POST-G20, INDIA AND SAUDI ARABIA BUILD ON CORRIDOR, STRATEGIC TIES

Days after the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), an ambitious infrastructure project to connect India to Europe via West Asia, was unveiled at the G20 Summit, India and Saudi Arabia on Monday signed eight agreements to boost cooperation in a range of areas — from energy to interconnectivity, digitalisation and electronic manufacturing to finance and security.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who was on a day-long State visit on Monday after the conclusion of the G20 Summit.

Modi and MBS — as the Saudi Crown Prince is popularly referred to — co-chaired the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council which was set up in 2019.

“We are adding a new and modern dimension to our relations, in sync with the changing needs of the time… For India, Saudi Arabia is among the most important strategic partners… as the world’s two large and fast growing economies, our cooperation is important for the peace and stability of the entire region,” Modi said.

“I am very glad to be here in India. I want to congratulate India for the G20 Summit…a lot of announcements were made that will benefit both our countries, the G20 countries and the whole world. So I want to say to India, well done, and we will work to create a future for both countries,” MBS said.

The two leaders kick-started their stalled $50 billion refinery project and separately announced two joint working groups to channel Saudi investment into energy, railways, freight corridor, highways, gas grid, optical fibre and information technology.

G20'S DELHI DECLARATION SENT A 'POSITIVE SIGNAL': CHINA

China finally broke its silence on the New Delhi G20 summit saying that the Declaration adopted by the member nations has sent a positive signal that the influential grouping is working together to tackle global challenges and promote world economic recovery.

In its first comment on the outcome of the two-day summit, which concluded Sunday, the Chinese foreign ministry spoke highly of its outcome.

The summit adopted a leaders' declaration, which reflects China's proposition and states that the G20 would act in concrete ways through partnerships, sending a positive signal of the G20 working together to tackle global challenges and promote world economic recovery and global development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. Asked for her comment on the summit outcome, Mao said, In the process of preparing for this New Delhi summit, China played a constructive role and always supported the summit in attaching importance to the concerns of developing countries and reaching fruitful outcomes in support of common development.

Asked whether China supports the absence of direct criticism of Russia in the G20 statement and whether softer language would help end the conflict in Ukraine, Mao said China's stance on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. We always believe that the key to the final resolution of the Ukraine crisis lies in discarding the Cold War mentality, attaching importance to and respecting all sides' legitimate security concerns, and seeking a political solution through dialogue and negotiation, she said.

DUTCH PM SAYS G20 DECLARATION WAS A COMPROMISE, AS USUAL

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on Monday said the G20 New Delhi declaration was clearly a compromise, which is always the case with such a multilateral forum. Rutte yesterday visited Bengaluru as part of an economic mission.

"It was a compromise clearly, and that's always the case when you come together with multilateral teams like the G20. But I was happy with the fact that there were some key elements in the declaration, which were important. But obviously if I would have written it myself, it would have been different, but I wasn't the only one; we were with a whole bunch of people. And it is good that India was able to broker a declaration," Rutte said.

"Yesterday, I had a meeting with the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi). We know each other very well, we discussed how to basically elevate our relationship to a more strategic level and not only on the economic side, but also clearly on the security side...this is clearly a broad-based relationship," he said.

OPPN CRIES FOUL OVER EXCESSIVE SPEND ON G20 SUMMIT

With the G20 Summit wrapped up, the Opposition appears to be ready to move on to domestic issues but the BJP is still basking in the summit’s success and keeping its focus on foreign policy.

The Congress, however, chose to highlight the govt’s decision to use barricades and screens to hide slums in Delhi, saying the BJP was “trampling the self-respect of the country’s poor”. The party posted a video on X that also showed waterlogging at the Bharat Mandapam, where G20 events were held, and stray dogs being rounded up violently.

The Congress on Monday said the BJP-led govt has spent Rs 4,100 crore for the G20 summit, over four times the original budget for the event of Rs 990 crore.

“After the Covid-19 pandemic, govts the world over have curtailed their spending on public events. Indonesia spent less than 10 per cent of India’s expenditure — a measly Rs 364 crore for the Bali Summit”, KC Venugopal, general secretary (organisation), Congress said in a post on X.

“This govt that cannot ensure cheap LPG or petrol/diesel, refuses to compensate farmers who faced crop destruction, does not release adequate funds for restoration of flood-devastated Himachal Pradesh, has over shot the budget for this image-building exercise”, he added.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale claimed India spent seven times what Germany spent in organising the summit in Hamburg in 2017. “For Modi’s PR for 2024 elections, we have spent a shocking Rs 3,500 crore extra,” he said.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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BRAZIL DEALS WITH SPECULATION OVER PUTIN’S VISIT NEXT NOVEMBER

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday said he hoped Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro next year, even as he appeared to backtrack on his assurances a day earlier that Putin will not be arrested should he visit the South American country. He added that it would be up to the judiciary to decide whether to arrest the Russian leader .

On Sunday, da Silva had said that should Putin visit Brazil for the Summit scheduled in November 2024, “there’s no way” the Russian leader will be arrested “if I’m the president”.

The International Criminal Court in March this year issued an arrest warrant against Putin for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which led to the founding of the ICC, and is bound to comply with the ICC’s arrest warrants. It was to avoid arrest under this warrant that Putin avoided travel to South Africa in August for the BRICS Summit.

The Brazil leader also said he will be reviewing why his country had signed the Rome Statute. “I want to know why the US, India and China didn’t sign the ICC treaty and why our country signed it.”

CHINA'S DEFENCE MINISTER 'MISSING' FOR TWO WEEKS

China’s Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu is missing amid growing speculation over political instability in the country. International media outlets have cited news reports to say Li is missing — euphuism for having been sacked or detained.

The buzz first started on Friday when US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel posted on X, “President Xi’s cabinet lineup is now resembling Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None. First, Foreign Minister Qin Gang goes missing, then the Rocket Force commanders go missing, and now Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn’t been seen in public for two weeks”.

Emanuel also referred to the former foreign minister of China, Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public since June 25. In July, Wang Yi was appointed Foreign Minister. As per Chinese media reports, PLARF chief Gen Li Yuchao and his deputy Liu Guangbin were replaced and they were reportedly not seen in public for months.

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TRUDEAU, DELEGATION STRANDED IN DELHI AS AIRCRAFT HITS SNAG

Canada on Monday said the earliest possible departure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his delegation from the national capital is Tuesday late afternoon and that the country's armed forces are continuing with their best efforts to bring them back home.

The prime minister and his delegation, who were to leave Delhi after the G20 summit on Sunday, are stranded due to technical issues with their aircraft.

Will always defend...: Trudeau on Khalistan question

In an e-mailed statement to PTI, the Canadian Prime Minister's office said the Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the delegation home. 'We will keep you updated regularly as the situation evolves. Their latest update shows an earliest possible departure of Tuesday late afternoon. The situation remains fluid,' Press Secretary Mohammad Hussain said in the statement.

TDP WORKERS PROTEST NAIDU’S ARREST, JAGAN CRACKS DOWN ON 21 RIVAL MLAs

Defying heavy police deployment and Section 144 of CrPC prohibiting the assembly of people, the TDPworkers and supporters held demonstrations in different parts of the YSRCP-ruled Andhra Pradesh as part of the statewide bandh called by the TDP to protest the arrest of party supremo and ex-chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

However, an unprecedented crackdown by the administration and police on the TDP rank and file has prevented their protests from snowballing as a slew of its leaders, including 21 MLAs, were taken into preventive custody. The police rounded up protesters across the state and took them to police stations.

Naidu was arrested by the state CID from Nandyal early on Saturday in connection with the multi-crore AP State Skill Development Corporation scam allegedly involving his govt’s tenure during 2014-19. He was shifted to Rajahmundry Central Jail, 200 km from Vijayawada, after the court order.

However, as a large number of state and district-level TDP leaders have been kept under house arrest by the police, the party has not been able to organise the protests on a mass scale so far. All 21 TDP MLAs have been put under house arrest with large police contingents stationed outside their houses to prevent them from leaving home.

DUTIES ON US APPLES & WALNUTS SCRAPPED: J&K LEADERS ASK PM TO RETHINK

Political parties in Kashmir Valley have urged the Centre to rethink its decision to remove additional duties on apples, walnuts and almonds imported from the United States, saying it will severely impact the Union Territory’s economy, particularly horticulture.

On September 5, days before US President Joe Biden’s bilateral with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit, the Centre announced removal of additional duties on about half a dozen US products, including apples, walnuts, almonds and lentils. These duties were imposed in 2019, in a tit-for-tat after America hiked tariffs on certain steel and aluminium products from India.

Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the decision “will have a devastating effect on local growers in J&K already grappling with huge losses post-2019”. “Hope @PMOIndia reconsiders,” Mufti posted on X.

Calling it “grave injustice”, former chief minister and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said the Govt’s move will not only impact horticulture in Kashmir, but in other states such as Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. “In order to keep the Americans and the people from other countries happy, where is the need to make the lives of the people of Kashmir difficult. We would imagine that the central govt would think about the local people first. If not us, then the people of Uttarakhand and Himachal? However, all are in the same boat now and will face the consequences of this decision,” he said.

NEW CORRIDOR MAY DRIVE BIG GAINS FOR RAIL, INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANIES

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) -- a landmark announcement made on the sidelines of the just-concluded G20 summit in New Delhi -- is expected to provide a boost to key railway and port infrastructure companies like Ircon International, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Tata Projects, and GMR, experts said.

Ports on the western coast of India, such as state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (Navi Mumbai) and Deendayal Port Authority (Kandla), the Adani group-owned Mundra Port, and APM Terminals-owned Pipavav Port, also have the potential to benefit immensely from this corridor, they said.

The IMEC will comprise an eastern corridor connecting India to the Gulf region, and a northern corridor connecting the Gulf region to Europe. It will include a railway and ship-rail transit network and road transport routes linking India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Europe.

The move buoyed stocks of railway infrastructure companies like Ircon International (up 20 per cent), RVNL (up 17 per cent), and the Indian Railways funding arm IRFC (up 10 per cent) on the National Stock Exchange on Monday.

Suppliers like rail-maker Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) and Steel Authority of India (SAIL) may also benefit if Indian companies are given priority in sourcing.

Since the new corridor is seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, India may get a significant portion of the project to execute. “Traditionally, railway infrastructure deals in West Asia go to Chinese companies.

CREDIT SUISSE CASE: PAY UP OR FACE JAIL, SC WARNS SPICEJET BOSS AJAY SINGH

The Supreme Court on Monday told SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ajay Singh that it (the court) was “not worried” even if the low-cost airline “shuts down” and it would take “drastic measures” if Singh did not give proof of payment of $500,000 as its monthly instalment and $1 million as the defaulted amount to Swiss firm Credit Suisse by September 15.

The Division Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah came down heavily on Singh, saying he would be sent to Tihar jail if he kept on “dilly-dallying (on) the payment”.

INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM PICKED ON ASTROLGER’S ADVICE: AN IE REPORT

“Hi dear friend, you can check charts for each player from the list for 11 June. Kick off time is at 20.30.”

ON June 9, 2022, 48 hours before India were scheduled to face Afghanistan in a crucial Asian Cup qualifier in Kolkata, national football team coach Igor Stimac sent this message to Bhupesh Sharma, an astrologer from Delhi NCR, who was introduced to him by a top All India Football Federation (AIFF) official, The Indian Express has learnt.

Within hours, the astrologer replied with his remarks against each name: “Good”; “can do very well. Needs to avoid over confidence”; “a below average day”; “a very good day for him but might get over aggressive”; “not recommended for the day”.

An hour before kick-off on June 11, when India’s team for the match was declared, two established names whose stars weren’t favourable, according to the astrologer, did not make the cut.

This conversation wasn’t a one-off. There are close to 100 messages, purportedly exchanged between Stimac, a former Croatian international, and Sharma in May-June 2022. India played four matches during this period: a friendly against Jordan followed by three Asian Cup qualifiers against Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

Before each game, the messages show Stimac was in touch with Sharma. Not only do these messages put a question mark on the integrity of the Indian team’s selection process, they also raise issues of propriety — vital team information being shared with an “outsider” runs the risk of being misused.

ASIA CUP: INDIA PICK UP BIGGEST WIN OVER PAKISTAN

Virat Kohli's supreme fitness was evident in his 47th ODI century while comeback man KL Rahul produced an equally engaging ton on comeback as India thrashed a listless Pakistan by record 228-run margin in a rain-marred Super Four game of the Asia Cup in Colombo, stretched over two days.

India posted an imposing 356 for 2, as Kohli (122 not out off 94 balls) and Rahul (111 not out off 106 balls) pummelled a hapless Pakistan, whose chase ended at 128 as Kuldeep Yadav (5/25) scythed through them.

On the century count in ODIs, Kohli now stands just two behind Sachin Tendulkar's record 49.

Once India restarted the day from 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs, they needed Kohli and Rahul, the two overnight batters, to go big, and they did that in some style.

Along with Rahul, Kohli amassed 233 runs for the unbeaten third wicket stand – the highest ODI partnership for India against Pakistan.

En route to his 77th international century, Kohli also added some personal milestones to an already long list, becoming the fastest batsman to 13000 ODI runs.

Rahul, who was playing for India for the first time since earlier this March after an injury lay-off, batted for 141 minutes without any discomfort, and later kept wickets to underline his return to full fitness.

During Pakist’s innings, Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was bowling in an ODI for the first time since July 2022, gave India the perfect start, sending Imam-ul-Haq into the hands of Shubman Gill at second slip. Hardik Pandya breached the defence of Pakistan captain Babar Azam with a delivery that shaped in just that bit.

Kuldeep, India's best bowler in ODIs this year, hastened their fall as the left-arm wrist spinner bamboozled the Pakistan middle and late order with his endless variations.

The injured Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah did not come out to bat as Indian bowlers were not even required to strive for 10 wickets.

INDICATORS

Sensex 67,127 (+528), Nifty 19,996 (+176)

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US$-Rs. 82.92, GBP-Rs. 103.77, Euro-Rs. 89.02, UAE Dhm-Rs. 22.57, Can$-Rs. 60.99, Aus$- Rs. 53.30

GBP 0.79 /US$, Euro 0.93 /US$, Jap.Yen 146.49 /US$, Aus$ 1.55 /US$, Sing 1.36 /US$, Bang Taka 108.49 /US$, Can$ 1.35 /US$, Mal Ring 4.67 /US$, Pak Re 302.39 /US$, Phil Peso 56.65 /US$, Russian Rouble 96.19 /US$, NZ$ 1.68 /US$, Thai Baht 35.49 /US$, Ukraine Hryvnia 36.64 /US$

Bitcoin - USD 25,202, Dollar Index 104.23, Brent Crude 90.60, BDI 1186

Gold world Spot Price USD/aoz 1,921 India (Rs. per gm 24k/22k) 5,983 / 5,484, Silver (Rs. Per KG) 77,500

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There is the greatest practical benefit in making a few failures early in life. - Thomas Henry Huxley