* PM woos US corporates, meets Clintons
NEW YORK, Sept 29: Rejecting any distinction between good and bad terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called for a collective fight to effectively tackle the global menace.
“There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist,” Modi said while addressing the Council for Foreign Relations here.
“There is a need to take the challenge of terrorism seriously. It’s sad that many countries could not earlier understand the ugly face of terrorism which is enemy of humanity,” he said.
The Prime Minister, who dwelt at length on the threat posed by terrorism, said it cannot be measured on the scale of political plus and minus.
“The world will have to speak in one voice against terrorism,” he stressed.
In his address, Modi reaffirmed that India wants to build friendly relations with all its neighbours. He said that all the SAARC leaders had been invited for his swearing in ceremony.
As part of this exercise he also visited Nepal and Bhutan.
Referring to the Jammu and Kashmir floods which had left behind a trail of death and devastation, he said there was tremendous loss also in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and he had expressed India’s readiness to extend help to those affected across the border.
The Prime Minister used the occasion to reach out to American investors by promising an era of political stability in India alongwith easy and effective governance.
He said a number of steps have already been taken to simplify procedures and his Government has initiated labour reforms and unveiled schemes for skill development.
On India’s stand on the WTO pact, the Prime Minister asserted that agreement on food security and trade facilitation will have to go hand-in-hand.
“We want to take our economy ahead on the three pillars of agriculture, manufacturing and services,” Modi said.
He said in its very first budget, his Government took initiatives on foreign direct investment.
“We want private investment in our railways,” he said, adding that trillions and trillions of dollars are required for the modernisation of this vital sector.
On his ambitious plan to clean the Ganga river, Modi said, “We are conscious about the environment and are making efforts to clean the Ganga.”
He said India has a guiding philosophy inspired by Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi. “We believe in non-violence,” he added.
Modi today cautioned the US against hasty withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, citing the mistakes it has committed while pulling out from Iraq.
Modi said that India and the US together had played a big role in Afghanistan in recent years.
India, he said, had told the US that the process of withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan should be slow to stop the rise of Taliban.
“We want Afghanistan which recently held the Presidential elections and formed a new Government to grow democratically,” he said.
“The process of withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan should be very slow. Afghanistan should be allowed to stand on its feet and then only can it stop the rise of the Taliban,” Modi said.
Asked if he was comfortable with President’s Obama’s description of ties with India as a “partnership”, Modi said, “one does not have to be comfortable in everything and even between a husband and wife 100 per cent comfort is not possible. But despite that there is long-term binding.”
Modi ruled out any arbitration or adjudication on the boundary issue between India and China.
The Prime Minister told a questioner that India would not accept such arbitration because the countries were talking directly and were capable of resolving the issues through dialogue.
Asked about the rise of Islamic State (IS) militants in West Asia and whether there was any danger that such unrest might spread to India, the Prime Minister ruled that out and said that all terrorism activities in our country are exported and are not home-grown.”
The Prime Minister said he was asked by the CNN about the Al-Qaeda threat in India to which he responded that “Muslims of India will fail Al-Qaeda.”
In his address, Modi slammed previous regimes before his Government for carrying out “appeasement and vote-bank politics” and pitched for development and good governance. He said he wants to create opportunities for a “neo-middle class” that has come above the poverty line.
He said that there is a large number of people, who have gone above the poverty line but are yet to find a place among the middle class.
“If we ignore our neo-middle class and they again slide back into poverty, then the poor will lose hope of coming out of poverty,” he said as he unveiled his future plans for the country’s development.
Giving credit to the youth for bringing out a “change” in the course of Indian politics, Modi said there is a new wave of aspiration in the country after the change of Government as youth had earlier only seen disappointment.
“Earlier there was a habit in our country to keep small groups happy. Divide in small groups and keep your vote-bank intact. This has changed now.
“The thinking of the young generation of India has changed. The young generation of the country does not want to live in parts. The change has come due to the youth,” Modi said.
Recalling that his party had fought the Lok Sabha elections on the plank of development and good governance which are difficult to pursue in the existing political discourse dominated by vote-bank politics, he said that they are the only answer to resolving all of India’s problems.
Modi made it clear that agreement on food security and trade facilitation will have to go hand-in-hand.
India had been saying that it will not compromise the interest of poor farmers and consumers at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
It has sought complete resolution of the foodgrain stockpile issue, which is essential for unhindered implementation of the country’s food security programme.
India’s tough stand had led to collapse of the WTO Geneva talks recently.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker have held series of meetings with Indian leaders including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to persuade New Delhi to agree to dilute its tough stand.
India had decided not to ratify WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.
India has asked the WTO to amend the norms for calculating agri subsidies in order to procure foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price and sell that to poor at cheaper rates without attracting any penalty in the WTO.
The current WTO norms limit the value of food subsidies at 10 per cent of the total value of foodgrain production. However, the support is calculated at the prices that are over two decades old.
There are apprehensions that once India completely implements its food security programme, it could breach the 10 per cent cap. Breach of the cap may lead to imposition of hefty penalties if a member country drags India to the WTO.
Making a strong pitch to attract investments into India, Modi assured top American corporate honchos of tax stability and friendlier business environment in the country.
Modi, who is on his maiden visit to the United States as Prime Minister, held meetings with a galaxy of American corporate executives, including those from Boeing, PepsiCo, Google, KKR and General Electric.
Bullish on the potential of the Indian market, the corporates have expressed keenness to strengthen their engagements with India especially at a time when the new Government is rolling out various initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ campaign.
“It is my conviction that tax stability is essential for confidence building,” Modi told American CEOs.
His assertion comes at a time when some multinationals are caught in legal wrangles over tax matters in the country.
Wooing the corporates, Modi said he wants to convert the Supreme Court judgment on coal allocation into an “opportunity to move forward and clean up the past”. The observation comes amid concerns that the ruling could negatively impact investor sentiments and overall business climate.
During his meetings with captains of corporate America, the Prime Minister also pitched for big-ticket investments to develop India’s infrastructure and create more jobs and enhance the quality of life.
Reflecting the bullishness about India, US conglomerate General Electric’s CEO Jeff Immelt described the country as a great place to invest in and said it is looking to make more investments there.
After meeting Modi, he said, “GE is a long term investor in India. We look forward to more in the future”.
Describing Modi as a “charismatic leader”, Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein said the financial services major was eager to participate in India’s growth story.
American corporates, including technology major IBM, have expressed interest to participate in diverse initiatives of the Indian Government including those pertaining to smart cities.
Defence major Boeing’s CEO James McNerney said that the company wants to accelerate its engagement with India.
During the meeting with the Prime Minister, technology major IBM’s CEO Virginia Rometty evinced interest to participate in the Government’s new initiatives related to smart cities and digital India.
Reflecting optimism over opportunities in the country, world’s largest asset manager Blackrock’s CEO Laurence Flik conveyed to Modi that it would host a global investors meet in India next year.
After meeting Modi, India-origin Indra Nooyi, who is PepsiCo’s chief, said, “he answers questions brilliantly and is very focused on improving India. So, we are thrilled to be working with him”.
Another India-origin CEO Ajay Banga, who is at the helm of Mastercard, said the Prime Minister was a good listener and that he believed that Modi can execute plans like the way he did in Gujarat.
Among others, the Prime Minister held meetings with private equity giant KKR’s CEO Henry Kravis.
This is the first extensive business engagement in the US of the Prime Minister, who will also attend business meets in Washington tomorrow during his second leg of the 5-day visit.
Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here and discussed Indo-US relations.
The Clinton couple had a 45-minute meeting with Modi, who was accompanied by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Both the Prime Minister and Swaraj warmly welcomed the Clintons and wished them on becoming grandparents. Swaraj warmly hugged Hillary.
Chelsea, the daughter of Bill and former Secretary of State Hillary, gave birth to daughter Charlotte last week.
Known for their love for India, Bill and Hillary were expected to discuss Indo-US engagements and the priorities of the new government in this regard.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of reports that Hillary may contest the US Presidential elections in 2016. (PTI)
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