Narendra Modi cautions IAS officers against corruption, laziness, despondency

On the morning of November 24, Modi will have a breakfast meeting with Singapore businessmen while he will meet Prime Minister of Singapore, Singapore President later in the day, and MoUs will be signed. Oddly though, there was no reference to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), responsible for the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, or the Dawood company, both of which had been mentioned in an India-US joint statement in September 2015.

The proposal on banking cooperation has been hanging fire ever since the second round of review of India-Singapore CECA was initiated in May 2010. Though the two countries sealed £9-billion worth of commercial deals in the retail, logistics, energy, finance, IT, education and health sectors, it was the perceptual change in this bilateral tie-up that will have a much lasting impact on the future trajectory of a relationship which was seemingly headed nowhere before this visit. “We must meet the target of $100 billion goal per year by 2020”.

Once the review takes effect, India’s share will increase from the current 2.44 per cent to 2.75 per cent, following which the country will become the eighth-largest quota holder at the International Monetary Fund, up from the 11th position. This in turn soured relations between the two countries. The United Kingdom reiterated its commitment to support India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as the security council is reformed.

This apart, he said, all countries must also follow Common Reporting Standard based on Automatic Exchange of Tax Information – as mandated by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) for better global understanding and standards to fight tax evasion.

Asking the officers to act as agents of change, he said the positive work done by the IAS officers in villages and districts will help India achieve new heights. New technology and renewable energy is our new Mantra. Modi will be visiting Malaysia and Singapore from November 21 to 24.

“There should be no distinction between terrorist groups or discrimination between states”, he added. It would seem that today, India is more important to the United Kingdom than the other way around. With the completion of procedures, including administrative arrangements, the India Australia Civil Nuclear Agreement will enter into force.

On Sunday Modi will witness, along with other EAS leaders, the signing of the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on establishment of the ASEAN Community and also the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2025, a document called Forging Ahead Together.

Addressing the G20 leaders here at a session on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We need to involve religious leaders, thinkers and opinion-makers for a social movement against extremism, particularly addressed to the youth”.