Watch | Why is the global biofuels alliance critical for India?

India announced its Global Biofuels Alliance at the recently concluded G-20 Summit in New Delhi. The country was the chair for this year’s G20 alliance.

Nineteen countries and 12 international organisations have agreed to participate. Why is the announcement significant? Biofuels have, after all, been talked about for a while now, with the industry not having made as much progress as it should have.

Why is the biomass industry finally sensing that its time has come? We are also joined by M. Ramesh, Associate Editor of Business Line, to discuss this.

Script and presentation: K. Bharat Kumar

Guest: M. Ramesh

Production: Shibu Narayan

Videography: Thamodharan Bharath

No relief for Chandrababu Naidu as court orders 14-day judicial remand

A marathon session of arguments in the ACB court in Vijayawada over former Chief Minsiter N. Chandrababu Naidu’s alleged involvement in the skill development scam ended with the III Additional District and Sessions-cum-ACB Court Judge B.S.V. Himabindu ordering on September 10 that he should be sent to judicial remand for 14 days .Forceful arguments were made by both sides for almost 10 hours. Additional Advocate-General P. Sudhakar Reddy represented the State/CID and senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and others argued on behalf of the former CM. The CID officials submitted a 28-page remand report to the court earlier in the day, in which he was mentioned as A-37. 

In Manipur, Army and paramilitary forces face a constant challenge — armed men in police uniforms

Armed men in police uniforms are a constant challenge for the Central security forces in violence-hit Manipur, a defence source said on September 10. There have been several instances of uniformed men carrying automatic weapons, firing at Central security forces deployed in buffer zones, preceded by blockade and protest by women-led groups .Meanwhile, around 4,500 additional Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel will be sent to the State after the conclusion of the G-20 summit in Delhi, a senior government official said, adding that a request has been made to the State government to provide accommodation to the Central forces since schools and colleges have reopened. Other than the CAPF, around 36,000 Central forces including the Army, are deployed in the State.

A drone attack kills at least 40 in Sudan’s capital as rival troops battle, activists say

A drone attack Sunday (September 10) on an open market south of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, killed at least 40 people, activists and medical workers said, as the military and a powerful paramilitary group battle for control of the country .At least three dozen others were injured in the attack in Khartoum’s May neighborhood, where paramilitary forces battling the military were heavily deployed, according to an activist group known as the Resistance Committees and two health care workers at the Bashair University Hospital, where the casualties were treated.

ED serves notice to Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee in West Bengal recruitment scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has served a notice to Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to appear before the agency on September 13 in the alleged recruitment scam .Reacting to the notice by the ED, the Trinamool leader said on Sunday that the notice required him to appear before the agency on September 13, the very day when the Opposition INDIA bloc’s coordination committee is scheduled to meet in Delhi. Mr. Banerjee is a member of the INDIA grouping’s coordination committee and is scheduled to attend the meeting.

CM Shinde summons all-party meeting to resolve deadlock over Maratha quota issue

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has called an all-party meeting on September 11 to break the deadlock over the Maratha reservation issue .Speaking in Pune, Deputy CM and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said that the meeting would be held at ‘Sahyadri’ State Guest House, where representatives of all parties had been invited. Mr. Pawar said while several meetings had already been held on the issue and talks held with a number of delegations on behalf of quota protestors, activist Manoj Jarange Patil — who has emerged as a prominent face of the protests — had yet to be convinced.

Ukraine not a ‘wedge issue’ between West and Global South at G-20, says Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday attributed the absence of criticism of Russia for its invasion on Ukraine to gaps in positions between Russia, China and the G-20. Specifically, Mr. Biden said the Russia-Ukraine war was not a “wedge issue” between the Global South and the U.S. or the West.  Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, shortly after the conclusion of his whirlwind trip to New Delhi for the G-20 Summit, a visibly exhausted Mr. Biden was questioned on the language describing the war in Ukraine in the New Delhi declaration. The document did not name Russia directly or call it out for the invasion of Ukraine, unlike the G-20 Bali declaration from 2022. 

NCP has not allied with BJP for selfish reasons, says Ajit Pawar

Stressing that his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction had not allied with the ruling BJP and the Shiv Sena coalition led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for “selfish reasons”, Deputy Chief Minister and rebel NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday reiterated that almost every legislator within the undivided NCP had wanted to join the BJP-Shinde government soon after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) last year .Mr. Pawar’s NCP faction staged a massive show of strength in the ‘sugar belt’ district of Kolhapur on Sunday evening, where Mr. Pawar addressed a public rally in which he criticised his uncle Sharad Pawar for not allying with the BJP-Shinde government sooner.

Any grain initiative that isolates Russia is bound to fail: Turkey President

Any initiative that isolates Russia in the Black Sea Grain Initiative is bound to fail, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would return to the “collective implementation” of the grain deal “the same day” their conditions for export of own grain and fertilizers to the global markets are met. “We believe that any initiative that isolates Russia is bound to fail. Its success is a very little possibility. We believe that any step that may escalate the tensions in the Black Sea should be avoided… We are going to have continuous talks…,” Mr. Erdogan said at a press conference here. He said representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations would meet very soon on this issue.

Spain’s football chief Luis Rubiales announces resignation

Spanish football federation chief Luis Rubiales, engulfed in a scandal over allegations he gave an unsolicited kiss to a player on the women’s World Cup team last month, said on Sunday he will resign from his position as president .Rubiales announced his resignation in a statement. A Spanish prosecutor filed a complaint with the High Court against Rubiales last week for sexual assault and coercion over his allegedly unsolicited kiss on the lips of Jenni Hermoso. Rubiales had also been suspended for three months from all football activities by FIFA pending an investigation by soccer’s world governing body into his actions after Spain clinched their World Cup victory in Sydney on Aug. 20.

Joe Biden ‘very humble’, says Indian priest after holding communion service for U.S. president

Father Nicholas Dias, secretary for the liturgy commission for the Delhi Archdiocese, has described U.S. President Joe Biden as a “very humble” person who expressed that his grandmother was a great influence in his life. Father Dias met Mr. Biden during a 30-minute holy communion service for the U.S. president at a hotel where he was staying in New Delhi on Saturday, ahead of the G-20 summit. Talking to PTI, Fatherr Dias said their conversation was around faith, Goa and India. “I mentioned to him about the origin of Christianity in India and recalled that Indian Church is as old as Christianity in the world,” said the priest, who hails from Benaulim in Goa.

Those opposing India’s name change can leave the country: Dilip Ghosh

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Medinipur Lok Sabha MP, Dilip Ghosh, on Sunday said India will be renamed Bharat and those opposing it “are free to leave the country” .Speaking at Kharagpur, the former West Bengal BJP president added: “When our party comes to power in West Bengal, we will remove all statues of foreigners in Kolkata.” Mr. Ghosh has in the past made several comments not only directed at his political opponents but also against his own party leaders. In May 2022, the BJP national leadership censured Mr. Ghosh for targeting his party leaders.

U.S. Open 2023 Final | Novak Djokovic downs Daniil Medvedev to win record-tying 24th Slam

Novak Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Sunday to win his fourth U.S. Open and a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, avenging his loss to the Russian in the final two years ago .The 36-year-old Djokovic won 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to become the oldest men’s champion in New York in the Open era and match Margaret Court’s all-time mark for most Grand Slam victories. The Serbian is the first man to win three Grand Slam events in the same season four times, crowning his impending return to world number one in the most fitting of ways inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Rain woes at Pragati Maidan, AAP hits out at L-G; water cleared in an hour: official

With heavy rain lashing the city since Saturday, images and videos of stagnant water at Bharat Mandapam, the G-20 Leaders’ Summit venue, surfaced on social media on Sunday. Sharing one such video on X (formerly Twitter), Delhi Urban Development Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj took a swipe at Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, demanding that “heads must roll” .A Raj Niwas official said a contingency plan to deal with rain-related problems was activated on Saturday night soon after it began to pour. The official added that the authorities had cleared the rainwater hours before the delegates arrived for the second day of the summit.

President Joe Biden and his allies on September 9 were to outline plans for a rail and shipping corridor that would connect India with the Middle East and ultimately Europe — a possible game changer for global trade to be announced at the Group of 20 summit.

Also read | G-20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi Live Updates

The project would include the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and other countries in the G20, said Jon Finer, Mr. Biden’s deputy national security adviser.

Mr. Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi plan to announce the project as part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment. The rail and shipping corridor would enable greater trade among the countries, including energy products. It could also be one of the more ambitious counters to China’s massive infrastructure program, through which it has sought to connect more of the world to that country’s economy.

Mr. Finer laid out three big rationales for the project in a telephone call Saturday with reporters. He said first that the corridor would increase prosperity among the countries involved by increasing the flow of energy and digital communications. Second, the project would help address the lack of infrastructure needed for growth in lower- and middle-income nations. And third, Mr. Finer said it could help “turn the temperature down” on “turbulence and insecurity” coming out of the Middle East.

“We see this as having a high appeal to the countries involved, and also globally, because it is transparent, because it is a high standard, because it is not coercive,” he said.

Mr. Biden participated in the summit’s first session, which focused on the theme of “One Earth.” The U.S. president plans to draw on the theme to push for more investments to address climate change, such as his own domestic incentives to encourage the use of renewable energy, Mr. Finer said.

Mr. Biden also wants to make the case that Russia’s war in Ukraine is hurting many other nations, which have had to cope with greater food and energy costs as well as higher interest rate costs on their debt.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been a regular presence at international summits, including last year’s G-20 in Indonesia, since Russia invaded his country more than 18 months ago, was not invited by Modi’s government to this year’s gathering.

Mr. Zelenskyy has the used the high-profile gatherings to argue for continued economic and military support for his country. India is one of the most prominent U.S. allies that has largely stayed on the sidelines of the war, and has even dramatically increased its purchases of Russian oil.

Mr. Finer said White House officials pushed for Zelenskyy’s inclusion at the summit.

“Ultimately, it is not our decision,” he said. “But you can expect that the United States and our other partners who are working with Ukraine so closely … We’ll make that case quite forcefully in the context of these conversations.”

The summit’s second session is about “One Family.” Mr. Biden plans to use this portion to discuss his request to Congress for additional funding for the World Bank that could generate more than $25 billion in new lending for economic development, Finer said.

The White House more broadly is trying to strengthen the G-20 as an international forum, while Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to attend.

Still, China and Russia are represented at the summit and that could make it difficult for the G-20 to produce a joint statement on the war in Ukraine.

“Really it’s incumbent upon the Chinese government to explain why a leader would or would not participate,” he said.

African Union to join G-20, as Sherpas reach a deal

The African Union (AU) is set to join the G-20 as negotiators agreed on clearing its membership, according to sources privy to the discussions at the Sherpa meeting at a resort on the outskirts of Delhi. This will mean the 55-member AU will join the European Union as the only two regional bodies in the G-20. While it still unclear whether the G-20 will be renamed as the “G-21” after the induction of the AU, Indian officials said the announcement would help “leave a lasting imprint” of the work the Indian Presidency has done in bringing in the Global South’s ambitions to the economic grouping.

Delhi may turn venue for dialogue on reviving the Black Sea Grain Initiative

As world leaders gather in Delhi on Friday ahead of the G-20 summit, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is on a mission to revive the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI or BSI), in talks on the sidelines of the summit hosted by India. The deal that facilitates export of grain from Russia and Ukraine lapsed in July. Among those in Delhi, Turkiye President Recep Erdogan, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as leaders of European Union and UN officials will be trying to work a compromise that would give assurances to Russia, for an exchange that would allow grain export from blockaded Ukrainian ports to restart at the earliest, sources told The Hindu. 

At G-20, Japan backs India, not China, as bridge to Global South: Japanese experts

Beyond the immediate outcomes of the G-20 Summit, one key takeaway with longer term implications is the positioning of India as a key bridge to the “Global South” for Japan and the West, in the view of Japanese experts. “Japan sees a rivalry over the leadership of the ‘Global South’ between India and China, and it is in the interest of Japan and the G-7 that India plays a leading role in the ‘Global South’, not China,” said Hiroyuki Akita, Tokyo-based strategic affairs commentator at Nikkei, in an interview with The Hindu.

Modi, Biden to discuss trade issues, jet engine, drone deals during meet

Progress on the deal to jointly manufacture jet engines in India, purchase of MQ-9B armed drones, agreement on civil nuclear liability and trade are expected to be the top issues on the agenda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden hold bilateral talks late on Friday, a day before the G-20 summit. Further discussions as well as some of the deals are expected in January when Mr. Biden is likely to visit India and officials said India is looking to have the Quad leaders summit on January 26 or a day before possibly with the leaders as chief guests.

Bharat Jodo Yatra was a people’s movement: Congress

Calling the Bharat Jodo Yatra a people’s movement “unequalled” in history, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on September 7 said the Yatra seeks to bring real issues like economic inequalities, price rise, unemployment, social injustice and subversion of the Constitution to the fore. Mr. Kharge also slammed the trend of “manufacturing headlines” to divert attention from the real issues of the people.

Assets worth over $1.8 billion recovered under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act in four years: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said assets worth more than $12 billion had been attached since 2014 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), while in the past about four years, assets worth over $1.8 billion had been recovered under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA). In his inaugural address at the first-ever International Day of Police Cooperation, after conferring police medals to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials at an investiture ceremony at the agency headquarters, Dr. Singh said the FEOA was brought in by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government.

U.N. chief says ‘systematic repression’ crushing Myanmar democracy hopes

Hopes of a return to democracy in junta-ruled Myanmar are being crushed by “systematic repression”, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on September 7 at a summit in Indonesia with the United States, China and regional leaders. Myanmar has been ravaged by deadly violence since a 2021 military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, unleashing a bloody crackdown on dissent.

Indonesia warns against new conflicts as U.S., China, Russia attend ASEAN summit

Indonesia warned leaders including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov against sharpening rivalries as they wrapped up an East Asia summit in Jakarta on Thursday. The meeting brought Washington and Beijing into contact a day after Mr. Li warned major powers must manage differences to avoid a “new Cold War”, and ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi this week that Chinese President Xi Jinping will miss. Interactions between the officials from the world’s top two economies are being closely watched as they seek to control tensions that risk flaring anew over issues ranging from Taiwan to ties with Moscow and the competition for influence in the Pacific.

India keen on having Quad leaders as Chief Guests for 2024 Republic Day parade

India is discussing the possibility of inviting leaders of the Quad grouping, comprising of India, Australia, Japan and the U.S., to the Republic Day parade on January 26, diplomatic sources confirmed. The possibility of U.S. President Joe Biden being the Chief Guest for the parade, with the Quad summit held a day prior, on January 25, is also being looked into, but given that January 26 is observed as Australia Day, it would be extremely difficult for their Prime Minister to be in India on that day, an official source said.

Caste discrimination survey in IIT-Delhi commenced and withdrawn

After two Dalit students allegedly committed suicide at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi in the past two months, a campus-wide survey on caste discrimination circulated by the institute’s Board of Student Publications (BSP) was been suspended within hours of commencing. As soon as the survey was shared, complaints said the survey’s design was “biased, insensitive, and problematic”, with the institute’s official Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) Cell stating that it had not been consulted on the survey.

Authorities forced us off the streets in the name of G-20 security, say city vendors

While the city is all set to host the G-20 Summit, street vendors say the authorities have forced thousands of them to vacate public space over the past month. Shri Ram, a member of the town vending committee (TVC) of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), told The Hindu that around 50,000 people have been displaced. The TVC, which comprises representatives from the civic body, police, and street vendors, is responsible for assigning designated zones to the vendors.

Kings Cup 2023 | India lose to Iraq in penalty shootout after conceding debatable penalty, face Lebanon in bronze medal playoff

A Sunil Chhetri-less India conceded a late goal off a debatable penalty to miss out on their first ever win over higher-ranked Iraq, who won the King’s Cup semifinal clash via penalty shootout here on Thursday. India will take on Lebanon in the bronze-medal playoff, which will be followed by the summit clash between Iraq and Thailand on Sunday. In the other semifinal at the 700th Anniversary Stadium, Thailand defeated Lebanon 2-1.

Gukesh excited about the Asian Games, feels India has a fair chance

He was the undoubted star of last year’s Chess Olympiad in Chennai, and now D. Gukesh is excited about the Asian Games, beginning at Hangzhou later this month. Chess is making a comeback to the Asian Games after a gap of 13 years, just in time for the massively talented young Indians like Gukesh. “I am very excited about my first ever Asian Games,” he said at a media interaction here on Thursday. “It is a prestigious event and I look forward to watching athletes in other sports. I love badminton, and I would like to watch it if I could.” Gukesh, who recently broke into the World top 10, believes India has fair chances on the chessboard. “But there are other strong teams,” he said. “And we had a camp here with Boris Gelfand. It went off very well. It was very tiring, which is usually good. The camp was brilliant.”

Washington:

US President Joe Biden said he was disappointed about reports his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, plans to skip the G20 summit in New Delhi this week.

“I am disappointed, but I am going to get to see him,” Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Sunday when asked about indications Xi will not join the leaders’ summit.

Biden didn’t say where he might next meet with the Chinese president. If Xi doesn’t travel to Delhi, he and Biden may have an opportunity to meet in November, when the US hosts the APEC conference in San Francisco.

Xi is not planning to travel to India for the summit, according to officials familiar with preparations for the meeting who requested anonymity to speak about the planning. The decision comes amid mounting tensions between China and India and is likely to further chill their relations.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the summit in Xi’s place, according to a person familiar, while another said it would be another yet-to-be-named government official.

Biden and Xi last spoke on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November, but any progress was derailed when an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed the US.

The two countries have fundamental disagreements over a range of issues from Taiwan, fueled in part by US lawmakers visiting the island and a trip by Taiwan’s president to the US, to Biden’s export bans on semiconductor technology, reports about Chinese surveillance from Cuba, and the balloon incident.

A number of high-level Biden administration officials have traveled to China in recent months, seeking to improve ties, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, climate envoy John Kerry, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The US had expectations that the G20 meet in India could be the next step to thaw the relationship with China.

Biden said last week he “hopes” that Xi would attend the summit.