VIF Information Alerts - 17 Jan 2018

India’s defence procurement process should be more transparent: Report
Published: Hindu Business Line
17 Jan 2018

India should make its process of procuring defence equipment for the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force more “transparent, efficient and effective” while not relying on the lowest cost approach, according to a report by the Centre for American Progress.

The report, ‘The United States and India: Forging an Indispensable Democratic Partnership’, was released here on Tuesday in collaboration with the Centre for Policy Research by former Ambassadors Nirupama Rao and Richard Verma.

Link to the Task Force Report [2]

Link to the article published in Hindu Business Line [3]

Government to revisit Malimath report on criminal justice system
Published – The Hindu
17 Jan 2018

A 2003 report of a Committee on reforms in the criminal justice system that recommended admissibility of confessions made before a police officer as evidence in a court of law is being revisited by the Centre, a senior government official said. Click here to read... [4]

Another Chinese city admits "fake" economic data
Published – The Economic Times
17 Jan 2018

A northern industrial city in China said its 2017 fiscal revenue was significantly less than it had earlier estimated partly due to "fake" additions, making a revision just days after reports of similar incidents fueled scepticism over official data.

Baotou in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region revised its estimated fiscal revenue in 2017 lower by nearly 50 percent in an annual work report, a copy of which was published on the Baotou government's website on Jan. 13. Click here to read... [5]

Research and dialogue soon to boost economic cooperation among Indian Ocean Rim nations
Publisher – The Hindu
17 Jan 2018

In a bid to help take steps to boost, among others, trade and economic cooperation between the countries bordering the Indian Ocean including India, the 21 member nations of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) have decided to undertake joint research and policy dialogue.

Towards this, the Delhi-based think-tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and the IORA signed an MoU to institutionalize arrangements for greater academic cooperation in the region as well as in economic and development issues. India is an IORA member. Click here to read... [6]

Indonesia sets sights on peacemaker role
Publisher – Asia Nikkei
17 Jan 2018

Jakarta puts money into new foreign and development aid policy but may still lack clout.

In a world where ideals and principles are being eclipsed and eroded by the rise of populism and new geopolitical tensions, Indonesia is stepping forward with a foreign policy that seeks to redress the balance. In a broad-ranging statement delivered in early January, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi unveiled a policy committed not just to a better Indonesia, but to a better world, describing Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, as a "true partner for world peace, security and prosperity.” Click here to read... [7]

Three-fourths of international terrorists in US were foreign born, says report
Publisher – Hindustan Times
16 Jan 2018

The report stated that in the period from September 11, 2001 to December 2016, 549 individuals were convicted in cases related to international terrorism.

Three-fourths of convicted terrorists in the US since September 11, 2001 were foreign-born, the Trump administration has said in a new report releasedon Tuesday.

The report, which was released by the department of justice and the department of homeland security, was clearly intended to add to its growing body of arguments in favour of ending chain migration and the diversity visa programme. It stated that in the period ending December 2016, 549 individuals were convicted in cases related to international terrorism. Of that number, 402 of them —73% — were foreign-born, including 254 who were not even US citizens. Click here to read... [8]

The Chagos Island Quandary: Will India Fight for Mauritius at the ICJ?
Publisher – The Wire
16 Jan 2018

Mauritius is pushing India – its key ally – to submit a written statement backing it on the Chagos question before the International Court of Justice.

With two weeks left for the deadline, squeezed between competing concerns of the Unites States and Mauritius, India has yet to take a final decision on whether to submit a written statement before the International Court of Justice which will consider the legality of Britain’s possession of the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Click here to read... [9]