India and U.S. Launched Historic Partnership to guide Economic Cooperation

Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner launched the India-U.S. Financial and Economic Partnership to strengthen bilateral engagement and understanding on macroeconomic, financial sector and infrastructure-related issues, here today. The Partnership’s launch affirmed the commitment of India and U.S. to cooperate on economic and financial issues - both critical in addressing shared challenges and achieving shared goals in this century. “India and the United States are bound by common values of “democracy, market economies and pluralism”, I am confident that this Partnership launch will unleash the energy and enterprise of people. It will make the relationship between two nations more vibrant and also help address global challenges”, stated the Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee. “This Partnership creates a framework that is commensurate with the growing importance of our economic relationship and the significant business and cultural ties that already exist between our two nations. Deepening our ties with India is critical to the broader global effort to develop a framework for a strong, sustainable and balanced growth and will facilitate more trade, investment and job creation in our two countries”, said Secretary Geithner. The newly-launched dialogue will encompass discussions of economic developments in both countries as well as bilateral policy actions in the broader context of the G-20 commitment to strong, sustainable and balanced growth. The ministers agreed that they, and their senior officials, will continue to consult closely on topics of mutual interest and concern. Given the significant infrastructure needs in the years ahead, the Partnership will also serve as a forum to share experiences and engage in a robust and ongoing dialogue on infrastructure financing, including the potential of private-public partnerships to unlock private sector financing for critical investment. The Partnership will meet next at the Cabinet level in the United States, led by Secretary Geithner and Minister Mukherjee. Working group meetings, at the level of senior officials and experts, will be held during the year to advance discussions on specific economic policy areas. At the inaugural Partnership session, working group discussions focused on macroeconomic policies needed to sustain growth in incomes and jobs; measures to reform financial regulation, deepen capital markets as a means to improve growth and increasing financing for infrastructure investment critical to future productivity and economic growth. Following is the Joint Statement issued by the Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee and Secretary Geithner at the launch of India - U.S. Financial and Economic Partnership: “Today, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner launched the India - U.S. Financial and Economic Partnership, cementing the economic bonds between our two nations, and building a foundation for greater cooperation and economic growth in the future. The ability and commitment of the U.S. and India to cooperate on Financial and Economic issues are important to the economic success of both nations, and the world, and will assist in addressing shared challenges and achieving shared goals in this century. The Partnership between the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury intends to focus on three broad areas – macroeconomic policy, financial sector reforms, and infrastructure financing – and expects to meet at the Cabinet level once a year, alternating between the United States and India, led by Secretary Geithner and Minister Mukherjee. Working group and sub-cabinet level meetings are to be held during the year to advance discussions on specific economic policy areas. Economic growth and stability are at the core of our engagement. India and the United States have a mutual interest in a strong recovery from the financial crisis and preventing the recurrence of similar crises in the future. Our dialogue is designed to encompass discussions of economic challenges in our two countries, as well as in the broader context of the G-20 commitment to strong, sustainable, and balanced growth. Our expanded partnership will build on our existing dialogue on regulatory issues, and serve as a vehicle to discuss strategies to promote in both countries financial sector reforms, deepen capital markets, including more liquid debt markets, and increase financing for investments. India and the United States have significant infrastructure needs. We aim to share experiences and intend a robust and ongoing dialogue on the potential for private-public partnerships to unlock financing for critical infrastructure investment.”
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Popular support leading to Maoist attacks on security forces?

Hyderabad, April 6 : Security forces in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa are coming under more attack from Maoists because the rebels enjoy considerable support among people especially tribals, feel some former police officials in Andhra Pradesh.These officers blame the lack of development in remote tribal areas and lack of coordination between police and paramilitary forces for the rising number of attacks. According to a former police chief, both intelligence failure as well as lack of coordination between local authorities and paramilitary forces were responsible for Tuesday's massacre of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Chhattisgarh. Former director general of police P. Ramulu said local police officials should have accompanied the CRPF men in the dense forests where they had gone looking for Maoists. "During such operations local officials should accompany the paramilitary forces to guide them and give suggestions as the forces may not be fully well-versed with local conditions and topography," Ramulu said. He felt that in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa the police and security forces were coming under repeated attacks as the Maoists had considerable support among people, especially tribals. Another former police official said Andhra Pradesh could succeed in tackling the Maoist threat as it not only used the forces, especially the anti-Maoist Greyhounds, effectively but also took up series of welfare schemes which resulted in the Maoists losing people's support. Ramulu, who is also a leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), underlines the need to take up development works in forest areas in states like Chhattisgarh. Pointing out that there was a feeling among tribals that governments were depriving them of their rights by allotting natural resources to multinational companies, he called upon the governments in those states to take steps to address this issue. The former police chief also found fault with the policy of the central government in dealing with Maoists. He wanted a uniform policy for the entire country. "Different policies in different states are leading to this kind of incidents," he said and called for a single command for the Operation Greenhunt in various states for better results. Andhra Pradesh, a traditional stronghold of Maoists, effectively put down the threat in the last four years by eliminating over 300 guerrillas including top leaders.
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