Latest news with #GOI
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Shehbaz Sharif seeks Donald Trump's mediation as India's delegation corners Pakistan in US
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on US President Donald Trump to facilitate dialogue with India as New Delhi continues to ramp up its efforts to expose Islamabad's role in cross-border terrorism that necessitated Operation Sindoor. Addressing an event at the US embassy in Islamabad, Shehbaz Sharif praised Donald Trump for his role in helping de-escalate the situation with India, a claim New Delhi has publicly denied. He also urged Washington to facilitate a comprehensive dialogue between the two nuclear neighbours, news agency ANI reported. The Pakistan PM was repeating the plea made by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who had claimed that Trump "deserves credit" for helping facilitate the cessation of hostilities between the two nations. "On 10 different occasions, he has taken credit for facilitating the ceasefire between India and Pakistan – and rightly so. He deserves that credit because it was his efforts that helped make the ceasefire possible. So, if the US is willing to help Pakistan in maintaining this ceasefire, it is reasonable to expect that an American role in arranging a comprehensive dialogue would also be beneficial for us," Bhutto had said. India has consistently rejected third-party mediation on bilateral issues with Pakistan, including the Kashmir issue. The Indian delegation, led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, on Operation Sindoor visiting the US – one of seven such teams sent by the GOI – has said that Washington has understood India's position that there can be no talks with a gun pointed at the head. "I think the US has understood for some time now that India has a very clear position that there will be no talks with a gun pointed at our head... The problem is that we will not deal with people who are pointing a gun at our heads. I mean frankly, if your neighbour unleashes his Rottweilers to bite your children and in fact to do worse to your children, and then says, let's talk. You think he's going to talk until he either unleashes those Rottweilers or locks them up in a kennel, or puts them to sleep. It's as simple as that. You're not going to talk to people who are pointing guns at your temples. It's not going to happen," said Shashi Tharoor, who is leading the all-party delegation to the United States. Tharoor also slammed the Pakistani side for making claims that it was as much a victim of terrorism as India was. "This (Pakistan) delegation is going around saying we are also victims of terrorism, we have lost more lives to terrorism than India has. We turn around and say- Whose fault is that? As Hillary Clinton famously said 10 years ago. You can't breed vipers in your backyard and expect them to bite only your why they (Pakistan) are now getting terrorists attacked by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, but who created the Taliban from which the Tehrik-i-Taliban broke off? We all know the answer to that, so let Pakistan look inside it and let it do some serious interior reflection before it goes around pleading innocence and deniability and everything else," the Congress MP added Echoing that sentiment, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, who is also a member of the delegation, said that Pakistan speaking of peace was like the devil quoting the scriptures. "Bhutto has been calling his delegation a peace delegation, and it is quite ironic that the Pakistani delegation is speaking the language of peace. It's like the Devil quoting from the scriptures. For a country that is trying to create fake heroes by promoting failed generals to field marshal, they don't know what true leaders look like. Pakistan has been surviving on cheap Chinese imports, including military hardware, which spectacularly failed on the battlefield.. So perhaps it is hard for them to digest high-quality, high-calibre military hardware as well as strong democratic leadership on the other side of the border," he said.
Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Viral truths
Covid's return not a big worry. But a case in Delhi HC shows what's worrying when it comes to outbreaks It is safe to assume that had Delhi HC not issued a notice to Centre for failing to present in court minimum standards for sample collection, most wouldn't have known that India has no SOP mandated for diagnostic labs. Protocols of course exist, but SOPs are not mandatory. This case has gained traction given the rise in Covid cases. Delhi HC sounded a note of caution. This is despite the fact that GOI, epidemiologists and medical fraternity all agree that given the endemicity of Covid and that almost 70% of the population is fully vaccinated, this round of Covid is little more than 'seasonal flu'. There is no cause for worry. But that is not to say now is not the time for the whole preparedness-shebang to kick in – from wearing masks to surveilling the spread with more testing. Cases are climbing, as are deaths. All deaths have been of those with Covid, not of Covid. Point is, India's burden of comorbidity is massive – diabetes to TB to COPD, chronic kidney disease, and cancer patients & survivors. Against this reality, it's hard to see why Union health ministry wasn't more proactive to Delhi HC's 2023 order to formulate minimum standards for sample collection. It is not about Covid alone. Our healthcare systems must brace for viral outbreaks at any point given the two major challenges today – a dizzying number of dangerous viruses (H5N1, dengue, chikungunya, Nipah, Zika are household terms) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Preparedness and quick response make healthcare systems more resilient. Govt estimates put Covid deaths at 5.3L. Lessons were learned. Every weak link in public health machinery was exposed. In the three years since, how many of these weaknesses have been fixed? Is surveillance better? Is the expanded virus research & diagnostic laboratory network fully equipped? Variant identification took a long time during the pandemic. Have we fixed that? Surveillance systems, healthcare infra and community engagement ensure public health. Covid may not be a threat, but as epidemiologist Gagandeep Kang put it: 'What we know we don't know is when, where and what our next disease outbreak will be.' An SOP for sample collection and transport seems to be the very least govt can do. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Post-Operation Sindoor, what India must learn from Morocco's Sahara strategy to counter Pak narrative and terror
Consistent Message: Sending parliamentary delegations to various countries post-Op Sindoor was a great idea. But India should learn from Morocco and keep pushing its position on Kashmir and Pak terror internationally On a recent visit to Estonia, a critical country and a frontline state in the Baltic, one had the opportunity to interact with members of the Estonian-Indian parliamentary group, namely Andrei Korobeinik, Vadim Belobrovtsev and Mart Maastik. When asked about India's recent Operation Sindoor in response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir, the Estonian group had two key points. First, they condemned terror in all its forms and rejected its use to pursue any agenda. Second, they stuck to the position that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. One came away with the impression that Estonia – despite being a member of Nato and EU, and increasingly looking to India for trade and defence collaborations – is not fully cognisant of the Indian position on Kashmir for the lack of adequate communication on the issue. In this respect, GOI's decision in the aftermath of Op Sindoor to send teams of cross-party parliamentarians to different parts of the world to present India's position on Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism was a great move. The fact is that New Delhi, hitherto, hasn't been able to effectively communicate its Kashmir position or its fight against Pakistan-sponsored terror. In fact, in 2016 when I had interviewed former US ambassador to India, Frank G Wisner, he too had refused to see a direct link between the Pakistani state and terrorists operating from Pakistani soil, only going so far as to say that instability in Pakistan was incubating radical Islamist terror. Therefore, a robust outreach is needed on India's Kashmir position and anti-terror fight. But for this to be truly successful one needs to be consistent, patient and play the long game. The parliamentary delegations explaining India's position this time is great. But this shouldn't be a one-off. We have to keep reiterating our position and conveying this to other countries for years. And ever country, no matter where they are on the geopolitical pecking order, is important here. In this regard, we would do well to follow the example of Morocco vis-à-vis the Moroccan Sahara. It will be recalled that this part of the Sahara on the western edge of North Africa was hived off from Morocco by 19th century colonial powers. It was then made a Spanish exclave while the rest of Morocco became a French protectorate. When Morocco regained its full independence in 1956, it vowed to recover the Sahara. This was best exemplified by the speech of Morocco's erstwhile monarch, King Mohammed V, at M'hamid al-Ghizlan in 1958 when he pledged to the Sahrawi tribal chiefs that he would work to recover the Sahara in keeping with Morocco's historical rights. In 1963, Morocco itself brought the Sahara issue to the UN, asking the international body to recognise the territory as a non-governing territory to be decolonised by Spain. But another event happened in 1963 that would have a bearing on the Sahara issue later on – the Sand War between Morocco and then recently decolonised Algeria. Years later when Spain finally left the Sahara in 1975 – not before partitioning it between Morocco and Mauritania – Algeria propped up a separatist armed movement called the Polisario Front to strategically undermine Morocco. Mauritania gave up its rights to the Sahara in 1979. But Polisario, backed by Algeria, continued its armed struggle. The UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 to create conditions for a referendum in the Sahara. But the conditions were never met – for example, Polisario refused to conduct a census of the Sahrawi refugees in its Tindouf camps. In the meantime, the Polisario has been found guilty of embezzlement of funds meant for humanitarian aid for the Sahrawi refugees by the European Anti-Fraud Office and other European entities. Therefore, there are clear parallels here between India's Kashmir issue and the Moroccan Sahara issue. In both cases, an external party is using non-state actors to undermine India and Morocco, respectively. But how has Morocco responded? It has over the years made its case on the Moroccan Sahara consistently and patiently. It rejoined the African Union in 2017 after having left the body in 1984 over the admission of Polisario's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic – which till date is not recognised by the UN or the Arab League. It has put the Moroccan Sahara issue front and centre in all its bilateral relationships, making this a Moroccan red line. It even reached out to countries that were once on the opposite end of the ideological spectrum. And finally, in 2020, the US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the Moroccan Sahara. Israel too has done the same. France followed suit last year and Spain recently reiterated that it found Morocco's Autonomy Plan for the Sahara within Moroccan sovereignty as the most credible solution to the long festering issue. Add to this numerous countries that have opened their consulates in the Sahara as extensions of their embassies in Rabat. The lesson here is that a consistent approach pays off. India needs to do something similar to make its case on Kashmir and Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. In this regard, sending a parliamentary delegation to Morocco as part of post-Op Sindoor efforts would have been prudent. Nonetheless, the lessons from Rabat will certainly be helpful for New Delhi. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
‘Light touch, not heavy hand, will unlock growth'
'Light touch, not heavy hand, will unlock growth' Rajeev Gauba Jun 2, 2025, 21:36 IST IST A member of Niti Aayog writes that the colonial-era punitive approach to governance hinders growth. GOI's doing its bit to foster trust-based governance, states must follow The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which became operational on Aug 11, 2023, represents a paradigm shift towards trust-based governance . In one bold stroke, 183 provisions across 42 central Acts, administered by 19 ministries and departments, were decriminalised. This wasn't just another reform; it heralded a new philosophy of governance, dismantling of the colonial legacy, and a decisive move towards genuine ease of living and doing business.
Hans India
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
281 AMRUT 2.0 projects will be taken up with Rs 10,251 cr
Vijayawada: The government accorded administrative sanction for an amount of Rs 10,251.72 crore for the implementation of 281 AMRUT 2.0 Projects works in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the State. The works will be taken up under the Concessionaire Hybrid Annuity Model (CHAM) with the following mode of Finance. Both the State and Central governments are trying to implement AMRUT 2.0 project schemes to supply drinking water to the people. Andhra Pradesh Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APUFIDC) is the nodal agency for supervising the works. Principal Secretary of the department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development S Suresh Kumar issued orders for the implementation of AMRUT 20 scheme. The share of the Central government is Rs 2,470.56 crore, while that of the AP government is Rs 2,490.72 crore. Urban Local Bodies share is Rs 590.97 crore; the 15th Finance Commission Grant is Rs 924.78 crore, capital expenditure is Rs 6,477.03 crore, operational expenditure by ULBs is Rs 1,498.97 crore, project cost is Rs 7,976 crore and interest component to concessionaire is Rs 2,275.72 crore. The Total project cost is estimated at Rs 10,251.72 crore. The department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development has adopted Concessionaire Hybrid Annuity Model (CHAM) to implement the AMRUT 2.0. Concessionaire Hybrid Annuity Model (CHAM) is an innovative financing mechanism for undertaking various infrastructure works/ projects (especially, without any revenue from the project operations) that are otherwise dependent on budgetary allocations. This can also be applied to PPP projects requiring major portion of Viability Gap Funding, which can be arranged through CHAM mechanism. The overall objective is to fast track project implementation under new fund flow mechanism of GOI titled 'SNA-SPARSH' for all the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS). The Government of India has initiated new method of funding called 'SNA-SPARSH' for Central Sponsored Schemes (CSS) wherein, it is mandated for release of matching share of State and ULBs upfront, for tapping/ release of GOI proportionate share. However, due to the critical financial situation of the State, where matching share is not available in the treasury immediately and there is no scope of going for fresh borrowings because of the FRBM limits. In view of this, MA&UD Department devised a new financing mechanism titled 'CHAM' (Concessionaire Hybrid Annuity Model) to use the internally generated project funds and the remaining balance provided by the Contractor/ Concessionaire in the form of 'Concessionaire Support'(C.S.) towards State/ ULB share.
