Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Tiffinwalas fuel India's economy

Every morning, 65-year-old Dhondu Chaudhary picks up a lunchbox from Arpana Rao's home in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Mrs Rao relies on Mr Chaudhary to get her husband's daily lunch delivered to Mumbai's financial district where he works.

That is about an hour away from her home - and looking after her new baby means she barely has time for herself, let alone find the time to deliver a tiffin, or lunchbox, to her husband's office.

That is where Mr Chaudhary comes in.

He has to deliver Mr Rao's home cooked meal to his office in town.

For this service, he charges her $5 (£2.70) a month.

He also delivers lunch to thousands of the city's professionals. He makes about $80 a month.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Saturday, July 22, 2006

India struggles to catch China

The rapid growth of the Indian and Chinese economies have transformed the two countries in recent years. But this prosperity has also brought other problems.


Heavy investment has turned Beijing into a modern city
I think it was in 2003, that the world suddenly woke up to China.

I am not sure what caused it to happen, what particular event or news story. I just remembered the phone in the BBC's Beijing Bureau started ringing and it has not stopped since.

Well now it is happening again and this time it is not China, it is India.

Every time you turn on the television or pick up a magazine, it is no longer the rise of China, it is now the rise of China and India.

The desire to make comparisons is understandable. Both have more than a billion people. Both are growing at 10% a year.

Delhi is an overwhelming experience. It is as if all of humanity has been squeezed into one city

There are, I suspect, many who are hoping that India, with its freedom and democracy, will win this new race to become the next economic super power. I am not so sure.

I have spent the last eight years living in Beijing, and only four days in Delhi, so comparisons are difficult.

But the few days I recently spent in India made me look at China in a new light.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Thursday, July 20, 2006

India to begin Beirut evacuation

The evacuation of Indian nationals fleeing the conflict in Lebanon is due to begin with a naval ship reaching Beirut, an Indian official said.
India's ambassador to Beirut, Nengcha Lhouvum, told the BBC that 630 Indians were expected to return by a warship, INS Mumbai, on Thursday.

Three Indians have been wounded and one is missing after an attack in the Shatura area of Beirut, she added.

There are an estimated 12,000 Indians in Lebanon.

Most of them are unskilled or semi-skilled labourers working in factories and industrial units. Many of them have been living in Lebanon for more than two decades.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Musharraf of Pakistan pushes for peace talks

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has said any delay in peace talks with India would amount to "playing into the hands of the terrorists".
India postponed the talks after last week's train bombings in Mumbai, which have left about 180 people dead.

It said the environment was not favourable for a meeting this week to review the third round of talks.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the peace dialogue "suffered" because of the attacks in Mumbai.

Pakistan has said linking the Mumbai bombings with the talks is incongruous, especially as both sides had stated they would not let terrorism derail the peace process.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Monday, July 17, 2006

Nuclear talks between Bush and Singh of India

US President and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have held talks to discuss a proposed landmark nuclear deal between the two countries.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G8 summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

The controversial deal would give India access to US nuclear technology.

It reverses US policy which had restricted nuclear co-operation since India tested a nuclear weapon in 1974.

The agreement was finalised during US President George W Bush's visit to India in March.

The accord has been hailed as historic by some, but critics say it will damage non-proliferation efforts.

A US Senate committee and a House of Representatives panel backed the deal last month.

Reports said Mr Singh sought Mr Bush's support for successful completion of the deal during the 40-minute meeting.

"There are some concerns which worry us and worry our parliament," Mr Singh was quoted telling Mr Bush during the meeting by the Press Trust of India.

"We are a democracy and we are accountable to the parliament which zealously keeps a watch on what we do and what we do not," the report quoted him saying.

Mr Bush was quoted telling Mr Singh that he was "optimistic" about the deal being passed.

"It's an important piece of legislation. I'm optimistic we'll get that passed," the Associated Press quoted him telling the Indian prime minister before the meeting.

The final vote on the proposed agreement is not expected till the middle of July.

The proposed agreement reverses US policy to restrict nuclear co-operation with Delhi because it has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and has twice tested nuclear weapons in 1974 and 1998.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Sunday, July 16, 2006

India puts off peace talks with Pakistan

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has put off peace talks with Pakistan due this week after suspicion for carrying out the Mumbai train bombings fell on Islamist militants based in that country, a top Indian foreign ministry official said on Sunday.

The decision came days after a series of bomb blasts in commuter trains in the country's financial and entertainment hub killed 179 people and wounded hundreds more.

Although there has been no breakthrough yet in investigations into one of India's worst terror attacks, officials suspect Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Pakistani military spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, to be behind the bombings.
"We told them the environment is not conducive," said the Indian Foreign Ministry official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

He was referring to talks due to be held in New Delhi on July 20-21.

There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan.

The meeting between their chief foreign ministry officials was to have reviewed progress in the peace process, launched in early 2004 after the nuclear-powered rivals went to the brink of a fourth war in 2002.

The decision to put off the talks, however, did not mean that the peace process had been called off, the official said.

"We are still committed to making peace with them. But they have to show that they can keep their promises to end terrorism before we can move forward," he said.

The official was referring to a pledge by Islamabad made in 2004 that it would not allow its territory to be used by anti-Indian militants fighting against New Delhi's rule in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Pakistan has denied any connection with the Mumbai bombings and said Indian charges against its military spy agency were nothing more than propaganda or speculation unless New Delhi came up with evidence.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has offered Islamabad's full cooperation into any investigation by India, wherever it should lead.

Tags
Posted by at

Friday, July 14, 2006

India PM visits Mumbai survivors

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is visiting Mumbai to meet survivors of the bombings on the city's railways.
Mr Singh is due to visit at least one hospital and to discuss security in the wake of Tuesday's blasts, which killed nearly 180 people.

His visit comes after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf offered to help India find those responsible.

Suspicions that Pakistan-based militants may have been involved have raised tensions between the two states.

Indian security officials have suggested that the Mumbai bombings bore the hallmarks of Lashkar-e-Toiba, a Kashmiri militant group operating from Pakistan.

But the group has not been directly accused and has denied responsibility.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Mumbai bloodied by blasts but back at work

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Millions of people packed trains and buses to get to work in India's biggest city on Wednesday, as the country's financial hub shook off seven bombs on its vital commuter rail network that killed at least 183 people.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Monday, July 10, 2006

Hindu hardliners riot in Mumbai

Police in India's Maharashtra state are on high alert following sporadic incidents of violence in the capital, Mumbai (Bombay), the authorities say.
Tensions are running high after a statue of the late wife of right-wing Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray was found to have been vandalised.

Shiv Sena followers went on the rampage in some parts of the city.

Some political opponents say the party is using the incident to try to revive flagging political fortunes.

The Maharashtra government has asked police to be vigilant across the state.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

India tests new ballistic missile

India has carried out a first test of its longest-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, officials say.
The Agni-III surface-to-surface missile was test-fired off the coast of Orissa state. Reports say it can reach targets as far away as Beijing and Shanghai.

India says the test is routine and not aimed at unnerving arch-rival Pakistan. Both nations regularly test missiles.

Last week, North Korea sparked an outcry by test firing missiles without warning into the sea of Japan.

The BBC's Navdip Dhariwal in Delhi says India has twice postponed the Agni-III tests - once for technical reasons, the second time because of fears of a negative international response at a time when the country was tying up important nuclear energy deals.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Friday, July 07, 2006

Strike hits top India hospital

The strike by the doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has entered its third day.

They are protesting against the decision of the hospital's governing body to sack its chief P Venugopal for allegedly violating a code of conduct.

The 1,500-bed hospital in the capital, Delhi, is funded by the government.

Patients, mainly from poor families, have the worst affected by the strike.

"I have been coming here for radiotherapy for the last 15 days. Now the strike has started and I am being denied treatment," Ram Swarup, who is suffering from a brain tumour, was quoted saying by the Press Trust Of India.

"I do not know how many days I can survive if treatment is discontinued."

Some reports said that a 35-year-old man, suffering from a heart problem, had died after he was refused treatment at the hospital on Thursday.

There are about 1,200 doctors at the hospital.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Historic India-China link opens

China and India have opened a historic trade route that had been closed for nearly half a century.
The Himalayan pass of Nathu La, 4,000m (14,000 feet) above sea level, was once part of the ancient Silk Road.

The opening ceremony took place at the windswept border between India's Sikkim state and the Chinese region of Tibet.

Nathu La has opened just a few days after the first train service was launched from eastern China to Tibet.

The pass was given a festive look with Chinese and Indian flags fluttering and military bands playing.

China's ambassador to India and local officials from Sikkim and Tibet attended the opening ceremony at the border post in driving rain and bitter cold.

But the BBC's Subir Bhaumik, who was at the opening, says despite the poor weather conditions there was no shortage of enthusiasm among the hundreds of Indian and Chinese traders who had gathered there.
Read full story via bbc news

Tags
Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)