Pakistan has recently shared a list of its nuclear installations with India under the said bilateral agreement.
Exchange of list of nuclear installations
The list was handed over to an Indian High Commission in accordance with Article-II of the Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations and Facilities between Pakistan and India.
It was signed on December 31, 1988.
The agreement contains the provision that both countries inform each other of their nuclear installations and facilities on 1st of January every year.
What is Non-Nuclear Aggression Agreement?
The Non-nuclear aggression agreement is a bilateral and nuclear weapons control treaty between India and Pakistan, on the reduction (or limitation) of nuclear arms.
Both pledged not to attack or assist foreign powers to attack on each’s nuclear installations and facilities.
The treaty was drafted in 1988, and signed by the PM Rajiv Gandhi and his counterpart Benazir Bhutto on 21 December 1988; it entered into force on January 1991.
The treaty barred its signatories to carry out a surprise attack (or to assist foreign power to attack) on each other’s nuclear installations and facilities.
Starting in January 1992, India and Pakistan have annually exchanged lists of their respective military and civilian nuclear-related facilities.
The Rajasthan government has started using satellite communication technology in a big way to enhance the learning outcome in educational institutions and generate awareness about social welfare schemes while giving priority to the five aspirational districts selected by NITI Aayog in the State.
SATCOM
Rajasthan has taken an initiative to provide the facility of receive only terminals (ROT) and satellite interactive terminals (SIT) for getting the services of subject experts in the government schools and colleges and propagate various schemes in the remote areas with no Internet connectivity.
What are ROT and SIT?
Satellite Interactive Terminal (SIT) is one of the six selected user networks used by CEC-UGC.
It is operating independently with their user terminals anywhere in the main land of India.
It has one main teaching end along with remote SITs and ROTs.
At present, there are over hundred SITs and ROTs under CEC EDUSAT network, installed at various colleges, and Universities across the country.
Back2Basics
EDUSAT
EDUSAT is the first Indian Satellite built exclusively for serving the educational sector. It was launched in September 2004 by the ISRO.
The satellite based distance education system enables virtual classrooms at rural and remote locations across the country.
Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) has started two-way audio-video communication through EDUSAT network from 5th September 2005.
ISRO set up a nationwide multi-user educational network in its EDUSAT national Ku – band.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has selected the year 2020 as the international “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”.
Year of the Nurse and Midwife
It was decided in the honour of 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale.
WHO said that nurses and midwives are the people who devote their lives to caring for children and mothers, looking after senior citizens and giving lifesaving immunizations.
The declaration will help to strengthen nursing and midwifery for Universal Health Coverage.
The declaration will also help to endorse “The NursingNow!” a three-year campaign (2018-2020) to improve health globally by raising the status of nursing.
Over the years many well-designed schemes failed to make a significant dent on the lack of access to basic services that a large proportion of our population faced. However, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has thrown up six guiding principles, which can be applied to any large transformation scheme.
What made the difference?
Final delivery of service was considered as the only metric of success.
There has been a relentless emphasis on taking all schemes to fruition on the ground.
The success has thrown up six important guiding principles that can be applied to any large transformation scheme — the ABCEDF of implementation.
A-Align
Different people at different levels may have competing priorities. So, goal congruence has to be achieved across the administrative ecosystem i.e. aligning the goal.
The message must percolate down to all the levels.
After the announcement of SBM the Department of Drinking water and Sanitation had to ensure that the message reaches the Chief Ministers, 700 district collectors, and 2,50,000 sarpanches.
The three layers of the PM-CM-DM model working in cohesion is the first and most important step towards policy translating into real delivery.
Team SBM-Grameen ensured sanitation remained on everyone’s agenda.
B-Believe
Believing in the set goal is crucial for achieving success.
When faced with seemingly insurmountable goals, teams that don’t genuinely believe that the goal can be achieved find themselves not motivated enough.
This lack of motivation results in them not trying enough and not achieving results- a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So, the next important step is to build a team of people who believes that the goal is achievable.
The SBM brought in a unique blend of young professionals and experienced but driven bureaucrats, at the center and in the states, and each person quickly became a believer.
C-Communicate
At its core, SBM is a behavioral change program.
Communication at all levels, above and below the line, mass and inter-personal, is fundamental to the SBM.
Trained grassroots volunteers called Swachagrahis were created, who went from door to door to communicate the message of swachhata.
SBM attempted to make sanitation glamorous.
Glamour was sought to achieve by engaging extensively with media, leveraging popular culture, and associating Bollywood stars, sportspersons, and other influencers.
A recent study estimated that each rural Indian was reached by SBM messaging about 3,000 times over the past five years.
D-Democratise
Democratize means developing a feeling of belonging or being part of something.
SBM has become a sort of Jan Andolan.
It nudged people to realise that sanitation is not an individual good, but a community good, as its full benefits accrue only when it is universal.
Over the years, everyone became a stakeholder and sanitation became everyone’s business.
Even corporates, NGOs, civil society organizations and other government ministries and departments played a role in mainstreaming sanitation.
E-Evaluate
The SBM was operating at a massive scale in a largely decentralised manner
As progress started surpassing expectations many people questioned the veracity of official administrative progress figures.
So, it became important to encourage third-party monitoring.
The monitoring evaluates outputs, outcomes, and impacts to reinforce the credibility and keep the implementers motivated.
At the same time, pockets of excellence emerged which deserved to be studied and shared with others to replicate.
The various organization conducted an assessment with regard to various factors.
World Bank, UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and WHO conducted various assessments of sanitation coverage and usage, successes and areas of improvement, as well as the health, economic and social impacts of the SBM.
F-Follow-through
There is a strong focus on not declaring SBM a “mission accomplished”.
The SBM is continuing to work towards sustaining the ODF behaviour and ensuring that no one is left behind.
Recently released a forward-looking 10-year sanitation strategy, articulating the goal of moving from ODF to ODF Plus.
This post-delivery follow-through is critical to ensure that the change becomes the norm and that things don’t reset to what they used to be in the past.
Conclusion
The lessons learned from SBM and these guiding principles could be applied in the implementation of other such policies. And aligning with this goal, the Jal Jeevan Mission is being designed to deliver, based on the ABCDEF of implementation.
India’s recent actions at home like the decision to amend Article 370, or the CAA 2019, may take a toll on its international relations.
Effects on the relation with the U.S. and Europe:
In the U.S. bipartisan support for India had been the norm for at least two decades.
The dwindling of Democrat support was evident early on during the “Howdy Modi” event in September 2019.
In that event, only three out of the two dozen lawmakers at the event were from the Democratic Party.
In the weeks that followed the event, the State Department and several bipartisan committees have issued statements of concern over continued detentions in Kashmir and the CAA.
They also held hearings in the U.S. Congress, and even referred to Kashmir in the annual Foreign Appropriations Act for 2020.
The same issue found a voice in the U.K. parliament.
In the European Parliament, there was also discussion on Kashmir.
Kashmir became a campaign talking point between Labour and Conservative candidates in the U.K. elections.
Deterioration in relations with Bangladesh and the neighbourhood
In the neighbourhood, Pakistan is predictably angry.
While Afghanistan is more muted.
The real damage has been done to ties with Bangladesh.
In the last decade, Dhaka and New Delhi had worked hard on building connectivity, opening energy routes, trade and developing travel links.
Bangladesh is upset for being clubbed together with Afghanistan and Pakistan on the issue of treatment of minorities.
At the same time, Bangladesh’s repeated requests for help on the Rohingya refugee issue were unheeded.
The OIC plans for a special meet on Kashmir and the CAA in April 2020.
If Bangladesh which defends India at the OIC feels that India’s actions are discriminatory, Arab countries could also become more vocal.
Possible fallouts
The U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has already recommended sanctions be considered against Home Minister.
In the U.S. Congress lawmakers can effectively block defence sales to India, or pursue sanctions on the S-400 missile system purchase from Russia.
On the international stage, the United Nations and its affiliated bodies could provide a platform for India to be targeted.
At FATF, India hopes to blacklist Pakistan for terror financing.
Break in ties with Turkey and Malaysia for their comment at UN on Kashmir could also lead them to veto India’s position at the FATF.
Unrest in the country could lead to a lower number of foreign visitors and visit cancellation/postponement by leaders.
All this also takes a toll on its diplomatic resources that have been diverted for much of the year in firefighting negative international opinion.
Conclusion
The government must consider the impact of its domestic actions on India’s diplomatic capital.
This capital is a complex combination of the goodwill the country has banked on over decades as a democratic, secular, stable power, bilateral transactions it can conduct in the present, and the potential it holds for future ties, particularly in terms of its economic and geopolitical strengths.
Some of the most pressing issues and developmental challenges facing nations in contemporary times have a scientific and technological dimension. Science and Technology (S&T)-led innovation offers an opportunity to address these multifaceted challenges, which are now global in nature.
Role of S&T in national and international obligations:
S&T today has a national obligation.
For a diverse country such as India, S&T is expected to empower the common citizen, making his/her life easier and also being inclusive, which is a national obligation.
It has to also meet the international obligation of a responsible country.
Importance of S&T innovation in achieving the 2030 Agenda for UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)- points towards new opportunities for cross border collaboration.
Science diplomacy, thus, is a crucial policy dimension.
India has launched several global initiatives.
Global Innovation and Technology Alliance (GITA):
It was launched by India a few years ago.
GITA has provided an enabling platform for frontline techno-economic alliances.
It is an industry-led collaboration, with the government as an equal partner.
It is aimed at supporting the last phase of technology-based high-end, affordable product development — which can connect to both global and domestic markets.
Under GITA, enterprises from India are tying up with their counterparts from partner countries.
Partnering countries include Canada, Finland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and the UK.
International Solar Alliance (ISA):
It has more than 79 sunshine countries as signatories and nearly 121 prospective countries as partners.
The vision and mission of the ISA are to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource-rich countries.
ISA can make a contribution to increasing the use of solar energy in meeting the energy needs of member countries in a safe, affordable, equitable and sustainable manner.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI):
It was recently announced at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
CDRI is an international partnership piloted by India in consultation with 35 countries.
CDRI will support developed and developing nations in their efforts to build climate and disaster-resilient infrastructure.
It will provide member countries with technical support and capacity development, research and knowledge management, and advocacy and partnerships.
It is aimed at risk identification and assessment, urban risk and planning, and disaster risk management.
In the next two-three years, the coalition aims to have three types of impact.
First-impact on country’s policy framework, second-on infrastructure investments, third-reduction in economic losses from climate-related events and natural disasters.
Through this coalition, we can mitigate the fallouts of earthquakes, tsunami, floods.
Conclusion:
No nation alone has the capacity, infrastructure, and human resources to address the massive challenges that the earth and mankind face, threatening our very existence. It is inevitable, therefore, that science, technology, and innovation should increasingly become an intrinsic diplomatic tool for India.
In order to enable applicants to track the status of the application, the Election Commission of India has launched a “Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS)”.
About PPRTMS
The salient feature in the PPRTMS is that the applicant, who is applying for party registration from 1st January, 2020 will be able to track the progress of his/her application and will get status update through SMS and e-mail.
Registration of political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
An association seeking registration under the said Section has to submit an application to the ECI within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation.
These guidelines are in exercise by ECI of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
[2022] ‘India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka.’ Discuss India’s role in the recent crisis in Sri Lanka in light of the preceding statement.
[2013] In respect of India — Sri Lanka relations, discuss how domestic factors influence foreign policy.
Note4Students:
Prelims: NA
Mains: Disruptions in Sri Lanka’s development trajectory post the Civil War
Mentor Comment: A decade and a half after Sri Lanka’s civil war, deep wounds persist, with tens of thousands dead and widespread destruction. Truth, accountability, and justice remain unresolved, and political polarisation hinders progress. Economic reconstruction lags, further stunted by crises. The Tamil middle class aspires to emigrate, while the working class remains destitute.
Let’s learn
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Why in the News?
The future of the Tamil people relies on creating a renewed vision for themselves and the whole nation, founded on the ideals of equality and freedom.
Back2Basics: Sri Lankan Civil War It was a protracted armed conflict that lasted for nearly three decades, from 1983 to 2009, between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
LTTE was a separatist militant organisation seeking an independent Tamil state in the northern and eastern regions of the island nation. The conflict was characterised by violence, human rights abuses, and widespread displacement of civilians.
The LTTE, known for its guerrilla tactics and suicide bombings, controlled significant territory in the north and east of Sri Lanka and waged a violent insurgency against the government.
Key Hindrances to Sri Lanka’s Progress
Limited Progress: While infrastructure like trains, banks, supermarkets, and hotels returned to the north, rural areas continue to struggle with unstable livelihoods.
Setback from Terror Attack: The Easter bombings in April 2019, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic and an ongoing economic crisis since 2022, have exacerbated economic hardships, marking the worst crisis since Independence.
Economic Crisis: Economic misery is pervasive, with outmigration and hunger becoming the norm, particularly impacting the deprived and landless in war-torn areas.
Challenges in Reconstruction Efforts
Economic Challenges
Failed Investments: Expectations of substantial investments from the Tamil diaspora have not materialised, failing to stimulate local economic revival.
International Donor Projects: Projects focused on infrastructure have not effectively revitalised the local economy, while NGO aid has sometimes led to dependency and microfinance debt traps.
Political Polarisation and Neglect
Political Neglect: Tamil political leadership has often prioritised international accountability over addressing local livelihoods, perpetuating dependency on diaspora remittances.
Parallel Nationalisms: Tamil nationalist politics mirrors Sinhala nationalism, focusing on rights and international intervention, rather than fostering local reconciliation.
Reconciliation Challenges: Efforts towards political reconciliation and power-sharing have faltered due to political expediency, exacerbating tensions and marginalising minorities.
Communal polarization: Relations between Tamil and Muslim communities remain strained, with unresolved issues from historical displacements and marginalization.
Future Prospects for Tamil People
V. Karalasingham’s Reflections (1963): Highlighted the paradox of Tamil leadership and the continued suffering and humiliation of Tamil-speaking people.
Aragalaya Movement (2022): Sri Lankans united to oust a President promoting Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism, showing potential for collective action.
Path to Change: Embracing inclusive politics, moving away from isolationist strategies, and advocating for economic and social justice can pave the way for a democratic future based on equality and freedom.
India’s Economic Assistance to Sri Lanka:
1.Bailout Package: During Sri Lanka’s economic crisis in 2022, India was quick to extend financial support, amounting to over USD 4 billion. This surpassed even the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout package over 48 months.
2.Facilitating IMF Engagement: India’s role was instrumental in the early stages of Sri Lanka’s negotiations with the IMF. India’s Finance Minister, Mrs Sitharaman, played a significant part in these discussions, showcasing India’s commitment to its neighbour’s recovery.
3.Private Investment: The expansion of the Colombo port’s west container terminal in 2023 by India’s Adani Group was a key development project.
4. Cricket Diplomacy: Cricket surprisingly became a focal point, with international matches hosted in Sri Lanka, including a notable India-Pakistan game during the World Cup.
Way Forward
Political Reconciliation: Advocate for genuine political reconciliation, including devolution of power and addressing historical grievances.
Community Integration: Foster solidarity and mutual understanding between ethnic and religious communities to promote social integration.
Local Empowerment: Support local initiatives and reduce dependency on external aid, empowering communities to drive their development.
Unified Movements: Promote movements that unite diverse groups towards common goals of justice, equality, and inclusive governance.
