Amid India-China faceoff, Railway PSU cancels Chinese company's contract worth 471 Crore

On Thursday, in a major development amid the tensions with China at the LAC, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL)- a PSU under the aegis of the Ministry of Railways has terminated a Chinese company’s contract. This contract pertained to the signalling and telecommunication work in Kanpur-Deen Dayal Upadhyay section was awarded to M/s Beijing National Railway Research and Design Institute of Signal and Communication Group Co. Ltd. in June 2016. The contract cost of Rs.471 crore was going to funded by a loan from the World Bank. 

As per the DFCCIL, only 20% of the work was completed despite the passage of 4 years. Explaining the rationale for the cancellation of the contract, it listed issues such as reluctance of the Chinese company to furnish technical documents as per the contract agreement, non-availability of the company’s engineers at the site, lack of tie-up with the local agencies and delay in material procurement. Moreover, the PSU alleged that there was no improvement in progress despite repeated meetings with them at every possible level.  

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The violent faceoff

20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred when a violent faceoff took place on Monday night when the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. As per the Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese newspaper Global Times, the Chinese side also suffered casualties during the physical clash. Sources revealed that an Indian colonel was attacked by Chinese Army personnel with iron rods without any provocation leading to a strong retaliation from the Indian side.

This physical hand-to-hand combat went on for many hours on Monday, sources revealed. Speaking at the meeting with Chief Ministers on Wednesday, PM Modi issued a strong statement on the martyrdom of 20 Indian Army personnel. Stressing that bravery was a part of Indian tradition, the PM assured the people of the country that the sacrifices of the soldiers would not go in vain. The PM has convened an all-party meeting on June 19 to discuss the present situation at the LAC. In a heartening development, the Indian Army announced that all 4 injured personnel in the faceoff with China are now stable. 

Calls to alter the economic relationship with China

The martyrdom of the Indian Army personnel has struck a chord across the nation, resulting in a call for drastically altering the economic relationship with China. For instance, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has launched a nationwide campaign called 'Bharatiya Saaman-Hamara Abhiman' to boycott Chinese products. It aims to reduce imports from China to a tune of 13 billion dollars by December 2021 with the cooperation of traders and citizens.

In this regard, the CAIT has appealed to celebrities to stop endorsing Chinese brands as a matter of respect for the Indian soldiers. Earlier in the day, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale demanded that the restaurants selling Chinese food should be banned. He also urged people to boycott Chinese food. 

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