UAE’s hearty gesture; pinchpenny behavior by centre
Any country cannot progress without the strong friendship and good relations with other nations. India has to always bear in mind the gesture of other countries that stretched a hand of friendship and strength when the nation was freed from British rule. If they hadn’t helped India, the country wouldn’t see such good growth today. Similarly, India has also helped other nations during times of their distress. Such exchanges of help and support are not a sign of weakness or inferiority. If the laws of the land do not permit us to accept the form of help, as a nation we need to express gratitude for the gesture by our friend-nation. It is our duty.
The devastating flooding the state of Kerala witnessed, has caught the attention of the world. Many nations have responded to this shocking deluge the tiny state has witnessed. UAE has taken a step further and offered financial help up to Rs 700 cr for Kerala. But UAE spokesperson said the proposal hasn’t been finalized yet. The Arabian nation is so serious in its offer that it has already set up a committee to identify genuinely deserving candidates who need help. And the country has even assured to work with Foreign Affairs ministry to reach the aid to people who need it the most.
Whether India could accept this help is a point apart. When this announcement was made, the least India could do is to express gratitude and thank the UAE for this. India and UAE have been strengthening their ties time and again through many MOUs and bilateral relationships. We should have assumed this aid by UAE was the continued efforts to improve bilateral ties and help each other as nations. But some small minded reasoning has come through even in this difficult time when politicians interpret the acceptance of this aid as an ‘insult’ to India.
The PM surveyed Kerala in person and witnessed the harm caused by the flash floods. Media has been covering this human tragedy round the clock. According to preliminary assessment, the estimated loss is at about Rs 20,000 cr. And this figure is equivalent to the budget of Kerala for 2018-19.
The money that was needed to take the state further, has to be invested to rebuild it from scratch. Central government’s response to Kerala tragedy was not as swift as it was to Gujarat and Uttarakhand. Initially centre gave Rs 100 cr and then added another Rs 500 cr as interim relief. In all, the funds stand at rs 600 cr. Just when Keralites were upset that centre wasn’t offering adequate help, UAE stretched out a helping hand and announced an aid of Rs 700 cr. As per sources, this was an official declaration. But since this announcement ran into rough weather, UAE said this was not an official announcement just to avoid further complications.
Central government has put forth its own reasons to refuse this aid. According to policies, financial aid from other countries cannot be accepted and this came into existence from almost 15 years ago. Foreign aid was refused even during Gujarat earthquake in 2001 and Tsunami in 2004. And even during this distressful occasion, the centre has decided to follow the same example. But to reject aid when a state is completely under water and needs all the help it can get to stand on its feet, is almost like placing it under suspension of progress. The issue here is that UAE aid exceeds the funds extended by the central government itself. This has caused an embarrassing situation. Not only UAE, the country has also refused aid from other nations on this occasion.
The Modi fans are terming this as ‘self-respect’ and other terms. But there is something we need to understand. If a country can raise loan from Japan for a bullet train that’s a luxury serving only a certain section of people, why not during times like this? Fine, let’s say this is a step towards self-reliance. In such case, let’s for a moment understand foreign aid is not needed. But then what stops the government from diverting thousands of crores ear marked for creation of mega monuments like Vallabhbhai Patel and Shivaji Park etc. Let them prove that people matter more than the monuments. The country will welcome this move.
On one hand, organisations like RSS etc are accepting donations from abroad to strengthen their base, the government is keeping mum on this. On another hand, when the whole of Kerala is struggling to stand on its feet after such a massive loss, the government suddenly remembers all the policies that refuse such aid. Moreover, UAE did not offer that aid out of thin air. The nation remembers the contribution Keralites have made towards their nation building and economy. Hence, as a mark of gratitude, UAE offered this help. This would have helped strengthen the ties between two countries. But with refusing this, the central government has proved its narrow minded thinking before the whole wide world.
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India willing to cut 100% tariffs; trade deal with New Delhi soon: Trump
New York (PTI): India is willing to cut 100 per cent tariffs on American goods, US President Donald Trump claimed once again while saying that a trade deal between New Delhi and Washington is coming soon.
In an interview to Fox News, Trump, however, said that he is not in a "rush" for the proposed trade deal.
Against the backdrop of the US president's repeated claim of India offering to drop all tariffs on American goods, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in New Delhi on Thursday that "any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial".
Trump again described India as "one of the highest tariff nations in the world."
"They make it almost impossible to do business. Do you know that they're willing to cut 100 per cent of their tariffs for the United States?" Trump said.
When asked if the deal with India is coming soon, Trump said, "that'll come soon. I'm in no rush. Look, everybody wants to make a deal with us."
Then he went on to add: "South Korea wants to make a deal but I'm not going to make deals with everybody. I'm just going to set the limit. I'll make another some deals. Because I can't, you can't meet with that many people. I've got 150 countries that want to make deals."
India and the US are holding talks to firm up a trade deal.
On Thursday, Jaishankar said trade talks have been going on between India and the US.
"These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial; it has to work for both countries," he said.
"That would be our expectation from the trade deal."
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is currently in Washington to assess the progress of negotiations for the proposed trade agreement.
He is expected to hold talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.
To boost bilateral trade, India is seeking duty concessions for labour-intensive sectors like textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, chemicals, grapes, and bananas in the proposed pact with America.
On the other hand, the US wants duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles in particular), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, agriculture items such as apples, and tree nuts.
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