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Tuesday 16 September 2014
Inder Sethi's invitation is awaiting your response
Monday 15 September 2014
Suck it Pantone !!
Samsung NX1: A 4K Video Chomping, 28-Megapixel Camera In A Compact Body
Samsung NX1: A 4K Video Chomping, 28-Megapixel Camera In A Compact Body
The new NX1 is the first Samsung interchangeable-lens camera that's truly compelling enough to consider alongside the competition. Its billboard feature: 4K video in a tiny package. But more than just trotting out of a glitzy, buzzy feature, the NX1 is loaded with advanced tech, including an industry-leading image sensor.
Despite building some reasonably good
Guts and shooting performance
First the nerdy basics. Like Sammy's other NX-series cameras, the NX1 sports a DSLR-sized APS-C sensor. This time, though, it's a 28-megapixlel, backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor, making it both the highest resolution APS-C chip in the world, and the largest sensor to use the backside construction. Higher resolution isn't quite necessary for regular shooters, but for people likely to edit, it's usually desirable if you can get more megapixels without sacrificing quality.
For its part, the backside architecture helps by getting electronics out of the way on the front of the image sensor, and thereby, leaving room for larger light-sensing photodiodes. The tech has been used most prominently on Sony's excellent
Beyond the image sensor, the NX1 is powered by Samsung's latest DRIMe 6 image processor. enabling the camera shoot at up to a standard ISO of 25,600, and peel off 15 frames per second with continuous autofocus. Speaking of which, the camera's hybrid autofocus is uses 209 phase detect points and 205 contrast detect points on the image sensor. All of this is very impressive, charting above or equivalent to what you'll get from any other camera at the price point.
Finally, it wouldn't be a Samsung product without connectivity built in, and sure enough, the NX1 has Wi-Fi connectivity for easy file transfer as well as Bluetooth, and easy NFC pairing.
4K Video
Besides regular photography powers, the NX's key feature is 4K video. It's capable of capturing high resolution to slightly different huge formats. Though Ultra HD and 4K are used interchangeably by most people, they're actually slightly different resolutions, according to standards czars. The NX1 shoots both; 4K (3840x2160) at 30 frames per second, and Ultra HD (4096x2160) at 24fps. These are common frame rates that are usable for basically anything, but they don't give you a lot of flexibility. The camera's 4K/Ultra HD capture obviously bumps up against what's possible with the technology.
At Ultra HD/4k, the NX1 shoots in the industry standard HEVC h.265 codec, so you'll be able to take footage out of the camera and play it on basically any device that's been updated recently (assuming the device has enough pixels!)
As for regular 1920 x 1080 HD resolution, the camera shoots 24, 30, and 60. Unlike in some other cameras, the 60 fps is captured using progressive, rather than the choppier interlaced capture method.
Hardware
The NX1 19 ounce body isn't as compact and light as other cameras, but it's comparable or lighter than top APS-C sensor DLSRs, like the 23-ounce Nikon D7100. It's slightly heavier than the 17 ounce Panasonic GH4
Importantly, the NX1 features both a 1024 x 768 OLED electronic viewfinder and a 3-inch, 1.036 million-dot Super AMOLED display. The former is essential for serious photography. The latter flips out, which makes shooting video with the camera's 4K/UltraHD powers easier.
Bottom line
At $1500 for the body alone, the NX1 comes in a little cheaper than the $1700 4K Panasonic GH4, but the GH4 might be more appealing for the simple reason that there is a massive first- and third-party lens ecosystem of micro four thirds mount lenses whereas glass for Samsung's proprietary mount remains elusive.
From the outset, the Samsung NX1 looks like a beast, which is a little surprising coming from Samsung. Obviously, specs never tell the complete story, and we'll have to wait and see if the high-resolution video and still-image quality holds up to the impressive numbers Samsung's put on the outside of the box. But there's a lot to make you actually consider this camera, and we'll be taking a very close look when it's available in mid-October.
Despite West Asia crisis, oil prices in India may not soar
Despite West Asia crisis, oil prices in India may not soar
Prices have stabilised at under $100 a barrel despite the continuing conflict. That's good news for oil importers like India.
On Wednesday, the day before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, US President Barack Obama told Americans about his blueprint to deter the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known variously as the ISIS, ISIL or Islamic State). Obama's plans include increased air strikes against the terror outfit and provide training and weapons for regional groupings such as the Kurds and other Shia factions.
According to reports, the Kurds have directly approached India for help with fighting IS. They also want India to invest directly in Kurdistan, which holds significant oil reserves. Baghdad does not currently share its oil revenue with Kurdistan. This approach has come alongside Indian intelligence agencies launching investigations on jihadis of Indian origin fighting with the IS in Iraq.
Instability in West Asia is never good news for emerging economies. As a net importer of oil and gas, India relies heavily on producers such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Iraq and others for its vast energy needs. India imports around 80% of its oil requirements annually.
Regional tensions in West Asia usually have a direct impact on the price of oil. Any sign of geopolitical friction is reflected in global crude prices, which in the past few years have comfortably risen above $100 per barrel (per barrel). In fact, the price is so high, experts say that it is enough to absorb substantial geopolitical shocks.
Import, subsidise, distribute
India spends a large sum of its annual budget importing oil at market price, and then selling it to its citizens at subsidised rates. High oil prices are often both economically and politically unacceptable in India. However, the price at which the commodity is imported is determined by political conditions at the source of the oil.
Oil pricing is almost exclusively controlled by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a Vienna-based forum that includes most of the major oil producers in the world, including the West Asian nations and Venezuela. Pricing depends on how OPEC members control their production numbers.
Stabilised prices
On the face of it, the geopolitical tensions in the parts of West Asia that produce some of the highest volumes of oil might be expected to cause prices of crude to spiral. Paradoxically, they seem to have pushed the price of global Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate southwards. This when West Asia is staring at the possibility of all-out sectarian conflict; Western nations have announced sanctions on Russia – the world’s largest producer of oil – over the Ukraine crisis; and the relationship between Iran and the West is already precarious.
When Obama announced that strikes against ISIS are going to increase, and may spill over into Syria as well, oil prices in Asia increased by a few cents, but remained well below the $100 per barrel mark. While it is too early to speculate whether this will continue, experts have arrived at some reasons for this uncharacteristic stability: caution, regulation and, surprisingly, lower global demand.
Caution, in this discussion, refers to the relatively new global understanding that this is a commodity that must not be taken for granted. Regulation here refers to the new energy policies that most states follow, which emphasise things such efficiency and discourage hoarding.
But what is the reason for the lowered demand?
The slowdown in Asian economic growth has stymied the rise in oil prices. The Indian economy is well behind the targeted 8%-9% annual growth rate, and even China’s demand for oil has fallen on account of slower economic growth. This year, India has consistently outpaced China in oil consumption, according to Barclays PLC. India is the third-biggest oil consumer in Asia after China and Japan and accounted for about 4.2% of the global oil consumption in 2013.
Global economic mosaic
There are more fundamental factors at play as well. Robert Kahn and Steven A Tananbaum, senior fellows for international economics at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, have charted the recent disconnect between rising geopolitical tensions and stability in global oil markets. Kahn and Tananbaum highlight that it is not the threat of prolonged war in the Middle East, or possible long-term detachment between the West and Russia, but a return of the economic crisis-like conditions in Europe that would be more lethal to global economics, including oil prices.
Kahn and Tananbaum see Syria, Iraq and the Ukraine crisis as “small pieces of the global economic mosaic”.
Even as IS and other militia groups operating in Syria take over many of the country’s oil fields, it is important to remember that Syria’s oil production is not large enough to cause a major shift in global pricing. Iraq is a different story, as it has sizeable reserves, mostly in the southern part of the country. Over the past few days, IS's progressive capture of Iraqi territory has been slowed by US air strikes and retaliation by the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga. IS has not made significant strides in capturing the capital, Baghdad, or the country’s southern regions.
The US Energy Information Administration now expects oil prices to stay below $100 per barrel till the end of this decade. While this may signal more difficult times for producers, emerging-economy oil importers such as India may benefit greatly from this unexpected stability.
We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.
CLOTHESLINE – EPISODE 45
CLOTHESLINE – EPISODE 45
Newslaundry.comHilarious ! A weekly wrap of the good, the bad and the funny from the world of news. India TV’s Japanese joyride, Modi’s Japan visit, the Meerut braveheart confusion and more.
Omar Abdullah does a Dubya: Here's why Kashmir floods will be his Katrina moment
"Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw as we flew over Srinagar with the PM. I can remember looking out of the window as the plane did a low circuit over the city, absolutely dumbfounded…. I started to realise just how bad the situation was when I saw the scale of the disaster," writes Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Indian Express of the moment when he first grasped the enormity of the devastation wreaked by the floods.
His near-naive astonishment echoes that of another leader during another such crisis in another part of the world.
The plane flew over New Orleans, then traveled along the coast to Mobile, Miss., before turning north toward Washington. “It’s totally wiped out,” Bush remarked as the modified Boeing 747 moved east past Slidell, a Louisiana community reduced to a pile of rubble and sticks. “It’s devastating, it’s got to be doubly devastating on the ground,” Bush said, according to his spokesman Scott McClellan.
Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah. Reuters
Then President George Bush too was looking out of a plane window when he realised — a critical 24 hours too late — the consequences of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. The natural disaster would prove to be the final nail in the coffin of a presidency already weakened by the debilitating Iraq war.
It is all the more ironic then that Abdullah's Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi would choose to offer the "Katrina defense" to explain his government's inaction, and request large-scale assistance from the Centre. "Quoting the Oklahoma flooding by Hurricane Katrina, Rather is believed to have told the prime minister plainly that no civilian government in the world is ready to face such a calamity," reports Firstpost contributor Aasha Khosa.
Yes, Kashmir is indeed like Katrina but for a number of reasons less palatable to the Abdullah's government.
One, it marks the complete failure of leadership — but in this case, at the local, not national level. Unlike Bush, the Prime Minister's response was swift and generous, aimed to make sure that no one will accuse the Centre of playing step-mother to Kashmir. And whatever the carping about the rescue efforts, except for its most unreasonable critics, most know that the military is doing its best, given weather and terrain conditions. What has been most notable about the floods in Kashmir is the near-absence of the local authorities.
As Basharat Peer tells The Times of India:
The failure of the local government is simply shocking. All you see making an effort are the boys from the army with their boats and machinery and common people. I heard that Omar Abdullah was on television throwing down relief packets, and posing with a chinar in the backdrop, a tokenism of an appearance. But his leadership is nowhere to be seen and I have not seen this kind of failure of the government in a long time.
Photos of Abdullah raining down relief packets at his people, in fact, mark his very 'Brownie' moment — as when Bush told the federal disaster agency head, Michael Brown, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," even as FEMA was botching the rescue effort. As with Bush, the image has become a symbol of just how distant and out-of-touch Omar is from the average Kashmiri.
Two, it has become representative of the problem of privilege. "Flood victims are narrating horrifying tales at make-shift camps, alleging selective approach to rescue operations. The stories are heartrending,'' journalist Shujaat Bukhari told TOI,confirming allegations of "selective rescue." Where Katrina exposed racism in America, as poorer, black neighbourhoods were last to be evacuated, the floods have exposed the age-old VIP culture that afflicts not just Kashmir, but all of India. And while the extent of the problem is likely exaggerated when placed in the context of the sheer numbers that have been evacuated, it would hardly be surprising if authorities were ordered to prioritise those with 'connections', or more affluent areas or tourists (This is India, after all).
It is why Abdullah — while never directly addressing the issue of selective rescue — goes to great, even amusing, lengths to include in his Indian Express essaysuch nuggets as:
My Minister for Sheep & Animal Husbandry was brave beyond belief, his daughters were last heard screaming for help in their official residence where waters were reported to have climbed to the second floor of the two-floor home. He had no idea of their welfare or whereabouts, but he kept working and contributing to the efforts that were unfolding by flying to the airport and helping to coordinate activities there. My uncles, one of them seriously ill, requiring regular dialysis, and sundry other family were trapped in their homes with no contact, but I couldn’t do anything to rescue them in the immediate aftermath. In fact, my uncles came out after three days of being trapped by flagging down a private boat passing through the area.
Their very detail makes the tales sound unconvincing, and Abdullah, weak and defensive, for he knows well that it is his government that will pay the price for this perception. Given the long-fraught relationship, Kashmiris expect little from the Central government and the army — which is why rumors of negligence are easy to believe. Omar Abdullah does not however enjoy the luxury of low expectations, as onestranded Srinagar resident made it clear, “The situation is pathetic. We are wondering why we voted for a state government that does nothing for us.”
That is the question that will loom over Abdullah now that he has compounded his George Bush act with the now classic Sheila Dikshit defence. As Dikshit discovered in the aftermath of the Delhi gang rape, no one will vote for a leader who declares her helplessness. It is unlikely then that Kashmiris will be impressed, come election time, by a Chief Minister who despondently writes, "I can’t remember a single natural disaster in the country where the government tasked with responding was so completely paralysed."
Abdullah's reelection prospects, always precarious, now look inevitably doomed. And as his rivals vie to profit from his losses, the blame game over the floods will get uglier still as Election Day draws nigh. George Bush's Katrina moment offered a vital opportunity to Democrats who had tried but failed to capitalize on the Iraq war. Who will be the winners in this situation — the separatists or the BJP — remains to be seen. The loser, however, has already been declared.
Sunday 14 September 2014
Army picks up pieces as J&K government disappears
| Army picks up pieces as J&K government disappears |
Srinagar | 13th Sep 2014
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Army personnel rescue of flood victims in Srinagar on Friday. PTI
he road from paradise to hell has been short for Kashmir and the descent rather swift. The valley has now been flooded for more or less a week. That is all it took for the National Conference-Congress government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to disappear completely, leaving the Kashmiris on the mercy of their own enterprise, and crucially, the Indian Army's help. The one fact everyone this newspaper spoke to in the valley agreed upon was that there was no government in Kashmir anymore, since the floods began.
This newspaper observed long lines of civilians, Kashmiris and Bihari migrant labourers, among others, waiting patiently to take their place in one of the rescue boats at Iqbal Park on Friday after waters began to recede. Army men operating the boats went about their task, seemingly unperturbed by the furore their humanitarian intervention has caused in the valley and the country.
Arshid Ahmad Bhat, 38, a businessman, waited to take one of the Army boats, standing in the queue with his wife. "My in-laws were trapped here. They have now been rescued," he said. They live in another part of the city and had come to visit them. "We are going back to our house now. My son and daughter are still there. We hope they are safe," he added.
Md. Khalid, 46, a lab technician, waited at the same spot for a private vehicle to take them to their destination, along with seven of his family members, including three women, one of them carrying a young child in her arms. "The Army gave us fruits, biscuits and water," he said. They were rescued after seven days, he added. However, a male relative in his group immediately objected. "The Army hardly gave us anything," he protested. This is a pattern that would repeat itself during this correspondent's two-day stay: any praise for the Army quickly countered by dissenting voices.
Tariq Ahmad, 40, a local businessman dealing in kitchenware was on his way to check on his shop in the main city, walking through thigh-high water in Iqbalpura when this newspaper caught up with him. Ahmad and his companion and fellow businessman Riyaz Khan, 40, said that the Army, especially the Air Force rescued at least 150 people in Gogji Bagh, including 18 of his family members. "The rescue operations were conducted from the roof of my house. The Army also sent a neighbour who needed regular dialysis for her diabetes to a hospital in Delhi via air at midnight," said Ahmad. Khan said, "The Army gave us food, water, medicines and milk for infants." Even as Ahmed and Khan spoke to this correspondent, a group of young men passing by confronted them, having eavesdropped. "They did nothing except leaving us to die here," said one of them even as the two groups started to argue loudly in Kashmiri, while others made their way towards the main city and some survivors looked on from their rooftops, the lower part of their houses completely submerged. Some had started to open their shops to inspect the wares. A few intrepid ones could be seen sipping on their kahwas, sitting on their rooftops.
Considering the fact that the Indian Army is not looked upon as a benign presence in the valley, the rescue operations mounted by them seem to have divided the Kashmiris.
During its trips to those parts of Srinagar where the waters had begun to recede — which meant it came only around the knees or thighs — this newspaper was told contradictory versions of the role played by the Army in the rescue operations. Often, the young tended to dismiss the Army's role completely while the elderly and middle-aged expressed approval, though grudging, regarding its efforts.
Near Pantha Chowk, close to the local bus stand, young men claimed that the Army had not played a major role in their area. And this in spite of the fact that the road that led to Pantha Chowk, where the Srinagar bus stand is located, was full of medical and relief camps being run by the Army and local organisations. Colonies on both sides of the road were completely under water, giving the impression that it was flanked by two lakes.
Sitting hunched atop an overturned car, with flood waters swirling all around us and people making their way out, carrying luggage and sometimes infants, a bearded young man claimed on the condition of anonymity that the Army did not start any rescue operations until Monday in their area. "It was the locals who saved an Army vehicle stuck here in the floods with 22 people. Their main focus was on rescuing tourists and high-profile visitors," he alleged. This is a persistent rumour that is doing the rounds of Srinagar. Within minutes, we are surrounded by others who allege the same. However, they added that there had not been too many deaths in the area, which counts around 40,000 people as inhabitants.
Only half a kilometre down, Ghulam Qazi Sufi, 65, a shopkeeper, said that the "Army helped. They did what they could." It was only on Friday, seven days after the floods, that he was able to open his shop and inspect the damages caused by the floodwater. "I have had to throw goods worth at least over Rs 1 lakh," he said. He demanded that the government should at least give more rations than officially mandated to the people for the next couple on months, till the compensation is paid.
However, Md. Mumtaz, 30, a Bihari labourer, told this newspaper that their lot was the worst. "We work here as masons. Many of our people are still trapped. We have not received any help from any quarter. The Army is preferring to help the Kashmiris," he alleged. A large number of Bihari labourers are presently living in camps near the Srinagar airport from where they are being airlifted, with private airlines also chipping in.
Locals are also sharing the burden of relief and rescue along with the Army. Gurudwaras and mosques have set up committees for the purpose, providing accommodation, food, and other required items like medicines.
In Hyderpora, the relief camp at the Jamia Masjid is feeding at least 4,000 people per day while 2,000 are staying there till alternate arrangements can be made, said locals.
Individuals are also pitching in. Sagar Kaul, who came to Srinagar to locate his mother, has set up a relief camp in Baghat-Barzulla at the International School, he told this newspaper. He has spoken to his mother who has been rescued and put up in a hotel with other survivors, briefly over telephone but he cannot meet her yet. "It is better to do this than waste my time. People are willing to contribute but we are running short of diesel and petrol, so transportation is a challenge," he said. Long lines of vehicles could be seen at the lone petrol pump selling fuel on the NH1 on Friday.
A senior official of Save the Children, an NGO working on the ground, said that it could take at least "ten to fifteen" days for everyone to be rescued. "Only around one lakh people yet have been rescued in eight days. Another five lakh still await rescue. The administration is nowhere to be seen. Everything has been left to the Army," said the official, a resident of Srinagar.
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Xi to Abe, $35 billion is peanuts !!
| Xi to Abe, $35 billion is peanuts |
The total investment slated to be approved during the 17-19 September visit will exceed $200 billion, thereby dwarfing Japan’s commitment of $35 billion spread over five years.
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New Delhi | 13th Sep 2014
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President Xi Jinping of China
ringing with him as many as eight ministers and 130 top businesspersons from both the public as well as the private sectors, President Xi Jinping of China expects to build on the rapport established with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in Brazil to create a new paradigm for the Sino-Indian relationship, according to senior officials contacted on telephone and in person. President Xi touches down in Ahmedabad on 17 September after lightning visits to Maldives and Sri Lanka, and is expected to be welcomed by Prime Minister Modi himself, in the same way as the PM was welcomed in Kyoto by Japan's PM Shinzo Abe. "President Xi is very keen on seeing for himself the way in which Modi has transformed Gujarat, which is why he was particular to begin his visit in that state", a top official revealed, adding that "both Xi as well as Modi have a shared interest in unlocking the potential in cooperative relations between China and India".
According to a senior official, the total investment in the projects which are slated to be approved during the 17-19 September visit will exceed $200 billion, thereby dwarfing Japan's commitment of $35 billion spread over five years, made during the just-concluded Modi visit to Asia's second-biggest economy.
Senior officials mentioned some of the big ticket items that are on track for initiation during the Xi visit, which will be the most high-profile ever by a Chinese head of state to India. "Agreements for two China-specific industrial parks, each around 5 square kilometres in area, are to be signed", an official pointed out. The facility near Gandhinagar will involve an investment of around $5 billion for setup, entirely financed by Chinese banks, and will involve companies active in power transmission and conversion. The one near Pune will comprise auto ancillary plants designed for export, and will have about the same land area and dollar cost of setup. "More than 10,000 Indian workers will get jobs in each park", a Chinese official pointed out, adding that it is expected that "a total of ten such parks will get initiated over the next five years, thereby making India a manufacturing location equal to that created by Chinese companies in the US".
A major item under discussion is a plan to involve Chinese companies in dredging more than 600 canals and reservoirs in six states across the country, so as to enhance their water storage capacity. This is expected to boost water supply to farms in these states, and is estimated to cost $18 billion, funded by Chinese financial institutions. An agreement on this is expected to be arrived at before 19 September.
Another mega deal will involve (a) the doubling of speeds on existing railway tracks in the country through use of technology developed and tested in China for the purpose; and (b) partnering in the construction of "fast trains" reaching speeds of 160 kilometres per hour. These would shrink travel time considerably while being much cheaper than the "bullet trains" to be developed in cooperation with Japan, an official claimed. No figures were proffered as project cost, although these sources said that around $35 billion will get spent on power and highway projects which involve Chinese companies.
"We are aware that certain circles are unhappy at the way in which President Xi and Prime Minister Modi are for the first time creating a new and mutually beneficial relationship between the two sides", a senior official said, but added that "on both sides, the leaders are popular and decisive and capable of implementing what they decide to get accomplished".
Among the agreements expected to be signed is the facilitation of an exponentially increased tourist flow between both countries, as well as agreements designed to enable more students from either side to study in the other country Another agreement likely to get signed between the two sides is the entry of Chinese banks as major lenders to Indian industry, with Bank of China expected to set up a branch in India after a lapse of half a century. "Even without operating in India, Bank of China has already lent $5 billion to Indian companies. This will rise manifold once the bank begins large-scale operations in India", a senior official said. He added that part of the blueprint for mutually beneficial economic relations between Delhi and Beijing is that "Chinese banks will lend money to Indian corporates, which secure guarantees of Indian banks for such loans". As Chinese banks have much lower interest rates and far longer repayment schedules than banks in India, such activity is expected to ensure a return to health of several units and projects now stalled for lack of finance or high cost of finance. As such a role may conflict with the interest of US and EU banking institutions in retaining the lead role in financial transactions in India, it remains to be seen if the Reserve Bank of India (which in the view of some seems to have its gaze firmly fixed on Wall Street) will permit such a quantum jump in lending by the banks of a country challenging the status of the dollar and the euro as the prime reserve currencies of the globe. "Such obstruction (from individuals and entities with a focus on Wall Street) may persist despite the benefits of cheap and abundant financing by Chinese companies of projects in India with a long gestation period, such as in infrastructure", an official warned, although later expressing confidence that the Modi government is strong enough to override such obstacles.
"The Chinese side is hopeful that Prime Minister Modi will shake off the biases of previous governments and act solely in the interests of India by ensuring that the best deal for India (rather than for Wall Street or the City of London) gets consummated", an official said. Another said that the Prime Minister's decisions over the past three months "indicate a leader who acts in a manner entirely independent of outside pressure", and that "in this, he is on the same page as (President) Xi Jinping". A senior official calculated the likely total loans by PRC-based banking institutions to industry in India as "being in excess of $75 billion over the next five years".
The fact that President Xi found the time for a substantive conversation in Zhongnanhai with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the latter's first visit in his new role to China, indicates, according to an official, that President Xi is on board with Prime Minister Modi on the need to expedite the process of negotiating a final border agreement between the two sides, thereby removing a key irritant in relations. According to him, such an agreement is feasible "within the term in office of PM Modi and General Secretary Xi".
Another issue expected to be discussed is the possibility of both countries coordinating their views and actions on Afghanistan, a stance unlikely to be popular with the Pakistan Army.
However, "China believes that an expanded UN Security Council should include only developing countries and not developed countries as new members", thereby hinting that as long as India remains in the "Gang of Four" (India, Brazil, Germany and Japan) and asks for seats for all four, Beijing will not give it the nod. However, "as individual countries, India, Brazil and South Africa would be welcome in an expanded Security Council", a senior official revealed. It is improbable that Delhi would end the four-country alliance decided upon by the UPA, in view of the importance of Germany and Japan in the economic and strategic calculus of the new government. However, an official claimed that "in case Delhi has ended a joint quest for the UNSC seat and is instead going on its own, the Chinese side will not disappoint our Indian friends".
While the actual results of the 17-19 September Xi Jinping visit are still to reveal themselves, it seems clear that the Chinese side recognises (in the words of a senior official) that a "New India has stood up in 2014 now that Prime Minister Modi has taken over", and that President Xi is therefore looking to "establish a new partnership paradigm jointly with him" in a relationship which till now has shown scant actualisation of the economic and strategic potential inherent in better ties.
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