Sushma Swaraj to visit Russia next week
New Delhi, Sep 8 : Even as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Syria next week has been postponed in view of the prevailing situation in that war-torn nation, it was announced on Saturday that she will be visiting Russia on September 13-14 to attend an inter-governmental meeting.
"External Affairs Minister will visit Moscow on September 13-14 to hold the meeting of the 23rd India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Technical and Economic Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) which is co-chaired by her and Yuri Borisov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
"IRIGC-TEC is a standing body which annually meets and reviews ongoing activities of bilateral cooperation in the fields of bilateral trade and investment, science and technology, culture and other issues of mutual interest," it stated.
"The Commission, after taking stock of bilateral cooperation in various fields, will provide policy recommendations and directions in the concerned fields."
Sushma Swaraj's programme in Russia comes close on the heels of the first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue here in which she, along with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis participated.
India and the US signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) after the 2+2 Dialogue which gives India access to high-end US defence technology.
However, speculation has been rife about the fate of India's plan to buy five Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced air defence systems with the Trump administration's Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) coming into effect in January 2018.
CAATSA targets countries doing business with Russian, Iranian and North Korean defence companies and with India being a major defence partner of Russia, the S-400 deal has become a matter of concern since it is close to be concluded.
However, the US Senate last month passed a bill that gives India a partial waiver relief from sanctions against Russian firms and oligarchs, allowing it to keep buying Russia-made weapons in a landmark decision that is seen as a big diplomatic win for New Delhi.
Following the 2+2 Dialogue here on Thursday, Pompeo told the media that no decision has been made regarding the S-400 deal.
"We are working to impose CAATSA Section 231 in a way that is appropriate and lawful and to exercise that waiver authority only where it makes sense," he said.
"And we as a team, the national security team, will work on that, and as we continue to have these conversations with India about that, I think come to an outcome that makes sense for each of our two countries."
Sushma Swaraj's visit to Moscow comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to ndia next month for the annual bilateral summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Earlier on Saturday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that Sushma Swaraj's visit to Syria, scheduled for next week, has been postponed.
"EAM's visit to Syria has been deferred due to the prevailing situation in that country," Kumar said in response to a query.
"Fresh dates will be decided in mutual consultation with the Syrian side," Kumar said.
This would have been the first high-level visit from India to Syria since civil war broke out in that West Asia nation in 2011.
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CBI closes case against DHFL, its directors in 'fake' home loan accounts case
New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI): The CBI has closed the case against the DHFL and its directors pertaining to 2.60 lakh allegedly fictitious home loan accounts, some of which were used to claim interest subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, officials said.
After over three years of probe, the agency could not find evidence suggesting a criminal conspiracy which could have led to the creation of such accounts, they said.
The irregularities were pointed out in the report of auditor Grant Thornton, appointed by the new board of the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), they said.
The agency has now submitted its final report before a special court in Delhi, which would take a call on whether to accept the closure report or order further investigation into the matter.
The CBI had booked promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan along with the company.
It was alleged that DHFL had opened a fictitious branch in Bandra and fake accounts worth Rs 14,046 crore of home-loan borrowers, who had already repaid their loans, were entered in the database, they said.
A total of 2.60 lakh "fake and fictitious" home loan accounts were created in the non-existent branch from 2007-19 for a total loan worth Rs 14,046 crore, out of which Rs 11,755.79 crore were deposited or routed to several fictitious firms known as Bandra Book firms, the CBI had alleged in the FIR.
Several of these bogus loan accounts were linked in the Pradhan Mantri Awas (PMAY) to claim interest subsidies from the National Housing Bank in connivance with its officials, the CBI had alleged.
The DHFL had allegedly processed 88,651 cases under the PMAY till December 2018, and it received an interest subsidy of Rs 539.40 crore, while it has to receive Rs 1,347.80 crore from the government, it had said.
PMAY is a central scheme to ensure housing for all.
