As diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine continue, the time has come for Delhi to devote greater attention to Central Europe, which is at the heart of the contestation between Russia and the West.
Recognising the role of Central Europe in shaping the geopolitics of Europe
Central Europe today has an identity of its own and the political agency to reshape European geopolitics.
It is important to remember that Central Europe is no longer just a piece of territory that Russia and the Western powers can divide into “spheres of influence”.
A grand bargain between Russia and the West will work only if it is acceptable to Central Europe.
Need for diplomatic balancing on Ukraine by India
As war clouds gather over Ukraine, there is much focus on India’s diplomatic balancing act, its unwillingness to publicly caution Russia against invading Ukraine, and above all its reluctance to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty.
This is not the first time that Russia’s approach to Central Europe has put Delhi in a tight corner.
The Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956, and Czechoslovakia in 1968, exposed an important tension in Indian diplomacy.
In Central Europe, India’s pragmatism in not offending Moscow (an important partner) runs against the utter unacceptability of Putin’s doctrine of “limited sovereignty”, a continuation of the Soviet era policy of saying that the socialist states must subordinate their sovereignty for the sake of the “collective interests of the socialist bloc”.
Factors shaping India’s stand
Tension with China: The prospective Russian invasion of Ukraine comes amidst India’s military tensions with China and Delhi’s continued dependence on Moscow’s military supplies.
It also comes at a time when Delhi is trying to build an international coalition against China’s brazen attacks on the territorial sovereignty of its Asian neighbours.
For the moment, Delhi is in a safe corner by calling for diplomacy in resolving the Ukraine crisis.
But if Russia does invade Ukraine, the pressure on India to rethink its position will mount.
Any such review must eventually lead to an independent appreciation of the geopolitics of Central Europe.
Five factors that must shape India’s perspective on the geopolitics of Central Europe
1] No taker for sphere of influence: Russia’s claim for a broad sphere of influence in the region has no takers in Central Europe.
2]Need for political accommodation: While Russia has legitimate security interests in Central Europe, they can only be realised through political accommodation.
Moscow cannot enforce a sphere of influence against the will of its prospective members.
3] NATO as better option: few Central Europeans buy into the French vision for “European sovereignty” and “strategic autonomy”.
They bet that NATO, led by the US, is a better option than a Europe that is independent of Washington.
They view with even greater distaste the prospects for Russo-German condominium over Central Europe.
4] Resentment against imposition of political value:While they are eager to be part of the Western institutions, Central Europeans resent any attempt by the US and EU to impose political values that run against their traditional cultures.
5] Sub regional institution: Central Europeans are eager to develop sub-regional institutions that can enhance their identity.
The Visegrad Four — Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia — is one of them.
The so-called “Three Seas Initiative” brings together 12 European states running in a vertical axis from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Adriatic and Black Sea in the south.
Conclusion
Delhi can’t forever view this critical region through the prism of Russia’s conflict with the West. It must come to terms with its growing strategic significance.
The Supreme Court has asked the Union and the State governments to respond to a petition to enforce the fundamental duties of citizens, including patriotism and unity of the nation, through comprehensive, well-defined laws.
What did the plea say?
The plea emphasized- the need to enforce FD arises from a new illegal trend of protest by protesters in the garb of freedom of speech and expression.
This has been increasingly done by way of blocking of road and rail routes in order to compel the government to meet their demands.
What are Fundamental Duties?
The fundamental duties of citizens were added to the constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee.
It basically imply the moral obligations of all citizens of a country and today, there are 11 fundamental duties in India, which are written in Part IV-A of the Constitution, to promote patriotism and strengthen the unity of India.
The FDs obligate all citizens to respect the national symbols of India, including the constitution, to cherish its heritage, preserve its composite culture and assist in its defence.
They also obligate all Indians to promote the spirit of common brotherhood, protect the environment and public property, develop scientific temper, abjure violence, and strive towards excellence in all spheres of life.
Judicial interpretation of FDs
The Supreme Court has held that FDs are not enforceable in any Court of Law.
It ruled that these fundamental duties can also help the court to decide the constitutionality of a law passed by the legislature.
There is a reference to such duties in international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 51A brings the Indian constitution into conformity with these treaties.
Total FDs
Originally ten in number, the fundamental duties were increased to eleven by the 86th Amendment in 2002.
The 10 fundamental duties are as follows:
To oblige with the Indian Constitution and respect the National Anthem and Flag
To cherish and follow the noble ideas that inspired the national struggle for freedom
To protect the integrity, sovereignty, and unity of India
To defend the country and perform national services if and when the country requires
To promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst all the people of India and renounce any practices that are derogatory to women
To cherish and preserve the rich national heritage of our composite culture
To protect and improve the natural environment including lakes, wildlife, rivers, forests, etc.
To develop scientific temper, humanism, and spirit of inquiry
To safeguard all public property
To strive towards excellence in all genres of individual and collective activities
The 11th fundamental duty which was added to this list is:
To provide opportunities for education to children between 6-14 years of age, and duty as parents to ensure that such opportunities are being awarded to their child. (86th Amendment, 2002)
Given the fact that political input in economic policymaking is becoming dominant as regional and state-level issues assume overriding significance, it’s perhaps time to consider sheltering economics from politics and vice versa.
Continuity in policy
The sudden withdrawal of farm laws last year and the repeal of the land acquisition ordinance in 2015 are two examples of policy backsliding in an otherwise decent record of policy continuity since 1991.
The overall trajectory of tariffs has been downward and average tariffs are now below 10 percent compared to over 400 percent before 1991.
As a favored rule, domestic policy priorities should not be held hostage to external pressures, but they can and ought to be used to push through difficult and desirable domestic reform.
Challenges in achieving high growth
Challenges in reforms: Relying on chance events to drive reform might work in rare circumstances, but not when the aspiration is to become a $10 trillion economy by 2030.
Realizing this target or even coming close to it will require sustained growth of over 15 percent per annum in nominal GDP — that’s no mean task.
The golden period of India’s growth fetched an 8.1 percent increase in real GDP between 2004 and 2009.
Even during this period, the growth story was cut short by the global financial crisis and devilled intermittently by institutional weaknesses.
Failure of institutions: The coal scam and the 2G scam are examples of the inability of institutions to keep pace with rapid growth.
As growth occurs, institutions also require sophistication, knowledge, and some (not complete) protection from political interference.
Need for the fiscal council for budget-making process
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in 2016, replaced RBI’s internal decision-making driven by the central bank governor to include three external experts to strengthen and bring transparency into monetary policy decisions.
This can be extended to other important government functions, such as the budgetary process
Successive finance commissions and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee have recommended the creation of a fiscal council that, like the MPC, will bring transparency in the budget-making process.
The idea is simple, moderate the influence of the political agenda and powerful interest groups that could, and often do, capture the process.
Suggestions on policymaking
It is art and science: Policymaking is nothing if not art that invokes science when expedient.
Domain experts should be an integral part of the formulation process.
Implementation, of course, can be left to the executive.
When the TRAI was first set up, it had a healthy combination of domain experts and public policy professionals, resembling a specialized regulatory agency that reflected a serious intent to strengthen capacity.
Importance of domain experts: Instead of going down the chosen path, TRAI has reversed gear and today resembles a government department.
In fact, this is the same affliction with almost all regulatory and policy institutions that are now a feature of India’s increasingly market-based economy.
As more sectors (for example, the Gati Shakti initiative) engage the private sector, lessons from the last quarter-century should not be wasted — domain expertise is conspicuous by its absence in regulatory and policy institutions.
Way forward
Create a cadre of professionals: Commissions tend to be made up of retired civil servants or retired judges.
This is worrying and, therefore, it is vital to create a cadre of professionals with technical expertise for the complex tasks of managing the policy processes.
Distancing politics from the policy: The net needs to be cast wider so that politics and policy are distanced, not completely but certainly more than it is today.
Consider the question “Politicians and economists have a love-hate relationship; they can’t do without each other. In context of this examine the issues with policymaking in India and why role of the domain expert is important in policymaking today?”
Conclusion
India should not be in a situation in which it is in perpetual hostage to vested interests of politics and business.
India’s approach towards FTAs is now focusing more on gaining meaningful market access and facilitating the Indian industry’s integration into global value chains. As Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has repeatedly emphasized, India would no longer be signing trade agreements just to join a group, but the new approach of FTA negotiations would respond to the need of new emerging dynamics in international trade and the Indian economy.
What is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?
It is an arrangement between two or more countries under which they agree to end tariffs and non-tariff barriers on a large value of imports from partner countries.
Coverage: The agreement may also cover, among others, services, investment, and economic cooperation.
FTA normally covers trade in goods (such as agricultural or industrial products) or trade in services (such as banking, construction, trading etc.).
FTA can also cover other areas such as intellectual property rights (IPRs), investment, government procurement and competition policy, etc.
Main focus: The focus of an FTA is primarily on economic benefits and encouraging trade between the countries by making it more efficient and profitable. But FTAs may also have political, or strategic benefits.
India’s revamped FTA strategy
Gaining meaningful market access: India’s approach towards FTAs is now focusing more on gaining meaningful market access and facilitating Indian industry’s integration into global value chains.
Under the revamped FTA strategy, the Government of India has prioritised at least six countriesor regions to deal with, in which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) figures at the top of the list for an early harvest deal.
The others are the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, Israel and a group of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The early harvest deal is to be enlarged into a comprehensive FTA in due course of time.
Why does the FTA with UAE matter?
Important economic hub: The UAE has emerged as an important economic hub not just within the context of the Middle East/West Asia, but also globally.
Strategic location: The UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world.
Although the UAE has diversified its economy, ‘the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing.
Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors.
As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, meaning the UAE shares a common market and a customs union with these nations.
Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) Agreement, the UAE has free trade access to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Libya, and Yemen.
India-UAE Bilateral Relations
The relation has greatly flourished especially after the accession of H. H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, and subsequently with the creation of UAE federation in 1971.
The greater push has been achieved in bilateral relations when the visit of India’s Prime Minister to the UAE in August 2015 marked the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two countries.
Further, during the visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to India in January 2017 as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, it was agreed that bilateral relations were to be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
This gave momentum to launching negotiations for an India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Indian Diaspora in UAE: Around 3 million Indians are living harmoniously in the UAE.
UAE – A willing partner: As India seeks to enhance economic engagement and deepen security cooperation with the Gulf, it finds a willing partner in the UAE.
India being a natural partner: As UAE ‘Look[s] East’ to find partners for its economic growth and with security concerns emanating from turmoil in West Asia and growing threat from terrorism, it finds a natural partner in India.
UAE has a special place due to its business-friendly atmosphere, willingness to investin the Indian economy and its important role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.
India’s West Asia policy: The UAE occupies a key place in India’s West Asia policy. The high-level visit from both sides has given a new impetus to this partnership.
In 2017 the two sides signed the agreement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).
Why UAE is tilting towards India?
Geopolitical conditions as Iran is threatening continuously to close the Strait of Hormuz in case there is a conflict with Saudi Arabia or US. This will adversely affect UAE as well.
Failure of Pakistan to meet expectations: UAE saw Pakistan as a partner and incorporated a deep economic and security relationship with it. But in the present day, Pakistan does not seem to be of much help to UAE.
Already facing internal issues, Pakistan failed to come to the aid of Saudi Arabia in its war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and has been unable to curb jihadists operating from its land across West Asia.
India is an important destination for oil and energy purchase as the US is on the way of becoming hydrocarbon independent.
UAE’s massive sovereign wealth funds can act as a great resource in the development of infrastructure in India.
Issue of Terrorism: There has been a rising convergence between India and UAE on the terror issue and both the countries talked of the need to combat terror groups without any discrimination.
Recently,five UAE diplomats were killed in an attack in Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Violent conflicts around without any resolutions: Countries like Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are suffering from violent conflicts. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has not produced expected results.
What is the Economic Significance of the UAE?
The UAE has emerged as an important economic hub not just within the context of the Middle East/West Asia, but alsoglobally.
The UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world.
In recent years, the UAE, through its ‘Vision 2021’, has sought to diversify its economy and reduce its dependency on oil.
Since 2012, growth has been led, according to a World Trade Organisation document, by the non-hydrocarbon sectors reflecting the successful diversification of the economy.
Although the UAE has diversified its economy, the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing.
Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors.
India-UAE trade and investment ties
Trade and commerce forms the backbone of the bilateral relations. UAE has been one of India’s leading sources of FDIs. India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972.
The India-UAE total trade merchandise has been valued at U.S.$52.76 billion for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2021-22, making UAE India’s third largest trade partner after China and the United States.
The UAE accounts for 8 percent of India’s oil imports and was fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India.
As India and the UAE strive to further deepen trade and investment ties, the soon-to-be-announced early harvest agreement comes at the most opportune time.
The aim is to boost bilateral merchandise trade to above U.S.$100 billion and services trade to U.S.$15 billion in five years.
Attractive export market: As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
Ninth biggest investor: The UAE’s investment in India is estimated to be around U.S.$11.67 billion, which makes it the ninth biggest investor in India.
On the other hand, many Indian companies have set up manufacturing units either as joint ventures or in Special Economic Zones for cement, building materials, textiles, engineering products, consumer electronics, etc.
Advanced Technology and the Knowledge Economy
In 2018, in an effort to keep pace with the changing technological imperative to attain their national aspirations, India and UAE signed a MoU to generate an estimated $20 billion in the span of a decade.
The Emirates have stepped up efforts to invest in the development of the knowledge economy by expanding “golden visa” residency permits in order to attract the best minds to the country so as to fuel the knowledge economy.
These ten-year visas are granted to doctors, engineers, PhD scholars and specialists in high-end technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data, virology and epidemiology.
Space Cooperation
Space is a new arena in which India and the UAE have collaborated through the work of the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Space cooperation between India and the UAE gained quick momentum during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Emirates in 2015.
Together, the two space agencies have developed the nano-satellite, Nayif-1, which was launched from the Satish Dhavan Space Centre, Sriharikota in India.
The two countries are likely to work together on Emirates’ ‘Red planet Mission’.
Security and Defence Cooperation
Another significant pillar of India-UAE ties is reflected in their growing cooperation in security and defense sector.
With the spread of radicalism in Gulf and South Asia, India looks to enhance security cooperation with UAE to counter terrorist threats and combat radicalization.
‘Desert Eagle II’, a ten day air combat exercise, was held between the air forces of India and UAE.
What is an Interim Trade Agreement (ITA)?
An interim or early harvest trade agreement is used to liberalise tariffs on the trade of certain goods between two countries or trading blocs before a comprehensive FTA is concluded.
Government’s emphasis on interim agreements may be tactical so that a deal may be achieved with minimum commitments and would allow for contentious issues to be resolved later.
Recently, India and Australia have announced plans to conclude an ITA in March 2022.
India is also looking to complete an early harvest agreement with the UAE and the UK in the first half of 2022.
Challenges
The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC, and the applied average tariff rate is 5%. Therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important.
The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) which have mostly been covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
The UAE has 451 SPS notifications.
Most of the notifications are related to consumer information, labelling, licensing or permit requirements and import monitoring and surveillance requirements.
These compliances pose a challenge for Indian exporters.
Way Forward
(1) Needs to ensure the execution of the investment projects with the required expertise
Potential areas to enhance bilateral trade include defence trade, food and agricultural products as well as automobiles. Medical tourism can be an important area where India can attract Emiratis.
Indian companies with expertise in renewable energy sector can invest in UAE.
In defence sector, there is a need to further enhance cooperation through joint training programmes.
(2) Manifold Benefits of India-UAE Trade Agreements
With India’s newfound strength in exports, a trade agreement with an important country such as the UAE would help sustain the growth momentum.
As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
As both the UAE and India are aggressively pursuing FTAs with several important countries, not only companies from these two countries but also MNCs from other geographies too would find the UAE and India an attractive market to invest in.
(3) Improving the relations with the GCC
As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman and shares a common market and customs union with these nations.
Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) Agreement, the UAE has free trade access to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Libya, and Yemen.
This FTA with the UAE will pave the way for India to enter the UAE’s strategic location, and have relatively easy access to the Africa market and its various trade partners.
This can help India to become a part of that supply chain especially in handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and pharma.
(4) Solving the issue of UAE’s Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs)
The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC (applied average tariff rate is 5%), therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important.
The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) mostly covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
The SPS notifications are mainly related to live poultry, meat, and processed food and the TBT notifications are related to fish, food additives, meat, rubber, electrical machinery, etc.
The FTA agreement must try to bring more transparency and predictability in the use of NTBs so that their compliance becomes less cumbersome.
Conclusion
India-UAE Relations have become a pivot of India’s Extended Neighborhood and Look West Policy in the region. Shared economic visions and geopolitical outlooks have spurred the two sides to seek to expand cooperation across multiple domains, notably in investment, technology, the knowledge economy, and defense and security. The recently signed India-UAE free trade agreement will enable two-way investment flows and help achieve ambitious export targets.
As the theme of International Mother Language Day 2022, it has much relevance in reshaping Indian higher education.
India’s unique cultural and linguistic diversity
According to the Language Census in 2018, India is home to 19,500 languages or dialects, of which 121 languages are spoken by 10,000 or more people in our country.
For centuries, India has been home to hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects, making its linguistic and cultural diversity the most unique in the world.
Our linguistic diversity is one of the cornerstones of our ancient civilisation.
Impact of globalisation: While languages are among the key bridges that ensure cultural and civilisational continuity, globalisation and Westernisation have impacted not just the growth but also the survival of many of our dialects in this rich cultural and linguistic tapestry.
Therefore, International Mother Language Day has special significance to the Indian context.
Endangered languages
In November 1999, the UNESCO General Conference approved the declaration of February 21 as International Mother Language Day, in response to the declining state of many languages.
According to the UN agency, at least 43% of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken in the world are endangered.
UNESCO has been striving to protect the cultural and linguistic diversity of member-states through pro-active international measures.
It is our collective responsibility to revive and revitalise the 196 Indian languages which fall under the “endangered” category.
Role of technology: This year’s theme
Globally, the role of technology came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic when school shutdowns forced educators and learners to adapt themselves to online education.
The theme of International Mother Language Day in 2022 — “Using Technology for Multilingual Learning: Challenges and Opportunities” — is one of special relevance to us.
The central idea is to leverage technology to support and enrich the teaching-learning experience on a multi-lingual level.
It also aims at achieving a qualitative, equitable and inclusive educational experience.
Inevitably, the widespread use of technology would fast-track development.
Multilingual education predicated on the increasing use of one’s mother tongue is a key component of inclusion in education.
Seen in its entirety, this is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas”.
Direction of NEP
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 encourages the use of mother tongue as the medium of instruction till at least Class five but preferably till Class eight and beyond.
The use of mother tongue in teaching is bound to create a positive impact on learning outcomes, as also the development of the cognitive faculties of students.
There is a pressing need to create and improve scientific and technical terminology in Indian languages.
We have been able to create a large English-based education system which includes colleges that offer courses in medicine and multiple disciplines of engineering.
This impressive system paradoxically excludes a vast majority of learners in our country from accessing higher education.
Way forward
The need to build an effective multilingual education system across diverse streams and disciplines becomes all the more imperative.
In this context, the collaboration between the AICTE and IIT Madras to translate some courses on the central government’s e-learning platform, Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) into eight regional languages such as Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam and Gujarati, is commendable. Such tech-led initiatives will serve to democratise higher education.
At the same time, the decision of the AICTE to permit B. Tech programmes in 11 native languages, in tune with the NEP, is a historic move.
Our policy-planners, educators, parents and opinion leaders must bear in mind that when it comes to education in mother tongue and local languages, we can take the cue from European countries as well as Asian powers such as Japan, China and Korea, among others.
Conclusion
Co-existing over centuries, borrowing from and nurturing each other, our languages are interwoven with our individual, local and national identity.
A 10-member Indian delegation will visit Pakistan for the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) from March 1-3.
Agenda this year
Pakistan has some objections on Indian hydroelectric projects namely Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Lower Kalnai (48 MW) and Kiru (624 MW) in Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan has raised objections on the design of these projects.
India, however, asserts that the design of the project is fully compliant with the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Permanent Indus Commission
The PIC is a bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals and objectives, and outlines of the IWT.
Indus Waters Treaty, 1960
The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank signed in Karachi in 1960.
According to this agreement, control over the water flowing in three “eastern” rivers of India — the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej was given to India
The control over the water flowing in three “western” rivers of India — the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum was given to Pakistan.
Rights accorded to India
The treaty allowed India to use western rivers water for limited irrigation use and unrestricted use for power generation, domestic industrial and non-consumptive uses such as navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.
It lays down precise regulations to build any water or hydel projects.
India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation.
The pact also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers.
Based on equitable water-sharing
Back in time, partitioning the Indus rivers system was inevitable after the Partition of India in 1947.
The sharing formula devised after prolonged negotiations sliced the Indus system into two halves.
Equitable it may have seemed, but the fact remained that India conceded 80.52 percent of the aggregate water flows in the Indus system to Pakistan.
It also gave Rs 83 crore in pounds sterling to Pakistan to help build replacement canals from the western rivers. Such generosity is unusual of an upper riparian.
India conceded its upper riparian position on the western rivers for the complete rights on the eastern rivers.
Water was critical for India’s development plans.
Significance of the treaty
It is a treaty that is often cited as an example of the possibilities of peaceful coexistence that exist despite the troubled relationship.
Well-wishers of the treaty often dub it “uninterrupted and uninterruptible”.
The World Bank, which, as the third party, played a pivotal role in crafting the IWT, continues to take particular pride that the treaty functions.
Need for a rethink
The role of India, as a responsible upper riparian abiding by the provisions of the treaty, has been remarkable.
However, of late, India is under pressure to rethink the extent to which it can remain committed to the provisions, as its overall political relations with Pakistan becomes intractable.
Some Parliamentarians and prominent figures have issued a statement expressing discontent over the Kerala High Court’s verdict upholding the transmission ban on a Malayalam news channel.
What is the news?
The channel went off air as the Centre suspended its telecast over “security reasons”.
The High Court’s decision was based entirely on the assessment of documents presented by the MHA in a sealed cover.
The contents of which were not shared with the news channel.
What is Sealed Cover Jurisprudence?
It is a practice used by the Supreme Court and sometimes lower courts, of asking for or accepting information from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be accessed by judges.
A specific law does not define the doctrine of sealed cover.
The Supreme Court derives its power to use it from Rule 7 of order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules and Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
Nature of the power: Upholding Secrecy
If the Chief Justice or court directs certain information to be kept under sealed cover or considers it of confidential nature, no party would be allowed access to the contents of such information.
There is an exception to this if the Chief Justice himself orders that the opposite party be allowed to access it.
It also mentions that information can be kept confidential if its publication is not considered to be in the interest of the public.
As for the Evidence Act, official unpublished documents relating to state affairs are protected and a public officer cannot be compelled to disclose such documents.
Grounds of such secrecy
Other instances where information may be sought in secrecy or confidence is when its publication:
Impedes an ongoing investigation
Details which are part of the police’s case diary or
Breaches the privacy of an individual
Prominent cases of sealed jurisprudence
Sealed cover jurisprudence has been frequently employed by courts in the recent past.
(1) Rafale Deal
In the case pertaining to the controversial Rafale fighter jet deal, a Bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi in 2018, had asked the Centre to submit details related to deal’s decision making and pricing in a sealed cover.
This was done as the Centre had contended that such details were subject to the Official Secrets Act and Secrecy clauses in the deal.
(2) Bhim Koregaon Case
In the Bhima Koregaon case, in which activists were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The Supreme Court had relied on information submitted by the Maharashtra police in a sealed cover.
Criticism of such acts
Critics of this practice contend that it is not favorable to the principles of transparency and accountability of the Indian justice system.
It stands in contrast to the idea of an open court, where decisions can be subjected to public scrutiny.
It is also said to enlarge the scope for arbitrariness in court decisions, as judges are supposed to lay down reasoning for their decisions.
Besides, it is argued that not providing access to such documents to the accused parties obstructs their passage to a fair trial and adjudication.
How has judiciary responded to this?
In the 2019 judgment in the case of P Gopalakrishnan V. The State of Kerala, the Supreme Court had said that disclosure of documents to the accused is constitutionally mandated.
This is possible even if the investigation is ongoing and said documents may lead to breakthrough in the investigation.
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the IE.
What is an FIR?
The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law.
However, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as FIR.
Section 154 (“Information in cognizable cases”) says that every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be recorded in writing.
It has to be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe.
Important components of FIR
In essence, then, there are three important elements of an FIR:
the information must relate to the commission of a cognizable offence,
it should be given in writing or orally to the head of the police station and,
it must be written down and signed by the informant, and its key points should be recorded in a daily diary.
What is a cognizable offence?
A cognizable offence/case is one in which a police officer may make an arrest without a warrant.
In the First Schedule, “the word ‘cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer may arrest without warrant’; and the word ‘non-cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer shall not arrest without warrant’.”
What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?
The CrPC defines a “complaint” as any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.
However, an FIR is a document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint.
The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
If, on the basis of a complaint, it appears that a cognizable offence has been committed, then an FIR under Section 154 CrPC will be registered, and police will open an investigation.
If no offence is found, the police will close the inquiry.
What in case of non-cognizable offences?
In case of non-cognizable offences, an FIR under Section 155 CrPC, commonly called “NCR”, is registered, and the complainant will be asked to approach a court for an order.
The court may then direct the police to conduct an investigation on the complaint.
What is a Zero FIR?
When a police station receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in the jurisdiction of another police station, it registers an FIR, and then transfers it to the concerned police station for further investigation.
This is called a Zero FIR. No regular FIR number is given.
After receiving the Zero FIR, the concerned police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation.
What if the police refuse to register an FIR?
Under Section 154(3) CrPC, if any person is aggrieved by the refusal on the part of the officer in charge of a police station to register an FIR, she can send the complaint to the Superintendent of Police/DCP concerned.
If the SP/DCP if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, will either investigate the case, or direct an investigation by a subordinate police officer.
If no FIR is registered, the aggrieved persons can file a complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC before a concerned court.
If the court is satisfied that a cognizable offence is made out from the complaint, will direct the police to register an FIR and conduct an investigation.
What happens after an FIR is filed?
The police will investigate the case and will collect evidence in the form of statements of witnesses or other scientific materials. They can arrest the alleged persons as per law.
If there is sufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations of the complainant, then a charge sheet will be filed.
Or else, a Final Report mentioning that no evidence was found will be filed in court.
If it is found that no offence has been committed, a cancellation report will be filed. If no trace of the accused persons is found, an ‘untraced’ report will be filed.
However, if the court does not agree with the investigation report, it can order further investigation.
Try this question from CSP 2021:
Q.With reference to India, consider the following statements:
Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in police station, not in jail.
During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”7mt3evgotr” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has recommended a revamp of the higher education scene in India. A new initiative stemming from this desire is an ‘Academic Bank of Credits’ (ABC) in higher education idea, which was notified recently by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
About the Academic Bank of Credits’ (ABC)
Any undergraduate or postgraduate student can create an account in the ABC portal and store information of his/her completed courses (i.e., subjects/papers in old terminology) and grades obtained.
These grades are stored for a period of five years.
As multiple institutes are connected to the ABC portal, one can be formally enrolled in university ‘A’ but can choose to do some courses from university ‘B’, some more from university ‘C’ and so on and all of these would count towards the student’s degree.
Flexible and multidisciplinary: One can enrol in an equivalent course from another college in the same city or join online courses offered by other universities; or can enrol in SWAYAM (a programme initiated by the Government of India) or the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) and add these credits.
Thus, education will truly become flexible and interdisciplinary, without forcing any single institute to float an unmanageable number of courses.
This flexibility will offer students a chance to enrol in a course and learn from teachers from some of the best institutes such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) or the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research.
Issues with ABC
Limited seats: ABC regulations say that the institute should allow up to 20% supernumerary seats for students enrolling through the ABC scheme.
There is no clarity on how the selection of students would be made if there are more than 20% seats.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platforms such as SWAYAM and NPTEL are ‘supposedly designed’ for large enrolments.
So far we have not found any evidence in the public domain that these MOOC platforms can provide a reliable assessment of learning achievement if there is massive enrolment for a course.
Filtering criterion: The ABC portal will accept courses from a large inumber of higher education institutes.
The filtering criterion in the original regulation was that higher education institutes should have obtained an ‘A’ grade or higher in the latest round of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation.
This filtering criterion is not satisfactory.
Impact on small colleges: The ABC scheme specifies that students can avail up to 70% of courses from other institutes while being enrolled in a particular college.
If students avail these credits outside the parent college, they need not enrol for the corresponding in-house courses.
As the number of teaching posts in any higher education institute are calculated on the basis of student enrolment numbers, what happens when a large fraction of students do not enrol for the courses offered by you?
Conclusion
In India, where the quality of education varies drastically from one institute to the next, this can lead to unmanageable academic and administrative issues in higher education institutes with brand names, and lead to a contraction in the number of teaching posts in smaller higher education institutes.
A Private Member’s Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha proposing the enactment of a Refugee and Asylum law.
Why does India need a Refugee and Asylum law?
The principle of non-refoulement: The international legal principle of non-refoulement — the cornerstone of refugee law, which states that no country should send a person to a place where he or she may face persecution.
The principle of non-refoulement is clearly affirmed, with no exceptions, though reasons have been specified for exclusion, expulsion, and revocation of refugee status, to respect the Government’s sovereign authority but limit its discretion.
India is not signatory to Refugee Convention: India has been, and continues to be, a generous host to several persecuted communities, doing more than many countries, but is neither a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, nor does it have a domestic asylum framework.
The tradition of asylum: It will be in line with India’s millennial traditions of asylum and hospitality to strangers.
Because India has neither subscribed to international conventions on the topic nor set up a domestic legislative framework to deal with refugees, their problems are dealt with in an ad hoc manner, and like other foreigners they always face the possibility of being deported.
It will finally recognise India’s long-standing and continuing commitment to humanitarian and democratic values while dealing with refugees.
Multiple laws
In the absence of a uniform and comprehensive law to deal with asylum seekers, we lack a clear vision or policy on refugee management.
We have a cocktail of laws such as:
the Foreigners Act, 1946,
the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939,
the Passports Act (1967),
the Extradition Act, 1962,
the Citizenship Act, 1955 and
the Foreigners Order, 1948 — all of which club all foreign individuals together as “aliens”.
Defining refugee
Well-founded fear of persecution: The internationally-accepted definition of the term, includes people who have fled their home countries and crossed an international border because of a well-founded fear of persecution in their home countries, on grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.
Who does not qualify as a refugee? This means that people who cross borders in quest of economic betterment, or because they are fleeing poverty, anarchy or environmental disaster, do not qualify as refugees.
Nor do those who flee from one part of their home country to another because of war, conflict or fear of persecution.
Way forward
India must enact a National Asylum Law.
We need a proper framework to make sure that refugees can access basic public services, be able to legally seek jobs and livelihood opportunities for some source of income.
The absence of such a framework will make the refugees vulnerable to exploitation, especially human trafficking.
Our judiciary has already shown the way forward on this: in 1996, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the state has to protect all human beings living in India, irrespective of nationality, since they enjoy the rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 20 and 21 of the Constitution to all, not just Indian citizens.
The enactment and enumeration of refugee rights will reduce our dependence on judge-centric approaches — or even worse, the whims of Home Ministry bureaucrats, police officers and politicians.
Consider the question “In the absence of a uniform and comprehensive law to deal with asylum seekers, we lack a clear vision or policy on refugee management. In the context of this, examine the need for law to deal with asylum seeker and suggest the various aspects the law should cover.”
Conclusion
The problems of refugees worldwide are problems that demand global solidarity and international cooperation. India, as a pillar of the world community, as a significant pole in the emerging multipolar world, must play its own part, on its own soil as well as on the global stage, in this noble task.
