EP 219 | Daily Global Insights | Aug 6, 2021 | Global News | US News | India News | Markets

Sree Iyer: Namaskar, Hello and welcome to see PGurus Channel. I am your host Sree Iyer, this is daily Global Insights. We are at episode number 219. As always Sridharji is joining us, Sridharji, namaskar and welcome to DGI.

Sridhar Chityala: Namaskar and Good morning to everybody on a bright sunny morning here from New York.

Sree Iyer: Viewers, we have some really interesting news lined up for you. The first one is the US Navy and the US Marine Corps have commenced a large global spanning Military exercise on August 3rd, the largest of its kind since the Cold War. The next day China announced a large-scale drill in the South China Sea in response. This is beyond sabre-rattling in my opinion, your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala: I think this is much, much needed and thanks to Lloyd Austin and they really have embarked on a massive exercise demonstrating, just as India talks about whether they can do a simultaneous, three-front battle, North and west as well as, you know, the other being the non-country forces, the United States is saying that they can do simultaneous battles with Russia and China if it is warranted. So this is called LSE which is a large scale exercise 2021 this first-of-its-kind which has both amphibious and large-scale warships involved in this exercise. Is it is cutting across 17 different time zones and it’s a giant in size between the US Navy and the US Marine Corps. It will have something close to 36 ships ranging from carriers to submarines 250 virtual units and an unlimited number of other forces involved. The objective is coordination, integration and whether logistically they can think on the Fly and respond to the threats that are emanating rather than the traditional question of going and dropping bombs and coming back on a mission. So I think that they are recognized as a multi-prong approach that I think we have been discussing at length, but all I can say, is, kudos to the United States for really picking up the speed and this is much needed. China is not quite, China has responded as well.

Sree Iyer: It’s also interesting to note that China has claimed and we have to see to believe it, then they have underwater drones and that means it is like a torpedo. You’re going to have something, which is going to be a drone that can be shot under the water and this would be a very critical element in Warfare over the seas.  we have to wait and see how that plays out. He was approved, 750 million dollars worth of arms to Taiwan to deter the Chinese Invasion. Indonesia is countering China expansion with the launch of the Security Dialogue on the South China Sea. Vice president Harris is to visit Vietnam and the Philippines later this year. Now, we are finally watching or finally seeing what a vice president, usually does go and visit some countries which are deemed to be important, sir your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala: I think I completely endorse your sentiments. It is great and refreshing to see Anthony Blinken after his recent visit to ASEAN and India and Afghanistan both him as well as Lloyd Austin are really stepping up their efforts and delivering a very clear message to ASEAN countries and the Indo-Pacific countries that they are here and peace and stability in the region is very pivotal. So, they are now extending their reach so this is making sure that Taiwan is supported by the 750 million Aid is a commendable thing in the right in the middle of this tense situation that we have with China. And then, of course, their outreach to the Philippines, their outreach to Vietnam, their Outreach to Thailand, their outreach to more specifically Indonesia all point to very positive foreign policy development that is coming out the Biden Administration.

Sree Iyer:  China claims that the United States report on Covid-19 origins is based on concocted lies and distorted facts. China orders mass testing in Wuhan as coronavirus spreads and China has placed Millions under lockdown as the Nation faces, the biggest outbreak of coronavirus in months. Sir, we believe that Xi Jinping has the country believing that it was the United States that caused this virus.

Sridhar Chityala: I think that you know, he may want everybody to believe. But you know, subtly and silently, you know, you talked to some of the Chinese people living in, Mainland, who are impacted, the message that they are delivering to their respective children here, you know, being cautious because you can’t speak if you speak, then you may not exist in China that’s the general kind of theory. But what they’re saying is that, you know, there is a problem, and there is a challenge, you know, they were ravaged by floods, and then they now the Wuhan area is cut out, the Southeast and South China is impacted. There’s massive lockdown as a result of the fast-developing story around the delta variant and its expansion. So you can see Wuhan itself is cut off, is under complete shut down on lockdown. And then, they deny the report that is all these things originated not in China but somewhere else contrary to the evidence. If they do believe that, why are they are not allowing anybody to come in and do the investigation it begs the question.

Sree Iyer:  Absolutely. And this is one of those things where China has a lot to answer for and you have to wait and see how this plays out. Hong Kong prosecutors drop charges against singer, Anthony Wong. Biden grants deportation to Hong Kong residents to protect them from Chinese crackdown, this means that they can stay on indefinitely in the United States as long as they can prove that they are on Hong Kong residence, I think.

In Tokyo, Covid cases continue to rise and it reaches an all-time high of 5,042, while the Olympic Games continue. Sir, your thoughts on China, Hong Kong, and then Tokyo.

Sridhar Chityala: I think the Hong Kong clampdown continues, the good news is that these are the lawyers of Anthony Wong who have been able to negotiate what they call the Good Samaritan and good behaviour and got him out. So there is no room for complacency because the new national security law is enforced. Recognizing that Biden has stated if you guys here and you know, you are somewhere and you don’t want to go back, you are welcome to the United States. It’s good news because the Hong Kong repatriates bring a lot of wealth and business acumen to the country, whichever place they go to. So I think that’s a very positive development. Tokyo is a concern, hopefully, the Olympics which are rapidly winding down once it finishes will be able to tackle this in a much bigger way. The reason is the cases are rising, they somehow managed to complete the Olympics with various kinds of low and curfew around the Olympic area. But it’s a worrying sign as to what exactly is on the ground situation in Tokyo.

Sree Iyer:  Greece battles wildfire for the third day, across the Mediterranean – old Olympic Site Saved. Beirut demands accountability one year after the deadly blast. We still don’t know who did it. Although, they have been murmurs that a particular country, had a hand in that. Sir, your thoughts on both these things?

Sridhar Chityala: Well, I think that the Greece situation is quite tense and it’s worrying and I’m told that there is also fires extending into Turkey. So, Erdogan one is being to some extent held accountable. Hope they put this down in and this is the last thing that they need, especially when they want to open and bring tourists on. Lebanon has become, almost on the verge of collapse especially after that specific incident things began to go south. There are lots of issues. There is no government and you seem to have the rebel forces and including Hezbollah being fairly active in that part. I mean Hezbollah has always been active and now you have this specific situation. Hopefully, hopefully Lebanon will not become worse and will be stable because they’re a great set of people and great business people. And, you know, Beirut was one of those wonderful town’s which people enjoyed amidst the oasis of restrictions in West Asia.

Sree Iyer:  Afghan translators and other supporters fear for their families as they tried to flee to the US with eminent Taliban takeovers. The Afghan economy is on the verge of collapse as the United States has almost completely departed. Sir, we kind of knew that this is what was going to happen. However, there are some conflicting reports that are coming, for example now, what they are saying is that the Afghan troops are standing and fighting back. However, there is an institution of systemic corruption in Afghanistan. And they were saying, even simple things like if there was so much petrol that was set aside for tanks by the time when it was required to deploy, then they find out that the general has sold the petrol in the black market. So this kind of stuff is happening in Afghanistan. And the US is now left scratching their head in, look, we have trained this Force, except they have trained it as is the first-world force and it is not. So, these are some of the challenges that Afghan forces are seeing. I don’t know when that is going to be played out. But corruption is a real killer, sir. This is something that I got from a different source. I don’t know your thoughts on how Afghan can turn around this corner. They certainly have the number. It’s a 5:1, 350,000 troop versus 70,000 Taliban ragtag. Yet the news is completely cornered by the Taliban. Your thoughts, sir.

Sridhar Chityala: I think that you’re the information and the input that you have received is phenomenal within the context of relevancy and accuracy. There are two anecdotal examples that I would point out in making the Afghan. You know, when somebody asked Texas, this is not the Customs and Border patrol, when Texas border forces were asked, what’s the challenge? He said, it’s not the Border surge, it is the fight between the good and the evil. So it’s the same in Afghanistan, it’s a fight between good and evil. It’s the same people, so, that is what you are seeing played out whether who won, who lost, we don’t know, but it is the fight between the good and the evil. When you actually go back into the Sahel region, which we have been talking about, doesn’t matter whether it is central Africa, Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso Algiers Etc. So you find there again that there is these forces whichever name you want to give without going into different caricatures. You find that there is a fight that is going on and the same thing is extended into Afghanistan. So who is the Taliban? Taliban is not some alien force, it’s part of the Afghan population. So my view is that rather than counting, you know, good and the bad, government and non-government process. It basically says that it has clearly slipped into Civil war. It is better Constitution will be relevant or not, everybody wants it to be and time will tell.

Sree Iyer:  Sir, now if I could make a small request when you turn on some lights because suddenly your face is gone and rich dark could help while I read the next news item, sir. Here we go, in US News, Kerry’s, a private jet has taken 16 flights, this year alone record show. Kerry and the clean energy, and green Accord czar defends actions while supporting Keystone XL, pipeline action. And, and this is a very interesting story that Sridharji is going to share, we laughed over it when he saw the absurdity of it. Landlord real estate groups to ask Judge to block CDC (Center for Disease Control) New Eviction Moratorium, it’s for two more months. Outright Groups are pouring in money to dismantle Police Department. This is something that was suspected. We now have proof. The proof can be found not in this video, but when you see it on our website when we have a post for EP 219, we’re going to give you all the photographic evidence. Critical race theory must be banned from school. Sir, looking at all these together. First of all, let’s start with Kerry. We have some very interesting data to show.

Sridhar Chityala: Well Kerry has been 16 flights and all of it is in private. So he was asked the question, you know, how many flights have you taken? He replied, I don’t know, I can’t count the number of flights but you know, I can go across the water. I need to take a plane, I can’t be waiting at the airport. So I need to have private jets because I need to address the issues. Then they told him, do know just this year alone, you have taken the 16 flights you have burnt so much of your fuel and what you require, what you would have done otherwise is 110 and because you are the Czar. He says I am sorry, I can’t answer that question which is namely to say I choose. I do what I believe is suits me, okay. And then what happened is, they’ve put up adjacent to that which you will see in the storyline that to publish is the impact of the Keystone gas line pipeline, that has been abandoned jobs lost. And then the energy bill raising. This is the same Kerry who said everything runs on four wheels with steering what is inside it, it doesn’t matter when people questioned, you know, about this transition which is was abrupt. This was his answer. So somebody should tell John Kerry not he is going to listen to anything that flies. You can put on a parachute and fly your way to or you can have a balloon and fly and save a lot of energy. Nobody is saying, you got to be there on this day, st this time, you can land one month later, you can still solve the problem. It was just a devious interview and the statements, this is the hypocrisy of sometimes, what you call this, many of these Democratic leaders who make this irrational statement but they do not follow. He’s the same guy in the same plane. We have Donald Trump jr. with mass sitting in economy class, whereas John Kerry sitting in the first class or business class with no mask and he was asked the question, why you have no mask? You said these were the days when there was a mask, again, he gives something similar so therefore, these people have this hypocritical set of rules and they don’t follow is very unfortunate.

On the Minneapolis situation. It’s astonishing that you have external agencies, external agencies, which have funded close to 900 million dollars. Why? Because they want to defund the police.

Sree Iyer: Sir, is it 900 million or 900 thousand?

Sridhar Chityala: oh, 900,000 sir, My apologies. I stand corrected, $983,000, 900 million you can buy the United States. So this is 900,000. So, effectively you have very clear, which is namely who has funded, how much they have funded and why they want to defund? The Observer has thrown an article, you know, who determines, how to shape communities and societies. Is it somebody who’s not living in the community? And who wants to instigate these types of actions, this is what is prevalent in the United States, if you are familiar with the Indian political Playbook, you may see something like this all these NGOs preaching, what needs to happen while without being on the ground and facing the real consequences and situations.

Sree Iyer: Viewers about 15 years ago or 20 years ago, election funding was a big deal. Then, the politicians are limited from seeking funds from private sources. They had to work within their budget which made it extremely difficult for people to influence their thoughts. But, then, the current chief justice who was appointed when he was in his forties I think because they figured that if this guy becomes CJI and the Supreme Court justice for life for the next 40 years, conservatives are going to have the run of the mill. But you know what has happened is he lifted the limitation on how much funding presidential elections in other elections can have. And now you see everybody, sails ship to Washington DC. There are so many new Lobby groups. I can go on and on, but this definitely needs to be reversed. I don’t know what the Chief Justice was thinking about when he passed that order, but be that as it may, we are stuck with that.

Now, let’s move on to the next news US is developing a plan that would warrant Covid-19 shots for foreign Travellers, unless you are an illegal alien who is travelling via the southern border, this is Sridharji’s barb at how poorly it is being implemented. Senator Rand Paul says nothing more authoritarian than a no-fly list for unvaccinated people. Sir, when is this government going to wake up and smell the coffee?

Sridhar Chityala: What you’re saying is? If I mean if anybody tries to decode this, we have two sets of policies and programs going on. The United States has regained in my view based on all the actions that are going on and Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin, seemed to have regained ground and going the right way on the diplomacy and the foreign policy is concerning and Global deterrence. It is a different model from Trump, but it is a positive model in terms of inclusiveness, attending Summits talking to people and bringing all the people together etc.

Then, you look at domestic, it’s exactly the opposite policy, everything is dysfunctional and everything is non-consultative. If this bunch of progressive, kind of come up and line up in Capitol Hill and few of them begin to shout then a policy decision is made. The eviction is one example, Supreme Court basically, by rule, CBC order is illegal then this whole bunch of progressives came and basically said, you have to reverse the order, next day, Biden, reverses, the order. So the same thing is happening in the border, in the Border situation. Let’s get to the Border in a second. What he saying is all overseas Travelers now will be subjected to vaccination tests. So they must pass. They must demonstrate that they have had two vaccines. And, you know, before to exempt quarantine or whatever is the process. Then you have no-fly the list that is those who are not vaccinated, cannot fly in domestic flights as well, leave alone the international visitors. So, I added the comments. What about this surge that’s happening on the Border, you will be allowed. No passport, no visa, free access buses planes. You will not be tested for Covid and you will be integrated into the community. You can draw your own conclusion. This is what is going on ground reality here. And when you say Florida cases are rising, you’re moving them to Florida. When you say Texas cases are rising, you are moving them into Texas. They have no ability to combat because there is no ICE. The CBP is under Federal control and whenever there is a local force who will go in and do you know they object to it now the Department of Justice is filing a case which is to say what they’re doing in Florida and what they’re doing in Texas is illegal. This is the disconnect that we are experiencing in the United States.

Sree Iyer: Viewers very shortly, Sridharji and I are going to have a fireside chat on dissecting what happens within the Democratic party. As far as we know and Sridharji is going to do his research, as of course, to be meticulously presented. As far as  I know. There are three groups, there are the moderates, there are the liberals and there are the progressive, now turns out that Biden needed the help of progressives to come to power. And now he’s finding that they have become an albatross around his neck, my words. I’m sure he’s feeling that. So we’re going to dissect this, who are the leading lights in all these three people. And who is the playmaker for the progressive? This person is hiding in the shadows and making all his moves, you know, more about this when you listen to Elmer Yuen’s next, you know, episode that is going to be aired on PGurus shortly where he talks about how Mr Xi Jinping, a part-time actor ended up becoming the premier of China.  We will let the cat out of the bag in terms of how this guy happened to you know, be at the right place at the right. And what he has now become.

Let’s move on. Biden should be impeached for his Open Borders Policy. Who said this, sir.

Sridhar Chityala:  An unnamed republican senator said, let him come out publicly.  An unnamed republican has made the comment that he should be impeached. And you can guess it would be from these affected states.

Sree Iyer: Absolutely and the Texas governor is going to call a special session after special children, I should read it again. Texas governor to call a special session after a special session to make the freeing Democrats consider voting the bill. So these Democrats are now hold up in DC, I believe. And some of them are affected by Covid. So, essentially, they are quarantine. And now if you keep on convening, a special session, after a special present at some point this week, guys will have to make a call because their constituents are going to say, where the heck are you hiding? There is legislation happening. So your thoughts on this manoeuvre of Republican, sir?

Sridhar Chityala: It’s just that the Republicans are trying their best to get a quorum and do what is required from a state constitutional perspective. If Democrats want to run to the federal and basically say, we don’t want to go back to the state and run because we have Pussycats, and sorry, no pun intended, because everybody loves their pets, but the story is they hide behind their delusional theories and get somebody like a big dad or Uncle Sam to look after them. It just is a mockery of Democracy,

Sree Iyer: Trump-backed Ohio candidate says across the Nation have rejected Progressive ideas. I believe this candidate won. Correct me if I’m wrong, sir.

Sridhar Chityala: Correct. He won. He basically said, in a tough race, I have won. That means the progressive agenda… It’s just, don’t get me wrong, Ohio State is not deterministic, it is all political statements, but the fact that he contested and won from a house district is an indication that nobody with any common sense even the hardcore Democrats will not accept some of the stuff that is going on, led by this progressives.

Sree Iyer: Viewers, please remember that even inside the Republican party, there is a constant challenge to Trump’s leadership and this was one such thing where the others and Republican party who are opposed to him, for example, Lez Cheney, mostly people from Utah, Wyoming, and so on. These are the people who are opposing him. They had said that he represents a very extreme view and therefore he doesn’t really represent the mainstream Republican idea. So this is also another endorsement that the Republican party is still very much behind Donald Trump and please don’t comment that we are speaking for the Republicans. We are saying, what we are seeing. This is what it is, that is what it is. The fact that Blinken and Austin are now continuing on with Mike Pompeo’s policies tell you that something’s that the Trump Administration did, they did the right thing. I’m glad that Biden Administration officials have realized this and they have moved in the same direction, they have aligned the country’s interest in the same direction and we tip our hat to them also. If somebody does something good we are here to praise them, if they do something not so good then we are here to criticise them. That’s how we should look at PGurus. That is the goal.

In the next news item, Maria Bartiromo says China’s goal is to replace… I don’t think Maria Bartiromo said. I think somebody said on the show that China’s goal is to replace the US as a superpower at any cost. Your thoughts, sir.

Sridhar Chityala: Now Maria Bartiromo has given a concluding comment after her interview with Jamie Dimon that it’s clearly their agenda of Xi Jinping is, by whichever way possible to put China ahead. 70 years of CCP anniversary is complete. They quickly realized that there is a very weak global leadership or absence of global leadership and that has forced China to say that this is the strategy that they have been waiting for and it is time to act. So they’re acting militarily. They’re acting economically. They are acting in a surreptitious or in a covert way and they are acting in a way by which they are beginning to interfere in markets and they are also acting using their surrogates. Remember, there are close to 1.9 million Chinese agents based on the database that we had talked about all around the world. They’re using them, what they call, Wolf ambassadors from within their own party and their allies to disrupt and promote the Chinese massage in the agenda. So this is what makes one believe because Maria’s comments relate to especially two facets. One is the disruption of their own industry which is close to $800 billion of market cap losses making them forcefully compliant to the Chinese model. The second is weaponizing the economic tariffs and barriers as a tool to push the United States to go more towards China by way of business especially the businesses here while putting all kinds of barricades and facades around anybody trying to do anything in China.

Sree Iyer: In fact, Senator Marco Rubio has also warned that China has weaponized the US’s corporate lust for profits. So this is one of the reasons why China continues to rule the roost and get away with a lot of things. Bipartisan infrastructure bill would add 256 billion deficit over a decade for the Congressional budget office also called CBO. Now, we are in Sridharji’s territory that is data and numbers. Sir, take it away.

Sridhar Chityala: Well, I think the CBO is one of the last pieces of work that needed to be done. What is the consequence of $564 billion or $554 billion in infrastructure adding extensions up to $1.2 trillion dollars? So what are the consequences of a long-term deficit that does to the balance sheet, the government balance sheet? Just this alone will create a 256 billion dollars long-term deficit over a period of 10 years. 10 years is the magic number here. Remember there is no debt ceiling extension. Madam Janet Yellen is working on desperate measures. $6.5 trillion needs to be added to $22 trillion of the current debt limit to increase US debt limit to 28.5 trillion. These 256 billion, etc and more to come. It is not yet counted for and how they would add remains an interesting question. Mr Mitch McConnell has stated he is not prepared to increase the debt limit, setting a big confrontation. You want to pass an infrastructure bill but you don’t want to increase the debt limit. So how are you going to reconcile the two, only they know?

Sree Iyer: Now let’s take a look at news from India. China’s newly-opened rail line which runs close to India’s boundary with Tibet in Arunachal Pradesh is being used by China to transport the People’s Liberation Army, that is PLA troops for the first time. In fact, you might remember that we had read about how Xi Jinping had made a surprise visit to a place which is very, very close to this to try and tip his hand that the PLA is readying an invasion, perhaps on India. India says India is prepared. Sir, your thoughts on what is happening in and around Arunachal Pradesh.

Sridhar Chityala: Look, I think we have talked about this railway. We will share this map, which I am seeing on my phone. From west to east, it runs from Shigatzein Tibet to Chengdu in the Sichuan Province. Chengdu is the headquarters of one of the big command centres. Then, from North to South, it runs from Xinning to Lhasa which is the Tibetan Capital. So this is the railway line that they’re plotting. Xinning to Golmud and Golmud to Shigatse – those two lines are complete. All these with the intent for not public but mostly Army use. Shigatse to Lhasa was completed in 2014. Lhasa to Nyinchi, which actually is right at the tip, probably 10 miles or 15 miles from Arunachal Pradesh got completed on June 2021. This is where they are moving. They use the train and the first passengers who came were the PLA forces. There is going to be a train line going from Nyingchi to Ya’an which will effectively complete around 2030. When it has done, they have got the ability to move PLA by train which they are logistically incapable of doing. They can’t move such huge forces by air because of the heights and the terrain that they are dealing with in the greater Tibetan region around Sichuan and Xinning regions. So, the fact is that India is not ignorant. India is very much aware. Now, they’ve got 2 satellites. They also have Becks, the US satellites. The bilateral exchange program that they signed gives them a lot of access. So if, Mr Xi Jinping wants a war, India is saying we are ready to fight the war. But this just gives you an example of how they systematically plan and you have to give it to the Chinese to say how they maniacally plan and execute in pursuit of their agenda.

Sree Iyer: The PMI Manufacturing Index has hit a three-month high in July, The Reserve Bank of India’s MPC meeting, wait and watch policy is expected. Food inflation per indications is promising. We have to wait and see what the RBI decides to do as far as the monetary policy is concerned. Indian services sector struck in contraction for the third straight month. The Union government has introduced a bill in Parliament to amend the income tax act that will bring an end to the retrospective taxation regime. This has been hanging over the heads of corporates like the sword of Damocles for almost a decade now. But this was in BJP’s manifesto in 2014 that was drafted under the chairmanship of Nitin Gadkariji. So I’m glad that this is happening. Sir, your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala: I think that on the economic front we have been repeating that the macro indicators are all pointing to a positive. This retrospective tax is a very big achievement. August 5th seems to be like a magic date and it seems to be striking some kind of emotional resonance to many because August 5th is the day when Article 370 was rescinded. August 5th is the day when the Bhoomi Pooja was performed. August 5th is the day when, I’m now told that the UCC is tabled for discussion in Rajya Sabha and August 5th is the day when they removed the retrospective tax code which was a big, big hamper in terms of business impact and business investment. So that’s gone. So everybody can now know what they’re dealing with, what the transactions are and what the economic outlook is. As far as the NPC’s are concerned, I’m told that they are likely to leave the interest rates as is because India is just coming out of the pandemic and the economy is trying to get back into rails. The services sector has not picked up. What has picked up is only the manufacturing in the eight core sectors, which are more focused around both domestic consumption on the heavy industry side but also on the export side. So, the services sector is the engine of the Indian economy which contributes a significant part of the GDP. So that really needs to kick off and it can only kick off when you have a much more open economy.

Sree Iyer: As a matter of interest, I noticed yesterday that one of those so-called liberal channels of India were highlighting the fact that India conquered the second wave rather successfully. These are the same channels that were derisive saying that India doesn’t know how to manage its covid when the second wave hit Mumbai and Delhi. Now, they’re pointing to the same thing because the US is undergoing this saying that, well, if they do this, this, and this like India did, then the US will be also hit its new Delta variant resulting in explosion of covid positive patients in control. This way of a left-handed compliment, I find it very interesting, sir. Viewers, you don’t get a left-handed compliments. You don’t get right-handed compliments. You only get compliments and criticism from PGurus. I’m sorry to blabber the same point over and over. I’m just stuck at the hypocrisy of multibillion-dollar networks who don’t have qualms about saying something exactly opposite of what they said because the first time they said some untruth. So, here we go.

Let’s go on to the next news, India is targeting to ramp up the production of palm oil. Remember Malaysia. Remember Mahathir Mohamad. Remember, how he got fired over it by over three times to 11 lakh tons by 2025/26 to cut down the import dependency of edible oils. Again, I am telling this. We are the first ones. In fact, we’re the only ones who talked about this rail line that is coming to the edge of origin for this. We did this two, three, four months ago, when Sridharji and I had a Fireside chat discussion when he laid out the entire line. Sir, I tip my hat to you because even I didn’t know the extent of work that has gone into China on the Tibetan side to try and connect all these remote locations using the train.

Sridhar Chityala: Indeed sir. I think that I’m glad that we have been able to share the data and provide a very detailed perspective on a dedicated fireside chat. You know, to add to our own little tu-tu Mekong River is another one. Nobody thought that Mekong would get featured. So now Antony Blinken has got a Mekong River initiative with about 15 countries and which is to say that the five countries which form the Mekong Valley, there are a China’s Upstream dams or draining water and impacting the downstream economic system which is agro driven like Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, they are very much a farming community and they are training this diverse. They also brought World Bank in it, which is again, a great way to tell. They invited China as well. You also come and see what the hell that you’re doing and so, I think that this is again as we pointed out and just about two days ago or three days ago. Of course, the planning may have started a few months ago.

That initiative has been also brought to the surface. So this is edible palm oil is a great record by India to be self-reliant and you can see in many ways that they are slowly inching their way. India is a very fertile and rich land. It’s been neglected in terms of harnessing what it has, this is where a partnership with countries such as Israel is very very helpful, not only in extracting the yield but also managing all the resources that are very cyclical in India, like water, irrigation, etc.

Sree Iyer: Aso, sir, to add to one point that you made about Uniform Civil Code, I’m not sure if it is the government that is tabled the bill or if it is the private member’s Bill, sir. I need to double-check that and viewers stay tuned. There is something going on about introducing Uniform Civil Code across the country and it’s something that needs to be lauded. Also, we must you know, a laud Modi for taking a lot of heat from Mahathir Muhamad, a 93-year-old man, who claimed that he was going to root out corruption. He threw the previous prime minister in jail and then he came to power and he started mouthing invectives to please the South Malaysian lobby which is a very radicalized Islamic group. And then just decided one day to pull the rug from under their feet and said that India wil no longer import oil from you and in 2 weeks Mahathir Muhamad was gone. This kind of stuff is a big message to many countries that are doing business with India. That if you cross the line, this line is defined. Everybody knows that they are crossing the line. Mahathir Muhamad has no business saying things that he did. In fact, Malaysia is here to hand over the key and night who’s wanted on money laundering, and many other criminal charges. We put it out in PGurus 4-5 years ago. Sandhya Jainji had written an excellent article and nothing is happening. India has been requesting that he be extradited, the guy sits there and mounts invectives on India and all sorts of nonsense. So, here is the thing, the point that I’m making here is that PGurus will appreciate somebody’s good work, they will also criticize. That’s what a news channel should be. Many of us have forgotten, why news channels were created? What news was about?

Decision on the TRIPS waiver proposal absolutely crucial in these trying times. What is TRIPS, sir?

Sridhar Chityala: Trade Restricted Intellectual Property Rights.

Sree Iyer: I see. Covaxin has now received a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice. It’s called GMP compliance from the Hungarian authorities. So I think you have to start seeing this thing to play out because it will usually start with one country and then slowly, I’m hoping that the EU and then the United States will approve this and then Covaxin will be one of those things that will define India’s lead and being the vaccine provider of the world. Thank you, sir. And if you have to add something to this, please go ahead.

Sridhar Chityala: No, I think that you have covered it quite well. Again, to re-emphasize, India and South Africa took the lead on TRIPS and wanted United Nations to intervene. There’s a bipartisan commitment from the United States to support this. What happens is, critically, APIs which form the upstream value chain in the manufacturing of the vaccines you will find that their APIs are not allowed to be imported from the United States. Lo and behold, Covaxin now has gone indigenous but Covishield still requires an API from the United States. What they’re saying is look, if you want to vaccinate the world, if you still hold on to this in this pandemic situation, then it’s not going to be helpful to anybody. So that’s the impact of that TRIPS and they’re reminding again and are hopeful that it will be lifted and we’ll be moving forward.

Sree Iyer: Now, let’s take a look at Markets. Markets rise on the back of a good job report hopes, and energy & oil stocks. Rising covid cases is clearly creating more uncertainty and the markets will continue to see volatility in the few days and weeks to come. Sir, with your permission, I’ll put up the video on Market numbers, as you go through the various indices.

Sridhar Chityala: So Dow was up 271 points after being down. S&P was up marginally up by 26 and NASDAQ was up hundred points. So this is basically because, yesterday they gave a thumbs up to the oil prices because if you recall, the oil prices were 72, it went below 70 dollars. So, the markets came also, they believe that there will be more people flying, so that’s the transportation stock. So, this is the second index, which is the oil. You can see that crude is below $70 whereas it was it just above 70 yesterday. Brent has come below, from 73, it is around 71. All augurs well from the energy market side of the business. You can see the 10-year rate is at 1.2, yesterday it was at 1.18. So this keeps on vacillating but the fact is that we have come a long way down from 1.6 to 1.22 is an indication that the FED has won the battle with the Bond vigilantes. Bitcoin is up. It has now gone past 40,000. There’s more news coming on cryptos. JP Morgan announced the launch of six funds. I think Gary Gensler, we talked about SEC coming in. Janet Yellen saying she wants to charge and raise $28 billion. All that means is crypto is going mainstream. It’d be interesting for people to plot the price of gold movement from 2019 to 2021. And the two major cryptos, which is namely Etherium and Bitcoin and plot the price movement and then compare for yourself. What is the relative performance indication is. I’m not talking about very sophisticated adjacent models that are coming out in the ecosystem of the cryptos. I’m just saying when vanilla instrument versus the gold as they are the metal right now. So compare, you will see for yourself the changes that have happened in the market.

So somebody is talking about the Dhyanchand / Rajiv Gandhi award. Some of these news items we don’t touch because I think Sreeji covers many of these topics during the day. A minimum of two sessions and forums, so a vast part of it gets covered. As it is, we are trying to do this in 20 minutes but every day we keep extending it to 30 minutes because there’s so much to cover and discuss. So we’ll try our best. But we’re trying to stay away from lots of little… It is a major item, the awards renamed after Dhyanchand. He is considered one of the best players in Hockey. I’m glad that Modiji announced, again August 5th or August 6, whichever day, this renaming of the sports award in his name. That’s how it should be. The sports award should be in the name of people who have contributed in the field of sports. Not to some nimbo-bimbo politicians.

Sree Iyer: Yes, indeed and viewers. Thank you for watching this week’s programs of Daily Global insights. We will be back again next week. Next week we have a few surprises but enjoy the ride. It is going to be a lot of fun. As always Sridharji, a pleasure to share the news of the world with our viewers and your work is outstanding, sir. I’m saying this with all sincerity because it is not easy to put together these capsules. It takes a lot of effort. As always viewers, please remember to like and share our program as soon as you start watching today, I did not make a pitch for it at the beginning because I wanted to see how many of you remember that bit from yesterday. Many of you did. Just a shout out, please like and share. Click on the share button if you are watching on Facebook and click on like if you’re watching on YouTube or on Twitter. We are also coming live on LinkedIn as well as Kwch and we may be adding more platforms in the next days and weeks to come. Stay tuned. Thank you, and Namaskar.

Sridhar Chityala: Thank you so much. Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for your kind words, Sreeji, and thanks to all of you for making this a great experience for all of us.