THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says India's goal is an economy without hurdles; promises a predictable tax regime; US President Barack Obama emphasizes need to make business environment transparent.
- Prime Minister and US President to jointly address the nation today in "Mann Ki Baat" programme on All India Radio.
- India says talks with Pakistan not possible until Islamabad addresses New Delhi’s concerns, including terrorism.
- Kurdish militia drives ISIS militants from the Syrian border town of Kobane after months of heavy fighting.
- In the Australian Open, Sania Mirza and Leander Paes with their partners reach the mixed doubles quarterfinals.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India's goal is an economy with no hurdles and promised a predictable tax regime. He said that business sentiments in India are the strongest among the Asian markets today. He was addressing the India-US Business Summit, yesterday. Mr Modi said India has energy of the youth, enterprise of business and genius of farmers.
Our economic growth has increased by a percentage point. Today, business sentiments in India are the strongest among major Asian markets. Investments from the United States have jumped by 50 percent in the first six months of my government. And, I know that some of the pledges made in September in Washington have begun to flow in. Yes, I do keep track of these things.
US President Barack Obama while addressing the gathering, said that India and the United States are true global partners and his visit is not only big on symbolism, but also on substance. He said US companies would like to invest 2 billion dollars in the renewable energy sector. The US President said there is a need to make business environment transparent.
Prime Minister Modi has initiated reforms that will help overcome some of the barriers including a new government committee dedicated to fast tracking American investment and we enthusiastically support these efforts. We need to be fastening business environment thats more transparent and more consistent and more predicable.
Mr. Obama said the two countries have taken a big step forward in defence cooperation and have agreed to resume the bilateral investment treaty. Mr Obama also announced the EXIM bank's commitment of one billion dollars for US exports to India.
Earlier, in the India-US CEO Forum Meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Prime Minister's Office will monitor all big business projects and the ease of doing business initiative has been taken up by the government to facilitate business. He said good governance is the solution to all problems faced by the business class.
US President Barack Obama, in his address to the forum, said he is excited that not only is the US investing in India, but Indians are also investing in the US. He said it is good news that Indo-US trade has increased by 60 per cent in the last few years and he wants to see more trade and investment.
Indian and US CEOs submitted their recommendations to the two leaders at the forum.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama will jointly address the nation in the next edition of "Mann Ki Baat" on All India Radio. The programme will be broadcast today at 8 pm over the entire network of All India Radio. It will also be live streamed for domestic and global netizens. Regional channels will broadcast the programme at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
The Prime Minister has been addressing the nation every month through the "Mann Ki Baat" programme over All India Radio since last October.
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US President Barack Obama will conclude his three-day visit to India today. His last engagement will be an address before a select gathering at Delhi's Siri Fort Auditorium. In his address, President Obama is expected to focus on the importance of diversity as a democratic value. It will be followed by a question and answer session. During the programme, President Obama is also expected to meet Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
Mr Obama had to cut short his visit and cancelled the trip to Agra after the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. On his way back, he will be stopping at Riyadh to meet King Abdullah's successor, King Salman. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest supplier of oil, is a key ally of the US in West Asia and a partner in the fight against terror.
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Movement of traffic on August Kranti Marg in South Delhi is likely to be affected today morning as US President Barack Obama is scheduled to attend a programme at the Siri Fort auditorium. The Delhi Traffic police has advised people to avoid the stretch. The Police has also advised people to avoid the stretch of road from Dhaula Kuan to IGI Airport in the afternoon due to President Obama's departure from New Delhi.
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India has said that talks with Pakistan are not possible until Islamabad addresses concerns highlighted by New Delhi, including that of terrorism. Talking to reporters in Islamabad yesterday, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T C A Raghavan said that negotiations with Pakistan were not possible in a climate of terrorism and until the problems highlighted by India were resolved. Raghavan was talking to reporters at the reception he hosted to celebrate the Indian Republic Day. According to a TV report, the High Commissioner also said, the United Nations banned the Jamat-ud-Dawah in 2008, but Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of Mumbai terror attacks, and his organisation were still operating without any checks by Pakistan. Raghavan also allayed fears that the Indo-US relation was aimed against any country in the region.
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Legendary cartoonist R K Laxman passed away at a hospital in Pune last evening after a prolonged illness. Laxman was famous for his 'You Said It' pocket cartoon, featuring the most identifiable ‘common man'.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari have expressed grief over the passing away of the famous cartoonist. In his condolence message President described him as a genius who brought smiles with his wit and humour. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed grief over eminent cartoonist's demise. In his condolence message, Mr. Modi said Laxman's demise leaves a major void in peoples lives and the country will miss him. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress President Sonia Gandhi have also paid rich tributes to the eminent cartoonist.
Eminent cartoonist R K Laxman’s body will be kept near the statue of the “common man” at the Symbiosis Institute in Pune at 10 a.m and the funeral will be held at Vaikunth Crematorium at noon. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to pay homage to him. Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, MNS leader and cartoonist Raj Thackeray, many other leaders and eminent personalities from the field of art and literature are reaching Pune to pay their respect to the departed soul. The legendary cartoonist, who immortalised the hapless 'Common Man' with his devastating swipes at politicians but without malice, died yesterday at a hospital in Pune at the age of 94 after suffering multi-organ failure. With a report of Nitin Kelkar from Pune, this is Swati Rakheja, for AIR News.
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Kurdish fighters in Syria have wrested control of the Syrian town of Kobane from the ISIS militants. The fall of the militant group has resulted in large scale celebrations by Kurds throughout the region. More from our West Asia Correspondent:
"The spokesman for the local Kurdish militia, Idriss Nassan confirmed from Erbil that the Islamic State group militants are on the verge of defeat and four month long siege of Kobane has been lifted. He added that the Islamic State group fighters were on the run. US Central Command said anti-ISIL forces now control approximately 90 percent of the city in Kobane. Residents of Kobane and Kurdish cities inside Turkey erupted in spontaneous street demonstrations as the news of the defeat of Islamic State militants began trickling in. The re-capture of Kobane is being seen as a major victory in the fight against the Islamic State militants who have since June last year overran large swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq and unleashed a reign of terror in areas under their control. Atul Tiwary, AIR News."
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A massive snowstorm began hitting major metropolitan areas from Washington, DC to Boston in US today. The snowstorm is expected to cripple much of the northeastern US over the next two days. The brunt of the storm missed the US capital, but farther north, the states of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have declared snow emergencies.
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The 39th Kolkata International Book Fair begins today. Britain is this year's theme country in the fair. Noted British writer Anita Anand will inaugurate the book fair in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Milan Mela complex in Kolkata. Publishing houses from 20 countries will take part in the fair.
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Sania Mirza and Leander Paes have carved out contrasting wins with different partners to reach the mixed doubles quarterfinals at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne yesterday. Top seeds Sania and her Brazilian partner Bruno Soares edged past Abigail Spears and Santiago Gonzalez 7-5, 6-7, 10-8 while seventh seeds Paes and Martina Hingis out played the Spanish combine of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-1.
In the Women's singles quarter-finals, the match between Maria Sharapova of Russia and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada is in progress. Serena Williams made it to the quarter-finals while two-time champion Victoria Azarenka was bundled out.
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES.
- The Indo-US CEO's conclave and proposed areas of collaboration, the passing away of legendary cartoonist and creator of the "common man" R K Laxman and reactions to the Republic Day celebrations yesterday are some front page stories reported by papers today.
- "No more Laxman Rekha" writes the Times of India, in a tribute item to R K Laxman, the man who made millions smile with his delightful irreverence and wonderful balance between satire, caricature and lampooning.
- The Hindu reports that even as women officers made history by leading contingents of the 3 services at the 66th Republic Day Parade, an appeal filed by the government against giving permanent commission to them in the Army lies pending and half forgotten in the Supreme Court.
- Foreign Media reactions to President Obama's visit have been highlighted by the Hindustan Times - "Pak Media lavishes attention on visit" "UK Media hails 'royal welcome' Obama got" writes the paper.
- "Obama gives thumbs up to BSF stuntman" is another story in the paper, referring to the President's appreciation for their Republic Day performance at the parade.
- The Asian Age writes that lauding the RBI's role in helping bring down inflation, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said that the Central Bank may further ease interest rates.
- In uplifting news for Foreign Investment in India, the Hindu reports that more and more Japanese firms prefer India for future expansion than China, as the latter is becoming less attractive as an investment destination.
- "Swine flu virus shows signs of weakening" writes the Pioneer.
- And finally, The Times of India says that flexible working hours can improve employees' health and curb sleep deficiency.
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