17th SEPTEMBER 2014

 Beijing is expected to push its new-generation APC1000 nuclear reactors during talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. The two leaders are expected to discuss the possibility of a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Mr. Xi arriving in India on Wednesday.

India has warmed to the idea of the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor that could prove to be a game-changer in regional linkages among the four countries. The BCIM corridor, long promoted by China, is intended to link Kunming to Kolkata, Mandalay (Myanmar), Dhaka and Chittagong. It is intended to advance multi-modal connectivity, harness economic complementarities, promote investment and trade and facilitate people-to-people contacts.

In an effort to usher in transparency in the real estate market, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, will launch a crowdsourcing portal, www.iboughtproperty.com, on Wednesday to create benchmarks for property values by collecting data directly from buyers and validating the information using standard scientific practices.

A swanky ATM-attached air-conditioned bus stop will soon come up at Asargana near the Kathipara junction, Guindy. The Rs. 1.25-crore facility, initiated by the Cantonment Board of St. Thomas Mount and Pallavaram, is likely to be commissioned by January. It has been planned to build three more such units on 360 square feet each. Each will provide seating for 35 people and accommodate 45 standing.

China and India have described President Xi Jinping’s visit to New Delhi on Wednesday as a defining moment in ties, whose trajectory would have a major impact across the globe. President Xi warmed up to the larger undertaking in India, with visits to the Maldives and Sri Lanka — countries in the Indian Ocean, which were part of China’s blueprint of the Maritime Silk Road (MSR). In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called President Xi’s visit as the commencement of “Millennium of Exceptional Synergy.” Mr. Modi said the upcoming meetings with the visiting President should be called “INCH towards MILES.” He elaborated on the acronyms by saying that INCH stood for India-China, while MILES meant Millennium of Exceptional Synergy. The Prime Minister hoped that Wednesday’s dialogue would mark a positive beginning to achieve this goal of “INCH towards MILES.”

Tensions in the South China Sea between China and Vietnam cast their shadow on the eve of the visit to India by Chinese President Xi Jinping, after New Delhi and Vietnam declared their intent to jointly scout for oil in waters claimed by Beijing as its own. To a question on President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Vietnam, during which development of off-shore energy ties with Hanoi was one of the focal areas, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Beijing would not support such a move. China and Vietnam have a major dispute over Nansha islands, called Paracel islands by Hanoi.

Belgium grants prisoner ‘right to die’ to a prisoner after doctors agreed his psychiatric condition was incurable. Belgium has allowed euthanasia since 2002 in cases where patients’ physical or psychological conditions are incurable. About 1,400 people a year choose the option, but it has rarely ever been applied to convicts before

In the wake of rising frauds and corporate governance issues in public sector banks, the central bank has recommended to the government certain norms for reforming public sector banks (PSBs). “Based on various committees, including the P. J. Nayak Committee recommendations, we have made certain suggestions to the government such as segregation of the chairman and managing director posts and a separate committee for appointment of directors on the board of PSU banks,” said R. Gandhi, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on the sidelines of the banking conclave organised by FICCI and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA)

The International Economic Association (IEA) has appointed Kaushik Basu, who is the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of World Bank, as President-elect of the association. “The International Economic Association (IEA) has appointed Professor Kaushik Basu as President-elect of the Association beginning September. He will continue serving as Senior Vice President and World Bank Chief Economist,” Dr. Basu’s Senior Communication officer Merrell J Tuck-Primdahl said in a statement.

To curb tax avoidance activities as well as abuse of treaties, Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on Tuesday, proposed elaborate measures that would help countries, including India, to shore up its tax revenue base.

Pardeep won the standard pistol junior men’s bronze medal in the 51st World shooting championship in Granada, Spain. Dario di Martino of Italy was tied with Pardeep on 561, but won the shoot-off 46-45 against the Indian lad. In the junior men’s 50-metre rifle prone event, Ishan Goel shot 618.0 and missed the final on the count-back 103.1 to 104.5 on the last card, after being tied for the eighth spot with Gernot Rumpler of Austria.

The Chinese Taipei duo Sun Chia-Hung and Chiu Ssu-Hua clinched the mixed doubles final in the juniors’ category at the Reliance 20th Asian junior & cadet table tennis championships, defeating the Hong Kong pair of Ho Kwan Kit & Doo Hoi Kem 3-1.