Indo-Russian Ties
Jaishankar-Manturov meet in Mumbai on Nov 11
The next meeting of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation is scheduled to take place in Mumbai on November 11 this year. The Indian side will be headed by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, while the Russian delegation will be headed by First Deputy Prime Minister and minister for industry and trade Denis Manturov.
The two sides will review the progress made by the working groups and sub-working groups of the commission on cooperation in the field of energy, transport, trade, banking and financial matters, communication technologies, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, priority investment projects, etc and seek to resolve the pending issues. India is likely to raise the issue of equity oil offtake from Sakhalin-1, while the Russian side may flag the delay in its projects in India and the continued stalemate over setting up payment mechanisms between the two countries.
Member CBIC
Garg, Singh, Chaturvedi lead race for 2 posts
The Union government has initiated the process to appoint two members of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC). The board will soon have two vacancies as Rajiv Talwar, Member (Compliance Management) is scheduled to retire on November 30 and Alok Shukla, Member (Administration) will retire on December 31. Sources said ten officers have been selected for interviews in two batches of five each.
The interviews are scheduled for September 30 and October 3. Senior IRS officers Yogendra Garg, Vivek Chaturvedi, Mohan Kumar Singh, Ravinder Saroop and Mahendra Ranga will be interviewed on September 30. Rajkumar, Valte Vungzamuan, Prachi Saroop, Rimjhim Prasad and Rajesh Jindal are scheduled to be interviewed on October 3. According to sources, Yogendra Garg, Mohan Kumar Singh and Vivek Chaturvedi are among the frontrunners for the two posts.
Trouble in Punjab
MLAs seek Mann’s ouster as AAP support shrinks
All is not well in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab. The MLAs belonging to the state’s ruling party are growing increasingly restless, and there are murmurs within the party of a section demanding that chief minister Bhagwant Mann be replaced with a more acceptable leader. Mann enjoys the trust of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
However, the rising number of MLAs seeking a change in leadership in Punjab is a matter of concern for him. The party’s waning influence on the state’s voters has also emboldened Mann’s detractors. The AAP had stormed into office in Punjab by winning 92 out of the 117 assembly seats, trouncing the two national parties – BJP and Congress – and the main regional player, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
However, two years after this spectacular victory, the party faced a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. It could win only three out of the 13 parliamentary seats, with the opposition Congress bagging seven, SAD winning one and two seats going to independents. Sources said the AAP chief is keen to put his house in order. There are several names doing rounds as Mann’s replacement, including Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, education minister Harjot Bains and finance minister Harpal Cheema.
Shahid Faridi
The writer is Resident Editor
TNIE, New Delhi.
Follow him on X @Shahid_Faridi_