External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said arriving at an equilibrium and maintaining it is going to be one of the “biggest challenges” for India-China ties even as he asserted that the immediate issue at hand was Beijing’s departure from laid down norms triggering the border row in eastern Ladakh.

In an interactive session at the Raisina Dialogue, he cautioned against China’s “mind game” to restrict the issues under the bilateral framework and said India must not forgo its rights to harness other factors in the world to get better terms on an equilibrium.

On the economic front, the external affairs minister said there would be a period when the Chinese economy will be flattening out and India will be growing and referred to projections by Goldman Sachs that suggested that by 2075, both countries could end up as USD 50 trillion plus economies.

Mr Jaishankar said India should be confident enough to “leverage” the international system to create the “best possible outcome”.

His remarks came when asked whether there would be a settling point between China and India and would the two countries finally find an equilibrium or a balance in their frosty relations.

“Here is the immediate issue which is: From the late 1980s, we had an understanding on the border precisely because it suited both of us. Now there was a departure after almost 30 years. A departure on their side in terms of how they behaved on the border. And there was a pushback from our side,” he said.

“I think arriving at an equilibrium, then maintaining those and refreshing those is going to be one of the biggest challenges for both countries. It is not going to be easy,” he noted.

The external affairs minister said “mind games” will be played which would be that it is “just between the two of us”.

“The other 190 odd countries do not exist in our relationship. That will be the mind game which will be played. I do not think we should play it,” he said.

“Because if there are other factors out there in the world which can be harnessed by me to get better terms on an equilibrium, then why should I forgo that right,” he said.

“Today, when I say think through your own solution, do not give another country, which is clearly a competitive country, a veto over our policy choices. Unfortunately, in the past that has happened from time-to-time,” he said.

Talking about the two economies, Mr Jaishankar said the Chinese started off “earlier and much more intensively and robustly” than India did.

“But it is in the nature of things that at some stage everybody flattens out. So there will be a period when they will be flattening out and we will be growing,” he said.

“I am not in denial of what the numbers today suggest. But if one looks for an example in Goldman Sachs predictions which is that we will both really by around 2075 end up as USD 50 trillion plus economies and will be the two closest to each other,” he said.

“The international version of that issue will be — if both of us are moving vis-a-vis each other and vis-a-vis the world, how do we construct an equilibrium; that There will be occasions when one or the other would want to do something to press home a particular advantage and the other would resist it,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The Reserve Bank of India said on Friday it has asked the National Payments Corporation of India to examine a request from Paytm, formally known as One 97 Communications, to become a third party application provider (TPAP).

If approved, this would allow Paytm to continue processing payments via India’s popular unified payments interface.

On Jan. 31, the central bank asked Paytm Payments Bank, an associate of Paytm, to wind down its business by March 15, leading to disruption for the popular payment app, which used the banking unit at the back end.

A set of newly identified banks will need to back the Paytm app. To ensure a seamless migration, the central bank has urged the payment authority to handle it.

“No new users are to be added by the said TPAP until all the existing users are migrated satisfactorily to a new handle,” the RBI said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A police officer was injured Friday in a pitched battle between protesting farmers and cops in Khedi Chwpata in Haryana’s Hisar. Visuals showed a chaotic and volatile situation; police – escorted by riot personnel in full gear – can be seen taking people into custody while farmers surrounded them.

The violence – in which tear gas shells were fired and police resorted to a lathi charge, while protesters threw stones – broke after the farmers were stopped from marching to Khanauri on the Punjab border.

They were headed to join thousands others who have gathered there, and at the Shambhu border crossing, ahead of a ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to demand a legal guarantee for MSP, or minimum support price, and waiver of farm loans, pensions, and ollback of increased electricity rates, among other things.

Earlier today a 62-year-old farmer died in Khanauri after suffering a cardiac arrest.

READ | Another Protesting Farmer Dies, Union Leader Demands Job For His Family

Darshan Singh was from Punjab’s Bathinda district, and was the second person from Bathinda to have died in these protests; on Wednesday Subhkaran Singh, 21, died during a clash with the cops. 

Singh died after farmers rushed barricades set up by the police at the Khanauri border crossing to stop them from reaching Delhi. Farmer leaders said his body – a (delayed) postmortem showed a head injury – would not be cremated till the Punjab government registers a case against the person responsible. 

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann – who expressed sorrow over Subhkaran Singh’s death – said a case would be filed after the post-mortem. “Those responsible will have to face stringent action,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader said, as he announced Rs 1 crore compensation and employment for Singh’s sister.

Apart from Darshan Singh and Subhkaran Singh, at least two others – both over 60 – have died – from suspected heart attacks – in these protests, which follow nationwide (and frequently violent) agitations between 2020 and 2021, when tens of thousands of farmers marched on Delhi and set up camp on its borders, effectively blockading the national capital to press home their demands.

READ | “6 Months’ Ration, Diesel In Trollies”: Punjab Farmers Ready For Long Haul

The deaths forced farmer leaders to put their Delhi march plans on hold. They have not, however, backed down and show no signs of doing so; last week a farmer leader told NDTV they had come with enough food and other essential provisions to last for six months, and will not disperse without having their concerns addressed.

The government has held four rounds of talks with the farmers, who are led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (the non-political unit of the union that spearheaded the 2020/21 protests) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. Both sides are expected to sit for a fifth round of talks shortly. 

Meanwhile, the political wing of the SKM has declared a “black Friday” and commemorated the day by burning effigies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his Haryana counterpart, Anil Vij, as well as Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

READ | Black Day, Mahapanchayat: Farmers To Launch Mega Protests Today

The federation of farmers’ unions has also called for a tractor rally on Monday and a day-long programme at Delhi’s Ram Leela Ground on March 14. “We will go without tractors… The government keeps saying they are not stopping us, so let’s see…”

The government has made one offer – a five-year contract to buy three types of pulses, maize, and cotton at the old MSP. This was rejected by the farmers, who want MSP coverage extended to all 23 cash crops, legal guarantees, and for the Swaminathan Commission’s updated payment formula to be used. 

NDTV Explains | Centre’s 5-Year MSP Plan, And Why Farmers Are Not Convinced

A delegation led by Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda has been speaking to the farmers, whose protest comes at a particularly bad time for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, with a general election just weeks away. Mr Munda has asked farmers to remain patient and maintain the peace and, in remarks seen as a swipe at the opposition, warned them against allowing external forces to “hijack” their protests.

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