India on News
Nuclear deal, trade top Canada PM’s India mission
New Delhi, Nov 15: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s three-day visit to India from Sunday will be dominated by talks over a nuclear deal and new trade pacts in a bid warm a relationship that turned frosty when Ottawa cut off atomic trade after New Delhi’s 1974 nuclear test.
Accompanied by Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day and Parliamentary Secretary Deepak Obhrai, Harper lands in Mumbai on Sunday night from Singapore after attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) summit. He will meet top Indian industrialists at a luncheon at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai on Monday before leaving for New Delhi. Harper will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on a range of bilateral issues including trade and investment and prospects of civil nuclear cooperation besides the global financial crisis as well as climate change.
The two sides are likely to talk about a Canada-India Free Trade Agreement or other incremental steps to lower trade barriers between them. A slew of agreements are expected to be signed, including a foreign investment protection agreement and on energy and farming cooperation in a bid to expand bilateral trade now languishing below $5 billion.
Indians lose in ITF tennis
Pune, Nov 18: India’s Nirupama Sanjeev, Poojashree Venkatesha, Sanaa Bhambri and lucky loser Sheetal Goutham crashed out of the singles event of the $50,000 NECC-ITF Women’s Tennis championships here on Wednesday.
Uzbek wild card Sabina Sharipova, 15, upset second seeded Slovak Masa Zec Peskiric 6-3, 6-2 to enter the quarter-finals. In the second round, top seed and 111 ranked Tamarine Tanasugarn stopped Nirupama 6-2,6-3 in 91 minutes, while third seeded Bojana Jovanovski outplayed Poojashree Venkatesha 6-1, 6-0. Sanaa saved two match points to claim the second set but faltered in the third set to go down fighting against eighth seeded Anastasia Vasylyyeva, from Ukraine 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours 13 minutes. Qualifier Chen Astrogo of Israel ousted the run of lucky looser Sheetal 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Sheikh Hasina chosen for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize
NEW DELHI: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been chosen for the prestigious Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development this year for her "outstanding contribution to the promotion of democracy and pluralism".
This was decided by an international jury chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said.
62-year-old Hasina has been chosen for her "outstanding contribution to the promotion of democracy and pluralism, her determined drive to alleviate poverty and secure social and economic justice for her people through inclusive and sustainable development and her consistent commitment to peace", it said.
After her re-election in December last year, Hasina embarked on her "Vision 2021", aimed at transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021, by eliminating poverty and inequity, the Trust said.
As Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2001, she had launched a number of programmes to meet the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable sections of the population, through projects covering employment-generation, housing, health and food security, it said.
The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh and a citation, would be presented to her at a function to be held at a later date.
TOI
Nation remembers Indira Gandhi on birth anniversary
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday paid homage to the late Indira Gandhi, the country's first and only woman prime minister, on her 92nd birth anniversary with floral tributes and other ceremonies.
At her memorial Shakti Sthal on the banks of the Yamuna river here, a remembrance ceremony was organised early in the day.
Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said while paying tribute to the 'Iron Lady': "On the occasion of the birth anniversary of India's first and only lady prime minister, we must all pledge to empower every woman in the country."
To mark the day, a number of cultural programmes were organised at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
Well known dance troupes like Madhavi Mudgal and her group, Geeta Chandran and Natya Vriksha dance company and the Kathak Kendra repertory company will perform on Thursday evening.
TOI