Chinese troops intrude 20km into Arunachal Pradesh

Now, Chinese troops intrude 20km into Arunachal Pradesh

JAK Rifles Halts PLA Patrol

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: China has done it again. People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops intruded over 20km into the Chaglagam sector of eastern Arunachal Pradesh, pitched tents there and finally withdrew after spending three to four days in the area last week. 

    This latest incursion seemed somewhat similar to the 21-day standoff between the rival armies in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector of eastern Ladakh after PLA troops had intruded 19-km into Depsang valley in April. 

    Importantly, defence ministry and Army on Wednesday downplayed the entire incident. “There was no standoff between the troops. Both armies patrol up to their perception of where the Line of Actual Control (LAC) lies. Long-range patrols, which can be of 10-12 days duration, from both sides carry tents to spend the nights at high altitude. There is nothing unusual in all this,’’ said an officer. 

    But sources said there was “a faceoff-like situation’’ in Chaglagam’s “fish tail’’ area, which is largely unmanned due to the inhospitable terrain and takes its name from the shape the LAC takes in the region, after the intrusion was reportedly detected by ITBP personnel on August 13. The Army rushed soldiers from the 9 JAK Rifles battalion to the area and stopped the PLA patrol from “ingressing any further’’, which included the use of “banner drills’’ to tell the Chinese soldiers that they had entered Indian territory. 

    The Army’s 2 Division deployed in the region even mounted a couple of helicopter reconnaissance sorties, with the deputy GoC (general-officercommanding) on board, but to no avail. Later, the PLA patrol left the area on its own. Both Indian and Chinese armies have been conducting “aggressive patrolling’’ along all the three sectors of the 4,057-km long LAC — western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal) — to strengthen their claims to disputed territories. India has recorded well over 600 “transgressions’’ by PLA troops across the LAC in the last three years. Reports of the latest incursion in Arunachal emerged a day after the IAF landed a C-130J ‘Super Hercules’ aircraft at the DBO airstrip, which is just about 7 km from the LAC in eastern Ladakh, to convey a strategic message that it can swiftly rush troops and supplies to forward areas if required. 

    India and China are now close to inking the new Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) that outlines several confidence-building measures to defuse faceoffs and tensions between rival troops along the LAC, as was earlier reported by TOI. 

    This includes additional BPM (border personnel meeting) set-ups to add to the existing ones at Chushul, Nathu La and Bum La as well as a DGMO-level hotline between the two armies like the one India has with Pakistan. Kibuthu, which is near the Chaglagam sector in Arunachal, is one such proposed BPM point that can kick in whenever there is a face-off between rival troops. 

    China is irked with belated Indian efforts to counter its massive build-up of military infrastructure all along the LAC. Under India’s overall plan, advanced landing grounds in both Ladakh and Arunachal have been re-activated after being neglected for over 30-40 years.

In the last three years, India has recorded 600 transgressions by PLA troops

Nagaland coal, oil tap close to opening

Nagaland coal, oil tap close to opening

Nagaland coal, oil tap close to opening

Promit Mukherjee. @promit07

Mumbai: The vast reserves of oil and coal in Nagaland, which remain out of bounds for user industries, may be set to open soon. If sources are to be believed, former petroleum secretary R S Pandey, who was appointed as the interlocutor in February 2010 to resolve a long-running dispute with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), has managed to iron out several differences with the ethnic party. The NSCN-IM had been demanding the establishment of Nagalim, or Greater Nagaland, consisting of all the Naga-inhabited areas of neighbouring Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and some portions of Myanmar, which it considers to be the rightful homeland of the Nagas. But the Centre, which has come to the negotiation table with the party leaders almost 50 times, has not agreed to their demands, said the sources. Pandey himself conceded to dna that “several differences (with the NSCN-IM) have been narrowed”, but did not disclose further detail. Highly placed sources said, however, that the warring party has mellowed substantially and agreed to give up several demands. “This might eventually pave the way for oil and coal exploration as both central and state governments are showing interest now,” said one of the sources. That’s good news for state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, which have been struggling to increase production from the flagging basins in the country. The reserves of oil on the onshore sedimentary basins of Nagaland have largely stayed trapped in the prolific Assam-Arakan basin since 1994 when ONGC walked out of the state due to the disputed nature of the region. While the company and its onshore peer Oil India continued exploration from the Assam side of the basin, the reserves in Nagaland have been lying idle. According to media reports, estimates of oil reserves indicate that the Tzurangkong (under Tuli sub-division, Mokokchung) belt, falling under Wamakan-Amguri area adjoining the Geleki reserve forest, has an estimated 50-60 million metric tonne of crude oil. This belt is believed to hold the highest and yet to be proven crude oil reserve within Nagaland. The estimated reserve at Changpang, where ONGC had been drilling oil since the Eighties and from where one million tonne of crude was extracted as against the permit for 18 kilolitres on experimental basis, has around 20-30 million metric tonne. The assessed coal reserves in Nagaland, on the other hand, were around 315 million tonne at the end of 2011, according to a media report. This, however, could not be independently ascertained.

Published Date:  Aug 19, 2013 DNA

Northeast - tourism

NER Entrepreneurs - time to build capacity !

First Naga UPSC Member

DIMAPUR, AUGUST 9 (MExN):
Morung Express

The President of India has appointed Dr P. Kilemsungla as a Member of the prestigious Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). 

Her appointment letter was issued by the Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

The UPSC is a constitutional body authorized to conduct examination for appointments to the services of the Union such as Civil Services, Engineering Services, Combined Defense Services etc.

It may be mentioned that after having become the first Naga woman Member of the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC), Dr. P. Kilemsungla had retired as the acting Chairperson of the NPSC in January 2013.

She graduated from Lady Keane College, Shillong and did her MA in Education from Guwahati University. She then did her Ph. D (Education) from NEHU and started her career as a lecturer in Kohima Arts College and went on to teach at the Nagaland College of Teachers Education (NCTE).

She then became the Principal of the first District Institute of Educational Training (DIET) in Kohima and later served as the Principal of the Government Polytechnic and then NCTE, Kohima.

Dr. Kilemsungla is the first Naga to be appointed as a Member of the UPSC.

Triangular highway connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand.

Why should North East India be significant for the Western Region? There is a whole new regional marketing throwing open opportunities for investments, trade and commerce.

• India and Myanmar have agreed to a 4-lane, 3200 km triangular highway connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand. 
• The route, which is expected to be completed by sometime during 2016, will run from India's northeastern states into Myanmar, where over 1,600 km of roads will be built or improved. 
• The first phase connecting Guwahati to Mandalay is set to complete by 2016. 
• This will eventually be extended to Cambodia and Vietnam. 
• This is aimed at creating a new economic zone ranging from Kolkata on the Bay of Bengal to Ho Chi Minh City on the South China Sea. 
• A framework Agreement on the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, a Protocol on the Transit Facilitation of the Project and a Protocol on the Maintenance and Administration of the Project were signed during the visit of Senior General Maung Aye to India on 02 April 2008. 
• The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project envisages connectivity between Indian ports on the eastern sea coast and Sittwe Port in Myanmar and then through riverine transport and by road to Mizoram. 
• Also see http://www.mdoner.gov.in/content/myanmar

Nahum Kahmei of Tamenglong Manipur, playing my guitar.

East West Interconnecting in Pune. With Nahum Kahmei of Tamenglong Manipur, playing my guitar.

North East Entrepreneurs ! Any takers?

A Billion Dollars in the Kitty, But these PEs Have Nowhere to Invest

Six firms seek extension of fund tenures; some even return cash to investors

SNEHA SHAH MUMBAI

    

Half a dozen private equity funds are yet to invest half the money they raised in 2010 and 2011 due to scarcity of quality investment options in a slowing economy, and have now sought their investors’ nod to extend fund tenure. Barings Private Equity Partners, Avigo Capital, Ascent Capital, Aavishkaar, Peepul Capital and Everstone are yet to deploy $1 billion (or about . 6,000 crore) out of the $2.1 billion raised in 2010 and 2011. 

Typically, a private equity fund in India has a lifespan of seven years — first three years to invest and another four to manage the portfolio companies and exit. 

Rahul Bhasin, managing director and CEO of Barings Private Equity Partners India, says its limited partnership investors have agreed to extend their deadlines by a year. “The LPs (limited partners or passive investors) know the situation on the ground and would rather want GPs (general partners or fund managers) to wait than deploy capital in a hurry,” he says. “They (LPs) are forthcoming in extending the deadline by a year or two so that the money is invested in quality companies.” 

Some funds have even partially returned the money they raised to investors. India Value Fund, which raised $725 million, the highest until now by a local fund, returned $150 million last year, as it could not find good companies to invest. 

Though India fund managers promised a higher rate of returns exceeding 25% earlier, they now say the LPs have recalibrated their return expectations to 16-18%. “In a tough macro environment it is better to hold the cash and invest when clarity emerges,” S Harikrishnan, managing director at Avigo Capital, says. “The extension of investment period also validates the LPs’ confidence in the revival of the Indian growth story,” he adds. 

Fund managers have sought tenure extension as they expect an economic turnaround in two years. Until now, private equity funds have invested roughly $60 billion, but various industry estimates show that only one fourth of it has been returned through exits. Experts attribute this to the high valuation when the money was invested in the vintage years of 2005-2008 and compromises the funds made on due diligence and enforcing corporate governance. 

“A lot of money chased a lot of companies that never deserved capital. The current mess is a result of that.” Sanjay Nayar, India head of global fund KKR, says. The extension in investment period also means the managers get more time to exit the companies they have already invested in. 

Consultants say that in most cases, this is not a good time to exit because the slowing economy and a weaker currency led to mismatch in performance of companies and expectations of PE investors. “The weakness in the economy has resulted in most companies underperforming expectations,” Vikram Hosangady, head, PE advisory at KPMG India, says. “This is not an opportune time to exit given the depressed earnings and…the state of the capital markets,” he adds.
According to Venture Intelligence, which tracks PE and Merger & Acquisition deals, around 15 funds raised close to $3.8 billion in FY10, while around 27 funds collectively raised $4.2 billion in FY11. Some funds, which raised money from large sovereign and pension funds, have tweaked their investment strategy and extended the fund life. “We have raised money with a fund life of around eight years as against a typical real-estate fund that has a lifespan of five years. This is because we feel that in today’s scenario we need more time to deploy capital, manage companies and then seek exits,” says S Sriniwasan, chief executive officer of Kotak Realty Fund, which raised around $200 million towards the first close of its $400-million fund. 

Deal closure in a slowing economy takes a longer time as investment council or committee that includes representatives from investors and fund managers seek more disclosures on corporate governance. “Today the investment council or panel of a fund is rejecting more proposals than ever before. Around four out of five proposals taken to the council are being rejected on account of poor governance standards in the company, high valuations and lack of clarity on growth of the company,” said the India head of a global fund on condition of anonymity. 

sneha.shah@timesgroup.com