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Canada Moves Diplomats from India to Singapore, Malaysia; New Delhi Mulls More Action: Sources to News18

Canada is moving its diplomats posted in India to Singapore and Malaysia ahead of India’s October 10 deadline, according to reports. Sources say the Canadian side tried to negotiate with India but was unsuccessful.

After Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of Indian agencies in the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, New Delhi asked Ottawa to pull out 41 of its diplomats to bring parity in numbers. CNN-News18 reported this earlier.

According to government sources, India now wants Canada to recall more than two dozen diplomats from its mission in New Delhi.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/canada-moves-diplomats-from-india-to-singapore-malaysia-new-delhi-mulls-more-action-sources-to-news18-8605944.html

60% of NRIs from Australia, Canada, USA, Singapore and Canada consider settling in India post-retirement: Survey

80 per cent of NRIs based in Australia and Singapore, 70 per cent from the UK and 75 per cent from the USA consider a return to India as part of their retirement plans

The Indian economy demonstrates great resilience across sectors, especially after the pandemic. The country continues to make itself financially stable for its citizens and non-residents. Against this backdrop, the majority of people who packed their bags to move abroad to accomplish their dreams are considering settling down in India after retirement.

The financial benefits India provides to its NRIs are quite significant as it allows them to earn in foreign currencies and convert their income to invest and save in India. In a recent survey, SBNRI—an NRI-focused fintech platform unveiled—at least 60 per cent of NRIs from Australia, Canada, the USA, the UK, and Singapore are considering returning to India as part of their retirement plans. The SBNRI platform surveyed 100 NRIs.

Though retirement planning is off the radar for many people in their 30s and 40s, NRIs have set a robust financial plan well in advance. The SBNRI survey reveals that 80 per cent of NRIs based in Australia and Singapore, 70 per cent from the UK and 75 per cent from the USA consider returning to India as part of their retirement plans, followed by 63 per cent of Canadian NRIs.

India is an emerging global start-up hub with momentous manufacturing capabilities, financial services and technology advancements. It is formulating a strong strategy to stabilise its economy. This has made a whopping 72 per cent of NRIs believe that India has a stable investment avenue for its inhabitants as well as non-residents. This gives an ample opportunity to NRIs to diversify their investments, ultimately affecting their decision to return to their native land post-retirement.

Mudit Vijayvergiya of SBNRI said, “India is making a strong rebound with digitised and stable economic activities emerging in the market. This makes India hold a promising future for investors. The country is also making it easy for NRIs to understand complex taxation systems and certain norms that make India a high return market for NRI investors to utilize as their retirement plans.”

Source: https://www.businesstoday.in/personal-finance/news/story/60-of-nris-from-australia-canada-usa-singapore-and-canada-consider-settling-in-india-post-retirement-survey-396848-2023-09-05

India decides to allow export of rice to Singapore in view of special relationship

India said it has decided to allow export of rice to Singapore in view of the special relationship between the two countries. EAM spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said formal orders allowing export of rice to Singapore will be issued shortly.

The government has decided to allow Singapore to import rice from India, relaxing the ban it had imposed on the export of the grain in July.

India has decided to allow the export of rice to meet the food security requirements of Singapore, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in New Delhi on Tuesday. He said that the formal orders allowing the export of rice from India to Singapore would be issued shortly.

Singapore had requested New Delhi to allow it to import at least 110,000 tonnes of rice from India, relaxing the ban on the export of the grain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on July 20 imposed a ban on the export of non-basmati white rice from the country after a late but heavy monsoon resulted in significant damage to crops and the price of the grain in the domestic market shot up by about 3 per cent.

India, the largest rice exporter in the world, accounts for more than 40 per cent of global shipments of grain. The non-basmati white rice accounts for nearly 25 per cent of the exports of grains from India.

Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia are among the nations that so far requested India to grant exemptions from the ban and allow the export of rice. The United Nations World Food Programme also requested New Delhi to relax the ban so that it could procure at least 200,000 tonnes of rice to help meet the requirements of its humanitarian operations around the world.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/india-decides-to-allow-export-of-rice-to-singapore-in-view-of-special-relationship-2665492

Singapore to execute woman on drugs charge for the first time in 20 years

Singapore is scheduled to execute a woman for the first time in almost 20 years, human rights advocates say.

In April, another Singaporean, Tangaraju Suppiah, was executed for trafficking 1kg (35oz) of cannabis that he never touched. Authorities say he co-ordinated the sale via mobile phone.

The CNB declined to comment on Saridewi Djamani’s case when contacted by the BBC.

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, has again criticised Singapore for its executions, saying the death penalty is not a deterrent against crime.

“Small-scale drug traffickers need help, as most are bullied due to their circumstances,” Mr Branson said on Twitter, adding that it was not too late to stop Saridewi Djamani’s execution.

She is one of two women on death row in Singapore, according to the Transformative Justice Collective, a Singapore-based human rights group. She will be the first woman executed by the city-state since hairdresser Yen May Woen in 2004, the group said. Yen was also convicted of drug trafficking.

Local media reported that Saridewi testified during her trial that she was stocking up on heroin for personal use during the Islamic fasting month.

Singaporean national Saridewi Djamani, 45, was found guilty of trafficking 30g (1.06oz) of heroin in 2018.

She will be the second drug convict to be executed in three days, after fellow Singaporean Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, and the 15th since March 2022.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws, which it says are necessary to protect society.

Aziz was convicted of trafficking 50g of heroin. Under Singapore law, the death penalty can be applied for trafficking of more than 15g of heroin and more than 500g of cannabis.

Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said Aziz was accorded “full due process”, and that his appeal against his conviction and sentence was dismissed in 2018.

While she did not deny selling drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine from her flat, she downplayed the scale of those activities, noted judge See Kee Oon.

Authorities argue that strict drug laws help keep Singapore as one of the safest places in the world and that capital punishment for drug offences enjoys wide public support.

But anti-death penalty advocates contest this.

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66309347