 per call drop. The High Court had passed the order while dismissing a batch of petitions that were filed by Cellular Operators Association of India, a body of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and 21 telecom operators, including Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance. It observed that the decision was made by the TRAI “keeping in mind the paramount interest of the consumer.”

Ø  A top Pakistani official has said for the first time publicly that the Afghan Taliban’s leadership enjoys a safe haven inside his country, which Islamabad uses as a “lever” to pressure the group into talks with Kabul. The admission by Pakistan’s foreign affairs advisor Sartaj Aziz comes after years of official denials by Islamabad that it offers shelter or exerts any influence over the Taliban, and amid a fresh push for direct peace talks. The remarks confirm what has become an open secret in diplomatic circles, particularly since Pakistan began brokering direct peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban last summer. Most of the group’s leaders are believed to be residing in the southwestern city of Quetta, with others in northwest Peshawar and southern Karachi. Mr. Aziz said Islamabad had used the threat of expulsion to force the Taliban into the first round of talks.

Ø  Military personnel of adversarial world powers converged upon the Aundh Military Station in Pune to thrall spectators with the largest Multinational Field Training Exercise (FTX) ever conducted on Indian soil. The week-long exercise, being held from March 2 to 8, is christened ‘Force 18’ (initially labelled ‘FTX-2016’). The spectacle is an elaborate and ambitious military training exercise involving Army units from eighteen countries, often locked as adversaries in the arena of global realpolitik. They include nine members of the Association of South East Asian Nations and eight observer States, that include India, Japan, Korea, China, Russia, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Myanmar was compelled to back out owing to elections and security issues pertaining to border infiltration. Lt Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Commander of the city-based Southern Command, said the broad objective of ‘Force 18’ was to build common understanding and achieve inter-operability among the 18 ASEAN-Plus countries. A unique facet of the exercise is that the Indian Army contingent of 40 soldiers is being led by Lt Col Sophia Qureshi, a woman officer from the Corps of Signals, who now has the rare distinction of becoming the first woman officer to lead an Indian Army training contingent in such a multinational exercise.

Ø  Heightening the possibility of holding talks with Pakistan, the government on Thursday confirmed that Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar would participate in the March 15-17 meeting of Foreign Ministers of South Asia in Kathmandu. Foreign Secretary Jaishankar will travel to Kathmandu to attend the meeting of the SAARC Standing Committee and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will participate in the SAARC ministerial.