Researchers have reported that Pleistocene-era rock paintings dating back to 45,000-20,000 years ago in cave sites in southern Sulawesi, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, are weathering at an alarming rate.
Have you ever found the mention of ‘Altamira Caves’ in your NCERTs?
Leang Sakapao Caves
This cave art of Sulawesi is much older than the prehistoric cave art of Europe.
The artwork in the area includes what is believed to be the world’s oldest hand stencil (almost 40,000 years ago), created by pressing the hand on a cave wall and spraying wet red-mulberry pigments over it.
A nearby cave features the world’s oldest depiction of an animal, a warty pig painted on the wall 45,500 years ago.
Impact of climate change
The artwork made with pigments was decaying due to a process known as haloclasty, which is triggered by the growth of salt crystals due to repeated changes in temperature and humidity.
This is caused by alternating wet and dry weather in the region.
Indonesia has also experienced several natural disasters in recent years, which have quickened the process of deterioration.
Note:
Mark all islands of the Indonesian Archipelago in your Atlas.
Iran gave the Farzad B gas field to a domestic gas producer in a setback move to India.
Farzad B Gas Field
Farzad-B is an off-shore natural gas field 20 kilometres off Farsi Island in Iran.
The gas field was discovered in 2008 by a consortium of three Indian companies, led by the state-owned ONGC Videsh with a 40% stake; the other companies were Indian Oil Corporation (40%) and Oil India (20%).
Deal soured after US sanctions
Negotiations between the consortium and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to develop the gas field stalled due to secondary sanctions against Iran by the US and the European Union in the early 2010s.
Following the lifting of sanctions after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was signed in July 2015 the consortium was close to an agreement to invest $US5 billion to develop the gas field.
After the United States withdrawal from the JCPOA in May 2018, and the reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Iran, the negotiations between the consortium and NIOC broke down.
Consider the question “Balancing the contrasts has been the basis of India’s relations with Iran. Comment.”
A suspended Maharashtra police officer was dismissed from service by Mumbai Police Commissioner under Article 311 (2) (b) of the Indian Constitution without a departmental enquiry.
What is Article 311?
Article 311 says that no government employee either of an all India service or a state government shall be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to the owner that appointed him/her.
Section 2 of the article says that no civil servant shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which s/he has been informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges.
Various safeguards under Art. 311
Article 311 is meant to act as a safeguard for civil servants that give them a chance to respond to the charges in an enquiry so that he/she is not arbitrarily dismissed from service.
The article also provides exceptions to these safeguards under subclause 2 provision b.
It states “when an authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank is satisfied that for some reason, to be recorded by that authority in writing, it is not reasonably practicable to hold such enquiry”.
What is the process of a departmental enquiry?
In a departmental enquiry, after an enquiry officer is appointed, the civil servant is given a formal chargesheet of the charges.
The civil servant can represent himself/herself or choose to have a lawyer.
Witnesses can be called during the departmental enquiry following which the enquiry officer can prepare a report and submit it to the government for further action.
Are there other exceptions where a person can be dismissed without departmental enquiry?
As per Article 311 subclause 2 provision a, if a government employee is convicted in a criminal case, he can be dismissed without DE.
Apart from this, under 311 (2) (c), a government employee can be dismissed when the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied in the interest of the security of the state.
Can the dismissal under section 311 (2) be challenged by the government employee?
Yes, the government employee dismissed under these provisions can approach either tribunal like the state administrative tribunal or the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) or the Courts.
Cyclone Tauktae (pronounced Tau-Te), classified as a very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) and developed in the Arabian Sea, is wreaking havoc all across the Indian Coast.
Don’t you think?
In recent years, strong cyclones have been developing in the Arabian Sea more frequently than earlier.
Cyclone Tauktae
Tauktae is a currently active and strengthening tropical cyclone threatening the state of Gujarat in India and impacting the states Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
It is the fourth cyclone in consecutive years to have developed in the Arabian Sea, that too in the pre-monsoon period (April to June).
All these cyclones since 2018 have been categorised as either ‘Severe Cyclone’ or above.
Once Tauktae makes its landfall, three of these will have hit either the Gujarat or Maharashtra coast.
After Cyclone Mekanu in 2018, which struck Oman, Cyclone Vayu in 2019 struck Gujarat, followed by Cyclone Nisarga in 2020 that struck Maharashtra.
What is aiding such rapid intensification?
Any tropical cyclone requires energy to stay alive.
This energy is typically obtained from the warm water and humid air over the tropical ocean.
Currently, seawater up to depths of 50 metres has been very warm, supplying ample energy to enable the intensification of Cyclone Tauktae.
The more the heat released through condensation of water vapour, the steeper the drop in pressure.
A low-pressure system undergoes multiple stages of intensification to form cyclones.
Not a rare phenomenon
Typically, tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean region (the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea) develop during the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon (October to December) periods.
May-June and October-November are known to produce cyclones of severe intensity that affect the Indian coasts.
Is the Arabian Sea becoming cyclone-friendly?
Annually, five cyclones on average form in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea combined.
Of these, four developments in the Bay of Bengal, which is warmer than the Arabian Sea.
In the Arabian Sea, cyclones typically develop over the Lakshadweep area and largely traverse westwards, or away from India’s west coast.
However, in recent years, meteorologists have observed that the Arabian Sea, too, has been warming. This is a phenomenon associated with global warming.
Back2Basics: Tropical Cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure centre, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rains.
Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different names, including hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, or simply cyclone.
A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and the northeastern Pacific Ocean, and a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
In the south Pacific or the Indian Ocean, comparable storms are referred to simply as “tropical cyclones” or “severe cyclonic storms”.
China landed a spacecraft on Mars carrying its first Mars rover in a big boost to its space ambitions.
UPSC may ask an MCQ asking: Which of the following is/are the space missions related to Mars? It may throw up 4-5 options (which we all get confused at after few months) like Cassini , InSight , Messanger, Voyager etc.
Tianwen-1 Mission
The mission is named after the ancient Chinese poem ‘Questions to Heaven’, the Tianwen-1.
It is an all-in-one orbiter; lander and rover will search the Martian surface for water, ice, investigate soil characteristics, and study the atmosphere, among completing other objectives.
It will be the first to place ground-penetrating radar on the Martian surface, which will be able to study local geology, as well as rock, ice, and dirt distribution.
The lander descended successfully onto the surface of the red planet carrying a rover named Zhurong, named after a god of fire for a planet known in Chinese as the planet of fire.
Only the Soviet Union and the United States had previously carried out a successful landing on Mars.
Back2Basics: Various missions on Mars
The USSR in 1971 became the first country to carry out a Mars landing– its ‘Mars 3’ lander being able to transmit data for 20 seconds from the Martian surface before failing.
The country made it’s second and Mars landing two years later in 1973.
The second country to reach Mars’s surface, the US, holds the record for the most number of Mars landings.
Since 1976, it has achieved 8 successful Mars landings, the latest being the ‘InSight’ in 2019 (launched in 2018).
India and the European Space Agency have been able to place their spacecraft in Mars’s orbit.
India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or ‘Mangalyaan’ was able to do so in September 2014, almost a year after its launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
The Chinese mission now is expected to take off around the same time when NASA is launching its own Mars mission– the ambitious ‘Perseverance’ which aims to collect Martian samples and bring them back.
Hospitals across the country have started to report a number of cases of Mucormycosis, an invasive fungal infection affecting patients who have recently recovered from COVID-19.
What is Mucormycosis?
Mucormycosis is an aggressive and invasive fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called micromycetes.
It can affect various organs but is currently manifesting as invasive rhino-orbito-cerebral disease, crawling through the sinus and working its way to the brain, affecting the ear, nose, throat, and mouth.
While it is not contagious, it can cause a lot of damage internally and can be fatal if not detected early.
It is an old disease; perhaps new and concerning is the sudden increase in the invasive form of the sinus variant, which involves the orbit, and at times the brain, leading to blindness, stroke or death.
What causes the disease?
Diabetes mellitus is the most common underlying cause, followed by haematological malignancies and solid-organ transplants.
Diabetes mellitus was reported in 54% to 76% of cases, according to a report.
What seems to be triggering Mucormycosis in patients post COVID-19 is indiscriminate use of a high dose of steroids in COVID-19 patients, sometimes even in minimally symptomatic patients.
This leads to spikes in the sugar level among diabetics, which, in turn, renders them vulnerable.
Symptoms
The symptoms to watch out for are a stuffy nose, bloody, blackish, or brown discharge from the nose etc.
Other symptoms include blackish discolouration of the skin, swelling or numbness around the cheek, one-sided facial pain, toothache or jaw pain, drooping of the eyelids or eyelid swelling, double vision, redness of eyes, and sudden decrease in vision.
Treatment
The mainline of treatment is an anti-fungal drug called amphotericin B, which is given over an extended period of time under the strict observation of a physician.
Rational use of steroids is necessary, and constant monitoring of sugar levels and resorting to insulin use to control these levels if required is essential.
Surgery to remove the fungus growth might also be warranted.
Preventive measures
It is important to keep blood sugar levels under control and ensure that appropriate calibration of oral drugs or insulin is done from time to time.
Further, recognising the symptoms and seeking treatment early if there are two or three symptoms at a time is key.
Like most illnesses, if detected early, Mucormycosis can be cured.
Defence Minister has released the first batch of the indigenously developed anti-Covid-19 drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose or ‘2-DG’.
What is the news?
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had cleared the formulation on May 1 for emergency use as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe Covid-19 patients.
What is 2-DG?
2-DG has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), New Delhi, a lab of the DRDO in collaboration with Hyderabad-based pharma company Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL).
The 2-DG anti-Covid drug is expected to reduce dependence on medical oxygen in Covid-19 infected patients.
The pseudo glucose molecule in the drug stops the virus in the tracts.
Hence, it has been prescribed for Coronavirus infected patients requiring critical medical oxygen.
How does it work?
Clinical trial data show that the molecule helps in faster recovery of patients hospitalized with Covid-19, and reduces their dependence on supplemental oxygen.
The drug accumulates in virus-infected cells, and prevents the growth of the virus by stopping viral synthesis and energy production.
Its selective accumulation in virally-infected cells makes this drug unique.
Advantages
2-DG being a generic molecule and an analogue of glucose, it can be easily produced and made available in large quantities.
The drug is available in powder form in a sachet, and can be taken orally after dissolving in water.
The article highlights the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women and suggests measures to soften the impact.
Widening gender employment gap
Even prior to 2020, the gender employment gap was large.
Only 18% of working-age women were employed as compared to 75% of men.
Reasons include a lack of good jobs, restrictive social norms, and the burden of household work.
The nationwide lockdown hit women much harder than men.
Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd. show that 61% of male workers were unaffected during the lockdown while only 19% of women experienced this kind of security.
Men who did lose work were able to regain it, even if it was at the cost of increased precarity or lower earnings, because they had the option of moving into fallback employment arrangements.
Even as new entrants to the workforce, women workers had poorer options compared to men.
Women were more likely to enter as daily wage workers while men found avenues for self-employment.
So, not only did women enter into more precarious work, it was also likely to be at very low earnings compared to men.
Growing domestic work
With schools closed and almost everyone limited to the confines of their homes, household responsibilities increased for women.
The India Working Survey 2020 found that among employed men, the number of hours spent on paid work remained more or less unchanged after the pandemic.
But for women, the number of hours spent in domestic work increased manifold.
This increase in hours came without any accompanying relief in the hours spent on paid work.
Way forward
The following measures are needed now:
The National Employment Policy, currently in the works, should systematically address the constraints around the participation of the women’s workforce.
Expansion of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and the introduction of an urban employment guarantee targeted to women as soon as the most severe forms of mobility restrictions are lifted.
There is a need for coordinated efforts by States to facilitate the employment of women while also addressing immediate needs through the setting up of community kitchens, the opening of schools and anganwadi centres, and engagement with self-help groups for the production of personal protective equipment kits.
Further, a COVID-19 hardship allowance of at least ₹5,000 per month for six months should be announced for 2.5 million accredited social health activists and Anganwadi workers, most of whom are women.
The pandemic has shown the necessity of adequate public investment in social infrastructure.
The time is right to imagine a bold universal basic services programme that not only fills existing vacancies in the social sector but also expands public investments in health, education, child and elderly care, and so on, to be prepared for future shocks.
Consider the question “Examine the impact of the pandemic on women. Suggest the measures to mitigate the impact.”
Conclusion
As the country meets the challenge of the second wave of the pandemic, it is crucial to learn lessons from the first wave to chart the policy path ahead.
The article highlights the need for the RBI to focus on inflation instead of pursuing elusive growth.
Is inflation at a level to be concerned about?
Due to the devastation caused by the pandemic, MPC kept its stance to ‘look through’ the sustained rise in prices through much of last year.
The release of the consumer-price inflation number for April 2021 (4.3%) might seem to validate their decision.
But there are many reasons why the MPC should be concerned.
To start with, the April print carries little validity since the base for comparison (April 2020) has been rubbished by RBI in the past on the grounds that it relates to the first month of the lockdown.
Inflation comes down but after causing devastation
Through a combination of the base effect (high level of inflation in the previous comparable period), belated but inevitable monetary policy action and a fall in demand that more than offsets the disruption in supply, inflation will come down.
However, before inflation comes down, it brings untold misery to the public at large.
In a country where close to 20% of the population lives below the poverty line and food is a major item of their consumption basket, any rise in inflation, especially food inflation, hurts the poor disproportionately.
Add to that the distress caused by job losses on account of the pandemic, and this time round, the pain is likely to be magnified many times over.
What is causing inflation?
Monetary policy acts with long and indeterminate lags.
Far from spurring credit offtake through low interest rates excess liquidity has spilled over into price pressures in India.
Wholesale price inflation at 7.4% (March 2021) was the highest in 8 years, while it would be naïve to take any solace from the latest consumer price index number.
The RBI needs to be appreciated for doing its bit to keep the wheels of our economy moving during the pandemic.
However, its failure to shift gear in the face of mounting evidence of inflation cannot be neglected.
When inflation was breaching the upper end of RBI’s target band for months on end, the message should have been clear.
US recovery and its impact on Indian economy
Globally, commodity prices are already on the rise.
Not without reason, it would seem, as borne out by 12 May’s inflation print of 4.2%, America’s highest in 12 years
Part of the reason is the excessive easing of US monetary and fiscal policies.
Rising US inflation has huge implications for countries like India that are at the receiving end of US policies.
As the US economy recovers, the dollar strengthens and US interest rates rise, the rupee is bound to weaken in response, adding to inflationary pressures here.
Consider the question “What are the factors stoking inflation in the pandemic? How far the monetary policies pursued by the central bank is responsible for it?”
Conclusion
When the MPC meets next in early June, it must re-order its priorities. Instead of chasing elusive growth, it must revert to its swadharma, own dharma, and focus instead on inflation.
India’s growing economic strength in recent years has seen it adapting its foreign policy to increase its global influence and status and to meet the challenges of the 21st century. In the past few years, New Delhi has expanded its strategic vision, most noticeably in Asia, and has broadened the definition of its security interests. As a result, India-Japan relations have undergone a paradigmatic shift which has seen an attempt to build a strategic and global partnership between the two countries.
Background
Prehistoric relations
India’s earliest documented direct contact with Japan was with the Todai-ji Temple in Nara, where the consecration or eye-opening of the towering statue of Lord Buddha was performed by an Indian monk, Bodhisena, in 752 AD.
Hinduism In Japan
Japan has indirect connection with Hinduism as four of the seven gods of fortune originated from Hindu deities named: a) Benzaiten Sama (Sarasvati). b) Bishamon (Vaiśravaṇa or Kubera). c) Daikokuten (Mahākāla/Shiva). d) Kichijōten (Lakshmi) Other examples of Hindu influence on Japan include the belief of “six schools” or “six doctrines” as well as use of Yoga and pagodas.
Buddhism
Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since its official introduction in 552 CE.
The Indian monk Bodhisena arrived in Japan in 736 to spread Buddhism and performed eye-opening of the Great Buddha built in Tōdai-ji.
Ancient records from the now-destroyed library at Nalanda University in India describe scholars and pupils who attended the school from Japan. One of the most famous Japanese travellers to the Indian subcontinent was Tenjiku Tokubei (1612–1692).
Pre-World War-2 era – Rising Japan and Admiring India
In the rise of Japan from the late 19th century onwards, other Asian nations including India saw the promise of their own revival, hailing both the speed as well as content of Japan’s transformation.
The victory of Japan over Czarist Russia in 1904 and its skill in modern warfare stimulated nationalist movements in Asia against the colonial powers.
It put new confidence in the Indian National Congress of being able to wage and win the struggle against British rule in India.
When the Indian freedom struggle entered the swadeshi phase, Japan was seen as a source of new equipment and machines to increase the supply of home-made goods and displace foreign, mostly British, goods.
Trade links have existed between the two countries for more than a century. India replaced China as Japan’s main market in 1915, and retained that position until 1925 with cotton goods contributing the most to Japanese exports to India.
Independent India and Japan
Following WWII, during which Indian troops under the British Empire fought Japanese troops and Indians under the Indian National Army, fought the British with Japanese support.
India played a limited role in the Allied Occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952.
Justice Radha Binod Pal was the lone dissenting voice on the war crimes tribunal set up to try Japanese war criminals, including Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.
Once India became independent, it expressed support for Japanese interests; its delegation at the Far Eastern Commission, for example, was sympathetic to Japanese concerns about rebuilding their nation and to encouraging Japanese industry and finance.
In 1949, the Indian delegation stopped pressing the question in the Commission regarding its share of reparations from Japan and proposed halting the reparations altogether, noting that the burden of making such payments told heavily on the living standards of the Japanese people.
India welcomed the relaxation of controls on Japan because of the flow of Japanese technical expertise to the rest of Asia.
Although 52 nations assembled to sign a peace treaty with Japan at San Francisco in September 1951, India did not participate because of its belief that the Japanese Peace settlement was part of the Cold War and the principal parties to it were more interested in enlisting support for their respective positions than to bringing peace to Asia.
The Japanese public responded favourably to India’s stand, particularly its opposition to linking the peace treaty with a bilateral security arrangement.
Given the high esteem in which India, and particularly Nehru, was held by most Japanese in those years, there was an appreciation that India had raised its voice and expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the treaty in so far as they concerned the prospects for peace in Asia.
(Monument honouring Radhabinod Pal, at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, Japan)
The cold war and Indo-Japan Relations
Indo-Japanese political connections remained weak despite the exchange of ambassadors, mutual visits by goodwill groups and parliamentary delegations. India received its first Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) in 1958.
On specific international questions such as the Sino-Indian border conflict and the India-Pakistan wars, Japan showed no overt interest either in lending support to India or in opposing it.
The Japanese consciously treated India and Pakistan evenhandedly, participating in their economic development programmes without getting drawn into their disputes.
During the India-Pakistan conflict, Japan’s diplomatic moves in the UN were not necessarily hostile to India, but its action on the aid front could be interpreted thus.
Soon after the US suspended its aid to India, Japan also enforced an embargo on flow of credits and all fresh loans.
Despite the initial enthusiasm and high hopes of the 1950s, the Indo-Japan relationship failed to take off politically and the relationship was essentially dormant from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Nevertheless, during the Cold War period Japan became the largest bilateral donor to India. Thus, the relationship was primarily sustained by Japanese ODA.
Post cold war relations
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.
Tokyo’s relation with India showed signs of an upswing when Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori came on an official 5 day visit to India in August 2000.
Keeping aside the sanctions due to nuclear tests a new global partnership over issues of worldwide importance was envisaged.
Areas of cooperation
Economic
Special economic partnership initiative (SEPI) was signed during PM Manmohan Singh’s visit in 2006.
The main elements of SEPI include Dedicated Freight Corridor-West (DFC-W) project, Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project, setting up of multi-product special economic zones/cluster, free trade and warehousing zones at select locations, and encouraging investment by Japanese companies in India, including through assistance in development of infrastructure relating to SEZs and industrial estates, etc.
ODA is being provided to infrastructural sectors like telecommunication, transport, Yamuna action plan and other projects in the power sector.
India and Japan has formed the Act East Forum wherein ODA is being provided for the development of north eastern states.
India and Japan are cooperating in smart community projects such as seawater desalinization project in Gujarat (Dahej), the model solar project in Rajasthan (Neemrana) and the gas fired independent power producer (IPP) project in Maharashtra.
The 1st India-Japan Ministerial-level Economic Dialogue was held at New Delhi on 30 April 2012. Economic interaction is the fundamental driver of the India- Japan relationship. India continues to be the largest recipient of Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA). Disbursement of ODA in FY 2011-12 reached a record high of Yen 139.22 billion (approx. Rs 8497 crores). This is being utilized in several important projects across India, largely in infrastructure projects such as Metro rail projects in different metropolitan cities.
Japan also announced ODA loans totalling Yen 184.81 billion (approx. Rs 11,000 crores) to two projects, namely the Dedicated Freight Corridor Western Project Phase II and the Chennai Metro Rail Project.
The flagship India-Japan infrastructure projects made steady progress in 2012. The Dedicated Freight Corridor (West) between Mumbai and Delhi is on track for completion in 2017, during the current Plan Period. The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Project has moved ahead with the Cabinet approving a 26% equity stake in the Special Purpose Vehicle DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC) by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) on 23 August 2012.
Trade
There is Japan India strategic dialogue on economic issues which reviews the current status of bilateral economic issues from time to time.
CEPA being one of the most comprehensive of all such agreements concluded by India as it covers more than 90% of the trade , vast gamut of services, rules of origin, investment, intellectual property rights, customs and other trade related issues.
In 2012-2013 India-Japan bilateral trade touched US$ 18.6 billion.
RBI and Bank of Japan signed a 3 year bilateral swap agreement (BSA) amounting to USD 50 Billion for addressing short term liquidity issues, financial market stability as well as supporting bilateral trade.
The two countries have reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in the commercial production of the rare earths by the Indian and Japanese enterprises.
Avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of physical evasion with respect to taxes on income were signed between India and Japan.
Investment
Japan is currently ranked sixth in the foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to India.
A total of US$ 4.63 billion was invested by Japanese companies in India between 2000-2010.
Japan Plus was established by the government of India in October 2014 to further enhance the investment and assist Japanese companies in India.
3.5 trillion Yen of public and private financing to India in 5 years under the Japan-India Investment Promotion Partnership.
Japan is also financing bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahemdabad.
Security and Defense
The two nations have frequently held joint military exercises and co-operate on technology. India and Japan concluded a security pact on 22 October 2008.
Formed in 2007 and revived in 2017 The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD, also known as the Quad) is an informal strategic dialogue between the United States, Japan, Australia and India.
The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar. The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power.
Japan India maritime exercise (JIMEX) was conducted off Japanese coast in January 2012.
Indian Navy participated in the JMSDF fleet review 2015.
Strategic
After the cold war Japan looked out to extend its diplomatic options beyond US and India became the best option possible.
In addition being a big economic giant, there similar democratic political systems, non western societies, desire to gain permanent seats in the UN Security Council and security environments are all the factors two countries can use to build a strong strategic alliance.
2+2 dialogue is taking place between the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries to deepen the global partnership.
It is also agreed to establish the INDIA –JAPAN – UNITED STATES trilateral dialogue on regional and global issues of shared interest.
Both countries also reiterated their determination to work together under the United Nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), WTO.
Japan and India are working together to realize the reform of Security Council at the earliest.
There is a beginning of India-Japan-Australia trilateral dialogue to evolve an open, inclusive, stable and transparent economic, political and security architecture in the indo-pacific region.
Cultural
The two nations announced 2007, the 50th anniversary year of Indo-Japan Cultural Agreement, as the Indo-Japan Friendship and Tourism-Promotion Year, holding cultural events in both the countries.
One such cultural event is the annual Namaste India Festival, which started in Japan over twenty years ago and is now the largest festival of its kind in the world.
At the 2016 festival, representatives from Onagawa town performed, as a sign of appreciation for the support the town received from the Indian Government during the Great East Japan Earthquake.
On 10 April 2006, a Japanese delegation proposed to raise funds and provide other support for rebuilding the world-famous ancient Nalanda University, an ancient Buddhist centre of learning in Bihar, into a major international institution of education.
Energy
The two sides in 2015 reached an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of Nuclear energy. India became the first Non proliferation country to do so.
India rare Earths Limited (IREL) and the Toyotsu Rare Earths India (TREI) a subsidiary of Toyota-Tsusho Corporation (TTC) , Japan has an agreement of supply of mixed rare earth chloride.
Issues
1. Hindrances in trade/ Investment relations
Though India and Japan have come a long way in their economic cooperation, that still is a penny when compared to the China-Japan economic ties.
Compared to the US$ 300 billion trade with China, India-Japan trade still languishes at mere US$15 billion.
Japanese investors lament lack of clarity in the policy guidelines, labor laws, tax laws, legal and regulatory framework.
For Japanese corporations some other inhibiting factors are differences in business practices, environment and culture etc.
2. Limited Defense cooperation
India and Japan defense relations after multiple defense exercises and agreements are primarily focused and revolve around China.
Japan does not give major importance to India when it comes to Indo-China border issues or Indo-Pak border conflicts.
There is hardly any exchange or procurement of defense equipment or technology from Japan.
3. Balancing between Quad and Brics:
India is a member of groups like the BRICS, which brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
In addition, though New Delhi has not joined the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is a member of the AIIB (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank).So India has to do a balancing act between Quad and Brics.
India has long adopted a non-aligned approach as opposed to the stauncher, pro-US foreign policy stances of Japan and Australia.
The failure of these nations to come up with a joint statement points to an inherent struggle to reconcile their competing views on how best to counter the rise of China.
4. Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) project
There is a great deal of scepticism on the feasibility of the AAGC itself as well as the nature of the projects embedded in it.
Way Forward
1) Continuation of balancing security policy
First, one can expect a continuation of the balancing security policy against China that began in 2014.
Crucially, India’s clashes with China in Galwan have turned public opinion in favour of a more confrontational China policy.
In just a decade, both countries have expanded high-level ministerial and bureaucratic contacts, conducted joint military exercises and concluded military pacts such as the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) logistics agreement.
Both countries need to affirm support for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and continued willingness to work with the Quad.
Both countries need to take stock of the state of play in the security relationship while also pushing the envelope on the still nascent cooperation on defence technology and exports.
2) Expanding cooperation in various sectors
The two powers will look to expand cooperation in sectors such as cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
Digital research and innovation partnership in technologies from AI and 5G to the Internet of Things and space research has increased between the two countries in the recent past.
There is a need to deepen cooperation between research institutes and expand funding in light of China’s aforementioned technology investment programme.
Issues of India’s insistence on data localisation and reluctance to accede to global cybersecurity agreements such as the Budapest Convention needs to be discussed.
Defense ties need to be made more stable. There should be more exchange of defense equipment and technologies.
Focus must just not be on countering China but helping each other in every state and frame.
3) Economic ties
Economic ties and infrastructure development are likely to be top drawer items on the agendas of New Delhi and Tokyo.
Though Japan has poured in around $34 billion in investments into the Indian economy, Japan is only India’s 12th largest trading partner.
Trade volumes between the two stand at just a fifth of the value of India-China bilateral trade.
India-Japan summit will likely reaffirm Japan’s support for key manufacturing initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and the Japan Industrial Townships.
Further, India will be keen to secure continued infrastructure investments in the strategically vital connectivity projects currently under way in the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
4) Joint strategy toward key third countries
In years past, India and Japan have collaborated to build infrastructure in Iran and Africa.
Both countries have provided vital aid to Myanmar and Sri Lanka and hammer out a common Association of Southeast Asian Nations outreach policy in an attempt to counter China’s growing influence in these corners of the globe.
However, unlike previous summits, the time has come for India and Japan to take a hard look at reports suggesting that joint infrastructure projects in Africa and Iran have stalled with substantial cost overruns.
Tokyo will also likely try to get New Delhi to reverse its decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
5) Nuclear cooperation
Both the countries must work to begin the exchange of nuclear fuel for the energy sector that has been stopped after the Fukushima incident.
And not just that, other energy cooperation and agreements must be signed to increase the flow of fuel and equipment for the benefit of the energy and other sectors related to nuclear energy.
