India-US ties 'very personal' for me, says US Second Lady Usha Vance
Washington (PTI): US Second Lady Usha Vance termed the India-US relationship as one that is "very personal" for her, underlining that this is a time of "great opportunity" for ties between the two nations whose relationship has "ebbed and flowed at times".
"It is a very personal relationship because I have family members who are in India, and I have many family members here in the United States, and I did grow up visiting India and visiting those family members," Vance said during a fireside chat here at the eighth edition of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Leadership Summit.
"So that's always been a relationship that I've personally thought of as very important," she said at the event attended by prominent government, business and community leaders from India and the US.
Responding to a question on her perspective about the relationship between the two countries, Vance said, "This is a time of great opportunity. And I think if my husband were here, he'd say the same thing."
"Obviously, the United States and India - the relationship has ebbed and flowed at times...but right now, I think, in the next four years and in the future, the fact that there is this established Indian-American population here, and so many people in India who know the country and know the people who are here doing great things, having great opportunities,” she said during the fireside chat conducted by John Chambers, USISPF chairman and JC2 Ventures founder and CEO.
Vance recalled that when the Second Family — Vice President J D Vance, herself and their three young children — visited India recently, "I was struck by the number of people who came up to me to say how much they loved our country, how they visited family, how they visited just for pleasure, that they were hoping for a close relationship looking forward. And I think these personal ties actually really have something to do with it."
At the leadership summit, USISPF also presented the 2025 Global Leadership Awards to IBM Chairman Arvind Krishna, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Hitachi Executive Chairman Toshiaki Higashihara "for their outstanding contributions in strengthening the US-India-Japan economic partnership."
This is the first time that business leaders from the QUAD grouping of Australia, India, Japan and the US will be honoured at the USISPF summit.
USISPF is an independent not-for-profit institution focused on strengthening the US-India partnership.
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High-rise near INS Shikra: HC raps Navy over ‘lapse’, 'intelligence failure'
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Friday pulled up the Navy for its “failure in intelligence” while questioning how a high-rise came up unnoticed in the vicinity of INS Shikra, the maritime force’s premier air station in south Mumbai.
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri said it was of the prima facie opinion that there has been an intelligence lapse on the part of the Navy as it failed to notice a skyscraper being constructed in the vicinity of its establishment.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Commanding Officer of INS Shikra seeking to halt the project, citing significant security risks to the sensitive military installation.
The bench also questioned the Navy’s selective opposition to only this particular building when there are several other residential high-rises in the vicinity, with some at a “stone throw distance” from INS Shikra.
The petitioner’s advocate R V Govilkar said the other buildings were constructed before 2011, when the Ministry of Defence issued a notification, making a No Objection Certificate mandatory for the construction of tall structures near defence establishments.
The court, however, noted that the present high-rise received its commencement certificate in March 2011, and construction began since then.
“You (Navy) are trying to hide grave lapse on your part… lapse in intelligence and security… there has been a failure of intelligence. The Navy has been sitting in its office and noticed this building only after almost 70 metres (19 storeys) had already been constructed till the year 2024,” HC said.
There has been a prima facie lapse of intelligence, the court said, adding, “We are surprised as to how the Navy has failed to see such a high-rise building being constructed all these years? How has the building gone unnoticed? This can only be attributed to the failure of intelligence on the part of the naval officials.”
The bench said it cannot permit its earlier order, temporarily halting construction activity at the building site, to continue as it was passed due to security concerns ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the city.
The court said since construction up to 53.07 metres (15 storeys) was permitted in the area, the developer of the building shall develop above the permissible height at their own risk.
It added that if the court finally concludes that an NOC (no objection certificate) was mandatory, then it would direct the demolition of the building above the permissible 53 metres.
The court also warned action against Mumbai civic body officials if it is found that the corporation has been complacent or has committed a blunder by granting the commencement certificate without an NOC from the Navy.
It posted the matter for final hearing on March 30.
After perusing photographs of the area near INS Shikra submitted by the developer, the HC noted that there are several other high-rises between the structure under construction and the establishment.
“In fact, from the under-construction building, the naval base is out of sight. This is our prima facie view. We are intrigued that there are other buildings very close to the establishment and a threat perception hovers around them too, but the Navy has not done anything about them,” the court said.
Those buildings are literally a stone’s throw from INS Shikra, Justice Ghuge said.
Senior counsel Janak Dwarkadas, who represented the developer, argued that since the building received its commencement certificate in March 2011, months before the notification issued by the Ministry of Defence, it did not require the mandatory NOC from the defence.
