BRICS: News and Discussion

[disha]

Is it possible that US is trying to spin it differently using its stooges? Or is it our own Rhona-Dhona types who cannot digest a successful completion of BRICS? Remember, BRICS is an alternative to Bretton-Woods!

Okay one at a time... First the Germans...

The meeting with Putin was scheduled a day after Modi landed in Berlin on his way to Brazil, for a prescheduled dinner with Angela Merkel that had to be aborted because the German chancellor chose a date with the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro. Her country won the cup.

...
...

In Berlin, Modi and the Indian team were greeted by images of Merkel cheering her team at Rio’s Maracana stadium. Germany had proposed a dinner meeting between Merkel and Modi on the night of July 13 in Berlin. But Germany had already reached the Round of 16 at the World Cup in Brazil. India, some officials contend, should have foreseen the possibility of Germany reaching the final on July 13.

So Germany first proposed a dinner meeting (in effect an invitation) and then played very bad hosts. Shows a failure in German's outlook outside of the European box it has built around itself. This by far has the worst implications, did Modi say no to EuroFighter? If Modi had said yes to EuroFighter I am sure Merkel would have started dancing around like a Shakina.

Next the South Americans

Many South American diplomats are wondering whether Modi’s unusual decision to travel 27,000km between India and their continent for just one visit, to Brazil, is indicative of a depleted interest in the region — a perception Indian officials and former diplomats reject.

Okay which South Americans outside of Brazil? Mexico (under the orbit of USA). Panama? Chile? Peru? Well if at all they insist on a foreign dignitary visiting them en-route to Brazil, it is like B'Desh asking for equal treatment from US Ex-Prez Clinton when he visited India and on the way Bakistan.

Venezuala? Cuba? They are in Russian orbit.

Here Argentina is the Bakistan, they are into Chinese orbit but lately India pulled Argentenian chest-nuts out of fire (by doubling its import of Soy Oil when Chipanda was being Chipanda).

And the only rivalry in SAmerica is between Argentina and Brazil and India-Brazil has more synergies than any other SAmerican nation. India needs its embraer jets and Brazilians need Indians for the space technology.

Now the Russians (and Brazil)

Modi was supposed to hold back-to-back meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin last evening. But after the meeting with Xi, which stretched for 80 minutes instead of the scheduled 40 minutes, Modi was left waiting for Putin. The Russian President was still flying the 1,600km distance from Brasilia, where his meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff extended two hours beyond what was scheduled.

By the time Putin landed in Fortaleza, it was time for a scheduled meeting between the Russian President and Xi, sandwiching out his meeting with Modi.

Now this was where Indian diplomats could have managed better.

Note, Modi-Xi meeting stretched additional 40 mins. more while Dilma-Putin meeting went beyond its time. More than thinking about Putin upstaging Modi., what was Putin discussing with Dilma?

I do not think Dilma is a smart-cookie when it comes to external affairs. Her predecessor Lulu was more visionary and dynamic and alas during that time we had the most moronic of a PM. MM Sigh!!!!

Sections in India’s foreign policy establishment are wondering whether the avoidable delay in Putin’s landing in Fortaleza — where he knew the Indian Prime Minister was waiting for him — represents a signal from Moscow that New Delhi needs to decipher.

It could be a snub. But then Putin wants to sell Gas to India. Did India insist that Russia not sell gas via China? This is something that can be spun away, at the same time is cause for some concern. We shall see.

Now the Japanese

Modi, who was to visit Japan at the start of this month, postponed the trip citing the budget session of Parliament. But in a letter to Abe, he assured the Japanese Prime Minister that Tokyo would stay his first bilateral “overseas” destination.

Is a meet on sidelines of a multi-lateral summit considered a Bilateral visit? Oh common - everybody knew that after budget, Modi will go to BRICS - it is like going to a marriage function and you insist in *not* talking to your other SIL because you promised your other SIL that you will talk to her!!!

If Japan wants to act like a jilted SIL nobody can stop her., however media should stop reading too much of tea leaves.

The biggest snub was when MMS was kept away in SAfrica like a cockroach ... nobody talking about that now?

Several South American diplomats indicated that Modi’s decision to skip other bilateral visits on his trip to their continent had also left them puzzled, and just a little concerned.
Because of the long travel time and distance involved, Indian Prime Ministers and other senior leaders rarely travel to South America. When they do, they almost always visit at least two nations to maximise opportunities to build ties with the continent.

This is ridiculous., it is like saying - okay I will meet all of you guys (Chileans, Peruvians, Argentenians, Ecuadorians, etc) at Fortellaza and then I will specifically meet err Argentanians? Bolivians? separately!!! Imagine the message you are sending!

Now Modi could have gone to Guyana (substantial Indian population there) however methinks, the shenanigans of CongIs made that difficult.

If at all, given the way the #mediapimps, CONgoons and the bakistanis have brought parliament to halt over vaidik-suar summit., I think CONgoons and #medipimps are India's enemy #1.

CONGoons do not deserve a single seat in parliament. Instead of strengthening India's hand by supporting Modi, they tried to weaken him.

And BTW, Putin visited Argentina., Xi visited Argentina - so should Modi also make a beeline for Argentina? What message are you sending to both Argentina and Brazil?

[disha]

Modi should've flown to brazil via japan (the pacific route) instead of via germany.

Fire (or transfer out) the darned MEA team responsible for these serial 'goofups'. Like they say, "once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, thrice is enemy action - take cover!" And this has happened 4 times already...

Or none or at most one.

Now now, if I were to also read tooo tooo much., then would going to Japan enroute to Brazil angered Chinese and thus jeapordized BRICS?

Added later: Japan-Pacific route to Brazil - very long and unworkable. Only two short routes to Brazil - from India., Via Europe or Via Africa. Pick your best choice!

[Austin]

[disha]

I am surprised and very very concerned,

On a mega earth shattering moment (formation of BRICS Bank)., all we hear is Suar-Vaidik summit and Modi's "goof ups". And a non-functional parliament.

I think the kaala-dal is very much in India.

[Austin]

In short span of 2 days and with so much travel its not possible to synchrionise a bilateral meeting between nations when such meeting go beyond time and the main task is to meet on Agenda of BRICS.

Media is making too much of CT about it.

From out POV the critical meet between Modi & Xi happened and that matter more than any other one on one meeting

[Austin]

So the meeting did happen

Russia and India will agree that it is necessary to develop cooperation, Putin said

Fortaleza (Brazil), July 16 - RIA Novosti. In Russia and India, there is a consensus on the importance of cooperation in politics, economy, international affairs, as well as in the sphere of military-technical cooperation, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have been able to share their thoughts on our bilateral relations. Very pleased to note that in Russia and India is an absolute consensus on this issue. This applies to our engagement in the political sphere, in the international arena, economics, military-technical cooperation," - said Putin, opening Tuesday meeting with the new Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (in office from May 26).

"Our relations are certainly strategic in nature, based on a solid foundation of long-term friendship and mutual sympathy between our peoples. We know you as a great friend of Russia, you have repeatedly been to Russia. I hope very much that we are with you, with your government be able to continue to work to maintain the momentum for the construction of future cooperation, "- continued the president of Russia.

In turn, Prime Minister of India said he visited the Indian city, where he was received from Russian aircraft carrier "Vikramaditya". "This adds strength to our ship Navy Sun This is a clear sign of cooperation between our two countries, it gives a great signal to other countries, too," - he said.

"Our government will strive to deepen Russian-Indian relations. We think how we can expand our relationship with Russia, as it is possible to find new areas of cooperation, such as Russia and India will work together in the future" - said Modi.

He recalled that 65% of India's population under the age of 35 years. "It's so much power, so much power, and we want to think about how you can use it together with Russia on various projects for the benefit of the people, for the benefit of mankind," - said the head of the Indian government.

Modi spoke about his impressions of the Astrakhan region, where he had been when he was governor of the state of Gujarat (it Twin regions). "We in Gujarat seems that Astrakhan is very close to us," - he confessed and said that he was shown the library Astrakhan annals of India, and in the city there is a house where stayed Indian merchants who came to trade in Russia.

Prime Minister of India believes that any Indian to a question about his country's best friend call Russia.

"If you ask any citizen, any person from India, from our large population - more than 1 billion people who are the best friend of India, every citizen, every child in India say that it is Russia", - said Modi at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

"It's that Russia was behind India, shoulder to shoulder, in any difficult moment India, without any conditions," - he said.

Indian Prime Minister also noted the firm position of the president of Russia on current world problems.

[ramana]

Don't forget most of Radia media were left in India and are bad nothing NaMo visit.

[disha]

Ramanaji, of course! Sour grapes for not getting a free ride. There is this bimbo I-forget-her-name who used to get free food in parliament and also on MMS Junkets. And she cried a ton at #pappu's speech. Was clearly marked as a #mediapimp by the politicos themselves! In one of her famous tweet she said that if she writes something scathing one set of politicos say "paise mil gayen kya" and another set of politicos told her "paise nahin mile kya!".

And the #mediapimps have started their Rona-Dhona

http://www.firstpost.com/world/first-pr ... 19165.html

Amid all this, what could India’s posture, orientation and focus be? India is held to be an emerging power. It seems to have gotten stuck into this paradigm. As a nation or a civilization seeking a position of status and prestige in the international system, it may be prudent for India to hold on to its western orientation. The West, especially the United States, contrary to prognostications of doom, is not in decline. Despite the humongous problems that the United States is facing, it remains pre-eminent and paramount. It is a full spectrum power, which should not be confused with economics--economic growth is a component of power. India, should understand the nature of power in the 21st century and then develop an expansive strategy. This would naturally call for a deep partnership with the United States and other powers of import. The BRICS, while an important grouping, does not fall under this rubric. India should not fall into the trap of bleary eyed and mushy rhetoric. It’s a Hobbesian jungle out there where power and power politics runs the roost. Let India not lose sight of this.

So what is the "western orientation" which the author wants India to hold on to? And what is the "natural call for a deep partnership with US"? Is the author trying to hide his inner pakistaniyat?

[CRamS]

Unkil is not happy?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2 ... _what.html

[disha]

^^ The tone of the above farticle in short - "BRICS is non-sense but it is an important non-sense!"

[Austin]

Ofcourse why would Unkil and Western Institution will be happy with BRICS its a direct challenge to them Economically and their dominance.

[gunjur]

Don't forget most of Radia media were left in India and are bad nothing NaMo visit.

Timesnow has a correspondent in brazil covering the event, maybe even ndtv has sent one as well. But yes, they had to go on their own.

========

BRICS Bank: Your 10-Point Cheatsheet

1. The $100 billion development bank launched at the sixth BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - summit in Brazil is aimed at funding infrastructure projects in developing nations. The BRICS also set up a $100 billion currency reserves pool to help countries forestall short-term liquidity pressures.

2. The bank will be based in Shanghai, China. It was delayed because of tough negotiations over the location. India and South Africa too had their hats in the ring to host the bank.

3. India gets the first presidency for six years, followed by five-year terms for Brazil and Russia. China which as the world's number 2 economy has wanted a greater influence over the bank to expand its political clout abroad will not preside over it for the next two decades.

4. The bank will be called the New Development Bank, a name suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

5. The bank will begin with a subscribed capital of $50 billion divided equally between its five founders, with an initial total of $10 billion in cash put in over seven years and $40 billion in guarantees. China wanted a higher contribution pushing for economic strength of a member nation to be the criteria. But India and Brazil insisted on equal contribution.

6. "We pulled it off 10 minutes before the end of the game. We reached a balanced package that is satisfactory to all,"a Brazilian diplomat told Reuters. Negotiations were reached at the eleventh hour due to differences between India and China. The impasse reflected the trouble BRICS nations have had in reconciling stark economic and political differences that made it hard for the group to turn rhetoric into concrete action.

7. The long-awaited bank is the first major achievement of the BRICS countries since they got together in 2009 to press for a bigger say in the global financial order created by Western powers after World War II and centered on the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

8. The BRICS were prompted to seek coordinated action following an exodus of capital from emerging markets last year, triggered by the scaling back of US monetary stimulus. The new bank reflects the growing influence of the BRICS, which account for almost half the world's population and about one-fifth of global economic output.

9. The bank is scheduled to start lending in 2016 and be open to membership by other countries, but the capital share of the BRICS cannot drop below 55 percent.

10. China, holder of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves, will contribute the bulk of the contingency currency pool, or $41 billion. Brazil, India and Russia will chip in $18 billion each and South Africa $5 billion. If a need arises, China will be eligible to ask for half of its contribution, South Africa for double and the remaining countries the amount they put in.

But i feel the bank's name could have been much better. New development bank does not sound that good, Global Development Bank or International Infrastructure Fund or something like that should have been given.

[JE Menon]

^^Time for the newstraders to know that "Free Press" does not mean: Free Food, Free Flights, Free Accommodation and Free "Giveaways" ...

When are we going to see an NDTV story on corruption in the media? Are they waiting for independent players to carry out stings through social media networks?

[Chandragupta]

Could have chosen a better & more enthusiastic name. Sorry for nitpicking though.

[Neela]

^^Time for the newstraders to know that "Free Press" does not mean: Free Food, Free Flights, Free Accommodation and Free "Giveaways" ...

Eminently tweetable that!

[Neela]

Jim O neill of Goldman Sachs coined "BRIC" .You BRIC countries dont fogget that

[Philip]

Disha,unfortunately there are some of our countrymen and women suffering from an acute inferiority complex,wishing that India and Indians be nothing better than western,primarily Yanqui ars* lickers,butlers,doormen,footmen,valets,chauffeurs,waiters,cooks,garbage cleaners,and toilet roll holders,with wet wipes and warm towels also ready at hand! There are those who prefer being wh*res and rent boys too.The less aid about them them better.

It was said famously by a Yanqui that "Britain lost an empire and had yet to find a role",now the Yanquis want to "recover a lost empire (India)" and fulfill their supposed "God-given role". hence the bull about a "strategic relationship","natural common values",blah,blah. Utter crap.

[gunjur]

Posting the article for as it is for your reference.
Note: The parts in bold is not by me but there in article itself.

BRICS Bank: worthless at best, a disaster at worst - By Mihir sharma

Has India just promised Shanghai Rs 60,000 crore to spend on China's national interest in Africa?

The BRICS Bank, as agreed upon by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his four colleagues in Brazil, is less of a disaster than it could have been. But it is still very unlikely to do any good – and more than likely to do very bad things indeed.

First, the “good” news. Normally, I am not particularly impressed by symbolic gestures such as where a bank’s headquarters are located. Still, given that it feels like the central point of the BRICS bank is to be a symbolic gesture about the inequities of the current global economic order, one shouldn’t ignore the symbolism altogether. India has conceded that Shanghai will be where the bank is located, although most reports say that it was an open question at the beginning of the summit. It is a pity the government gave in on this. (It did so while blaming its predecessor, a pretty shameful evasion of the truth.) Still, the government did at least manage to ensure that the first president of the bank will be Indian. Had this been a permanent concession – the way the head of the World Bank is always American – it might have been able to balance the problem of location. But it isn’t.

Unquestionably good news, however, is that the bank will raise equal amounts of capital from all five BRICS members, and give them equal votes. There was concern earlier, including from the Business Standard editorially, about the dominance of the Chinese over the bank if there were unequal capital contributions and voting followed the same pattern. It is entirely to Mr Modi’s credit that India has managed to ensure this open Chinese control hasn’t happened.

Chinese influence will still be great – they will have the location; they already run a giant development bank, so they have the know-how; and if they end up subsidising the cost of entry for Brazil and South Africa, as was earlier suggested, then they will have informal control.

Sadly, however, the Bank remains a terrible idea otherwise – both economically and strategically.

Economically, just look at the cost. It will cost a cash-strapped government $10 billion. This is not small. It is the entire (and ambitious) disinvestment target for 2014-15, for example. Even if we’re talking a multi-year target, it is still the amount that would come in if the government took its stake in every public-sector bank down to 75 per cent. It is the price of the Rafale fighter the Indian Air Force wants. It is the amount Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda wants for a bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. It is more than six – yes six – times the amount the government spent on its main health scheme last year.

India is not flush with funds. Some of the projects I just mentioned – dear to those of varying political persuasions – may have to be cut for want of funding. But, across the spectrum, people will agree that each one of those projects is more important than paying for a bank that might well lend largely outside India.

So, India will put in a lot of money – with very little reason to assume it will come back to India. A bad deal. For financing infrastructure within India, there are no short-cuts: you have to fix governance and regulatory issues, and create a bond market.

Strategically, this is a colossal blunder. It seems few have asked themselves: what, precisely, does China want this so much? Remember, it already has a China Development Bank. Why not just up its capital by $10 billion?

The answer is two-fold. First, there’s Jim O’Neill’s theory, that the BRICS Bank is a “low-risk rehearsal” for the global leadership role at the IMF, the World Bank and the UN that China expects to shortly play. The second is more worrying: that China intends to leverage its influence over the bank – born of the advantages of location and size – to use the financing to serve Chinese interests in Africa, for example. As this newspaper argued last year: “Indian taxpayers will wind up seeing their taxes serve the national interests of China, not of India. China’s footprint in Africa has seen ample use of financing by Beijing of local infrastructure in ways set up to benefit Chinese companies.”

The editorial went on to point out that “nor will such lending have the necessary squeamishness that the Bretton Woods institutions have now developed about riding roughshod over local objections to infrastructure projects.” This is crucial. It is crucial because India’s sole advantage over China in Africa remains the belief among many that China is in it only for the resources and to enrich a local oligarchy, with no concern for grassroots objections. Through the BRICS Bank, Beijing can continue to act as the China Development Bank did – while partially disguising China’s intentions by using the good opinions which India and South Africa are held in sub-Saharan Africa.

In other words, there’s little going for the BRICS Bank other than the little whiny post-colonial voice that still lives within all of us, the one which readily insists that anything that the US and the West have power in is worse for India than something the Chinese run. The problem is that setting up the BRICS Bank merely reduces the power of any argument we would want to make about substantial reform to the IMF and the World Bank.

And, in any case, what that internal whiny voice counsels is stupid – and, in the long run, suicidal. Remember how China blocks the Asian Development Bank from funding projects in our Northeast? As Devesh Kapur observed: “Until the new millennium, control of the key IFIs where India had primary interests was clear: the Japanese controlled the ADB, the US the World Bank, and its strategic relationship with the US and Japan in particular. Now their control of these institutions appears to be less detrimental to India’s interests – especially since the only plausible replacement, China, appears even less likely to act in India's interests.” The Modi government has reversed this strategic movement towards engaging with existing multilateralism.

So why do the BRICS Bank anyway? Disregard basic claims that it will drive money to projects. As this newspaper pointed out when the idea was first floated in the New Delhi summit some years ago: “With huge underutilised funds lying with existing multilateral financial institutions, the problem faced by projects in developing or BRICS countries is not availability of funds.” So the need for it is overstated. At best, therefore, we can hope to just lose a few billion dollars. At worst, India has been conned by China into giving Shanghai $10 billion – to start off with – to pursue Chinese interests in the developing world.

Seriously, does this guy feel that BRCS in BRICS would have allowed india permanent presidentship of the bank??

============

EDIT: Meanwhile desi media has article quoting chiddu where he applauds the brics bank initiative. If am not wrong he currently is not a member of either RS/LS i.e. he's not even an MP. But still media wants his views on everything. Looks like media is still beholden to him or he still "controls" the media.

[Neela]

Brics countries create $100bn bank to ease western grip on global finances

The NGO ActionAid International said that while it was pleased that plans for the new development bank were gathering pace, more needed to be done to ensure it was inclusive. "There are still no clear indications of how other stakeholders, including civil society, can have input into the bank's policies," said its advocacy coordinator, Sameer Dossani. "This is crucial to avoid the mistakes of the World Bank and others in the past."

[Paul]

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/th ... 2?rhheader

Rajamohan of Reliance sponsored ORF opposing the Russia-China-India gas pipeline for obvious reasons. It is obvious that the gas will come into India through Ladakh and Reliance will not be there to pipe it into India.

[panduranghari]

[rsingh]

Western media is chup on this matter. Nothing in FT or WSJ.

[panduranghari]

Unkil is not happy?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2 ... _what.html

BRICS bank would be impossible to run without the support of Bank of International Settlements in Basel. And considering its inception is announced, means BIS is in full support of it.

[anmol]

Unkil is not happy?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2 ... _what.html

Yes, they are talking about applying "calibrated pressure" on BRICS : http://www.brookings.edu/events/2014/07 ... plications

[anmol]

Western media is chup on this matter. Nothing in FT or WSJ.

Not all are chup:

http://www.cfr.org/emerging-markets/bri ... _di-071614

http://www.dw.de/emerging-economies-lau ... ml-atom%20

http://www.dw.de/brics-launch-new-devel ... 7789608%20

http://southasia.foreignpolicy.com/post ... lopment%20

One thing common in all these articles: their concern for environment.

Some analysts, like Reuters Breakingviews columnist Andy Mukherjee, worry that NDB lending might prove less careful than the World Bank about vetting projects on sustainability criteria. The NDB "could help ease the $1.4 trillion-a-year infrastructure financing gap in developing nations," Mukherjee has written, but also "could open the doors wide for projects that are social and environmental disasters".

[ramana]

So its BRICS + South America Summit.

Only folks missing are Mexico which is now an extention of Canada+USA and Central American countries currently pushing minor children as immigrants into USA.


Instead of spewing bile US media better appreciate the BRICS initiative to develop South America by creating jobs and thus reduce immigration pressure on USA!!!!

Morons.


So S in BRICS stands for South Africa?
It was not there in the original acronym.

[panduranghari]

S in BRICs is a small s. Pushed into the club at the behest of the Anglo-Saxon block.

[Austin]

Putin was asked why the US can do whatever it wants and no one punishes them, while attempts are being made to punish Russia.

“The US is certainly one of the world’s leaders. At some point it
seemed that it was the only leader and a uni-polar system was in place.
Today it appears that is not the case. Everything in the world is
interdependent and once you try to punish someone, in the end you will
cut off your nose to spite your face,” he said.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-1 ... ssian-coal

[JE Menon]

^^Time for the newstraders to know that "Free Press" does not mean: Free Food, Free Flights, Free Accommodation and Free "Giveaways" ...

Eminently tweetable that!

Neela feel free to adapt in any manner and tweet.

[Vashishtha]

I dint understand the decision to take NSA Ajit Doval to the BRICS meet. Were any issues regarding national security/terrorism discussed?

[SwamyG]

Modi should've flown to brazil via japan (the pacific route) instead of via germany.

Fire (or transfer out) the darned MEA team responsible for these serial 'goofups'. Like they say, "once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, thrice is enemy action - take cover!" And this has happened 4 times already...

No idea why they have to fly via Germany. Focus on East, West will have no choice.

[Prem Kumar]

Mihir Sharma, though we know which way he leans, raises an important point. China will try to use BRICS bank to extend loans to African countries to run projects that buy from Chinese companies.

But there is no reason India cannot do the same, especially given that we enjoy the goodwill of African countries (of not being perceived as exploitative). Indians are natural entrepreneurs & travelers and the bank provides a mechanism for us to expand our sphere of influence in the developing & under-developed world. Moreover, its a more concrete initiative than NAM (which only stood against something, rather than for something)

Yes, the ride will be rough, especially with China. ADB is a good example. But the BRICS bank is an important step to project power & influence. Hopefully China sees it the same way and works towards making this a win-win for all participant nations

[Prem Kumar]

Something to ruminate on....

So UPA had already sold the HQ of New bank to China without putting up any fight, now it is upon NaMo to salvage the situation.

How many such sellouts did UPA already make under the table? And to think MMS was the most revered PM on a pedestal!!![/quote]

It might have been a losing battle, especially with China contributing $41B to the emergency kitty. But agreed, I would rather have the HQ in India rather than the Presidency. The real work is in the nitty gritties, which the bureaucrats control. Who-knows-who and such power equations depend more on location/people rather than on the President, who anyway wouldn't have much executive powers (each country has an equal veto). If an African diplomat wants a line of credit, he will go to Shanghai & schmooze with the people there. So, China, in settling for an "equal vote" would have demanded HQ as a return. Under MMS, even an equal-vote might not have been possible

[Philip]

Why for a decade I've been describing him as "Quisling Singh","Surrender Singh",etc. The truth was known long ago,but no one was willing to say that the "PM had no (patriotic) clothes".

The US has already come down on Russia for BRICS bank by enforcing more sanctions.Such moves will be totally counterproductive.The vengeful closet fundamental Islamist ,Hussein O'Bomber will duly get his just rewards in the fulness of time. The PM's Washington visit coming after the BRICS summit is actually a masterstroke,as it enforces a fait accompli reinforcing India's position,one of strength with its BRICS partners,India being the first Pres. of the new NDBank too! In other words,IMF,watch the upturned finger if you play dirty.

http://en.ria.ru/news/20140716/19096058 ... ength.html
REVIEW: Ties Among BRICS Countries Grow in Strength

FORTALEZA, July 16 (RIA Novosti)
Contingency Reserve Agreement, New Development Bank, BRICS, Brazil
Related News
BRICS Nations Strengthen International Grip - Putin
Creation of BRICS Bank to Become Financial Basis for Independence of Its Members
BRICS Members Sign Development Bank Agreement
BRICS Speak with One Voice - China

The past three days have been fruitful for the BRICS’ five members who have settled on areas of cooperation, including mining, energy, the green economy, pharmaceuticals, agro-processing, service industry, technology and value-added manufacturing development, as outlined by the BRICS Business Council on July 16.

One of the most important results of the BRICS summit held from July 15 to 16 was signing of a deal on the establishment of the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingency Reserve Agreement (CRA) that will help emerging economies borrow funds for infrastructure projects.

The primary goal of the reserve currency pool is to create additional financial opportunities and serve as a guarantee during times of unfavorable developments in the global financial markets, said Russian Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina at the BRICS summit in Brazil.

The CRA is worth over $100 billion, with Russia’s contribution standing at $18 billion. The BRICS countries’ central banks will coordinate the allocation of resources in the pool.

Similarly, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to create a Reserve Fuel Bank and an energy policy institute to facilitate energy cooperation among BRICS nations. Earlier in May, Russia signed a deal with China to provide it with 38 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

On the military side, Russia and India are deepening their relations, with India receiving an aircraft carrier from Russia. Both sides are looking forward to promote cooperation in other spheres as well, including politics, economy, international affairs and technology, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Russian president both said.

Politically, the BRICS countries also seem to be on the same page, with the leaders of the five member nations calling on conflicting sides in Ukraine to de-escalate the situation and seek for a peaceful solution to the existing problems.

Later, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, BRICS nations called for joint efforts to settle issues, and its members went on to condemn the unilateral approach adopted by Washington, who urged the EU to expand its sanctions on Russia and expressed a readiness to act alone should it refuse.

Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill introduced the term “BRICs” in 2001 in a report on the prospects of growth for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Since 2006 the countries arranged regular meetings. In 2010, South Africa became the fifth member of the group.

The next BRICS summit will be held in the Russian city of Ufa on July 9-10, 2015.

[ramana]

A_Gupta, For sanity check on the euphoria after NDB creation can you compare IMF, WB, Asian Development Bank and NDB wrt capital and time to fruition?

[chanakyaa]

In other words,IMF,watch the upturned finger if you play dirty.

In my view, if participants want the new Breek bank to be successful the nonsense media arrogance must stop. That is, calling the new Breek bank panacea of of developing world's problems and potentially replacing or providing alternative to existing institutions. What is the point of showing a "finger" to monopolies of IMF, WorldBank, and ADB? These institutions have tremendous experience in interfering in world affairs to their advantage. They have "been" there and they have "done" it. They are not going away or make themselves less important because of the enthusiasm of new entrants. They will play dirty and just watch how they start there well oiled machine to throw the dirt. I truly hope the media softens the unnecessary boasting. Setting up something is winning just 50% the battle, other half is making it work. Jai Hind.

[ramana]

There is the BRICS bank aka NDB with authorised capital of $100B max. The five countries will provide $2B/year for seven years as first step.

Then there is the Contingency Reserve Fund (CRF) with $100B. PRC to provide $41B and three others $18B each with SA at lesser amount.

udaym, Most of the rhetoric is coming from Western press.

The capital structures shows its not a rival to IMF etc.


More traction will come if finanicial flows between the BRICS which accountof 20-% global output are made seamless.


I wanted Mumbai to become the financial center of the other world. Looks like Shangai will become that.
Yet cant underestimate the Indian trading class.

[anmol]

How BRICS bank hurts India's Modi
by Nyshka Chandran | @NyshkaCNBC, cnbc.com
July 15th 2014

The significance of a BRICS development bank

Jim Rickards, Senior Managing Director at Tangent Capital, explains how the new bank differs from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The selection of Shanghai as the headquarters for the BRICS Development Bank could hurt Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's domestic ratings, according to one expert.

Modi "has been outmaneuvered," Aditi Phadnis, South Asia advisor at Teneo Intelligence said in a note. "With Shanghai rather than Mumbai as the headquarters for the new BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bank, Modi will have to return home empty-handed."

At a summit in Brazil this week, BRICS leaders agreed to create a development bank and currency reserve that will be capitalized at $100 billion. The new bank will be modeled after the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which emerging economies have long complained were too Western-centric.

Earlier this week, the Indian government expressed hope that the bank would be headquartered in India, which would have boosted Modi's domestic ratings following a lackluster first 45 days as prime minister, experts say.

Securing India as the headquarters for the BRICS development bank would have elevated Modi to the global status to that of a visionary leader, Manjeet Kripalani, executive director of the Indian Council on Global Relations, wrote in an op-ed in the on Tuesday.
Financial Times

The summit was an ideal platform for Modi to boost his country's profile following the lukewarm reception of the administration's first federal budget last week, Teneo Intelligence said.

The budget was seen as India's opportunity to convince the world of its commitment to reducing its massive budget deficit, but a lack of clarity failed to make it the game changer that experts had hoped for.

The importance of location

The location of the BRICS Development Bank is important because it reflects the host country's relative power, experts say.

The IMF headquarters and World Bank are headquartered in Washington DC, for instance, which reflects the relative power of the United States. In recent years, negotiations about a currency union in the Gulf States have broken down over the issue of whether the new Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) central bank would be located in Riyadh or the UAE.

Individual weaknesses sparked BRICS bank: UBS

Jorge Mariscal, Regional CIO, Emerging Markets at UBS, says internal weaknesses among BRICS nations was likely the main catalyst for the creation of the new development bank.

"China is well aware of these precedents and would insist that the bank be located in Shanghai, the financial center of China, to reflect China's relative contribution to the funding of the bank," James Rickards, senior managing director at Tangent Capital told CNBC.

Beijing has lobbied heavily for the bank's creation, raising fears that President Xi Jinping is using it to advance the mainland's agenda.

"The fact that the bank will be based in China and mostly capitalized by China gives China more power in choosing which projects get funded and which do not," Rickards added.

Not all is lost

India has been granted presidency of the bank for the first five years, which could partly make up for Modi's defeat, according to Teneo.

"The Modi government has already said it would pitch for an Indian to become the first president of the BRICS bank. This concession could be a second-best stab to make up for lost ground. This might be crucial given that a foreign trophy might help Modi quell a nascent tide of political questions at home," Phadnis concluded.

Unlike the World Bank and IMF where presidents are usually nominated by Europe or the U.S., the BRICS bank will have a rotating five-year presidency among members.

Teneo Intelligence is connected to Clinton Family:-

Unease at Clinton Foundation Over Finances and Ambitions
by NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and AMY CHOZICK, nytimes.com
August 13th 2013
[..]
Growing Ventures

As the foundation grew, so did the outside business ventures pursued by Mr. Clinton and several of his aides.

None have drawn more scrutiny in Clinton circles than Teneo, a firm co-founded in 2009 by Mr. Band, described by some as a kind of surrogate son to Mr. Clinton. Aspiring to merge corporate consulting, public relations and merchant banking in a single business, Mr. Band poached executives from Wall Street, recruited other Clinton aides to join as employees or advisers and set up shop in a Midtown office formerly belonging to one of the country’s top hedge funds.

By 2011, the firm had added a third partner, Declan Kelly, a former State Department envoy for Mrs. Clinton. And Mr. Clinton had signed up as a paid adviser to the firm.

Teneo worked on retainer, charging monthly fees as high as $250,000, according to current and former clients. The firm recruited clients who were also Clinton Foundation donors, while Mr. Band and Mr. Kelly encouraged others to become new foundation donors. Its marketing materials highlighted Mr. Band’s relationship with Mr. Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative, where Mr. Band sat on the board of directors through 2011 and remains an adviser. Some Clinton aides and foundation employees began to wonder where the foundation ended and Teneo began.

Those worries intensified after the collapse of MF Global, the international brokerage firm led by Jon S. Corzine, a former governor of New Jersey, in the fall of 2011. The firm had been among Teneo’s earliest clients, and its collapse over bad European investments — while paying $125,000 a month for the firm’s public relations and financial advice — drew Teneo and the Clintons unwanted publicity.
[..]

[svinayak]

Modi "has been outmaneuvered," Aditi Phadnis, South Asia advisor at Teneo Intelligence said in a note. "With Shanghai rather than Mumbai as the headquarters for the new BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bank, Modi will have to return home empty-handed."

Earlier this week, the Indian government expressed hope that the bank would be headquartered in India, which would have boosted Modi's domestic ratings following a lackluster first 45 days as prime minister, experts say.

Securing India as the headquarters for the BRICS development bank would have elevated Modi to the global status to that of a visionary leader, Manjeet Kripalani, executive director of the Indian Council on Global Relations, wrote in an op-ed in the on Tuesday.

The summit was an ideal platform for Modi to boost his country's profile following the lukewarm reception of the administration's first federal budget last week, Teneo Intelligence said. - Very funny

The budget was seen as India's opportunity to convince the world of its commitment to reducing its massive budget deficit, but a lack of clarity failed to make it the game changer that experts had hoped for.

Fake article. Domestic politcs is mixed with Internationa bodies which was decided long before the elections
What will elevate Modi to the global status is a strong Indian economy with a sustained high growth and creating the largest middle class in the world

[SanjayC]

^^^ The article seems to have been written by idiots, who are making a show as if Modi has been ruling the country for the last ten years, when it is MMS who quietly agreed to drop Delhi in favour of Shanghai as capital of BRIC bank.