Mission 21: AIIB Launched By 21 Nations Including India
Mission 21: AIIB Launched By 21 Nations Including India
India along with 20 other nations has recently signed an agreement to become founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank/AIIB which is backed by China. This bank has been created to assist in infrastructure development in the Asian region and reduction of the Asian region's dependence on World Bank and the IMF. The MoU was signed by India's Usha Titus, Joint Secretary at the Economic Affairs division of the Ministry of Finance in India at a special ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. China's Vice Finance Minister Jin Liqun has been appointed as the secretary general of the AIIB. He also held the post of Vice President of the ADB or Asian Development Bank once.
The headquarters of the AIIB will be at China's capital city Beijing. The bank is expected to be operational next year. The MoU states that the authorised capital of this bank is around USD 100 billion and the initial subscribed capital adds up to a sum of about USD 50 billion. The paid in ratio will be around 20%.Voting rights will be clear following consultations between members regarding the fixing of benchmarks that are expected to be a combination of GDP and PPP or Purchasing Power Parity. The formula has been decided on the basis of which India will be the second largest shareholder of the AIIB following China.
Titus was quoted by the media as saying that India held the view that the new bank provides rich resource capital base for infrastructure financing that is perfect for regional development. Infrastructure deficit has to be bridged through a complimentary role with other financial institutions such as the ADB and IMF to ensure good governance, Titus also added. A spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Minister, Hua Chua Chunying welcomed India's participation in the new bank.
The formation of this bank is a major step forward for the betterment of Indo-China relations and the strengthening of bonds in the region as well. Reducing dependencies on the Western world for funding will also have a positive repercussion. China was eager for Indian participation. AIIB is in addition to BRICS development bank formed earlier this year based in Shanghai. AIIB members apart from India and China are Brunei, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Qatar, Oman, Uzbekistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Mongolia and Myanmar.
"In China we have a folk saying," Chinese President Xi Jinping was said to have told delegates after the ceremony. "If you would like to get rich, build roads first, and I believe that is a very vivid description of the very importance of infrastructure to economic development."Xi also said. "For the AIIB, its operation needs to follow multilateral rules and procedures. We have also to learn from the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank and other existing multilateral development institutions in their good practices."h2>745 Crore Relief Package For J&K: Fraction of What The State Needs, Says National Conference
PM Narendra Modi spent a working Diwali at Jammu & Kashmir, meeting the troops and visiting the capital city of this Indian state, Srinagar which had been devastated by massive floods recently. Modi is the first Indian PM to visit Siachen in 10 years. The floods are said to be the worst this state has seen in 100 years. The PM announced a INR 745 crore relief package, and members of the ruling National Conference said this is just a fraction of what the flood stricken state needed for its rehabilitation, reconstruction and recovery. Hundreds of people died and thousands of villages faced devastation following deadly floods in the Kashmir Valley. The valley is already troubled because of separatist conflicts and its majority population comprises members of the Muslim community.
The PM announced 5.7 billion rupees in assistance for housing and 1.8 billion rupees for repairing 6 major hospitals in the state which are in need of support and reconstruction, a government statement announced. "India shares the grief of Jammu and Kashmir. The government stands with the people in rehabilitation efforts," Modi was quoted by the media as saying.
The first round of central assistance of 10 billion rupees for the state was announced last month. The current relief package is a fraction of what the state needs, say the people stricken by the floods, in a Reuters report. The state government had indicated it needed 150 billion rupees for 350,000 structures including more than 250,000 houses which have been damaged by the floods.
National Conference leader Mehboob Beg reportedly told NDTV, "A hostile winter is knocking at the door. The people of Kashmir had expected a lot from the Prime Minister, now imagine what are they getting in return. The state government asked for 45,000 crore and got only 750 crore. I don't know how to respond to this."
"The reason why Mr Modi had to make that outreach is that he got feedback that there is great resentment against the state government and there was absolutely no trust," BJP spokesperson Sanjay Kaul was quoted as saying adding, "I am glad that the chief minister was at least graceful enough to admit that. I am surprised at what the spokesperson is saying."
Around 300 people died and more than 1.5 million people were affected by the floods and massive assistance is needed for the reconstruction and rebuilding of the state. If timely steps are not taken, it is the people who will ultimately suffer. More coordination and understanding is needed between the Centre and the State for coping with the tragic aftermath of these floods.
At Siachen, the Prime Minister told the jawans, "You make it possible for 125 crore Indians to celebrate Diwali happily. Your dreams and responsibilities are the responsibility of us all. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with you."
He also said, "If you don't see this glacier you can't imagine under what hostile weather and circumstance our jawans are serving the motherland."
