The Chhattisgarh

Tag: Singapore

  • PM Modi Meets Singapore PM Lawrence Wong, Four MoUs Signed – Key Details |

    PM Modi In Singapore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday to discuss enhancing cooperation between the two nations. Modi is on a two-day visit to Singapore at Wong’s invitation.

    Before their official talks, PM Modi received a ceremonial welcome at the Singapore Parliament House and signed the visitor’s book. The meeting holds significance as it marks the first interaction between the two leaders since Wong took office as Singapore’s premier and Modi began his third term as India’s prime minister. The two countries signed four MoUs.

    #WATCH | Several MoUs signed between India and Singapore in the fields of Digital Technologies, Health and Medicine, Educational Cooperation & Skills Development and India-Singapore Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore… pic.twitter.com/mowXSLxzaB
    — ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2024

    Ahead of the talks with Wong, Modi received a red carpet-welcome at the Singapore Parliament House. He also signed the visitor’s book there. “A new chapter in – ties: Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established. PM @narendramodi and PM @LawrenceWongST held a productive meeting in Singapore today,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X after the meeting.

    “The leaders agreed to elevate the – ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They extensively reviewed various facets of the bilateral relationship covering areas of Advanced Manufacturing, Connectivity, Digitalisation, Healthcare & Medicine, Skills Development and Sustainability,” he said. The meeting between the two leaders comes days after Wong took over and Modi began his third term as prime minister. 

    Later in the day, PM Modi will meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Several agreements are expected to be signed between India and Singapore, covering areas like digital technologies, healthcare, education, skills development, and semiconductor collaboration.

  • PM Modi Begins Key Visit To Brunei, Singapore Today: What’s On Agenda? |

    New Delhi: Beginning today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Brunei and Singapore. On September 3-4, he will visit Brunei at the invitation of Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah to enhance bilateral cooperation across various sectors. This marks the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to Brunei, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Brunei. 

    Brunei is a key partner in India’s “Act East” policy and its broader vision for the Indo-Pacific region. 

    The visit is expected to bolster India’s cooperation with Brunei across various sectors, including defense, trade, investment, energy, space technology, health, capacity building, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, while also exploring opportunities in new areas, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. 

    Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary of State for External Affairs, announced that Prime Minister Modi will engage in bilateral discussions with Brunei’s leaders during his visit, focusing on all aspects of their cooperation and relationship. 

     “As you know, we share a very warm and friendly relationship with Brunei and our engagements cover multiple areas such as defence, trade and investment, energy, space, technology, health, capacity, building, culture and vibrant people-to-people exchanges,” ANI quoted Mazumdar as saying. 

    According to him, the Indian diaspora in Brunei, numbering around 14,000, includes a significant proportion of doctors and teachers who have gained respect and recognition for their contributions to the country’s economy and society. 

    PM Modi’s Visit To Singapore 

    Modi will thereafter visit Singapore at the invitation of Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on September 4-5. This marks his first visit to the country in nearly six years. 

    During the trip, PM Modi will hold meetings with Singaporean officials and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, he will also engage with Singaporean business leaders. 

  • PhonePe Users Can Now Make Payments Through UPI In Singapore |

    New Delhi: Fintech firm PhonePe on Wednesday said its users can now make payments through UPI in Singapore under a pact signed by the company with The Singapore Tourism Board. The collaboration has been built upon the existing Unified Payments Interface (UPI) linkage between India and Singapore, which allows customers to instantly make cross-border transactions between the two countries directly from their existing Indian bank accounts.

    “Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and PhonePe enter a two-year strategic partnership to promote UPI payments for Indian visitors in Singapore,” PhonePe, a decacorn, said in a statement. (Also Read: ‘You Give More Money To Govt Than Spend On Yourself’: Social Media Post On Income Tax Concerns Goes Viral)

    Privately-held companies with a valuation of over USD 10 billion are termed decacorn. As part of the partnership, STB and PhonePe will invest in joint marketing efforts across India and Singapore, to promote seamless UPI experiences across key tourism hotspots. (Also Read: High-Security Alert For Apple Users! CERT-In Asked To Deploy Immediate Measures)

    “This partnership exemplifies our dedication to enhancing the Singapore visitor experience for discerning, tech-savvy consumers,” STB Chief Executive Officer Melissa Ow said.

    Under the collaboration, Indian travellers can now use the PhonePe app for instant, seamless, and secure payments across over 8,000 merchants in Singapore, enhancing their experience in the island city.

    “Partnering with STB will facilitate ease of transactions for PhonePe users who now can just pay directly from their existing bank account by scanning a QR code when visiting the island city,” Ritesh Pai, Chief Executive Officer, PhonePe, International Business for PhonePe Private Limited, said.

    PhonePe also processes over 230 million daily transactions with an annualised Total Payment Value (TPV) of more than USD 1.5 trillion.

  • YouTube Removes Over 2.25 Mn Videos In India For Violating Its Community Guidelines In Q4 2023 |

    New Delhi: Google-owned YouTube has removed over 2.25 million videos in India for violating its community guidelines in the fourth quarter of 2023, the popular video streaming platform said in a report on Tuesday.

    The number of videos removed from the platform between October and December 2023 in India is the highest among 30 nations, YouTube said in the report. Singapore (1,243,871) and the US (788,354) had the second and third-highest number of videos removed. Iraq emerged the last with 41,176 videos removed. (Also Read: Ericsson Announces 1,200 Job Cuts In Sweden Amid Lower Sales)

    Globally, 9 million videos were removed by YouTube during the same period, and a whopping 96 per cent of videos were first flagged by machines. Of these 53.46 per cent were removed before they received a single view and 27.07 per cent received between 1 and 10 views before removal, Youtube said in a statement. (Also Read: IIT Madras Alumnus Pavan Davuluri Appointed New Chief of Microsoft Windows And Surface)

    “YouTube’s Community Guidelines are enforced consistently across the globe, regardless of the uploader, where the content is uploaded, or how the content was generated. When content is removed for violating our guidelines, it is removed globally and policies are enforced using a combination of machine learning and human reviewers,” the social media platform said.

    Further, YouTube also removed over 20 million channels in Q4 2023 for violating “spam policies, including but not restricted to scams, misleading metadata or thumbnails, video and comments spam”. More than 1.1 billion comments were also weeded out, the majority of which were spam. Over 99 per cent of removed comments were detected automatically, YouTube said.

  • Who Is Pritam Singh? Singapore Opposition Leader Facing Grave Charges Of Manipulation And Lying. world news

    NEW DELHI: In a significant development from Singapore, Pritam Singh, the Leader of the Opposition and a key figure in the Workers’ Party (WP), has landed in troubled waters. Charged with perjury before a parliamentary committee, Singh faces allegations that could have profound implications for his political career and the broader opposition landscape in Singapore.

    Who Is Pritam Singh?

    Born on August 2, 1976, Pritam Singh has emerged as a central figure in Singaporean politics. As the Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party since 2018 and the Leader of the Opposition since 2020, Singh’s political career has been marked by significant milestones. A lawyer and author by profession, he has represented the Eunos division of Aljunied GRC as a Member of Parliament since 2011, showcasing a commitment to his constituents and the nation’s democratic processes.

    Educational And Professional Journey

    Singh’s academic achievements underscore his intellectual rigor, having graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in History, where he was awarded the Straits Steamship Prize for his outstanding performance. His pursuit of knowledge continued with a Master of Arts in War Studies from King’s College London, supported by a Chevening Scholarship. Singh’s legal acumen was further honed at the Singapore Management University, leading to his admission to the bar and subsequent practice at Donaldson & Burkinshaw.

    The Allegations At Hand

    The charges against Singh stem from his testimony during the Committee of Privileges hearings, which focused on the actions of former MP Raeesah Khan. Specifically, Singh is accused of misleading the committee on two counts, related to discussions with Khan and other WP members about her statements in Parliament. These allegations have led to a pre-trial conference scheduled for April 17, highlighting the seriousness with which the authorities are treating the case.

    The Root Of The Controversy

    Central to this controversy is Raeesah Khan’s admission of having lied to Parliament about a rape case, an issue that prompted a detailed investigation by the Committee of Privileges. Singh’s defense during the parliamentary debate challenged the committee’s findings, asserting that he never instructed Khan to conceal the truth. However, the committee’s final report paints a different picture, suggesting Singh played a pivotal role in the saga.

    Political Ramifications And Next Steps

    The case against Singh has stirred debates about the treatment of MPs facing legal challenges. Grace Fu, organizing secretary of the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), emphasized that Parliament would not prejudge Singh’s case, highlighting the principle of due process. “Parliament should not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings,” said People’s Action Party organizing secretary Grace Fu. In a media statement, Grace Fu said there have been queries about whether the party will, through its Members of Parliament, be seeking to suspend Singh given that he has been formally charged. The outcome of this case could lead to significant consequences for Singh, including potential imprisonment or a fine, and by extension, impact his ability to serve in Parliament.

    Channel News Asia cited Fu as saying that the party will not comment on the merits of the case as it is now before the courts. Following Singh’s charging on Tuesday, Fu said, “Parliament must deal rigorously with any MP who has committed wrongdoing, but suspending an MP is a serious action that must be done in accordance with due process of the law and natural justice. Parliament should not prejudge the outcome of the proceedings.”

    What May Happen To Singh?

    If convicted, Singh may be jailed for up to three years or fined up to SGD 7,000 per charge. He requested a four-week adjournment to engage a lawyer. Under laws passed in May 2022, a person is disqualified from standing for election to become an MP, while a sitting MP will lose their seat if they are jailed for at least one year or fined at least S$10,000. The disqualification lasts for five years.

  • Singapore’s Top 3 Ministers Of Accused Of Graft In 2023 – All Of Indian-Origin | world news

    NEW DELHI: Lauded as the least corrupt country in Asia, Singapore saw three Indian-origin Ministers face graft charges in the year 2023 alone — the same year an economist of Indian descent took over the reins of the city-state as its ninth President. . While two of them — Vivian Balakrishnan and K. Shanmugam were cleared of all charges as the year drew to a close, S. Iswaran’s pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 1, and he is currently out on bail of SG$800,000.

    The trio belongs to the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which has been in power since 1959 and holds a sizeable majority in the country’s Parliament. With the next election due in November 2025, political experts say that the graft allegations could hit PAP’s support base in a country that is ranked the fifth-least corrupt country in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index.

    Over the years, the government has justified seven-figure ministerial paychecks to keep out corruption. According to a Bloomberg report, the country’s public officers are among the world’s best-paid, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong earning a total compensation of about S$2.2 million ($1.7 million) per annum.

    The country witnessed its last corruption case in the year 1986, which saw Teh Cheang Wan, a national development minister, being probed for allegedly accepting kickbacks.

    The case of Balakrishnan and Shanmugam

    Home Affairs and Law Minister Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Balakrishnan were accused of corruption relating to the rental of their colonial-era bungalows in the city-state. The 26 and 31 Ridout Road are two 100-year-old bungalows in the Ridout Park area that have been rented to the two Ministers. In May last year, opposition Reform Party Chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam questioned if the two Ministers were “paying less than the fair market value” for their rental of the two-state properties.

    It was debated in the Parliament in July, following a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigation and a review by senior Minister Teo Chee Hean. The CPIB said in its report that it did not find any wrongdoing on the part of Shanmugam and Balakrishnan, while Teo’s review found that processes had been followed.

    Even as they were cleared, Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Singapore’s Prime Minister, wrote posts on Facebook in July accusing them of corruption over the rental of their bungalows. Yang accused the ministers of acting for personal gains by having the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give them preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to the bungalows.

    The ministers sued Yang, currently in self-exile overseas, for defamation with the judgment being granted in their favour.

    The case of ‘innocent’ Iswaran

    As per a New York Times report, Transport Minister S. Iswaran was among the 4G, or fourth generation, leaders who were considered with Prime Minister Lee hoping to step down, following PAP’s leadership transition within 10 months. But Iswaran was arrested on July 11 last year in one of the most high-profile cases involving a minister in the Asian financial hub in nearly four decades.

    The 61-year-old faces 27 charges of offenses in a corruption probe, which included receiving tickets from Ong Beng Seng, who is credited with bringing F1 racing to Singapore. While pleading not guilty to all the charges, Iswaran said he was ‘innocent’ and resigned from the Cabinet, as a Member of Parliament and as a member of the ruling PAP.

    According to the CPIB, Iswaran has allegedly obtained kickbacks worth SG$384,340.98 ($286,181) from Ong, partly to advance the property tycoon’s business interests. These ranged from tickets to shows, private plane rides, hotel stays, football matches, and various editions of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix. If convicted, he could be fined up to SG$100,000 or face seven years in prison.

    Indian diaspora in Singapore

    Indians make up around nine per cent of the Singapore population and as of 2024, their estimated population is seven lakh. According to the latest 2020 Census, 57.3 per cent of Singapore’s Indian population declared themselves as Hindus, mostly Tamils. Excluding Iswaran, who recently resigned, the present cabinet now includes four Indian-origin ministers — Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, and Indranee Rajah, serving as Second Minister for Finance as well as Second Minister for National Development.

    Janil Puthucheary serves as a senior Minister of State for the Ministries of Transport and Communications and Information. Pritam Singh, the Secretary-General of the Workers’ Party, the largest opposition party in Singapore, is also of Indian descent.

    The penalty for the corrupt

    In Singapore, graft cases are mostly handled by the CPIB, or Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, a government agency that investigates and prosecutes corruption in the public and private sectors. The agency reports directly to the Prime Minister, enabling the CPIB to operate independently. A person convicted for corruption offenses under either Section 5 or 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act faces a fine not exceeding SG$100,000, or a custodial sentence of up to five years (or both) for each charge for which he is convicted.