A BI-WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST ON INDIA'S FOREIGN POLICY September 17th - September 30th, 2015 | VOLUME 2/15    Top Stories​ Dream to Make India $20 Trillion Economy: PM Modi at Facebook Townhall PTI / NDTV | September 28th, 2015 Projecting India as a "heaven" for investors, PM Modi said Delhi is working on deregulation and ensuring 'ease of doing business.' He said his government was laying thrust on three sectors particularly - agriculture, services and manufacturing - along with building the physical and digital infrastructure simultaneously.    Modi meets Obama, Cameron, Hollande; gets support for India’s permanent membership in UNSC The Indian Express | 29thSeptember The United States, Britain and France today reaffirmed their support to India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council as text-based negotiations to expand the most powerful wing of the world body begins in November.  ​Five key announcements by US tech titans during Modi’s Silicon Valley visit PTI / Live Mint | September 27th, 2015 “We believe that low-cost broadband connectivity coupled with the scale of cloud computing intelligence that can be harnessed from data can help drive creativity, efficiency and productivity across governments and businesses of all sizes,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.                                           SOUTH ASIA Modi meets Bhutan PM, Sri Lanka president IANS / Business Standard | September 26th, 2015 PM Modi complimented Sri Lankan President Sirisena on the successful and peaceful completion of parliamentary elections and said it showed a deep-rooted commitment to democracy, a trait shared with India. Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay suggested extending the Bhutan-Bangladesh-India-Nepal connectivity project beyond the motorway to other types of links. India ready to give preferential tariffs to all SAARC members PTI / Zee News | September 29th, 2015 India is ready to give preferential duty concessions on all products to SAARC members to give a boost to free trade in the region, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tuesday. At present, India gives zero-duty access for least developed countries (LDCs) of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for 100 percent of tariff lines, except for alcohol and tobacco. Bangladesh PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina Review Progress in Bilateral Relations PTI / NDTV | September 25th, 2015 Expressing satisfaction over the smooth implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a very good meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina in New York. "Both of them expressed great happiness at the very smooth manner in which the land boundary agreement had been implemented. They look forward to the continued implementation of the agreement in the coming months," said Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs. Nepal India steps up efforts to quell Nepal crisis Live Mint (PTI contributed to this story) | September 22nd, 2015 The new Constitution defines Nepal as a secular republic and redraws the nation into seven provinces. At least two communities in Nepal, the Madhesi and Tharu, are concerned about the proposed boundaries of the new provinces as they could lead to their political marginalization. Protesters block Nepal's major trade checkpoint with India PTI / The Economic Times | September 25th, 2015 Hundreds of trucks loaded with essential goods, cooking gas cylinders and petroleum products were stalled at the Nepal-India border due to the agitation. The protesters belonging to the Joint Madhesi Front were opposing the provision in the new Constitution that divides the country into seven federal provinces. India hopes 'difficult days' will not affect Indo-Nepal ties PTI / India TV News | 29th September "We welcome the recent steps taken by the government of Nepal to hold dialogue with the agitating groups to end the existing political crisis in a peaceful manner," Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said. He said India wants stability in Nepal and it was not against the new Constitution. NORTH AMERICA The United States Text of PM Modi's statement after meeting with Obama The Times of India | 28th September Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met US President Barack Obama in New York and sought American support to complete the UN reform process "within a fixed time frame." US CEOs seek faster reforms; PM promises speedier decisions PTI / Deccan Herald | September 25th, 2015 Inviting the US companies to set up manufacturing units in India, PM Modi told them, "Reform in governance is my No 1 priority. We are for simplified procedures, speedy decision making, transparency and accountability." PM Modi to Silicon Valley: Digital India ‘unmatched in history’ The Indian Express | September 28th, 2015 “Digital India is an enterprise for the transformation of India in a scale unmatched in human history. Nothing else will do in a country with 800 million impatient youths waiting for change,” Modi told business heads in San Jose.  MIDDLE EAST Iran Nitin Gadkari to Visit Iran; Government Plans Rs. 1 Lakh Crore Investment PTI / NDTV | September 27th, 2015 A high-level delegation led by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will soon visit Iran with proposals to make big ticket investments that could be worth more than Rs. 1 lakh crore. The visit will take place amid negotiations between the two countries on gas price for a urea plant to be set up in Iran. While Iran is offering to supply natural gas at USD 2.95 for the plant that India proposes to set up at Chabahar port SEZ, India is insisting for lowering the rates to USD 1.5. ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE India, US Sign Agreement on Energy Security and Climate Change PTI / NDTV | September 23rd, 2015 India and the US have signed a significant MoU on energy security, climate change and clean energy which Secretary of State John Kerry said reflects the commitment of the two countries to make the Paris summit later this year a success. "We have concluded a very significant Memorandum of Understanding on energy security, climate change, and clean energy," Mr Kerry said at a joint news conference with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj, US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. India to submit INDCs on reducing emissions next week PTI / Zee News | September 28th, 2015 India will submit its ambitious and "balanced" national contributions on reducing emissions next week to coincide with the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said. "If human intervention has caused climate change, then human instinct and intelligence will bring out solutions," Javadekar told PTI. MISCELLANEOUS PM Modi asks international community to unitedly combat terrorism PTI / Business Standard | 28th September Observing that India has been a victim of terrorism for the past 40 years, Modi said the West and many other countries woke up to the menace of terrorism only after bomb blasts or terror attacks in their nation. UNSC must include world's largest democracies, PM Modi says at G4 summit The Times of India (With inputs from agencies) | September 26th, 2015 "The UNSC must include the world's largest democracies (that are) major locomotives of the global economy, and voices from all the major continents," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. "The reform of the security council, within a fixed time frame, has become an urgent and important task," he added. PM Modi's US visit: 7 MoUs signed to boost startups in India PTI / The Economic Times | September 28th, 2015 Aimed at giving a big boost to startups in India, as many as seven MoUs have been signed between various organisations of India and the US. The MoUs were signed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the India-US Start-up Konnect 2015.  ***

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