Jaishankarâs problem is stark â no amount of external PR can cover up Indiaâs truth
Freedom House and V-Dem are no gold standards of democracy rating. But Jaishankar must know that just pointing out Western hypocrisy wonât cover Indiaâs reality.
Yogendra Yadav 17 March, 2021 2:01 pm IST Text Size:
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S Jaishankar has an unenviable task. He has been handed over the job to give a liberal gloss to a government that cannot spell l-i-b-e-r-a-l. More than manage external relations, he is here to manage external public relations, to ensure that the Narendra Modi government doesnât get a bad international image. Now, thatâs manifold more challenging than managing domestic media, mostlyÂ
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An Indian media report suggests that India may be developing global indices measuring the state of democracy and press freedom around the world, as New Delhi continues to smart from two of the most well-known ones that recently raised serious questions about both the state of both in the country. According to a Hindustan Times article published on March 17, an internal note from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs suggests that it is contemplating a “global democracy index” as well as a “global press freedom index” that would be created by an “independent” Indian think tank.
“In its internal note, MEA also suggested that missions across the world could actively engage with NGO/institutes such as the RSF [Reporters Without Borders] and V-Dem and provide them with material which will help them put ‘India at the rightful place on the democracy and press-freedom index, in future reports’,” the newspaper said.
Wednesday 17 March, 2021 | 5:35 PM READ
NEW DELHI: The Indian government has supplied as many as 70 nations with over 58 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far, parliament was informed on Tuesday.
In a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, said 583.85 lakh vaccine doses have been dispatched to foreign countries from India.
Bangladesh has emerged the biggest beneficiary, receiving 90 lakh doses from India.
Other recipients include India s neighbours such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar, North American nations such as Canada and Mexico, Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and the UAE, Caribbean islands such as St Lucia and St. Vincent & Grenadines, European nations like the UK and Serbia, South American nations like Brazil and Suriname, African countries like Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda and many others.
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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after his statement regarding India s Vaccine Maitri Initiative in the Rajya Sabha today.
Proud to say I got vaccinated with Covaxin: Jaishankar ANI | Updated: Mar 17, 2021 17:46 IST
New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said he was proud to have taken Covaxin and recalled that questions were raised when the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Bharat Biotech came to the market earlier this year.
The minister, who responded to comments of members after his statement regarding India s Vaccine Maitri Initiative in the Rajya Sabha, said the members had expressed their appreciation for the work done by Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India (SII).
India signs contract to develop water projects across Maldives
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Synopsis
The contracts were signed between the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and JMC Projects (India) Ltd., SMC Infrastructures Pvt. Ltd., Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd. and Vishvaraj Environment Pvt. Ltd. The tendering process for the project was undertaken by Ministry of Finance, Government of Maldives.
Agencies
Indian Line of Credit projects stipulations mandate that 65%-75% of the project components are sourced from India. This leaves ample space for Maldivian businesses and services to be engaged in project implementation.
Contracts to develop Water Supply and Sewerage network across 34 islands of the Maldives were signed on Wednesday in the presence of Minister of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Mohamed Aslam, Minister of Finance, Ibrahim Ameer, Secretary (Multilateral) from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Hala Hameed and Deputy High Commissioner of