India is challenging ratings that influence sense of stability in the country: S Jaishankar
Bengaluru (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said India has started challenging a lot of ratings and reports that influence the "sense of stability in India".
According to him, these exercises of bringing out ratings and reports are "doing real harm" to the country.
Jaishankar also expressed his surprise over the "complete coincidence" of the "same set of people" allegedly bringing out ratings and reports on India and expressing their opinion on the country repeatedly and consistently.
“It’s very interesting in many cases, when you have these ratings. If somebody actually bothers to go through it, you will find the names of people who've been consulted and you'd be amazed how many reports are produced in the world about India, and how the same set of people are consulted -- complete coincidence. They just happen to express their opinion again and again consistently to different people,” he remarked.
The EAM was replying to a question by Aarin Capital chairman and former Infosys Chief Finance Officer T V Mohandas Pai on Hungarian-American billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist George Soros during an interaction which was organised by the BJP Media Cell and Economic Cell.
Pai alleged that Soros was spending money on the NGOs "to disparage many countries to bring forward his ideology".
Jaishankar said, “We have been pointing out that today, because it's not just a polemical point, because sometimes they actually do real harm to the country.”
The minister said that in many cases, the ratings on India are taken into account a lot though it is allegedly brought out by non-financial and non-economic players.
“This assessment about India, the sense of stability in India, all these are actually influenced,” Jaishankar said.
Stating that India has started challenging a lot of it, he opined that there is a need to do it in a more systematic manner.
“In fact there are some people and I would really say more power to their elbow who want to bring out ratings of other countries. It’s a worthwhile exercise. It may seem a little bit flaky at the start but I think if we build it into a credible industry over a period of time, it will be good,” Jaishankar opined.
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Udupi (Karnataka) Apr 29: The coastal district of Udupi is going through a severe shortage of Compressed Natural Gas for Automotive applications.
Although the number of CNG fuel-based vehicles is increasing, the number of CNG filling stations in Udupi district has not risen. In the existing bunks, the supply is not as high as the demand. Due to this, motorists, especially rickshaw drivers have to wait for hours to get their fuel tanks filled.
“I've been waiting for not less than four-five hours everyday for the past one week. Most of the time my vehicle is idle and I am not able to take up fares, as a result of which I have lost so much of income and my bank obligations will take a beating if this continues any longer," Sundar Shetty, a rickshaw driver in Udupi said.
CNG fuel is not being supplied to existing bunks as per demand. And as the demand is high, the stock depletes quickly and sometimes the rickshaws are parked overnight in a queue for early morning refuelling, leaders of the CNG Autorickshaw Drivers Association said.
In Udupi town, there is only one bunk that has CNG facility, but most of the time it is empty.
“Due to high investment on land, equipment and daily stocks, there are not many takers for this business” the bunk owners said.
There is only one CNG station in Kundapura taluk out of three in Udupi district. There are more than 5,000 CNG based vehicles in the district.
The sight of hundreds of rickshaws and other vehicles waiting to fill CNG fuel at the CNG bank in Koteshwar every day from 4 am is very common.
Sometimes one has to wait till 8-9 o'clock. However, there is no guarantee that everyone will get fuel. Similar are the conditions in Karkala and Kundapur taluks of Udupi district.
The rickshaw drivers and other CNG users have appealed to the Udupi district authorities and approached the Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to put pressure on the government to normalise supply and to open more bunks.
