India, Nepal sign three agreements including improvement of road network

Mentor 4 CA

India, Nepal sign three agreements including improvement of road network

India and Nepal today agreed to push for speedy and successful implementation of ongoing hydropower projects and development and operationalization of transmission lines.

In a press statement after holding delegation level talks with the visiting Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, he and Mr Prachanda have agreed to focus on close monitoring and time bound completion of all development projects.

He said, peace, stability and economic prosperity of Nepal is shared objective of the countries. Mr Modi said, India will continue cooperation between defence and security agencies of the two countries to guard open borders that provide oppurtunities for people to people contact.

He said, the two leaders have agreed to show case shared Buddhist heritage and focus on the development of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

Prime Minister Modi said, trade, connectivity, development projects and mutual investement are key pillars of India's partnership with Nepal.

He said, India's initiatives for open sky cross border power trade and transit routes would directly benefit Nepal and help strengthen bilateral economic partnership.

Mr Modi expressed confidence that the Nepal under the leadership of Mr Prachanda will successfully implement the constitution through inclusive dialogue.

The Nepalese Prime Minister in his statement said, his government is deeply committed to friendly relations with its neighbours and soon after assuming the office sent special envoy to India to achieve this objective.

He said, Indo-Nepal parternship is crucial to unlock huge potential of bilateral relationship. The visiting dignitary said , India and Nepal are friends and are bound to remain friends because of close links.

The two countries signed MoU for project management consultancy services for upgradation and improvement of road infrastructure in Terai area of Nepal.

India also gave 750 million dollar line of credit for post earthquake reconstruction of the Himalayan nation.

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RCom - Aircel merger a strong challenger to Idea Cellular

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RCom - Aircel merger a strong challenger to Idea Cellular

Reliance Communications and Aircel's parent Malaysia's Maxis will own half each of the merged entity.

Anil Ambani led Reliance Communications (RCom) signed definitive agreements with Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) for the merger of wireless businesses of Aircel Limited with itself, making it the largest-ever consolidation in the Indian telecom sector.

The RCOM-Aircel combination will create a strong operator clearly ranked amongst India’s top 4 telcos by customer base and revenues, also ranking amongst the top 3 operators by revenues in 12 important circles, said a company statement adding that the merged company will have the second-largest spectrum holding amongst all operators, aggregating 448 MHz across the 850, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands.

Mr. Ambani expects this combination to create substantial long term value for shareholders of both, RCOM and MCB, given the benefits of the wide-ranging spectrum portfolio and significant revenue and cost synergies.

According to MCB, this deal further reinforces MCB’s commitment to India as MCB has invested in excess of Rs 35,000 crore ($ 5.2 billion) into Aircel, making this one of the largest foreign investments in the Indian telecom sector.

The merged entity will be one of India’s largest private sector companies, with an asset base of over Rs. 65,000 crore ($9.7 billion) and net worth of Rs. 35,000 crore ($5.2 billion).

The combined entity will enjoy substantial benefits of scale driving significant revenue growth, and capex and opex synergies with an NPV of Rs. 20,000 crore ($3 billion).

RCom and MCB will each hold a 50% stake in the merged entity, with equal representation on the Board of Directors and all Committees. The Company will be managed by an independent professional team under the supervision of the Board.

Rcom’s overall debt will reduce by Rs 20,000 crore ($3 billion) or over 40% of its total debt, and Aircel’s debt will reduce by Rs. 4,000 crore ($600 million), upon completion of the transaction in 2017.

On consummation of the merger, RCom and MCB are committed to additional equity infusion into merged company to further strengthen the balance sheet, fund future growth plans, and enhance financial flexibility, said the company statement adding that both parties are already in talks with leading international investors in this regard.

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India offers additional developmental assistance of one billion dollars to Afghanistan

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India offers additional developmental assistance of one billion dollars to Afghanistan

India has pledged additional one billion dollars development assistance to Afghanistan for capacity building, strengthening democratic institutions, education, health, agriculture and energy.

The announcement was made after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in New Delhi.

During the talks, both countries called for eliminating all forms of terrorism in the region. In a joint statement after the talks, both countries agreed that terrorism is the single biggest threat to peace, stability and progress in the region and beyond.

Giving a stern message to Pakistan, they called upon the concerned to put an end to all support, safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists.

Giving the highlights of the joint statement, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said, both leaders reaffirmed their resolve to counter terrorism and strengthen security and defence cooperation.

Mr Jaishankar also said, enhancing connectivity and liberalising visa regime were also discussed during the meeting.

India and Afghanistan also signed agreements on Extradition Treaty, Outer Space and Judicial Matters after the talks.

Later, the Afghan President spoke at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis. He said, the conflict in north-western parts of Pakistan and Balochistan is equivalent to a war. A huge number of Pakistani forces moved to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and this violence needs to be covered by media.

Mr Ghani said, South Asia is reeling under two wars - one in Afghanistan which he said is not a civil war and the other in Pakistan.

Delivering a keynote address at a business meeting, Mr Ghani suggested setting up a Task Force by the Governments and Chambers of Commerce of India and Afghanistan to take the countries' strategic relationship forward.

He said, the allocation of 1 billion dollars by Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards rebuilding and future of Afghanistan is a statement of belief in the strategic partnership.

He underlined the need for business chambers of the two countries to contribute towards Afghanistan's efforts by setting up a target of 10 billion dollars in trade and investment in the next five years.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh said, the strategic partnership between India and Afghanistan has been growing steadily. He said, it is time to boost the relationship further by taking trade and investment to the next level.

The Minister said, the private sector needs to explore new avenues for partnership and must engage in creating capabilities and capacities, allowing Afghanistan to rebuild its economy and providing employment opportunities to its citizens.

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Gionee signs (MoU) with Haryana for setting up mobiles manufacturing unit

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Gionee signs (MoU) with Haryana for setting up mobiles manufacturing unit

Gionee mobile phones would now be manufactured in Haryana as the company today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Haryana Government to set up its mobile phones manufacturing hub with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore which, later on, would be increased to Rs 1500 crore.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Manohar Lal and Industries Minister Vipul Goel by Chairman, Gionee Mobiles, Liu Lirong and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).

Vipul Goel said that the Mobile Manufacturing Hub would be set up over an area of 40-50 acres in Faridabad and would provide employment to 28000 persons in next three years. This, he said, would be a major project in Faridabad and more such projects would come up in other areas of the State.

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