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Dawn July 23, 2019 Prime Minister Imran Khan, during an address delivered at the United States Institute of Peace on Tuesday, impressed upon the audience that Pakistan seeks a "dignified relationship with the US" which is not curtailed by the securing or withdrawal of aid. "I would like to have a relationship between the two countries of mutual trust. I would like to have a relationship as equals, of friendship. Not as it has been before [...] Pakistan wanting aid from the US and then for aid it is expected to do certain things. "The reason why I am happy leaving the US this time is that we now have a relationship based on mutual interest, which is peace in Afghanistan.” The premier said that he had been asked about whether there would be a request for funds to which he had said: "I hate the idea of asking for funds. Aid has been one of the biggest curses for my country. What it has done is it has created the dependency syndrome." ...

The Economic Times July 23, 2019 RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch has ticked off the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare for ‘misleading’ the Parliament and Minister Narendra Tomar and for ‘hiding true facts’ on the herbicide Glyphosate.  The Manch has reacted strongly to a reply given by the ministry to an unstarred question in Praliament on July 9.  The question by Member of Parliament Pratima Mondal was on whether Glyphosate only kills weeds or also causes cancer along with other harmful effects, the steps being taken by the government to regulate its use, whether several countries have banned the carcinogenic herbicide, and whether the government intends to ban glyphosate in India.  Tomar read out an officials response denying the same.The Manch has hit back with a strong letter to Minister Tomar.  “The response that was drafted by your officials and read out by you is incorrect and is meant to hide true facts around this deadl...

The Indian Express July 24, 2019 Nirupama Subramanian With the visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan by his side, US President Donald Trump said Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate on Kashmir, and that he “would love to help”. Trump’s claim has since been rebutted by Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Raveesh Kumar and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. India has reiterated its longstanding position that there is no room for mediation in Kashmir or on any other India-Pakistan issue and that all outstanding matters between the two countries would be resolved through bilateral dialogue — but only when Pakistan ends cross-border terrorism in India. India then, has all but called President Trump a liar. How this impacts on the present uneven and unpredictable relations with the United States remains to be seen. The response from both sides may well be to bury the episode quietly and move ahead. Hours after Trump’s statem...

The Indian Express July 24, 2019 A decision by the Andhra Pradesh government to reopen contracts signed with wind and solar generators could impact at least 50 of India’s biggest RE (renewable energy) developers and puts at stake nearly 5.2 gigawatts (GW) of projects, with an estimated debt exposure of over Rs 21,000 crore. Nearly half of this capacity, according to rating agency Crisil, is at higher risk of default as they lack liquidity support beyond the project level. The move to reopen contracts, alongside raising serious questions among investors about the sanctity of contracts, could potentially lead to a fresh wave of non-performing assets (NPAs) in the banking sector. The move is a body blow for RE developers, who have been the only bright spark in the otherwise sluggish electricity generation sector, with FDI inflows of $3.22 billion over the last four years alongside significant domestic investment leveraged by bank funding. There are concerns that other st...

The Indian Express July 24, 2019 Jay Mazoomdaar Among the assets disposed of by a beleaguered Noble Group, a Hong Kong-based commodity trading giant, in 2018 as part of a $3.5-billion debt restructuring were four bulk carrier vessels. The Hong Kong company owned these ships through a Mauritius company controlled jointly with Jindal Steel and Power Limited, records of Conyers Dill Pearlman show. An investigation by The Indian Express shows that the chain of transactions begins in 2011 when Mudit Paliwal quit his position as co-head of global freight business at Noble Group and set up Panacore Investments Limited (PIL), backed by New Delhi-based entrepreneur Sunil Nihal Duggal. Records show that PIL was owned by Prosperity Investments Worldwide Limited (BVI) where Vision Shipping Private Ltd, a Singapore company set up in August 2011, held 90 per cent stake and Paliwal and his wife Aishwarya the remaining 10 per cent. “The understanding” between Duggal and Paliwal, record...

The Economic Times July 23, 2019 WASHINGTON: Pakistan's main spy agency provided the US with a lead that helped them find and kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Monday.  Pakistan has until now officially denied having any knowledge of the terror chief until he was shot dead in a night time raid by US special forces on May 2, 2011, an incident that was a major national embarrassment and caused ties between the two countries to plummet.  Khan, who is visiting Washington on his first official trip, made his claim in an interview with Fox News when he was asked whether his country would release a jailed doctor whose fake immunization drive helped the US track and kill bin Laden in 2011.  "This is a very emotive issue, because Shakeel Afridi in Pakistan is considered a spy," he told host Bret Baier, referring to the doctor.  "We in Pakistan always felt that we were an ally of the US and if we had been given the i...

The Economic Times July 23, 2019 The Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has dropped plans to finance a new capital for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, after the World Bank pulled its support on Friday.  The construction of the city, known as Amaravati, is the brainchild of the state's former chief minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, who lost power in elections in May.  “AIIB is no longer considering the Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project for funding,” spokeswoman Laurel Ostfield told Reuters in an emailed statement.  Reference:  https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/china-led-development-bank-joins-world-bank-in-pulling-funds-for-amaravati/articleshow/70344481.cms

The National July 22, 2019 Sam FM, a radio station affiliated with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, has announced that it has managed to raise half a million dollars since the launch of its crowdfunding efforts last year. The campaign organisers said that more than half the total amount will be donated to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is regarded as a terrorist organisation by the US, the UK, and Gulf countries. It is no surprise that Hezbollah and the Houthis would support each other. Both are Iran-backed proxies, which have caused chaos in their home countries and beyond. This campaign was intended to raise funds for the Houthis’ military spending while proving that the group could still count on popular support for their cause. Instead, the fundraising effort has highlighted just how desperate Hezbollah has become. The organisation is starting to feel the pinch of increased sanctions from the US and the UK. In February, the UK ceased to differentiate between He...

News Track July 23, 2019 New Delhi: Pakistani Army is engaged in another conspiracy against India these days. The plot also involved Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Islamic State (IS) operating in Afghanistan. Under the scheme, it can target the assets and interests of India and the US. This is evidenced by the active involvement of Lashkar-e-Taiba fighters in the war-footing country. Recently, a meeting between Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistani army team and the country's spy agency ISI was held in Zaba area of Dangam district in Kunar province. It directs the terror outfit to damage Indian and US properties. This was disclosed by diplomats in New Delhi and Washington along with intelligence officials. Lashkar commanders have been tasked with carrying out a variety of attacks, including suicide bombers sent from Pakistan. The move comes at a time when Pakistan is under constant pressure from the US and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to crack down on other groups like...

Live Mint July 23, 2019 Shayan Ghosh MUMBAI: US-based financial services firm JPMorgan is shutting its non-banking financial company (NBFC) JP Morgan Advisors India and has surrendered its licence, documents showed. Responding to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said 45 companies have surrendered their NBFC licences so far in 2019. JPMorgan Advisors India was one of them, the list showed. To be sure, JPMorgan is not exiting its NBFC business since it also operates JPMorgan Securities India Pvt. Ltd. “We are not exiting our NBFC business. We continue to operate an NBFC in India known as JPMorgan Securities India Pvt. Ltd," a JPMorgan spokesperson said in an emailed response. According to the spokesperson, the underlying business of JPMorgan Advisors ceased to exist a few years ago. “We surrendered the licence as we are not conducting any business in this company and will move for closure," the spokesperson added. ...

Live Mint July 23, 2019 Swaraj Singh Dhanjal MUMBAI: CDC Group Plc., the development finance institution of the UK government, plans to double its exposure to India with investments of up to $3-3.5 billion by 2021, senior executives said in an interaction. The CDC India portfolio currently stands at $1.7 billion across direct investments into companies and investments in private equity and venture capital funds. CDC has backed several Indian private equity and venture capital fund managers to raise their maiden funds. The firm invests directly through both equity and debt. “The Department for International Development (DFID) has announced $3.5 billion capital commitment to CDC, which will come in over the next three years. So, we know that our balance sheet, which today stands at about $6 billion, will probably rise to somewhere between $10-12 billion over the next three years, as a combination of new capital and, obviously, the returns on the capital that we ...

Live Mint July 23, 2019 Utpal Bhaskar New Delhi: Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) on Monday said that the world’s premier energy monitor is closely monitoring the Strait of Hormuz situation and stands ready to act if needed. With a fifth of the global oil supplies passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the IEA’s stand holds importance given that its member countries maintain emergency oil reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports. This came after Iran said it seized the Stena Impero British oil tanker vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday after it collided with an Iranian fishing boat. Tehran said the British vessel failed to respond to the boat’s “distress call". This comes in the backdrop of India, the world's third-largest oil importer trying to buffer its consumers from any spike in global prices. IEA has been trying to get large energy consuming nations, including India and China, which are not Organisation for Eco...