In a dynamic world where information is abundant, understanding India’s global representation is essential. This edition of “India in Global Media,” spanning to March 17 – March 09, offers an in-depth exploration of India’s portrayal through the lenses of international news outlets. Delve into this weekly compilation as we navigate the narratives that frame India’s image on the world stage.
CNN – India joins select group of nations able to fire multiple warheads on a single ICBM
- India said Monday it had joined the world’s top nuclear powers by mastering the ability to put multiple warheads atop a single intercontinental ballistic missile.
- The successful test of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology on the indigenously developed Agni-V ICBM puts India in a club that includes the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the country’s scientists for the development, one of a series announced by his government months before a national election. The prime minister is seeking a rare third consecutive term in power.
- Indian scientists conducted the test at a facility on Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal, off India’s northeast coast, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
For detailed report click on : https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/12/india/india-mirv-icbm-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
The Guardian – India gets its own HPV vaccine to stop 70,000 women dying of cervical cancer a year
- It has taken 18 years for India to produce its own affordable version to tackle the country’s second-biggest cause of cancer deaths among women
- Cervical cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths among women in India, killing an estimated 70,000 a year – a quarter of the global burden of the disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with about 90% of deaths from the disease occuring in low- and middle-income countries.
- Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by an infection from certain types of HPV. It takes 15 to 20 years for the disease to develop.
- The HPV vaccine has been shown to significantly reduce cases, but access to the vaccine in India has been extremely limited because the existing doses, sold by foreign pharmaceutical companies Merck and GSK, are expensive.
- Developed as a joint initiative between the Indian government and the Serum Institute of India (SII) – the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by dose – Cervavac is the first vaccine manufactured in the country to receive approval from its drugs controller general.
For detailed report click on : https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/12/first-indian-made-hpv-vaccine-is-rolled-out
CNN – India dismisses U.S. concern about its citizenship law as ‘misplaced’
- Comments by the United States expressing concern about India’s implementation of a contentious citizenship law based on religion are “misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted”, the foreign ministry of the South Asian nation said on Friday.
- In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it was “concerned” about the notification of the law, citing “respect for religious freedom and equal treatment” as a fundamental democratic principle.
- “We are of the view that it is misplaced, misinformed, and unwarranted,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India’s Foreign Ministry, said on Friday, in response to the U.S. statement.
- “Lectures by those who have a limited understanding of India’s pluralistic traditions and the region’s post-partition history are best not attempted,” he added. There were no grounds for concern about the treatment of minorities, Jaiswal said, adding, “Votebank politics should not determine views about a laudable initiative to help those in distress.”
- The Indian law provides a fast-track for citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who have fled to India from neighbouring countries.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has earlier defended the law, known as the Citizenship Amendment Act, saying it will benefit the victims of years of such persecution in India’s neighbours.
For detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-dismisses-us-concern-about-its-citizenship-law-misplaced-2024-03-15/
The Guardian – Unfair & Lovely: the Bollywood film shining a light on dark-skin discrimination
- As an Indian judge says change must start at home, a new movie uses humour to examine family prejudice against children with darker complexions
- Three months ago, a high court judge in Chhattisgarh, India, hearing a divorce petition by a husband whose wife said he humiliated her for her dark skin, said it was time Indian society changed its “dialogue at home” to eradicate prejudice.
- As if on cue, a new social comedy, Tera Kya Hoga Lovely (Unfair & Lovely), tackles precisely this issue in the hope of nudging Indians into examining the common longstanding preference for light skin.
- Directed by Balwinder Singh Janjua, it depicts a woman called Lovely, played by Ileana D’Cruz, who is unable to get married because of her dark skin.
- Ranjana Kumari, the director of the Centre for Social Research, cites the weight of many factors – the caste system, British colonial rule “which gave Indians an inferiority complex and colonised our minds”
For detailed report click on : https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/mar/15/unfair-lovely-bollywood-film-india
Gulf News – Bankers in India to get higher salary increases than Singapore, Hong Kong
- Finance professionals in India are in line for higher salary hikes than those in Hong Kong and Singapore this year, underscoring how firms are tapping the nation’s economic boom as China slows, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
- Salaries in India could rise by 10 per cent in 2024, analyst Sarah Jane Mahmud wrote in a note Friday, citing survey data from consulting firm Aon. That compares with 4 per cent in the two financial hubs.
For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/bankers-in-india-to-get-higher-salary-increases-than-singapore-hong-kong-1.1710487610609
Reuters – Government panel recommends India hold simultaneous state, national elections
- A government-appointed panel on Thursday recommended India hold elections to state assemblies and the national parliament at the same time, saying the process would increase transparency and inclusivity and improve governance and growth.
- The panel, appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in September, submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, days before an election date is expected to be set.
- The report will not affect the upcoming elections, which have to be held by May, as a “one nation, one election” law will have to be passed by parliament and ratified by states, many of which are ruled by Modi’s rivals and have opposed the idea as they say it violates India’s federal politics.
- Nearly one billion voters are eligible to vote in the general elections, but polls to the 28 state assemblies are spread out as they take place when their five-year terms end.
For detailed report click on : https://www.reuters.com/world/india/government-panel-recommends-india-hold-simultaneous-state-national-elections-2024-03-14/
DW – India’s elections are a mammoth undertaking
- In India, around 970 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots during the upcoming election.
- The vote will determine whether the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be elected a rare third consecutive term in power.
- People eligible to vote in the world’s most populous country include 497 million male, 471 million female and 48,044 third-gender electors, according to India’s Election Commission (EC), which is overseeing the gargantuan exercise in democracy.
- Largest festival of democracy
More women than men have enrolled as new electors for the upcoming vote, said the poll panel, and over 20 million voters aged 18 to 29 have been added to the electoral roll.
- Voters will cast their ballots in one of the 1.25 million booths, spread across densely populated megacities and far-flung villages, overseen by 15 million election officials across the 28 states and nine union territories.
- India’s electoral rules say there must be a polling station within 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) of every habitation.
For detailed report click on : https://www.dw.com/en/indias-elections-are-a-mammoth-undertaking/a-68521065
Gulf News – 4-nation Europe bloc commits $100 billion trade pact with India
- India and four European countries signed a free trade pact on Sunday that will create one million jobs in the South Asian country in 15 years, Indian Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said.
- “It is the first-time in history of the world that we are inking an agreement with a binding commitment to invest $100 billion in India from the EFTA countries,” Goyal said Sunday at a signing ceremony. “Investor confidence in India is at an all-time high.
- The European bloc comprises Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, none of which are members of the European Union.
- “India-Norway bilateral relations are stronger than ever before,” Jan Christian Vestre, Norway’s trade and industry minister, said.
- India offers “immense opportunity for trade and investment,” Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said at the ceremony, adding that the South Asian nation would gain access to technology through the deal.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has accelerated trade talks with major trading partners to take advantage of the changing global world order. It is also in talks with the UK, European Union and Australia for free trade pacts to boost local manufacturing and create jobs. Negotiations with the UK are in the final stages.
For detailed report click on : https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/4-nation-europe-bloc-commits-100-billion-trade-pact-with-india-1.101551042
(The Report is curated by Dr Vinay Nalwa)
