NITI Aayog for more trade, greater integration of Saarc region
New Delhi, July 2: Pushing for greater integration in the Saarc region, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Monday said the South Asian region will remain backward until it pushes for greater trade, greater investments and more tourism within the region.
He said the South-Asian region was the least integrated region in the world with virtually no intra-regional trade.
Kant said that on one hand, over 97 per cent of tourists come to India via air from other countries, most Indian tourists also travel to the Southeast Asian region.
The NITI Aayog CEO pushed for greater intra-region tourism to boost growth and even encouraged Indians to travel to Pakistan, and vice versa.
"Why should Indian tourists go to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand? Why shouldn't they travel to Bhutan, Afghanistan or Pakistan? We should travel to each other's countries. We have made things so difficult politically that we are not able to benefit from all this (intra-region tourism)," he said at the SAARC Development Fund (SDF) Partnership Conclave here.
"If you look around the world, most of the trade, investment and tourism is intra-regional in character. Therefore most of growth has taken place in those regions, and poverty eliminated, because of intra-regional work. If you look at America or Europe, it's all intra-regional," he added.
Kant said there was virtually no intra-regional trade in the Saarc region.
"In terms of tourism, 97.2 per cent of tourists come to India via air from abroad. So there is no intra-regional travel and tourism. And therefore the multiplier impact of trade, or tourism, or investments has not benefited the country. And that's why South Asia remains the region with maximum poverty," he said.
"South Asia as a region has been severely hampered and it will remain backward till we don't integrate the region and till we don't push for greater trade, greater investments, and greater travel and tourism within the region," he added.
Kant said that growth in India and its neighbouring countries will not come from other regions like America or Europe, but it will be the political will, determination and bonding together of the Saarc countries which will enable growth and eliminate poverty.
"That's how it has happened in other parts of the world. But unfortunately, it hasn't happened here," he said.
The NITI Aayog CEO also pushed for more employment opportunities for women saying that they contribute only 25 per cent to GDP in the Saarc region compared to 48 per cent contribution to the GDP in the rest of the world.
He said the region cannot grow until this changes and a conscious policy was needed to promote employment for women and to empower them.
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Saif attack case accused in 5-day police custody; cops cite international conspiracy angle
Mumbai: A Mumbai court on Sunday remanded a man arrested in the Saif Ali Khan attack case in 5-day police custody after observing that the prosecution's contention of an international conspiracy cannot be ruled out.
Police produced the accused Mohammad Shariful Islam Shehzad (30) before a metropolitan magistrate court in Bandra at 1:30pm.
Police told court that the alleged attacker was a Bangladeshi national residing illegally in India and there was need to find the motive behind his act. Police also told court they needed to find out if there was an international conspiracy linked to the case.
However, defence lawyer Sandeep D Sherkhane contended his client was residing in the country for several years and has vital documents (for staying in the country) and that his family is also residing in India.
The case has been hyped because of the presence of actor Saif Ali Khan, the defence lawyer further submitted.
The police, however, sought 14-day custody stating the case was not just about a celebrity but that it involved a brutal attack.
The police also told court the investigation is at a primary stage.
Khan sustained grievous injuries in the attack, including a part of the knife blade getting embedded in his body, the investigating officer told court.
The knife broke into three parts, two of which have been found, while the third needs to be recovered from the accused, police told court.
The clothes the accused had worn at the time of the incident will have blood stains and it needs to be seized as part of the probe, police submitted.
A probe was required to find out how he entered the actor's house and the motive behind the attack, the IO said.
However, the defence lawyer said Shehzad should be remanded in judicial custody.
Accepting the police's contention after perusing documents on record, the court said the prosecution's submission of international conspiracy "cannot be said to be impossible".
"I find the allegations against the accused are well-founded. Therefore, the police need to be provided with sufficient time to investigate the case. Five-day police custody is justified," the court said.
The court also dismissed the defence's claim that the arrest was illegal and asserted the police had followed all required norms while apprehending the accused.
Earlier in the day, police had told the media that the alleged attacker was a Bangladeshi national who had illegally entered India and changed his name to Bijoy Das. He was held from adjoining Thane city.
As per preliminary probe, he had entered the Bollywood star's home, in Satguru Sharan building in Bandra, in the early hours of January 16 with the intention of theft, police had said.
Khan (54) was stabbed multiple times in the attack, after which he underwent a five-hour surgery in nearby Lilavati Hospital.
