India, China to maintain communication to promote settlement of other issues

The Parliament has passed the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021 with the approval of Rajya Sabha on Friday. The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on Tuesday. The legislation seeks to establish the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID) to support the infrastructure financing in the country. This includes development of bonds and derivatives markets which are necessary for infrastructure financing.The NBFID will be set up as a corporate body with authorized share capital of one lakh crore rupees, with financial and developmental objectives. Financial objectives will be to directly or indirectly lend, invest, or attract investments for infrastructure projects located entirely or partly in India. Developmental objectives include facilitating the development of the market for bonds, loans and derivatives for infrastructure financing.Replying to a discussion on the Bill, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the NBFID will prove to be a catalyst for the ecosystem of Infrastructure funding. She said that the Centre envisaged setting of DFIs after learning the lessons from various similar financing institutes and realizing their contribution towards infrastructure development in the country.

-In the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal, the high-voltage electioneering campaign for the First Phase  of Assembly Elections reached crescendo before its conclusion on Friday evening. The campaign is gaining momentum in respect of the Second and Third Phase of Assembly Elections in Assam and West Bengal and also for the single-phase elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry.In Assam, 264 candidates are in fray for the 47 Assembly Constituencies that will go to polls on Saturday during the First of three-phase elections. There are three main alliances this time including the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance with partners Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Mahajot or Grand Alliance led by the Congress. It includes All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF) and the Left parties while yet another conglomerate of Assom Jatiya Party (AJP) and Raijor Dal is also there. Congress has fielded 43 candidates, AJP has 41, BJP-39, AGP-10 while 78 independents along with others are also trying their luck.In West Bengal, 191 candidates will be vying for the 30 seats during the initial phase. The state is witnessing eight-phase elections. Out of 30 seats, BJP is contesting in 29 and alliance partner AJSU is fighting from the Baghmundi seat in Purulia district while TMC is contesting in 29 seats and supporting an independent candidate in Joypur Constituency after the nomination of the party candidate was rejected. Congress, Left parties and their alliance partner Indian Secular Front are fighting under the banner of Sanyukt Morcha.

-India has launched its 2nd Tranche of auction for commercial coal mining offering 67 mines for sale of coal on Friday. This is the highest number of mines on offer in a particular tranche of auction after commencement of the auction regime since 2014. Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi launched the auction process in a programme held in New Delhi. The coal mines on offer are a mix of mines with small and large reserves, coking and non-coking mines and fully and partially explored mines spread across six states. These states are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

-In West Bengal, just before the first phase of assembly elections, the Election Commission has ordered the transfer of five IAS and IPS officers including an Additional Director General of police. ADG West Zone Sanjay Singh, DCP South Kolkata Sudhir Neelkantha, SP-Cooch Behar K Kannan, SP Diamond Harbour Avijit Banerjee and District Election Officer of Jhargram Ayesha Rani have been transferred. In a directive issued to the state government, the ECI said the officers shall not be posted in election related posts till the end of elections. The Commission has ordered that Rajesh Kumar be posted as ADG West Zone, Joyeshi Dasgupta as DEO Jhargram, Arijit Sinha as SP of Diamond Harbour , Debashish Dhar as SP of Cooch Behar  and Akash Magharia as DC South of Kolkata Police.

-India and China have agreed to maintain communication through military and diplomatic channels to promote the settlement of other issues in the west section of India-China boundary, said Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on Thursday. Ren stressed that both sides have positively seen the disengagement at Pangong Tso.Both the countries have completed disengagement at Pangong Tso area, but it is yet to be completed in other friction areas. Recently, Ministry of External Affairs of India urged China to complete its military withdrawal at the remaining friction points along the line of actual control (LAC) in Ladakh, and said the Indian side expected to cooperate with China to complete the disengagement of troops as soon as possible in the remaining regions. India and China have completed 21 rounds of WMCC – diplomatic level talks and 10 rounds of senior military commander talks.