By TNV Desk

This is a weekly foreign media digest that tells you how India has been covered in the global media from May 21 to May 27, 2023

REUTERS – Hundreds rally in Pakistan-ruled Kashmir against India G20 meet

• Hundreds of people rallied in Pakistan -administered Kashmir on Monday to protest arch-rival India’s decision to host a G20 tourism meeting in its part of the disputed Himalayan region, said a government official. 
• India hopes the meeting will help revive international tourism in the scenic Kashmir Valley which has been roiled by a violent Islamist insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, although violence levels have fallen in recent years and domestic tourism boomed.
• The G20 tourism working group meeting is the first international event in the region since the conversion. G20 consists of 19 rich nations and the European Union. India at present holds it presidency and is set to host its annual summit in New Delhi in September.
• India hopes the meeting will help revive international tourism in the scenic Kashmir Valley which has been roiled by a violent Islamist insurgency against Indian rule since 1989, although violence levels have fallen in recent years and domestic tourism boomed.

For detailed report click on – Hundreds rally in Pakistan-ruled Kashmir against India G20 meet | Reuters

 

BBC – G20: India hosts tourism meet in Kashmir amid tight security

• This is the biggest international event organised in the region since India scrapped its special status in 2019.
• India is holding a key G20 tourism meeting in Kashmir amid heightened security and opposition from China. 
• In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party – led federal government had divided the Muslim -majority state of Jammu and Kashmir to create two federally administrated territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Ladakh is a disputed frontier region along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, and both countries claim parts of it. 
• The Indian government and several sections of the media have calling the G20 event in Kashmir “historic”, billing it as an opportunity to showcase the region’s culture. 
• Over the decades, opposition politicians, activists and locals have also accused successive Indian governments of human rights violations and stifling of freedoms in the restive region – which Delhi has denied .
• India has said it will showcase the cultural heritage of Kashmir and promote its tourism potential during the meeting. Delegates will be taken on sightseeing tours and there will be discussions on strategies to promote “film tourism”, according to an official statement.
• The G20, which includes the world’s 19 wealthiest nations plus the European Union, accounts for 85% of global economic output and two-thirds of its population.

For detailed report click on the link – G20: India hosts tourism meet in Kashmir amid tight security – BBC News

 

DW – US signs defense pact with Papua New Guinea

• The agreement comes as Washington seeks to counter Chinese influence in the region. Meanwhile, in separate talks, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 14 Pacific leaders in the PNG capital, Port Moresby.

• PNG is home to nearly 10 million people. Its location just north of Australia makes it strategically significant.
• The new pact came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Pacific island leaders at a summit in the capital, Port Moresby. Both Washington and New Delhi are concerned about Beijing trying to woo smaller nations through diplomatic and financial incentives.
• Indian PM Modi pledges support to the 14 leaders of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation in Port Moresby.
• He stressed that India would be a reliable development partner to small island states, and the South Asian nation was committed to a “free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific.”
• “Without any doubt we are willing to share our capabilities and experiences in digital technology, space technology, health security, food security, climate change and environment protection,” Modi said in his opening address.
• The State Department said the agreement would “enhance security cooperation and further strengthen our bilateral relationship, improve the capacity of the PNG Defence Force, and increase stability and security in the region.”
• Marape said last week that the pact would offer the US movement in the country’s waters in return for access to US satellite surveillance to battle “illegal activities on the high sea.”
• Concerns over China’s expanding foothold grew throughout the Pacific last year when the Solomon Islands signed its own security deal with Beijing.

For detailed report click on the link – US signs defense pact with Papua New Guinea – DW – 05/22/2023

 

REUTERS – US, Papua New Guinea sign defence agreement as Modi pledges support for Pacific Islands | Reuters

• U.S Secretary of State Blinken and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held separate meetings with 14 Pacific island leaders in the PNG capital Port Moresby, pledging support for the region’s priorities of health, development and climate change.  
• In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China had no objection to mutually beneficial cooperation with Pacific Island countries such as PNG, but added: “What we need to be vigilant about is engaging in geopolitical games in the name of cooperation, and we also believe that no cooperation should target any third parties.”
• Modi told the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation that India would be a reliable development partner and was committed to a “free, open and inclusive Indo Pacific”. 
• The Quad leaders of Australia, United States, Japan and India had agreed in Japan at the weekend to increase cooperation with the Pacific, Modi said.

For detailed report click on the link – US, Papua New Guinea sign defence agreement as Modi pledges support for Pacific Islands | Reuters

 

REUTERS – India to host Quad summit next year, PM Modi says 

• India will host the United States, Australia and Japan next year for a summit of the group of regional powers known as the Quad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

For detailed report click on the link – India to host Quad summit next year, PM Modi says | Reuters

 

DW – Indian PM Modi visits Australia, seeks closer defense ties

• Modi shared the stage with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park.
• “The last time I saw someone on the stage here was Bruce Springsteen and he didn’t get the welcome that Prime Minister Modi has got,” Albanese told a crowd of 20,000 people.
• The leader of the South Asian nation kickstarted his three-day tour on Tuesday by telling Australian media that he wanted to take New Delhi’s ties with Canberra to the “next level,” which includes deepening defense and security relations to help ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
• Australia and India have a great “strategic alignment,” Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said. “It really does afford the opportunity to take the relationship to the next level,” he told public broadcaster ABC, ahead of Modi’s arrival.
• When asked if Australia would raise India’s treatment of Muslims and other minorities with the Hindu nationalist leader, Marles declined to go into detail and said he expected Albanese and Modi would have a “full conversation.”
• “Ultimately, we are both democracies and that very much underpins the way in which we see the world,” the deputy prime minister said, stressing instead the trade and defense ties between the two countries.

For detailed report click on the link – https://www.dw.com/en/indian-pm-modi-visits-australia-seeks-closer-defense-ties/a-65705255

 

REUTERS – EU will go easy on Indian resale of Russian fuel

• Western pledges to prevent the circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions risk falling flat in India. 
• Fuelled by cheap imports from Moscow, the Asian country’s yearly oil products sales to Europe have surged over 70% to $15 billion in the past year, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Commerce. 
• The war in Ukraine has offered India an opportunity to boost purchases of discounted Russian oil.

For detailed report click on the link – EU will go easy on Indian resale of Russian fuel | Reuters

 

BLOOMBERG – Modi’s Popularity Endures Despite Recent India State Poll Defeat

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity remains strong despite his party’s loss in a crucial state election, but his main rival Rahul Gandhi is also gaining ground, indicating the opposition could gather momentum ahead of the 2024 national election.
• Modi remains the top choice for prime minister and his Bharatiya Janata Party’s vote share remains steady, according to a survey by broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd. in partnership with the Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies research group.
• Despite losing the state of Karnataka earlier this month, 43% of the respondents said a BJP-led coalition would return to power in next year’s national vote. Only 29% said Gandhi’s Congress party would win. Modi’s ruling party’s vote share has also seen a slight uptick — increasing to 39% in 2023 from 37% in 2019 when it swept to power for a second term.

For detailed report click on the link –https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-24/modi-s-popularity-endures-despite-recent-india-state-poll-defeat?leadSource=uverify%20wall

 

INDEPENDENT – India and Australia sign major new deal after years of negotiations

• Modi says Albanese promised ‘strict action’ against Sikh separatist groups in Australia.
• India and Australia have sealed a migration agreement during prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sydney. Mr Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese held bilateral talks on Wednesday to strengthen their diplomatic and economic ties as Canberra sought to balance growing strategic competition between the US and China – its largest trading partner.
• Apart from the key agreements, Mr Modi raised concerns about attacks on Hindu temples by separatist Khalistani groups in the country.
• Mr Modi’s visit to Canberra came as a part of Quad grouping, that includes Japan and US. A Quad summit was held in Hiroshima, Japan, on the sidelines of the G7 meeting.
• In his wide-ranging talks, Mr Modi raised the issue of vandalism of temples. He was promised “strict actions” against the perpetrators.
• “Prime Minister Albanese and I have in the past discussed the issue of temples in Australia and activities of separatist elements. We discussed also again today,” Mr Modi said.
• The two leaders said they were committed to complete negotiations on a free trade deal – the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement – before the end of the year.
• They also made announcement of two new diplomatic posts, one in India’s Bengaluru and another in Brisbane, Australia.

For detailed report click on the link –   https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/india-australia-deal-modi-boss-b2344672.html

 

CBC – Funeral home workers worry about youths’ mental health as repatriations to India increase

• A funeral home in Toronto is drawing attention to mental health issues facing international students as it increasingly repatriates the remains of young men and women to India.
• Funeral workers at Lotus Funeral and Cremation Centre in Etobicoke, Ont., say they believe some of these deaths are a result of suicides. Students and advocates say they are similarly worried about international student mental health and suicide rates, especially as the international student population from India grows, and say the issue demands action.
• The numbers are murky. One student activist says it’s problematic that federal statistics don’t track deaths among international students because, otherwise, there will be no way to find a solution. 
• Lotus has, for years, been repatriating the remains of Indian citizens from throughout Canada at the request of the Consulate General of India and other members of the diaspora.
• It used to repatriate no more than two a month — some of them students and some who had moved on to work permits. But since last year, that number has more than doubled, the funeral home says.
• “We’re about four to five [repatriations] a month right now,” said president and owner Kamal Bhardwaj. Some months, as many as seven. Funeral workers have travelled as far as P.E.I, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Quebec to gather bodies. 
• Funeral workers could not provide specific causes of death due to privacy concerns, but they did tell CBC News that natural causes are usually associated with only one or two deaths per month among student and other young Indians. 
• Last year also saw far more students come to Canada from India — 319,000, up from 216,500 in 2021 — according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). But that 47 per cent rise was far outstripped by the rise in bodies handled by Lotus. 
• According to IRCC data, the number of Indian students with valid study permits has been trending upward: from 2018: 171,505 to  in 2022: 319,000. 
• IRCC said it does not track the remains of foreign nationals sent back to their home countries. Statistics Canada says while it does collect information on deaths, there is not enough information to determine whether the deceased was a foreign student.
• So far this year, consulate officials say another eight students had died by March. Two of those were confirmed as suicides.
• Jaspreet Singh, founder of the International Sikh Students Association and a former international student himself, says if governments aren’t tracking the deaths of international students, it makes it hard for officials to see the crisis that he and others in the community see on a daily basis.
• “In Canada, everything is pretty much systematic,” he said. “We work with numbers, we always try to analyze the number, we always try to project the numbers for the future. In the case of [international students], nothing is happening.” 
• “They are getting neglected and only the students are suffering.”

For detailed report click on the link –    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/india-student-repatriation-bodies-mental-health-1.6815961

 

THE ECONOMIST – How well does your country provide for its citizens?

• A global index that attempts to compare people’s well-being across 170 countries

•  How well off is humanity? Which countries’ citizens are thriving and which are languishing? Where are people making progress and where are they sliding back? Often the answers to such questions come from examining their economies.
•  South Asia has also seen significant progress. India’s (Social Progress Index) SPI score, for example, increased by 16 points over the three decades. But it is tiny Bhutan, sandwiched between India and China, that advanced the most among the 170 countries.
•  India achieved a similar jump in its score, from a slightly lower base, with a third of China’s economic growth.

For detailed report  click on the link –   https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/05/24/how-well-does-your-country-provide-for-its-citizens

 

DW – Fighting female feticide in India

• India’s northern state of Haryana once reported the highest number of female feticides in India. In recent years, however, this number has decreased significantly, with the village of Bibipur and its women’s council playing a pivotal role in changing people’s mindsets.

For detailed report click on the link – https://www.dw.com/en/the-indian-village-leading-the-fight-against-female-feticide/video-65718525

 

ALBILADDAILY.COM – India close to food security and nutrition

• India provides free food grains to more than 800 million Indian citizens, equivalent to 10% of the world’s population, which has been praised by the United Nations for ensuring food security and nutrition, as India has achieved a record in the production and general distribution of many agricultural products despite many challenges.
• On the other hand, the Indian government during the Corona pandemic (Covid 19) confirmed the distribution of 5 kg of food grains to people who were suffering from difficult financial conditions across India due to the cessation of normal life and a bad impact on livelihoods as a result of the Corona pandemic, according to the report published by the Indian government recently, while the Indian government sent food aid to some poor and troubled countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and others.
• India appears to be on its way to being a food aquarium for the world where food security is a global concern and access to an optimal amount of food crops is essential to ensure public health and well-being. According to the report, India has ensured that food crops are provided at a very high subsidized cost to 75% of its rural population and 50% of its urban population under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• The poorest segment of Indian society receives 35 kg of food grains per month, while priority families receive 5 kg, which will cost the Indian treasury about 24 billion US dollars in the current year 2023, as India has made significant
• improvements in combating food shortages and malnutrition by distributing meals to students in schools as well as providing free food supply to pregnant and lactating mothers.
• As shown by the National Family Health Survey for the period (2019-2021), the infant mortality rate and the proportion of underweight children in India have declined, while the percentage of women with less than normal body mass has decreased significantly from 22.9 in 2015-2016 to 18.2 in 2019-2021, while India receives its share of only 4% of the total global water and has to feed more than 1.4 billion people.
• The report also noted that India is close to achieving the second of the seventeen global sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030, while the second of the above-mentioned goals is to end hunger, achieve food security and nutrition. 
• For detailed report click on the link – https://albiladdaily.com/2023/05/21/nfsa/

 

WALLSTREETJOURNAL – Reports of the BJP’s Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

• The Congress Party won a meaningful state victory, but Modi is still a favorite in the 2024 election.
• Karnataka is an impressive win for the beleaguered Congress Party, which now boasts a nearly two-thirds majority in the state Assembly, but drawing national lessons from a state election is woefully premature.
• Congress’s victory also seems to underscore the geographical limits of the BJP’s strident brand of Hindu nationalism.  
• The BJP government Karnataka just turned out tried to ban the hijab from high schools, scrapped educational and job quotas for Muslims in favor of Hindu caste groups, and demonized an 18th -century Muslim ruler who fought the British. 
• Historian Ramachandra Guha told the Wire that Congress’s victory means all of southern India is free of Mr. Modi’s party.  
• Fundamentally, the national picture heading into 2024 is unchanged. The BJP is still entering that contest with a bulging war chest, fawning national TV coverage and a prime minister who enjoy enviable approval ratings.

For detailed report click on the link – Reports of the BJP’s Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated – WSJ

 

(This report was compiled by Dr Vinay Nalwa)