Kartik Lokhande's blog

Ministry of Commerce & Industry 11-March, 2015 14:22 IST Bilateral Trade with U.S. Vis-a-Vis China Details of bilateral trade between India and US and India and China during the last 3 years and current year (up to January, 2015) are as under: (in US $ million) Year India and  US India and China Exports Imports Total Trade Exports Imports Total Trade 2011-12 34,745.52 23,380.86 58,126.38 18,118.18 54,688.19 72,806.36 2012-13 36,160.84 25,204.73 61,365.57 13,579.51 52,248.33 65,827.84 2013-14 39,158.02 22,505.08 61,663.10 14,867.10 51,034.62 65,901.72 April- Jan. 2014-15(P) 35,759.88 18,237.68 53,997.55 10,118.39 50,883.12 61,001.51 ...

Dear friends, Making a statement in Parliament on September 6, 2013, Defence Minister A K Antony made it clear that there was no question of India ceding any part of Indian territory to China. At the same time, he said that the report submitted by NSAB Chairman Shyam Saran did not state that ‘China has occupied, or has denied access to India to any part of Indian territory’. Here is the full official statement of Defence Minister released by Press Information Bureau: Statement by Raksha Mantri on the Report by Shri Shyam Saran, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board New Delhi, September 06, 2013: Shri Shyam Saran, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board visited Ladakh from August 2 to 9, 2013. He has submitted a report on infrastructure in Ladakh, a copy of which has been sent by the Prime Minister’s Office to the Ministry of Defence, among others, on the 2nd September 2013. The report is primarily focused on the border infrastructure but also deals with several aspects relati...

India, a de facto competitor? Case of a paranoid Dragon By Kartik Lokhande China has been quite vocal about direction of its strategy concerning India. The latest example is an article in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) daily. As per the news reports, the daily has dubbed India’s infrastructure development in Indo-China border areas as an indication of India ‘starting to treat China as a de facto competitor’. In the light of China’s comments and actions so far, it is easy to conclude that China disapproves any move by India to strengthen her own defence infrastructure, especially along Indo-China border. However, it also raises a question – why is China concerned so much if India is strengthening her own defences? And, answer to this question is very simple – because, China started the competition. China started the competition on various fronts – market domination, area domination, diplomatic channels, defence infrastructure upgradation, reaching out to countries hostile...

Dear friends,  After the recent Chinese incursion in Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector, there was a new strain in the relations between India and China. Though the tension was resolved later on with pro-peace stand taken by India, it was and is difficult for Indians to forget the incident along Line of Actual Control. Against this backdrop, maiden visit of new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had aroused wide interest in India. From media reports, one can get a fair idea of what was the outcome of the meeting, but there are several aspects other than those reported in the media.  To have a detailed information and proper perspective as per one's own exposure, one needs to go through official statements. It is to cater to this aspect that I want to share with you all full text of statements issued by the Government and also the news report on www.xinhuanet.com, which carries what is considered as official view-point of the People's Republic of China.I have highlighte...