分类： bharat

Following the success of a joint Indo-Russia nuclear power project in Bangladesh, the two countries could join hands to build more nuclear plants abroad. It’s a sign of deepening ties, but will the US let it pass?
The Indian ambassador to Russia, Venkatesh Varma, recently announced that India could collaborate with Russia to launch new projects in Africa and the Middle East. He stated, “Russia already has agreements in this field with a number of African countries,” adding, “Ethiopia is one of them, and there are some countries in the Middle East.”

Russia – a leading player in the international commercial nuclear energy market, offering turnkey projects to over 33 countries globally – has been a key partner for India’s own nuclear energy programme. In fact, the nuclear plant at Kudankulam in South India was built with Russian assistance. Furthermore, since 2018, Indian companies have been working in collaboration with Russia’s state atomic energy agency, Rosatom in building two nuclear power plants at Rooppur in Bangladesh. The project is expected to be completed by 2023 at a cost of $13 billion.

As a non-member of the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) – a group 48 nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent misuse of nuclear technology that could be used to manufacture nuclear weapons – India is only permitted to perform construction and installation works, personnel training and the supply of materials and equipment in the “non-critical” part of the Bangladesh project. Still, it’s been a huge opportunity for Indian companies to develop expertise in the construction of nuclear power plants.

News of more possible joint nuclear projects abroad clearly shows a deepening of the partnership in civilian nuclear energy – and also adds a new dimension to the Russian-Indian relationship in general.

Responding to Indian PM Narendra Modi’s claim that Pakistan would “bite dust” in case of war with India, Islamabad urged New Delhi not to underestimate its army, invoking an aerial dogfight that led to an Indian pilot’s capture.
The war of words between Pakistan and India has escalated, and has recently seen the two nuclear-armed nations trading barbs to highlight the strength of their respective military forces. The latest round in the verbal back-and-forth began on Tuesday, with Modi saying that the Indian Army could take down neighboring Pakistan in a week – 10 days at the most.

India’s Muslim law board has advised the Supreme Court that nothing in the tenets of Islam bars women from praying in mosques. The non-profit noted that the court should not have a say in the religious issue, however.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) responded to a request by India’s Supreme Court to comment on the petition filed by a Muslim couple. Yasmin Zuber Ahmad Peerzade and her husband Zuber Ahmad Nazir Ahmad Peerzade have asked the court to formally renounce any restrictions that women face as they attempt to enter a mosque, calling the practice “not only repugnant to the basic dignity of a woman as an individual” but “also violative of the fundamental rights.”

The pair argued that while some mosques allow unimpeded access to female believers, many sites that belong to the Sunni branch of Islam either bar women from entering or have certain rules they must obey – such as entering via a separate entrance or praying in certain spaces where men are not allowed to go.

“The present respondent (AIMPLB) has taken a stand, as per Islamic texts, that entry of woman into mosque for namaz is permitted. Any other ‘fatwa’ to this effect may be ignored,” the organization said Wednesday.

AIMPLB is a non-government organization set up in 1973 to ensure proper protection of Sharia law in the private lives of India’s Muslims.