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   http://www.lankanewspapers.com/Maninder - Archive of Mar 2012




Indian and Indonesian Armies Conclude Jungle Warfare Excercise
Sunday, 4 March 2012 - 9:13 PM SL Time

The Armies of India and Indonesia concluded a week-long joint military exercise today. The operational part of the first-ever platoon-level joint training exercise, Exercise `Garuda Shakti`, was conducted at the Indian Army`s elite `Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School` (CIJWS), Vairengte in Mizoram.

Training together to counter the scourge of insurgency in various contemporary scenarios including jungle warfare, Chakravyuh, the three-day outdoor validation exercise, tested the weeklong training, imparted at various Counter Insurgency (CI) modules and at the plethora of firing ranges in the guerrilla warfare school. Chakravyuh ended with the busting of a simulated insurgent hideout in Mizoram`s Lushai Hills, in the wee hours today, after a grueling nightlong march.

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India, US set for major war games in Rajasthan desert
Monday, 5 March 2012 - 10:23 AM SL Time

The Indian Army is all set to undertake two major exercises in Rajasthan desert, including one with the US Army, to fine tune its war fighting strategies.

For the exercise with USA titled Yudh Abhyas 2012 to be held in March second week, an advance group of 30 US military personnel, along with a platoon of its trademark armoured vehicle Stryker and support equipment landed in New Delhi in the early hours of Monday.

The rest of the contingent comprising another 170 personnel is expected to arrive soon. They will move straight to the training area in Rajasthan where the exercise will be conducted under the aegis of the South Western Command.

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Sri Lanka against itself
Tuesday, 6 March 2012 - 8:27 PM SL Time

Sri Lanka is engaged in an all-out effort to stave off a resolution against it at the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The United States, the prime backer of the resolution, has circulated a draft among the Council`s 47 members calling on Colombo to do nothing more than implement the recommendations of its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, as well as to initiate credible investigations into violations of international human rights laws not addressed adequately by the LLRC.

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Indian Air Force Launches
Wednesday, 7 March 2012 - 7:18 PM SL Time

GUWAHATI: The Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched a major exercise codenamed `Pralay` in the Brahmaputra valley and rest of eastern India. This exercise, which began on Wednesday, also involves joint army-air force operations by the IAF`s Eastern Air Command, based in Shillong, and the Eastern Command of the army, headquartered in Kolkata.

IAF officials in Shillong said this annual exercise is aimed at testing the combat potential of the Air Force in various roles such as air defence, strike operations, offensive ground support operations, counter air operations, electronic warfare, joint operations with the army, including special operations by day and night. `For the exercise, forces were moved from other commands well. Su 30 MKI, Mirage-2000, Mig-29, Jaguar, Bison, Mi-17, AN-32, C-130, AWACS and flight refueling aircraft as well as remotely-piloted aircraft from the army are taking part in the exercise,` the IAF official said.

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India Lifts All Duties On Imports From Neighbours
Monday, 12 March 2012 - 11:33 AM SL Time

New Delhi, March 11: India`s just-to-be presented budget will formally lift the duties on all goods exported by Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives to the $1.7-trillion Indian market. Liquor, wine and tobacco products, however, will not get this benefit.

Without much fanfare, India`s finance ministry had issued a notification (No. 99/2011) towards the end of the last calendar year to this effect. According to the notification, any good, which has at least 40 per cent of its value added in the less-developed neighbouring country where it is made, will be allowed in India.

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India Boosts Defence Budget By 13%
Saturday, 17 March 2012 - 10:33 AM SL Time

In an effort to sustain the ongoing modernisation of the armed forces, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee hiked the defence Budget for the next fiscal to Rs 1,93,407 crore, which is 13.15 per cent more than last year`s revised Budget of Rs 1,70, 937 crore. The Budget estimate for present fiscal was Rs 1,64,415.

The capital outlay, part of the defence Budget, was increased to Rs 79, 578 crore from Rs 66, 143.81 crore. The Defence Ministry had to return about Rs 3,000 crore as unspent amount from the initially allocated capital fund of Rs 69,198 crore.

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Indian, US Warships To Take Part In Malabar War Games
Monday, 19 March 2012 - 10:18 PM SL Time

NEW DELHI: Navies of India and US will engage in Malabar series of war games in the Bay of Bengal in April.

This will be only the second time in the last over 10 years that India is holding these war games on its eastern seaboard in the Bay of Bengal after China protested against such an exercise in the same waters in 2007.

Both sides will field their major assets in the war games where they will carry out a wide spectrum of maritime manoeuvres, navy officials said here.

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Bangladesh To Honour Indian Generals
Friday, 23 March 2012 - 12:55 PM SL Time

Agartala : The Bangladesh government will honour 129 foreign personalities and organisations from 25 countries for helping the country during the 1971 Liberation War.

A Bangladesh official told IANS that these would include 47 people from India, 21 from the US, 12 from Britain and 10 from Russia.

President Zillur Rahman will confer the honours in Dhaka Tuesday.

Besides 47 Indians, the allied force led by the Indian Army, Akashbani (All India Radio) and Kolkata University`s aid association would also get the honours.

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Coup in China?
Saturday, 24 March 2012 - 12:30 AM SL Time

BEIJING: Chinese censors have blocked internet content speculating a military coup amid reports of serious power struggle within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that threatens to disrupt a smooth transition of power when its general secretary and President Hu Jintao completes his term later this year.

The struggle has come to the fore after the party`s Chongqing city head Bo Xilai was removed from his post as his deputy had reportedly sought asylum in the US. Bo, who is a CCP founding member`s son, was a contender for the party`s top post.

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India, US to launch `Open Government Platform`
Saturday, 24 March 2012 - 1:59 PM SL Time

WASHINGTON: Obama administration`s point man for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake will be travelling to India next week to hold bilateral consultations and launch the ambitious `Open Government Platform` being developed by the two countries.

The `Open Government Platform` is a portal for public access to government data that the US and India have developed together and would share with other countries.

During his visit to New Delhi on March 29 and 30, Blake would meet Indian officials to consult on a variety of bilateral and regional issues.

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India introduced `element of balance` in UN resolution: Indian PM
Saturday, 24 March 2012 - 9:07 PM SL Time

Seeking to mollify Sri Lanka after the vote against it in UNHCR, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday wrote to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, telling him that India made all efforts and succeeded in introducing an element of balance in the US-sponsored resolution.

At the same time, Singh underlined the need for achieving a lasting political settlement that will address the grievances of minority Tamils.

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New Delhi Gears Up For BRICS Summit
Sunday, 25 March 2012 - 10:55 AM SL Time

New Delhi is currently in the limelight in view of the forthcoming fourth BRICS summit scheduled for 28-29 March. This is the second BRICS summit being held consecutively in Asia, after the summit held in Sanya (China) last year. India is the second-largest economy in BRICS, after China. With the New Delhi summit, the BRICS spectrum, combining the world`s emerging economies across diverse continents to discuss global governance issues and collective multilateral issues, will get more institutionalised. The summit will also be the first where South Africa will participate as a full member, after its official entry to the BRICS grouping during the Sanya summit. The New Delhi summit is taking place when the US and many parts of Europe are still reeling under a financial crisis.

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India, South Korea boost business, defence, political ties ease visa norms
Sunday, 25 March 2012 - 7:36 PM SL Time

Seoul: During the talks between visiting Indian PM Manmohan Singh and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at Blue Palace on Sunday, India and South Korea decided to expand their political and security cooperation besides upgrading the already booming business ties to achieve an ambitious trade target of USD 40 billion by 2015.

`Bilateral trade has risen by 65 percent over the past two years since the implementation of our Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. We have therefore set a new target of $40 billion by 2015,` Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at a joint media interaction with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak after their talks here.

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Indian and Singapore Armies Conduct the Eighth Bilateral Armour Exercise
Tuesday, 27 March 2012 - 2:41 AM SL Time

March 26, 2012 The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Indian Army (IA) are conducting the eighth bilateral armour exercise, codenamed Exercise Bold Kurukshetra, at the Babina Field Firing Range in Central India from 1 to 30 Mar 2012. More than 750 soldiers from the SAF and the IA are participating in this year`s exercise.

As part of the exercise, the two armies are conducting joint planning and training, as well as executing integrated manoeuvres. The exercise troop has carried out an integrated live-firing earlier today, which involved infantry fighting vehicles and tanks from both sides. Chief Armour Officer, Colonel Siew Kum Wong and the IA`s Armoured Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Yogesh Kapoor, witnessed the live-firing and interacted with the SAF and IA troops as part of their visit to the exercise.

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Sri Lanka finally presents a well thought out strategy in response to UN resolution
Tuesday, 27 March 2012 - 12:30 PM SL Time

A senior Sri Lankan minister has threatened to break the limbs of three right activists who he claims campaigned against Colombo at the recently concluded UNHRC session.

The minister, Mervyn Silva, said the activists Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Nimalka Fernando and Sunila Abeysekera, all journalists had lied at the UNHRC session which passed a US resolution condemning Colombo for violating the rights of its Tamil citizens during the war with LTTE. I would break the limbs of journalists who went abroad and made statements against the country, Silva told a rally at Kiribathgoda.

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Sri Lanka Launches Diplomatic Thrust In Support Of The New Grand Strategy In Response To UN Resolution
Tuesday, 27 March 2012 - 11:03 PM SL Time

Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has decided to shut down some of its embassies in Europe, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

A spokesperson at the Ministry said that the government is of the view that embassies in Europe which are not serving any purpose in obtaining support for Sri Lanka`s national issues will be closed and new embassies will be opened in Asia.

`President Mahinda Rajapaksa had discussed the issue with the government and it will now be decided exactly which embassy in which country in Europe will be closed,` the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson told Xinhua.

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UN Vote Was Calculated: Indian Official
Wednesday, 28 March 2012 - 10:24 AM SL Time

Lt. Gen (Retd) Prakash Menon, Military Advisor to India`s National Security Council Secretariat, on Monday said that India`s vote against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meet in Geneva was a calculated vote cast in the national interest.

Saying that Sri Lanka had not done enough as it promised, the official said though the Island Nation had won the war, it might lose peace in the long run.

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India to become world`s largest economy by 2050: Knight Frank & Citi report
Thursday, 29 March 2012 - 12:00 AM SL Time

Surpassing China, India will become the world`s largest economy by 2050, says the report by Knight Frank & Citi Private Bank.

`China will overtake the US to become the world`s largest economy by 2020, which in turn will be overtaken by India in 2050,` according to the Wealth Report 2012 .

As per the report, Indian economy will reach $85.97 trillion size in terms of purchasing power parity by 2050, while the Chinese GDP would be $80.02 trillion during the same period.

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Elders Apply For Sri Lanka Strategy Training Course
Thursday, 29 March 2012 - 10:00 AM SL Time

A group of world leaders formed by Nelson Mandela has urged Sri Lanka to try and avoid another showdown in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by adhering to the recent resolution adopted by the body.

Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson told BBC Sandeshaya that The Elders are very pleased that UNHRC adopted a resolution urging Sri Lanka to ensure a proper reconciliation process after decades of a brutal conflict.

Saying that the `quite mild resolution` was not a Western sponsored one, Ms Robinson insisted that it was not an attempt to `do down a country.`

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BRICS Summit Begins In New Delhi
Thursday, 29 March 2012 - 8:39 PM SL Time

NEW DELHI: Leaders of the emerging world met in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss creating a new development bank, at a summit in which the bloc will seek to convert its economic might into collective diplomatic clout.

The leaders of the BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- are attending the fourth meeting of the bloc, a key non-Western alliance that is looking to extend its influence.

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India To Send All-Party Delegation Led By Leader of Opposition To Sri Lanka
Friday, 30 March 2012 - 9:55 AM SL Time

New Delhi, Mar 29 (PTI) Indian Government plans are afoot to send an all-party delegation led by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj to Sri Lanka in April to press for meaningful reconciliation with Tamils there and also look into their living conditions after the end of LTTE.

Swaraj told reporters that the all-party delegation`s visit to Sri Lanka is very much on and is tentatively scheduled from April 16 to 21. BJP has nominated Prahlad Joshi from Lok Sabha and M Venkaiah Naidu from Rajya Sabha as its representatives in the delegation.

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