The Canadian Parvasi - Issue 37

The International News Weekly EDIT
08
March 16, 2018 | Toronto
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Canada - India collaboration
in the mining sector
Ominous signs for BJP
by Eugene Correia
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has received a big setback
in losing the three parliamentary seats in the by-polls
in the Hindi heartland. Shocking was the defeat in the Gorakhpur
constituency which the current CM, Yogi Adityanath,
represented for five times before he was asked to move
to Uttra Pradesh (UP) to take over the state’s reins of power
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
These parliamentary defeats cast a long shadow on the
next general election, to be held in 2019. Having earlier lost
the parliamentary seats in Rajasthan, the Bihar and UP results
should sent a shiver down the BJP’s spine. No doubt,
it won two of the North-East states and now has spread its
saffron colour to 21 states, the BJP may still not be comfortable.
The BJP has played its electoral cards well, securing
the support of regional parties. In fact, these regional parties
are the ones who are clamouring for independent status.
It had shown its desire to bend to separtist parties when it
joined hands with Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of the People
Democratic Party (PDP). His tenure came to an end when he
died in 2016. His daughter, Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed, carries
on his legacy.
As we known, Kashmir has been a hotspot since India’s
partition. The PDP-BJP governing pact has been tenacious
at times, with cracks appearing but held together for each
other’s sake. The insurgency in the state will not die down
easily. The state will simmer with violence and military action
on its border with Pakistan. As long as Pakistan continues
to play its devious games, there could be no peace in the
part of India.
The defeats faced by BJP could bring smiles to Congress.
Though the Congress will not jump in joy, lest it shows it’s
enjoying the fate of the BJP. The Congress itself is no great
shape and the recent interview of Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson
of the UPA, in which she talked about stitching up
alliances with like-minded parties in a bid to topple the Modi
government, in the 2019 general elections.
The BJP could also face crisis in Goa, where the Congress
won the majority of seats but the BJP got the Goa
Forward Party (GFP) and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak
Party (MGP) into a pact, glued by Manohar Parrihar, who
left the post of Defence Minister, to return to state politics in
his former role as CM. Now in hospital for pancreatic cancer,
as the glue which held the pact together, the alliance is
showing of splitting. Rumblings on going on. If fate lets Parrikar
return, things could be different.
The great test for the BJP will come in the Karnataka
elections in May. The BJP may depend on the anti-incumbency
vote besides trying its best to get rid of Congress by
whatever electoral trick it can muster. If the BJP can capture
the key state, then its prospects for holding the power
at the centre could brighten up. The odds are high, given the
fact that the Modi image has lost some of its sheen. It was
the Modi wave that swept the BJP to power in 2014, but since
then the governement has faced lot of hurdles, economic
as well as societal. The BJP denounced the Congress for its
scams and scandals, but the BJP has also half-submerged itself
into murky waters. The bank scams, especially the running
away of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, has
made the Modi government look bad.
If the central government can turn things around, even
though growth is showing a little upward trend, favourably
it can face the electorate with hope. The farmers’ march in
Mumbai has shown the all’s not well at the ground level.
BJP’s partner in Maharastra, the formidable Shiv Sena,
wants to contest the general elections on its own. It sort of
throws a spanner in the works of the government.
The Indo-Canada Chamber of
Commerce (ICCC) in collaboration
with the Consulate General of India
in Toronto hosted a business
reception in the honour of Hon.
Narendra Singh Tomar, India’s
Minister of Rural Development,
Panchayati Raj and Mines on 5th
March 2018.
The Hon. Minister is visiting
Canada to participate in the annual
PDAC International Convention,
Trade Show & Investors Exchange
held in Toronto. The Hon.
Minister is leading a high-powered
delegation comprising India’s public
sector mining companies as
well as senior-level government of
India officials of the rank of Additional
and Joint Secretaries.
The reception was attended by
the Indo-Canadian business community
of the Greater Toronto
Area and the Indian diplomatic
corps. His Excellency Vikas Swarup,
the High Commissioner of India
in Ottawa was present, as was
the Consul General of India in Toronto
Amb. Dinesh Bhatia.
Speaking on the occasion Hon.
Minister Tomar said that the mining
sector is a priority area for the
Indian government and the use of
latest technology will bring further
transparency and better monitoring
in the mining sector.
He emphasized that the Modi
government has already accomplished
a lot so far but there is
always more scope for doing better
and fast work, as contribution
of the mineral sector towards the
growth of the GDP is significant
and has to be improved further in
collaboration with the States.
He said, with the Amendment
in the MMDR Act in 2015, the Auctions
of mines so far has led to an
additional revenue of over ₹ 122
billion accruing to the States during
the life span of the mines in 50
years.
In addition, the amount collected
in the DMF funds in the
Districts affected by the mining activities
is over ₹100 billion, which
will be spent in the development
of these districts and the people of
these districts.
His Excellency Vikas Swarup
in his brief speech said that the recent
visit by Canada’s Prime Minister
the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau
to India, and the joint statement issued
on the occasion of his visit by
Canada and India emphasizes the
significance that both countries
accord to the bilateral ties.
He lauded the role that the Indo-Canada
Chamber of Commerce
has been performing in fostering
bilateral ties between the two
countries.
The Consul General Dinesh
Bhatia in his remarks said that
Canada and India can help each
other in the mining sector by
utilising existing synergies in the
sector. Canada can provide both
investment avenues for Indian
companies as well as technological
knowhow to Indian companies in
the sector.
He listed the minerals in which
Canada leads the world, and said
that India, in its quest of rapid development,
needs all these minerals.
Kanwar Dhanjal, President of
the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce
(ICCC), in his remarks, said
that in the mining sector, our journey
of cooperation began a decade
ago when during India and Canada
Foreign Office Consultations held
in Ottawa in December 2008, the Indian
side conveyed its interest for
a broader MoU on Mining between
the two countries.
The specific areas of interest
for India include potash, urea,
gold, diamonds, oil and gas, uranium,
clean coal technology, mining
prospecting technology, etc. A
MoU between the India’s ministry
of mines, and Canada’s department
of natural resources, concerning
cooperation in the field of earth
sciences and mining was signed in
2010 in Toronto.
He added, “Over the last decade,
several significant developments
have occurred in the mining
sector both in Canada and in
India, and it would be necessary to
keep in mind these developments
while charting the future course
of cooperation between our two
economies in this sector. The Indian
mining sector is being developed
in a sustainable manner, with
special attention being given to the
needs of the indigenous people on
whose traditional lands mining activities
are to occur.”
Several past presidents of the
Chamber and member of the incumbent
board were present at the
event.
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