3 FEBRUARY 2015 : RIC meet in china issues joint communique

Ø  Russia and China have endorsed India’s efforts to formalise an iron-clad rejection of international terrorism, amid a call by the three countries to end the era of a unipolar world and rid the globe of the threat of “regime change.” At the end of their day-long deliberations in the Chinese capital, the foreign ministers of the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping issued a comprehensive joint communiqué that called for an ambitious reform of an international system that was respectful of the diversity of home-grown political systems. The communiqué recommended India’s inclusion in an expanded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a 21-nation grouping of Pacific Rim countries. The Ministers endorsed India’s impending membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) after elevating the grouping, which is pillared by Russia, China and most of the Central Asian States as “one of the key instruments in promoting multilateral political, security, economic and humanitarian interaction in the region.” The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which India is joining soon, has been holding major counter-terrorism exercises, in anticipation of the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Recognising the threat to stability posed during Afghanistan’s upcoming transitional phase, the three Ministers called for supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), in tune with the withdrawal of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Without specifying the “Pivot to Asia” doctrine of the U.S., which involves concentration of forces on China’s periphery, a joint statement by the RIC grouping called for advancing talks in the East Asia summit framework on rule-based security architecture in the Asia-Pacific, driven by the United Nations.

Ø  A week after U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit cleared major hurdles in the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, Russian officials say the power generated under the agreements will be much more expensive than the negotiated deals with Russia for the “Kudankulam series.” An official statement from the Russian Embassy said the rates for electricity from units 1&2 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, being constructed with Russian technical assistance (in Tamil Nadu), were almost half the price that power from proposed American designs would cost. According to unconfirmed reports, U.S. company Westinghouse has proposed Rs.6 per kWh in initial discussions with India, while French company Areva had spoken of Rs.6.50 per kWh, both of which would be far higher than the estimated price of power at Kudankulam 1&2 at Rs.3.50 per kWh. Added to this is the projected raised costing for insurance after India agreed to set up a $240-million (Rs. 1,500 crore) “insurance pool” to be funded equally by state-owned insurance companies and the government. Significantly, the statement was issued on a day External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the RIC trilateral in Beijing. Indian government officials called the Russian statements premature. The costs in both the cases of U.S. and France “are still to be worked out,” However, the costing of U.S. nuclear companies is becoming the next big issue, even as India and the U.S. overcame the major hurdles of supplier’s liability and administrative arrangements. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week, CPI leader D. Raja pointed out that the cost of U.S. reactors and the insurance pool could result in the rate exceeding Rs.15 per kWh. The Russian statement quoting nuclear officials indicates that Moscow is unhappy, and feels competitive about the spotlight on the U.S.-India deal, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin had in December signed a strategic agreement for constructing 12 new nuclear power units. The Indo-U.S. deal announced by Mr. Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed last week by Westinghouse CEO Daniel Roderick, who called it a “breakthrough.” The deal hinges on a “memorandum” to be submitted by the Indian government to the U.S. that will outline the Indian understanding of the clauses that the U.S. nuclear suppliers find problematic. Russian nuclear officials, however, made unfavourable comparisons between their negotiations for nuclear reactors that began in 1988 and the proposed American deals. The Russian side had offered the Indian government credit for the construction of the new Kudankulam 3&4 plants with similar terms as for the construction of Kudankulam 1&2, regardless of the fact that 30 years had passed since the agreement on the first unit.

Ø  The U.N. weather agency says 2014 was the warmest year on record, though the temperature difference with 2010 and 2005 is so small that it’s impossible to say for sure which of the three years was the hottest. The World Meteorological Organization’s analysis on Monday mirrored findings two weeks ago by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and also included data from the Met Office in Britain. The Geneva-based WMO said surface temperatures were 0.57 degrees Celsius above average last year.

Ø  Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) picked up almost half of the shares on offer in the Coal India’s Rs.22,558-crore disinvestment, once again coming in to ensure success of a government stake sale. LIC bought over 28.47 crore shares or 4.51 per cent stake offer for sale.LIC’s stake in CIL now stands at 7.24 per cent, up from 2.73 per cent, as per a disclosure on the BSE by Coal India Ltd.