news details |
|
|
| US need not feel upset over Indo-Russian deals | | | Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a
charm for the Russian President
Vladimir Putin, during his recent visit to India, and the result was the two sides signed as many as 20 deals in one day. Expectedly Russia offered to help India set up at least 10 more nuclear reactors and manufacture light utility helicopters which could be in tune with Modi's emphasis on Make in India campaign.. Besides this the two sides stepped up defence and strategic partnership. Among the 20 agreements includes joint investment fund of one billion dollars for Indian infrastructure and hydroelectric projects.
And Modi has announced during the signing of the agreements that Russia will remain the most important defence partner for India. Russia has also offered to fully manufacture in India one of its most advanced helicopters and this could later help India to export these helicopters. No doubt India's defence cooperation with other countries is expanding still 60 per cent of defence purchases come from Russia which indicates that Russia is a major defence partner of India. And Modi is keen to increase India's capacity for manufacturing various types of helicopters, air crafts and other sophisticated weapons so that India is able to curtail imports of defence related goods and weapons.
The way Modi and Putin further cemented Indo-Russian ties and partnership it was expected to make Washington a bit uneasy. And Washington has made its displeasure known. Reports indicate that the US is unhappy over India doing "business as usual" with Russia, but it will have no effect on President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to India which remains an "important partner." "No, India remains an important partner," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki has stated when asked whether deals reached during Russian President Vladimir Putin's just concluded visit to India would change Obama's plans. Obama has been invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the chief guest at India's Republic Day parade on January 26. He will be the first US President to get that honour and the first one to visit India twice while in office. "Obviously, our economic relationship is a big part of what we continue to work on," Psaki said while repeating its caution to "allies and partners" that it was not time for doing business with Russia following its intervention in Ukraine. The US, she said had seen reports about India and Russia signing agreements in oil exploration, infrastructure, defence and nuclear energy including construction of 12 Russia-built nuclear units in India over the next two decades, "We continue to monitor it, but we haven't looked at all the specifics of the contracts, for obvious reasons," Psaki said. But "We continue to urge all countries not to conduct business as usual with Russia."
Washington is supposed to know that India has had very close ties with the erstwhile Soviet Union of which Russia happened to be a major area. In fact even while India had been supporting the policy of nonalignment New Delhi used to be blamed for adopting pro-Russian bias. If there was a marked pro-Soviet Union or pro-Russia tild in New Delhi's policy it was evident because of the continued unfriendly attitude from China and on account of cold shoulder treatment being meted by Washington. One should give credit to former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, for having converted strained Indo_US ties into friendly Washington-New Delhi equation. If Washington has initiated measures for mending fences with India during the last 10 years it has been the result of successive US Presidents right from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama. In-fact India treats Russia as a tested friend and as such Washington need not feel unhappy because Modi is committed to promote friendly ties and partnership with a number of developed nations, including the US, Japan, Germany and Australia. It would be better for Obama if he allows India to follow the policy of non-alignment. If India is allowed to do so it can have friendly relations with all countries. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
