Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams- Chapter 590
Palash Biswas
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US Zionist Weapon Economy is Banking on INDO US Nuclear deal for Sustenance and Survival, I have been writing and speaking often.Resignation by US Ambassador in India, Timothy J Roemer, Confirms this. NO DIPLOMACY , WAR Waging, sponsering DESTABLISATION, Subvertion and FREE MARKET had been US AGENDA from the Beginning. White House succeeded to INSERT Washington superslaves in the Government of India Incs, MNCs and LPG Mafia commtted to Brahaminical Zionist Hegemony, but ROEMER failed to defend US interests in India!
Timothy J Roemer, US ambassador to India, has decided to call it a day, citing personal, professional and family considerations. And after having marked many highs in India-US ties during his two-year tenure, Roemer will be demitting office on a low note — his announcement comes a day after Delhi rejected two American bids for its $10-billion aircraft deal.
It has to be underlined that the announcement of RESIGNATION coincided with news that India had excluded two U.S. defense companies from a much-anticipated $11 billion deal for at least 126 fighter aircraft, fueling speculation in defense circles that the two were linked.
Others, however, said the former six-term congressman from Indiana, a Democratic Party stalwart, may have felt he was being sidelined in India and wanted to raise his profile back in Washington in advance of President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election bid.
Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/04/28/1990214/roemer-resigns-as-envoy-to-india.html#ixzz1Kw1S6Yh3
However,the Pentagon on Friday said it is "deeply disappointed" over two U.S. companies losing India's multi- billion dollar combat fighter deal, but made it clear that the bilateral defence ties would not be affected.
In a separate development, without referring to the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama views India-U.S. ties as an anchor to America's approach in Asia.
Mr. Carney said the U.S. is committed to deepening its relationship with India and would continue to pursue top priorities with the country.
"President Obama has great respect for the Indian people, a close partnership with Prime Minister (Manmohan) Singh, and views this relationship as an anchor to our approach in Asia and the promise of the 21st century," he toldPTI.
The Pentagon said the U.S. remains convinced that it offers its defence partners the world's most advanced and reliable technology.
Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said the Defence Department was "deeply disappointed" at India's decision to exclude American companies from the purchase order.
"We are deeply disappointed by this news but we look forward to continuing to grow and develop our defence partnership with India and remain convinced that the United States offers our defence partners around the globe the world's most advanced and reliable technology," he said.
Mr. Carney said the United States is committed to deepening its cooperation, and partnering on a bilateral, regional, and global level to address the major challenges of the coming decades together.
"We will continue to pursue top priorities with India, such as balanced economic growth, counter-terrorism, global security and stability, education, agriculture, trade and investment, and the advance of democratic values," he said.
"Our commitment to addressing these challenges together demonstrates the growing strength and purpose of our strategic partnership," the White House spokesman said.
"I hear he wanted to get back to active politics," said Harinder Sekhon, a senior fellow in the U.S. studies program with New Delhi's Observer Research Foundation, a think tank.
Roemer said in a statement that he had only agreed to a two-year commitment when he took the job in 2009, that family considerations were paramount and that he had accomplished all the strategic objectives set out when he started the assignment. In a separate statement, he said he was "deeply disappointed" by India's decision against working with the U.S. companies.
Roemer said he would serve as long as needed but that he expected to make the move in June. It's not immediately clear who would replace him.
Even if the resignation decision is not related to the defense deal, it was poorly timed, industry officials said.
Elizabeth Fitzsimmons, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, declined to make any connection. "All we're saying is what's on the release," she said. "That's the sum total of the embassy's comments on his departure."
India's military has been on a buying spree, and Obama stood to gain politically if India selected either of the two U.S. contenders, the Boeing F/A 18IN or the Lockheed-Martin F-16IN.
At a time high U.S. unemployment, American voters would welcome the estimated 27,000 jobs either deal would provide.
"This type of technology is only provided to our closest allies and partners," Obama wrote in a February letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "Equipped with this technology, we are confident both of these aircraft will exceed the expectations of the Indian Air Force."
The Indian air force evidently didn't agree when it narrowed the competition down to France's Rafale and Europe's Typhoon, built by a consortium of Italian, Spanish, German and British companies.
"Your firms are out of fighter contract fray, India tells U.S." read the headline in Thursday's Indian Express newspaper, over a story that said the decision was based solely on technical considerations.
Also losing out were Russia's MIG-35 and Sweden's Gripen.
Although the decision may create some modest strain between Washington and New Delhi - and the U.S. could still pressure India to re-open the bidding or start over - analysts said they didn't think it would hurt the relationship fundamentally.
U.S. companies have won several other defense deals recently, including a $1.2 billion agreement for six C130-J military cargo jets, a $2.1 billion deal for eight maritime P8I aircraft and a $4.1 billion contract for 10 C-17 cargo aircraft.
"And in the nuclear energy field, a lot of upcoming contracts will go to the U.S.," said Ajey Lele, an analyst with New Delhi's Institute of Defense Studies, a think tank. "I don't think relations will be hurt by one defense deal. We've grown beyond that."
India is the world's largest arms importer, accounting for 9 percent of global cross-border weapons trade between 2006 and 2010, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank.
India has seen a parade of top world leaders flock to its shores in recent months, trips motivated by the country's growing global clout and a desire to win contracts coming from its ambitious defense spending plans, estimated at $80 billion in the next five years. Other items on its shopping list include attack helicopters, submarines, tanks and howitzers.
In 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Obama all visited India, lobbying for their companies.
India's defense budget for the fiscal year ended in March rose 11.6 percent to $36.28 billion, although that's still less than half the official spending by China, its long-term rival.
Defense experts said several factors may have affected India's decision to go with the European firms.
One was a Indian officials' desire to hedge their bets. "There's been debate in the Indian defense establishment," Sekhon said. "Some feel we've been too dependent first on the erstwhile Soviet Union and now on the U.S., especially if they give the same equipment to Pakistan."
Rival and fellow nuclear power Pakistan flies F-16s.
Also, other experts said, the Indian air force also has about 51 Mirage-2000 fighters and feels a comfort level with French systems and support.
Another consideration may be the life span of the aircraft. India is looking for a fighter it can use for the next 30 to 40 years. The U.S. models are updated versions of older technology - F16s started flying in 1978 and F/A18s in 1999 - while the two European offerings are later-generation aircraft that may better weather a three-decade life span.
The U.S. Embassy said Thursday it was respectful of India's procurement process. "I have been personally assured at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for this aircraft has been and will be transparent and fair," Roemer said in a statement.
India has seen a string of allegations related to corruption in defense procurement over the years. In January, a top-secret file related to this fighter jet contract went missing from the Defense Ministry before it was reportedly found lying on a Delhi street.
In the late 1980s, a kickback scandal involving howitzers helped bring down the government.
With the competition narrowed, the focus is expected to shift to price in advance of a hoped-for March 2012 final agreement. Other considerations include what the two remaining companies can offer in technology transfer, support, parts and simulators.
"The fat lady has entered the room, but she hasn't taken a breath," said an executive at one defense contractor.
(Anshul Rana in the New Delhi bureau contributed to this report.)
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Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/04/28/1990214/roemer-resigns-as-envoy-to-india.html#ixzz1Kw22iVFO
Nothing positive in Indo-US ties since nuclear deal
Indrani Bagchi, TNN | Apr 29, 2011, 03.37am ISTNEW DELHI: Hard on the heels of India tossing out US bids for the MMRCA fighter aircraft deal, US ambassador Timothy Roemer announced he was leaving his post. Although his decision was unrelated to the MMRCA decision and was apparently in the works for a while, his decision to announce it on Thursday drew an immediate link to the Indian decision. There will be a blowback from Washington over the Indian decision, and many believe Roemer's announcement is the beginning.
In a statement, Roemer said the US was "deeply disappointed" at losing out on the contract. "I have been personally assured at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for this aircraft has been and will be transparent and fair. I am extremely confident that the Boeing F/A 18IN and Lockheed-Martin F-16IN would provide the Indian Air Force an unbeatable platform with proven technologies at a competitive price," he said.
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Indian officials said it had been clear for some time that the US planes fell short on the technical specifications. For many who believed that political considerations could triumph, they did not take into account the current environment in the Indian government. After the massive corruption scandals involving the Commonwealth Games and 2G spectrum allocation, there was no way this government would ever be able to override the technical arguments to take a political call.
But on a larger canvas, the Indian decision shows the level of deterioration in India-US relations. From the nuclear liability law onwards, things have not been positive on the India-US front. India believes it bent over backwards to accommodate US concerns during the nuclear deal and in its aftermath, as in the end-user verification issue. The US believed it got short shrift on India's nuclear liability law which makes it difficult for US companies to get into the Indian nuclear power sector.
Wikileaks earlier this year put a serious obstacle in the bilateral relations, with the Indian government treating the leaks as a sort of diplomatic betrayal. The dumped documents made the prime minister seem too keen to accommodate US views, portraying the Manmohan Singhgovernment as being "US-friendly" (which despite all the closeness, is a bad word in the establishment). It was largely due to defence minister A K Antony that the India-US strategic dialogue was pushed back from April to July.
India believed the US served it a bad turn when Washington allowed China to do a nuclear deal with Pakistan, bereft of the kind of conditions that India had to subject itself to. China will give extra nuclear reactors to Pakistan and there will be no separation of civil and military nuclear sectors as India was forced to do. All this happened with Washington's tacit consent. That went down badly in the Indian system.
The US, on the other hand, believes India has not kept up its part of the bargain after the nuclear deal. They believe they made a huge concession to India by overcoming the dissent in their own system to support India for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Sources in Washington said the US would probably walk back from that support.
The state of drift in India-US relations is likely to continue. The Indian government is consumed by serial domestic crises, and there is a virtual paralysis in the government's decision-making apparatus. In the US, the situation is not much better, and with Obama going into election mode soon, unlikely to improve. Sources also said that unlike George Bush, Obama is less of a big ideas man and much more transactional in his relationships. Its unclear whether he will listen to his advisers to pay India back for its decision. The first sign will be whether he appoints a new envoy for India any time soon.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nothing-positive-in-Indo-US-ties-since-nuclear-deal/articleshow/8113123.cms
Boeing confident of Indian market, despite losing jet deal
Published on Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 19:10 | Source : CNBC-TV18Updated at Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 19:43
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 *Excerpts from Reporter's Diary on CNBC-TV18 Watch the full show » |
India has rejected two US firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin for an USD 11 billion fighter jet contract, and has instead shortlisted European firms for the order. But Boeing, which along with Lockheed Martin were the firms to lose out, is not losing hope.
Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing India says to CNBC-TV18, "We have market customers like Air India which is going to introduce the Dreamliner in the fourth quarter this year. This is only the second airline in the world to get it. We are also working with Jet Airways which is the best private airline and they are doing wonderful. We are working with Spice Jet low cost which is all Boeing. So we are very pleased where our positioning has been."
Also watch the accompanying video.
Tags: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dinesh Keskar, Spice Jet, Dreamliner, Air India
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/boeing-confidentindian-market-despite-losing-jet-deal_539392.html
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India MM Joshi likely to submit PAC report to Speaker tomorrow: Sources
NDTV.com - 46 minutes ago New Delhi: A day after Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi's report on the 2G scam caused a political meltdown, sources have told NDTV that Mr Joshi is likely to meet Speaker Meira Kumar tomorrow and submit the PAC report. PAC and Purulia: BJP-Cong war of words hots up Indian Express CBI registers FIR in Prajapati fake encounter case
Indian Express - 3 hours ago The CBI registered an FIR on Friday in connection with the 2006 fake encounter of Tulsiram Prajapati, a key witness to the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausarbi, thus taking over the investigation after the Supreme Court's directive. CBI takes over Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter case Hindustan Times Handcuffs await Gujarat cops, ex-minister Daily News & Analysis India-US ties entering 'golden era', says outgoing US envoy Timothy Roemer
Economic Times - 5 hours ago NEW DELHI: India-US relations were entering a "golden era", outgoing US envoy Timothy Roemer said Friday, revealing that the two countries were now promoting free elections in third countries. US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer resigns Los Angeles Times War of words hots up between Cong-BJP over PAC, Purulia issues
IBNLive.com - 1 hour ago PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 29,2011 Hitting hard at the BJP and Left, Singhvi said the BJP had decided to fully support the Left in the elections in West Bengal and they were doing this by fighting a proxy war at the national level to "save the sinking ship" of ... High Court dismisses Hasan Ali's bail plea
NDTV.com - 1 hour ago PTI, Updated: April 29, 2011 22:42 IST Mumbai: Refusing to grant bail to Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, accused of stashing away billions of dollars in overseas accounts, the Bombay High Court today asked him to approach the special court ... Bombay HC refuses bail to Hasan Ali indiablooms Ban endosulfan totally: CM
Times of India - 40 minutes ago The CM slammed India's stand on endosulfan at the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties at the Stockholm convention and has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impose a nationwide ban on the chemical. Ball is in state govt's court, says Ramesh
Business Standard - 47 minutes ago Refuting the contention of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa that the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is adopting different yardsticks for clearing Polavaram and Posco projects, the Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh ... I am not anti-Orissa: Jairam Ramesh Hindustan Times Trinamool says another CPM leader abused Mamata, files complaint
NDTV.com - 43 minutes ago PTI, Updated: April 29, 2011 22:58 IST Kolkata: Trinamool Congress has lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal against state Minister Sushanta Ghosh for using foul language against Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee at an ... Mamata takes on CPI-M on black money Hindustan Times Left politics a 'shame' for West Bengal: Mamata IBNLive.com 'Bhatt to get security he is entitled to'
Express Buzz - 14 minutes ago PTI AHMEDABAD: Under fire for reported withdrawal of security to senior IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt who had implicated Chief Minister Narendra Modi in post-Godhra riots, Gujarat government today said Bhatt would get the kind of protection he is entitled ... Bhatt has security, only excess guards withdrawn: Gujarat Police Mangalorean.com 725 applications for return of Kashmiri militants from PoK
Times of India - 18 hours ago NEW DELHI: Keen to avail last year's special surrender and rehabilitation policy, 725 Kashmiri families have approached the Jammu and Kashmir government to facilitate the homecoming of their relatives who crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) ... 'homesick' kashmiri men may return home by June Hindustan Times Jammu and Kashmir seeks more security forces Economic Times CWG scam: CBI to summon Jarnail Singh?
IBNLive.com - 3 hours ago New Delhi: On Friday CNN-IBN broke the story of involvement of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee OC CEO Jarnail Singh in giving a go ahead to the Timing, Scoring and Result (TSR) deal. Now, CBI probes PMO's man on CWG top panel Times of India Kalmadi aide pushed Omega a year before bidding Hindustan Times Gogoi confident of Cong win
IBNLive.com - 6 hours ago PTI | 05:04 PM,Apr 29,2011 Guwahati, Apr 29 (PTI) Tarun Gogoi today claimed that Congress would return to form the government for the third consecutive time in Assam, where economic condition, law and order situation was considerably improved by it. No controversy on permission to Anna Hazare rally : Tarun Gogoi Daily News & Analysis Delhi govt mulls plan to set up sub-division level task force
IBNLive.com - 1 hour ago PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 29,2011 New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) In the wake of a fire incident that killed 10 people in north-west Delhi, the City government is considering to set up task forces at sub-division level to check on violations of various safety ... Pre-impeachment probe against Dinakaran stayed
The Hindu - 10 hours ago PTI The Hindu Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court PD Dinakaran. Photo: K. Murali Kumar The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the pre-impeachment probe by a Rajya Sabha-appointed panel into allegations of judicial misconduct and corruption against ... Will quit as Sena chief if bribery charge is proved: Thackeray
Indian Express - 3 hours ago Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said he would quit as chief of the party he founded four decades ago, if Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane's charge that the Sena was approached by 11 corporate houses with an offer of Rs 500 crore to scuttle ... Chavan has taken contract for Jaitapur project: Uddhav Mangalorean.com Chavan should not listen to Rane: Uddhav IBNLive.com Students await Anna's visit
Times of India - 17 minutes ago MYSORE: Anna Hazare is the new hero for Gen-Now. With him visiting the city on May 5, students are all set to meet him, listen to him and join him in his crusade against corruption. Official spanner in Anna rally wheel Hindustan Times Bihar poll official appointed special observer for Bengal polls
iNewsOne - 1 hour ago Kolkata, April 29 (IANS) The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, Sudhir Kumar Mishra, has been appointed the special observer for the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections to be held in four districts May 3, a senior election official ... Poll campaign goes green in Bengal Hindustan Times At crossroads: Bengal and the first time voter IBNLive.com Bangalore, Mysore get women mayors
Deccan Herald - 2 hours ago The Bangalore and Mysore city corporations Friday got women mayors, the former from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the latter from the Congress. Next mayor from new BBMP area Times of India BJP zeroes in on R Sharadamma for Bangalore's mayor Daily News & Analysis Test flights endanger lives of Bangaloreans living in flight path
Daily News & Analysis - 15 hours ago By Team DNA | Place: Bangalore The crash of the prototype of Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) at in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu just after take-off from HAL airport at 3.10 pm on Thursday should be a grim reminder of the existing threat to ... HAL aircraft crashes during test flight Express Buzz Aircraft crashes, pilots safe Hindustan Times Goa Might Not Fulfill its Committment Given to Maharashtra Govt
Daijiworld.com - 11 hours ago Panaji, Apr 29: Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has thrown hints that the state might not fulfill its committment given to Maharashtra government to provide jobs for their people as a part of deal struck to construct Tillari Irrigation project, ... Goa cabinet decides to set up new hotel management institute in Farmagudi HospitalityBizIndia Cabinet nod for 4 MSME schemes Times of India Featured video
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Economic Times - -
MM Joshi likely to submit PAC report to Speaker tomorrow: SourcesNDTV.com - 46 minutes ago New Delhi: A day after Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi's report on the 2G scam caused a political meltdown, sources have told NDTV that Mr Joshi is likely to meet Speaker Meira Kumar tomorrow and submit the PAC report. PAC and Purulia: BJP-Cong war of words hots up Indian Express CBI registers FIR in Prajapati fake encounter caseIndian Express - 3 hours ago The CBI registered an FIR on Friday in connection with the 2006 fake encounter of Tulsiram Prajapati, a key witness to the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausarbi, thus taking over the investigation after the Supreme Court's directive. CBI takes over Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter case Hindustan Times Handcuffs await Gujarat cops, ex-minister Daily News & Analysis India-US ties entering 'golden era', says outgoing US envoy Timothy RoemerEconomic Times - 5 hours ago NEW DELHI: India-US relations were entering a "golden era", outgoing US envoy Timothy Roemer said Friday, revealing that the two countries were now promoting free elections in third countries. US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer resigns Los Angeles Times War of words hots up between Cong-BJP over PAC, Purulia issuesIBNLive.com - 1 hour ago PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 29,2011 Hitting hard at the BJP and Left, Singhvi said the BJP had decided to fully support the Left in the elections in West Bengal and they were doing this by fighting a proxy war at the national level to "save the sinking ship" of ... High Court dismisses Hasan Ali's bail pleaNDTV.com - 1 hour ago PTI, Updated: April 29, 2011 22:42 IST Mumbai: Refusing to grant bail to Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, accused of stashing away billions of dollars in overseas accounts, the Bombay High Court today asked him to approach the special court ... Bombay HC refuses bail to Hasan Ali indiablooms Ban endosulfan totally: CMTimes of India - 40 minutes ago The CM slammed India's stand on endosulfan at the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties at the Stockholm convention and has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impose a nationwide ban on the chemical. Ball is in state govt's court, says RameshBusiness Standard - 47 minutes ago Refuting the contention of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa that the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is adopting different yardsticks for clearing Polavaram and Posco projects, the Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh ... I am not anti-Orissa: Jairam Ramesh Hindustan Times Trinamool says another CPM leader abused Mamata, files complaintNDTV.com - 43 minutes ago PTI, Updated: April 29, 2011 22:58 IST Kolkata: Trinamool Congress has lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer in West Bengal against state Minister Sushanta Ghosh for using foul language against Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee at an ... Mamata takes on CPI-M on black money Hindustan Times Left politics a 'shame' for West Bengal: Mamata IBNLive.com 'Bhatt to get security he is entitled to'Express Buzz - 14 minutes ago PTI AHMEDABAD: Under fire for reported withdrawal of security to senior IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt who had implicated Chief Minister Narendra Modi in post-Godhra riots, Gujarat government today said Bhatt would get the kind of protection he is entitled ... Bhatt has security, only excess guards withdrawn: Gujarat Police Mangalorean.com 725 applications for return of Kashmiri militants from PoKTimes of India - 18 hours ago NEW DELHI: Keen to avail last year's special surrender and rehabilitation policy, 725 Kashmiri families have approached the Jammu and Kashmir government to facilitate the homecoming of their relatives who crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) ... 'homesick' kashmiri men may return home by June Hindustan Times Jammu and Kashmir seeks more security forces Economic Times CWG scam: CBI to summon Jarnail Singh?IBNLive.com - 3 hours ago New Delhi: On Friday CNN-IBN broke the story of involvement of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee OC CEO Jarnail Singh in giving a go ahead to the Timing, Scoring and Result (TSR) deal. Now, CBI probes PMO's man on CWG top panel Times of India Kalmadi aide pushed Omega a year before bidding Hindustan Times Gogoi confident of Cong winIBNLive.com - 6 hours ago PTI | 05:04 PM,Apr 29,2011 Guwahati, Apr 29 (PTI) Tarun Gogoi today claimed that Congress would return to form the government for the third consecutive time in Assam, where economic condition, law and order situation was considerably improved by it. No controversy on permission to Anna Hazare rally : Tarun Gogoi Daily News & Analysis Delhi govt mulls plan to set up sub-division level task forceIBNLive.com - 1 hour ago PTI | 10:04 PM,Apr 29,2011 New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) In the wake of a fire incident that killed 10 people in north-west Delhi, the City government is considering to set up task forces at sub-division level to check on violations of various safety ... Pre-impeachment probe against Dinakaran stayedThe Hindu - 10 hours ago PTI The Hindu Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court PD Dinakaran. Photo: K. Murali Kumar The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the pre-impeachment probe by a Rajya Sabha-appointed panel into allegations of judicial misconduct and corruption against ... Will quit as Sena chief if bribery charge is proved: ThackerayIndian Express - 3 hours ago Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said he would quit as chief of the party he founded four decades ago, if Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane's charge that the Sena was approached by 11 corporate houses with an offer of Rs 500 crore to scuttle ... Chavan has taken contract for Jaitapur project: Uddhav Mangalorean.com Chavan should not listen to Rane: Uddhav IBNLive.com Students await Anna's visitTimes of India - 17 minutes ago MYSORE: Anna Hazare is the new hero for Gen-Now. With him visiting the city on May 5, students are all set to meet him, listen to him and join him in his crusade against corruption. Official spanner in Anna rally wheel Hindustan Times Bihar poll official appointed special observer for Bengal pollsiNewsOne - 1 hour ago Kolkata, April 29 (IANS) The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar, Sudhir Kumar Mishra, has been appointed the special observer for the fourth phase of the West Bengal assembly elections to be held in four districts May 3, a senior election official ... Poll campaign goes green in Bengal Hindustan Times At crossroads: Bengal and the first time voter IBNLive.com Bangalore, Mysore get women mayorsDeccan Herald - 2 hours ago The Bangalore and Mysore city corporations Friday got women mayors, the former from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the latter from the Congress. Next mayor from new BBMP area Times of India BJP zeroes in on R Sharadamma for Bangalore's mayor Daily News & Analysis Test flights endanger lives of Bangaloreans living in flight pathDaily News & Analysis - 15 hours ago By Team DNA | Place: Bangalore The crash of the prototype of Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) at in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu just after take-off from HAL airport at 3.10 pm on Thursday should be a grim reminder of the existing threat to ... HAL aircraft crashes during test flight Express Buzz Aircraft crashes, pilots safe Hindustan Times Goa Might Not Fulfill its Committment Given to Maharashtra GovtDaijiworld.com - 11 hours ago Panaji, Apr 29: Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat has thrown hints that the state might not fulfill its committment given to Maharashtra government to provide jobs for their people as a part of deal struck to construct Tillari Irrigation project, ... Goa cabinet decides to set up new hotel management institute in Farmagudi HospitalityBizIndia Cabinet nod for 4 MSME schemes Times of India | Featured videoImagesMoneycontrol.co... NDTV.com The Hindu Indian Express The Hindu The Hindu Calcutta Telegr... Rediff NDTV.com Popular storiesEconomic Times - - |
26/04/2011 The Republic of Scams
2010 was The Year of Scams: The 2G spectrum scam, the CWG scandal, the Adarsh Housing Society debacle, all contributed to shatter India's image on the global stage. Yet, scams are not new to this part of the world. In fact, since Independence, India has seen so many cases of high-profile fraud, it's a wonder why we haven't already been renamed the Republic of Scams.
28/04/2011 Why was govt inactive in Purulia arms drop case?
Did the central government facilitate the Purulia arms drop to destabilise the West Bengal government?
Kolkata: West Bengal's ruling Left Front Thursday asked the central government to explain why it remained inactive despite having advance information about the massive arms drop in Purulia in 1995.
"The latest revelations on the arms drop are further confirmation of the fact that there was a well planned conspiracy to use violence to destabilise the Left Front at that time," LF chairman Biman Bose told mediapersons. He was reacting to an interview given by arms drop case prime accused Kim Davy who claimed the arms were dropped to "destabilise" the state government and the then central government had played the role of a facilitator.
Here is a small flashback: On December 18, 2005, a mysterious weapon consignment was dropped from the sky over Joupur Jhalda area under Purulia district of West Bengal. The consignment was discovered the next morning. The key conspirator, Kim Davy, said that even RAW was involved in the fiasco. The authorities were informed by MI5 about everything in advance. Not only that, on the night of the drop, the Indian Air Force radar in Kalaikonda was switched off so that the AN-26B plane carrying the arms could pass undetected. Peter Bleach was granted a presidential pardon, Davy smuggled out of India and the crew that flew the plane let off.
Bose described the arms drop as a "serious assault on India's sovereignty" and a "diabolical plot against the then Left front government".
"Whatever has been said by Kim Davy, a prime accused in the case, and Peter Bleach, who was sentenced in the case, show that the arms drop for the Ananda Margis was planned through an international network and the target was the Left Front government.
"It was known at that time that the British intelligence had alerted the Indian government about the arms drop. Yet, the central government failed to inform the West Bengal government about the matter in time.
"The central government should explain why it failed to act on the information given by the British intelligence?" Bose alleged 22 MPs had signed a letter seeking lowering of charges against the accused who included Peter Bleach and five Latvians. "Four Congress MPs were signatories," he claimed.
Davy had also alleged that he was in contact with an MP who in turn was in contact with the PMO about the arms drop.
Bose, using the Davy interview transcript, accused Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's premier intelligence agency, of jeopardising the security of the country.
"Davy claims that the RAW had put off all radars for 48 hours to facilitate the arms drop. Can you imagine that? It is terrible. The time could have been used by international forces to attack our country." "This is an indication of a bigger conspiracy," said Bose.
Davy in an interview to Times Now news channel Thursday made startling revelations about the controversy, claiming that the then central government and RAW facilitated the arms dropping as well as arranged for his disappearance from the country.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asked the Congress why the central government, then run by the party, had allowed Davy to flee the country. "Why did you allow him to escape? Why did they not try to stop him?" he asked while addressing a public meeting at Dankuni in Hooghly district.
Another Left Front partner, Communist Party of India, demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government order a thorough probe into the whole issue.
"It is a shocking exposure of the Congress government at that point of time which worked with a sinister design to defame the Left Front government and to topple it by any means...The government must come clean in the matter".
Source: IANS
29/04/2011 India dumps US jets, opts for European fighters
New Delhi: A day after India said American, Russian and Swedish aviation firms were out of the race $10.4 billion order for 126 combat jets, three of the four firms rejected in the deal put up a brave face, but kept their options open to contest the decision.
India has chosen European consortium EADS Cassidian and French Dassault Aviation to continue in the last leg of the tendering process that is likely to be completed by March 2012.
US aerospace giant Boeing, in a statement, said it was "disappointed" after it was notified that its F/A-18 Super Hornet proposal for India's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition was not short-listed in the initial down-select.
"We are obviously disappointed with this outcome," it said
"Our next step is to request and receive a debrief from the Indian Air Force. Once we have reviewed the details, we will make a decision concerning our possible options, always keeping in mind the impact to the Indian Air Force," it added.
Reiterating its belief that it had offered IAF "a fully compliant and best-value" multi-role aircraft for the defined mission, the firm said: "We will continue to look for opportunities to help India modernize its armed services and enhance its aerospace industry."
Another US major, Lockheed Martin, which had offered its F-16IN Super Viper in the contest, said the US government had informed it about a letter from the Indian defence ministry concerning the MMRCA competition.
"We understand that the US government is working on a response to that letter from the Indian government. Lockheed Martin remains committed to our relationship with the Indian Air Force, Ministry of Defence and the other services. Lockheed Martin has several world-class products offering the most advanced and reliable technology we believe is suitable for India's security needs," the statement issued by it here said.
Swedish SAAB, which had offered its Gripen fighter jet, said it was willing to answer any further queries and concerns India may have on its plane to support the continued participation in the MMRCA.
SAAB International India AB's in-country director Joanna Sjolander, in her statement, said the company had received the information on the down-select in the MMRCA contract and that it would closely monitor the future process.
"To support the continued participation of the MMRCA, we are willing to provide additional information to the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of Defence to address any concerns that may have resulted in this decision and to lay out the comprehensive package of benefits that comes from the Gripen platform," Sjolander said.
Once again pitching the Gripen as a world-class next-generation product with an extensive technology transfer programme that stood up very well in extremely tough competitive international market, she said: "We believe that the Gripen NG meets the requirements of the Indian Air Force and India in creation of a strong, futuristic air force."
Gripen NG, she said, provided a price and lifecycle cost, which would enable India to acquire the requisite number of aircraft which makes it unmatched.
"The Gripen is a true independent choice and would give India huge ability to create an air force that would not be tied down to any single supplier or country," she added.
Russian United Aircraft Corporation, which had pitted its yet-to-be-operational MiG-35 against the other five contenders, did not respond to the development.
Source: IANS
Indo-US Military Cooperation: US Perceptions
2006-06-10 The basic document guiding the Indo-US defence relationship is the 'Agreed Minute of Defence Relations of 1995'. However, the relationship has since acquired new dimensions and reached a progressively higher http://www.india-defence.com/reports-2066
Wikileaks and US-India Defence Agreement
D. Raghunandan, April 29, 2011
The article published in The Hindu (28 March 2011) on the Wikileaks cables focusing on the landmark Indo-US Agreement of June 2005 on a "New Framework for US-India Defence Relationship" as part of a wider strategic engagement between India and the US has received less attention than it deserves. (The writer must himself take some blame for not writing this piece earlier!) It covers a very significant period of modern India in which the UPA government took the country decisively into the US strategic orbit, and which witnessed a still unfolding process that included three watershed Agreements between India and the US. The other two accords, both intimately connected to this one, were the US-India Joint Statement of July 2005 issued after the Summit in the US between then President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which took the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership entered into with the US by the earlier NDA Government to a new level, and of course the "123" Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement which cemented the new strategic alliance.
Hopefully we are going to be treated to further Wikileaks instalments dealing with these other Agreements too, and their inter-connectedness. Till then we must content ourselves with this glimpse and infer from it what we can about the broader strategic engagement. Yet even this brief look provides some fascinating insights into how this engagement was viewed by both sides.
Left was right The first thing that strikes one is that, looking at the bigger picture, there are no startling new revelations, and very few surprises. Most of what we can read from the Wikileaks cables was already known, and had been brought out especially by the Left and by many other strategic commentators during that time. Yet to see it all come together in one place, brought out by official US documented exchanges, is important enough. And fresh light is also thrown on some key aspects, even if not in the referenced Hindu article itself, if one connects the dots and reads between the lines.
Apart from anything else, the cables should convince the average reader that the Left in particular was not just spinning out some paranoid conspiracy theory about US intentions and its orchestration of events, including micro-manipulations of government officials and elected representatives both high and low, towards the outcomes it desired. Indeed, several cables show it was the vigorous Left opposition to the deepening US-India strategic engagement, and the impact this critique was having in the wider polity and public opinion, which pulled the reins at least somewhat and kept the US horses from bolting with the Indian carriage. The US Embassy in Delhi for instance notes its frustration that the Indian leadership, though willing, was holding back because of its anxiety about the political campaign that "India is sub-serving its foreign policy to that of the US."
This unfavourable environment engendered by the predominantly though not solely Left critique, with the Embassy analysis often pointing figures at the Nehruvian perspectives among sections of the foreign policy establishment also, seems to have the major reason for the UPA government going backing off from, or going slow on, several foundational bilateral agreements that the US was pushing. As a result India did not sign, and indeed has yet to sign, the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (re-named Logistics Support Agreement to appear more innocuous) that provides for use of each other's facilities and obtain refuelling and other services on credit during operations, the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement or CISMOA whereby air, sea and land assets of both sides can communicate with each other through common hardware and encryption software during as forces of US allies do during NATO operations, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation or BECA.
The US always claims that all these agreements will help the sale and transfer of advanced technologies to India and the latter two are indeed essential for sales of advanced and sensitive equipment. The cables show that in reality the US intention was to bind India into a web of military relationships both for their immediate strategic dividends for the US Pacific Command embracing East and South East Asia, and, as the cables show, as a part of the larger US strategy "to move the US-India mil-to-mil relationship closer."
One new bit of information in the cables is that the US wanted to go even one step further and get India to agree to "Cooperative Security Locations" or CSLs, which are fully equipped military facilities in a dormant base that can be activated for operational use at short notice. This seemed too much even for pro-US sections of the Indian leadership!
Not that they have been converted! In fact, the UPA political leadership is slowly but surely finding backdoor means to achieve closer military ties. In some cases such as with the End-Use Agreements which the US normally insists on for government-to-government sales, and which gives the US rights to inspect military equipment sold to other countries on site and determine how they are used, India has not formally signed them but in 2009 agreed to language in annexures to sales contracts that are tantamount to the same. Similarly, India has gone along with the idea of interdiction on the high seas without actually signing the USA's Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).
Strategy not sales only Much has been made in strategic and defence circles of the commercial angle to the US-India defence relationship. Articles constantly refer to the opening up of the Indian defence market to US suppliers and the potentially hundreds of billions of dollars that could be garnered for US companies through such sales. The cables too have reference to $14 billion annual purchases by India and $27 million acquisitions market just in the near term. But perhaps the most striking aspect of the cable extracts contained in the Hindu article is that, whereas this commercial aspect is undoubtedly important to the US, military sales to India are essentially seen not as ends in themselves but as part of a larger goal of drawing India into the US geo-strategic orbit.
Of course, cables originating from the US Embassy in India placed strong emphasis on the commercial side of military equipment sales for after all promoting commercial interests are important part of any Embassy's mandate. However, US foreign policy is not limited to commerce, nor is it run from Roosevelt House, New Delhi but rather from Foggy Bottom and the White House. Thus, after then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's announcement during her visit to Delhi that the US desire to assist India to become a world power, the US Ambassador to India David Mulford conveyed to the Indian leadership that "energy, military cooperation, space and defence sales were the key areas" through which the US would do this. In the run-up to the signing of the Defence Agreement, the cables show much discussion on military sales to India, the need to take on board the persistent Indian demand for technology transfer if this window of commercial and strategic opportunity is to open up for the US, and the positive US response to such sales, drawing the conclusion that "military ties have developed into one of the most important and robust aspects of the… dramatic improvements in relations" between the US and India.
The cables reveal clearly that US strategic and foreign policy objectives vis-à-vis India, rather than commercial gains howsoever important, were the main drivers behind the burgeoning defence relationship. Sales of military equipment are seen as a key route to forging stronger military-to-military relationships which themselves are viewed as a crucial but not the sole component of a broader geo-strategic alliance.
Indeed, despite several large orders from India for military equipment, this is why the cables show, as the Hindu article put it, the impatience and frustration of the US at the lack of forward movement or slow pace of enlarging he scope of the defence pact through the foundational agreements or other substantive and formal actions demonstrating geo-strategic convergence between India and the US.
Since then, India has acquired US military hardware worth a whopping $10 billion. Equipment bought from the US include the USS Trenton (now INS Jalashwa) troop carrier ship, P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, Hercules C130J heavy lift transporter aircraft and other items. Despite the total volume of these transactions, the cables show that the US still longs for that "breakthrough sale," especially the mega-order of 126 multi-role combat aircraft, now made possible by the agreement on End-Use Agreement and on licensed manufacture in India. The significance of such a sale for the US would be not just its commercial value but its importance for "deepening our mil-mil relationship and developing the military interoperability that will help our strategic partnership realize its potential". It is argued by US diplomats that such sales with make a "sustained relationship far more robust than exercises and exchanges. If we can continue our trend of major military sales, we will cement a relationship for the next several decades with the most stable country in South Asia."
Turning scepticism into opportunity The cables also throw light on some interesting and hitherto unexplored dimension to Indian military acquisitions, especially from the US.
For one, the cables record considerable resistance in India, notably from the military leadership but also from a broader constituency of sections of the defence production sector, the strategic and foreign policy community, and journalists including defence correspondents, to strategic military acquisitions from the US. The Indian military brass appears to show deep-seated suspicions about US reliability as a supplier especially in time of conflict when, it fears, the US may impose sanctions or otherwise bock supplies. The cables note the obvious reluctance of military leaders regarding acquisitions and deployment in theatres potentially involving Pakistan.
The above mentioned acquisitions are interesting in this light. They are mostly stand-alone acquisitions for longer-range or indirect roles, whereas the fighter aircraft would be frontline combat aircraft likely to find use in the neighbourhood. The cables' repeated reference to support from the military especially the Navy for expanded military relations with the US should also perhaps be seen in this light. The Navy not surprisingly finds considerable value in the experience gained from joint exercises using modern networking systems, and also looks positively at the prospect of strengthening its deep-water capabilities through such collaborations. None of these involve major hardware acquisitions that may be hampered in times of conflict. The Air Force Chief has gone on record as saying not saying CISMOA would not affect his service's operational preparedness. Point is, weapon systems are a military's bread and butter. And no military worth its salt would compromise its ability to be self-reliant within the nation especially in time of conflict when such equipment would actually be put to the use for which it was intended.
This is obviously linked to India's defence industry capabilities to produce and maintain the major military hardware the armed services require. The on-going effort in India to address the well-known deficiencies of the Indian defence production sector is an unfolding story and cannot be addressed in this article. But we may briefly note that the Wikileaks cables throw a hitherto little noticed and interesting, new light on this aspect too.
The cables show US officials both in the US and especially in the Embassy in New Delhi repeatedly noting the strong Indian requirement for technology transfer to accompany any military sales. The cables reveal the US establishment, not being accustomed to such arrangements, gradually coming around to the idea in the interest of promoting the strategic partnership it wants "at a time when the goal of establishing a key strategic relationship... with one of Asia's rising giants... is becoming reality." The cables show a US decision to project itself as a "reliable strategic partner for defence co-production, technology sharing, and joint research [while] using military sales as the platform for cooperation [to] catalyze development of India's defence sector [and] spin off new industries." With typical American push, US officials suggest that the Defence Production and Procurement Group set up under the Defence Agreement could then "lay the foundation for direct interaction among Indian and U.S. business leaders aimed at creating corporate structures as the basis for defence cooperation, beginning with a few discreet projects."
We are today witnessing an unfolding of this US stratagem. The UPA government has not only liberalized the offsets regime by various means including opening up civilian sector offsets which would benefit companies such as Boeing but has also decisively opened up the defence sector to the private sector including with foreign collaboration and portfolio investment. So not only will US interests be promoted in terms of military sales by agreeing to licensed manufacture or other offsets or collaboration as India wanted, this could be further advanced by tweaking these collaboration arrangements such that US defence manufacturers gain a foothold in the Indian defence manufacturing sector! But that's the subject of another article!
The Republic of Scams
2010 was The Year of Scams: The 2G spectrum scam, the CWG scandal, the Adarsh Housing Society debacle, all contributed to shatter India's image on the global stage. Yet, scams are not new to this part of the world. In fact, since Independence, India has seen so many cases of high-profile fraud, it's a wonder why we haven't already been renamed the Republic of Scams.
Why was govt inactive in Purulia arms drop case?
Did the central government facilitate the Purulia arms drop to destabilise the West Bengal government?
Kolkata: West Bengal's ruling Left Front Thursday asked the central government to explain why it remained inactive despite having advance information about the massive arms drop in Purulia in 1995.
"The latest revelations on the arms drop are further confirmation of the fact that there was a well planned conspiracy to use violence to destabilise the Left Front at that time," LF chairman Biman Bose told mediapersons. He was reacting to an interview given by arms drop case prime accused Kim Davy who claimed the arms were dropped to "destabilise" the state government and the then central government had played the role of a facilitator.
Here is a small flashback: On December 18, 2005, a mysterious weapon consignment was dropped from the sky over Joupur Jhalda area under Purulia district of West Bengal. The consignment was discovered the next morning. The key conspirator, Kim Davy, said that even RAW was involved in the fiasco. The authorities were informed by MI5 about everything in advance. Not only that, on the night of the drop, the Indian Air Force radar in Kalaikonda was switched off so that the AN-26B plane carrying the arms could pass undetected. Peter Bleach was granted a presidential pardon, Davy smuggled out of India and the crew that flew the plane let off.
Bose described the arms drop as a "serious assault on India's sovereignty" and a "diabolical plot against the then Left front government".
"Whatever has been said by Kim Davy, a prime accused in the case, and Peter Bleach, who was sentenced in the case, show that the arms drop for the Ananda Margis was planned through an international network and the target was the Left Front government.
"It was known at that time that the British intelligence had alerted the Indian government about the arms drop. Yet, the central government failed to inform the West Bengal government about the matter in time.
"The central government should explain why it failed to act on the information given by the British intelligence?" Bose alleged 22 MPs had signed a letter seeking lowering of charges against the accused who included Peter Bleach and five Latvians. "Four Congress MPs were signatories," he claimed.
Davy had also alleged that he was in contact with an MP who in turn was in contact with the PMO about the arms drop.
Bose, using the Davy interview transcript, accused Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's premier intelligence agency, of jeopardising the security of the country.
"Davy claims that the RAW had put off all radars for 48 hours to facilitate the arms drop. Can you imagine that? It is terrible. The time could have been used by international forces to attack our country." "This is an indication of a bigger conspiracy," said Bose.
Davy in an interview to Times Now news channel Thursday made startling revelations about the controversy, claiming that the then central government and RAW facilitated the arms dropping as well as arranged for his disappearance from the country.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asked the Congress why the central government, then run by the party, had allowed Davy to flee the country. "Why did you allow him to escape? Why did they not try to stop him?" he asked while addressing a public meeting at Dankuni in Hooghly district.
Another Left Front partner, Communist Party of India, demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government order a thorough probe into the whole issue.
"It is a shocking exposure of the Congress government at that point of time which worked with a sinister design to defame the Left Front government and to topple it by any means...The government must come clean in the matter".
Source: IANS
India dumps US jets, opts for European fighters
New Delhi: A day after India said American, Russian and Swedish aviation firms were out of the race $10.4 billion order for 126 combat jets, three of the four firms rejected in the deal put up a brave face, but kept their options open to contest the decision.
India has chosen European consortium EADS Cassidian and French Dassault Aviation to continue in the last leg of the tendering process that is likely to be completed by March 2012.
US aerospace giant Boeing, in a statement, said it was "disappointed" after it was notified that its F/A-18 Super Hornet proposal for India's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition was not short-listed in the initial down-select.
"We are obviously disappointed with this outcome," it said
"Our next step is to request and receive a debrief from the Indian Air Force. Once we have reviewed the details, we will make a decision concerning our possible options, always keeping in mind the impact to the Indian Air Force," it added.
Reiterating its belief that it had offered IAF "a fully compliant and best-value" multi-role aircraft for the defined mission, the firm said: "We will continue to look for opportunities to help India modernize its armed services and enhance its aerospace industry."
Another US major, Lockheed Martin, which had offered its F-16IN Super Viper in the contest, said the US government had informed it about a letter from the Indian defence ministry concerning the MMRCA competition.
"We understand that the US government is working on a response to that letter from the Indian government. Lockheed Martin remains committed to our relationship with the Indian Air Force, Ministry of Defence and the other services. Lockheed Martin has several world-class products offering the most advanced and reliable technology we believe is suitable for India's security needs," the statement issued by it here said.
Swedish SAAB, which had offered its Gripen fighter jet, said it was willing to answer any further queries and concerns India may have on its plane to support the continued participation in the MMRCA.
SAAB International India AB's in-country director Joanna Sjolander, in her statement, said the company had received the information on the down-select in the MMRCA contract and that it would closely monitor the future process.
"To support the continued participation of the MMRCA, we are willing to provide additional information to the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of Defence to address any concerns that may have resulted in this decision and to lay out the comprehensive package of benefits that comes from the Gripen platform," Sjolander said.
Once again pitching the Gripen as a world-class next-generation product with an extensive technology transfer programme that stood up very well in extremely tough competitive international market, she said: "We believe that the Gripen NG meets the requirements of the Indian Air Force and India in creation of a strong, futuristic air force."
Gripen NG, she said, provided a price and lifecycle cost, which would enable India to acquire the requisite number of aircraft which makes it unmatched.
"The Gripen is a true independent choice and would give India huge ability to create an air force that would not be tied down to any single supplier or country," she added.
Russian United Aircraft Corporation, which had pitted its yet-to-be-operational MiG-35 against the other five contenders, did not respond to the development.
Source: IANS
Indo-US Military Cooperation: US Perceptions
2006-06-10 The basic document guiding the Indo-US defence relationship is the 'Agreed Minute of Defence Relations of 1995'. However, the relationship has since acquired new dimensions and reached a progressively higherhttp://www.india-defence.com/reports-2066
Wikileaks and US-India Defence Agreement
D. Raghunandan, April 29, 2011
The article published in The Hindu (28 March 2011) on the Wikileaks cables focusing on the landmark Indo-US Agreement of June 2005 on a "New Framework for US-India Defence Relationship" as part of a wider strategic engagement between India and the US has received less attention than it deserves. (The writer must himself take some blame for not writing this piece earlier!) It covers a very significant period of modern India in which the UPA government took the country decisively into the US strategic orbit, and which witnessed a still unfolding process that included three watershed Agreements between India and the US. The other two accords, both intimately connected to this one, were the US-India Joint Statement of July 2005 issued after the Summit in the US between then President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which took the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership entered into with the US by the earlier NDA Government to a new level, and of course the "123" Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement which cemented the new strategic alliance.
Hopefully we are going to be treated to further Wikileaks instalments dealing with these other Agreements too, and their inter-connectedness. Till then we must content ourselves with this glimpse and infer from it what we can about the broader strategic engagement. Yet even this brief look provides some fascinating insights into how this engagement was viewed by both sides.
Left was right The first thing that strikes one is that, looking at the bigger picture, there are no startling new revelations, and very few surprises. Most of what we can read from the Wikileaks cables was already known, and had been brought out especially by the Left and by many other strategic commentators during that time. Yet to see it all come together in one place, brought out by official US documented exchanges, is important enough. And fresh light is also thrown on some key aspects, even if not in the referenced Hindu article itself, if one connects the dots and reads between the lines.
Apart from anything else, the cables should convince the average reader that the Left in particular was not just spinning out some paranoid conspiracy theory about US intentions and its orchestration of events, including micro-manipulations of government officials and elected representatives both high and low, towards the outcomes it desired. Indeed, several cables show it was the vigorous Left opposition to the deepening US-India strategic engagement, and the impact this critique was having in the wider polity and public opinion, which pulled the reins at least somewhat and kept the US horses from bolting with the Indian carriage. The US Embassy in Delhi for instance notes its frustration that the Indian leadership, though willing, was holding back because of its anxiety about the political campaign that "India is sub-serving its foreign policy to that of the US."
This unfavourable environment engendered by the predominantly though not solely Left critique, with the Embassy analysis often pointing figures at the Nehruvian perspectives among sections of the foreign policy establishment also, seems to have the major reason for the UPA government going backing off from, or going slow on, several foundational bilateral agreements that the US was pushing. As a result India did not sign, and indeed has yet to sign, the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (re-named Logistics Support Agreement to appear more innocuous) that provides for use of each other's facilities and obtain refuelling and other services on credit during operations, the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement or CISMOA whereby air, sea and land assets of both sides can communicate with each other through common hardware and encryption software during as forces of US allies do during NATO operations, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation or BECA.
The US always claims that all these agreements will help the sale and transfer of advanced technologies to India and the latter two are indeed essential for sales of advanced and sensitive equipment. The cables show that in reality the US intention was to bind India into a web of military relationships both for their immediate strategic dividends for the US Pacific Command embracing East and South East Asia, and, as the cables show, as a part of the larger US strategy "to move the US-India mil-to-mil relationship closer."
One new bit of information in the cables is that the US wanted to go even one step further and get India to agree to "Cooperative Security Locations" or CSLs, which are fully equipped military facilities in a dormant base that can be activated for operational use at short notice. This seemed too much even for pro-US sections of the Indian leadership!
Not that they have been converted! In fact, the UPA political leadership is slowly but surely finding backdoor means to achieve closer military ties. In some cases such as with the End-Use Agreements which the US normally insists on for government-to-government sales, and which gives the US rights to inspect military equipment sold to other countries on site and determine how they are used, India has not formally signed them but in 2009 agreed to language in annexures to sales contracts that are tantamount to the same. Similarly, India has gone along with the idea of interdiction on the high seas without actually signing the USA's Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).
Strategy not sales only Much has been made in strategic and defence circles of the commercial angle to the US-India defence relationship. Articles constantly refer to the opening up of the Indian defence market to US suppliers and the potentially hundreds of billions of dollars that could be garnered for US companies through such sales. The cables too have reference to $14 billion annual purchases by India and $27 million acquisitions market just in the near term. But perhaps the most striking aspect of the cable extracts contained in the Hindu article is that, whereas this commercial aspect is undoubtedly important to the US, military sales to India are essentially seen not as ends in themselves but as part of a larger goal of drawing India into the US geo-strategic orbit.
Of course, cables originating from the US Embassy in India placed strong emphasis on the commercial side of military equipment sales for after all promoting commercial interests are important part of any Embassy's mandate. However, US foreign policy is not limited to commerce, nor is it run from Roosevelt House, New Delhi but rather from Foggy Bottom and the White House. Thus, after then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's announcement during her visit to Delhi that the US desire to assist India to become a world power, the US Ambassador to India David Mulford conveyed to the Indian leadership that "energy, military cooperation, space and defence sales were the key areas" through which the US would do this. In the run-up to the signing of the Defence Agreement, the cables show much discussion on military sales to India, the need to take on board the persistent Indian demand for technology transfer if this window of commercial and strategic opportunity is to open up for the US, and the positive US response to such sales, drawing the conclusion that "military ties have developed into one of the most important and robust aspects of the… dramatic improvements in relations" between the US and India.
The cables reveal clearly that US strategic and foreign policy objectives vis-à-vis India, rather than commercial gains howsoever important, were the main drivers behind the burgeoning defence relationship. Sales of military equipment are seen as a key route to forging stronger military-to-military relationships which themselves are viewed as a crucial but not the sole component of a broader geo-strategic alliance.
Indeed, despite several large orders from India for military equipment, this is why the cables show, as the Hindu article put it, the impatience and frustration of the US at the lack of forward movement or slow pace of enlarging he scope of the defence pact through the foundational agreements or other substantive and formal actions demonstrating geo-strategic convergence between India and the US.
Since then, India has acquired US military hardware worth a whopping $10 billion. Equipment bought from the US include the USS Trenton (now INS Jalashwa) troop carrier ship, P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, Hercules C130J heavy lift transporter aircraft and other items. Despite the total volume of these transactions, the cables show that the US still longs for that "breakthrough sale," especially the mega-order of 126 multi-role combat aircraft, now made possible by the agreement on End-Use Agreement and on licensed manufacture in India. The significance of such a sale for the US would be not just its commercial value but its importance for "deepening our mil-mil relationship and developing the military interoperability that will help our strategic partnership realize its potential". It is argued by US diplomats that such sales with make a "sustained relationship far more robust than exercises and exchanges. If we can continue our trend of major military sales, we will cement a relationship for the next several decades with the most stable country in South Asia."
Turning scepticism into opportunity The cables also throw light on some interesting and hitherto unexplored dimension to Indian military acquisitions, especially from the US.
For one, the cables record considerable resistance in India, notably from the military leadership but also from a broader constituency of sections of the defence production sector, the strategic and foreign policy community, and journalists including defence correspondents, to strategic military acquisitions from the US. The Indian military brass appears to show deep-seated suspicions about US reliability as a supplier especially in time of conflict when, it fears, the US may impose sanctions or otherwise bock supplies. The cables note the obvious reluctance of military leaders regarding acquisitions and deployment in theatres potentially involving Pakistan.
The above mentioned acquisitions are interesting in this light. They are mostly stand-alone acquisitions for longer-range or indirect roles, whereas the fighter aircraft would be frontline combat aircraft likely to find use in the neighbourhood. The cables' repeated reference to support from the military especially the Navy for expanded military relations with the US should also perhaps be seen in this light. The Navy not surprisingly finds considerable value in the experience gained from joint exercises using modern networking systems, and also looks positively at the prospect of strengthening its deep-water capabilities through such collaborations. None of these involve major hardware acquisitions that may be hampered in times of conflict. The Air Force Chief has gone on record as saying not saying CISMOA would not affect his service's operational preparedness. Point is, weapon systems are a military's bread and butter. And no military worth its salt would compromise its ability to be self-reliant within the nation especially in time of conflict when such equipment would actually be put to the use for which it was intended.
This is obviously linked to India's defence industry capabilities to produce and maintain the major military hardware the armed services require. The on-going effort in India to address the well-known deficiencies of the Indian defence production sector is an unfolding story and cannot be addressed in this article. But we may briefly note that the Wikileaks cables throw a hitherto little noticed and interesting, new light on this aspect too.
The cables show US officials both in the US and especially in the Embassy in New Delhi repeatedly noting the strong Indian requirement for technology transfer to accompany any military sales. The cables reveal the US establishment, not being accustomed to such arrangements, gradually coming around to the idea in the interest of promoting the strategic partnership it wants "at a time when the goal of establishing a key strategic relationship... with one of Asia's rising giants... is becoming reality." The cables show a US decision to project itself as a "reliable strategic partner for defence co-production, technology sharing, and joint research [while] using military sales as the platform for cooperation [to] catalyze development of India's defence sector [and] spin off new industries." With typical American push, US officials suggest that the Defence Production and Procurement Group set up under the Defence Agreement could then "lay the foundation for direct interaction among Indian and U.S. business leaders aimed at creating corporate structures as the basis for defence cooperation, beginning with a few discreet projects."
We are today witnessing an unfolding of this US stratagem. The UPA government has not only liberalized the offsets regime by various means including opening up civilian sector offsets which would benefit companies such as Boeing but has also decisively opened up the defence sector to the private sector including with foreign collaboration and portfolio investment. So not only will US interests be promoted in terms of military sales by agreeing to licensed manufacture or other offsets or collaboration as India wanted, this could be further advanced by tweaking these collaboration arrangements such that US defence manufacturers gain a foothold in the Indian defence manufacturing sector! But that's the subject of another article!
Lockheed Martin
 *Moneycontrol.com Boeing confident of Indian market despite losing jet dealMoneycontrol.com - 3 hours ago India has rejected two US firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin for an USD 11 billion fighter jet contract, and has instead shortlisted European firms for the order. Video: Dogfight over India NDTV.com Lockheed Martin, Boeing out of Indian defense deal BusinessWeek The Hindu - ABC Live - Calcutta Telegraph - Forbes all 367 news articles »Email this story Your Industry News (press release) Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Developing Minds Of The FutureeMoneyDaily - Rachael Brunelli - 3 hours ago Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Space Systems Company has decided to open their doors to more than 3200 children aged six to 18 years to introduce them to the wonders of science, physics and mathematics in the space industry through its annual event "Young ... Lockheed Martin welcomes 1400 young minds KGO-TV Lockheed Martin Stockholders Elect Rosalind G. Brewer to Board of Directors PR Newswire (press release) GPS World magazine - Market Intelligence Center -EON: Enhanced Online News (press release) Lockheed Martin wins $64 million contract for support from US DefenseDefenseworld.net - 1 hour agoLockheed Martin Aeronautics Global Sustainment Services, Greenville, SC, is being awarded a $64403268 not-to-exceed modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract (N00019-05-D-0013) for continued ... Lockheed Martin Battle Command System Replaces U.S. Army Legacy SystemPR Newswire (press release) - Apr 28, 2011Lockheed Martin's Defense Readiness Reporting System-Army (DRRS-A) has replaced the Army Status of Resources and Training System (ASORTS) component within the Global Command and Control System-Army. LMT Lockheed Martin, U.S. Air Force Salute 50 Years of the Hercules in AbilenePR Newswire (press release) - Apr 28, 2011ABILENE, Texas, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and the US Air Force celebrated 50 years of C-130 operations at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, today. LMT Ambassador Roemer's resignation: More than meets the eye?domain-B - Rajiv Singh - 8 hours ago The resignation of Timothy Roemer, the US ambassador to India, hard on the heels of the ejection of US contenders Lockheed Martin and Boeing from the Indian Air Force's medium range, multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender, ... Video: I'm resigning: Roemer to NDTV NDTV.com US Ambassador to India Roemer quits; citing personal, family reasonsEconomic Times Calcutta Telegraph - Reuters - The American (blog) - Asian Tribune all 279 news articles »Email this story 'This is the future'phillyBurbs.com - 8 hours agoLockheed Martin brought one of its F-35 cockpit demonstrators to Teletronics Technology Corp.'s area facility so employees could see the result of their work. WBOY-TV Lockheed Martin Recognizes Warren Champ for Lifetime Volunteer Service AwardWBOY-TV - Susan Sullivan - Apr 28, 2011 CLARKSBURG -- Lockheed Martin has recognized one of its local employees for his lifetime volunteerism efforts. Warren Champ is an engineering manager who supports technology programs developed for the FBI and its Criminal Justice ... 'Exclusion of US firms from IAF jet deal a setback for ties'Indian Express - 11 hours agoIndia's decision to exclude two American companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, from its estimated USD 11 billion 126 fighter jet deal is strategically short-sighted and would be a setback to Indo-US ties, well-known American experts on South Asian ... Boeing India chief downplays rejection, hopeful of better deals in futureNewstrack India - 2 hours agoIndia on Thursday rejected bids from Boeing and Lockheed Martin for an 11 billion dollars 126-fighter plane contract, short-listing two European suppliers in a move that could delay closer strategic ties with the United States. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: Lockheed Martin, The Boeing Company ...PR Newswire (press release) - Apr 28, 2011Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is the biggest recipient of US defense contracts, followed by The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and Northrop Grumman Corp. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights: Lockheed Martin, The Boeing Company ...Zacks.com Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Raytheon Company, General Dynamics, The Boeing ...TradersHuddle.com (press release) all 205 news articles » NOC - BA - LMTEmail this story Exlar Actuators on Lockheed Martin's EQ-36 Radar Systems for US ArmyU.S. Politics Today - 10 hours agoExlar Corporation has received a contract to provide linear actuators for Lockheed Martin's Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 (EQ-36) counterfire target acquisition radar systems. Lockheed Martin Delivers Second Mid-Life Upgrade P-3 Orion to US Customs ...PR-USA.net (press release) - 6 hours agoLockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has delivered the second P-3 Orion with new Mid-Life Upgrade enhancements to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). LMT Companies Dependent on Government Spending: Will They Suffer from Cuts to the ...Value Expectations (blog) - 7 hours agoIncluding Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) Earlier this month, the federal government faced what would have been its first shutdown since the mid 1990's. LMT Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) New Savi CEOeMoneyDaily - Dallas Rayner - Apr 27, 2011 Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has named Bill Clark as the president and CEO of Savi Technology. According to reports, Bill Clark has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of Savi Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin ... Lockheed Martin gets an overseas boost MarketWatch Hot Stock Watch; Lockheed Martin Shares rise with Higher FY Forecast Beacon Equity Research Space News - BusinessWeek - Zacks.com Israel Acquires Additional Lockheed Martin C-130J Super HerculesPR Newswire (press release) - Apr 28, 2011MARIETTA, Ga., April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has received an Undefinitized Contract Action from the US Government for the Foreign Military Sale of an additional C130J to Israel, with funding for advanced procurement items ... Israel Acquires Additional Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Defense Daily Network (subscription) all 16 news articles » LMTEmail this story Recycle filter for cooking oilCalcutta Telegraph - 19 hours agoAn innovation programme run by India's Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the US aerospace company Lockheed Martin today picked the filter for frying oil for an innovation award, signalling its potential for global commercialisation. Eagan City Officials Meet With Possible Lockheed MartinPurchaserPatch.com - Jennifer Pfeffer - 20 hours agoSeveral Eagan city officials met last week with members of CSM Corporation, the company that is in the due diligence stage of purchasing Lockheed Martin's 51.25- acre property. The meeting was scheduled ... L-3, Lockheed Martin Secure Navy DealsGovConWire - John Adams - Apr 28, 2011"Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is being awarded an $18235100 not-to-exceed modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-5125) for command team trainer efforts to support the government of Australia (case AT-P-LCQ) under the Foreign Military... Lockheed helps equip two new Navy destroyers Moorestown Sun (blog) Mercury Computer Systems Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results SYS-CON Media (press release) all 15 news articles » LMT - MRCY - LLLEmail this story Mercury Computer Systems Applauds Successful Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ...Bradenton Herald - 6 hours agoThe April 14 test marked the Aegis BMD system's first engagement against an intermediate range ballistic missile, as well as the first time the system used a launch-on-remote capability, which allows the Aegis BMD system - built by Lockheed Martin - to... MRCY | Featured videoDogfight over IndiaNDTV.comall 367 news articles » ImagesThe Hindu Calcutta Telegr... Your Industry N... All related images » |
India-US ties entering 'golden era', says outgoing US envoy Timothy RoemerEconomic Times - 4 hours agoNEW DELHI: India-US relations were entering a "golden era", outgoing US envoy Timothy Roemer said Friday, revealing that the two countries were now promoting free elections in third countries. "The US-India global partnership is on a trajectory that ...US hopes India will buy Boeing C17 planes-envoyReuters - Aradhana Aravindan - 8 hours agoNEW DELHI, April 29 (Reuters) - The United States hopes it can sell Boeing Co's C17 transport aircraft to India for an estimated $4 billion, its ambassador to New Delhi said on Friday, a day after India rejected US bids for a huge fighter jet deal. ...Obama says India-US ties anchor to Asia approachEconomic Times - 11 hours agoWASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has reiterated his commitment to deepening India-US cooperation saying he views this relationship as an anchor to its approach in Asia and the promise of the 21st century. The statement cane in a White House ...
White House acknowledges Roemer's resignationThe Hindu - Narayan Lakshman - 15 hours agoPTI Timothy J. Roemer The resignation letter of Timothy Roemer, United States Ambassador to India, has been submitted, a White House official confirmed to The Hindu. Concurrently White House Spokesperson Jay Carney emphasised that over the past two ...US Ambassador to India Roemer quits; citing personal, family reasonsEconomic Times - 18 hours agoNEW DELHI: US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer stepped down on Thursday citing "personal, professional and family considerations," a day after India eliminated American companies from the race for a $10-billion contract to supply 126 fighter jets ...Nothing positive in Indo-US ties since nuclear dealTimes of India - Indrani Bagchi - 19 hours agoNEW DELHI: Hard on the heels of India tossing out US bids for the MMRCA fighter aircraft deal, US ambassador Timothy Roemer announced he was leaving his post. Although his decision was unrelated to the MMRCA decision and was apparently in the works for ...PTI US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer. File PhotoThe Hindu - 20 hours agoUS Ambassador Timothy Roemer on Thursday announced his resignation from the key diplomatic post citing personal commitments. The 54-year-old Mr. Roemer, a political appointee, said he has accomplished all of the strategic objectives set two years ago ...US committed to deepening its ties with India: White HouseDaily News & Analysis - 21 hours agoPlace: Washington, DC | Agency: PTI Noting that President Barack Obama views Indo-US ties as an anchor to America's approach in Asia, the White House on Thursday said that the United States is committed to deepening its relationship with New Delhi and ...US envoy Roemer quits, may help 'friend' Obama in campaignIndian Express - 21 hours agoAlthough US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer announced his decision to quit today, sources said he had conveyed this to South Block about three weeks ago — long before New Delhi communicated its decision to reject bids from US companies for the $10-billion ...Roemer quits as US envoy to India citing personal reasonsLivemint - Elizabeth Roche - Apr 28, 2011US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer on Thursday unexpectedly announced his intention to resign, citing personal reasons. Roemer's resignation comes two years into what is considered a key diplomatic posting in the world's second fastest growing ...All 63 related articles » | RelatedTimothy J. RoemerLockheed MartinBoeingAviationModern AircraftIndiaTimeline of articles Number of sources covering this story
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White House acknowledges Roemer's resignation
NARAYAN LAKSHMANSHARE · PRINT · T+
PTITimothy J. Roemer
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The resignation letter of Timothy Roemer, United States Ambassador to India, has been submitted, a White House official confirmed toThe Hindu.
Concurrently White House Spokesperson Jay Carney emphasised that over the past two years during Ambassador Roemer's tenure, U.S. President Barack Obama made the expansion of the U.S.-India strategic partnership a "major priority" and declared that it was an "indispensible partnership" for the 21st century.
A day after Mr. Roemer's resignation Mr. Carney said that Mr. Obama "has great respect for the Indian people, a close partnership with Prime Minister Singh, and views this relationship as an anchor to our approach in Asia."
M. Carney further reaffirmed that the U.S. and India would continue to pursue top priorities, including balanced economic growth, counter-terrorism, global security and stability, education, agriculture, trade and investment, and the advance of democratic values.
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http://connect.in.com/white-house/article-white-house-acknowledges-roemer-s-resignation-1228573-265586693a65c27d4eaab3707a3be0d93bf08568.html
"We are reviewing the documents received from the government of India and are respectful of the procurement process. We are, however, deeply disappointed by this news," Roemer said on Thursday.
On leaving India, some time in June, he said: "When I accepted this job two years ago, I told President (Barack) Obama I would serve for two years but that family considerations would be front and centre after that."
The Obama administration had pitched the multi-role combat aircraft deal as one that would generate thousands of jobs in the US. In Washington, while officials said Delhi's rejection would not cause long-term damage to ties, there were some who disagreed. "The feeling is that India may have settled for a plane, but could be foregoing a relationship," said former White House official Ashley Tellis.
Roemer disagreed: "We look forward to continuing to develop our defence partnership with India and remain convinced that the US offers the world's most advanced, reliable technology."
[The relative drift however lies within the broader framework of rapidly growing Indo-US proximity since the dissolution of the USSR and the camp led by it as a balancing power opposed to the US and its entourage.]
I/II.
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2011/04/29&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T
Roemer quits day after US loses aircraft deal
Drift In Indo-US Ties May Go On, US May Upset India's UNSC Bid
Indrani Bagchi TNN
New Delhi: Hard on the heels of India tossing out US bids for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) fighter aircraft deal, US ambassador Timothy Roemer announced he was leaving his post. Although his decision was unrelated to the MMRCA decision and was apparently in the works for a while, his decision to announce it on Thursday drew an immediate link to the Indian decision. There will be a blowback from Washington over the Indian decision, and many believe Roemer's announcement is the beginning.
In a statement, Roemer said the US was "deeply disappointed" at losing out on the contract. "I have been personally assured at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for this aircraft has been and will be transparent and fair. I am extremely confident that the Boeing F/A 18IN and Lockheed-Martin F-16IN would provide the Indian Air Force an unbeatable platform with proven technologies at a competitive price," he said.
Indian officials said it had been clear for some time that the US planes fell short on the technical front. Those who believed that political considerations would triumph did not take into account that in light of the massive corruption scandals involving the Commonwealth Games and 2G spectrum, there was no way this government could override technical arguments to take a political call.
But on a larger canvas, the Indian decision shows the level of deterioration in India-US relations. From the nuclear liability law onwards, things have not been positive on the India-US front. India believes it bent over backwards to accommodate US concerns during the deal and in its aftermath, as in the end-user verification issue. The US believed it got short shrift on India's nuclear liability law, which makes it difficult for US companies to get into the Indian N-power sector.
Wikileaks put a serious obstacle in bilateral ties with the Indian government treating the leaks as a sort of diplomatic betrayal. The dumped documents made the PM seem too keen to accommodate US views, portraying the Manmohan Singh government as being "US-friendly" (which despite all the closeness, is a bad word in the establishment). India believed the US served it a bad turn when Washington allowed China to do a nuclear deal with Pakistan, bereft of the kind of conditions that India had to subject itself to. China will give extra nuclear reactors to Pakistan and there will be no separation of civil and military nuclear sectors as India was forced to do. All this happened with US consent.
The US, on the other hand, believes India has not kept up its part of the bargain after the N-deal. They believe they made a huge concession to India by overcoming dissent in their own system to support India for a permanent seat in the UNSC. Sources in Washington said the US would probably walk back from that support.
The drift in India-US relations may go on. Sources said it is unclear if Obama will listen to his advisers to pay India back for its decision. The first sign will be whether he appoints a new envoy any time soon.
II.
US pressure fails to pull its fighter through IAF test
Rajat Pandit, TNN | Apr 29, 2011, 03.13am IST
NEW DELHI: From a US versus Europe battle, it has become a Europe versus France tussle. The US did mount a high-voltage campaign over the last four years, with even President Barack Obama making a strong sales pitch for American fighters in the final stages but in the end India went "purely" by the gruelling technical evaluation.
Officials, in fact, said both PM Manmohan Singh and defence minister A K Antony had made it clear that the selection process for the gigantic $10.4 billion project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) should be guided solely by IAF's operational requirements, not by "any other extraneous factor", as also the prospect of further modernizing the jets during their 40-year lifespan.
This came even as representatives of only Eurofighter Typhoon (EADS, backed by the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy), French Rafale (Dassault) jets were called to the defence ministry on Thursday to extend the validity of their yet-to-be-opened commercial bids, within two weeks, till December 31.
Rejection letters, in turn, have already been handed over to the other four contenders, American F/A-18 'Super Hornet' (Boeing) and F-16 'Super Viper' ( Lockheed Martin), Swedish Gripen (Saab), and Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation).
Though the Europeans were apprehensive that the Americans might use their clout to swing the MMRCA project, like US has done in other defence deals in the past, their fears have now been laid to rest.
The Eurofighter, followed closely by Rafale, "came closest" to meeting the 643 technical attributes specified by India during the long-drawn field trials held by IAF test pilots both in India and abroad under different weather conditions. "The other four fell below the base line of minimum air staff qualitative requirements to be met," said the official.
It is, of course, no secret that India remains unhappy with US for supplying more F-16s to Pakistan on the pretext of the war against terror. Neither is the defence ministry, led by Antony, convinced about the "utility and benefits" of the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA), the foundational military agreements being pushed by US.
While the absence of CISMOA restricts US from transferring certain high-tech equipment to India, the already-inked End-Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) gives Washington the right to inspect the military equipment sold to New Delhi as well as puts certain restrictions on their operational use.
Is it any wonder then that India seems to be restricting its military aircraft purchases from the US to transport and reconnaissance planes the like three Business Boeing Jets, six C-130J 'Super Hercules', 12 P-8I Poseidon and 10 C-17 Globemaster-III, which together cost upwards of $8 billion.
Moreover, it's not as if the Eurofighter and Rafale were pushovers despite the geo-political clout of the US. The former is, after all, backed by UK, Germany, Spain and Italy. France, too, has been a long-term defence partner of India and, incidentally, did not impose sanctions after the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998.
U.S. "deeply disappointed" by thumbs down to fighter jets
K. V. PRASADSHARE · PRINT · T+
PTIU.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer has expressed disappointment over the rejection of Boeing's F-18 and Lockheed-Martin's F-16 fighters by India in the bid for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal. File photo
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With both Boeing and Lockheed Martin failing to make it to the Indian Air Force's final shortlist for the $11 billion deal for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) — a contract that American leaders and diplomats had said would determine the direction of strategic relations between the two countries — the United States on Thursday expressed deep disappointment at the outcome and indicated it would continue to press its case with India.
Representatives of the European consortium offering Eurofighter and French Dassault offering Rafale were on Thursday asked by the Ministry of Defence to extend the validity of the commercials bids — that expire on April 28 — till December 31, 2011, officials said here.
It is understood that the companies have been given two weeks' time to complete the formality while on its part, the Ministry decided to start the process of "benchmarking," setting a price band for the deal.
As reported by The Hindu on Wednesday, the Ministry sent letters to the two European companies after completion of Technical Evaluation by the Indian Air Force. The process of 'down selecting' the two meant elimination of the other four competitors including two American firms — Boeing (F/A-18 Super Hornet) and Lockheed Martin (F16IN Super Viper). Sweden's SAAB (Gripen) and Russian Mikoyan (MiG35) were the other two to lose out in the deal that is estimated around Rs. 45,000 crore.
Of the 126 MMRCA , 18 would be in ready-to-fly condition while the rest were to be produced in India under Transfer of Technology. That 50 per cent value of the deal would have to be sourced within the country is among the terms and conditions.
Roemer 'disappointed'
Meanwhile, the U.S. Ambassador, Timothy J. Roemer, said he was "deeply disappointed" on being informed by the government that the two aircraft it offered to India were not selected for procurement.
In a statement released hours after announcing his decision to resign as the Ambassador, he said the Embassy was reviewing the documents it received from the government and "is respectful of the procurement process."
Mr. Roemer said he had been personally assured at the highest levels of the Indian government that the procurement process for the MMRCA "has been and will be transparent and fair" and expressed confidence that aircraft offered by Boeing and Lockheed Martin would "provide the Indian Air Force an unbeatable platform with proven technology at a competitive price."
"We look forward to continuing to grow and develop our defence partnership with India and remain convinced that the United States offers our defence partners around the globe the world's most advanced and reliable technology," the statement said.
On its part, the Boeing company said it would request and receive a debrief from the Indian Air Force and after reviewing the details, it will make a decision concerning possible options, "always keeping in mind the impact to the Indian Air Force."
"We believe we offered the Indian Air Force a fully compliant and best-value multi-role aircraft for the defined mission. We will continue to look for opportunities to help India modernise its armed services and enhance its aerospace industry," the company release said.
Over the last few years, the United States has successfully sold several defence equipment to India through the Foreign Military Sales (Government-to-Government) route. These include 12 Boeing VIP Business Jets, 8 P8I Long Term Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Lockheed Martin has supplied the first of the six C130J tactical transport aircraft for IAF and a follow-up order is expected. 12 weapon locating radars, Landing Ship Dock INS Jalashwa (USS Trenton) are already with India while recently HAL/DRDO signed deal for 99 GE414 engines to power 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft.
The government is in the process of finalising deal for 10 Boeing C17 Globemaster transport aircraft that American President Barack Obama indicated during his November 2010 visit. In addition, the Indian Army is to get 145 ultra-light Howitzer field guns from BAE Systems while inquiries are on for Javelin anti-tank missile, beside a few more. The collective value of these deals is expected to cross $ 15 billion.
Keywords: Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, IAF deal, Foreign Military Sales
http://connect.in.com/white-house/article-white-house-acknowledges-roemer-s-resignation-1228573-265586693a65c27d4eaab3707a3be0d93bf08568.htmlLockheed Martin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFor the former companies, see Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta.
 * | |
| Industry | Global security |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Bethesda, Maryland, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | (Senior Vice President) & (CTO) |
| Products | HULC-Human exoskeleton |
| Revenue | * US$ 45.803 billion (2010) |
| * US$ 4.097 billion (2010) | |
| * US$ 2.926 billion (2010) | |
| * US$ 35.067 billion (2010) | |
| * US$ 3.708 billion (2010) | |
| Employees | 133,000 (2010) |
| Website |
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger ofLockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 133,000 people worldwide. Robert J. Stevens is the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defense contractor, and in 2009, 74% of Lockheed Martin's revenues came from military sales.[1] It received 7.1% of the funds paid out by the Pentagon.[2]
Lockheed Martin operates in four business segments. These comprise, with respective percentages of 2009 total net sales of $45.2 billion, Aeronautics (27%), Electronic Systems (27%), Information Systems & Global Solutions (27%), and Space Systems (19%). In 2009 US Government contracts accounted for $38.4 billion (85%), foreign government contracts $5.8 billion (13%), and commercial and other contracts $0.9 billion (2%).[3] In both 2009 and 2008 the company topped the list of US Federal Contractors.
The company has received the Collier Trophy twice – in 2001 for being part of developing theX-35/F-35B LiftFan Propulsion System,[4][5][6] and again in 2006 for leading the team that developed the F-22 Raptor fighter jet.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]History
Merger talks between Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta began in March 1994, with the companies announcing their $10 billion planned merger on August 30, 1994.[7] The deal was finalized on March 15, 1995 when the two companies' shareholders approved the merger.[8] The segments of the two companies not retained by the new company formed the basis for the present L-3 Communications, a mid-size defense contractor in its own right. Lockheed Martin later spun off the materials company Martin Marietta Materials.
Both companies contributed important products to the new portfolio. Lockheed products included the Trident missile, P-3 Orion, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor, C-130 Hercules, A-4AR Fightinghawk and the DSCS-3 satellite. Martin Marietta products included Titan rockets, Sandia National Laboratories (management contract acquired in 1993), Space Shuttle External Tank, Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers, the Transfer Orbit Stage (under subcontract to Orbital Sciences Corporation) and various satellite models.
On April 22, 1996, Lockheed Martin completed the acquisition of Loral Corporation's defense electronics and system integration businesses for $9.1 billion, the deal having been announced in January. The remainder of Loral became Loral Space & Communications.[9]
Lockheed Martin abandoned plans for a $8.3 billion merger with Northrop Grumman on July 16, 1998, due to government concerns over the potential strength of the new group; Lockheed/Northrop would have had control of 25% of the Department of Defense's procurement budget.[10]
Lockheed Martin provided NASA with measurements in US Customary force units when metric was required, resulting in the loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter at a cost of $125 million.[11][12] The cost for spacecraft development was $193.1 million.[13]
A Lockheed Martin building in Bethesda, Maryland
In May 2000, Lockheed Martin sold Lockheed Martin Control Systems to BAE Systems. On November 27, 2000, Lockheed completed the sale of its Aerospace Electronic Systems business to BAE Systems for $1.67 billion, a deal announced in July 2000. This group encompassedSanders Associates, Fairchild Systems, and Lockheed Martin Space Electronics & Communications.[14][15]
In 2001, Lockheed Martin won the contract to build the F-35 Lightning II; this was the largest fighter aircraft procurement project since the F-16, with an initial order of 3,000 worth some $200 billion before export orders.
In 2001, Lockheed Martin settled a nine year investigation conducted by NASA's Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The company paid the United States government $7.1 million based on allegations that its predecessor, Lockheed Engineering Science Corporation, submitted false lease costs claims to NASA.[16]
On May 12, 2006, The Washington Post reported that when Robert Stevens took control of Lockheed Martin in 2004, he faced the dilemma that within 10 years 100,000 of the about 130,000 Lockheed Martin employees – more than three-quarters – would be retiring.[17]
On August 31, 2006, Lockheed Martin won a $3.9 billion contract from NASA to design and build the CEV capsule, also known as Orion – the next spacecraft for human flight – for the Ares I rocket in the Constellation Program.
On August 13, 2008, Lockheed Martin acquired the government business unit of Nantero, Inc., a company that had developed methods and processes for incorporating carbon nanotubes in next-generation electronic devices.[18]
On November 18, 2010, Lockheed Martin announced that it would be closing its Eagan, MN location by 2013 in order to drive down costs and optimize capacity at their locations nationwide.[19]
In January 2011, Lockheed Martin agreed to pay the US Government $2 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims on a U.S. government contract for that amount. The allegations came from a contract with the Naval Oceanographic Office Major Shared Resource Center in Mississippi.[20]
[edit]Organization
[edit]Aeronautics
C-130 Hercules; in production since the 1950s, now as the C-130J
Lockheed Martin/BAE/Northrop Grumman X-35 (F-35 Prototype)
Submarine launch of a Lockheed Trident missile
[edit]Electronic Systems
- Lockheed Martin Canada
- Lockheed Martin Australia
- Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors
- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
- Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics
- Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories
- Sandia Corporation
[edit]Information Systems and Global Solutions
- Lockheed Martin IS&GS-Civil
- Lockheed Martin IS&GS-Defense
- Lockheed Martin IS&GS-Security
- Lockheed Martin Orincon
- Lockheed Martin STASYS
- Lockheed Martin Technology Ventures
[edit]Space
[edit]Others
- LMC Properties
- Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina SA (formerly Fabrica Militar de Aviones)
- Lockheed Martin Enterprise Business Services
- Lockheed Martin Finance Corporation
- Lockheed Martin U.K.
- Prepar3D - Advanced visual flight simulation software
- Pacific Architects & Engineers - LockMart owned company
[edit]Joint ventures
- International Launch Services (with Khrunichev, RSC Energia)
- Lockheed Martin Alenia Tactical Transport Systems (with Finmeccanica-Alenia, now folded)
- MEADS International (with EADS and MBDA)
- Space Imaging (46%, remainder public)
- United Launch Alliance (with Boeing)
- United Space Alliance (with Boeing)
- Kelly Aviation Center (with GE and Rolls-Royce)
- Protector USV – an unmanned surface vehicle with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems andBAE Systems
- Defense Support Services (DS2) (with Day & Zimmermann) official site
[edit]Government contracts
Lockheed Martin is active in many aspects of government contracting. It "received $36 billion in government contracts in 2008 alone, more than any company in history. It now does work for more than two dozen government agencies from the Department of Defense and theDepartment of Energy to the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. Its involved in surveillance and information processing for the CIA, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Pentagon, the Census Bureau, and the Postal Service."[2]
[edit]Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Lockheed Martin are: Edward Aldridge, Nolan Archibald, Marcus Bennett, James O. Ellis,Gwendolyn King, James Loy, Douglas McCorkindale, Eugene Murphy, Joseph Ralston, Frank Savage, Anne Stevens, Robert J. Stevens, James Ukropina and Douglas Yearley.
Lockheed "ranks number one on the 'contractor misconduct' database maintained by the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-DC-based watchdog group."[2] Since 1995, the company has agreed to pay $577 million to settle fifty-four instances of misconduct.[21]
[edit]Lobbying
The company's 2010 lobbying expenditure by the third quarter was $9.9 million (2009 total: $13.7 million).[22][23]
Through its political action committee, the company provides low levels of financial support to candidates who advocate national defense and relevant business issues.[24] It is "the top contributor to the incoming House Armed Services Committee chairman, Republican Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon of California, giving more than $50,000 in the most recent election cycle. It also tops the list of donors to Sen. Daniel Inouye(D-HI), the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the self-described '#1 earmarks guy in the US Congress.'"[2]
Lockheed Martin Employees Political Action Committee is one of the 50 most generous PACs in the country, according to FEC data. With contributions from 3,000 employees, it donates $500,000 a year to about 260 House and Senate candidates. For the 2004 election cycle, Lockheed's PAC has already contributed $350,279 to federal candidates, with about 62 percent going to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That compares with $515,000 from General Dynamics' political action committee and $122,850 from BAE Systems North America, the center's data showed.[25]
[edit]See also
| * | Aviation portal |
- Defense contractor – table of comparable companies
- Lockheed Martin Maintenance Trophy
- Top 100 US Federal Contractors - $38.5 billion in FY09
[edit]References
- ^ Jackson, Susan T. et al The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing companies, 2009 (short) Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, 2009. Retrieved: 13 June 2010. Quote: "Arms sales are defined by SIPRI as sales of military goods and services to military customers, including both domestic and export sales. Military goods and services are those which are designed specifically for military purposes"
- ^ a b c d Hartung, William (2011-01-12) Is Lockheed Martin Shadowing You?, Mother Jones
- ^ "2009 Annual Report". LockheedMartin.com. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ^ Propulsion System in Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter wins Collier Trophy Lockheed Martin press release, February 28, 2003. Retrieved: January 2010
- ^ "Propulsion system for a vertical and short takeoff and landing aircraft", 1990 United States Patent 5209428 (PDF of original)
- ^ Collier Trophy; list of winners. Retrieved January 2010
- ^ Norris, Floyd (1994-08-31). "A 'merger of equals,' with Martin Marietta the most equal". The New York Times.
- ^ "Martin Marietta-Lockheed merger is approved". The New York Times. 1995-03-16.
- ^ Mintz, John (1996-04-23). "Lockheed-Martin Loral Merger May Mean a Loss of Business; McDonnell Douglas Threatens to Cancel Billions in Contracts". The Washington Post.
- ^ Wayne, Leslie (1998-07-17). "Lockheed cancels Northrop merger, citing U.S. stand". The New York Times.
- ^ "Metric mishap caused loss of NASA orbiter". CNN. 1999-09-30.
- ^ "Math error equals loss of Mars orbiter". Science News. 1999-10-09.
- ^ http://www.aviationearth.com/the-lockheed-martin-corporation/
- ^ "Contract for BAE". The Times (Times Newspapers). 2000-11-28.
- ^ Parreault, Carl (2004-07-14). "British aerospace firm buys Sanders". The Union Leader.
- ^ LOCKHEED MARTIN PAYS NASA $7.1 MILLION SETTLEMENT. U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney Press Rlease, July 10, 2003.
- ^ Dutt, Jill. "Taking an Engineer's Approach at Lockheed Martin."Washington Post, May 1, 2006.
- ^ "Lockheed Martin Acquires Nantero, Inc.'s Government Business Unit". Taume News. August 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ Hult, Karla. "Lockheed Martin to Close Eagan Plant, Shed 1,000 Jobs." Kare 11 News, November 19, 2010.
- ^ Washington Post, "Lockheed To Pay $2 Million To Settle Lawsuit", 25 January 2011, p. 14.
- ^ "Federal Contractor Misconduct Database". Project on Government Oversight. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ "Lockheed Martin Lobbying Expenditure". Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ "Lobbying Disclosure Act Database". United States Senate. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ "Political Disclosures". LockheedMartin.com. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ^ Lockheed Martin Employees PAC article
[edit]External links
- Lockheed Martin web site
- Prepar3D(R): Visual flight simulation software development kit for computers
- Santa Fe New Mexican article "Jury Awards Fired Sandia Analyst $4.3 Million"
- TIME Magazine article "A Security Analyst Wins Big in Court"
- Article on Lockheed Martin from the Center for Media and Democracy
- Washington Technology article "Lockheed loses Los Alamos outsourcing to U. of Calif"
- Washington Post article "Lockheed Wins Contract to Build NASA's New Spaceship"
- "Patents owned by Lockheed Martin". US Patent & Trademark Office. Retrieved December 5, 2005.
- ABC News report "Jury Slaps Defense Giant for Neglecting National Security"
- Space.com article "Lockheed Martin Accepts Blame for Root Cause of Craft's Loss"
- CBS News article "NASA: Mars Surveyor Was Doomed By Humans"
- BBC News article "Lockheed Fined Over Secrets Breach"
- Washington Post article "Coast Guard Failed to Properly Oversee Contracts, Officials Say"
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Categories: Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange | Aerospace companies of the United States | Companies based in Bethesda, Maryland | Defense companies of the United States | Lockheed Martin | Aircraft manufacturers of the United States | Companies established in 1995
India-US ties entering 'golden era', says outgoing US envoy Timothy Roemer
Economic Times - 4 hours ago
NEW DELHI: India-US relations were entering a "golden era", outgoing US envoy Timothy Roemer said Friday, revealing that the two countries were now promoting free elections in third countries. "The US-India global partnership is on a trajectory that ...
US hopes India will buy Boeing C17 planes-envoy
Reuters - Aradhana Aravindan - 8 hours ago
NEW DELHI, April 29 (Reuters) - The United States hopes it can sell Boeing Co's C17 transport aircraft to India for an estimated $4 billion, its ambassador to New Delhi said on Friday, a day after India rejected US bids for a huge fighter jet deal. ...
Obama says India-US ties anchor to Asia approach
Economic Times - 11 hours ago
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has reiterated his commitment to deepening India-US cooperation saying he views this relationship as an anchor to its approach in Asia and the promise of the 21st century. The statement cane in a White House ...
"In the spirit of this friendship, I want to underscore the strategic importance the United States attaches to the selection of a US proposal in India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competitiona| The selection of a US proposal for the MMRCA tender will strengthen our partnership, launch our defence cooperation on an ambitious and rewarding trajectory, and provide strategic continuity to our growing relationship," he wrote.
more by Barack Obama - 18 hours ago - Economic Times(2 occurrences)
White House acknowledges Roemer's resignation
The Hindu - Narayan Lakshman - 15 hours ago
PTI Timothy J. Roemer The resignation letter of Timothy Roemer, United States Ambassador to India, has been submitted, a White House official confirmed to The Hindu. Concurrently White House Spokesperson Jay Carney emphasised that over the past two ...
US Ambassador to India Roemer quits; citing personal, family reasons
Economic Times - 18 hours ago
NEW DELHI: US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer stepped down on Thursday citing "personal, professional and family considerations," a day after India eliminated American companies from the race for a $10-billion contract to supply 126 fighter jets ...
Nothing positive in Indo-US ties since nuclear deal
Times of India - Indrani Bagchi - 19 hours ago
NEW DELHI: Hard on the heels of India tossing out US bids for the MMRCA fighter aircraft deal, US ambassador Timothy Roemer announced he was leaving his post. Although his decision was unrelated to the MMRCA decision and was apparently in the works for ...
PTI US Ambassador Timothy J. Roemer. File Photo
The Hindu - 20 hours ago
US Ambassador Timothy Roemer on Thursday announced his resignation from the key diplomatic post citing personal commitments. The 54-year-old Mr. Roemer, a political appointee, said he has accomplished all of the strategic objectives set two years ago ...
US committed to deepening its ties with India: White House
Daily News & Analysis - 21 hours ago
Place: Washington, DC | Agency: PTI Noting that President Barack Obama views Indo-US ties as an anchor to America's approach in Asia, the White House on Thursday said that the United States is committed to deepening its relationship with New Delhi and ...
US envoy Roemer quits, may help 'friend' Obama in campaign
Indian Express - 21 hours ago
Although US Ambassador Timothy J Roemer announced his decision to quit today, sources said he had conveyed this to South Block about three weeks ago — long before New Delhi communicated its decision to reject bids from US companies for the $10-billion ...
Roemer quits as US envoy to India citing personal reasons
Livemint - Elizabeth Roche - Apr 28, 2011
US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer on Thursday unexpectedly announced his intention to resign, citing personal reasons. Roemer's resignation comes two years into what is considered a key diplomatic posting in the world's second fastest growing ...
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Air India's Boeing buy forced: CAG
Govt auditor's report indicts eGoM of ordering 50 planes without due diligence or verifying cost-escalation claims
Tarun Shukla & Appu Esthose Suresh
New Delhi: Was India's beleaguered state-run carrier forced, in 2006, to buy planes it didn't need?
That's the between-the-lines message of a report of the government's auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), that is to be tabled in Parliament and which criticizes a ministerial group for the decision to buy 50 aircraft from Boeing Co. for Air India Ltd.
Mint has reviewed a copy of the CAG report, which looks at Air India's acquisition of aircraft and the impact of this on its finances. The airline, which is weighed down by debt, is trying to arrive at a debt restructuring deal with banks even as it faces labour trouble.
Air India suggested that the order to Boeing include 15 long-haul aircraft valued at $3 billion (around Rs13,300 crore today) as an option. CAG's audit shows that an empowered group of ministers (eGoM), after discussing the matter with the US firm, decided to buy all 50 aircraft because it was a good deal. The 50 were part of the 111 aircraft deal (worth around $11 billion) signed by the airline with Boeing and rival Airbus SAS in 2006, and CAG's report claims this purchase was done without adequate due diligence or independent verification of cost-escalation claims by the manufacturers.
The CAG report doesn't feature the airline's response regarding eGoM's role in finalizing the deal.
The ministry of civil aviation confirmed that the ministerial group had held negotiations with Boeing and decided to acquire all 50 aircraft, but former aviation minister Praful Patel, who was part of the group, defended the decision.
"The ministry of civil aviation placed a note for consideration of the cabinet for acquisition of 50 aircraft, 35 on firm basis and 15 on option basis," said the ministry. "However, the cabinet decided to have the price negotiations with the manufacturer and accordingly an empowered group of ministers was set up for the purpose."
The CAG report said the group, headed by then finance minister P. Chidambaram, negotiated with the manufacturers and "decided to place a firm order for 50 aircraft".
The decision was "based on the strong growth potential of air traffic in India at that time and (arrived at) after extracting considerable concessions", said Patel.
Chidambaram didn't respond to a request seeking comment; nor did the other two members of the group, then law minister H.R. Bhardwaj and then minister of state for statistics Oscar Fernandes.
The decision "closed the option of not buying 15 aircraft in event of unfavourable conditions", said CAG's report.
And it merits a closer look, said an activist lawyer and a former employee of Air India.
"Normally when an airline places an order, it's broken into 'firm' and 'options'. And Air India had been doing it in all the previous orders. Why (did it change for this order)? How? Well, only a proper investigation can find out," said Jitender Bhargava, a former executive director at the airline who retired in 2009 and has since turned a trenchant critic of the airline's performance and efforts to effect a turnaround at it.
Prashant Bhushan, a Supreme Court lawyer, who is pursuing a public interest litigation seeking a court-monitored investigation into the deal, said: "Clearly this needs investigation. Prima facie it's a thoroughly corrupt case as big as the 2G scam, involving huge kickbacks, politicians and bureaucrats. Here is a case where Air India, which was flying below capacity, was forced to buy aircraft, which were probably not required, at an exorbitant rate. We will press for a court -monitored investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)." Bhushan is one of the leading actors in the ongoing investigation into the allotment of licences and spectrum to telcos on allegedly favourable terms (aka the 2G scam) and his public interest case succeeded in having this investigated by the federal investigation agency CBI under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
The CAG report paints a bleak picture of the airline's future. There is also a market divergence between the turnaround plan detailed by Air India to CAG and the airline's actions. For instance, in the plan submitted to CAG, Air India speaks of a reduction in fleet size by returning leased aircraft while the plan put forth by the airline in March seeks to effect a turnaround by expanding, and adding, by 2015, 113 aircraft to its fleet size of 135. Last week, the airline uploaded a fresh tender on its website to lease at least 16 new Airbus A320s to add to its current fleet of 48 A320s for use on flights within the country. "The turnaround plan has to be dynamic," said an Air India spokesman. "If you have to compete in the market, you have to grow. Where is the controversy?"
Air India, which has capitalized the acquisition cost, has around Rs40,000 crore of debt on its books and was losing around Rs19 crore a day in the first half of 2010-11. It has sought an equity infusion from the government. Although the government has released some money, it will put in more only after the finance ministry vets and clears a turnaround plan for the airline. The Air India spokesman added that the airline's board had approved the March turnaround plan, in principle, but confirmed that a final clearance is required from the finance ministry.
tarun.s@livemint.com
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India – United States relations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThis article or section may be slanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective. (November 2010) Indo-American relations Map indicating location of India and USA Indo-American relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the United States of America.
Despite being one of the pioneers and founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, India developed a closer relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. India's strategic and military relations with Moscow and strong socialist policies had an adverse impact on its relations with the United States. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, India began to review its foreign policy in a non-polar world following which, it took steps to develop closer ties with the European Union and the United States. Today, India and the U.S. share an extensive cultural, strategic, military and economic relationship.[1][2]
During the tenure of the Clinton and Bush administration, relations between India and the United States blossomed primarily over common concerns regarding growing Islamic extremism, energy security and climate change.[3]
According to some foreign policy experts, there was a slight downturn in India-U.S. relations following the election of Barack Obama as the President of the United States in 2009. This was primarily due to Obama administration's desire to increase relations with China,[4] and Barack Obama's protectionist views on dealing with the economic crisis.[5] However, the leaders of the two countries have repeatedly dismissed these concerns.[6]
Contents
[hide]Country comparison
India
United States
Population 1,210,193,422 311,729,000 Area 3,287,240 km2 (1,269,210 sq mi) 9,850,476 km2 (3,803,290 sq mi) Population Density 356/km² (922/sq mi) 31/km² (80/sq mi) Capital New Delhi Washington, D.C. Largest City Mumbai – 13,922,125 (21,347,412 Metro) New York City – 8,363,710 (19,006,798 Metro) Government Federal parliamentary constitutional republic Federal presidential constitutional republic Official languages Hindi and English, 21 other constitutionally recognized languages English (de facto) Main religions 80.5% Hinduism, 13.4% Islam, 2.3% Christianity, 1.9% Sikhism, 0.8% Buddhism, 0.4% Jainism 76% Christianity, 16.1% non-Religious, 2 % Judaism,1% Buddhism. 0.4% Hinduism Ethnic groups See Ethnic Groups of India 74% White American, 14.8% Hispanic and Latino Americans (of any race), 13.4% African American,
6.5% Some other race, 4.4% Asian American, 2.0% Two or more races,
0.68% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.14% Native Hawaiian or Pacific IslanderGDP (nominal) $1.430 trillion ($1,176 per capita)[7] $14.256 trillion ($46,381 per capita) GDP (PPP) $4.001 trillion ($3,290 per capita)[8] $14.256 trillion ($46,381 per capita) Indian Americans 60,000 American born people living in India 2,765,815 People of Indian origin living in the USA Military expenditures $37.6 billion (FY 2011-12) $663.7 billion (FY 2010) [9] History
The historic relationship between India and the United States was very strong. One event is the visit of Swami Vivekananda who introduced Yoga and Vedanta to America. Vivekananda was the first known Hindu Sage to come to the West, where he introduced Eastern thought at the World's Parliament of Religions, in connection with the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1893]. Here, his first lecture, which started with this line "Sisters and Brothers of America," [9] made the audience clap for two minutes just to the address, for prior to this seminal speech, the audience was always used to this opening address: "Ladies and Gentlemen". It was this speech that catapulted him to fame by his wide audiences in Chicago and then later everywhere else in America, including far-flung places such as Memphis, Boston, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and St. Louis.
After Indian independence until the end of the cold war, the relationship between the two nations has often been thorny. Dwight Eisenhower was the first U.S. President to visit India in 1959. He was so supportive of India that the New York Times remarked "It did not seem to matter much whether Nehru had actually requested or been given a guarantee that the U.S. would help India to meet further Chinese communist aggression. What mattered was the obvious strengthening of Indian-American friendship to a point where no such guarantee was necessary."
During John F. Kennedy's period as President, he saw India as a strategic partner against the rise of communist China. He said "Chinese Communists have been moving ahead the last 10 years. India has been making some progress, but if India does not succeed with her 450 million people, if she can't make freedom work, then people around the world are going to determine, particularly in the underdeveloped world, that the only way they can develop their resources is through the Communist system." The administration was disturbed by what they considered "blatant Chinese communist aggression against India" after the Sino-Indian War. In a May 1963 National Security Council meeting, contingency planning on the part of the United States in the event of another Chinese attack on India was discussed. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and General Maxwell Taylor advised the president to use nuclear weapons should the Americans intervene in such a situation. Kennedy insisted that Washington defend India as it would any ally, saying, "We should defend India, and therefore we will defend India".[10]
Kennedy's ambassador was the noted Canadian-American economist John Kenneth Galbraith. While in India, he also helped establish one of the first computer science departments, at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. As an economist he also presided over the largest (to that date) US-Foreign Aid program to any country.
From 1961 to 1963 there was a promise to help set up a large steel mill in Bokaro that was withdrawn by the U.S. The 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistani wars did not help their relations. During the Cold War, the U.S. asked for Pakistan's help because India was seen to lean towards the Soviet Union. Later, when India would not agree to support the anti-Soviet operation in Afghanistan, it was left with few allies. Not until 1997 was there any effort to improve relations with the United States.
Soon after Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Indian Prime Minister, he authorized a nuclear weapons test in Pokhran
The United States strongly condemned the test and promised sanctions, and voted in favor of a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning it. United States President Bill Clinton imposed economic sanctions on India. These consisted of the cutting off of all military and economic aid, freezing loans by American banks to state-owned Indian companies and loans to the Indian government for all except food purchases, prohibiting American technology and uranium exports, and required the United States to oppose all loan requests by India to international lending agencies.[11] However, these sanctions proved ineffective. India was experiencing a strong economic rise, and its trade with the United States only constituted a small portion of its GDP. Only Japan joined the U.S. in imposing direct sanctions, while most other nations continued to trade with India. The sanctions were soon lifted. The Clinton administration and Vajpayee exchanged representatives to help build relations. In March 2000, President Bill Clinton visited India. He had bilateral and economic discussions with Prime Minister Vajpayee. Over the course of improved diplomatic relations with the Bush administration, India has agreed to allow close international monitoring of its nuclear weapons development while refusing to give up its current nuclear arsenal. India and the U.S. have also greatly enhanced their economic ties.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W. Bush collaborated with India to control and police the extremely crucial Indian Ocean sea-lanes from the Suez to Singapore. The December 2004 tsunami saw the U.S. and Indian navies cooperating in search and rescue operations and reconstruction of affected areas. An Open Skies Agreement was made in April 2005. This helped enhance trade, tourism, and business by the increased number of flights. Air India purchased 68 U.S. Boeing aircraft, which cost $8 billion.
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have made recent visits to India as well. After Hurricane Katrina, India donated $5 million to the American Red Cross and sent two plane loads of relief supplies and materials to help. And on 1 March 2006, President Bush made another diplomatic visit to expand relations between India and the United States.
Military relations
President of the United States of America Richard Nixon and Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in 1971. They had a deep personal antipathy that colored bilateral relations.The U.S.-India defense relationship derives from a common belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and seeks to advance shared security interests. These interests include maintaining security and stability, defeating terrorism and violent religious extremism, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and associated materials, data, and technologies and protecting the free flow of commerce via land, air and sea lanes.
In recent years India has conducted joint military exercises with the U.S. in the Indian Ocean.
Recognizing India as a key to strategic U.S. interests, the United States has sought to strengthen its relationship with India. The two countries are the world's largest democracies, both committed to political freedom protected by representative government. India is also moving gradually toward greater economic freedom. The U.S. and India have a common interest in the free flow of commerce and resources, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean. They also share an interest in fighting terrorism and in creating a strategically stable Asia.
There were some differences, however, including over India's nuclear weapons programs and the pace of India's economic reforms. In the past, these concerns may have dominated U.S. thinking about India, but today the U.S. views India as a growing world power with which it shares common strategic interests. A strong partnership between the two countries will continue to address differences and shape a dynamic and collaborative future.
In late September 2001, President Bush lifted sanctions imposed under the terms of the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act following India's nuclear tests in May 1998. The nonproliferation dialogue initiated after the 1998 nuclear tests has bridged many of the gaps in understanding between the countries. In a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Vajpayee in November 2001, the two leaders expressed a strong interest in transforming the U.S.-India bilateral relationship. High-level meetings and concrete cooperation between the two countries increased during 2002 and 2003. In January 2004, the U.S. and India launched the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP), which was both a milestone in the transformation of the bilateral relationship and a blueprint for its further progress.
In July 2005, President Bush hosted Prime Minister Singh in Washington, DC. The two leaders announced the successful completion of the NSSP, as well as other agreements which further enhance cooperation in the areas of civil nuclear, civil space, and high-technology commerce. Other initiatives announced at this meeting include: an U.S.-India Economic Dialogue, Fight Against HIV/AIDS, Disaster Relief, Technology Cooperation, Democracy Initiative, an Agriculture Knowledge Initiative, a Trade Policy Forum, Energy Dialogue and CEO Forum. President Bush made a reciprocal visit to India in March 2006, during which the progress of these initiatives were reviewed, and new initiatives were launched.
In December 2006, Congress passed the historic Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Cooperation Act, which allows direct civilian nuclear commerce with India for the first time in 30 years. U.S. policy had opposed nuclear cooperation with India because the country had developed nuclear weapons in contravention of international conventions and never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The legislation clears the way for India to buy U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel for civilian use.
In July 2007, the United States and India reached a historic milestone in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the "123 agreement." This agreement, signed by Secretary of State Rice and External Affairs Minister Mukherjee on October 10, 2008, governs civil nuclear trade between the two countries and opens the door for American and Indian firms to participate in each other's civil nuclear energy sector. The U.S. and India seek to elevate the strategic partnership further to include cooperation in counter-terrorism, defense cooperation, education, and joint democracy promotion.
Economic relations
The United States is also one of India's largest direct investors. From 1991 to 2004, the stock of FDI inflow has increased from USD $11.3 million to $344.4 million, totaling $4.13 billion. This is a compound rate increase of 57.5% annually. Indian direct investments abroad were started in 1992. Indian corporations and registered partnership firms are allowed to invest in businesses up to 100% of their net worth. India's largest outgoing investments are manufacturing, which account for 54.8% of the country's foreign investments. The second largest are non-financial services (software development), which accounts for 35.4% of investments.
Trade relations
U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a meeting with Indian and American business leaders in New Delhi.The United States is one of India's largest trading partners. In 2007, the United States exported $17.24 billion worth goods to India and imported $24.02 billion worth of Indian goods.[12] Major items exported by India to the U.S. include Information Technology Services, textiles, machinery, ITeS, gems and diamonds, chemicals, iron and steel products, coffee, tea, and other edible food products. Major American items imported by India include aircraft, fertilizers, computer hardware, scrap metal and medical equipment.[13][14]
The United States is also India's largest investment partner, with American direct investment of $9 billion accounting for 9% of total foreign investment into India. Americans have made notable foreign investment in India's power generation, telecommunications, ports, roads, petroleum exploration/processing, and mining industries.[14]
In July 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh created a new program called the Trade Policy Forum. It is run by a representative from each nation. The United States Trade Representative is Rob Portman and the Indian Commerce Secretary is Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath. The goal of the program is to increase bilateral trade which is a two-way trade deal and the flow of investments.
There are five main sub-divisions of the Trade Policy Forum which include: Agricultural Trade group- This group has three main objectives: agreeing on terms that will allow India to export mangoes to the United States, permitting India's Agricultural and Process Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) to certify Indian products to the standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and executing regulation procedures for approving edible wax on fruit.
Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers group- Goals of the group include: agreeing that insecticides that are manufactures by United States companies can be sold throughout India. India had agreed to cut special regulations on trading carbonated drinks, many medicinal drugs, and lowering regulations on many imports that are not of agricultural nature. Both nations have agreed to discuss improved facets on the trade of Indian regulation requirements, jewelry, computer parts, motorcycles, fertilizer, and those tariffs that affect the American process of exporting boric acid.
The two nations have discussed matters such as those who wish to break into the accounting market, Indian companies gaining licenses for the telecommunications industry, and setting policies by the interaction of companies from both countries regarding new policies related to Indian media and broadcasting. This group has strived to exchange valuable information on recognizing different professional services offered by the two countries, discussing the movement and positioning of people in developing industries and assigning jobs to those people, continuation of talks in how India's citizens can gain access into the market for financial servicing, and discussing the limitation of equities.
The two countries have had talks about the restriction of investments in industries such as financial services, insurance, and retail. Also, to take advantage of any initiatives in joint investments such as agricultural processing and the transportation industries. Both countries have decided to promote small business initiatives in both countries by allowing trade between them.
The majority of exports from the United States to India include: aviation equipment, engineering materials and machinery, instruments used in optical and medical sectors, fertilizers, and stones and metals.
Below are the percentages of traded items India to U.S. increased by 21.12% to $6.94 billion.
- Diamonds & precious stones (25%)
- Textiles (29.01%)
- Iron & Steel (5.81%)
- Machinery (4.6%)
- Organic chemicals (4.3%)
- Electrical Machinery (4.28%)
Major items of export from U.S. to India: For the year 2006, figures are available up to the month of April. Merchandise exports from U.S. to India increased by 20.09.26% to U.S. $2.95 billion. Select major items with their percentage shares are given below
- Engineering goods & machinery (including electrical) (31.2%)
- Aviation & aircraft ( 16.8%)
- Precious stones & metals (8.01%)
- Optical instruments & equipment (7.33%)
- Organic chemicals (4.98%)
Ties under Obama administration
President Barack Obama with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their bilateral meeting in the Oval Office.Despite much gains in Indo-American relations during the tenure of the Bush administration, India was not one of the Asian countries U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited in February 2009. The Foreign Policy magazine reported that even though Foreign Policy Staff of the previous administration had recommended India as a "key stop" during any such official tour of Asia, Hillary Clinton had struck New Delhi from her itinerary.[15][16] The exclusion of India from the Asian tour was regarded as a "mistake" by some analysts.[17] India was not even mentioned once in the Obama administration's official foreign policy agenda.[18] Former U.S. ambassador Robert D. Blackwill warned that Indo-U.S. relations faced a "downgrade" in the short term, as the Obama administration places China "on a substantially higher plane in U.S. diplomacy than India". However, he remained optimistic about the long-term prospect for Indo-U.S. relationship.[19][20] The Forbes magazine alerted U.S. President Barack Obama on the need to prevent United States' new-found alliance with India from erosion.[21] Following this, President Obama visited India in November 2010.[22]
The initial approach of the Obama administration towards ties with India raised concerns of a downturn in Indo-American relations.[23] In an editorial, the National Interest suggested that the Obama administration could possibly damage "the foundations underlying the geostrategic partnership" between India and the United States.[24] Another editorial published by the Taipei Times highlighted the importance of India-U.S. relations and urged Barack Obama to give "India the attention it deserves".[25] Terming India to be United States' "indispensable ally", the Christian Science Monitor argued that the Obama administration needs India's cooperation on several issues, including climate change, Afghanistan war and energy security and therefore, Obama cannot risk putting ties with India on "back-burner".[26]
In an attempt to bolster relations between the two countries, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India in the second half of July 2009.[27] Calling India a "key partner" of the United States, Clinton said that the United States wants India "to succeed as an anchor for regional and global security". She also mentioned four platforms for building future U.S.-India relationship — "global security, human development, economic activity, science and technology".[23]
Foreign policy issues
According to some analysts, India-U.S. relations have strained over Obama administration's approach in handling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan.[28][29] India's National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan, criticized the Obama administration for linking the Kashmir dispute to the instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan and said that by doing so, President Obama was "barking up the wrong tree".[30] The Foreign Policy too criticized Obama's approach towards South Asia saying that "India can be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem" in South Asia and suggested India to take a more proactive role in rebuilding Afghanistan irrespective of the attitude of the Obama administration.[31] In a clear indication of growing rift between India and the U.S., the former decided not to accept a U.S. invitation to attend a conference on Afghanistan.[32] Bloomberg reported that since 2008 Mumbai attacks, the public mood in India has been to pressure Pakistan more aggressively to take actions against the culprits behind the terrorist attack and this might reflect on the upcoming general elections in May 2009. Consequently, the Obama administration may find itself at odds with India's rigid stance against terrorism.[33]
Robert Blake, assistant secretary of United States' Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, dismissed any concerns over a rift with India regarding United States' AfPak policy. Calling India and the United States "natural allies",[6] Blake said that the United States cannot afford to meet the strategic priorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan at "the expense of India".[34]
Economic relations
President George W. Bush shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to India in 2006, at Hyderabad House, New Delhi.India strongly criticized Obama administration's decision to limit H-1B visas and India's External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said that his country would argue against U.S. "protectionism" at various international forums.[35] The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a close aide of India's main opposition party the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that if the United States continues with its anti-outsourcing policies, then India will "have to take steps to hurt American companies in India."[36] India's Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, said that India may move against Obama's outsourcing policies at the World Trade Organization.[37] However, the outsourcing advisory head of KPMG said that India had no reason to worry since Obama's statements were directed against "outsourcing being carried out by manufacturing companies" and not outsourcing of IT-related services.[38]
In May 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated his anti-outsourcing views and criticized the current U.S. tax policy "that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York."[39] However, during the U.S.-India Business Council meet in June 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton advocated for stronger economic ties between India and the United States. She also rebuked protectionist policies saying that "[United States] will not use the global financial crisis as an excuse to fall back on protectionism. We hope India will work with us to create a more open, equitable set of opportunities for trade between our nations."[40]
In June 2009, United States provided diplomatic help in successfully pushing through a US$2.9 billion loan sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, despite considerable opposition from the People's Republic of China.[41]
Strategic and military relations
" "As part of that strategy, we [India and U.S.] should expand our broader security relationship and increase cooperation on counterterrorism and intelligence sharing." " In March 2009, the Obama administration cleared the US$2.1 billion sale of eight P-8 Poseidons to India.[42] This deal, and the US$5 billion agreement to provide Boeing C-17 military transport aircraft and GE 404 engines announced during Obama's November 2010 visit, makes the U.S. one of the top three military suppliers for India, following Israel and Russia.[43]
India expressed its concerns that Obama administration's non-military aid to Pakistan will not be used for counter-insurgency, but for building up its military against India.[44] However, Robert Blake, assistant secretary of Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, said that the Pakistani Government was increasingly focused at fighting the Taliban insurgency and expressed hope that the people of India would "support and agree with what we are trying to do".[34]
Concerns were raised in India that the Obama administration was delaying the full implementation of the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal.[45] The Obama administration has also strongly advocated for the strengthening of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and has pressurized India to sign the agreement. India's special envoy, Shyam Saran, "warned" the United States that India would continue to oppose any such treaty as it was "discriminatory".[46] In June 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the Obama administration was "fully committed" to the Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement.[47]
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen encouraged stronger military ties between India and the United States and said that "India has emerged as an increasingly important strategic partner [of the U.S.]".[48] U.S. Undersecretary of State William Joseph Burns said, "Never has there been a moment when India and America mattered more to each other." [49]
2010 visit by President Obama
In November 2010 Obama became the second U.S. President after Richard Nixon (in 1969) to undertake a visit to India in his first term in office. On November 8 Obama became the 2nd U.S. President ever to address a joint session of the Parliament of India. In a major policy shift Obama declared U.S. support for India's permanent membership of United Nations Security Council.[50] Calling India-U.S. relationship a defining partnership of 21st century he also announced removal of export control restrictions on several Indian companies and concluded trade deals worth $10 billion which are expected to create/support 50,000 jobs in the U.S. during this visit.[51]
See also
- India as an emerging superpower
- Embassy of India in Washington
- Foreign relations of India
- Foreign relations of the United States
- United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act
Notes
- ^ India-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations
- ^ The Evolving India-U.S. Strategic Relationship
- ^ [1]
- ^ India frets over Obama's Chinamania
- ^ India renews criticism of "Buy American" drift
- ^ a b Reflections on U.S. - India Relations - Robert O. Blake
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_india
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_india
- ^ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy10/pdf/budget/defense.pdf
- ^ [2] — Taipei Times,[3] Indian American Center for Political Awareness
- ^ http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/clinton-imposes-full-sanctionsindia/22222/
- ^ Foreign Trade Census
- ^ India - U.S. Trade and Economic Relations
- ^ a b India (10/07)
- ^ [4]
- ^ A U.S. Asia strategy for Hillary Clinton's trip
- ^ Mrs. Clinton Goes To China
- ^ THE AGENDA • FOREIGN POLICY
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ Obama Should Visit India--Soon
- ^ "Obama to arrive in India on Diwali night". The Times of India. 6 October 2010. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6694694.cms. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
- ^ a b Clinton to visit India
- ^ Ignoring India
- ^ The U.S. and India can't put off a strategic partnership any longer
- ^ India: America's indispensable ally
- ^ Clinton plans to visit India in second half of July
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ Obama should not link Kashmir with Pak's problems: NSA
- ^ India needs a lot more love from Obama
- ^ India not to attend conference on Afghanistan with Pakistan, U.S.
- ^ India's Terror Stance Vexes Obama Amid Voter Ire at Pakistan
- ^ a b New Strategic Partnerships Robert O. Blake
- ^ India says it will oppose U.S. 'protectionism'
- ^ Anger Grows in India over U.S. Visa Rules
- ^ India may contest Obama's move against outsourcing in WTO
- ^ 'Obama on outsourcing is no reason to panic'
- ^ U.S.-India Relations Strained under Obama
- ^ a b Remarks at U.S.-India Business Council's 34th Anniversary "Synergies Summit"
- ^ The China-India Border Brawl
- ^ U.S. OKs record $2.1 billion arms sale to India
- ^ Cohen, Stephen and Sanil Dasgupta. "Arms Sales for India". Brookings Institution. http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2011/03_india_cohen_dasgupta.aspx. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ^ Indian Vote May Revive Stalled U.S. Defense, Nuclear Exports
- ^ Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in jeopardy
- ^ India warns Obama on nuclear test ban treaty
- ^ Hillary: fully committed to nuclear deal
- ^ India has emerged as a strategic partner for U.S.: Mullen
- ^ http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100602_6708.php
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl (8 November 2010). [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100131/spectrum/main1.htmRichard Nixon visited India in 1969 after becoming the president http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/world/asia/09prexy.html "Obama Backs India for Seat on Security Council"]. The New York Times. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100131/spectrum/main1.htmRichard Nixon visited India in 1969 after becoming the president http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/world/asia/09prexy.html. Retrieved 8 November 2010. [dead link]
- ^ Reynolds, Paul (8 November 2010). "Obama confirms U.S. strategic shift towards India". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11712268. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
India US TradeIndia US Trade in 2015US Trade with BRIC:China holds the key Economic profile of India and the United States iyty
Sources
- Blake, Jr., Robert O. "U.S.-India Relations: the Making of a Comprehensive Relationship." U.S. Embassy India. Army War College, Indore, India. 23 August 2004, 6 October 2006 <www.state.gov>.
- "India - U.S. Economics Relations." Embassy of India - Washington DC. 8 October 2006
- Kronstadt, K. A. India-U.S. Relations. Library of Congress. 2006. 17–19. 8 October 2006.
- Roy, Dr. P. C. Indo-U.S. Economic Relations. Rajouri Garden, New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications, 1986. 73–125.
External links
- Indian Embassy: India – U.S. Relations: A General Overview
- U.S. Department of state: The Future of US-India Relations
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: U.S.–India Trade Relations
- India US Trade Summary
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