01-12-2020 The Asian Independent

www.theasianindependent.co.uk
ASIA
'Constitution Day an occasion
to bow down to Ambedkar'
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh Urban
Development and Law minister Suresh
The minister cautioned people to
denounce the forces trying to mislead people
Bhardwaj on Thursday said the
or the community. He said the present
Constitution Day was an occasion to bow
down to B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of
the Constitution of India.
On the occasion, the minister also
administered the pledge to uphold the values
to officials and other people here in a
simple function following the complete
COVID-19 protocol. The minister, quoting
Ambedkar, said, "The constitution is not a
mere lawyer's document, it is a vehicle of
life, and its spirit is always the spirit of
age." "This is the day to reaffirm our faith
in the rights and duties enshrined in the
constitution. This is the way to make India
the nation that our founding fathers had
envisioned," said the minister.
government led by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is committed to the protection
of the constitution of India.
He also mentioned that a brazen attack
was made to diminish the constitution on
June 26, 1975, when the press was censored
and the fundamental rights of the
people were snatched. "I also faced the
brazenness of the government but it was
the power of the constitution that people of
the country threw away the arrogant
rulers," he added. Bhardwaj said the fundamental
rights and duties enshrined in the
constitution are pillars of Indian democracy
that maintain a balance between legislative,
executive, and judiciary.
Nikhita Gandhi questions gender
identity through 'Khud ko hi paake'
Mumbai : Singer Nikhita
Gandhi says her latest song,
Khud ko hi paake, is all about
the expression of acceptance of
the self.
Featuring Nikhita Gandhi,
along with Ivanka Das, the
song showcases a couple and
how their romance hits a roadblock
when a small moment
between them makes the male
partner come face to face with
his issues of gender identity.
"Khud ko hi paake is a song
I have composed keeping in
French giant Amundi threatens
to divest SBI bonds if loan
granted for Adani coal project
New Delhi : One of the State Bank of
India (SBI)'s investors, French giant
Amundi has announced that it would sell
off its SBI green bonds if the bank grants a
Rs 5,000 crore loan to Adanis Carmichael
coal mine in Australia.
"We consider SBI should not finance
this project. Ultimately it's their decision
but we've been extremely clear on the fact
mind the internal
struggle of someone
who is facing an
identity crisis. The
beauty and the pain
of such a conundrum
is that we all
have our fair share
of this, in different
magnitudes. The
song is an expression
of acceptance
of the self and
embodies the message
that the only truth in life is
who you are and letting
yourself be honest
to that," Nikhita
said.
"Khud ko hi
paake" is a part of the
MTV Beats Love
Duet album. "MTV
Beats Love Duet has
been a path-breaking
initiative in normalising
conversations
around love that goes
beyond gender
stereotypes. It has given a plat-
that if they decide to do it, we would
immediately disinvest," Director of the
Institutional Corporate Clients Division &
ESG, Jean Jacques Barberis, was quoted as
saying by a global wire service.
"Financing the mine would be in "total
contradiction" to the SBI activities
financed through its green bond, he added.
"We have engaged SBI asking them not
form to some of the greatest
artists from the LGBTQI+
Community to showcase their
talent and make their voices
heard. I'm proud that I got the
chance to make a tiny contribution
in this journey through
'Khud ko hi paake' -- a soulful
story weaved in with passion
and genuineness. I'm sure it
will be loved by the masses
and also help influence perceptions
in some way," she added.
The song is penned by
Nikhita and Shashwat Singh.
to participate (in the loan) and now we are
waiting for their answer", he was quoted as
saying. Amundi, which holds the bond in
its Amundi Planet Emerging Green One
fund, said it had learnt this week that SBI
was considering financing the Carmichael
thermal coal mine in Australia.
The Adani Carmichael project has been
opposed by climate activists due to the
issue of carbon emissions.
Reports said the move from Amundi
demonstrates that some financial institutions
understand the serious reputational
risks associated with supporting a new
thermal coal project like Adani's mega
mine, especially in the middle of a global
pandemic and intensifying climate disasters.
Amundi is Europe's largest asset manager
and ranks in the top 10 globally. It
manages assets worth 1,650 billion euros.
Responsible investment has been the
starting point in Amundi's investment policy.
When it was created in 2010, Amundi
made social and environmental responsibility
one of its four founding pillars. It was
one of the founding signatories of the
Principles for Responsible Investment.
7
01-12-2020 to 15-12-2020
Missing Indian man
in Dubai found
Dubai : An Indian man who was reported missing since
November 9 a day after he
reached Dubai on a tourist
visa, has been found in a
hospital in the city, his relatives
have confirmed.
Amrithalingam
Samayamuthu, 46, from
Tamil Nadu, had come to
Dubai to take up a job, Gulf
News had quoted his
nephew Durai Maniraja as saying in an earlier report.
Durai's brother-in-law Kannan Nagoorkani, who had filed a
complaint on November 16, said he received a call from Dubai
Police on Saturday informing him that Amrithalingam was under
treatment in the hospital. He said Amirthalingam reportedly had
been mentally disturbed for some days soon after his arrival in
Dubai. "I don't know how he ended up in the hospital. He said he
was not well for some four-five days, but he is perfectly fine now,"
Kannan told Gulf News. Amrithalingam had arrived in Dubai on
November 8 with three other people from Tamil Nadu.
Chinese Defence Minister
arrives in Nepal
Kathmandu : Two days after Indian
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan
Shringla concluded a successful trip to
Nepal, Chinese Defence Minister and
State Councillor Wei Fenghe arrived in
Kathmandu on Sunday.
Wei's agenda and objectives for his
day-long visit to the Himalayan nation is
yet to be disclosed by either of the two
governments. He is the senior most
Chinese official to visit Nepal in the last
one year after President Xi Jinping's trip
to the Himalayan nation in October
2019.
According to media reports, after completing the Nepal visit,
Wei will leave for Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Nepal's Foreign Ministry termed the trip as a "working visit"
and during his one-day stay in Kathmandu, Wei will meet
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli,
who is also the Defence Minister, and General Purna Chandra
Thapa, Chief of Army Staff, Nepali Army.
He will leave Kathmandu on Sunday evening.
Nepali experts and foreign policy observers have said that Wei's
visit is "very meaningful" at a time when dispute and discord in
the ruling Nepal Communist Party has reached an all time high;
slow implementation of China's Belt and Road Initiative; and
Beijing quest to know the position of South Asian nations towards
recent India-US strategic pacts among others.
SpiceJet seaplane services
to restart from Dec 15
New Delhi : Airline major SpiceJet on Sunday said that its seaplane
operations
will
restart from
December 15
after they were
temporarily
suspended due
to mandatory
aircraft maintenance.
Last month,
the airline company
had launched a seaplane service between Ahmedabad
(Sabarmati riverfront) and the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Gujarat.
The flight service is operated by SpiceJet's fully-owned subsidiary,
Spice Shuttle, and a 15-seater Twin Otter 300 aircraft has
been deployed for these flights.
"Since the maintenance facility (dry and wet dock) is still under
construction at Ahmedabad, the aircraft had to be sent to our
lessor's facility at Maldives," a SpiceJet spokesperson said.
"The operation will resume on December 15 once the aircraft is
back. The maintenance facility at Ahmedabad should be ready
soon which would ensure that future maintenance is done here
itself. As the maintenance was pre-planned, we didn't take any
bookings beyond November 27th."