Author: CD Staff

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Context

Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of the National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC) to monetize surplus land and building assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other agencies linked to the Government.

In this article, we will study how effective is this going to be, considering land monetization is a complex process, what potential challenges could NLMC face in the whole process, what roles and responsibilities will this separate agency be entrusted with?

What is NLMC?

• The NLMC will be a firm, fully owned by the government, to carry out the monetisation of government and public sector assets in the form of surplus, unused or underused land assets.
• It will fall under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.
• It will be set up with an initial authorised share capital of ₹5,000 crore and a paid-up capital of ₹150 crore.
• Surplus land and building assets of CPSEs are expected to be transferred to the NLMC, which will then hold, manage and monetise them.

Functions of NLMC

The NLMC will-

1. Monetize underutilised or unused land parcels of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)
2. Facilitate the monetisation of assets belonging to PSUs that have ceased operations or are in line for a strategic disinvestment
3. Act as an advisory body and support other government entities and CPSEs in identifying their surplus non-core assets

Benefits offered

• Speeding up disinvestment: The setting of the NLMC will speed up the closure process of the CPSEs and smoothen the strategic disinvestment process.
• Productive utilization of stagnant assets: It will also enable productive utilisation of these under-utilised assets by setting in motion private sector investments.
• Easing up of finances: It will boost new economic activities such as industrialisation, boosting the local economy by generating employment and generating resources for potential economic and social infrastructure.
• Maximum value realization: It will help monetising them in an efficient and professional manner, maximising the scope of value realisation.

What does monetization mean?

• When the government monetises its assets, it essentially means that it is transferring the revenue rights of the asset (could be idle land, infrastructure, PSU) to a private player for a specified period of time.
• In such a transaction, the government gets in return an:
• Upfront payment from the private entity
• Regular share of the revenue generated from the asset
• Promise of steady investment into the asset, and
• Title rights to the monetised asset

Why need monetization?

There are different reasons why the government monetizes its assets.

• Revenue shortfall: One of them is to create new sources of revenue.
• Pandemic damage control: The economy has already been hit due to the coronavirus pandemic and revenues are essential to fulfil the Modi government’s target of achieving a $5 trillion economy.
• Risk management: Monetisation is also done to unlock the potential of unused or underused assets by involving institutional investors or private players.
• Capital generation: It is also done to generate resources or capital for future asset creation, such as using the money generated from monetisation to create new infrastructure projects.

Need for NLMC

• Professional dealing in negotiations: The firm will hire professionals from the private sector with a merit based approach
• Market expertise: Asset monetisation of real estate requires expertise in valuation of property, market research, investment banking, land management, legal diligence and other related skill sets.
• Global best practices: NLMC will undertake monetisation as an agency function and is expected to act as a directory of best practices in land monetisation.

How much land is currently available for monetization?

• According to the Economic Survey 2021-2022, as of now, CPSEs have put nearly 3,400 acres of land on the table for potential monetisation.
• They have referred this land to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
• As per the survey, monetisation of non-core assets of PSUs such as MTNL, BSNL, BPCL, B&R, BEML, HMT Ltd, Instrumentation Ltd etc. are at different stages.

Challenges to the NLMC

(a) Volatile market situation

• The performance and productivity of the NLMC will also depend on the government’s performance on its disinvestment targets.
• For example, the Life Insurance Corporation IPO, which was supposed to raise ₹60,000 crore is now shrouded in uncertainty owing to the Russia-Ukraine crisis making stock markets volatile.
• If the IPO does not hit the markets by the end of March, the government would be missing its disinvestment targets by a wide margin.

(b) Issues with the transfer of rights

• The process of asset monetisation does not end when the government transfers revenue rights to private players.
• Identifying profitable revenue streams for the monetised land assets, ensuring adequate investment by the private player and setting up a dispute-resolution mechanism are also important tasks.

(c) Unattractiveness of PPP Model

• Posing as another potential challenge would be the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a monetisation model.
• For instance, the results of the Centre’s PPP initiative launched in 2020 for the Railways were not encouraging.
• It had invited private parties to run 150 trains of the Indian Railways but when bids were thrown open, nine clusters of trains saw no bidders.

Criticisms of NLMC

• It militates philosophy of privatisation: PM has propounded more than once: the business of government is not business. Setting up a CPSE to help sell or shut down the existing CPSEs doesn’t appear quite congruous.
• Privatisation process is not new: Dozens of companies have been sold; in many more, minority stakes have been offloaded. So, if the existing process has served so well, why try something new?
• Conflict of interest: NLMC may have a turf war with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) which is tasked with similar functions.  
• Nature of NLMC: The government organs tend to acquire a life of their own.  The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) is a case in point. It was supposed to be wound up in two years but still getting extensions.
• Public land being sold: Publicly owned lands in a democracy are literally owned by the public. They are held in trust on behalf of the public by governments or government agencies.
• Sale of crucial assets: Land holdings are one of the government’s most significant tangible assets, whether owned by central ministries, state governments, public sector undertakings or local bodies.

Way forward

• There is a need to monetise non-core unused and under-used assets that would help the government generate substantial revenues.
• For CPSEs undergoing strategic disinvestment or closure, monetisation of these stagnant surplus land and non-core assets is important to unlock their value.
• There is a need to create a comprehensive inventory of public land and synergize the existing Government Land Information System (GLIS).

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Context

• Earlier this week, PM Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held a virtual summit – the second one since June 2020.
• Both nations agreed to unlock the untapped potential in bilateral trade and investment.
• They highlighted the need to conclude the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) at the earliest.

India-Australia Relations: A Backgrounder

• The India-Australia bilateral relationship has undergone evolution in recent years, developing along a positive track, into a friendly partnership.
• The two nations have much in common, underpinned by shared values of a pluralistic, Westminster-style democracies, Commonwealth traditions, expanding economic engagement etc.
• Several commonalities include strong, vibrant, secular and multicultural democracies, free press, independent judicial system and English language.

Historical Perspective

• The historical ties between India and Australia started immediately following European settlement in Australia from 1788.
• All trade, to and fro from the penal colony of New South Wales was controlled by the British East India Company through Kolkata.
• India and Australia established diplomatic relations in the pre-Independence period, with the establishment of India Trade Office in Sydney in 1941.
• The end of the Cold War and simultaneously, India’s decision to launch major economic reforms in 1991 provided the first positive move towards development of bilateral ties.

Various dimensions of ties

[A] Political partnership

• Both the countries are members of G-20, ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association), Asia Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean Development, East Asia Summit and the Commonwealth.
• Australia has been extremely supportive of India’s quest for membership of the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation).
• Australia whole-heartedly welcomed India’s joining of the MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime).

[B] Trade and Economy

• India is the 5th largest trade partner of Australia with trade in goods and services.
• Two-way trade between India and Australia was worth A$24.3 billion ($18.3 billion) in 2020, up from just $13.6 billion in 2007, according to the Australian government.
• After a series of attempts, in 2016, Australia opened the door for uranium exports to India.
• An Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) which was established in 2006, supports collaboration between scientists in India and Australia on cutting-edge research.

[C] Cultural ties

• There is a longstanding people-to-people ties, ever increasing Indian students coming to Australia for higher education.
• Growing tourism and sporting links, especially Cricket and Hockey, have played a significant role in further strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
• India is one of the top sources of skilled immigrants to Australia.
• The number of Indian students continue to grow with approximately 105,000 students presently studying in Australian universities.
• After England, India is the second largest migrant group in Australia in 2020.

[D] Strategic Partnership

• In 2009, India and Australia established a ‘Strategic Partnership’, including a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation which has been further elevated to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2020.
• The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement has been signed during the summit that should enhance defence cooperation and ease the conduct of large-scale joint military exercises.
• There is a technical Agreement on White Shipping Information Exchange.
• Both nations conduct bilateral maritime exercise AUSINDEX. In 2018, Indian Air Force participated for the first time in the Exercise Pitch Black in Australia.
• Foreign and Defence Ministers of both countries agreed to meet in a ‘2+2’ format biennially.
• The first-ever Quad Leaders’ Virtual Summit held on 12 March 2021 saw the participation of Prime Ministers of India, Australia, Japan and President of USA.
• A Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between the two countries was signed in September 2014 during the visit of then PM Tony Abbott to India.

Significance of the ties

• COVID Management: Australia is one of the few countries that has managed to combat COVID-19 so far through “controlled adaptation” by which the coronavirus has been suppressed to very low levels.
• STEM: From farming practices through food processing, supply and distribution to consumers, the Australian agribusiness sector has the desired R&D capacity, experience and technical knowledge.
• Natural resources: Australia is rich in natural resources that India’s growing economy needs. It also has huge reservoirs of strength in higher education, scientific and technological research.
• Alliance with US: The two countries also have increasingly common military platforms as India’s defence purchases from the US continue to grow.
• Affinity with ASEAN: Australia has deep economic, political and security connections with the ASEAN and a strategic partnership with one of the leading non-aligned nations, Indonesia.
• Containing China: The Indo-Pacific region has the potential to facilitate connectivity and trade between India and Australia. Both nations can leverage their equation in QUAD to contain China.

International cooperation

• Support at UNSC: Australia supports India’s candidature in an expanded UN Security Council.
• APEC: Australia   is   an   important   player   in   APEC   and   supports   India’s membership of the organisation. In 2008, Australia became an Observer in SAARC.

Some irritants in ties

• Trade imbalance: India’s trade deficit with Australia has been increasing since 2001-02 due to India-Australia Free Trade Agreement. It is also a contentious issue in the ongoing RCEP negotiations which India left.

• High tariff on agri products in India: India has a high tariff for agriculture and dairy products which makes it difficult for Australian exporters to export these items to India.
• Non-tariff barriers in Australia: At the same time, India facesnon-tariff barriers and its skilled professionals in the Australian labour market face discrimination.
• Visa Policy: India wants greater free movement and relaxed visa norms for its IT professionals, on which Australia is reluctant.
• Future of QUAD: Australian lobby has sparked speculation over the fate of the Quadrilateral Consultative Dialogue (the ‘Quad) involving India, Australia, Japan and the United States.
• Nuclear reluctance: Building consensus on non-nuclear proliferation and disarmament has been a major hurdle given India’s status as a nuclear power.     
• Racism against Indians: Increasing Racist attacks on Indians in Australia has been a major issue.  

Way forward

• Upgradation of 2+2 format: It is prudent too for New Delhi and Canberra to elevate the ‘two plus two’ format for talks from the Secretary level to the level of Foreign and Defence Ministers.
• Removal of trade barriers: Both nations need to resolve disputes at the WTO with regard to the Australian sector can act as a serious impediment.
• Balancing China: An ‘engage and balance’ China strategy is the best alternative to the dead end of containment.

Conclusion

• Given the changing geopolitics, both Canberra and New Delhi are keen to move beyond mere rhetoric and build a robust partnership
• The key is to keep the Australia story thriving in India, and India story thriving in Australia on a consistent basis in public memory.
• This involves a holistic multi-stakeholder strategy and approach which deepens understanding and appreciation of each other.

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Context

• The National Education Policy’s stated goal is to reinstate teachers as the most respected members of our society.

Evolution of Teacher Education

(a) Colonial Period

• The current style of schooling and teaching emerged during the British rule in India.
• This system focused on a behaviourist paradigm where education was concerned with preparing students to be disciplined, English-speaking clerks, to submissively execute the tasks of the British administration.
• It prepared teachers too as mechanics mainly concerned with classroom teaching.

(b) Post-independence

• There has been a slow paradigm shift in the system of teacher education in India, with the successful introduction of National Curriculum Framework (NCF)-2005, National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2009, and Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009.
• The Justice Verma Commission in 2012 also stressed upon the need to improve the quality of pre-service and in-service teacher education.
• In 2014, the erstwhile Ministry of Human and Resource Development (MHRD) restructured its B Ed. programme by doubling the duration of the programme to two years.
• The new teacher education curriculum, designed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) introduced several changes in the curriculum.

Need for reinventing Teacher Education

• In order to develop 21st-century skills like critical thinking – it is important for educators to develop skills like analysis, evaluation skills.
• There is a need to imbibe skills amongst students like communication, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration which we value as 21st-century skills.
• Students now do not rely solely on textbook information for their learning and they are far more aware.
• So, the educator here needs to go beyond the textbook.
• Educators need to command more respect by bringing in more professionalism in the way they deal with students and parents, control and manage the classroom environment.

Challenges to Teachers’ Education

• Poor training: The present system of training and recruitment is churning ill-equipped and poorly trained teachers.
• Lack of regulations: Mushrooming of colleges providing B Ed courses with no proper regulatory oversight.
• Directionlessness: Teacher Education Institutions have been working in isolation from rest of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
• Non-retention of Youth: There has been no system to ensure only motivated and meritorious individuals select teaching as a profession.

Teacher Education Post NEP- 2020

• Recognising the power of teacher, NEP 2020 has put in place systemic reforms that would help teaching emerge as an attractive profession of choice for bright and talented young minds.
• It has put in place different interventions like:
• Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP)
• National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST)
• National Mission for Mentoring (NMM)
• At least 50 hours of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for every teacher in a year
• Eligibility requirement:  The four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), a dual-major holistic bachelor’s degree programme offering B.A., B.Ed/B. Sc., B. Ed., and B.Com. B.Ed, will be the minimum entry requirement for teachers.

Key features

• Multi-disciplinary approach: All stand-alone Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) will be required to transform to multidisciplinary institutions by 2030.
• Professional Standards: The roll out of National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) is a continuum in teacher education so far as it would cover expectations for the role of teacher at different levels of expertise/experience at different stages of his/her career, and the competencies required for that stage.
• Mentoring:  National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) for schools will be operationalized by NCTE by creating a large pool of outstanding senior/retired faculty as potential mentors for mentees (school teachers, Principals, teacher educators, etc.)
• Focus on continuous learning:  NEP, 2020 envisages each teacher to undergo at least 50 hours of CPD per year.
• NISHHA:  NCERT has initiated the NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement) integrated training programme. It is an online programme for different stages of school education– Teachers, Head Teachers/Principals, and other stakeholders in Educational Management and Administration.

Conclusion

• The multipronged approach adopted by NEP, 2020 is likely to revitalise the teacher education, allow bright students to opt for ITEP as a matter of choice rather than by chance.
• Interventions like NPST, NMM, CPD, etc. contribute to qualitative changes in teachers’ pedagogic transaction.
• Dr APJ Abdul Kalam had said “Enlightened citizenship has three components: education with value system, religion transforming into spiritual force, and creating economic prosperity through development”.
• We repose faith in our teachers to become torch-bearers for the young generation and shape India’s development and sustained progress in the right direction.

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Context

• The battle between Russia and Ukraine continues for the 22^nd day after Russia launched its offensive against its neighbor.
• Russia has put its nuclear forces on alert, calling it a special regime of combat duty; these include the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that have a range of 5,000 plus and are designed to use nuclear weapons.
• While the Russian announcement might just be a deterrent as such weapons always maintain a high-level of readiness, the mention of the word ‘nuclear’ cannot be ignored.

This article analyses all aspects of this conflict including the nuclear angle.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict: A quick recap

• The Russian premier said the Russian military action aims to ensure a “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine.
• At the core of the current Ukraine crisis is Russia’s disapproval of the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO in its neighbourhood.
• Russia feels threatened by the rapid expansion of NATO since the late 1990s in the region.
• NATO and the former USSR were engaged in what was called the Cold War for about 45 years in the game of geostrategic one-upmanship.

Will there be a nuclear war?

• Neither country would deliberately launch a “bolt-out-of-the-blue” nuclear attack. 
• The crisis has now become a war of endurance.
• At all times, Russia and the US are assumed to keep their land-based and submarine-based nuclear missiles in high readiness.
• While they carefully select which instruments of coercion to use, they have both established “integrated deterrence” doctrines during the last decade.

Nuclear capability of Russia

• Russia has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with over 6,000 warheads.
• Most of those warheads were in reserve when Russia invaded Ukraine, with just roughly 1,600 deployed as land, sea, and air-based weapons, such as missiles in silos or bombs dropped by planes.
• Nuclear weapons were left on Ukrainian land when the USSR came apart at the conclusion of the Cold War, but Ukraine returned them to Russia.

US and the Nuclear Umbrella

• Without recognizing America’s role as a nuclear umbrella, the European countries cannot avert a nuclear attack with military means.
• The “umbrella” is based on the assumption that the adversaries of NATO will refrain from using nuclear weapons because of the fear of a counterattack.
• There lies a distinct psychology of deterrence with NATO’s nuclear powers.
• However, the US President is the first to decide on the use of the US nuclear weapons stored in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

What is the Deterrence Theory?

• A nuclear deterrent acts as a reminder of the consequences a country can face if they choose to attack another country or state.
• The ideology dates back to the Cold War and was used to prevent any nuclear aggression.
• As the US and then-Soviet Union each raced toward the creation and building of nuclear weapons, the US adopted a strategy of nuclear deterrence
• The concept of nuclear deterrence follows the rationale of the ‘first user’ principle.
• States reserve the right to use nuclear weapons in self-defense against an armed attack threatening their vital security interests.

Is Nuclear War eminent?

• In the light of legality, the use of any nuclear weapon, considering the massive impact it has on civilians, infringes international humanitarian law.
• Already there is a mass migration of people from Ukraine to Poland and some are seeking shelter in Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Slovakia.
• A prominent nuclear threat would add to the humanitarian crisis.
• However, threats of nuclear use impose intimidatory tactics on the sovereignty of a country.

Issues with Nuclear War

• Catastrophic destruction: Nuclear weapons wreak devastation and have long-term radiation effects that affect future generations.
• Environmental degradation: The radioactive fallout from nuclear processes is detrimental to environment and affects nations across borders.
• Humanitarian Crisis: The very nature of destruction emanating from the use of nuclear weapons is against the very spirit of humanity. 
• Ethical Crisis: Nuclear weapons do not discriminate between armed personals and civilians. Unleashing nuclear weapons will lead to large scale loss of innocent lives and non-combatants.
• Huge Proliferation risk: Proliferation is the risk that states that have nuclear weapons increase their weapon stockpiles or that new states become nuclear-armed to match their enemies.
• Nuclear Terrorism: Large stockpiles of nuclear weapons can be misused by terrorists or some rouge elements to compel the governments to give in to their demands.
• Domino effect resulting in Proxy Wars: There is a possibility that during times of escalating bilateral disputes, some country may use military operations covertly. Ex. Pakistan.

Challenges posed to India

• Declining empathy for Russia: Keeping the prominence of the ongoing crisis intact, there is an emerging trend of Russia losing grounds of empathy and friendship from the international communities.
• Neutrality put to question: As a result, it creates a massive dilemma for Russia’s old friends like India to retain its neutrality when the majority of the world is unidirectional (against Russia) at this moment.
• Peer pressure on rise: India has age-old friendship with Russia. It is in true sense India’s all weather and time-tested friend.

India’s general position on nukes

• Complete Disarmament:  India has always been an ardent supporter of multilateral nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation efforts.
• Phased elimination: In 1996, India, one amongst the “Group of 21”, submitted a Programme of Action calling for “phased elimination of nuclear weapons” to the Conference of Disarmament.
• Non-discriminatory elimination: India reiterated its commitment to a Nuclear Weapons Convention calling for a verifiable and non-discriminatory elimination of all nuclear weapons.

Way Forward

• The entire world is at the confluence of confusion and complexities and an anticipation of the severity of the nuclear threat from Russia.
• Nuclear weapons – for as long as they continue to exist – should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.
• Since Russian concerns are genuine, it needs to create a security environment more conducive to progress on dialogue and diplomacy.

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Context

• Japanese PM Fumio Kishida is on a visit to India. The bilateral summit was held amidst rising tensions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Japan and India are expected to enhance economic cooperation and share assessments on the crisis in Ukraine and Indo-Pacific as well.

When we think about Japan-India military relations as they stand today, we cannot forget one fact Japan is located far away from India.

In this article, we will discuss and analyze various aspects of this bilateral relationship and key focus areas of the visit.

India-Japan Relations: A backgrounder

[1] Ancient times

• The friendship between India and Japan has a long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilization ties dating back to the visit of Indian monk Bodhisena in 752 AD.
• The people of India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as a result of Buddhism, which spread indirectly from India to Japan, via China and Korea.

[2] India’s freedom movement

• Independence movement: The leader of the Indian Independence Movement, Rash Behari Bose was instrumental in forging India–Japan relations during India’s independence movement.
• During World War II, The British occupiers of India and Japan were enemies during World War II.  Subhas Chandra Bose used Japanese sponsorship to form the Azad Hind Fauj or Indian National Army (INA).

[3] Post-Cold War period

• The end of cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the inauguration of economic reforms in India seemed to mark the beginning of a new era in Indo-Japanese relationship.
• India’s “Look East Policy” posited Japan as a key partner.
• Japan being the only victim of nuclear holocaust, Pokhran –II tests of India in May 1998 brought bitterness in the bilateral relations where Japan asked India to sign NNPT.

Major developments in India-Japan Relationship

(1) India-Italy-Japan trilateral partnership

• Recently, Italy has also begun to signal its intention to enter the Indo-Pacific geography.
• It has done so by seeking to join India and Japan in a trilateral partnership.
• Italy has become more vocal on the risks emanating from China’s strategic competitive initiatives.
• On the Indian side, there is great interest in forging new partnerships with like-minded countries interested in preserving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

(2) 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

• The 2+2 ministerial dialogue is seen as an upgrade of the meeting between foreign and defense secretaries of the two countries, the first round of which took place in 2010.
• The ministerial level meeting was held after a decision to institute a Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue was taken during the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit held in Japan in 2018.
• 2+2 meeting aimed to give further momentum to their special strategic partnership, particularly in the maritime domain.

(3) Supply Chain Resilience Initiative

• Recently India, Australia and Japan formally launched the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative. The initiative was launched to counter the dominance of China in the Global Supply Chain.
• It aims to prevent disruptions in the supply chain as seen during COVID-19 pandemic.
• The initiative will mainly focus on diversification of investment and digital technology adoption.

(4) Other MEA led-bilateral dialogues

• The Act East Forum, established in 2017, aims to provide a platform for India-Japan collaboration under the rubric of India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision”.
• At the Second meeting of the Act East forum, both sides agreed to focus on expanding of Japanese language in North East, training of caregivers under Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), capacity building in area of bamboo value chain development and Disaster Management.
• The inaugural India-Japan Space Dialogue was held in Delhi for enhancing bilateral cooperation in outer space and information exchange on the respective space policies.

(5) Quadrilateral Security Dialogue

• The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, colloquially the Quad or QUAD, is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and United States that is maintained by talks between member countries.
• The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, with the support of Australian PM John Howard, Indian PM Manmohan Singh, and US Vice President Dick Cheney.
• The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar.

Areas of cooperation

(1) Economic and Commercial relations

• India’s bilateral trade with Japan stood at US$ 16.95 billion in FY 2019-20. India’s imports during this period were US$ 12.43 billion and exports were US$ 4.52 billion.
• India’s primary exports to Japan are petroleum products, chemicals, elements, compounds, non-metallic mineral ware, fish & fish preparations, metalliferous ores & scrap, clothing & accessories, iron & steel products, textile yarn, fabrics and machinery etc.
• India’s primary imports from Japan are machinery, electrical machinery, iron and steel products, plastic materials, non-ferrous metals, parts of motor vehicles, organic chemicals, etc.

(2) Investment and Official Development Assistance (ODA)

• From 2000 until September 2020, the Japanese investments in India cumulatively stands at around US$ 34.152 billion (Japan ranks fifth among the largest source of investment).
• Japanese FDI during FY 2019-2020 increased to US$ 3.226 billion compared to US$ 2.96 billion in FY 2018-19.
• The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) with twelve industrial townships, Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) are some mega project with Japanese cooperation on the anvil.

(3) Security and Defence

• India-Japan Defence and Security partnership has evolved over the years and today forms an integral pillar of bilateral ties.
• The QUAD is the most landmark development.
• The Quad is paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar.
• In spite of the pandemic, complex exercises in all domains were conducted including MALABAR 2020, Japan India maritime exercise (JIMEX 2020) and PASSEX, showcasing the trust and interoperability between the navies.

(4) India-Japan Digital Partnership (IJDP) and Start-up Hub

• The MOC on Digital Partnership envisaged cooperation in five sub-areas:
• Start-up Initiative
• Corporate Partnership
• ESDM promotion
• Digital talent exchange
• R&D Cooperation
• Security related strategic collaboration

(5) Disaster Risk Reduction

• An Agreement on joint research in the field of Earthquake Disaster Prevention was signed between Fujita Corporation and Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IIT-R).

(6) Skill Development

• India-Japan MoC signed in 2016 to train 30,000 shop floor leaders over 10 years thereby also contributing to India’s flagship initiatives such as “Skill India” and “Make in India”.
• Japanese companies have established 13 Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing (JIM) in India and 5 Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in Indian Engineering Colleges.

(7) Healthcare

• In view of the similarities and synergies between the goals and objectives of India’s AYUSHMAN Bharat Programme and Japan’s AHWIN, both sides consulted with each other to identify projects to build the narrative of AHWIN for AYUSHMAN Bharat.
• Japan supported India to contain COVID-19 and mitigate its adverse socioeconomic impacts by extending budgetary support.

(8) HRD Cooperation

• As on December 2020, there were over 300 academic and research partnerships (including student exchanges) between more than 70 universities/institutes of Japan and around 105 universities/institutes of India.
• These partnerships range from liberal arts to management & business studies, legal studies, international studies, linguistics, Ayurveda, STEM including fast emerging frontier technologies.
• The students & teacher exchange and scholarship programmes, especially short-term, are enabling a large number of Indian students and teachers to visit and experience Japan and vice versa.

(9) S&T Cooperation

• Bilateral S&T cooperation was formalized through an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in 1985.
• Recent initiatives – three India-Japan Joint Laboratories in the area of ICT (AI, IoT and Big Data) and initiation of Dept. of Science and Tech (DST)-Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship Programme for the young researchers.

(10) Energy

• The two sides have launched an Energy Dialogue to promote cooperation in the energy sector in a comprehensive manner.
• In 2015, India and Japan reached on substantive Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy. India becomes the first non NPT signed country to do so.

Significance of Japan for India

• Excellence in all walks: Japan is the most mature economy in this region. In terms of maturity, sophistication, and experience in international economic engagements, Japan excels every other country of the Indo-Pacific region, excluding the US.
• Technological advancements: Its technological marvels, business strategies, and management skills are second to none.
• Big stature in international community: Japan rarely hits the international headlines and it is actually Japan’s feebleness in the world of political advertisements.
• Indo-Pacific: Japan sooner than later will be a leading player in the political economy as well as security fields of the Indo-Pacific region.
• Indian diaspora: Its aging population is a major concern and Japan very well acknowledges this fact. While increasing the domestic birth rate will always be important, it is a position to devise a new immigration policy that would largely benefit Indians.
• Infrastructure boost: Japan has the distinction of being the only foreign power that has been allowed to undertake infrastructure and other projects in India’s sensitive northeast.
• Natural ally with no vested interest: Finally, Japan has never been an adversary of India and the current global as well as regional distribution of power and strategic scenario necessitate a deeper and expansive strategic teamwork.
• China factor: The rise of China as a superpower in the region challenges and poses a significant risk to the shared interest of India and Japan in the region and hence it has become inevitable for both countries to have stronger and deeper strategic and defence ties.

Why Japan needs India?

• A distant friend and economic partner: Geographical distance between Japan and India has been the primary reason for relations between the two countries historically.
• Maintain neutrality: Japan has not entered into any such deep security relationship like India with other countries except the US and Australia.
• Continuance of cold-war doctrine: US needs an “ally” to maintain military balance in Asia. After the Cold War, US and Japan lost the reason to maintain large number of warships in their navy.
• Balancing China: China’s political economy has expanded manifold in last few decades. This has raised its assertiveness in making territorial claims in almost every part of the world.
• Strategically important location: South Asia and Indo-Pacific is a strategically important place, is sitting on key Sea Lines of Communication between the Middle East and East Asia.
• Geographical Potential as a Security Provider: India possesses enough naval capability to be projected as a strong naval power in the future.
• Perception of trustworthiness: India is perceived as a trustworthy partner by most countries because of its politically neutral and independent foreign policy.

Way forward

• Taking advantage of its considerable assets — the world’s third-largest economy, substantial high-tech skills, and a military freed of some legal and constitutional constraints — Japan is largely perceived as a natural ally to India.
• At a time of global geopolitical flux, the two are among the important countries that have taken up the baton to champion freedom, international norms and rules, inclusivity, and free and fair trade.
• If Japan and India continue to add concrete security content to their relationship, their strategic partnership could potentially be a game-changer in Asia.
• The emphasis on boosting trade and investment must be balanced with greater strategic collaboration.

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Context

• February 26th marked the third anniversary of the Balakot airstrike which was conducted by Indian Air Force targeting the terrorist camps operating in Balakot town of Pakistan.
• It was done in response to a suicidal attack on convoy of vehicles carrying CRPF personnel plotted by Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama district of Jammu.
• This surgical strike marked a major shift in India’s response to Pakistani sponsored cross border terror activities.

In this article, we will discuss and analyse all aspects of Balakot Air Strike (Surgical Strike), its impact and the way forward against the threat of terror.

What is a Surgical Strike?

• Surgical Strike is a military attack that is carried out to damage military targets, minimal collateral damage to the surrounding and the general public infrastructure.
• The aim is to eliminate the target without causing collateral damage to nearby areas and civilians.
• Surgical strikes require not just detailed and exhaustive planning but need to be carried out with absolute precision to achieve the objective of taking down targets with either no or minimal collateral damage.

Try this question from CS Mains:

Q.The terms ‘Hot Pursuit’ and ‘Surgical Strikes’ are often used in connection with armed action against terrorist attacks. Discuss the strategic impact of such actions. (UPSC CSE 2016)

Reasons for conducting such strikes

• Public outrage: Indian policymakers and military planners knew that only a military response would calm the enraged minds of their fellow citizens.
• Political backing: Unlike the present instance, however, India’s special operations in Pakistan were kept secret and never revealed to the public.

Significance of the strike

• Offensive retaliation: The public announcement of the strike marked a change in India’s policy towards such attacks.
• Demonstration of capability: It had become clear that India would at some stage be forced to act. And India acts in full capacity.
• Perception change: The acknowledgment came amid scepticism and disputing accounts of the attack.
• Paradigm shift in defence policy: Therefore this marked a paradigm shift in India’s response to terror attacks adding a new essence to the defence policy of India. 
• Risk-taking: The decision to exploit the space below the ceiling of a full blown war to launch a sub-conventional operation seems to have been a well calculated risk.

Beneficial outcome

• Reduction in infiltration: It led to a considerable reduction in infiltrations from across the border bringing down the cases of terror attacks. 
• Support for independent actions:  In earlier instances, we would hold ourselves back owing to the ramifications any such act would have internationally. Many countries endorsed India’s move.
• Demoralised terrorist organisations: The pro-activeness in taking down infiltrators on their home-ground had a huge impact on demoralising the forces planning India’s destruction.
• High morale of public and the economy: The strikes proved to be an important element for maintaining the morale of the people of India and the armed forces.
• Demise of terror outfits: Dreaded terror groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda have failed in their persistent attempts to target India and the country’s interests. (Though they now have emerged as TRF-the resistance front.)
• Change of narrative: Pakistan’s ‘high effect low cost war’ becomes a ‘low effect high cost war’ and that is exactly what the surgical strikes have achieved.

Various steps undertaken

A number of steps have been taken to structurally enhance India’s defence capabilities and preparedness:

• Defence Procurement Policy: It brought out in 2020 provides for a vision to turn India from an arms importer to an exporter.
• Make in India and Atmanirbharta: A huge emphasis has been laid on new initiatives such as Make in India which call for greater indigenisation and relaxed FDI norms in the defence sector to encourage investment in defence production.
• Defence collaborations: The government has also entered into a number of agreements with different countries for the modernisation of defence equipment and weapons.  
• iDEX programme: The government is also tapping the start-up ecosystem through its flagship Innovations in Defence Excellence (iDEX) programme.

Issues with such strikes

• Populist measures: Cross-border strikes by a state must not be seen as mocking the authority and political resolve of another government.
• No alternative to diplomacy: Such an approach leaves neither side with any room for diplomatic manoeuvre, working severely to the detriment of a political solution.
• Army going populist: What surprised many this time was the very public nature of the announcement about the counter strike and claims of heavy casualties inflicted.
• Overt Politicization: There has been too much politicking, with the army needlessly dragged into this controversy.  
• Burden of proof: Even after years, many political factions are seeking more objective proofs from the government and army of the actual operations.

Way forward

• There is a necessity to strengthen India’s strategic intent in order to convey to the adversaries that India is militarily capable of averting the terror threats to which the actions like Balakot airstrike stands significant.
• This approach shall continue with consistency. 
• It has been suggested by an expert that the revision of plans and policies pertaining to national security, should be based on the situation involving a thorough assessment. 
• The strategy of preparedness towards escalation as an immediate response to any terror attack needs to continue. 
• Beyond the employment of the defence forces, India can also extend its diplomatic influence as a preventive measure to spread the fear of economic sanctions for its major adversary Pakistan. 

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Context

• Historically, vocational education in schools has been accorded high priority since National Policy on Education, 1986, and Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of Vocationalization of Secondary Education was launched in 1988.
• Currently, the scheme is being implemented as part of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Samagra Shiksha’ and has been aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF).
• The vocational subjects are introduced as an additional subject at the Secondary level and as a compulsory elective subject at Senior Secondary level.

Need for Vocational Education in India

• Demographic Dividend: India is a young country with an average age of just 28 years. In fact, more than 60% of the population in the country is in the working age (15-64 years).  
• Demographic Disaster: However, due to low availability of adequate skill, the energy of youth is not being harnessed properly. Therefore, the youth is venting out their frustration in illegal activities. If the situation continues to persist, the demographic dividend may eventually turn into demographic disaster.

• Increasing the employability: India is experiencing an enhancement in the literacy levels due to sustained efforts in the last few decades. However, increasing literacy is much more related to disseminating the basic numeracy and knowledge of language. It does not prepare an individual for the employment of the new age. Instead, it is skill upgradation which is critical to ensure the employability of individuals.
• Demand-Supply Mismatch: The paradoxical problem India faces today is the huge availability of manpower and contradictory shortage of skilled personnel in the industry. Thus, the need of the hour is to update the curriculum as per the needs of the industry so that the imparted skills are useful in finding employment in the current scenario.
• Decreasing the Pressure on Academic Higher Education: At the same time, it needs to be understood that scant resources are prioritized towards individuals who can use them in a more efficient manner. For e.g., an athlete, who has no interest in theoretical academics, may not be forced to complete a language course out of pure academic necessity.

Features of Samagra Shiksha

• The CSS of Vocationalization of Secondary Education was finally integrated as a part of Samagra Shiksha, which is also a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• The scheme has been implemented in government schools and government-aided schools.
• It provides for an additional subject at the secondary level and a compulsory elective in senior secondary level.
• The scheme provides for creation of a trade specific laboratory setup within the school which is used to impart hands-on training to the students.

Underlying principles

• Age-appropriate education: The scheme seeks to provide age-appropriate education to the students so that they are able to achieve the required outcomes.
• Informed choice on interests: Students choose their area of interest before secondary and senior secondary levels. However, before offering the choices, it is important that the students are able to out of the available collection.
• Activity Based Learning: The aim of vocational education is to apply the knowledge gained till today to the real world. Therefore, the course seeks to decrease the distinction between the theoretical knowledge and its applications in the outer world. At the same time, the children will learn a new skill and also, take a conscious decision about their future path.
• Sense of contribution: It is felt that the society does not perceive manual labour in the same manner as it perceives the high-paying, managerial jobs. Such jobs are looked down upon in the society. The scheme seeks to end this distinction by inculcating a sense of respect for the manual labour at the foundational age of a child.
• Development of Soft Skills: Again, the scheme teaches the importance of values like teamwork, cooperation, aesthetics, quality consciousness and sustainability in the form of judicious use of raw materials. Such qualities are desirable in a student aspiring to play a bigger role in the society in the later stages of life.
• Simulated training: Samagra Shiksha is unique in the sense that it provides real life experience to the students in the form of internship/On-the-Job Training. In fact, the State governments have already been advised to treat the vocational subjects taught in Samagra Shiksha at par with other academic subjects.
• Value Addition: Apart from the knowledge of vocational subject, Samagra Shiksha also provides for imparting other skills like Communication, Entrepreneurship, Green skills, Self-management and IT Skills to the students, so that their employability is enhanced to a higher extent.
• Career transition: The problem which the students pursuing vocational education face is related to transfer or migration from one place to another in pursuit of better opportunities and facilities. However, the scheme seeks to resolve the issue by providing for a credit-based education.  
• Credit-based academics: The new system targets a specific number of credits to be achieved in a particular session or semester in a course. It is immaterial whether the credits are accumulated in a single institution or multiple institutions. This will facilitate transfer and movement of students to a new location even in the middle of a semester.
• Hub and Spoke Model: To fulfil the gap created by lack of adequate infrastructure, hub and spoke model is being used in the country. In this model, schools in surrounding areas provide vocational education by sending their students to a nearby school having the infrastructure. This is being followed till all the schools have not been provided with adequate infrastructure.
• Technology-based Solutions: It is critical to ensure that all learners benefit from the scheme, without any discrimination based on learning capabilities. Therefore, under the scheme, new technologies like Artificial Intelligence are being used to create curated courses for learners according to their present levels and speed of learning.

Success of the scheme

• Already 14.435 schools have been approved to impart education based on the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
• There are 62 skill courses available in 20 sectors such as Agriculture, Electronics, Healthcare, IT/ITes, Plumbing, Retail, Tourism, Hospitality etc.
• The scheme covers 1.5 million students currently being trained by trained instructors. The number increases to about 3.5 million, if CBSE schools are included.

Challenges in implementation

• Perceived Social Status Hierarchy: In India, vocational education is not looked upon as a career of choice. It is considered something which is taken up due to a lack of alternatives or as a formality to fulfil eligibility conditions for government jobs. This discourages pupils from taking up vocational education courses and creates a gap in availability of technically-trained workers.
• Lack of Vertical Mobility: At the same time, students coming out of vocational courses are not perceived as good managers. Candidates having a management background are preferred for such high-paying jobs. This leads to a lack of promotional avenues and opportunities for future growth of a child pursuing a career in vocational education.
• Integration with Mainstream Education: To encourage students to take up vocational education as a preferred career choice, there is a need to integrate vocational education with academics, even at the higher levels. The focus needs to shift towards application-based learning and solving practical real-life issues. This is also helpful in understanding the challenges faced by entry-level workers and coming up with feasible solutions for the same.
• Rapidly Emerging Trends: The scheme needs frequent updates in the curriculum to make it aligned with the needs of the evolving world. It is also important to understand that technology based sectors need faster revision of curriculum than the other sectors, due to the rapid changes in the sectors. Therefore, a policy of differential updates can also be developed for the different sectors as per their requirement.

Various supporting initiatives

The Government of India has prioritized vocational education through various policy initiatives such as:

• National Policy on Education, 1986: Vocational education was prioritized as a part of the National Policy on Education, 1986.
• CSS of Vocationalization of Secondary Education, 1988: Vocationalization was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in the year 1988. The scheme was subsequently revised in 2011 and 2014.
• National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF): It is a series of courses, organized in levels to achieve competency in the workforce. NSQF emphasizes on the acquisition of these skills for better employability, as a part of formal training or informal training.

Conclusion

• Various predictions suggest that the demographic dividend currently being enjoyed by India will wane by the end of 2050s. After that, the country will face issues related to the care of the elderly as the bulge will shift towards higher age groups.
• In such a context, it is critical to ensure that India maximizes its growth during the demographic dividend so that it can create better facilities in the future for the needy. The need is to ensure better implementation of the Samagra Shiksha scheme to develop vocational education sector in the country.

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Context

• The Ministry of Defence has been allocated a total budget of Rs 5.25 lakh crore for Financial Year 2022-23.
• It focuses on modernisation of Defence Services and Defence Security Infrastructure development including the Border Road Infrastructure and Coastal Security Infrastructure.

In this article, we will discuss and analyse as to how this budgetary allocation will lead to India becoming self-reliant in Defence sector and what more needs to be done.

India’s defence outlay this year

• The total allocation under Capital Outlay of the Defence Services has been increased from Rs 86,740 crore in 2013-14 to 1.52 lakh crore in 2022-23.

What makes it special?

• 68 per cent of the capital procurement budget will be earmarked for domestic industry in 2022-23, up from 58 per cent in the previous year.
• This indicates the Government’s commitment to reducing imports and promoting Atmanirbharta in equipment for the Armed Forces.
• While Defence R&D will be opened up for industry, start-ups and academia, Private industry will also be encouraged to take up design and development of military platforms and equipment.

Why the fuss over self-reliance?

1) Reducing import dependence

• India was the world’s second-largest arms importer from 2014-18, ceding the long-held tag as the largest importer to Saudi Arabia, which accounted for 12% of the total imports during the period, says 2019 SIPRI report.
• Pakistan stood at the 11th position, accounting for 2.7% of all global imports.
• Such higher import dependency leads to increase in the fiscal deficit.

2) Security Imperative

• Indigenization in defence is critical to national security also. It keeps intact the technological expertise and encourages spin-off technologies and innovation that often stem from it.
• Indigenization is needed in order to avert the threats associated with the frequent ceasefire violations like that of the Uri, Pathankot and Pulwama attacks.
• India is surrounded by porous borders and hostile neighbours need to be self-sufficient and self-reliant in defence production.

3) Economic boost

• Indigenization in defence can help create a large industry which also includes small manufacturers.
• Example: USA has a strong defence industry with companies like Lockheed martin contributing to economic growth as well.

4) Employment generation

• Defence manufacturing will lead to the generation of satellites industries that in turn will pave the way for a generation of employment opportunities.
• As per government estimates, a reduction in 20-25% in defence-related imports could directly create an additional 100,000 to 120,000 highly skilled jobs in India.

It was the military-industrial set-up of Germany that enabled it to launch its offensive practically against the entire western world both in World War I and World War II.

Issues retarding defence exports

1. Excess reliance on Public Sector: India has four companies (Indian ordnance factories, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)) among the top 100 biggest arms producers of the world.
2. Policy delays: In the past few years, the government has approved over 200 defence acquisition worth Rs 4 trillion, but most are still in relatively early stages of processing.
3. Lack of Critical Technologies: Poor design capability in critical technologies, inadequate investment in R&D and the inability to manufacture major subsystems and components hamper the indigenous manufacturing.
4. Long gestation: The creation of a manufacturing base is capital and technology-intensive and has a long gestation period. By that time newer technologies make products outdated.
5. ‘Unease’ in doing business: An issue related to stringent labour laws, compliance burden and lack of skills, affects the development of indigenous manufacturing in defence.
6. Multiple jurisdictions: Overlapping jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Industrial Promotion impair India’s capability of defence manufacturing.
7. Lack of quality: The higher indigenization in few cases is largely attributed to the low-end technology.
8. FDI Policy: The earlier FDI limit of 49% was not enough to enthuse global manufacturing houses to set up bases in India.
9. R&D Lacunae: A lip service to technology funding by making token allocations is an adequate commentary on our lack of seriousness in the area of Research and Development.
10. Lack of skills: There is a lack of engineering and research capability in our institutions. It again leads us back to the need for a stronger industry-academia interface.

Steps taken to boost indigenous production

• Licensing relaxation: Measures announced to boost exports since 2014 include simplified defence industrial licensing, relaxation of export controls and grant of no-objection certificates.
• Lines of Credit: Specific incentives were introduced under the foreign trade policy and the Ministry of External Affairs has facilitated Lines of Credit for countries to import defence product.
• Policy boost: The Defence Ministry has also issued a draft Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy 2020.
• Indigenization lists: On the domestic front, to boost indigenous manufacturing, the Government had issued two “positive indigenization lists” consisting of 209 items that cannot be imported.
• Budgetary allocation: In addition, a percentage of the capital outlay of the defence budget has been reserved for procurement from domestic industry.

Policy initiatives: Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy, 2020

The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of MoD to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports.

The policy has laid out the following goals and objectives:

1. To achieve a turnover of Rs 1,75,000 Crores (US$ 25Bn) including export of Rs 35,000 Crore (US$ 5 Billion) in Aerospace and Defence goods and services by 2025.
2. To develop a dynamic, robust and competitive Defence industry, including Aerospace and Naval Shipbuilding industry to cater to the needs of Armed forces with quality products.
3. To reduce dependence on imports and take forward “Make in India” initiatives through domestic design and development.
4. To promote the export of defence products and become part of the global defence value chains.
5. To create an environment that encourages R&D rewards innovation creates Indian IP ownership and promotes a robust and self-reliant defence industry.

The Policy brings out multiple strategies under the following focus areas:

1. Procurement Reforms
2. Indigenization & Support to MSMEs/Startups
3. Optimize Resource Allocation
4. Investment Promotion, FDI & Ease of Doing Business
5. Innovation and R&D
6. DPSUs and OFB
7. Quality Assurance & Testing Infrastructure
8. Export Promotion

Way forward

• The development of a thriving indigenous defence industry needs an overhaul of existing regulations and practices.
• A long-term integrated perspective plan of the requirements of the armed forces should give industry a clear picture of future requirements.
• DPP 2020 should incorporate guidelines to promote forward-looking strategic partnerships between Indian and foreign companies.
• The definition of indigenisation itself needs to privilege technology over value or volume.