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Cannot Have A View Of Russia That Is Identical To European One: Jaishankar

By LokMarg 20th February 2024

Amid the strengthening relations with Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India doesn’t expect Europe to have a New Delhi-centric view of China and Europe should also understand that India won’t move with the European view of Russia.

“My point is: just as I do not expect Europe to have a view of China that is identical to mine, Europe should understand that I cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one. Let us accept that there are natural differences in relationships,” he said.

In an interview with a leading German economic daily, Handelsblatt during his visit to the Munich Security Conference in Germany, EAM Jaishankar highlighted the challenges faced by India to manage its energy supplies after the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Both sides (Russia and Europe) have communicated their positions clearly and have not emphasized their differences. But yes, there are differences. You mentioned the energy issue. When the fighting started in Ukraine, Europe shifted a large part of its energy procurement to the Middle East – until then the main supplier for India and other countries. What should we have done?” EAM Jaishankar said on being asked if Europe’s differences with Russia put a strain on India-Europe relations.

“In many cases, our Middle East suppliers gave priority to Europe because Europe paid higher prices. Either we would have had no energy because everything would have gone to them. Or we would have ended up paying a lot more because you were paying more. And in a certain way, we stabilized the energy market that way,” he added.

The minister also insisted on mediating talks with Russia and Ukraine to end war in the region and said that India would be happy to help but won’t initiate anything in this direction on its own.

“We (India) have already helped with very specific issues. When Turkey negotiated the corridor through the Black Sea, for example. And we were very supportive of the inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Wherever we can help, we are happy to do so. We are open when we are approached. However, we do not believe that we should initiate anything in this direction on our own,” he said.

India and Russia have maintained a robust strategic partnership, rooted in historical ties and shared interests, over decades. Central to this relationship is extensive defence cooperation, with Russia serving as a major supplier of military equipment to India and both nations engaging in joint military exercises, co-development of advanced military platforms, and technology transfers, according to the Russian news agency.

More recently, energy collaboration has become another strong pillar of bilateral ties. The Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KNPP), India’s largest, is being built in Tamil Nadu with technical assistance provided by Moscow.

Russia’s expertise in nuclear technology has been instrumental in advancing India’s capabilities, fostering a mutually beneficial partnership, according to RT. The two countries have pledged to deepen their nuclear cooperation, recognizing its strategic importance for energy security and technological advancement.

Over the past 18 months, India has emerged as one of the largest importers of Russian oil–a stand New Delhi has had to defend on many occasions from accusations by Western media, and even some political leaders, of funding ‘Russia’s war’ with Ukraine. (ANI)

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Mira Dives Into Freezing Lake

By LokMarg 14th July 2023

Mira Kapoor, wife of actor Shahid Kapoor, loves exploring nature, especially water bodies. She is literally a water baby.

As she is currently vacationing in Europe, she did not miss any chance to flaunt her love for water.
On Friday, she took to Instagram and shared a picture of herself as she ‘jumped into a freezing lake’ in Switzerland.

In the image, Mira can be seen in a black bikini as she jumped off a deck with her friend.

Sharing the scenic snap, Mira wrote, “Take the plunge!I cannot resist jumping into water – the sea, off a raft, into a river, a waterfall and finally I ticked off a lake.”

Mira also opened up about she inherited love for water bodies from her mother.

“On our summer holidays to the hills, my mom would have us all stop at every waterfall so she can take a dip.. the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree..So after lunch at the beautiful @aiolaalporto (the linguini was so good we went twice in a row) and a quick change later, fellow water baby @lamourage_ and I took one too many jumps into the freezing lake,” she added.

Mira’s adventurous picture has garnered loads of likes and comments.

“Jab we met scene vibes,” a social media user commented.

Mira’s brother-in-law Ishaan Khatter dropped a red heart emoji in the comment section.

Recently, Mira and Shahid marked their eighth wedding anniversary.

Mira shared a romantic picture with Shahid and captioned it, “Lights will guide you home. And you are home. Happy 8 baby.”

Shahid had also shared an adorable picture with Mira from their vacation and wrote, “In a sky full of stars …. I gave you my heart … go on and tear me apart … you will only find you in my heart (pl don’t kill me cause I made up my version of your fav song) happy anniversary my wife for life.”

Shahid and Mira are doting parents to daughter Misha and son Zain. (ANI)

First Time Setting Own Agenda: G20 Sherpa Kant On India’s Presidency

By LokMarg 4th December 2022

India’s G20 Presidency has come at a time when the world is under political turmoil and there are challenges of geopolitical crisis in Europe, breakdown of supply chains, the situation of climate action, and poverty, said G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant during a panel discussion in Udaipur on Sunday and added that India believes every crisis is an opportunity.

“There’re challenges of geopolitical crisis in Europe, breakdown of supply chains, the crisis of climate action, poverty, inflation & slowdown of global growth. Amid such a crisis India is taking the G20 presidency, we believe every crisis is an opportunity,” Kant said at the first side event of G20, ‘Transforming Lives: Accelerating Implementation of SDGs – A panel discussion’.
He further stated that when there is a surge in inflation and a slowdown of global growth, India is not only taking the G20 presidency but also rolling out its own agenda.

“So far we were getting agendas from the developed world, this is the first time we are setting out our own agenda, and we will tell that we are the mother of democracy,” Kant said.

In an off-the-record media interaction, Kant further highlighted how India played a significant role in Bali as a balancing act in the communique and focussed on economic issues, not geopolitics.

“In Bali, India played a very significant role as a balancing act in the communique where we focussed on economic issues and not on geopolitics. Everybody accepted that, including Russia and China. The PM’s statement “today’s era is not of war” was also a part of that communique,” he said.

Kant said India is taking over the presidency of G20 at a time of crisis and the responsibility is a huge honour.

“India is taking over the presidency of G20 at the time of crisis. But we believe that every crisis is a huge opportunity and actually, leadership is about finding path-breaking solutions in the midst of crisis. And therefore, we strongly believe that we should really accelerate the pace of implementation of sustainable development goals. And that is why today’s discussion is kicking off ..I think this responsibility is a huge honour,” he added.

G20 is the most significant grouping, like the UN, where reaching a consensus can be challenging. It was institutionalized in 2008 after starting in 1999.

Responding to a media query on why Udaipur was being selected for the G20 Sherpa meeting, Kant said, “This is G20’s first meeting. We selected Udaipur because no other tourism destination is better than this. Good infrastructure and peaceful atmosphere. Our PM wants to promote tourism. We want to make Udaipur a global destination.”

Along with G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, the dignitaries who marked their presence during the event were Former UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women on women-led development, Lakshmi Puri, Member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister on the economic growth for the SDGs, Sanjeev Sanyal, UN Resident Coordinator of India, Shombi Sharp among many others.

Upon their arrival in Udaipur for the first G20 Sherpa Meeting, delegates received a rousing and enthusiastic welcome in the city of lakes. They were welcomed with traditional Indian culture style with folk artists displaying Rajasthani culture and children welcoming the guests. The guests arrived for the first G20 Sherpa Meeting which is being held from December 4-7 and will be presided over by the Indian Sherpa Amitabh Kant.

Various cultural presentations of Rajasthan will be held during evenings from December 4 to 7. Various cultural programmes will be organised by the Tourism Department during evenings from December 4 to 7. On the evening of December 4, world-famous Langa Manganiyar folk artist Ghazi Khan will present a colourful performance at Sheeshmahal of Hotel Leela.

On the second day, the evening of December 5, various folk artists of the state will enthral the foreign guests with the cultural programme “Colours of Rajasthan” at Jagmandir Palace.

On December 1, India formally took over the G20 Presidency for the year 2023 during which time more than 200 meetings will take place in 55 different cities. An intergovernmental meeting of the world’s leading developed and emerging economies, known as the G20 or Group of 20. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union make up this group. (ANI)

Impact Of Ukraine Conflict Is Not Limited To Europe: India

By LokMarg 8th September 2022

India highlighted that the impact of the Ukraine conflict is not just limited to Europe, adding that it has exacerbated concerns over food, fertilizer and fuel security, especially in the developing countries.

Assuring the Security Council, India’s Permanent Representative at United Nations Ruchira Kamboj said that New Delhi will continue to work with the International Community to mitigate economic hardships resulting from the Ukraine conflict.
“India will continue to work with the international community and partner countries to mitigate the economic hardships that are resulting from this conflict. The impact of the Ukraine conflict is not just limited to Europe,” she said at UNSC briefing Ukraine Forced displacement of Ukrainian civilians/Russian filtration camps on Wednesday.

“The conflict is exacerbating concerns over food, fertilizer and fuel security, particularly in the developing countries. It is necessary for all of us to appreciate the importance of equity, affordability and accessibility adequately,” she added.

Ruchira Kamboj highlighted that in the last three months, India has exported more than 1.8 million tons of wheat to countries in need, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Yemen.

“We continue to emphasize to all member states that the global order be anchored on international law, the UN Charter and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states,” she said.

India’s Permanent Representative also said, that the Council would recall that since the commencement of the conflict in Ukraine, India has been consistently calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an end to violence.

She emphasized that the situation in Ukraine has not shown any significant improvement since the Council last discussed the conflict in Ukraine and its humanitarian consequences.

The security situation remains serious, as do the humanitarian consequences. Reports of civilian killings in Bucha were deeply disturbing.

India hoped that the international community will continue to respond positively to the call for humanitarian assistance. India has recently dispatched its twelfth consignment of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This humanitarian aid and assistance is in keeping with the human-centric approach of the Indian Government. (ANI)