2 APRIL 2016

Ø  The Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India has rapped the Gujarat government’s blue chip Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) for its KG basin project, which is yet to see any production of gas, a decade after then CM, Narendra Modi, declared that it had struck “20 TCF gas in the KG basin block” in 2005. After Mr. Modi’s tall claims on the GSPC’s success, the State PSU acquired dozens of blocks in India and overseas. The CAG said that without any experience and expertise in exploration and production, the company acquired the blocks and then surrendered them, leading to Rs. 2,514.65 crore being written off. The company acquired overseas blocks during 2006-10 mainly as an operator with considerably high participating interests without any experience overseas.

Ø  The Silicon-valley based electric car maker Tesla Motors Model 3, which has seen people queue up in huge numbers to pre-order in the U.S., has attracted interest from big names in the Indian start-up ecosystem. This model is seen as the key to Tesla’s future success as it attempts to become a mass market player. Tesla founder Elon Musk had tweeted that the firm would be taking orders from India and a few other emerging markets, marking its entry into India and being the first global electric vehicle to do so. The firm has said pre-orders for the car had crossed 130,000 in the first 24 hours, according to Reuters. The sleek four-door sedan that can travel 215 miles on a single charge will go into production next year. It will be ready for delivery in the U.S. by late 2017 at a starting price of $35,000, before tax breaks. At current exchange rates, it amounts to Rs. 23.2 lakh in India. As per current regulations, Indians need to pay 100 per cent import duty, which would take the price tag to Rs. 46.4 lakh.

Ø  India on Friday pledged a contribution of $1 million to the IAEA nuclear security fund. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made this commitment in his speech at the fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit (NSS). India has already made a contribution of $ 1 million. Mr. Modi underlined the priority India has attached to nuclear security at home, in terms of institutional frameworks, resources for training people, and by continuing to reflect India’s international obligations in national actions, said Amandeep Singh Gill, JS (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in the Ministry of External Affairs, briefing reporters on the Prime Minister’s intervention at the plenary. Mr Modi’s told the gathering how India was moving to safer technologies to protect radioactive material. Mr Modi cited as an example, the shift to the use of Cesium 137 only in its vitrified form in medical equipment, moving away from powder and liquid forms. Mr Modi also outlined India’s plans to enhance engagement with the IAEA, the Interpol and other international forums on the issue of nuclear security. The question of Pakistan’s continuing deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in battlefields has not been raised by India as it was more a question of disarmament and arms control, said the official. But Mr. Modi did raise the possibility of individuals within the state structure getting friendly with a terrorist, leading up to a nuclear terrorism incident, without naming any particularly country, said Mr. Gill. Mr. Modi made this point at the dinner on Thursday night, hosted by President Barack Obama.

Ø  The Indian government seeks foreign investments abroad citing Indian democracy and diversity, but uses harsh laws to undermine the same, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has written in a letter to the European Union (EU). In a sweeping criticism, the letter, which was sent to the EU a day before its summit with India on March 30, urged that the Narendra Modi government be persuaded to defend the country’s “marginalised communities” from increased harassment, and to issue public condemnation of anti-minority attacks.

Ø  In its first official briefing after the Pakistani probe team concluded its India visit regarding the attack at the Pathankot airbase, the government refrained from mentioning the name of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar for the attacks. National Investigation Agency (NIA) D-G Sharad Kumar, who was asked to read out a statement on the visit on Friday, did not name either Azhar or his brother Abdul Rauf Asghar, one of the main handlers of the attacks, and referred them as “office bearers” instead. India has all always blamed Azhar for the attacks. The NIA D-G also announced that India was eager to send a probe team to Pakistan. “The Pakistan JIT has been informed that a team of NIA officials would like to visit Pakistan to carry forward the investigation in the Pathankot attack case.