KYIV SEEKS DELHI SUPPORT FOR UN PEACE RESOLUTION

With Friday marking one year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has reached out to Delhi for support on a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) underlining the urgency to find “lasting peace” in the country.

The call for support was made by Andriy Yermak, who heads the office of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a phone conversation with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. The move comes less than two weeks after Doval met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The text of the UNGA resolution, which has been drafted by Ukraine in consultation with allies and discussed with several countries, will be put to vote at the end of a special emergency session of the UNGA in the next couple of days.

It underscores the urgency to find “a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”, and calls on UN members and international organisations to support that effort.

European nations, including France and Germany, have reached out to India as well to support the resolution.

In the last one year, India has abstained several times while voting on the resolutions at the UN involving Ukraine. However, it has always underlined respect for the UN charter, territorial sovereignty and integrity in its statements, while explaining the votes.

According to an official statement by Zelenskyy’s office, Yermak told Doval: “Cooperation with India is very important to us. We believe that you will support our resolution, as it contains very correct wording on the inviolability of borders and territorial integrity. Our goals are transparent and clear: we do not claim a single centimetre of Russian territory, we just want to get ours back.” He said: “This resolution is fundamental for us because it restores respect for international law and the UN Charter in the world. It is very important to protect the territorial integrity of any state in the world in order to prevent any attempts by one country to appropriate the territory of another one in the future.”

‘BLASPHEMOUS’: CONGRESS SLAMS S JAISHANKAR’S STATEMENT ON CHINA ISSUE

The Congress on Wednesday described as “blasphemous” foreign minister S. Jaishankar’s statement that India cannot pick a fight with China because that country is a bigger economy, and said this showed that the Narendra Modi govt was not capable of protecting India’s territorial sovereignty.

“Our 20 soldiers sacrificed their lives defending our borders and the minister says we can’t fight them because we are a small economy. What exactly does he mean? Is he telling us that we are not capable of protecting our territorial sovereignty? We are not being able to look at China and ask them questions?

“What he is trying to do is essentially break and shake the confidence of our economy and demean the valour of our armed forces. This is one of the most blasphemous statements made by any foreign minister,” Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, reacting to an interview Jaishankar gave to news agency ANI on Tuesday.

“The soldiers who stand defending our borders in the snow, storm and rain have been told that we can’t confront China because that is a bigger economy. By that logic, no country should defend itself against superpowers. Does that explain Modi’s refusal to even name China and his infamous statement — na koi ghusa hai…?”

“The external affairs minister made some snide political remarks, some immature and cheap jibes but we don’t mind that. But what he said — China is a bigger economy and we are a smaller economy and we can’t go and pick a fight with them — is deeply worrying. He has questioned the valour of the Indian Army,” Shrinate said.

Then she listed the questions: “Will Jaishankar, who boasted about being the longest-serving ambassador in China, tell us when will the status quo ante of 2020 be restored? Why is trade with China increasing? Are we funding the Chinese army? Why is he not talking about the 2,000sqkm that the Chinese have grabbed? What about patrolling points 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16…? What about our territory being turned into a buffer zone? He says China is carrying out construction in areas it grabbed in 1962. So, shall we ignore that? What about fortifications on Pangong Tso lake, the DBO junction and Doklam?”

The Congress spokesperson asked if Modi and Jaishankar were suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome, referring to their reluctance to name China as a tormentor.

Shrinate said: “I want to bust a few lies here. The border was largely silent for 50 years after 1967, barring an incident in 1987. Why are there so many multiple incursions now? The UPA govt in 2006 adopted the current active border infrastructure policy. The roads, tunnels, actively marked, were mostly planned by the Shyam Saran task force in 2006. Construction of roads, tunnels and high landing grounds for heavy aircraft began in 2008 and was largely completed by 2014.” This was a response to Jaishankar’s claim that the Modi govt was actively building border infrastructure.

INDIA REMAINS A ‘BRIGHT SPOT’, TO CONTRIBUTE 15% OF GLOBAL GROWTH IN 2023: IMF

India continues to remain a relative “bright spot” in the world economy, and will alone contribute 15 per cent to the global growth in 2023, said IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva.

Georgieva observed India remained a bright spot at a time when the IMF was projecting 2023 to be difficult with global growth slowing down from 3.4 per cent last year to 2.9 per cent. “India’s performance has been quite impressive. For this year, we expect it to retain a high growth rate, 6.8 per cent for the year ending in March. For FY23-24, we project 6.1 per cent, a bit of slowdown like the rest of the world economy, but way above the global average. And in this way, India is providing about 15 per cent of global growth in 2023,” Georgieva said.

That is the fastest growth rate among major economies. Earlier, India had the fastest growth rate among all economies. “Why is India a bright spot? One, the country has done really well to turn digitalisation into a major driver of overcoming the impact of the pandemic and creating opportunities for growth and jobs.

“Second, because India's fiscal policy has been responsive to economic conditions. The Budget signals commitment to fiscal consolidation. At the same time, it provides significant financing for capital investments.

“And three, because India didn’t shy away from learning lessons from the pandemic and to implement strong policies to overcome what has been really a difficult time,” she said.

Georgieva said she was impressed by two things in the Budget. “First, much care is placed on balancing development needs with fiscal responsibility and second, high allocation for capital expenditure to provide long-term foundation for growth,” the MD said.

“I can’t praise enough what India is doing to open up space for entrepreneurs. That is visible in the digital space. India put in place public digital infrastructure that is so well attuned for private initiatives to blend in to take advantage of this infrastructure,” she added.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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TECH TYCOON VIVEK RAMASWAMY ANNOUNCES US PRESIDENTIAL BID

A multi-millionaire Indian-American bio-tech entrepreneur who has flirted with politics for only a few years formally threw his hat into the 2024 US Presidential election on Tuesday, boldly announcing that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

Vivek Ramaswamy is only 37, but he sent political pundits scrambling to view his resume after declaring his long-rumoured candidacy on Fox News’ highest-rated news show hosted by Tucker Carlson.

In a separate op-ed in Wall Street Journal, whose offering of a platform showed how seriously he is being taken, Ramaswamy declared that he is “launching not only a political campaign but a cultural movement to create a new American Dream — one that is not only about money but about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence”.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ramaswamy is a first-generation Indian-American whose parents immigrated from Palakkad, Kerala.

Ramaswamy jumps into a Republican field that is expected to be crowded with former President Trump leading the field in which another Indian-American, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, also features.

CHINA, RUSSIA DEEPEN TIES; BIDEN RALLIES NATO ‘FRONTLINE’

In a day of duelling efforts to shore up allegiances as the anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine approached, President Biden wrapped up a three-day trip to Europe with a promise of America’s commitment to its allies as President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed China’s top diplomat to Moscow and rallied pro-war Russians.

Biden met in Warsaw with leaders from Nato’s eastern flank, in a further display of trans-Atlantic unity against Russia, reminding them that they know “what’s at stake in this conflict, not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world. ”

The meeting came shortly after Putin depicted the war as an existential battle for Russia, telling a flag-waving crowd of about 200,000 people who had been urged to gather at a Moscow stadium that “there is a battle underway on our historical borders, for our people. ”

Also in Moscow, Wang Yi, the highest ranking Chinese official to visit Russia since the countries announced a “no limits” partnership weeks before the invasion, told Putin that Beijing was ready to enhance ties. A time of crisis called for Russia and China “to continuously deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership”, Beijing’s top diplomat said. Putin said he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and a deeper partnership. Xi is expected to make a “peace speech” on Friday, but Kyiv says there can be no talk of peace while Russian troops are in Ukraine.

THE REST

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SC REFUSES TO STAY EC ORDER ON SHIV SENA

In a setback to the Uddhav Thackeray faction, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and hand over the party symbol ‘bow and arrow’ to it.

“The EC order is confined to a symbol. Now, we cannot pass an order to stay it. We are entertaining the SLP,” a Bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud said. However, it allowed the Uddhav faction to continue to be known as Shiv Sena (UBT) with ‘flaming torch’ as its election symbol for bypolls in Chinchwad and Kasba Peth.

The top court asked the Shinde faction to respond to the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s petition and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks. On behalf of the Uddhav faction, senior counsel Kapil Sibal urged the Bench to restrain the Chief Minister Shinde faction from taking over assets and bank accounts of Shiv Sena, but the Bench didn’t agree to it.

As Sibal expressed apprehension that the MLAs belonging to the Uddhav faction might be disqualified, Shinde faction’s counsel said it would not issue any whip or initiate the process to disqualify them in the meantime.

TRINAMOOL HITS BACK AS RAHUL GANDHI CLAIMS PARTY STRENGTHENING BJP

In a major public standoff that came just ahead of the AICC plenary session starting on February 24, Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was helping the BJP invited strong reactions from the TMC, which retorted that the “Congress should revisit its politics of vanity as the party was in a state of delirium”.

Addressing an election rally in Shillong yesterday, Rahul said the TMC’s main objective was to “strengthen the BJP”. Citing incidents of violence and scams in West Bengal, Rahul said, “You know the history of the TMC — the violence and scams that take place in West Bengal. You are aware of their tradition. They (TMC) spent a huge amount in Goa (poll) and the idea was to help the BJP. That is exactly the idea in Meghalaya where they (TMC) want to ensure that the BJP is strengthened and comes to power.”

Hitting back at Rahul, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, a Lok Sabha MP, said, “The Congress has failed to resist the BJP. Their irrelevance, incompetence and insecurity has put them in a state of delirium. I urge Rahul to revisit their politics of vanity instead of attacking us. Our growth is not driven by money. People’s love propels us.Rahul’s statements against the TMC are pretty rich coming from a party that has lost 40 of the last 45 Assembly elections in India”

CBI GETS GOVT NOD TO PROSECUTE SISODIA IN SNOOPING CASE

In fresh trouble for Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia, the Centre cleared the way for registering a new case against the Aam Aadmi Party leader by giving sanction for prosecution to the CBI in a case related to alleged collection of 'political intelligence' through a Delhi govt department.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs conveyed to Delhi's Lt Governor's office granting of sanction to prosecute Sisodia under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (powers to police for investigating a public servant).

Sisodia took to Twitter to hit out at the Centre's move which he described as signs of 'weak and cowardly person' and said more frivolous cases will be filed as the AAP marches ahead.

He is already facing a CBI case for alleged favours extended to liquor traders in the formulation of now-scrapped Delhi Excise policy of 2021-22.

He is to appear before the probe agency on February 26.

The move comes after the CBI had said it found during its preliminary inquiry that the Feedback Unit (FBU), set up by the Delhi govt to check corruption, allegedly collected 'political intelligence' and the agency recommended that a FIR be registered against Sisodia.

AAP WINS MAYOR POLLS BUT BJP TRYING HARD TO RETAIN CONTROL OVER MCD

The Aam Aadmi Party pick Shelly Oberoi was elected as Delhi Mayor Wednesday, more than two months after the party won the MCD polls in December. While her election is a significant win for the ruling AAP, the party is now faced with the far daunting task of getting an upper hand in the Standing Committee.

Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the Delhi Civic Centre during the election for the six members of the Standing Committee, understood to be the most powerful body in the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The drama, which started on Wednesday evening, continued into the early hours of Thursday.

Visuals from the spot showed councillors screaming, jostling and punching, as others doused them with bottled water. Ballot boxes were also thrown into the Well as many of the members came to blows. Proceedings were disrupted at least eight times due to the chaos.  

While the mayor is the nominal head of the civic body, it is the Standing Committee which has executive powers.

HC ASKS OREVA GROUP TO PAY RS 10L TO KIN OF MORBI VICTIMS

The Gujarat high court on Wednesday directed clock manufacturing firm Oreva Group, the company which maintained the Morbi suspension bridge that collapsed killing 135 people, to pay Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation to the kin of each deceased and Rs 2 lakh to each injured within four weeks.

On Tuesday, Oreva Group had made an offer before the high court to pay an 'interim' compensation totalling Rs 5 crore to the kin of those who lost their lives and people left injured when a British-era suspension bridge collapsed in October last year. The court had, however, said the compensation offered by the company was not "just".

IAS OFFICER ROHINI SINDHURI SEEKS RS 1 CRORE IN DEFAMATION DAMAGES FROM IPS OFFICER D ROOPA

Karnataka IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri has issued a legal notice to IPS officer D Roopa over her remarks and demanded an “unconditional apology in writing” as well as Rs 1 crore in damages “for the loss of reputation and mental agony”.

The notice was issued in reference to Roopa’s social media posts where she levelled 19 allegations against Sindhuri and accused her of sharing her own pictures–even explicit ones–with fellow IAS officers.

The notice directed Roopa to apologise for having made the allegedly defamatory comments. The apology should be posted on the IPS officer’s Facebook page and shared with the media. She should also delete the Facebook posts about Sindhuri, according to the notice.

Roopa’s comments, as per the notice, had put Sindhuri and her family members in “mental agony”.

FIX SIX YEARS MINIMUM AGE FOR CLASS I, STATES TOLD

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has directed all states and union territories to fix six years as the minimum age for Class I admission, officials said on Wednesday.

According to the new National Education Policy (NEP), the foundational stage consists of five years of learning opportunities for all children (between three to eight years) that includes three years of preschool education followed by Classes I and II.

“The policy thus promotes seamless learning and development of children from pre-school to Class II. This can only be done by ensuring accessibility to three years of quality preschool education for all children studying in anganwadis or govt, govt-aided, private and NGO-run preschool centres,” a senior MoE official said.

SENSEX TANKS 927 PTS TO CLOSE AT 3-WEEK LOW

Sensex plunged by 927 points to close at a three-week low while the broader Nifty settled at a four-month low on Wednesday amid weak global trends as investors braced for the release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes later in the day.

Resurgence of cold war between US & Russia has brought apprehension in the market. Although it should be a short-term effect, the fear of sanctions against Russia and its degree of implication on the economy, especially on food and oil exports, is adding to the anxiety.

INDICATORS

Sensex 59,745 (-928), Nifty 17,554 (-272), Trading Value NSE (Rs.crores) 41,788

Nasdaq 11,507 (+15) Dow 33,045 (-85), S&P 3,991 (-6)

(US$-Rs. 82.84 GBP-Rs. 100.12, Euro-Rs. 88.12, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.55, Can$-Rs. 61.16, Aus$- Rs. 56.53

GBP 0.82 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 134.77 /US$, Aus$ 1.46 /US$, Sing 1.33 /US$, Bang Taka 105.43 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.43 /US$,

Pak Re 261.05 /US$, Phil Peso 55.09 /US$, Russian Rouble 74.99 /US$, NZ$ 1.60 /US$, Thai Baht 34.58 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.50 /US$)

Bitcoin - USD 24,161

Dollar Index 104.35 Brent Crude 80.69 BDI 594

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,826 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,673 / 5,200, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 72,000

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Imagine for yourself a character, a model personality, whose example you determine to follow, in private as well as in public. – Epictetus

OFF TRACK

At long last the good-humored boss was compelled to call his deputy into his office. "It has not escaped my attention," he pointed out, "that every time India plays a match you have to take your mther to the doctor."  

"You know you're right, sir," exclaimed the junior. "I didn't realize it. You don't suppose she's faking it, do you?"