Renewable energy on PM’s US agenda
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: After a bitter aborted engagement with Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is headed westwards again. Unlike the recent bout with Pakistan, the next visit is a more scripted affair.
Come September, Modi will be turning his routine trip to the UN General Assembly into another exercise in which he will be touching on a number of issues. For starters, the PM will dispense with the standard transit stop in Frankfurt. Instead, he will be stopping over in Ireland, becoming the first PM to visit Dublin since Jawaharlal Nehru.
Ireland is an interesting choice — historically, India and Ireland could clutch on to memories of nationalists like Eamon de Valera, Annie Besant and Sister Nivedita and celebrate the fact that the Indian Constitution drew from the Irish Constitution in important respects besides mourning together the Kanishka tragedy.
But more recently, Ireland holds a different attraction for India — as a tech and pharma hub. With over 70 Irish tech companies already in India, Ireland showcases a special model: marrying tech companies with research centres. Ireland also holds lessons for India in economic recovery, and though there are little more than 2000 Indian students in Ireland, it could also be a new education destination.
After the customary speech at the UNGA in New York, Modi will fly to California, San Jose and San Francisco, where a couple of big events are planned — one on digital economy, but more important, a roundtable on renewable energy. Going into Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December, India is looking to position itself as a major developer and consumer of renewable energy, as part of its plans for a cleaner planet. This will be capped with another high-voltage community event in San Francisco on September 27.
Back in New York on September 28, Modi will get ready for his second summit with US President Barack Obama in one year. This will be days after India and the US hold their annual strategic and commercial dialogue in Washington which will review the progress of the ambitious joint statements of last September and January. While plans for an aircraft carrier are proceeding apace, there are huge gaps in fulfilling the education agenda among others.
It also does not help that the White House's pointperson on South Asia, Peter Lavoy, pointed out that the Indian bureaucracy remained as obdurate an institution as ever. In an interview to a news agency, Lavoy said, "I have never seen any Indian government made such quick progress on so many issues, in such a short time. So it is truly remarkable," Lavoy said.
"That said your bureaucracy has a certain worldwide reputation. I think, it has its own standards that are really unparalleled worldwide. Even though India continues to make this progress, we are confident that ... the government recognizes the opportunities to move much more quickly to achieve the potential and the vision of the Prime Minister," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Renewable-energy-on-PMs-US-agenda/articleshow/48660938.cms?prtpage=1
Come September, Modi will be turning his routine trip to the UN General Assembly into another exercise in which he will be touching on a number of issues. For starters, the PM will dispense with the standard transit stop in Frankfurt. Instead, he will be stopping over in Ireland, becoming the first PM to visit Dublin since Jawaharlal Nehru.
Ireland is an interesting choice — historically, India and Ireland could clutch on to memories of nationalists like Eamon de Valera, Annie Besant and Sister Nivedita and celebrate the fact that the Indian Constitution drew from the Irish Constitution in important respects besides mourning together the Kanishka tragedy.
But more recently, Ireland holds a different attraction for India — as a tech and pharma hub. With over 70 Irish tech companies already in India, Ireland showcases a special model: marrying tech companies with research centres. Ireland also holds lessons for India in economic recovery, and though there are little more than 2000 Indian students in Ireland, it could also be a new education destination.
After the customary speech at the UNGA in New York, Modi will fly to California, San Jose and San Francisco, where a couple of big events are planned — one on digital economy, but more important, a roundtable on renewable energy. Going into Paris climate conference (COP 21) in December, India is looking to position itself as a major developer and consumer of renewable energy, as part of its plans for a cleaner planet. This will be capped with another high-voltage community event in San Francisco on September 27.
Back in New York on September 28, Modi will get ready for his second summit with US President Barack Obama in one year. This will be days after India and the US hold their annual strategic and commercial dialogue in Washington which will review the progress of the ambitious joint statements of last September and January. While plans for an aircraft carrier are proceeding apace, there are huge gaps in fulfilling the education agenda among others.
It also does not help that the White House's pointperson on South Asia, Peter Lavoy, pointed out that the Indian bureaucracy remained as obdurate an institution as ever. In an interview to a news agency, Lavoy said, "I have never seen any Indian government made such quick progress on so many issues, in such a short time. So it is truly remarkable," Lavoy said.
"That said your bureaucracy has a certain worldwide reputation. I think, it has its own standards that are really unparalleled worldwide. Even though India continues to make this progress, we are confident that ... the government recognizes the opportunities to move much more quickly to achieve the potential and the vision of the Prime Minister," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Renewable-energy-on-PMs-US-agenda/articleshow/48660938.cms?prtpage=1