Kudankulam stalemate over, PM to discuss N-safety at Korea summit next week

HYDERABAD

20 MARCH 2012

Echoes of Kudankulam would be felt in distant Seoul next week when heads of state or

government from about 50 countries gather in the South Korean capital for the second

edition of the nuclear safety summit.

On their agenda will not only be nuclear safety but also the future of nuclear as an

energy source, post the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011.

While there is a strong popular sentiment against nuclear energy in Japan and a host of

other Asian nations, South Korea and India stand out as an exception where

governments have signalled their intention to pursue the nuclear power path.

The March 26-27 summit, which will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,

Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama, among others, can be

expected to discuss issues such as guidelines for nuclear safety.

The US hosted the inaugural nuclear safety summit in 2010.

A week before Dr Singh leaves for Seoul, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa ended

the eight-month-long uncertainty over the future of the Kudankulam nuclear power project

by giving her go ahead.

Work at the site had been affected by the protests by locals spearheaded by a People's

Movement Against Nuclear Energy, which feared a Fukushima-like catastrophe in

Kudankulam.

The decision to restart work at Kudankulam coincides with China's decision to resume

construction of nuclear power plants. China currently has 13 nuclear power plants with

varied capacities.

China suspended approving new nuclear power projects and launched nationwide safety

inspections at nuclear power stations and facilities in operation and under construction

over safety concerns after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

According to state-run Beijing Review, China at present has approved 43 nuclear power

plants, with a planned capacity of 200 million KW. These plants are located in 16

provinces, including eight in inland areas.

Incidentally, South Korea is one country where Prime Minister should find himself at

ease. In a poll conducted by worldpublicopinion.org a few years ago, Dr Singh was voted

among the most popular "regional" leaders in South Korea with 47 per cent South Korean

nationals saying they trusted him more than others.

In the 20-country poll, 30 per cent of Chinese leaned positively towards Dr Singh

although the Chinese views of him had become more negative as compared to the

previous poll. He also enjoyed an overwhelming support (83 per cent) among Indians.

In contrast, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari fared poorly on the confidence index. Only

34 per cent of the Pakistanis had confidence in him.

Dinesh Trivedi calls for a national railway policy, lays stress on beefing up infrastructure along China border

Hyderabad

14 March 2012

Dinesh Trivedi made an impassioned plea for augmenting rail infrastructure in the border areas, in an implicit reference to China building a network of rails and roads in areas bordering India's north-eastern states.

In the same breath, he pitched for evolving a national policy for Railways, so that there is continuity of policy across successive governments and policies can be executed without them falling a victim to partisan politics.

"... the time has come to think of a national policy for Railways, just as we have one for defence and for external affairs," Mr Trivedi said Wednesday in his budget speech in the Lok Sabha.

Uncharacteristically for a railway minister, Mr Trivedi spoke about how the geopolitical situation on borders arising out of building of state-of-art road and rail network by neighbouring countries "requires a matching response."

The Railways, he continued, must remain in a state of preparedness to move men and machines to border areas.

Mr Trivedi sought to impress upon the relevant ministries of the government, not least of all the ministry of finance, that it was therefore necessary to undertake projects of national importance on priority and to ensure adequate funding.

Similarly, he argued for liberal funds for connecting the remote and backward areas in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-eastern states, without worrying about the return on investment or such other factors.

He warned that the projects in J&K and in the north-east, which required more than Rs 4,000 crore for the current year, may get delayed for want of adequate funding.

"The budgetary support to Indian Railways has been pegged at a modest level of Rs 24,000 crore as against a projected requirement of Rs 45,000 crore. The national projects in Kashmir and northeast region have also to be funded out of this," he said.

In his speech, Mr Trivedi also dwelled on how the Indian Railways was contributing its bit for improving India's relations with her neighbours. He cited the proposed Tripura-Bangladesh railway link, and the new Jogbani-Biratnagar line and Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas to provide connectivity to Nepal as a case in point.

India slow off the block or ..? China likely to bag Israeli rail project

India is set to potentially lose yet another infrastructure project of interest to it,

to China, due to a combination of diplomatic lethargy and inertia in decision-making.

Recently, the Israeli government approved a railway line linking its Red Sea port of Eilat

and Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean coast. The "Med - Red" railway line linking the

Mediterranean and the Red seas offers an alternative to the Suez Canal for

transcontinental trade between Europe and Asia. Also, it could facilitate exports of gas

from Israel to India and beyond. Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu is bullish on the

project, saying that "it has created very great interest in among the emerging powers,

China and India, and others."

The Israeli transport ministry has indicated a preference for a government-to-government

agreement with China for tapping the professional capability of the Chinese companies

in the construction of railway systems and transport networks.

Already, the Asian Development Bank, which is financing the TAPI (an acronym for

Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India) gas pipeline project, has indicated that

Chinese companies could be roped in to build the trans-national gas pipeline that will

deliver Turkmen gas to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Indian government is not

particularly amused by the prospect of a Chinese involvement in the construction of the

TAPI pipeline.

There is a sliver of hope yet for the Indian state enterprises such as RITES (Rail India

Technical and Economic Services) Limited and IRCON (Indian Railway Construction)

International Limited -- both of which are public sector undertakings under the railway

ministry. One of the options Israel could look at is international tendering, and, if it opts

for it, then Indian agencies stand a chance of becoming involved with the railway project.

The IRCON has completed several landmark infrastructure projects across the globe in

21 countries, including Israel. Similarly, RITES' operational experience spans over 50

countries in Africa, South East Asia, West Asia and South America; most of its foreign

assignments are for national governments.

However, an Indian government source explained away the inertia of decision-making by

saying that the project has come up in conversations only recently, and, there is no

information yet of any likely interest from a PSU or private entity.

PM to skip SCO Summit next week

New Delhi

8 Augut 2007

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not represent India at the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit for the third year in a row. The 2007

SCO Summit will be held at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan next week.

Sources told this newspaper that Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee can be

expected to stand in for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the August 16 summit. New

Delhi has not made an official announcement yet.

The SCO was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and

Uzbekistan. India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status in the SCO. The US

applied for observer status but its request was turned down.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora travelled to Shanghai for the

2006 Summit. The then minister of external affairs Natwar Singh represented India at the

2005 Summit at Astana in Kazakhstan.

India's low-key representation continued when Union Minister of State in the Prime

Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan was deputed to attend the SCO Heads of Government

(Prime Minister-level) Meeting held at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, in September last year.

New Delhi has been advancing the logic that there was no need for the Prime Minister to

attend the Summit because India was only an observer. Certain analysts, however, have

pointed out that all the other observer states were represented by their heads of state

and/or government at the Summit last year. The analysts said that New Delhi's thinking

was dictated by a desire to be seen as close to the US, especially at a time when both

sides were negotiating the proposed bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation agreement.

According to reports, the presidents of Iran and Mongolia are expected to attend the

Bishkek Summit. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the last Summit at

Shanghai. Pakistan is likely to be represented by its Foreign Minister Khurshid

Mehmood Kasuri. President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov will be a

special guest.

Incidentally, Japan, an ally of the US, has realised the importance of Central Asia and

begun engaging the counties of the region, bilaterally and multilaterally. It formed the

Central Asia Plus Japan initiative in August 2004. All the five Central Asian countries are

involved in this dialogue. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit India later this

month. He is expected to address both Houses of Parliament on August 22. Prime

Minister Manmohan Singh addressed the Japanese Diet (Parliament) in December last

year.

Don't take US at face value: Analyst

New Delhi

6 August 2007

The history of the United States bilateral relations with other countries

is littered with instances of its going back on its obligations in its national interest and

there is no guarantee that there will not be another "Tarapur", according to a security

analyst.

The director of the Chennai-based Institute of Topical Studies and a former additional

secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Mr B Raman, said: "Even if our agreement with the

US is satisfactory in every respect from our point of view, it is no guarantee that there

will not be another Tarapur trauma. After our first nuclear test of 1974, the US did not

hesitate to break its solemn contractual obligations and starve the US-aided power

station of fuel to punish us for the test."

He cautioned that the US will observe the provisions of the 123 Agreement so long as it

suits it and it looks upon India as of importance to it in its pursuit of its global designs

and ambitions. If a day comes when the US decides that India is no longer of such

importance to its national interests or when it fears that India's indigenous nuclear

projects are detrimental to its nuclear agenda, it will not hesitate to throw the 123

Agreement into the waste paper basket and try to enforce its will on India.

He called for a careful identification of the scenarios in which the agreement can turn

sour and "we are confronted with another Tarapur-like situation". He suggested a three-

track approach. One, to keep pressing ahead in India's quest for nuclear self-suffiency.

Two, to force open the doors to international nuclear commcece. And three, to keep

ourselves mentally and in other ways prepared to meet a situation in which the doors

might again be close against us before we reach the goal of self-sufficiency. "A

comprehensive exercise to cater to these three tracks is the need of the hour," he said.

He went on to caution that the pursuit of close relatinos with the US should not create

"wrong peceptions" in China.

He felt that more than the agreement itself, the circumstances surrounding the

negotiations which preceded its finalisation and the changing attitude to the US amongst

the present political leaders in power in New Delhi and the small group of officials and

non-official intellectuals advising them should be a matter of concern to public opinion.

He flagged four concerns, including lack of transparency and the noticeable contempt for

those expressing reservations about the present policy of the government towards the

US in general and this agreement in particular. "Third, an uncritical fascination for the US

and a disquirting belief that India's ultimate salvation and its emergence and recognition

as a major power lie in close relations with the US and readiness to be subservient to its

policy goals. Fourth, a greater willingness to be sensitive to the views and concerns of

American legislators and moulders of public opinion than to those in India," he said.

East Siberia oil fields: Russia asks India, China to overcome rivalry, bid together

Moscow

28 December 2005

Welcoming the recognition in India and China that they

might have more to gain from cooperation than competition in the energy

field, Russia has suggested that they bid together for the oil and gas

fields in East Siberia.

"India can play a big role as there will be vast possibilities in the next two

to three years," Mr Igor V Scheulov, deputy director of foreign economic

relations division of the Russian ministry of industry and energy told this

newspaper.

After West Siberia, which has been contracted to the West, it will be the

turn of East Siberia to be up for grabs in 2006-07. Mr Scheulov said bids

will be invited from interested parties for 40 big and small oil fields.

"A new law on subsoil is past the first reading in Parliament. It will be

passed in two to three months," he said about a legislation that will allow

foreign companies to participate in the exploration and development of oil

and gas projects.

Incidentally, China and India have chosen Syria's dwindling oil market as

a testing ground for cooperation. The Oil and Natural Gas Commission

(ONGC) and the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) are planning to bid

for Petro-Canada's 38 per cent stake in the Al Furat oil and gas venture in

Syria.

Accoding to Stratfor, a United States-based think tank, "New Delhi's quest

for energy security is compounded by its intense energy rivalry with

Beijing. A latecomer to the energy battle, India consistently has lost to

China in bidding wars over oil and gas fields. China simply has more

cash, expertise and control over state firms to secure resources in the

race for energy supplies."

India's latest defeat came on August 22 when ONGC's 3.6 billion-dollar

offer for PetroKazakhstan's reserves in Central Asia was overshadowed

by CNPC's 4.2 billion-dollar bid.

If ONGC had gone ahead with its proposal to acquire a 45 per cent state in

a Nigerian oil and gas field, for the first time an Indian firm would have

defeated the Chinese in securing a field with an estimated capacity of 1.6

billion barrels of oil reserves.