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India and the United Arab Emirates are expected to open a new chapter in their growing ties when the two sides will sign a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement during the visit of UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who will be chief guest at the Republic Day parade  on January 26 where New Delhi will display its military might  and cultural and ethnic diversity at the majestic Rajpath.

The honour accorded to Sheikh Mohammed by inviting him for the Republic day function as chief guest signifies the importance India attaches to the Gulf region particularly UAE. The relationship between the two countries has witnessed an upswing and this is evident from the fact that since the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi  to UAE in August 2015, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the Commander in Chief of the UAE armed forces, visited India in February last year and, in less than a year is paying another visit.

This is perhaps the first time India has invited a foreign dignitary to be the chief guest at the Republic Day function who is not a head of state. A marching contingent as well as a military band from the Emirates is also expected to participate in the Republic Day parade.

The two countries attach great importance and attention to issues of counter-terrorism, security, defence, trade and investment. Terrorism will definitely be high on the agenda of the talks during the three-day visit of Sheikh Mohammed, particularly in view of the recent killings of five UAE officials in a bombing in Kandahar in Afghanistan. India will also take this opportunity to expand counter-terrorism cooperation with UAE, once seen as a close ally of Pakistan.

Sheikh Mohammed’s visit is expected to send out a strong message against terrorism. The two sides will definitely find a common ground on issue of tackling the menace of terrorism. Ahead of Sheikh Mohmmad’s visit the two countries held the first meeting of their strategic dialogue  on January 20 in an attempt to finalise the cooperation agreement. The meeting was co-chaired by Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar and his UAE counterpart Anwar Gargash.

The two sides are expected to sign a number of agreements including one on “comprehensive strategic partnership” that encompasses all areas of bilateral ties with a thrust of security and counter-terrorism.

On the eve of the visit Gargash said in Abu Dhabi that UAE’ relations with India has nothing to do with India-Pakistan tie. “Our strategic relationship with India is above all since India is one of the most important countries on the globe.”

India is a rising regional power and its economy is booming. The UAE sees India as an important partner for the future. So it is only logical that this huge and commercial tie feeds into a political and strategic one that is attaining new heights. UAE and India enjoy strong bonds of friendship based on centuries old cultural, religious and economic ties and their relationship has received impetus from time-to-time with exchange of high-level visits.

The historic visit of Modi to UAE on August 16-17, 2015 marked the beginning of a new and comprehensive and strategic partnership. In the joint statement issued after the visit, both leaders agreed to work together not only to consolidate achievements in the existing areas but also to explore newer areas of cooperation.

During the Prime Minister’s visit, the two sides agreed to elevate their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. In one of the significant decisions apparently directed at Pakistan, the two sides had agreed to coordinate efforts to counter radicalization and misuse of religion by groups and countries for inciting hatred, perpetrating and justifying terrorism or pursuing political aims.

They strongly denounced and opposed terrorism in all forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomever, calling on all states to reject and abandon the use of terrorism against other countries, dismantle terrorism infrastructures where they exist, and bring perpetrators of terrorism to justice.

Within six months Sheikh Mohammed made a state visit to India, from February 10-12, 2016, and had wide-ranging discussions on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest and reached a broad consensus. Several agreements including for technical cooperation in cyber space and combating cyber crime and exchange of information on trade and business opportunities were signed. The two sides reiterated their commitment to combat terrorism in all its manifestations.

India and UAE share centuries-old ties of commerce, culture and kinship. Today, the Indian community of over 2.5 million is a major part of UAE’s vibrant society and its economic success.

In recent decades, UAE’s economic progress has been one of the global success stories, transforming that nation into a regional leader and a thriving international centre that attracts people and business from across the world. India has emerged as one of the major world powers and its rapid growth and modernization, along with its talented human resources and large markets, make it one of the anchors of the global economy.

The dynamism of the two countries has translated into a rapidly expanding economic partnership. Both sides are striving to strengthen their growing economic and commercial ties for mutual benefits. At present India is UAE’s number one trading partner with total trade pegged at USD 60 billion in 2015—a huge growth since the 1970s when bilateral annual trade was at USD 180 million.

With respect to oil trade, UAE was the sixth largest source of crude oil import for India in 2014-15. Moreover, UAE is the second largest export destination of India with an amount of over USD 33 billion for the year 2014-15.

India’s exports to UAE are well diversified and major items include petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, food items, and engineering and machinery goods. India’s major import items from UAE include oil, copper, aluminium, ships and boats.

Today, as India accelerates economic reforms and improves its investment and business environment, and UAE becomes an increasingly advanced and diversified economy, the two countries have the potential to build a transformative economic partnership, not only for sustained prosperity of their two countries, but to also advance progress in the region and help realise the vision of an Asian Century.

UAE is at the heart of the Gulf and West Asia region and its major economic hub. India, with seven million citizens in the Gulf, also has major energy, trade and investment interests in the region.

(The writer is a former Editor of PTI. He has had a long stint as PTI correspondent for West Asia based in Dubai.)”

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Uttarakhand this time is poised for an interesting electoral battle as people wait to vote in a new assembly in the hilly State. When final results come on March 11, it will be fascinating to evaluate success and failures of turncoats. As many as two dozen turncoats are in the fray from the ruling Congress as well as the BJP, though latter bags a majority of them following a failed coup that could not dislodge Harish Rawat government in the state last year.

Early last year political uncertainty gripped the state for almost two months after nine MLAs of the ruling Congress deserted the party to pledge their allegiance with the BJP. They were later joined by one more MLA. Now all these 10 MLAs, along with Cabinet Minister and former Uttarakhand Congress chief Yashpal Arya, are in the fray on BJP. Mr. Arya’s son Sanjeev has also been given by a BJP ticket.

Similarly, Congress also engineered defections of at least two BJP MLAs and also two BSP MLAs during its tenure and they all are now its nominees in these polls. Similarly, it has also given ticket to Cabinet Minister Harish Chandra Durgapal, who last time won as an Independent after rebelling from the Congress who later supported the Congress Government.

All these factors are much talked about as it hogged limelight in not only regional media but also national media. The issue of turncoats also got prominence as it was associated with the alleged corruption CD issue of last year involving Chief Minister Harish Rawat, which is now being investigated by the CBI.

However, there are several disgruntled leaders from both BJP and the Congress who have rebelled following the denial of tickets to them. From both sides there are several former MLAs and failed contestants from 2012 assembly polls who will be seen entering the fray. Though hardly one or two would taste victory, many others would turn out to be spoilsport for either BJP or the Congress. Post announcement of list of candidates, protests have started to emerge in both the parties with several disgruntled leaders switching sides, while many are preparing to enter the fray as Indepedent. This will continue for the next few days till the filing of nominations is over, after which the electioneering will gather steam.

In 2012, Congress had managed to bag just one more seat than BJP’s 31 in the 70 member state assembly, and later went on to form the government with the help of BSP and two Independent MLAs who were Congress rebel. A similar situation could emerge this time too in a keenly fought contest as many prominent rebels from both the parties have the influence in their respective constituencies to influence the mood of voters.

Going by the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP, which won all five Lok Sabha seats, bagged 62 of the 70 assembly segments. While in Nainital and Garhwal (Pauri) seats the Congress drew a blank, it won just two assembly segments in Almora, which is “home” constituency of Harish Rawat which he represented it in the 1980s. It was only in the Haridwar Lok Sabha seat that the Congress managed to win five assembly segments compared to BJP’s nine. In UPA-2 Haridwar was represented by Harish Rawat and in 2014 his wife Renika Rawat was in the fray.

Indian electoral politics is full of surprises and uncertainties. It is very hard to say whether BJP will be able to repeat its 2014 performance in Uttarakhand, particularly when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “charisma”, which the BJP encashed handsomely in 2014, will be on test again. Moreover, state and local issues will also shape the mood of electioneering in the days to come. Another factor that will have an impact on the poll outcome is the presence of BSP, particularly in the Haridwar region where it has been winning some seats in the last few assembly elections.  

(Sandeep Joshi, formerly with The Hindu, is Founder-Editor of Uttarakhand Panorama news portal.)”

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Preliminary investigation and intelligence inputs point towards a change in tactics of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI in abetting terror activities in India by keeping Pakistani nationals out of any direct involvement and instead tapping its sleeper cells to use criminal gangs and mafia in India to carry out such activities, including blasts and pumping of fake currency in India, particularly in Northern and Central parts of the country. Sources in security and police establishment say the tactic is a throwback to the early 1990s when ISI used mafia dons like Dawood Ibrahim to carry out subversive activities and terror strikes in the country. 

One such indication came when the police arrested three criminals who were linked to the planting of a bomb on the rail tracks in the border district of Raxaul in Bihar on October 1. This alerted the intelligence agencies who are looking into the possibility if the train derailment in Kanpur on November 21 could have been planned, financed and executed by anti-India elements, based in Dubai, at the behest of ISI. About 150 passenger were killed in the Kanpur train derailment. 

Media reports from East Champaran district of Bihar have flashed a warning signal about the network of anti-India elements, mainly criminal gangs, who were being paid by ISI to carry out disturbances, blasts and sabotage the rail tracks in India. The plan was to later blame Left Wing extremists for such activities. 

“”The recovery of an improvised explosive device on on Raxaul-Sitamarhi route near Ghorasahan railway station on October 1, which disrupted train services for more than 12 hours, was funded by a Dubai-based trader from Nepal named Shamshul Hoda,”” East Champaran SP Jitendra Rana was quoted in the newspapers as saying.  Ã¢Â€ÂœThere is a possibility that the derailment of Indore-Patna Express and the Shealdah-Ajmer Express were also carried out by these people. Efforts are on to find out more details from the ongoing interrogation,” he said. 

Recent newspaper reports from Bihar, quoting East Champaran district police official, said that three people arrested in Nepal – Brijkishore Giri, Muzahid Ansari and Shambhu – and two other men were active in this group. Giri, the kingpin, had paid money to these people to carry out blasts on rail tracks near Ghorasahan. Umashankar Patel, Mukesh Yadav and Moti Paswan, who have been arrested, had received the money and given the bomb planting task to two other men.

Moti Paswan, a criminal who is the main accused in the Ghorasahan case, and two others who were arrested have reportedly confessed to police that they were paid a “big amount” by Hoda to carry out blasts on rail tracks in north India. Police stumbled on the racket while investigating the murder of two Raxaul residents in Nepal. The police had been able to detect and recover the powerful Improvised Explosive and avert a major accident but the two men were killed for their failure. “They were taken to Nepal and brutally killed in a jungle there. Investigation into these two murders unravelled the sinister network,” Mr. Rana said. 

Intelligence agencies are also looking into the network which they believe is much larger with roots across the border. They believe that a Karachi-based mafia don, said to be working for Dawood Ibrahim, is also involved in supplying fake Indian currency notes of the denomination of Rs. 100 to the criminal gangs and smugglers in Nepal who then use the porous border along U.P. and Bihar to further give it to sleeper cells and their operatives. 

Sources say that there are enough indications to believe that the ISI-backed FICN printing modules in Peshawar and Karachi are now printing Rs. 100 notes after the November 8 ban by the government on Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 notes. In the forefront of the FICN racket is Peshwar-based trader Iqbal Kana and Dawood Ibrahim’s trusted man Aftab Batki who have been activated by the ISI. 

Security agencies have also passed on the inputs to the Indian para-military forces guarding the Indo-Nepal-China border to increase surveillance. Airlines operating from Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, UAE and China are also under watch. Most fake Indian currency is printed in Pakistan from where it is taken to transit points in Nepal and Bangladesh and even Dubai which have been used by traffickers to supply it to their agents in India. 

In 2010, India had joined the FATF, an inter-governmental body fighting money-laundering and terror financing. In 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had ordered withdrawal of notes issued before 2005 as a first measure to tackle counterfeit currency and improve security features.”

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More than 5 million women in India this year will have an unsafe abortion because they lack access to safe, high-quality abortion care. These are women who want to avoid pregnancy but lack knowledge, agency and access to modern contraception and/or abortion. Death from unsafe abortions continue to be the third largest reason for maternal deaths in the country. Additionally many young girls and women risk serious injury undergoing a backstreet abortion process, a statement issued by Ipas Development Fund said.

President Donald Trump’s decision to reinstate the Global Gag rule, a harmful anti-choice and anti-reproductive  rights policy has huge implications on women’s health worldwide, including in India. The policy forces organizations to choose between receiving U.S. foreign assistance funds and providing comprehensive—often lifesaving—care. The policy restricts organizations that receive U.S. family planning funds from using private funds to inform or educate their government on safe abortion or to provide legal abortion services, the statement said.

Lack of access to contraception and safe abortion is a major public health crisis for women in the world’s poorest countries. But rather than addressing this crisis, the Global Gag Rule broadens restrictions already imposed by the Helms Amendment, which prohibits the use of U.S. funds for abortion-related work overseas. I believe this political move will endanger the lives and health of the poorest and most vulnerable women in our country by denying access and putting them at risk of unsafe abortion, says Vinoj Manning, Executive Director, Ipas Development Foundation (IDF), an NGO that works across the country with the objective of ensuring access to comprehensive abortion care for women in India.   

This decision shall result in immediate withdrawal of millions of doll ars aid committed for contraceptive access as well as comprehensive abortion care globally and it will have an impact on India too. While there is a global movement to invest in women’s rights and autonomy and their health, to prevent this move from being a real setback, this is the time for other bilateral agencies, private foundations and corporates to step-up and bridge the gap.

“”I believe that Mr Trump’s decision is another unfortunate instance of bad politics and personal prejudice trumping women’s reproductive rights.”” he said.”

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be going gung ho about his ‘Digital India’ plans, but the unfortunate fact is that several parts in India’s far flung Northeast region are still deprived of basic mobile telecom connectivity. So much so that people in many towns and villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram bordering Myanmar have to depend on mobile tower signals emanating from across the border.

Though the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has chalked out plans to put up over 6,600 towers in eight Northeastern states, despite floating tenders last year, not an inch has moved, thanks to dilly-dallying tactics of DoT officials who have been endlessly evaluating tender processes and dealing with technical specification issues, as per sources in the Department.

Peeved by the slow process of strengthening telecom infrastructure which it is also hurting security preparedness of security forces deployed in several disturbed areas of the Northeast, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi has written to Telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak seeking urgent action on the matter.

Significantly, Mr. Mehrishi has pointed out that “lack of adequate cellular coverage in the region has brought a sense of discontentment amongst the youth and general public who despite having means are deprived of benefits of modern means of communication”.

In his letter, the Union Home Secretary has stated that “an analysis of the region reveals that there are communication voids in the areas along the Indo-Myanmar international border especially in the southern Arunachal Pradesh, south-eastern Nagaland, west and southern Manipur and southern Mizoram.”

“It has also been observed that certain sections of society utilize the spill-over signals from Myanmar Telephone Service Providers in the border areas. As reach of such signals is limited, the communications in the region remain inadequate,” he has said, and promised Ministry of Home Affairs “all necessary help in terms of coordination with State Governments to facilitate creation of (telecom) infrastructure”.

The MHA has suggested that the DoT can ask state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd to immediately set up mobile towers along the international border by utilizing the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), a corpus funded by all mobile operators and created to set up telecom infrastructure in remote locations. The MHA has also asked the DoT to replicate the model adopted in seven Naxal-affected areas where almost 4,000 mobile towers were set up by using the USOF which has helped in effective tackling the Left wing extremism.

There are 8,621 uncovered villages in the eight Northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (2805), Assam (2503), Meghalaya (2374), Manipur (528), Mizoram (252), Nagaland (134), Sikkim (23) and Tripura (2). For this, the DoT has envisaged setting up 6,673 towers in these eight states with an investment of Rs.4,770 crores. The DoT has also earmarked Rs.270 crores for setting up 321 mobile towers for providing telecommunication coverage along the National Highways in the region. But all these projects have been stuck for the past several months due to delays in finalizing the tender process.

(The writer is a Delhi-based freelance journalist)”

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M J Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs, has said the importance of Bangladesh as an economic partner of India has risen to greater heights in recent times. “‘Bangladesh is not only a co-member in SAARC but its importance to India for the much needed regional cooperation platforms like BBIN, BIMSTEC and IORA is immense. Bangladesh is the hub in terms of connectivity between India and neighbouring nations in the East as well as India’s North-East provinces,’’ he said.

Mozammel Haque, MP, and Bangladesh Minister of Liberation War Affairs described the current year as having a special importance as it is the 45th year of Bangladesh’s independence. India’s bilateral engagement with Bangladesh has reached a new height under the leadership of current Prime Ministers of the both the countries and the societies of the both the countries are committed for continuous improvement and strengthening of bilateral relationship, he said.

They were speaking at the two day International Conference on Indo-Bangladesh Multi Sectoral Cooperation, organised by Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) and supported by different ministries. The conference was inaugurated on Monday at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi National Centre of Arts (IGNCA).

In her keynote address, Sripriya Ranganathan, Joint Secretary in External Affairs Ministry said that Bangladesh is one of India’s premier ally since its formation in 1971. However, 2015 had been incredible for the India-Bangladesh relations. The two South Asian neighbours achieved breakthroughs in many areas of bilateral relations, including implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA), granting of transit facilities to India’s North Eastern states, broadening of cooperation in the energy sector, expansion of economic and security cooperation, increase of bilateral trade and signing of several agreements, especially up-gradation of cross-border connectivity and opening of new bus routes.

The International Conference marks an important milestone in the roadmap towards strengthening the Indo-Bangladesh Cooperation in various sectors. It seeks to  provide information and working sessions on scope and schemes of bilateral cooperation in different sectors and thereby improve socio-economic stability in the sub-continent.

Bangladesh attaches high priority to building closer economic links with India and significantly improving physical connectivity to facilitate trade across the border as its shares the longest land border with India almost encircling the nation. India has been supportive of Bangladesh and has over the years entered into lasting cooperation arrangements in power generation and cross-border supply and sharing of water in perennial rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh.

Investment by Indian companies in Bangladesh continues to grow with the signing of bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection agreement. India is also working closely to nurture cooperation between Indian states bordering Bangladesh and Bangladesh. India is also strongly committed to the objectives of the BIMSTEC and Bangladesh being the host country of the BIMSTEC Secretariat would remain an important partner country. India also seeks to utilize opportunities of regional cooperation not only for economic goals but also for effectively addressing local developmental challenges and creation of regional public goods to fulfil the SDGs. Bangladesh’s successful experiments of addressing developmental gaps and India’s models of people centric development offers opportunities of cooperation in this regard.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Syed Muazzem Ali and IGNCA’s member-secretary Dr. Sachchidanand Joshi were also present.”

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India and the UAE on Wednesday inked 14 agreements in various areas including in defence, maritime transport, comprehensive strategic partnership, shipping, agriculture and allied sector, trade, oil storage and management, energy efficiency, road transport and highways and prevention and combating human trafficking.
The agreements were signed after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

In his press statement, Prime Minister Modi invited UAE to become India’s partner in infrastructure projects. He said that India is encouraging and facilitating the trade between the two sides and described as “crucial” the energy partnership between India and UAE. He said that India and UAE share similar concerns over terrorism and radicalization. He said the two countries feel that their growing engagement in countering violence and extremism is necessary for securing the societies.

Speaking about economic ties, the Prime Minister said India regards UAE as an important partner in its growth story. He said that closer ties between India and the UAE are of importance, not just for both countries, but for the entire neighbourhood. A special tete-a-tete before delegation level talks was held between the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister earlier in the day. The Crown Prince was accorded ceremonial reception at the forecourts of the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the morning and in the night President Pranab Mukherjee hosted a banquet in his honour. 

The visiting dignitary, who is the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, arrived in New Delhi on January 24 on a three-day visit. He will witness Republic Day Parade on Thursday at Raj Path as a chief guest. This is the second visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to India since February last year.

The two countries are among each other’s top trading partners with a well-balanced bilateral trade of about 50 billion dollars in 2015-16. UAE is among the top investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments.”

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President Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday that the government’s decision of going for demonetisation, while immobilising black money and fighting corruption, may have led to temporary slowdown of economic activity but it will improve the transparency of the economy. As more and more transactions become cashless, the decision of demonetisation will improve transparency, he said. Addressing the nation on the eve of 68th Republic Day, the President said that Indian economy has been performing well despite the challenging global economic conditions.Mr Mukherjee said, the country is on the path of fiscal consolidation and the inflation level is within comfort zone. He said despite a population of 1.3 billion, the per capita income has shown a ten-fold increase and poverty ratio has declined by two- thirds. The President highlighted that, India is the fastest growing amongst the major economies of the world.Mr Mukherjee said, many flagship initiatives of the government have been designed to promote the well- being of the society. Stressing on the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission which aims at a Clean India by October 2, 2019 to coincide with the 150th Birth anniversary of Gandhiji, the President said increased spending on programmes like MGNREGA is enhancing employment generation to rejuvenate the rural economy.Pointing out that initiatives like Start up India and Atal Innovation Mission are fostering innovation and new age entrepreneurship, he highlighted that National Skill Development Mission is working on skilling 300 million youth by 2022. Mr Mukherjee said the time is ripe for a constructive debate on electoral reforms and a return to the practice of the early decades after independence of holding Lok Sabha and state assemblies simultaneously. He said it is for the Election Commission to take this exercise forward in consultation with political parties.Mr Mukherjee said, it is his firm conviction that India’s pluralism and her social, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity are the greatest strength of the country. He said, India’s tradition has always celebrated the argumentative Indian and not the intolerant. He said that a healthy democracy calls for conformity to the values of tolerance, patience and respect for others.The President urged the people to work harder to provide food security to people and make the agriculture sector resilient to the vagaries of nature.Mr Mukherjee said, there is a need to work harder to keep at bay the dark forces of terrorism. He said, these forces have to be dealt with firmly and decisively. The President said economy is yet to grow at over 10 per cent for an extended period of time to make a significant dent on poverty.He also stressed on working hard to provide safety and security of women and children and ensuring the well- being of soldiers and security personnel.”

Large funding of political parties show remains from unknown sources

 T R Ramachandran 08 Apr 2017

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Sources of political parties from where they collect funds remain largely unknown, an analysis of their Income Tax returns and statements filed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) shows. The analysis was carried out by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). It said that at present, political parties are not required to reveal the name of individuals or organizations giving less than Rs. 20,000. As a result, over two-thirds of the funds cannot be traced and are from ‘unknown’ sources, ADR’s analysis said. 

This becomes very relevant in the light of recent events when demonetization was announced so as to weed out black money from the society. While the National Political Parties were brought under the RTI Act by the CIC ruling in June 2013, they have still not complied with the decision. Full transparency is, unfortunately, not possible under the current laws, and it is only the RTI that can keep citizens informed, it said. 

The contribution statements, submitted by the political parties declaring names and other details of donors who contribute above Rs 20,000, are the only known sources of income of political parties. The unknown sources are income declared in the IT returns but without giving source of income for donations below Rs. 20,000. Such unknown sources include ‘sale of coupons’, ‘Aajiwan Sahayog Nidhi’, ‘relief fund’, ‘miscellaneous income’, ‘voluntary contributions’, ‘contribution from meetings/ morchas’ etc. The details of donors of such voluntary contributions are not available in the public domain. 

Other known sources of income include sale of moveable & immoveable assets, old newspapers, membership fees, delegate fee, bank interest, sale of publications and levy whose details would be available in the books of accounts maintained by political parties. 

Six National parties (INC, BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPM) and 51 Regional recognised were considered for this analysis, including AITC which was declared a National Party only in September, 2016. Currently there are 48 Regional recognised parties: HJC-BL and MSCP merged with INC during FY 2014-15 and MPP was de-recognised in 2013. 

Total income of National and Regional political parties between  2004-05 and 2014-15: Rs 11,367.34 crore. Total income of political parties from known donors (details of donors as available from contribution report submitted by parties to Election Commission): Rs 1,835.63 cr, which is 16% of the total income of the parties. Total income of political parties from other known sources (e.g., sale of assets, membership fees, bank interest, sale of publications, party levy etc.): Rs 1,698.73 crore, or 15% of total income. Total income of political parties from unknown sources (income specified in the IT Returns whose sources are unknown): Rs 7,832.98 crore, which is 69% of the total income of the parties.”

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India celebrated its 68th Republic Day with an impressive parade at Rajpath displaying its military might and cultural diversity. President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers, dignitaries and hundreds others watched the parade. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the chief guest this year.

It was a contingent from the United Arab Emirates which led the Republic Day parade this year as it marched down Rajpath. In 2016, a continent from France had participated in the parade. This was the first time that a foreign contingent had participated in the parade ever since it started in 1950 to mark the adoption of the Constitution on January 26 that year.

The Republic Day Parade ceremony commenced at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate where Prime Minister led the nation in paying homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath. An eternal flame burns at the Amar Jawan Jyoti to commemorate the indomitable courage of Indian Armed Forces personnel who have laid down their lives for the country. A 149-member Presidential Guard from UAE soldiers impressed thousands of spectators who had gathered to witness the spectacular parade. The continent from UAE was led by a band consisting of 35 musicians, presented a ceremonial salute to President Mukherjee.

A contingent of the National Security Guard (NSG), popularly known as the Black Cat Commandos, also participated in the parade for the first time. The parade was commanded by Lt General Manoj Mukund Naravane, General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area. The army showcased its Tank T-90 and Infantry Combat Vehicle and Bramhos Missile, one of its treasured armour, its Weapon Locating Radar Swathi, Transportable Satellite Terminal and Akash Weapon System.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) tableau rolled down the Rajpath with the theme “”Air Dominance Through Network Centric Operations””. The tableau displayed the scaled down models of Su-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, AWACS, UAV, Apache and Communication Satellite.

The Indian Navy’s “”Professional Force-Anchoring Stability, Security and National Prosperity”” tableau showcased the lethal marine commandos proceeding for action, the indigenously built Kolkata Class Destroyer and the Kalvari Class next generation attack submarines. It also displayed a model of the P-8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Tableaux from 17 states and Union Territories, six Central Ministries and Departments presented the varied historical, art and cultural heritage of the country. A tableau on GST was the highlight of the parade as was a tableau on Khadi India. The heroic motor bike stunts of ‘Dare Devils’- the motorcycle display team of Corps of Military Police – was an instant hit with the parade viewers who braved bad weather and rains.

The grand finale of the parade was a spectacular fly-past by the IAF’s Mi-35 helicopters, indigenous combat light aircraft Tejas, Jaguars and Sukhois. Making a departure, Prime Minister broke his security cordon and mingled with the spectators after the ceremony was over.”