Ø The Union government has made startling disclosures in the latest
compilation of assets that it owns. According to the Asset Register, disclosed
in the Union Budget, the photocopiers, computers and other office equipment
that the Government of India (GOI) owns, are more valuable than its roads,
bridges and irrigation and power projects. The value of the office equipment
is, in fact, only marginally lower than the office and residential buildings
the Centre owns. In fact, the GOI’s vehicles are more valuable than its roads.
As on March 31, 2014, the GOI owns office equipment worth Rs. 40,731 crore,
according to the Register. The roads it owns are valued at Rs 10, 256 crore,
bridges Rs. 11,717 crore, irrigation projects Rs. 1,416 crore and power
projects Rs. 368 crore. The Register has valued the stock of the Centre’s
vehicles — depreciating value assets — at Rs. 43,554 crore. The total value of
the Centre’s assets at the end of 2013-14, the last year for which the data is
available, was Rs 10,31,139 crore. Of this, physical assets were worth Rs
4,06,129 crore and financial assets, mainly its shareholdings in public sector
companies — both unlisted and those listed on the bourses — were worth Rs
6,25,010 crore.
Ø Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the Sri Lankan Parliament on
Friday was a message to Colombo on the need for greater devolution of powers,
said Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. Mr. Modi laid the
foundation stone for the Jaffna Culture Centre being built with Indian
assistance. Modi ended his
two-day visit to Sri Lanka on Saturday with a meeting with the former Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was ousted from power in elections.
The one-on-one meeting at India House in Colombo lasted about 15 minutes.
Officials toldThe Hindu that Mr. Modi wanted to meet Mr. Rajapaksa “as a
matter of courtesy”, given that “they had a personal equation after three
meetings last year.” Officials declined to comment on the meeting, None of the
Prime Minister’s aides were present during the meeting. Mr. Modi
announced that India would reciprocate e-visas on arrival for Sri Lankans and
Air India would begin direct flights. However, restarting ferry services are
still stuck in negotiations. “Our governments are also joined by our commitment
to fight corruption,” Mr. Ranatunga said adding that the coalition government
in Sri Lanka took “inspiration” from Mr. Modi’s election campaign in 2014.
Ø
Ø Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka’s ancient
capital Anuradhapura on Saturday and offered prayers at the sacred Mahabodhi
tree in a move aimed at projecting India’s Buddhist links in the region. Legend has it that the southern branch of the holy Bodhi tree in Bodh
Gaya in India under which Buddha was said to have attained enlightenment was
brought to Sri Lanka in 288 BC by Princess Sanghamitra, daughter of Ashoka. The
fig tree is the oldest living tree in documented history of the world. Mr.
Modi and Mr. Sirisena knelt down and bowed in reverence before the tree.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera was present. The Prime Minister then
offered alms to the head monk. Mr. Modi also visited Ruwanweliseya, a stupa
built in 140 BC.
Ø On a sunny but cold London morning in Parliament Square, Union Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled the long-awaited statue of Mahatma Gandhi on
Saturday. He was accompanied -- on a specially erected stage, surrounded by
British and Indian flags -- by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Gandhi’s
grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi, British Culture Minister Sajid Javid, Amitabh
Bachchan, and Lord and Lady Desai, founding trustees of the Gandhi Statue
Memorial Trust. The nine-foot bronze statue of Gandhi was created by
Phillip Jackson, a renowned British sculptor, and will stand in the company of
Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln, among others.
Ø Characterising the transforming India-U.S. relationship as a “strategic
plus”, U.S. Ambassador Richard Verma on Saturday reiterated the shared
India-U.S. vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions of working for
a rules based global order.
Ø Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in
prison on Friday on a terrorism charge after what rights groups said was a
“flawed” trial, sparking international concern. Mr. Nasheed, the Indian
Ocean archipelago’s first democratically elected leader, had been arrested on
February 22. He was convicted late on Friday under the country’s Anti-Terrorism
Act for ordering the arrest of a chief judge, Abdullah Mohamed, when he was
President in January 2012. The 47-year-old was then taken to Dhoonidhoo
prison on an island near the capital Male.
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