Big move by Modi govt as India decides to work with this Muslim country to give tough competition to China, not Iran, Afghanistan, the masterplan is…
Trans-Caspian International Transport Route: China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is dominating the global trade infrastructure. India is now looking for another route to reduce its dependency on it. The route that can be a substitute for the BRI is Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. Work on the TITR is progressing rapidly under Kazakhstan. What is Belt and Road Initiative? In 2013, Beijing had announced the Belt and Road Initiative with an aim to connect several continents through land and sea routes. This initiative aims to facilitate the exchange of goods, capital, technology, and people among participating countries. Why India Dislikes BRI?
There are some things that India don't like about the BRI such as China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). New Delhi, irrespective of any government in power, always opposed it, stating that it violates the country's territorial sovereignty. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India is not in the favour of CPEC. The route is against India's territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, the route on which work is going on now does not start from Beijing, but from Kazakhstan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Dalai Lama succession issue ‘thorn' in relations with India, says China
The succession of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is a thorn in China-India relations, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said on Sunday (July 13, 2025), as India's Foreign Minister prepares to visit China for the first time since deadly border clashes in 2020. Before the celebrations this month for his 90th birthday that were attended by senior Indian Ministers, the head of Tibetan Buddhists riled China again by saying it had no role in his succession. Tibetans believe the soul of any senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated after his death, but China says the Dalai Lama's succession will also have to be approved by its leaders. The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, and Indian foreign relations experts say his presence gives New Delhi leverage against China. India is also home to about 70,000 Tibetans and a Tibetan government-in-exile. Yu Jing, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, said on social media app X that some people from strategic and academic communities in India had made 'improper remarks' on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Ms. Yu did not name anyone but in recent days, Indian strategic affairs analysts and a government minister backed the Dalai Lama's remarks on his succession. 'As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully cognisant of the sensitivity of issues related to Xizang,' Ms. Yu said, using the Chinese name for Tibet. 'The reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China,' she said. '(The) Xizang-related issue is a thorn in China-India relations and has become a burden for India. Playing the 'Xizang card' will definitely end up shooting oneself in the foot.' Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who sat next to the Dalai Lama during the birthday festivities a week ago, has said that as a practising Buddhist, he believes only the spiritual guru and his office have the authority to decide on his reincarnation. The Foreign Ministry said on July 4, two days before the Dalai Lama's birthday, that New Delhi does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be attending a regional security meeting under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Tianjin in northern China on July 15 and hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines. This will be one of the highest-level visits between India and China since their relations nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 that killed at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers. Late last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart in China on the sidelines of a Defence Ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
'Centre choosing easy over effective': Congress's Jairam Ramesh slams rollback of sulphur norms; alleges government caved to polluter pressure
PTI file photo NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised the Modi government for exempting most coal-fired power plants from installing pollution control systems, calling the decision 'dangerous' and based on 'faulty premises. ' The environment ministry's new order, passed Friday, exempts 78–89% of thermal power plants from using flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) systems, which cut sulphur dioxide (SO₂) emissions. 'The Modi Government has already achieved the dubious distinction of having made India the global leader in sulphur dioxide emissions,' Ramesh posted on X. 'Now we learn that the environment ministry has exempted 78–89% of India's thermal power plants from installing FGDs.' . The former environment minister further said SO₂ harms public health and affects monsoon patterns. 'Research has increasingly shown that a large part of India's PM2.5 is due to sulphur dioxide reacting with other compounds,' he added. Ramesh also hit out at the ministry for shifting focus from PM2.5 to the less harmful PM10, just because it's more visible and easier to control. 'By turning a blind eye to PM2.5, the ministry has consigned us to many more years of public health crisis.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The senior Congress leader also slammed the continued use of outdated 2009 air quality norms. 'Without revising the NAAQS, policymaking will continue to be driven by flawed metrics,' he said. 'Delayed FGD worsening crisis': Research Meanwhile, a recent research by IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay, reviewed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) says that India's air pollution is largely driven by secondary PM2.5 particles formed when sulphur dioxide and other gases react in the atmosphere. According to IIT Delhi, about 81% of this pollution is home-grown, with the power sector alone responsible for 11% of population-weighted exposure. It said that despite clear evidence linking SO₂ emissions to public health risks, FGD implementation in coal plants remains patchy, delayed, and widely ignored.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
26/11 prosecutor, ex-foreign secretary & Kerala poll violence victim: Stories of 4 Rajya Sabha nominees
The President can nominate up to 12 members from the fields of literature, science, art and social service to the Upper House of Parliament. The nominations have been made to fill vacancies created by the retirement of earlier nominated members. New Delhi: Senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam, former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, social worker Master and historian Meenakshi Jain were nominated by President Droupadi Murmu to the Rajya Sabha. The selection of Nikam was long due as he worked in high-profile cases such as the Gulshan Kumar murder, the Shakti Mill gang rape, the Marine Drive rape, the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, and the 26/11 terror attack. The special public prosecutor was routinely in the news during the trial of Akmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist arrested during the 2008 terror attack. He had later drawn condemnation after he revealed that Kasab had never demanded mutton biryani during his trial. Born in North Maharashtra's Jalgaon, he started practicing as a lawyer in 1979. His father was a judge but he shot to fame for the first time when he was appointed as special public prosecutor in the 1993 serial blasts case. Nikam's proximity with the BJP dispensation grew after the 26/11 case. The Narendra Modi government conferred the Padma Shri to him in 2016. Last year, the BJP dropped two-term sitting MP Poonam Mahajan from the high-profile Mumbai North Central seat and instead gave the poll ticket to Nikam. His electoral debut ended with a loss as Congress Varsha Gaikwad trounced him by a margin of 16,500-plus votes. PM Modi hailed the nominations made by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. 'Shri Ujjwal Nikam's devotion to the legal field and to our Constitution is exemplary. He has not only been a successful lawyer but also been at the forefront of seeking justice in important cases. During his entire legal career, he has always worked to strengthen Constitutional values and ensure common citizens are always treated with dignity,' he posted on X. A retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Shringla had served as the foreign secretary between January 2020 and April 2022. He had navigated the Indian diplomatic landscape during the Covid pandemic. Shringla was recently part of India's outreach to the Islamic world after Operation Sindoor following the Pahalgam terror attack. As the Indian ambassador to the US, Shringla was credited with Modi's public event Howdy Modi in Houston and maintaining warm relationship with US President Donald Trump in his first term. He was later made the chief G20 coordinator for India's G20 Presidency in 2023 and went on to help the Modi government in organising the G20 Summit in New Delhi that year. In Shringla's biography 'Not An Accidental Rise,' author Dipmala Roka has mentioned how he managed administrative and diplomatic efforts to manage the supply chain of essentials, negotiating for the smooth supply chain of drugs and other essentials. The book further mentions that when the Modi government scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019, Shringla met 400 senators and traveled to 22 states in the US. His name had come up as a BJP candidate from Darjeeling in the last year's general elections, but the party stuck with the sitting MP Raju Bista. A former teacher and social worker of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Sadanand Master had unsuccessfully contested the 2016 and 2021 assembly poll as a BJP candidate. Currently, he is seving as the BJP state president of the Kerala unit. The Sangh veteran survived an attack by CPI(M) goons in 1994 but lost both his legs. Despite his state, he remained active in politics and the BJP presented his case to highlight the Left's brutality in Kerala. 'The BJP is making inroads in Kerala after the first Lok Sabha victory (of Suresh Gopi in Thrissur), His selection is politically important to send a message to cadres fighting against the Left rule for the last two decades,' a BJP functionary told ThePrint. Meenakshi Jain, a renowned historian of medieval and colonial India, is daughter of Times of India's former editor Girilal Jain. She is a former associate professor of History at Gargi College, Delhi University, as well as a former fellow of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, and a former member of the Governing Council of the Indian Council of Historical Research. Jain is currently a senior fellow at the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Her well-researched books such as 'Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples', 'The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya, Rama and Ayodhya', 'Parallel Pathways: Essays on Hindu–Muslim Relations' have dealt with historical issues of national importance. Jain had contributed to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks during the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Later, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance dropped her book from the syllabus. The RSS and other Hindu Right outfits cited her work in the legal fight over Ayodhya. The historian was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: ONOE: Ex-CJIs say bill 'may not' violate basic structure of Constitution, but question powers to EC
