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  • [Sansad TV] Perspective: Nuclear Angle of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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    Context

    • The battle between Russia and Ukraine continues for the 22nd 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.
    India’s No First Use Doctrine

    Minimum Credible Deterrence: Building and maintaining credible minimum deterrence.

    No First use: Nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or on Indian forces anywhere.

    Non-use against non-nuclear states: Non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states. However, in the event of a major attack against India, or Indian forces anywhere, by biological or chemical weapons, India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons.

    Massive Retaliation: Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage.

    Nuclear Command Authority: Nuclear retaliatory attacks can only be authorized by the civilian political leadership through the Nuclear Command Authority.


    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.

  • SC backs Centre’s OROP scheme

    The Supreme Court has upheld the Centre’s one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme for the armed forces.

    What is the news?

    • The Supreme Court has ruled that there was “no constitutional infirmity” in the way the government had introduced ‘one rank, one pension’ (OROP) among ex-service personnel.
    • The scheme, notified by the Defence Ministry on November 7, 2015, was challenged by Indian Ex-Service Movement, an association of retired defence personnel.

    What is OROP Scheme?

    • OROP means that any two military personnel retiring at the same rank, with the same years of service, must get an equal pension.
    • While this might appear almost obvious, there are several reasons why two military personnel who may have retired at the same rank with the same years of service, may get different pensions.

    Need for the scheme

    Military personnel across the three services fall under two categories, the officers and the other ranks.

    • Early age of retirement: The other ranks, which are soldiers, usually retire at age 35.
    • No benefits from pay commissions: Unlike government employees who retire close to 60, soldiers can thus miss out on the benefits from subsequent pay commissions.
    • Salary based pension: And since pensions are based on the last drawn salary, pensions too are impacted adversely.
    • Ranks based discrimination: The age when officers in the military retire depends upon their ranks. The lower the rank, the earlier they superannuate.
    • Liability against the sacrifice: It was argued that early retirement should not become an adverse element for what a soldier earns as pension, compared with those who retire later.

    Earlier pension mechanism

    • From 1950 to 1973, there was a concept known as the Standard Rate of Pension, which was similar to OROP.
    • In 1974, when the 3rd Pay Commission came into force, certain changes were effected in terms of weightage, additional years of notion service, etc., with regard to pensions.
    • In 1986, the 4th Pay Commission’s report brought further changes.
    • What ultimately happened was that the benefits of the successive pay commissions were not passed to servicemen who had retired earlier.
    • Pensions differed for those who had retired at the same rank, with the same years of service, but years apart.

    Demand for OROP

    • Ex-servicemen demanded OROP to correct the discrepancy.
    • Over the decades, several committees looked into it.
    • The Brig K P Singh Deo committee in 1983 recommended a system similar to Standard Rate of Pension, as did Parliament’s standing committees on defence.
    • The Narendra Modi government notified the current OROP scheme in November 2015, and it was made applicable from July 1, 2014.

    Issues with OROP

    • During the OROP protests of 2013-15, it was argued repeatedly that meeting the demand would be financially unsustainable.
    • Because soldiers retire early and remain eligible for pension for much longer than other employees, the Defence Ministry’s pension budget is very large, impacting capital expenditure.
    • The total defence pensioners are 32.9 lakh, but that includes 6.14 lakh defence civilian pensioners.
    • The actual expenditure of the Defence Ministry on pensions was Rs 1.18 lakh crore in 2019-2020.
    • The Defence Ministry’s pension-to-budget ratio is the highest among all ministries, and pensions are more than one-fifth of the total defence budget.
    • When the late Manohar Parrikar was Defence Minister, it was estimated that a one-time payout of Rs 83,000 crore would be needed to clear all past issues.

    Challenge to OROP

    • The petitioners contended that the principle of OROP had been replaced by ‘one rank multiple pensions’ for persons with the same length of service.
    • They submitted that the government had altered the initial definition of OROP and, instead of an automatic revision of the rates of pension.
    • Under this, any future raising of pension rates would be passed on to past pensioners — the revision would now take place at periodic intervals.
    • According to the petitioners, this was arbitrary and unconstitutional under Articles 14 and 21.

    What has the SC ruled now?

    • The court did not agree with the argument that the government’s 2015 policy communication contradicted the original decision to implement OROP.
    • It said that “while a decision to implement OROP was taken in principle, the modalities for implementation were yet to be chalked out.
    • The court also said that while the Koshyari Committee report furnishes the historical background of the demand, and its own view on it, it cannot be construed as embodying a statement of governmental policy.
    • It held that the OROP policy “may only be challenged on the ground that it is manifestly arbitrary or capricious”.

     

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  • India ranks 136th in the World Happiness Report 2022

    India ranks 136th in the World Happiness Report 2022, while Finland becomes the happiest country for the fifth consecutive year.

    One can definitely question the credibility of such reports whenever India is being grouped with some African countries that too below Pakistan.

    World Happiness Report

    • The WHR is an annual publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
    • It measures three main well-being indicators: life evaluations, positive emotions, and negative emotions (described in the report as positive and negative affect).
    • Since 2011, the World Happiness Report (WHR) is released every year around the time of International Day of Happiness on March 20.
    • It was adopted by the UN General Assembly based on a resolution tabled by Bhutan.

    How is the WHI derived?

    • The ranking is done on a three-year average based on surveys of ‘Life Evaluation’ conducted by Gallup World Poll which surveys around 1000 people from each country to evaluate their current life on a scale of 0-10.
    • On this scale, 10 marks the best possible and 0 as the worst possible life.
    • Further, six key variables GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption contribute to explaining life evaluations.

    Top performers this year

    • The top five countries in the list are from Europe.
    • While the United States held the 16th spot in the happiest countries list.
    • Following Finland, Denmark bagged the second rank, while Iceland and Switzerland stood at third and fourth rank.
    • The Netherlands was at the fifth rank in the list.
    • Meanwhile, Luxembourg, Norway, Israel, and New Zealand were the remaining countries in the top 10.

    Dismal performers

    • Afghanistan held the last position of 146th in the list, with Lebanon (145th), Zimbabwe (144th), Rwanda (143rd), and Botswana (142nd) following.
    • Bangladesh has improved its ranking by seven notches on the WHI from 101 last year to 94 in 2022 out of 146 countries included in the report.

     

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  • [pib] Exercise LAMITIYE 2022

    The 9th Joint Military Exercise LAMITIYE-2022 between the Indian Army and Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) is being conducted at Seychelles Defence Academy (SDA), Seychelles.

    Exercise LAMITIYE

    • Lamitiye, which in Creole means friendship, is a biennial training event being conducted in Seychelles since 2001.
    • This year, it will feature a range of complex military drills, demonstrations and discussions, officials said.
    • The objective of the joint training exercise is to build and promote bilateral military relations in addition to exchanging skills, experiences and good practices between both the armies.
    • Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralization of likely threats that may be encountered in a semi-urban environment.
    • The exercise will also witness showcasing of new-generation equipment and technology for conducting joint operations.

    Significance of the exercise

    • LAMITIYE is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both nations in the backdrop of the current global situation and growing security concerns in the Indian Ocean region.

    Tap to read more about:

    Various Defence Exercises in News

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  • [Burning Issue] Kashmiri Pandit Exodus

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    Context

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the progress of the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants, including Kashmiri Pandits, during a meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu.  According to the Home Ministry, only 17% of the proposed accommodation for Kashmiri Pandits has been completed in the past seven years under the Prime Minister’s Development Package announced in 2015. The Government stated that the construction of all transit accommodation units will be completed by 2023.

    About Kashmiri Pandits

    • The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community.
    • They belong to the Pancha (five) Gauda Brahmana groups from the Kashmir Valley. They are the only remaining Kashmiri Hindu community native to Kashmir.
    • The Kashmiri Pandits originally lived in the Kashmir Valley before the growth of Islamic militancy in the valley and had been a favoured section of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947). 
    • 20 percent of them left the valley as a consequence of the 1950 land reforms,and by 1981 the Pandit population amounted to 5 percent of the total population.
    • Many of the refugee Kashmiri Pandits have been living in abject conditions in refugee camps of Jammu. The government has reported on the terrorist threats to Pandits still living in the Kashmir region.

    Row over the movie

    • Hype of oppression: The thrust of the movie is how the intensity of the oppression or killing of the Pandits in the Kashmir Valley was totally underplayed in the media and how insensitive the political and intellectual elites of the country were.
    • Accusation of being far ‘Right’: The narrative has been challenged by professional film reviewers and India’s so-called liberal/secular elites, who dominate leading educational institutions and national media.
    • Fiction being sensationalized: For them, the movie is doctored, staged and faked.

    Why liberals objecting to the film?

    • Ignorance of minorities: They say that films has shown a limited side; it has ignored how many more Muslims have died too and how the insurrection – movement or insurgency has been due to mis-governance and wrong decisions.
    • ‘Human Rights’ of the terrorists: These liberals have always projected the Indian military as aggressor and Kashmiris as underdogs fighting for their human rights.
    • Decline in empathy: In fact, under the influence of these liberals, some important national dailies have now even stopped using the term “terrorists” altogether; instead, they now prefer to use the word “militants”.

    Plight of the Pandits

    • Political correctness of the genocide: The movie puts paramount importance in being politically correct at the cost of obfuscating truth, conveying indifference, and showing a lack of empathy. 
    • Long deserved sensationalization of the issue: It brings plight that Kashmir Hindus also didn’t share their experiences as much, sometimes in a bid to move on, and other times expecting ridicule or indifference by the liberals.
    • Movie revitalized the wounds of past: The movie is perceived as a watershed moment whereby having provided a powerful visual glimpse of the actual genocide in most truthful form.
    • Spark for mainstream discussion: The subject that was taboo is now in the mainstream and people are comfortable with hearing and reconciling with the truth when the world considered India as a villain in Kashmir.

    The run-up: 1980s to 1990

    • Political instability: Sheikh Abdullah had died in 1982, and the leadership of the National Conference passed on to his son Farooq Abdullah, who won the 1983 election.
      • But within two years, the Centre broke up the NC, and installed dissident Ghulam Mohammed Shah as Chief Minister. This led to huge disaffection and political instability.
    • Militancy: The Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) stepped up its activities, and the hanging of the militant leader Maqbool Bhat in 1984 added to the sense of foreboding.
    • Religious interventions: In 1986, after the Rajiv Gandhi government opened the Babri Masjid locks to enable Hindus to offer prayers there, ripples were felt in Kashmir too.
      • In Anantnag, there was a series of attacks on Hindu temples, and shops and properties of Kashmiri Pandits, blamed on separatist and secessionists.
    • The rigged election of 1987 after which Abdullah formed the government was a turning point at which militants took the upper hand.
      • The 1989 submission to the JKLF set the stage for the next decade.
      • Pandits had begun to be targeted. Eminent persons of the community were being shot dead.

    What happened on January 19, 1990?

    • Governor’s rule imposed: Matters came to a head on January 19. By then, the Farooq Abdullah government had been dismissed and Governor’s Rule imposed.
    • No option but to leave the valley: According to accounts published by many Kashmiri Pandits, there were threatening slogans over loudspeakers from mosques, and on the streets.
    • Speeches were made extolling Pakistan and the supremacy of Islam, and against Hinduism. The Kashmiri Pandit community decided to leave.

    The Gawkadal Massacre

    • The flight – In January 20, the first stream began leaving the Valley with hastily packed belongings in whatever transport they could find.
    • The massacre – In January 21, the CRPF gunned down 160 Kashmiri Muslim protesters at the Gawkadal Bridge, the worst massacre in the long history of the conflict in Kashmir.
    • Effect – The two events (the flight of the Pandits and the Gawkadal massacre) took place within 48 hours, but for years, neither community could accept the pain of the other, and in some ways, still cannot.

    How many Pandits left?

    • According to some estimates, notably by the Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), of 75,343 Kashmiri Pandit families in January 1990, more than 70,000 fled between 1990 and 1992 and continued until 2000.
    • The KPSS has placed the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed by militants from 1990 to 2011 at 399, the majority during 1989-90.
    • Some 800 families have remained in the Valley through these three decades.

    Role of the administration

    • Role of Governor: The other contentious question about the exodus is the role played by the administration, and more specifically that of the J&K Governor, Jagmohan.
    • The Kashmiri Muslim view of the exodus is that he encouraged the Pandits to leave the Valley and thus gave a communal colour to what was until then a non-religious Kashmiri cause.
    • The Kashmiri Hindu view is that the Kashmiri Muslims, with whom they had lived amicably for centuries,  drove them out with a vengeance in a frenzy of Islamism that they could not have imagined even months earlier.
    • The truth, many commentators have concluded, may have been somewhere in the middle.

    Present Status of Kashmiri Pandits

    • Home Ministry data: Several Kashmiri migrants reside at existing transit accommodation at Vessu (Kulgam), Mattan (Anantnag), Hawl (Pulwama), Natnusa (Kupwara), Sheikhpora (Budgam) and Veerwan (Baramulla) in the Kashmir Valley other than the camps in Jammu.
    • Various organizations came forward: Following the migration of the Kashmiri Pandit community, various socio-political organizations have sprung up to represent the cause of the displaced community.
      • These organizations are involved in rehabilitation of the community in the valley through peace negotiations, mobilization of human rights groups and job creation for the Pandits.
    • More than 60,000 families are registered as Kashmiri migrants including some Sikh and Muslim families.Most families were resettled in Jammu, NCR and other neighbouring states.
    • 2020 parliamentary panel report: There are 64,827 registered migrant families in J&K — 60,489 Hindu families, 2,609 Muslim families and 1,729 Sikh families.
      • Out of the 64,827 families, 43,494 are registered in Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi and 1,995 families are settled in other States and Union Territories.
    • Many of those who did return under a government job scheme, they live in migrant colonies and do not have basic amenities like a ration card or even a voter ID card.

    The question of return

    • Those who had means rebuilt their lives elsewhere in the country — Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad have Pandit populations, also Jaipur and Lucknow — or went abroad.
    • The fleeing Pandits did not think they would never return to the Valley. But as the situation in Kashmir spiraled into a full-blown militancy, return began to look remote if not impossible.
    • Successive governments have promised that they will help this process, but the situation on the ground in Kashmir has meant this remains only an intention.
    • There is an acute realization in the community that the Valley is no longer the same that they left behind in 1990.
    • In many cases, their properties were either immediately vandalised or sold quickly by the owners to Kashmiri Muslims. Many fell into disrepair.
    • Now, Kashmiri Muslims see the return of Pandits as essential, but reject the idea of their settlement in secured camps as a replication of Israel-like Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

    Steps taken by Government

    • ‘The Jammu And Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection And Restraint on Distress Sales) Act, 1997’
      • It provides that any person who is an unauthorized occupant or recipient of any usufruct of any immovable property of the migrant shall pay to the migrant the compensation in such a manner as may be determined by the District Magistrate.
    • Announcement of various relief packages by respective governments
      • As of 2016, a total of 1,800 Kashmiri Pandit youths have returned to the valley since the announcement of Rs. 1,168-crore package in 2008 by the UPA government.
    • Prime Minister’s Development Package announced in 2015, had approved the creation of 3,000 government jobs for Kashmiri migrants.
    • So far, 1,739 migrants have been appointed and 1,098 others selected for the jobs.
    • A similar package for migrants was announced by the UPA government in 2008 under which 2,905 jobs had been filled out of the 3,000 jobs approved.
    • 6,000 transit accommodation units were announced in 2015 for the members who were to be provided jobs by the J&K administration at a cost of Rs 920 crore.

    Way forward

    • Punitive actions on terror: The first thing that would deliver justice to exiled Hindus would be to try and punish terrorists’ organizations for the crimes they committed against humanity.
    • Rehabilitation and re-settlement: The second and longer-term should be the effort of reconciliation, rehabilitation and inclusion.
    • Vajpayee doctrine:  The doctrine, ‘Insaniyat, (humanity), Jamhuriyat (Democracy) and Kashmiriyat (identity of the Kashmir people). This largely came to be known as the Vajpayee doctrine.
    • Cosmopolitan inclusive smart city: The way forward for achieving that is to set up a cosmopolitan inclusive smart city where Indians of all origins including the evicted Kashmiri Hindus can build their lives and homes.
    • Learning from the past: This will put the chapter of annihilation and extermination behind us. It is a humongous undertaking but we can take inspiration from the past, when the Mauryans established the city of Srinagar two thousand years ago.

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  • Textile Industry in India

    Context

    South Asia became a major player in the global textiles and clothing market with the onset of the third wave of global production.

    Textile industry in Bangladesh

    • Bangladesh overtook India in exports in the past decade as Indian labour costs resulted in products becoming 20% more expensive.
    • Bangladesh joined the league in the 1980s, owing to the outbreak of the civil war in Sri Lanka.
    • Lower production costs and free trade agreements with western buyers are what favour Bangladesh, which falls third in the line as a global exporter.
    • Bangladesh has been ahead of time in adopting technology.
    • Bangladesh also concentrates on cotton products, specialising in the low-value and mid-market price segment.

    Where does India stand?

    • The progress of India and Pakistan in readymade garments is recent when compared to their established presence in textiles.
    • India holds a 4% share of the U.S.$840 billion global textile and apparel market, and is in fifth position.
    • India has been successful in developing backward links, with the aid of the Technical Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), in the cotton and technical textiles industry.
    • However, India is yet to move into man-made fibres as factories still operate in a seasonal fashion.

    Challenges ahead

    1] Fourth Industrial revolution and robotic automation

    • The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been shifting focus from production machinery to integrating technology in the entire production life cycle.
    • The production cycle incorporates all digital information and automation including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, 3D printing, etc.
    • Robotic automation exemplifies production efficiency, especially in areas such as cutting and colour accuracy.
    • The Asian Development Bank anticipates the challenges of job losses and disruption, inequality and political instability, concentration of market power by global giants and more vulnerability to cyberattacks.
    •  With a 7% unemployment rate, India faces the challenge of job creation in the wake of increased automation.
    • The World Bank expects this trend to accelerate in the post-COVID-19 market.
    • The 4IR may result in unemployment or poor employment generation, primarily affecting a low skill workforce.

    2] Sustainability challenge

    • Sustainability is also an important consideration for foreign buyers.
    • Bangladesh’s readymade garments initiated ‘green manufacturing’ practices to help conserve energy, water, and resources.
    • Textile and apparel effluents account for 17%-20% of all water pollution.
    •  The Indian government is committed to promoting sustainability through project sustainable resolution.

    3] Labour issues

    • Access to affordable labour continues to be an advantage for south Asia.
    •  In addition, a country such as India with a very high number of scientists and engineers could lead, as is evident in the areas of drones, AI and blockchain.
    • India’s potential lies in its resources, infrastructure, technology, demographic dividend and policy framework.
    • The creation of a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is indicative of India’s intent.

    Way forward

    • Digitalisation and automation in areas such as design, prototyping, and production are key in order to stay abreast, and in controlling production quality and timely delivery.
    • Sustainable practices such as regenerative organic farming (that focuses on soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness), sustainable manufacturing energy (renewable sources of energy are used) and circularity are being adopted.
    • Tax exemptions or reductions in imported technology, accessibility to financial incentives, maintaining political stability and establishing good trade relations are some of the fundamental forms of support the industry needs from governments.
    • The U.S. trade war on China owing to human rights violations along with its economic bottlenecks, opens doors for India and Pakistan as they have strong production bases.
    • Similar to China, India has a big supply — from raw material to garments.
    • Bangladesh has also risen as a top exporter in a cost competitive global market.
    • India’s proposed investments of US$1.4 billion and the establishment of all-in-one textile parks are expected to increase employment and ease of trade.
    • India extended tax rebates in apparel export till 2024, with the twin goals of competitiveness and policy stability.
    • Labour law reforms, additional incentives, income tax relaxations, duty reductions for man-made fibre, etc. are other notable moves.
    •  Newer approaches in the areas of compliance, transparency, occupational safety, sustainable production, etc. are inevitable changes in store for South Asia to sustain and grow business.
    • Finally, there is a need for governments’ proactive support in infrastructure, capital, liquidity and incentivisation.

    Conclusion

    Ensuring government support for financial incentives, upgrading technologies and reskilling labour are key challenges.

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  • Indigenisation in defence technologies, manufacturing will ensure India’s strategic autonomy

    Context

    Given its successive abstentions during votes on Ukraine in the UN Security Council and elsewhere, New Delhi has attracted criticism and even reproach from many quarters. While India’s abstentions may be hard to justify on moral grounds, they are certainly rooted in “realpolitik”.

    Reasons for India’s stance

    • There is irrefutable logic in the argument that safeguarding the source of 60-70 per cent of its military hardware constitutes a prime national interest for India.
    • Any interruption in the supply of Russian arms or spares could have a devastating impact on our defence posture vis-à-vis the China-Pak axis.
    • Even after diversification of sources, India remains trapped in the Russian bear’s jaws, jeopardising the credibility of its “strategic autonomy”. 

    Implications of India’s position

    • The stance adopted by India has placed it amongst a minority of nations, alongside China and Pakistan.
    • Seen widely as pro-Russian, this posture is likely to affect India’s international standing and bears reflection.

    Suggestion

    • The answers to India’s agonising dilemma lie in two drastic imperatives, which must receive the closest attention of decision-makers. They are:
    • The “de-Russification of the armed forces” and the genuine “indigenisation of India’s defence technological and industrial base (DTIB)”.
    • Russia’s military-industrial complex, in oligarch hands, has been struggling against inefficiency, poor quality control and deficient customer support.
    •  It is time to initiate a process of progressive “de-Russification” of Indian armed forces; not to switch sources, but of becoming self-reliant.
    • It may be uplifting to see battle-tanks, warships and jet-fighters held up as examples of self-reliance, but what is never mentioned is that vital sub-systems like engines, guns, missiles, radars, fire-control computers, gear-boxes and transmission are either imported or assembled under foreign licences.
    • Atmanirbhart requires selective identification of vital military technologies in which we are deficient and demands the initiation of well-funded, time-bound, mission-mode projects to develop (or acquire) the “know-how” as well as “know-why” of these technologies.

    Conclusion

    Having failed for 75 years after independence to attain a degree of self-reliance in military hardware that would have undergirded our “strategic autonomy,” it is time for India to zero in on the reasons why we have failed, where peer-nations like China, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan and even Singapore have succeeded spectacularly.

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  • [Sansad TV] Perspective: India-Japan Ties

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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.

  • What is the NPPA’s role in fixing drug prices?

    Consumers may have to pay more for medicines and medical devices if the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) allows a price hike of over 10% in the drugs and devices listed under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), this coming month.

    Who regulates Drugs prices?

    • The NPPA was set up in 1997 to fix/revise prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce price and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995-2013.
    • Its mandate is:
    1. To implement and enforce the provisions of the DPCO in accordance with the powers delegated to it
    2. To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the NPPA
    3. To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages and to take remedial steps
    • The NPPA is also mandated to collect/maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc., for bulk drugs and formulations and undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals.

    How does the pricing mechanism work?

    • Prices of Scheduled Drugs are allowed an increase each year by the drug regulator in line with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and the annual change is controlled and rarely crosses 5%.
    • But the pharmaceutical players pointed out that over the past few years, input costs have flared up.
    • The hike has been a long-standing demand by the pharma industry lobby.
    • All medicines under the NLEM are under price regulation.

    Do you know?

    As per the Drugs (Prices) Control Order 2013, scheduled drugs, about 15% of the pharma market, are allowed an increase by the government as per the WPI while the rest 85% are allowed an automatic increase of 10% every year.

    How are the prices determined?

    • The ceiling price of a scheduled drug is determined by first working out the simple average of price to retailer in respect of all branded and generic versions of that particular drug formulation.
    • It should have a market share of more than or equal to 1%, and then adding a notional retailer margin of 16% to it.
    • The ceiling price fixed/revised by the NPPA is notified in the Gazette of India (Extraordinary) from time to time.

    When are the prices revised?

    • Prices are revised when there is a rise in the price of bulk drugs, raw materials, cost of transport, freight rates, utilities like fuel, power, diesel, and changes in taxes and duties.
    • The cost rises for imported medicines with escalation in insurance and freight prices, and depreciation of the rupee.
    • The annual hike in the prices of drugs listed in the NLEM is based on the WPI.
    • The NLEM lists drugs used to treat fever, infection, heart disease, hypertension, anaemia etc and includes commonly used medicines like paracetamol, azithromycin etc.

    Why are inputs costs high?

    • One of the challenges is that 60%-70% of the country’s medicine needs are dependent on China.
    • WPI is dependent on price rise in a basket of a range of goods that are not directly linked with the items that go into the cost of medicines.

     

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  • Defining who is ‘Assamese’: Attempts, Challenges

    Last week, the Assam government informed the Assembly that nearly 1.44 lakh illegal foreigners had been identified in the state this year based on the 1985 Assam Accord, and around 30,000 of them had been deported to their country of origin.

    Who is a foreigner under the Assam Accord?

    • The Assam Accord was signed in 1985 by the Centre and the Assam government with the All Assam Student Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.
    • This movement had spearheaded the 1979-85 Assam Movement against migration from Bangladesh.
    • It was against all migrants from Bangladesh, irrespective of religion.
    • The Accord set March 24, 1971 as a cut-off. (The Assam Movement had demanded 1951 as the cut-off.)
    • Anyone who had come to Assam before midnight on that date would be an Indian citizen, while those who had come after would be dealt with as foreigners.
    • The same cut-off was used in updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

    What are the expressions for which the definitions have not been determined? Why are they important?

    • The definitions of phrases mentioned in the Accord such as ‘Axomiya janagan’ (Assamese people), ‘khilonjia’ (indigenous) and ‘adi basinda’ (original inhabitants) were yet to be determined.
    • The context is Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which promises “constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.
    • However, it doesn’t  provide clear cut definitions to identify who would be the “Assamese people”.
    • Clause 6 is important because many felt the 1971 cut-off was inadequate.

    Issues with the cut-off date

    • The cut-off for the rest of India is 1948, many noted that the Assam Accord would grant citizenship to a section of migrants who would be counted as foreigners elsewhere in the country.
    • Clause 6 was, therefore, seen as a protective provision which would guarantee certain benefits to the Assamese people, while excluding some sections among those granted citizenship on the basis of the 1971 cut-off.

    Why is the ‘Assamese’ definition difficult?

    • Because Assam’s demography has been shaped by decades of migration.
    • Many of the migrants had settled here during the colonial era.
    • While they might not be native speakers of an indigenous language, such as Assamese or Bodo or Karbi, the question was whether the definition of “Assamese” could exclude someone, for example, whose family might have lived in Assam for 100 years.

    Have any definitions been proposed?

    • A key committee came in 2019, when Assam was rocked by protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which proposes to grant citizenship to various categories of foreigners including Hindus from Bangladesh.
    • The government set up the committee as a means to quell the protests.

    This committee recommended following persons as Assamese:

    1. All citizens who are part of the Assamese community
    2. Any person of indigenous tribal community of Assam
    3. Any other indigenous community of Assam
    4. Any other citizens of India residing in the territory or Assam on or before January 1, 1951 and
    5. Descendants of these categories
    • In essence, this definition includes not only the indigenous people but also all other Indian citizens, irrespective of mother tongue, as long as their ancestors were staying in Assam before 1951.

     

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