KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM PM MODI’S ADDRESS TO US CONGRESS

Underlining that India and the US come from different circumstances and history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that this visit is one of the “great positive transformation” and together they will demonstrate that “democracy is better and democracies deliver”.

“Democracy is the idea that welcomes debate and discourse, democracy is a culture that gives wings to thoughts and expression. India is blessed to have such values since times immemorial. In the evolution of the democratic spirit, India is the mother of democracy…Together we shall give a better future to the world and a better world to the future,” he said.

Modi, who addressed the joint session of the US Congress for almost an hour punctuated by applause and standing ovation, for the second time, said, “When I was here in 2016, I said that our relationship is primed for a momentous future. That future is today.”

Recalling the “deeply disruptive developments” in the last few years, he said, “With the Ukraine conflict, war has returned to Europe that is causing great pain in the region….countries of the Global South have been particularly affected. The global order is based on respect for the principle of the UN charter, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“I have said directly and publicly, this is not an era of war,” he said recalling his words to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “but it is one of dialogue and diplomacy and we all must do what we can to stop the bloodshed and human suffering”.

He also took on China, as he said, “The dark clouds of coercion and confrontation are casting their shadow in the Indo Pacific. The stability of the region has become one of the central concerns of our partnership.” “We share a vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific… A region where all nations small and large are free and fearless in their choices. Their progress is not suffocated by impossible burdens of debt, where connectivity is not leveraged for strategic purposes,” he said.

Focusing his attention to the new sectors of defence and critical technology, he said, “We were strangers in defence cooperation at the turn of the century. Now, the United States has become one of our most important defence partner.”

“When American companies grow, their research and development centers in India thrive. When Indians fly more, a single order of aircrafts creates more than a million jobs in 44 states in America,” he said. “When American phone makers invest in India, it creates an entire ecosystem of jobs and opportunities in both countries. When India and the US work together on semiconductors and critical minerals, it helps in making supply chains more diverse, resilient and reliable,” he said.

In his speech, he also lauded the contribution of Indian Americans, including that of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Modi also said there can be “no ifs or buts” in dealing with terrorism and sought action against state sponsors of terrorism, in a veiled attack on Pakistan. He said that more than two decades after 9/11 and more than a decade after 26/11 in Mumbai, radicalism and terrorism still remain a pressing danger for the whole world.

“These ideologies keep taking new identities and forms, but their intentions are the same. Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and there can be no ifs or buts in dealing with it. We must overcome all such forces sponsoring and exporting terror,” Modi said in his 60-minute address in English.

BIDEN, MODI ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS VISIT

Framing his country’s partnership with India among the “most consequential in the world” that is “stronger, closer and more dynamic than any time in history”, US President Joe Biden, who held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday, underlined the new strategic areas of cooperation — from semiconductor supply to sharing critical and emerging technologies, using new ways to diagnose and treat cancer to sending Indian astronauts to space.

Modi, too, headlined the strategic outcomes in his statement after the bilateral meeting between the two sides. “Today is a day that has special importance in the history of India-US relations. Our discussions today and the important decisions we have taken have added a new chapter to our comprehensive and a global strategic partnership. They have given it a new direction and a new energy,” he said.

Biden said, “Mr Prime Minister, we met many times over the past few years, most recently in Hiroshima at the G7 Summit, and each time I was struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Together, we are unlocking the shared future of what I believe to be unlimited potential.” And with this visit, Biden said, “We are demonstrating once more. Indeed, the United States (and India) are collaborating on nearly every human endeavour and delivering progress across the board — from designing new ways to diagnose and treat illnesses, like cancer and diabetes, to collaborating on human spaceflight, including sending in Indian astronauts to the International Space Station in 2024, to accelerate a global clean energy transition and tackling climate climate crisis we face, to harnessing our shared expertise on critical on emerging technologies, like quantum computing and artificial intelligence, to ensuring they are not used as tools of misinformation and oppression.”

“We are doubling down on our cooperation to secure our semiconductors in our semiconductor supply chains, advancing open RAN telecommunications networks, and growing our Major Defence Partnership with more joint exercises, more cooperation between our defence industries, and more consultation and coordination across all domains,” he said.

The two leaders met in the Oval Office for a restricted meeting, which was followed by delegation-level talks.

On defence ties, Modi said, “The close defence cooperation between India and America symbolises mutual trust and shared strategic priorities moving away from the old buyer-seller relationship we had earlier… We have transitioned today to a relationship involving transfer of technology, co-development and co-production.”

BEGINNING OF THE END OF TECHNOLOGY DENIAL REGIME FOR NEW DELHI?

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first State visit to the US unfolded and he met President Joe Biden, the announcement of a mega deal between the General Electric Aerospace and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the manufacture under licence in India of GE’s F414 engine for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk2 seems to send a message – the beginning of the end of the technology denial regime.

Besides jet engines, deals on procuring drones, a space mission and manufacturing chips in India are among the big-ticket announcements.

But the deal to manufacture engines for fighter jets is significant — GE’s F414 military aircraft engine powers state-of-the-art fighters like the Boeing Super Hornet and Saab Gripen. The deal is expected to lead to transfer of at least 11 “critical” technologies to India.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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MISSING TITANIC SUB CREW DEAD AFTER 'CATASTROPHIC IMPLOSION'

The United States Coast Guard on Thursday said that a missing submersible imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board.

Debris found during the search for the vessel “is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” said Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District during a news conference. “The outpouring of support in this highly complex search operation has been great appreciated. Our most heartfelt condolences go out to the friends and loved ones of the crew,” Mauger said.

OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement that all five people on board submersible Titan, including company CEO Stockton Rush, are believed to be dead. Rush, Pakistani billionaire businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, British businessman Hamish Harding, and French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet "have sadly been lost," OceanGate said in a statement.

OceanGate was meant to explore the wreck of the sunken Titanic, in the Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland, Canada for USD 250,000 per person.

Rescuers have rushed ships, planes and other equipment to the site of the disappearance. On Thursday, the US Coast Guard said an undersea robot sent by a Canadian ship had reached the sea floor, while a French research institute said a deep-diving robot with cameras, lights and arms also joined the operation.

BIDEN DEFENDS HIS XI ‘DICTATOR’ REMARK, STILL EXPECTS A MEETING

President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his harsh comments on China, including calling President Xi Jinping a dictator, saying his words would have no negative impact on US-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi in the future. Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are “just not something I’m going to change very much”.

At a campaign fund-raiser earlier in the week, Biden had called the Chinese president a dictator, depicted him as out-of-touch during last winter’s tumult over a Chinese spy balloon and dismissed China as having “real economic difficulties. ”

The remarks opened a new rift just after secretary of state Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing that was meant as a step toward stabilizing ties and improving communications with China.

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ASKED ABOUT DISCRIMINATION AND DISSENT, MODI SAYS DEMOCRACY IN DNA

At the joint press conference where US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took questions from one reporter from each side, Biden, on being asked about raising issues of human rights and democracy with the visiting Prime Minister, said, “Prime Minister and I had a good discussion about democratic values… and that is the best part of our relationship. We are straightforward with each other and we respect each other.” “And I believe that we believe in the dignity of every citizen and it is in America’s DNA and I believe, it’s in India’s DNA.”

A journalist from US newspaper Wall Street Journal, turning to Modi, said India has long prided itself as the world’s largest democracy, but there are many human rights groups who say that his government has discriminated against religious minorities and silenced its critics. “As you stand here in the East Room of the White House, where so many world leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy, what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?”

The Prime Minister responded, “ Indeed, India is a democracy and as President Biden also mentioned, India and America, (for) both countries, democracy is in our DNA. Democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy. And our ancestors have actually put words to this concept, and that is in the form of our Constitution. Our government has taken the basic principles of democracy. And on that basis, our Constitution is made and the entire country runs on that…We have always proved that democracy can deliver. And when I say deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender, there’s absolutely no space for discrimination.”

“The benefits that are provided by the government are accessible to all whoever deserves, those benefits are available to everybody. And that is why in India’s democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither on the basis of caste, creed, or age or any kind of geographic location,” Modi said.

MANIPUR ALL-PARTY MEET: CONG HIGHLIGHTS PM MODI’S ABSENCE

A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened an all-party meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation in Manipur, the Congress said Thursday that the continuation of the “partisan” N Biren Singh government and non-implementation of President’s Rule in the violence-hit state is a travesty.

The Congress said the decision to convene an all-party meeting was “too little, too late” and argued that the move to hold the meeting in the absence of the Prime Minister, who is on a visit to the US, shows that the deliberations are not important for him.

The main Opposition party also alleged that the prime minister’s absence from such a serious meeting shows his “cowardice and unwillingness to confront his failures.”

The CPM too said the removal of Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh should be the first political step.

2009 SHOPIAN DEATHS: J&K SACKS 2 DOCS FOR FUDGED AUTOPSIES

Fourteen years after widespread protests in the Valley over allegations of the rape and murder of two women by security forces in Shopian — a charge which a CBI probe later found to be untrue — the J&K administration has terminated the services of two doctors involved in the autopsies of the two women.

Dr Nighat Shaheen Chiloo and Dr Bilal Ahmad Dalal were dismissed Thursday with government sources saying that the two doctors had “actively worked with Pakistan and hatched a conspiracy with its assets within Kashmir to falsify the post-mortem report”. The two were among 13 chargesheeted by the CBI for allegedly fabricating evidence in 2009.

FIR FILED AGAINST SUDARSHAN NEWS EDITOR OVER ‘COMMUNAL SPEECH’

An FIR was registered against Sudarshan News editor Suresh Chavhanke on Thursday for allegedly giving a “communal speech” in Sangamner (in Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra) on June 6, following which there was violence in the area, leading to the arrest of 17 persons.

According to the FIR, at least two persons were injured and five vehicles were vandalised in the violence that followed a rally organised by the Sakal Hindu Samaj, where Chavhanke was one of the speakers. Chavhanke allegedly referred to how certain parts of the state were “beginning to look like Pakistan” and no one was taking any action.

He further mentioned about “love jihad”, adding that Muslim women should convert to Hindusim and spell out its advantages.

US SET TO INTRODUCE IN-COUNTRY RENEWABLE H-1B VISAS

The US is set to introduce in-country renewable H-1B visas, a significant decision that would help thousands of Indian professionals in staying in the country to continue with their jobs without the hassle of travelling overseas for the renewal of their work visas.    

This is part of the people-to-people initiative, a senior administration official said ahead of the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden at the White House here on Thursday.

MICRON TO INVEST UP TO $825 MN IN CHIP ASSEMBLY PLANT IN GUJARAT

US chipmaker Micron Technology said it will invest up to $825 million in its first semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, to be constructed in Gujarat under a Union government incentive scheme.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Micron Chief Executive Sanjay Mehrotra on Thursday.

The facility will cost $2.75 billion — Micron will invest $825 million, 50 per cent will come from the Central government and 20 per cent from the Gujarat government.

This, however, is not a semiconductor manufacturing facility. Micron’s plant will essentially focus on packaging chips — it will transform wafers into ball grid array integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid-state drives.

FACE AUTHENTIFICATION NOW IN PM-KISAN MOBILE APP, A FIRST FOR GOVT SCHEMES

In a first for any central welfare scheme, the government Thursday rolled out a face authentification feature in the PM-Kisan app, which will enable beneficiary farmers to complete their e-KYC process by just scanning their face on mobile phones instead of using one-time password or fingerprints.

Sharing details of the new feature, a senior official from the Agriculture ministry said, “PM-Kisan scheme has become the first scheme of the government to do e-KYC through facial authentication mobile app. This app is very much useful for the farmers who are aged and also their mobile number is not linked with their Aadhaar.”

He said the ministry began pilot testing of the face authentification feature in the PM-Kisan mobile app on May 21 this year. Since then, e-KYC of 3 lakh farmers has been done successfully.

ABOUT MODI'S GIFTS TO BIDENS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented uniquely inspired and crafted gifts to US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden as the two prepared to host him for an intimate state dinner in the US.

To President Biden, the PM presented a set of elements offered in the Indian tradition in celebration of a person who completes 80 years of life.

As a second gift, the PM presented the US president with a copy of the first edition print of the book, ‘The Ten Principle Upanishads’, an English translation of the Upanishads by WB Yeats and co-author Swami Purohit, published by Faber and Faber of London and printed at the University Press, Glasgow.

The principal gift to Biden stemmed from the ancient Indian ritual of honouring a man who lives beyond 80 years.  The PM presented to the US President a range of elements wrapped tastefully in a sandalwood box crafted by artisans from Rajasthan, in celebration of his life.

To US First Lady Jill Biden, the PM gifted a lab-grown 7.5 carat green diamond. It has been sculpted with precision and care using cutting-edge technology and emits only 0.028 grams of carbon per carat and is certified by the Gemological lab. The diamond bears the hallmarks of excellence through the 4Cs: cut, colour, carat and clarity.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Hope is itself a species of happiness, and perhaps the chief happiness which this world affords. - Samuel Johnson

OFF TRACK

At a remote monastery deep in the woods, the monks followed a rigid vow of silence. This vow could only be broken once a year on Christmas, by one monk, and the monk could speak only one sentence.

One Christmas, Brother Thomas had his turn to speak and said, "I love the delightful mashed potatoes we have every year with the Christmas roast!" Then he sat down. Silence ensued for 365 days.

The next Christmas, Brother Michael got his turn, and said, "I think the mashed potatoes are lumpy and I truly despise them!" Once again, silence ensued for 365 days.

The following Christmas, Brother Paul rose and said, "I am fed up with this constant bickering!"