Chance for India T20 hopefuls to impress

 only your second season in the unforgiving and, often, unrewarding world of domestic cricket. At 20 for two, your team is in a spot of bother. You are up against the might of Mumbai in its backyard. You have to deal with the wiliness of Zaheer Khan, the accuracy of Dhawal Kulkarni and the guile of Pravin Tambe. What do you do?

When Baroda all-rounder Hardik Pandya was confronted with this question at the Wankhede Stadium on March 30, 2014, his riposte was emphatic to say the least. His astonishing counter-attack — 82 off 57 balls — left the domestic giant and its band of supporters stunned to the core on that floodlit evening. Somewhere in the stands, Mumbai Indians coach John Wright knew that the talent scout in him had witnessed something special.

Most of us know of Pandya thanks to his exploits in you know what. But the fact is that the 22-year-old came of age in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the BCCI-run inter-state T20 tournament, two years ago. Soon, he will be on the plane to Australia!

As the 10th edition of the tournament — it was called the Inter-State T20 Championship from 2006-07 to 2008-09 — gets under way in Nagpur, Vadodara, Cuttack and Kochi on Saturday, the question on many a lip is — how relevant is this poor, malnourished and unglamorous cousin of the Indian Premier League?

Relevant

Haryana coach and former National selector Surendra Bhave offers some perspective. “It is extremely relevant. There isn’t a shadow of a doubt. The format is exciting because it’s not an inter-zone tournament any longer. Yes, the quality of cricket you see in the IPL is two or three notches higher, but a good performance here can get you there,” says the 49-year-old.

“The IPL is a pointer to the talent. It’s not the be all and end all (of Indian cricket). As a selector, I watched the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a lot of interest,” adds the Maharashtra stalwart.Bhave’s observations are significant, especially because the ensuing six months are garlanded with T20 tournaments starting with a three-match series in Australia, a three-match rubber against Sri Lanka at home, the Asia Cup and the Big Daddy of them all, the ICC World T20, followed by India’s summer pastime, the IPL.

Even Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule endorses Bhave’s views. “The boys are upbeat. This is a very important tournament to portray their skills. The selectors are watching; the IPL franchises are watching. It’s a very competitive tournament,” says the yesteryear leg-spinner.

Two days ago, the IPL franchises released a batch of cricketers and the supposed expendables included Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma. You wear the India badge on the chest but might not be considered good enough to be retained by your franchise. How times have changed!

What catches the support staff of the franchises these days are fresh faces, less in star value, but capable of a 15-ball 40. In a tournament like this, they find a fertile field to identify such talents. Not to forget that some IPL discards like Dinesh Karthik will be itching to restore themselves to the auction pool and remind they are worthy of hire.

And with the countdown to the World T20 already begun and announcement of the 30 probables awaited, there is a lot of premium attached to the tournament this year

India-US narrow down differences on climate pact

As the Paris talks on climate change moved into the final round to produce a "clean text" for consideration on Friday, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar went into an hour-long huddle with the US Secretary of State John Kerry at the CoP21 venue to sort out contentious issues. This is the second such meeting between them here.

The bilateral discussions on the Paris Agreement produced "many converging points", notably on India's demand that developing countries be differentiated explicitly from the developed world in the text of the pact, as provided for in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"The meeting was productive, and our negotiating teams are working on the language and issues. We are hopeful," Mr. Javadekar told the media later. The major points covered by the discussions were differentiation, the nature of the agreement, finance and technology transfer, and harmony between the Agreement text and the the 'decision' that will be made by CoP21. Transparency measures in implementation, which will be laid down for all countries to follow in a prescribed manner, also figured in the talks.

"We are the most transparent country, we have the RTI Act, we keep everything in the public domain," was the Minister's response on the issue.

India also wants the sanctity of voluntary national pledges to reduce carbon emissions, called INDCs, to be maintained in the agreement. It was unacceptable that when 186 countries had submitted their INDC, representing a huge movement forward, there was only one optional mention of such pledges in the outcome draft released on Wednesday. "We are concerned that it should not go," he said. If Europe and America adopt ideas which are in sync with the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) and the Brazil, South Africa, India, China (BASIC) group, the Paris Agreement can successfully move ahead.

Technology, IPR costs

India's IPR import bill highlights the importance of technology transfer to fight climate change without rigid Intellectual Property Rights restrictions. In a six year period, 21 billion dollars has been spent, representing total Indian expenditure on all kinds of technology, not climate change, according to Mr. Javadekar.

In Wednesday's outcome draft, one Article is devoted to Technology Development and Transfer. However, it does not yet have a fully fleshed out mechanism by which developing countries can get assured funding.

On the issue of ambition on an aggressive climate target, a dominant theme at CoP21 due to high profile protests and the demand from small island states, India's position remains unchanged : that it is not opposed to the 1.5 degrees target, but there has to be action towards achieving it. It entails more effort than what is needed for 2 degrees. "Naturally, developed country parties will to take need more action," the Minister said, urging the West to agree to liberal finance for climate-friendly development and transfer of technology.

India, Japan to join hands for revamp of Varanasi, other cities

India and Japan have come together to improve the living condition in Varanasi and other neighbouring cities along the Ganga through better sanitation system.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in partnership with the Ministry of Water Resources, the River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, the Ministry of Urban Development, the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and the Varanasi Nagar Nigam organized a seminar on enhancement of living environment in Varanasi through improved sanitation system.

The seminar included sessions on the Ganga conservation program with JICA, Japanese river purification technologies and waste management policies by Kyoto City.

The seminar was organized as part of a preparatory survey by JICA for further cooperation between India and Japan to improve the living environment in Varanasi and other neighbouring cities along the Ganga.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Japan last year had announced signing of a letter of intent between Varanasi and Kyoto for cooperation as partner cities.

Speaking on the occasion, Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India said: “The knowledge exchange at the seminar will contribute to more sustainable sewerage system, solid waste management and other urban development issues at Varanasi.

“Japan’s experiences such as in river purification and community based solid waste management will improve the living environment in Varanasi, and will contribute to achieving the objectives of Ganga Rejuvenation,” he said.

JICA has extended around Rs 580 crore for the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) project for improvement of water quality of the Ganga at Varanasi and improving the living environment for city residents, pilgrims and tourists.

Under the GAP project, construction of sewers, pumping stations and sewage treatment plants; and community toilets for underprivileged households are being planned in Varanasi.

Other projects supported by JICA include Yamuna Action Plan, abatement of pollution in Hussain Sagar Lake at Hyderabad through sewerage system development as well as sewerage system development at Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Guwahati.

India finally taste victory, beat Guam in FIFA WC qualifiers

India overcame great odds to emerge a 1-0 winner against Guam in Bengaluru, its first victory in six 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (AFC second round). Not only were the Indians up against a higher-ranked team, they also had to compete for nearly 45 minutes with only 10 men.

The home team, which claimed its first points in the competition, continued to stay at the bottom of Group D. Guam (seven points) was placed a rung higher.

In a stunning opening sequence, India took the lead through Robin Singh in the 11th minute. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh launched a long goal-kick and found skipper Sunil Chetri open on the flank. Chetri cut into the box before relaying the ball to Robin.

The striker received the pass with his back to the goal, and spun around his marker to create some space. Though he shot off his weaker right-foot, the near-perfect curler nestled into the far top-corner.

Just before half-time, the Indians were dealt a big blow when defender Sehnaj Singh was sent off. A high tackle and a collision brought an instant red card from the referee, forcing coach Stephen Constantine to change his approach. The players fell back in open play, and apart from the lone forward upfront, the rest were called up to hold fort.

Sandesh Jhingan held the defence together, breaking up forays with his physical, sturdy presence.

The Guam side, which clicked as a unit only on a few occasions, fired indiscriminately in search of an equaliser, and did not carry the threat of a side which had an extra man.

Gurpreet to the rescue

There were, however, a few close shaves for the Indians. Defender Arnab Mondal, who stood firm for most part, nearly put the ball into the back of his own net twice. Two headers off attempted clearances threatened to sneak in, but an alert Gurpreet was up to the task.

The custodian was called into action again in the 89th minute when Shawn Nicklaw struck well from close range, only to see Gurpreet make a fine low save.

The final whistle blew soon after, and despite being drenched in persistent rain, the 6,000-odd spectators at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium went home a happy lot.

India, U.K. sign £9-bn deals

India and the United Kingdom on Thursday announced deals worth £9 billion as they signed a civil nuclear pact and decided to collaborate in the field of defence and cyber security besides launching a railway rupee bond.

British Prime Minister David Cameron described the relations between the two sides as a “new dynamic modern partnership” and reiterated his country’s support for India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

“During this visit, British and Indian companies are announcing new collaborations together worth 9 billion pounds,” he said at a press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

“We want to become the Number One partners to finance the immense economic vision Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and make London the centre for offshore rupee trading with the launch of 1 billion worth of bonds, including the first government-backed rupee denominated bond,” Mr. Cameron said.

Mr. Modi highlighted plans for India to use London as a financial base for fundraising.

“We are going to use the London market for fundraising even more and I am happy to announce that we are set to launch a railway rupee bond in London. It is appropriate as the journey of the Indian Railways started in the UK,” Mr. Modi said. Mr. Modi, who flew into the British capital on a three-day visit, was accorded a guard of honour.

Mr. Cameron came out from his 10 Downing Street to receive Mr. Modi before the two leaders headed to the world’s most famous political office for a dialogue. Other Ministers present were Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Employment Minister Priti Patel and Business Minister Sajid Javid

India, US, Japan to collaborate on maritime security

Reflecting the growing convergence of their interests in the Indo-Pacific region, India, US and Japan have agreed to work together to maintain maritime security through greater collaboration and strengthen regional connectivity.

The agreement was reached at the inaugural US-India-Japan Trilateral Ministerial dialogue held here on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly session.

US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted the dialogue with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Representing a quarter of the world's population and economic production power, the three countries highlighted their shared support for peace, democracy, prosperity, and a rules-based international order, according to a joint statement.

The three Ministers highlighted the growing convergence of their respective countries' interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

"It's an important moment for us to be able to underscore our interest in the Indo-Pacific region as part of India's East Asia policy, and also part of Japan's very active engagement with South and Southeast Asia," said Kerry.

"For India, the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean region is strategic to our security and economic interests," said Swaraj.

"The sea lanes of communication in the region are the lifetime - the lifeline of India's trade and commercial externalities." "To realize our mutual objectives, we intend to grow our exchanges into complete trilateral engagement in other areas, including regional connectivity and humanitarian assistance in disaster situation," she said.

"The Pacific and the Indian Oceans are beginning to link together as oceans of freedom and prosperity, driving the advent of a new era when Indo-Pacific region becomes the epicenter of global prosperity," said Kishida.

"The trilateral partnership of the US, India, and Japan has an extremely important role to play in pulling this new era forward," he said.

The joint statement said the three ministers also underscored the importance of international law and peaceful settlement of disputes; freedom of navigation and overflight; and unimpeded lawful commerce, including in the South China Sea, it said.

They reiterated their support for ASEAN centrality in the multilateral political and security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region and emphasized the importance of the East Asia Summit as the premier leaders- level forum for addressing key political and security issues of the region.

India pips US, China as No. 1 foreign direct investment destination

 India has emerged on top of the foreign direct investment league table, overtaking China and the United States, according to the FT data service.

A ranking of the top destinations for greenfield investment (measured by estimated capital expenditure) in the first half of 2015 shows India at number one, having attracted roughly $3 billion more than China and $4 billion more than the US, according to the Financial Times newspaper.



"With midyear data on greenfield FDI now in, 2015 looks to be a milestone year for India following its impressive performance in 2014," the article in FT said quoting fDi Markets, a data service of the FT.