PM's speech at the inauguration of the Anantnag-Qazigund Rail Link

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the Anantnag-Qazigund Rail Link in Anantnag today. Following are the excerpts from the Prime Minister’s address originally rendered in Hindi:

“I am delighted to be back in the valley of Kashmir in the lovely season of autumn. We will soon see the beautiful golden hues of the season and the magnificent chinar will soon be flaming red. I have come today to inaugurate the Qazigund–Anantnag rail link. I congratulate the Indian Railways and the people of Kashmir for this achievement. The day is not far when trains will run from Jammu to Srinagar through the Banihal Pass.

The last time I came to Jammu & Kashmir, the State Assembly elections were going to be held. Later, the Lok Sabha elections were also held. I am happy that the people of Jammu & Kashmir turned out to vote in these elections in large numbers. I believe that it was a vote for a peaceful path to a better tomorrow. I applaud the wisdom and good faith of the common man of Kashmir. The elected government has a golden opportunity to consolidate the peace in the State.

In the last five years, the Government of India has taken a number of steps to bring development to Jammu & Kashmir. We have tried to revive the traditional connectivity between the people of the region. We took the bold step of reviving the movement of goods and people across the Line of Control on the Srinagar – Muzaffarabad road and on the Poonch – Rawalakot road. I am happy to announce that the Central Government has decided to fund the additional cost of Rs. 385 crore to build the heritage Mughal Road that will connect Shopian with remote areas of Poonch and Rajouri.

Unprecedented resources have been committed to the State for its comprehensive reconstruction. But I recognize that the benefits are trickling down slowly. This state of affairs should change. We have to speed up the pace of development in the state. We have to reverse the brain drain that has denuded the state of many of its teachers, doctors, engineers and intellectuals. We have to create the conditions for them to return and to be the instruments of change and development. We want to strengthen the hands of the State Govt. so that they can implement an ambitious development agenda. Full Speech

Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India visits United Kingdom and the republic of Cyprus

A visit by the President of India to both these countries took place after nearly two decades.
The President’s visit, at the invitation of Her Majesty the Queen, was the first State Visit to the UK after the two countries decided to upgrade the relationship and became Strategic Partners in 2004. She was in the United Kingdom from October 27 to 29. Apart from her interactions with Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the Royal family which included a meeting with the Prince of Wales on the British Asian Trust, she also met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Leader of Opposition and the leader of the Liberal Democrats. She attended a Banquet hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London and attended Indian community at a reception hosted by the High Commissioner.

In Cyprus, the  President met her counterpart President Demetris Christofias and discussed ways in which our bilateral relations can be intensified, particularly though enhanced economic engagement in sectors like the knowledge industry, tourism, hydrocarbons and financial services, among others. Since Cyprus became a member of the European Union in 2004, coinciding with rapid economic development in India, opportunities for further strengthening our economic and commercial contacts have increased. She also met,  the Archbishop of Cyprus, His Beatitude Chrysostomos II and the President of the House of Representatives, which is the Legislature of Cyprus. She returned  to India on 1st November.

India elected second vice-chair of G-24
New Delhi, The Financial Express

Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister

India was elected the second vicechair at the meeting of G-24 countries in Istanbul recently, while Brazil replaced Syria as the chair. India is now just two steps away from becoming the chair of the Inter-governmental Group of 24 (G-24) nations on international monetary affairs and development.

“Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was elected unanimously as the second vice-chair. He would automatically become the first vice-chair in 2010-11 and then, in 2011-12, he would be the chair of G-24 countries,” the government said in a media statement. Till now Syria was the chair, Brazil was the first vice-chair and South Africa was the second vice-chair. In the new order, Brazil is the chair, South Africa is the first vice-chair and India is the second vice-chair. These three countries represent each of the three regions — Africa, Latin America & the Caribbean and Asia — that G-24 comprises.

The group was established in 1971 with an objective to concert the position of developing countries on monetary, development finance issues. Its other member countries are Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka. Recently, Mukherjee had convened a meeting of the finance ministers of BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) at Istanbul.

The BRIC finance ministers discussed issues facing the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and arrived at common positions on several issues.“On the IMF side, the ministers discussed the process of achieving a significant shift in quota shares in favour of dynamic emerging markets and developing countries. They agreed to aim for a 7 percent shift. They also discussed the new arrangement to borrow,” the government said in another release. On the World Bank side, they discussed how to enhance the voice and participation of developing countries in the World Bank and agreed to aim for a shift of 6 percent for parity.

Inspiration for the peace loving: President

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil congratulated U.S. President Barack Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. “I write to congratulate you for winning the prestigious 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of your extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.I am sure this honor would inspire all those who believe in promoting international peace and justice to achieve enduring harmony and fraternity among nations,” President Patil said in a message. “The people of India join me in conveying to you our good wishes for the continued success of your mission for positive change,” President Patil added.

At the invitation of President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patel, the President of the Republic of Argentina Dr. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will pay a State Visit to India from 13-15 October 2009. She will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including the Foreign Minister, and a large business delegation.

During the visit, Prime Minister will hold discussions with President Cristina. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Chairperson of UPA Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Shri L.K. Advani and External Affairs Minister, Shri S.M. Krishna will call on the visiting dignitary. On 15th October, President Cristina will visit Agra and Mumbai.

President Cristina’s visit will take place during the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Argentina. This is also the first Presidential visit from Argentina in 15 years; the last visit was by President Menem in 1994. The last visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Argentina was in 1995 by Late Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao for the G-15 Summit.

IEuropean passenger plane maker Airbus SAS will move 20 percent of its engineering and design activities to low-cost countries, a majority of it to India, by 2012 to cut manufacturing costs. It is expected to help it compete better against its main rival Boeing Co. Airbus has 120 employees at its
engineering center in Bengaluru, which will grow to 400 by 2012. It outsources work to around 20 Indian IT and engineering service providers, including Infosys, Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (now owned by Tech Mahindra Ltd.), Quality Engineering and Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
(Quest), and HCL Technologies Ltd. “There is a big push at the top level to grow business in India in the next three to four years,” said Jean-Francoise Safouret, head of operations at Airbus Engineering Center India (AECI).