Old structures of terrorism remain: Modi

Making it clear that India has no tolerance towards black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for an end to “excessive banking secrecy” in a few countries so that ill-gotten money stashed away overseas can return to their country of origin. The news came shortly after Modi, who is on a high-profile official three-day visit to Britain, had lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Friday. This in turn soured relations between the two countries.

India is proposing what is called an worldwide Agency for Solar Technologies and Applications (INSTA) to bring together almost 125 countries rich in solar resources that lie between tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, notable from Africa and Asia, to pursue this clean, perennial and sustainable source of energy.

If we keep all these strategic shifts in view, the trinkets and baubles on display should not obscure the fact that a few real diplomacy was also committed in the course of Modi’s highly colorful visit.

Modi’s visit to Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, was meant to underscore this changing dynamic. Even though India now occupies only 2% of the global trade, it is the fastest growing major economy and must capitalise on this feat than squander it away.

The crowd cheered when Cameron said, “it won’t be long before there’s a British Indian prime minister in Downing Street”. British investments also run into the usual problems of a relatively closed Indian service sector and unpredictable business environment, with the hype around Modi’s reform-minded instincts fading quickly. Where the media was keen to highlight the controversies surrounding Modi, he has managed to redefine the India-UK relationship for the new century.

He additionally pushed forward his proposal for forming an alliance of photo voltaic-wealthy nations on the upcoming Climate Summit in Paris and stated that the G-20 nations should construct help techniques targeted on nations with most progress potential.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the world must speak in one voice and act in unison against terrorism, without any political considerations, and there should be no distinction between terrorist groups or discrimination between states.

The two sides managed to successfully conclude negotiations on a bilateral Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed in 2010, providing a framework for further cooperation and the United Kingdom reiterated its strong support for India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council. Modi did raise this issue but it is unknown to what degree the British have responded.

Add to this the sizeable Indian diaspora in United Kingdom – Modi’s oratorical performance at the Wembley Stadium exemplified the desi connect – and the recipe for New Delhi-London ties is fairly obvious.

In the joint statement, the two premiers categorically mentioned that it is important to defeat Pakistan-based terror outfits, like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and the Haqqanis, which are posing a serious security threat to India.