A fire that broke out in a suspected illegal garment factory on the outskirts of the Indian capital, New Delhi, killed at least 13 workers as they slept early Friday in the building.

Uttar Pradesh state authorities said nine other workers were injured, four of them seriously.

The early-morning blaze started in the factory, a converted house used to make leather jackets, with a narrow stairway to the basement where the workers slept.

A dozen fire engines brought the flames under control after several hours. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Deadly incidents such as factory fires are common in India, known for its poor record regarding workplace safety. Watchdog entities say South Asia's lucrative garment industry has an alarming safety record as the rules are routinely flouted.

Last month, a huge explosion at a fireworks factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu left eight workers dead.

In November 2013, a fire at a New Delhi factory where leather bags were being stitched killed six workers. Some were trapped inside the building and burned beyond recognition.

In May 2014, a massive blaze in a firecracker workshop in central Madhya Pradesh killed 15 people.</s>NEW DELHI — A fire that broke out in the basement of a garment factory trapped and killed at least 13 workers as they slept early Friday in the building just outside New Delhi, a government official said.

Nine other workers were injured, four of them seriously, Uttar Pradesh state official Naresh Mathur said.

The factory was in a converted house in the industrial town of Sahibabad, and had a narrow stairway into the basement where the workers slept.

A dozen fire engines doused the flames after battling them for several hours. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Factory fires are common in India, where safety enforcement is lax.</s>PANAJI

 Former union minister and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ajay Maken has accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of spreading lies through the process of electioneering to promote itself, and said that the party is making bogus claims of good governance.

 Addressing media at the Congress’ office in Panaji, Maken said that the AAP through its practice of electioneering is misleading the people of Goa as it tried earlier during polls in other states and in Delhi, including elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU).

 “The AAP has been putting up posters of their vote percentage, which I have seen in Goa today. This has been a common electioneering practice of Kejriwal”, he stated.

 However, he said despite riding on the same practice even during the MCD by-elections to 13 wards where the party claimed a clean sweep, AAP won only 5 wards. “AAP which had won 12 seats could manage to win only 5 seats. From 57.6 percentage vote share it came down to 29 percent in a matter of 14 months after coming to power in Delhi”, he added.

 Stating that Kejriwal’s political career began with the India Against Corruption and its agenda of bringing in the Lokpal bill, the DPCC president said “The bill which they have passed in the Delhi Assembly, that too after a lot of demonstration and persuasions for eight months, is the weakest form of the Lokpal bill.”

 He further said that Kejriwal has been going back on his own words, to keep the Lokpal out of the ambit of the government, and has made it mandatory for the Lokpal to seek prior approval of the Chief Minister to appoint an investigation officer for any case.

 “The selection of the Lokpal (under the Delhi Lokpal act) is overtly done by a political panel. In addition, the power to remove the Lokpal vests only with the ruling party MLAs” Maken said stating that there is a vast contrast of speech and action by Kejriwal.

 The former union minister further said that the people of Goa should very carefully weigh whatever Kejriwal claims as far as the Delhi model is concerned. He said “I would like to caution the people of Goa not to be hoodwinked or not to go by the antics of Kejriwal and commit the same mistakes as the people of Delhi did.”

 Responding to Kejriwal’s claims that the Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not let the AAP govern the state to its full potential, Maken a former Delhi cabinet minister said that Kejriwal’s main aim is to further his political ambitions. He stated that when the Congress ruled Delhi from 1998 to 2004, the Union Government was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

 “When we could perform with the same set of rules, then why can’t they”, he questioned.</s>Tokyo wants New Delhi to maintain its commitment to voluntary unilateral moratorium

In signing the civil nuclear agreement with India, Japan made a major exception for a non-signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), based on India’s impeccable nuclear record.

But sources say India, too, may have given exceptional commitments on its nuclear sovereignty and right to conduct nuclear tests in order to bag the deal.

According to officials, while the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (NCA) signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday followed the template set in the India-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement of 2008, a text signed in addition to it is a departure from the past.

In the additional document, called the “Note on Views and Understanding” signed by Indian and Japanese nuclear negotiators after the meeting, Article I (iii) says: “The representative of the Japanese delegation stated that an Indian action in violation of the September 5 statement could be viewed as a serious departure from the prevailing situation. In that situation, reprocessing of nuclear material subject to the Agreement will be suspended in accordance with paragraph 9 of Article 14 of the Agreement,” invoking a section on emergency suspension of nuclear parts or fuel supply. (The reference to the ‘September 5’ statement was India’s voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing made for the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2008.)

When contacted by The Hindu, Indian and Japanese officials seemed to differ on how binding the additional note actually was. A senior MEA official privy to the negotiations said that the only “binding provisions are in the bilateral agreement (NCA).” However, in written replies to The Hindu, Japan’s Foreign Ministry Press secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura said Japan had made its intentions clear. “[If India conducts a nuclear test] Japan will give notice notify India of its intension of termination of the treaty and will cease its cooperation based on the treaty.

India also understands this, which is confirmed in the official document, “Note on Views and Understanding”, attached to the Treaty,” he said.

According to officials present at the bilateral meetings in Tokyo, Mr. Abe went further, saying frankly that Japan’s cooperation with India was “on the premise that India maintains its commitment to the unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear test,” and urged India to sign the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), that India has resisted for decades.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar said there were “striking similiarities” in the Japan deal with those of other countries.

However, former nuclear envoys say the text signifies India has gone “much further” in commitments to Japan than ever before. In the past, India had rejected direct references to nuclear tests as a trigger for cancelling the deal from the U.S., Canada, and Australia, amongst a dozen countries India has signed nuclear agreements with.

Next, India has allowed Japan to include the “emergency suspension” clause, which could mean a major shutdown of its nuclear power capabilities given that Japanese companies and spare parts are expected to be a crucial part of all future reactors in India. With the exception of Russian reactors, all the suppliers in negotiation with India at present: GE, Westinghouse and Areva have considerable ownership by Japanese companies Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi.

Finally, the additional note states that Japan can contest the claims by India for compensation if it suspends its nuclear cooperation with India. “Japan reserves the right to contest India’s claim of compensation for the adverse impact on the Indian economy due to disruption in electricity generation and loss on account of disruption of contractual obligations through the consultations provided for in paragraph 9 of Article 14 of the Agreement,” reads Article I(iv) of the document, available on the Japanese Foreign Ministry website.

The difference in perceptions between the MEA and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan will be significant, given that the Japanese Parliament, Diet, is yet to approve the Nuclear cooperation Agreement. In India, the debate over nuclear sovereignty will be key, akin to the criticism the government faced over curtailing liability of foreign suppliers in the India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement resolution between PM Modi and US President Obama in January 2015.</s>Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe witness the signing of the civil nuclear deal between the two countries in Tokyo on Friday. Photo: @MEAIndia

New Delhi is the first non-NPT signatory to have such an agreement with Tokyo.

India on Friday signed a historic civil nuclear deal with Japan during the annual bilateral summit held in Tokyo. Sealing the deal was the high point of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ongoing visit to Japan. The PM issued a media statement describing it as a ‘historic step’.

The nuclear deal which will help India access Japan’s nuclear market, had been under negotiation for six years and was firmed up during the 2015 visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India when principles of the agreement were frozen. However, the final seal on the text had to wait legislative clearance from Japan.

The last stage of negotiations on the deal was keenly watched due to a “nullification clause” which seeks automatic cancellation of the agreement if India resorts to nuclear testing in future. “If India conducts a nuclear test, Japan shall stop its cooperation for India,” Yasuhisa Kawamura, press secretary of Japanese Foreign Ministry had told The Hindu earlier in written comments explaining the “nullification clause” in the agreement.

The deal is significant as it will help guarantee Japan’s continued support to India’s civil nuclear programme. Apart from the Russian reactors, the planned nuclear reactors with France and US depend on Japanese parts. That apart, GE, Westinghouse, and Areva, the companies planning reactors in India have important ownership stakes of Japanese companies Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, that were stopped from doing business with India without a final nuclear deal.

Negotiation on the deal began in 2010 during the UPA government however the negotiations were stuck on India’s non-membership status in non-proliferation treaty (NPT). However, Friday’s conclusion of the deal made India the first non-NPT signatory to have a civil nuclear deal with Japan.</s>NEW DELHI (AP) — Long lines have grown longer, scuffles have broken out and chaotic scenes are being seen across India as millions of people wait to change old currency notes that have become worthless after the government demonetized high-value bills.

Angry scuffles broke out Saturday in New Delhi after ATM machines ran out of bills. Minor stampedes occurred in two places when thousands of people waiting in line surged forward to enter the building.

Paramilitary troops posted at banks in some of the most congested areas of the city walked among the crowd urging people to stay calm.

Earlier in the week, India’s government made a surprise announcement that all 500- and 1,000-rupee notes had no cash value in an effort to tackle corruption and tax evasion.</s>Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of PayTM payment start-up, left last Sunday for a temporary stay in Mumbai, worried about the impact of hazardous clouds of dust, smoke and fumes that hang over Delhi during the winter months.

"It became very visibly clear that it is going to be tough in Delhi, especially with young kids," Sharma said in Mumbai.

"We were worried that it could create long-term (health) problems."

His company, which has considered moving from its base outside Delhi, has installed air purifiers, brought in plants and masks and offered extra health assistance.

Telecoms operator Idea Cellular and others have allowed more employees to work at home, and hired buses so that car traffic is reduced - all at their own expense.

A few companies are thriving from the heavy smog hanging over the city earlier this month - providers of face masks and air purifiers have seen sales soar.

But others, like the car manufacturers, are in the firing line of local and national politicians who want to reduce the deadly haze, while estate agents and tour operators have complained of a slowdown in business.

Delhi, home to around 17 million people, is among the fastest growing states in India. Its $84 billion economy has been expanding at more than 8 percent for the past two years, faster than a 7.4 percent national average.

Its air quality, meanwhile, has deteriorated, even by the standards of a country with some of the world's most polluted cities. Conditions had improved by Friday, but the problem is perennial and has been particularly acute this winter.

Companies have yet to tot up the cost of a week of coughing, spluttering and watering eyes, but local industry lobby group Assocham estimates "several billions of dollars" of new investments are under threat.

A study by the World Bank shows Asia's third-largest economy lost 8.5 percent of its GDP in 2013 due to air pollution.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global real estate services firm serving large corporates, said some clients were reconsidering Delhi as a base, as costs of working there rise.

"This is increasing their operational costs as they are being made to spend more to provide a healthy workplace to their employees," said Santosh Kumar, a senior executive at the firm.

Delhi's image is deteriorating more widely, a headache for tour promoters and a government touting "Brand India".

Some local tour operators say they are already receiving requests from overseas partners to redraw the itinerary of foreign tourists to avoid even an overnight stay in Delhi. Business travelers say they are cancelling trips.

"The ongoing tourism season, which is yet to pick up, could see a maximum hit," Assocham said.

Expatriates are also thinking twice about living in the Indian capital. JLL's Kumar said more smog could see foreigners packing their bags, a blow to real estate as well as employment.

Lisa Akerman, a Swedish national who lives in an affluent Delhi neighborhood, said authorities needed to do much more than they were.

Akerman moved to the city two years ago with her family and has taken measures to ensure clean air in her apartment for her two small daughters. Still, the choking smog left her worried about their health.

Earlier this week, she decided to take them out of the city for a while.

"The pollution level is too much for the children," she said by 'phone from Goa, where she is camping with her kids. "While I love Delhi, its air quality will be a major consideration in deciding whether we want to extend our stay here."

The local government has taken steps to reduce traffic amid widespread public anger at pollution that has caused choking, wheezing and breathlessness.

Licenses are being withdrawn for diesel-powered vehicles older than 15 years, and authorities are considering resuming an "odd-even" scheme, under which cars can only travel in the city on alternate days depending on their registration number.

Those steps, and the risk that India's courts will impose stricter rules on emissions, are a potential blow to foreign and domestic carmakers, some of whom have asked for greater clarity.

But not everyone is complaining about the smog.

Japan's Daikin has seen sales of air purifiers increase by up to three times since the Hindu Diwali festival, and its stock that had been expected to last until March is exhausted.

To meet growing orders, the Osaka-based air-conditioner maker increased shipments from its Thai factory by 50 percent.

Nirvana India, which distributes the Vogmask face mask in South Asia, reported soaring sales.

It sold 300 to 400 pieces a week around this time last year, but since Diwali at the end of October, it has sold 5,000-8,000 a week and is seeking emergency stocks from Singapore, China and Korea.

"Earlier, only expats, patients and government departments would buy these masks," said chief executive Jaidhar Gupta. "Now everyone is buying."</s>Alka Acharya, professor and director, Institute of Chinese Studies, speaking at a meet on India, China and the New Silk Road Initiatives organised by MG University in Kottayam.

Though India and China are two rising powers in Asia with the capacity to together reshape the world, there was a paradox of conflicting perceptions gaining ground in this relationship, according to Alka Acharya, professor and director, Institute of Chinese Studies, New Delhi.

She was delivering the keynote address at a two-day international conference on ‘India, China and the New Silk Road Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities’ organised by Mahatma Gandhi University on Saturday.

Dr. Acharya said while “there is a visibly expanding common agenda at the bilateral, regional and global [level], increased trade, and deepening multilevel engagement,” there also existed “very low levels of mutual trust and confidence.”

On One Belt, One Road

Chen Jixiang, faculty at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, China, expressed concern that many of the elites in India still doubted the bonafides of China’s geopolitical strategy. Dr. Chen said that the Chinese geo-strategic practice of ‘One Belt and One Road’ (OBOR) construction would inevitably have important features of “openness, equality, and participation,” and its focus was entirely on economic benefit.

Contesting this argument, Sanjay K Jha, professor, Central University of Gujarat, said that for India, the implications of the OBOR remained problematic.

“It was also seen as an initiative which could pose enormous security challenges,” Dr. Jha said.

Muraleedharan Nair, former Indian Consul in China, argued that the OBOR was thrust upon participating countries without proper consultations.

T.G. Suresh, faculty at the Centre for Political Studies, JNU, pointed out that the New Silk Road initiative had introduced an economic model that sought to shift the site and purpose of development outside China.

Binoda Kumar Mishra, Director, Centre for Studies in International Relations and Development, Kolkata, observed that India and China were set to compete for long not only owing to strategic calculations but also due to domestic compulsions.</s>The deal has been held up for years over the clause, which stipulates that it would be cancelled if India were to conduct a nuclear test.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepare to discuss the conclusion of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement after their talks on Friday, all eyes will be on whether India will accept a “nullification” or “termination” clause. The deal, which will open up access for India to cutting edge nuclear energy technology, reactors and critical parts, has been held up for years over the clause, which stipulates that it would be cancelled if India were to conduct a nuclear test.

The Prime Minister landed in Tokyo on Thursday evening for the India-Japan annual summit meeting after a brief stopover in Thailand where he paid respects to the late King Bhumibol Aulyadej. Along with the $1.5 billion deal for U-2 amphibious aircraft, the civil nuclear agreement will be the highlight of the talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe, which will follow business meetings and a call on Emperor Akihito.

“If India conducts a nuclear test, Japan shall stop its cooperation for India,” Yasuhisa Kawamura, press secretary of Japanese Foreign Ministry told The Hindu in written comments, adding that “Prime Minister Abe told PM Modi last December that Japan will cease its cooperation for India if India conducts nuclear test”.

India maintains a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, but has thus far refused to sign on to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) or given any other undertaking outside of its commitments at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, analysts concede that Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack has special sensitivities that India may need to make an exception for, despite India’s insistence on nuclear sovereignty.

“Given Japan’s history, one can understand its insistence on a nullification clause,” explains nuclear law expert Arghya Sengupta. “However, this would send an unfortunate signal to others that the IAEA safeguards are insufficient in ensuring that Indian nuclear energy facilities are used for peaceful purposes alone,” he added, indicating other countries who were refused similar guarantees, like Australia and Canada, could be annoyed if India allows the nullification clause.

Adding to the speculation is an article in the Yomiuri Shimbhun newspaper on November 6, 2016 that confirmed that Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe will hold a signing ceremony for the nuclear deal during the visit, adding that the contentious cancellation clause will now be part of a separate document, while India would give an assurance that its cooperation with Japan would be “limited to peaceful purposes”. MEA officials refused to comment on the report, saying only that the “text will speak for itself”.

Another factor, say officials, is Japan’s critical position in nuclear supplies to India. Although India has a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel, all planned reactors including those from France and the U.S. and other than existing Russian reactors depend largely on Japanese parts. In addition GE, Westinghouse and Areva, the companies planning reactors in India at present have significant ownership stakes from Japanese companies Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi, and are held up until the India-Japan nuclear deal is cleared by the Diet or parliament expected in early 2017.

The PM’s talks in Japan will coincide with a critical meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna on Friday which will consider the question of criteria on whether to admit India and Pakistan, the two non-signatories to the NPT that have applied for membership. India has made predictability an important part of its pitch for the NSG membership, which would come under a cloud if it were to allow Japan to cancel its agreement in the event of a nuclear test, which explains the sharp focus on the exact text of the agreement in Tokyo.</s>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday signed a civilian nuclear cooperation pact with visiting Indian leader Narendra Modi as he pushes to promote exports of Japanese nuclear technology to keep the teetering economy afloat.

The basis of the treaty was agreed on last December, before his three-day visit to Japan.

The treaty will allow Japan to transfer nuclear technology-related components and help build reactors in India, where countries like China and France are eyeing opportunities for similar investment.

Japan has treaties of this type with 13 countries, including the United States, France and Russia, but this is the first with a nation that is not part of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Concerns persist in signing such a deal with a non-NPT member. But Tokyo said India’s pledge to the Nuclear Supplier Group in 2008 to maintain a voluntary moratorium on nuclear weapons testing provides legitimacy for the pact.

India’s pledge allowed the 45-nation NSG to lift an embargo stretching back three decades on civilian nuclear trade. Since then, India has entered similar pacts with eight nations, including the U.S., France and Russia.

To hold India accountable, the Japan-India treaty says Tokyo can notify New Delhi of the termination of the pact with one year’s notice. A separate memorandum specifies that Japan can suspend cooperation if India breaches its no-testing pledge to the NSG.

“The agreement is a legal framework to ensure that India will act responsibly for the peace of use of nuclear energy. It will also prompt India to participate in the nonproliferation regime even though India is not a participant of NPT,” Abe said at the joint news conference. “This is exactly in line with Japan’s position of promoting a world without nuclear weapons.”

Modi reassured Tokyo that it has a firm nonproliferation system.

“Japan-India cooperation is about energy security and it will send a message to the world,” Modi told Abe at their summit. “India has been implementing the voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing and our non-proliferation system is the best in the world.”

Japan is in a delicate position when it comes to atomic power. Abe boasts it has adopted the strictest nuclear safety standards in the world since the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in 2011. But only three reactors have been restarted after all were eventually taken offline in the wake of the crisis, and anti-nuclear governors have been elected in prefectures that host nuclear power plants, underscoring strong negative public sentiment.

On the other hand, as the only country to suffer atomic bombings, Japan takes a firm position when it comes to opposing the existence of nuclear weapons. Just last month, Japan refused to back a nuclear arms ban proposed at the United Nations.Still, Tokyo said that signing the accord will commit India to the international nonproliferation framework, which would be a step forward toward achieving a world without nuclear weapons.

The pact between the second — and third-largest economies in Asia also comes as Japanese parts makers, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd., which took major damage from the Fukushima disaster, face tougher competition with China in exporting nuclear technology.

And the pact could prove even more timely as the Vietnamese government on Thursday submitted a resolution to cancel its nuclear power station project with Japan due to safety concerns after Fukushima.
At least 13 are killed in a fire in New Delhi, India.