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GS Paper: GS2

  • Governor and Related issues

    Last week, West Bengal CM blocked its Governor on Twitter. Days earlier, the Tamil Nadu government had taken exception to Governor’s R-Day speech articulating the benefits of NEET.

    These are two of many examples of bitterness between states and Governors.

    Who is a Governor?

    • Parallel to President: The Governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at the Central level.
    • Nominal head: The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief Ministers of the states and her/his councils of ministers.
    • Similar offices: Governors exist in the states while Lieutenant Governors or Administrators exist in union territories including National Capital Territory of Delhi.
    • Non-local appointees: Few or no governors are local to the state that they are appointed to govern.

    Governor-State Relations

    • Acting on aid and advice: Although envisaged as an apolitical head who must act on the advice of the council of ministers, the Governor enjoys certain powers granted under the Constitution.
    • Discretion: He has monopoly for giving or withholding assent to a Bill passed by the state legislature, or determining the time needed for a party to prove its majority, or which party must be called first do so, generally after a hung verdict in an election.
    • Apparatus of interaction: There are no provisions laid down for the manner in which the Governor and the state must engage publicly when there is a difference of opinion. The management of differences has traditionally been guided by respect for each other’s boundaries.

    Various friction points

    In recent years, these have been largely about:

    1. Selection of the party to form a government
    2. Deadline for proving majority
    3. Sitting on Bills
    4. Passing negative remarks on the state administration

    Recent contentious case

    • J&K: In November 2018, then J&K Governor dissolved the Assembly amid indications that various parties were coming together to form the government.
    • Maharashtra: In 2019, after a hung verdict in Maharashtra Governor quietly invited a party leader and administered him oath as CM at 6am early morning. This government lasted just 80 hours.
    • Nagaland: Governor has criticised affairs of the state and allegedly interfered in administration.

    Is such friction recent?

    • Allegations of the Centre using the Governor’s position to destabilise state governments have been made since the 1950s.
    • In 1959, Kerala’s government was dismissed merely based on a report by the Governor.
    • Several state governments have been dismissed since then, including 63 through President’s Rule orders issued by Governors between 1971 and 1990.

    Why does this happen?

    • Political appointment: This is because Governors have become political appointees. Politicians become Governors and then resign to fight elections.
    • Nature of appointment: In the Constitution, there are no guidelines for exercise of the Governor’s powers, including for appointing a CM or dissolving the Assembly.
    • Defying constituent assembly: The Constituent Assembly envisaged governor to be apolitical.
    • Nature of appointment: The CM is answerable to the people. But the Governor is answerable to no one except the Centre.
    • Constitutional vacuum: Once can sugercoat it with ideas of constitutional morality and values, but the truth is there is a fundamental defect in the Constitution.
    • Security of Tenure: There is no provision for impeaching the Governor, who is appointed by the President on the Centre’s advice. While the Governor has 5-year a tenure, he can remain in office only until the pleasure of the President.
    • Powers in legislation: There is no limit set for how long a Governor can withhold assent to a Bill.

    What reforms have been suggested?

    • From the Administrative Reforms Commission of 1968 to Sarkaria Commission of 1988 and the one mentioned above, several panels have recommended reforms, such as:
    1. Selection of the Governor through a panel comprising the PM, Home Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker and the CM,
    2. Fixing his tenure for five years
    3. Provision to impeach the Governor by the Assembly
    • No government has implemented any of these recommendations.

     

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  • What is Privilege Motion?

    An MP from Telangana submitted a Privilege Motion against PM regarding his remarks over the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh.

    What is Parliamentary Privilege?

    • Parliamentary privilege refers to the right and immunity enjoyed by legislatures.
    • The legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties.
    • They are granted so that the MPs/MLAs can effectively discharge their functions.
    • The powers, privileges, and immunities of either House of the Indian Parliament and of its members and committees are laid down in Article 105 of the Constitution.
    • Article 194 deals with the powers, privileges and immunities of the State Legislatures, their members and their committees.

    What is a Privilege Motion?

    • When any of the rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under the law of Parliament.
    • A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.
    • Each House also claims the right to punish as contempt actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege, are offenses against its authority and dignity.

    What are the rules governing privilege?

    • Rule No 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and correspondingly Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha rulebook govern privilege.
    • It says that a member may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a committee thereof.
    • The rules however mandate that any notice should be relating to an incident of recent occurrence and should need the intervention of the House.
    • Notices have to be given before 10 am to the Speaker or the Chairperson.

    What is the role of the Speaker/Rajya Sabha Chair?

    • The Speaker/RS chairperson is the first level of scrutiny of a privilege motion.
    • The Speaker/Chair can decide on the privilege motion himself or herself or refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.
    • If the Speaker/Chair gives consent under Rule 222, the member concerned is given an opportunity to make a short statement.

    What is the Privileges Committee?

    • In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates a committee of privileges consisting of 15 members as per respective party strengths.
    • A report is then presented to the House for its consideration. The Speaker may permit a half-hour debate while considering the report.
    • The Speaker may then pass final orders or direct that the report be tabled before the House.
    • A resolution may then be moved relating to the breach of privilege that has to be unanimously passed.
    • In the Rajya Sabha, the deputy chairperson heads the committee of privileges, which consists of 10 members.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.With reference to the Parliament of India, which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws etc. conferred by the constitution of delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?

    (a) Committee on Government Assurances

    (b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation

    (c) Rules Committee

    (d) Business Advisory Committee

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”1zmlyzvld5″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Central Media Accreditation Guidelines 2022

    The Centre has issued a new policy on the accreditation of journalists, introducing an entire section about reasons that can result in the suspension of the accreditation.

    What is the Policy for Accreditation?

    • The new policy lays down guidelines on how PIB accreditation will be granted to eligible journalists.
    • It is prepared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and issued by the Press Information Bureau.
    • At the moment there are 2,457 PIB-accredited journalists in the country.

    Conditions laid

    • For the first time, it specifies conditions that can result in the journalist losing accreditation.
    • The new policy has ten points that may result in the accreditation being canceled, including if a journalist is charged with a “serious cognizable offense”.
    • If a journalist acts in a manner that is prejudicial to the following conditions, his/ her accreditation can be canceled:
    1. Sovereignty and integrity of India
    2. Security of the nation
    3. Friendly relations with foreign states
    4. Public order
    5. Decency or morality or
    6. Defamation or incitement of an offense
    7. In relation to Contempt of Court
    • Accreditation is also liable to be withdrawn/suspended if it is found to have been misused.

    Who is eligible for accreditation?

    • Applications for accreditation are vetted by a Central Press Accreditation Committee headed by the DG, PIB.
    • After a journalist applies, a mandatory security check is conducted by the Home Ministry, which includes police verification of the journalist’s residence.

    (1) Journalists

    • But a journalist needs to have a minimum of five years of professional experience as a full-time working journalist or a cameraperson in a news organization, or a minimum of 15 years as a freelancer to become eligible.
    • Veteran journalists, with over 30 years of experience, and who are older than 65 years of age, too are eligible.
    • Accreditation is only available for journalists living in the Delhi NCR region.
    • Similar rules apply to foreign news organizations and foreign journalists.

    (2) Newspapers

    • A newspaper or a periodical needs to have a minimum daily circulation of 10,000, and news agencies must have at least 100 subscribers.

    (3) Digital platforms and others

    • The policy has introduced a provision that journalists working with digital news platforms are also eligible, provided the website has a minimum of 10 lakh unique visitors per month.

    How does accreditation help?

    • Professional status: The policy mentions that the accreditation does not “confer any official or special status” on the journalists, but only recognizes them as “professional working journalists”.
    • Reporting important offices: In certain events where VVIPs or dignitaries such as the President, the Vice President, or the Prime Minister are present, only accredited journalists are allowed to report from the premises.
    • Source Identity: Accreditation ensures that a journalist is able to protect the identity of his or her sources.
    • Authencity: An accredited journalist does not have to disclose who he or she intends to meet when entering offices of union ministries, as the accreditation card is valid for entry.
    • Perks and benefits: Accreditation brings certain benefits for the journalist and his or her family, like being included in the Central Government Health Scheme, and some concessions on railway tickets.

    What concerns does this raise?

    • Intimidation: This could result, at times, in such powers trying to intimidate journalists or to block information from coming out.
    • Alleged defamation: A common tool used by powerful people is filing of defamation cases against journalists and media platforms.
    • Prevents constructive criticism: Journalists often report on issues and policy decisions that the government may not like.
    • Subjectivity of criteria: The new policy’s provision about acting “in manner which is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India can be subjective.
    • No watchdog: The policy is silent on who will decide if a journalist’s conduct violates any of these conditions.
    • Media trials: Any investigative story on sensitive issues could be held to be in violation of any of these provisions.

     

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  • Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 launched

    The Union Health Minister has launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0.

    About IMI 4.0

    • The IMI 4.0 will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts (including 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav) across 33 States and UTs, a Health Ministry statement said.
    • It will immensely contribute in filling the gaps and make lasting gains towards universal immunisation.
    • It will ensure that Routine Immunisation (RI) services reach the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children and pregnant women” he said.

    What is Mission Indradhanush ?

    • With the aim to increase the full immunisation coverage, the PM launched Mission Indradhanush in December 2014.
    • It aimed to cover the partially and unvaccinated pregnant women and children in pockets of low immunisation coverage, high-risk and hard-to-reach areas and protect them from vaccine preventable diseases.
    • The first two phases of the Mission resulted in 6.7% increase in full immunisation coverage in a year.

    Aims and objectives

    • It aims to immunize all children under the age of 2 years, as well as all pregnant women, against eight vaccine-preventable diseases.
    • The diseases being targeted are diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, measles, meningitis and Hepatitis B.
    • In 2016, four new additions have been made namely Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis, Injectable Polio Vaccine Bivalent and Rotavirus.
    • In 2017, Pneumonia was added to the Mission by incorporating the Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine under Universal Immunisation Programme

     

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  • India and the Great Power rivalry

    Context

    Germany has become a weaker link in the Western coalition against Moscow and Beijing.

    The US-Russia-China power dynamics

    • There is a convergence between China and Russia on a range of issues from NATO expansion to the AUKUS alliance. 
    • Despite their problems with the US, both Moscow and Beijing want a productive partnership with Washington.
    • Both Russia and China want to leverage the united front to negotiate better terms from America.
    • Exploiting the contradiction between Russia and China: Washington, in turn, wants to explore the cleavages between Moscow and Beijing.
    • Focus on challenges from China: Biden’s outreach to Putin last year was based on the premise that the US could better focus on the challenges from China in the Indo-Pacific if there was a reasonable relationship with Russia in Europe.
    • Putin is trying to take advantage of that proposition by raising the stakes in Europe.
    • Exploiting economic means: If Putin is focused on military means to rewrite the European security order with the US, Xi is focused on the economic means to alter the US ties.
    • Xi is making a big play for the Wall Street bankers who see merits in engagement with Beijing and lobby Washington to scale down the confrontation with China.

    The US resilience

    •  The chaos of American domestic politics and the continuing arguments between the US and its European partners tend to amplify the disagreements within the West.
    •  It would be a mistake for Putin and Xi to mistake Western disagreements for strategic divergence.
    • Consensus on challenging China: The last few years have seen the quick emergence of a new US consensus on challenging China despite the polarisation of the American political class.
    • The idea that the US can’t risk a two-front challenge with Russia and China is popular but mistaken.
    • Power of the US and its allies: Despite the dramatic rise of China and its new partnership with Russia, the united front can’t really match the comprehensive national power of the US and its allies.
    • India is now a strategic partner of the US and faces growing challenges from China.
    • In Asia, Biden has revived the Anglosphere (the AUKUS alliance with the UK and Australia), elevated the Quad to the summit level, and reached out to the ASEAN.
    • In Europe, the US is getting NATO in order.
    • Britain has taken the lead in the diplomatic confrontation with Russia.
    • French President Emmanuel Macron is coordinating with the US in dealing with the Ukraine crisis.
    • Beyond the rebuilding of US alliances, Washington has an important lever which is the exploitation of the domestic political vulnerabilities of “Czar Putin” and “Emperor Xi”.

    Challenge for India

    • New dynamics between two coalitions: India’s approach will depend upon the new dynamic between the two coalitions as well as its own relations with China, Russia, and the US.
    • As both sides consolidate their global coalitions, it will get harder to be in the middle.
    • India would like to see Russia find accommodation with the West in Europe; but if Russia’s relations with the West deteriorate further in Europe, Delhi is unlikely to let Moscow undermine its growing partnership with the US and its allies.

    Conclusion

    With the return of great power rivalry coinciding with India’s deteriorating ties with China, Delhi now stands closer than ever before to the West.

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  • Opinion polls

    Every election season, we find television channels flooded with opinion polls and subsequently exit polls after the casting of votes.

    What are Opinion Polls?

    • Opinion polls are similar to surveys or an inquiry designed to gauge public opinion about a specific issue or a series of issues in a scientific and unbiased manner.
    • This term has got wide recognition for assessing outcomes of elections in India.
    • In most democracies, opinion and exit polls are common during elections.
    • In India, the ECI allows the dissemination of the exit poll results half an hour after the end of polling on the last poll day.

    How are they conducted?

    • Interviewers/reporters ask questions of people chosen at random from the population being measured.
    • Responses are given, and interpretations are made based on the results.
    • It is important in a random sample that everyone in the population being studied has an equal chance of participating.
    • Otherwise, the results could be biased and, therefore, not representative of the population.

    Need of such polls

    • Popular opinion: Polls are simply a measurement tool that tells us how a population thinks and feels about any given topic.
    • Specific viewpoint: Polls tell us what proportion of a population has a specific viewpoint.
    • Opportunity to express: Opinion polling gives people who do not usually have access to the media an opportunity to be heard.

    Issues with such polls (in context to elections)

    • Authenticity: Critics have often questioned their authenticity.
    • Manipulation of voters: This largely manipulates the voting behavior.
    • Sensationalization by media: The media, on the other hand, invariably opposes the idea of a ban as seat forecasts attract primetime viewership.
    • Ridiculing the public mandate: The exit polls largely disrespect public opinions inciting confusion regarding the election mandate.

    Why does it persist in India?

    Ans. Exercise of Free Speech

    • The opposition to the ban in India is mainly on the ground that freedom of speech and expression is granted by the Constitution (Article 19).
    • What is conveniently forgotten is that this freedom is not absolute and allows for “reasonable restrictions” in the same article.

    Limited restrictions that we have in India

    • RP Act: The Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act, 1951 do contain certain restrictions against disinformation.
    • Restrictions on A19: While the Constitution allows for reasonable restrictions on freedom of expression, its mandate to the ECI for free and fair elections is absolute.
    • Supreme Court interpretations: The Supreme Court (SC), in a series of judgments, has emphasized this requirement.
    • Basic structure doctrine: It considers free and fair elections is the basic structure of the Constitution (PUCL vs Union of India, 2003; NOTA judgment, 2013).

    Examples of restrictions

    • Restrictions are imposed in many countries, extending from two to 21 days prior to the poll — Canada, France, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, to name a few examples.
    • In India, all political parties too have opposed these polls, demanding a ban — except when they are shown as winning.

    Why does the ECI feel that opinion polls interfere with free and fair elections?

    • Prevalence of paid news in India: Having seen “paid news” in action, it apprehends that some opinion polls may be sponsored, motivated and biased.
    • Opacity: Almost all polls are non-transparent, providing little information on the methodology.
    • Propaganda: Subtle propaganda on casteist, religious and ethnic basis as well as by the use of sophisticated means like the alleged poll surveys create public distrust in poll process.
    • Disinformation: With such infirmities, many “polls” amount to misinformation that can result in “undue influence”, which is an “electoral offense” under IPC Section 171 (C). It is a “corrupt practice” under section 123 (2) of the RP Act.
    • Betting: The polling agencies manipulate the margin of error, victory margin for candidates, seat projections for a party or hide negative findings.

    Call for a ban in India

    • The demand for a ban on opinion polls is not new.
    • At all-party meets called by the Election Commission in 1997 and 2004, there was unanimous demand for a ban.
    • The difference of opinion was only on whether the ban should apply from the announcement of the poll schedule or the date of notification.

    Moves by ECI

    • In 1998, the ECI issued guidelines that were challenged in the SC.
    • A five-judge Constitution Bench asked the ECI how it would enforce these decisions in the absence of a law.
    • Realizing its weakness, the ECI withdrew the guidelines.
    • Unfortunately, this left the constitutionality of the issue

    Way forward

    • Independent regulator: Ideally a body like the British Polling Council would be a viable option. India could set up its own professional, self-regulated body on the same lines say Indian Polling Council.
    • Mandatory disclosure: All polling agencies must disclose for scrutiny the sponsor, besides sample size, methodology, time frame, quality of training of research staff, etc.

     

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  • Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s powers to regulate content on TV

    The Kerala High Court will pronounce its judgment on an Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) order banning a Malayalam news channel over its connections with radical groups.

    Sectors regulated by I&B Ministry

    • Until last year, it had the power to regulate content across all sectors barring the internet.
    • The sectors include TV channels, newspapers and magazines, movies in theatres and on TV, and the radio.
    • Since Feb 2021, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, extended its regulatory powers over internet content.
    • It now exercises powers especially on digital news and OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hotstar.

    What kind of powers does it have?

    (a) Film Censoring

    • For example, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has a mandate to give any film that will be played in a theatre, a rating indicating the kind of audience it is suitable for.
    • In practice, however, the CBFC has often suggested changes or cuts to a film before giving it a certification.
    • While it isn’t the CBFC’s mandate to censor a film, it can withhold giving a rating unless the filmmaker agrees to its suggestions.

    (b) TV Censoring

    • When it comes to TV channels, the government last year came up with a three-tier grievance redressal structure for viewers to raise concerns, if any.
    • A viewer can successively approach the channel, then a self-regulatory body of the industry, and finally the I&B Ministry, can issue a show-cause notice to the channel,.
    • It can then refer the issue to an inter-ministerial committee (IMC).

    (c) OTT and other platforms

    • For content on OTT platforms too, there is a similar structure.

    Power to Ban news channels

    • It has in the past issued orders to temporarily ban news and other channels.
    • In November 2016, it imposed a one-day ban on NDTV for its reporting of the Pathankot terror attack.
    • Violation can lead to revocation of a channel’s uplinking license (for sending content to a satellite) or downlinking license (for broadcasting to viewers through an intermediary).
    • In print, based on the recommendations of the Press Council of India, the government can suspend its advertising to a publication.
    • And last year’s IT rules allow I&B Ministry to issue orders to ban websites based on their content.

    What kind of content is not allowed?

    • There are no specific laws on content allowed or prohibited in print and electronic media, radio, films, or OTT platforms.
    • The content on any of these platforms has to follow the free speech rules of the country.
    • Article 19(1) while protecting the freedom of speech, also lists certain “reasonable restrictions” including content related to the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency, morality, etc.
    • Action can be taken if any of these restrictions are violated.

    Do other agencies play a role?

    • There is no direct involvement, as the powers to regulate content rest only with the I&B Ministry.
    • However, the ministry relies on inputs from other ministries, as well as intelligence agencies.
    • In the recent case, its licenses were revoked because the Home Ministry had denied it security clearance, which is essential as part of the policy.
    • There is also a new mechanism the I&B Ministry adopts.
    • It has used emergency powers it has under the new IT Rules to block certain YouTube channels and social media accounts based on inputs from intelligence agencies.

     

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  • Unitary Digital Identity Framework (UDIF)

    India has agreed to provide a grant to Sri Lanka to implement a ‘Unitary Digital Identity Framework’, apparently modelled on the Aadhaar Card.

    What is UDIF?

    • UDIF is apparently similar to India’s own Aadhaar.
    • Under the proposed UDIF it is expected to introduce a:
    1. Personal identity verification device based on biometric data
    2. Digital tool that can represent the identities of individuals in cyberspace and
    3. Identification of individual identities that can be accurately verified in digital and physical environments by combining the two devices

    (More updates awaited)

    Why such move?

    • SL has been receiving substantive economic assistance from India – totalling $ 1.4 billion since the beginning of this year.
    • India is helping the island nation cope with its dollar crunch, and import food, medicines and fuel amid frequent shortages.

     

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  • Anchoring the United Kingdom economically to the Indo-Pacific

    Context

    January this year saw the formal launch of negotiations for an India-United Kingdom free trade agreement (FTA).

    Momentum in India-UK engagement

    • Despite some potential challenges, there is a new momentum in the India-U.K. bilateral engagement these days with both sides confident of moving forward swiftly.
    • Greater role for UK in Indo-Pacific: Britain has made a trade pact with India one of its post-Brexit priorities as it seeks a greater role in the Indo-Pacific.
    • Brexit has necessitated greater access to non-EU markets, and the U.K.’s changing relationship with China requires a diversification of trading partners.
    • The FTA negotiations were aimed at achieving a “fair and balanced” FTA and cover more than 90% of tariff lines so as to reach the bilateral trade target of around $100 billion by 2030.
    • There have been indications that instead of the two nations trying to tackle all sensitive issues in one go, there could be an interim pact or early harvest deal.

    UK’s Indo-Pacific strategy

    • India is at the heart of the U.K.’s Indo-Pacific ‘tilt’, which has generated considerable interest around the world.
    • A range of factors have contributed for the U.K. to adopt a more robust Indo-Pacific strategy:
    • a) the trading implications of Brexit;
    • b) the U.K.’s changing approach towards China — shifting from being a major proponent of China to perhaps the most hawkish in Europe;
    • c) and the fact that the U.S. remains firmly focused on the Indo-Pacific.
    • The U.K. recognizes the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific to global stability and prosperity and has made clear its intentions to deploy strategic assets to this end.
    • The trilateral security partnership AUKUS has given London a greater voice in the region.

    Consider the question “Various factors have contributed towards enhanced India-UK engagement. Examine the factors and the possibilities it offered to the two countries.”

    Conclusion

    The U.K. is finally carving out a direction and purpose to its post-Brexit foreign policy and this prioritization has opened up a new window for New Delhi and London to quickly finalize their FTA. It is a unique “now or never” moment and the two sides seem willing to seize it despite the challenges.

  • India-Britain free trade agreement

    Context

    In May last year, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Boris Johnson announced their shared vision for a transformative decade for the India-United Kingdom partnership. These words have now been made real.

    Transforming India-UK partnership

    • Doubling bilateral trade: The two leaders had declared their ambition to more than double bilateral trade by 2030, which totalled over £23 billion in 2019.
    • Reduce barriers to trade: They directed their governments to take rapid steps to reduce barriers to trade.
    • FTA: The groundwork necessary to begin work on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) had to be prepared by the end of 2021.
    • Both governments have already taken action; for example, unlocking the export of British apples to India and enabling a greater number of Indian fisheries to export shrimp to the U.K.
    • The big next step was the launch of FTA negotiations last month.

    Trade relations at present

    • Bilateral trade: The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at 15.5 billion USD in 2019-20. India has engaged with the UK in sectors like pharma, textiles, leather, industrial machinery, furniture, and toys.
      • Britain is among the top investors in India and India is the second-biggest investor and a major job creator in Britain. Recently, the Serum Institute of India has announced setting up its research facilities in the UK.
    • Indian Diaspora: Around 1.5 million people of Indian origin live in Britain. This includes 15 Members of Parliament, three members in Cabinet, and two in high office as Finance and Home Ministers.
    • India is already a big investor in the U.K. — especially in dynamic sectors such as fintech, electric vehicles, and batteries.
    • India has an extraordinary opportunity to transform its economy and society in the next 30 years, as it hits its demographic sweet spot, at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region where half the world’s people live and 50% of global economic growth is produced.

    Benefits of FTA

    • A U.K.-India trade agreement will stimulate growth and employment in both countries. 
    • Lower barriers coupled with greater regulatory certainty would incentivize new small and medium-sized enterprises to export their goods and services.
    • An agreement also means Indian and British consumers see improvements in the variety and affordability of products.
    • Strategic reasons: The British Government’s Integrated Review of our overseas policy, describes the world we are in; messier, with the more geostrategic competition.
    • It is one in which two dynamic democracies such as India and the U.K. need to work closely together to promote open economies.

    Consider the question “Colonial prism has long distorted the perception of India-UK relation. However, both the countries stand to gain by finding a fresh basis for sustaining bilateral relations. Comment.”  

    Conclusion

    An FTA would mark a new way of working between the U.K. and India. It gives a new framework within which the two countries can grow and flourish together, putting the colonial economic relationship where it belongs — in the history books.

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