📰 All help, but no troops to Afghanistan
India will expand aid to strife-hit nation, Nirmala Sitharaman says after meeting U.S. Defence Secretary
•India on Tuesday ruled out deploying troops in Afghanistan even as it pledged to expand development and medical assistance for the strife-torn nation.
•“We have made it very clear that there shall not be boots from India on the ground,” Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in response to questions on the issue, at a press conference she addressed along with her U.S. counterpart James Mattis.
•The U.S. Defence Secretary is in New Delhi for the first Cabinet-level visit from the Trump administration. For Ms. Sitharaman, it was the first ministerial engagement with a counterpart since she took charge of South Block.
•“Indian contribution to Afghanistan has been for a very long time and has been consistently on developmental issues... Medical assistance is also provided by India... So India’s contribution has been on these grounds, and we shall expand if necessary,” Ms. Sitharaman added.
•The Defence Minister’s statement puts to rest speculation about India deploying troops in Afghanistan after U.S. President Donald Trump called for greater Indian involvement. India has already extended $3 billion aid to Afghanistan, provides security assistance in the form of training and has also supplied some utility and attack helicopters.
•Kabul has repeatedly sought lethal weapons and ammunition from India.
•In their press statements after the talks, the two leaders also resolved to eradicate terrorist safe havens across the globe.
•“There can be no tolerance of terrorist safe havens. As global leaders, India and the U.S. resolve to work together to eradicate this scourge,” Mr. Mattis said, but made no direct reference to Pakistan.
Maritime engagements
•With increasing Chinese presence in the region, Mr. Mattis said expanding “maritime engagements” was one of his top priorities.
•He said India had a “vital role to play in supporting South East Asia’s regional institutions, particularly ASEAN, and in building partner capacity across the region.” Both sides reiterated their support for “freedom of navigation, over-flight and unimpeded lawful commerce” in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific Region.
📰 U.S. nudges India-Afghanistan trade
Abdullah Abdullah to meet PM Modi, Sushma Swaraj; inaugurate 4-day investment show in Delhi
•Intensifying trade links is at the top of the agenda as Afghanistan’s Chief Executive, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, arrives in Delhi on Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
•Dr. Abdullah, who will be accompanied by several ministers, is here to inaugurate an India-Afghanistan trade fair, sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development.
•“India has been partnering with the Government and people of Afghanistan in their efforts to build a stable, peaceful, prosperous united and pluralistic country,” a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said.
•The four-day “India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Show” will be co-inaugurated by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Civil Aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju as well U.S. envoys in Delhi — MaryKay Carlson, and Kabul — Hugo Llorens.
•During the visit, the air cargo agreement for bilateral trade is expected to be signed by India and Afghanistan as well.
Widening impact
•“This is the biggest such event we have had so far,” said a senior U.S. official. “Our real hope is that apart from growing trade figures, the social sector, especially projects in health and education will receive support from Indian companies.”
•According to the U.S. official, about 240 Afghan private and social sector businesses and about 800 Indian businesses have registered to participate in the fair, which is being held for the first time at this scale — smaller versions ohave been held seven times since 2003.
•“We now hope to hold this event annually, and could hold next year’s trade expo in Mumbai,” the official said. At present, about 40 letters of intent have been received from companies in diverse fields.
Security threat
•At about $684 million (2014-15), India-Afghan trade is far lower than its potential for a number of reasons, the chief being the security situation in Afghanistan with civilian deaths peaking in 2016.
•However, Afghan officials say they hope Indian investors and traders will be reassured by the announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new policy for Afghanistan which has committed to keeping troops there without a deadline. “The new U.S. policy is already effecting a change in the security situation. Because there is a clear message of a long-term commitment based on the condition on the ground, not on timelines,” Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India Shaida Abdali told The Hindu .
•The other obstacles to trade include Pakistan’s refusal to allow Indian exports to Afghanistan through the road route at Wagah, and delays for goods routed through Karachi port.
📰 BSF pushes back Rohingya from Tripura
17 illegal migrants caught and handed over to police; 75 vulnerable locations have been identified on a 21-km stretch in the State
•On instructions from the Home Ministry, the Border Security Force recently pushed back four Rohingya Muslims who were trying to cross over an unfenced stretch on the Bangladesh border in Tripura.
•This is the first instance of Rohingya being pushed back since the Home Ministry circular on August 19 to identify and deport them.
•An official said the BSF had identified 75 vulnerable locations on a 21-km stretch in Tripura.
NHRC opposition
•The National Human Rights Commission has opposed the government’s move to deport and push back the Rohingya and sought a report from the Ministry.
•The Hindu reported on September 15 that Assam and Manipur had asked the State police and the BSF to push back any Rohingya attempting to enter the country.
•“This year, 17 Rohingya Muslims were caught along the Tripura and Assam border. They were handed over to the police and action is being taken against them,” said a BSF official on condition of anonymity.
•Asked how they identified the Rohingya, he said, “The Bengali dialect they speak is different from that spoken in India and Bangladesh. It is not difficult to identify them. They could have travelled from the Cox Bazar area [a large number of Rohingya has taken shelter here] in Bangladesh all the way to the Tripura border.”
Centre’s affidavit
•In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on September 18, the Centre said Rohingya were a threat to national security and “some of the unauthorised Rohingya immigrants had linkages with Pakistan-based terror organisations.” It said there was an organised influx of “illegal” immigrants from Mynamar through agents and touts facilitating illegal immigration of Rohingya into India via Benapole-Haridaspur (West Bengal), Hili (West Bengal), Sonamora (Tripura), Kolkata and Guwahati.
•The first four points are authorised immigration checkpoints and manned by customs, immigration and BSF officials.
•Asked to clarify if Rohingya were using authorised immigration checkpoints to enter India, a Home Ministry spokesperson said “illegal immigrants avoided the legal routes”.
•“Such illegal immigration takes place surreptitiously through different possible entry points,” the spokesperson said.
•In June, the Home Ministry constituted yet another committee to examine various methods to curb the misuse of free movement along the Myanmar border, a friendly country, with which it shares unfenced borders and unhindered movement of people across the border.
•The committee, headed by Rina Mitra, Special Secretary, Internal Security, visited the border areas last week.
📰 Centre backs local cybersecurity tech
‘Made in India’ solutions to get preference in official procurement with the objective of securing data
•With a view to promoting domestic technology and preventing data theft by foreign entities, the government will soon announce a policy that accords preference in official procurement to ‘Made in India’ antivirus and cybersecurity solutions.
•The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a draft notification which states “preference shall be provided by all procuring entities to domestically manufactured/ produced cybersecurity products.”
•Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary, MeitY said, “MeitY proposes to give a boost to domestic cybersecurity technology development by giving preference to good quality domestic products in government procurement.”
•The notification will cover all products and software used for “maintaining confidentiality, availability and integrity of information by protecting computing devices, infrastructure, programs, data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access,” as per the notification.
•Currently, almost 70 categories of cybersecurity products have been identified. These include products used for data loss prevention, security analytics, big data analytics, web security, antivirus, mobile payments, mobile data protection, cloud security, spam free email solutions, among others.
•Preference for domestic products would also be given for cybersecurity products used by intelligence agencies.
‘Right direction’
•“This is a step in the right direction,” said Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw expert. “India is alive to the possibility of breach of cybersecurity. Putting our cybersecurity as mortgage to foreign firms is not a solution.”
•He added, “Indian companies can be taken to task under the India law in case of any breach. And in all probability they will not act against the sovereignty of the country. For foreign players, the priority will be business... you cannot be sure if there is any backdoor to data with their technology.”
•The challenge, however, would be to support the move with adequate supply of such products, according to Mr. Duggal.
Backdoor access
•The possibility of foreign vendors retaining some backdoor access and the risk of a third party gaining access was a key factor spurring the policy, said an official, who did not wish to be named. “So, you have to have your own solutions.”
•The latest move takes forward the government order on public procurement in June this year to encourage ‘Make in India’ programme.
•The draft notification has defined ‘local supplier’ as a company incorporated and registered in India, adding that revenue from the product and revenue from Intellectual Property licensing should accrue to the company.
📰 ‘Panel to review industrial policy hurdles’
New mechanism soon to fast-track investment proposals, says Prabhu
•The Centre will soon set up a ‘regulatory review committee’ to address policy-related roadblocks and other factors inhibiting the country’s industrial growth as well as impacting the ‘ease of doing business’ and private investments.
•The government is also mulling a new mechanism to monitor domestic and foreign investment proposals. The idea is to fast-track decisions on such proposals, in coordination with State governments and the Centre’s investment facilitation and promotion arm, ‘Invest India’.
Unutilised capacity
•In addition, the Centre is looking at ways to ensure use of the industry’s unutilised capacity. Currently, the country-wide average unutilised capacity is about 26% (In other words, average utilisation of industrial capacity is only 74%). Measures will soon be taken soon to increase domestic demand as well as boost exports to ensure the entire capacity is utilised.
•The proposal to constitute the committee, which will be chaired by the Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, and include India Inc. representatives, comes in the backdrop of a slowdown in industrial growth and sluggish private investment.
•These decisions followed a meeting that Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu held on Tuesday with industry bodies including the CII, FICCI and Assocham, as well as senior government officials including Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.
Meeting with exporters
•Official sources said the Minister would soon hold another meeting with the representatives of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and exporters to address their problems, including those related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
•Mr. Prabhu told reporters that “the discussions were useful, productive and forward-looking. We will form a ‘regulatory review committee’ to look at issues inhibiting the industrial growth. We discussed measures to increase the utilisation of the existing capacity. The aim is to push the economic growth into a higher trajectory.”
•R.V. Kanoria, past president, FICCI, said, “the biggest takeaway [from the meeting] was that it was a confidence building measure. We discussed ways to increase employment and growth. The government must keep this dialogue [with the industry] going.”
📰 Centre forms group to work on plans for 5G roll-out by 2020
International telecom union to fix norms; India to partake
•The government has formed a high-level panel to evaluate and approve road maps and action plan to achieve the target of rolling out 5G technology in India by 2020. The Centre has created a support fund of about Rs. 500 crore to facilitate research and development for 5G.
‘Another opportunity’
•‘“We missed the opportunity to participate when the standards were being set for 3G and 4G, and don’t want to miss the 5G opportunity. Now, when the standards are being set for 5G across the world, India will also participate in the process,” Minister of State for Communications Manoj Sinha told reporters.
•“As per the OECD Committee on Digital Economic Policy, it has been stated that 5G technologies roll-out will help in increasing GDP, creating employment and digitising the economy,” Mr. Sinha added.
•The forum, which comprises secretaries of the ministries of Communications, Information Technology and Science and Technology, and representatives from the industry and academia, will aim to have Indian participation in the process of defining global standards for the next generation of wireless technology.
•The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which will finalise the standards, has already proposed key performance requirements for the fifth-generation mobile technology. Under the 5G technology, the government aims to deliver about 10,000 megabit per second (10 gbps) in urban areas and 1,000 mbps (1 gbps) in rural areas, the Minister said.
•The ‘5G 2020’ forum will also aim to strengthen domestic telecommunication equipment manufacturing that is necessary for the technology, with the aim that local manufacturers should be able to capture 50% of the Indian market and 10% of the global market over the next five to seven years.
📰 Of paramount interest?
This year’s session of the UN General Assembly has confirmed the growing ineffectiveness of the world body
•In June 1945, India’s princely states sent a single representative to sign the Charter of the United Nations at the San Francisco conference, a charter that realised Alfred Tennyson’s poem where he called for a “Parliament of man, Federation of the world.” “There the common sense of most shall hold a fretful realm in awe, and the kindly earth shall slumber, lapped in universal law,” Tennyson wrote in his work, ‘Locksley Hall’, spelling out his vision for a world where the “war-drum throbb’d no longer, and the battle flags were furled.”
•The poem was famously carried by U.S. President Harry Truman in his wallet, which he called his inspiration as the UN Charter was being drafted. A. Ramaswami Mudaliar, then the Dewan of Mysore added prose to that poetry as he spoke on behalf of undivided India with the words, “There is one great reality… which all religions teach… the dignity of the common man.”
A word war
•As the bitterly divided Indian and Pakistani delegations stood up over the past week to face each other more than 70 years later, however, all those words rang hollow. Reality was in short supply, as even the photograph brandished by Pakistan’s envoy Maleeha Lodhi as being from Jammu and Kashmir turned out to be from Gaza; religion became cause to divide rather than build a common understanding, and the dignity of the United Nations, let alone the common man, disappeared as each side used its multiple rights of reply for name-calling and rhetoric hurled at the other. Of course, the India-Pakistan word-war was outdone by the U.S. and North Korea who sparred over Pyongyang’s latest provocations.
Secretary General’s list
•However, it wasn’t the language employed that made the UN’s 72nd General Assembly one of its most disappointing sessions, but the picture of the UN’s ineffectiveness on each of the issues confronting the world today, that were spelt out by the Secretary General António Guterres in his speech on September 19. “We are a world in pieces, we need to be a world at peace,” he said, listing the world’s seven biggest threats: nuclear peril, terrorism, unresolved conflicts and violations of international humanitarian law, climate change, growing inequality, cyber warfare and misuse of artificial intelligence, and human mobility, or refugees. Even a cursory glance shows that each of these issues saw little movement at the UNGA.
•To begin with, the UN’s actions in response to North Korea’s missiles and nuclear tests just amounted to another round of sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime. Past history points to the slim chances of success of this tack. Since 1966, the UN Security Council has established 26 sanctions regimes, of which about half are still active. In some cases, the sanctions only squeezed the country’s poor, as in Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia) and DPRK itself, while not changing its belligerent positions. In most cases, the misery was heightened by international military interventions, from Yugoslavia to Libya and Yemen. Even the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, against which the U.S. and Russia united to pass a slew of economic, political and travel sanctions in the 1990s, didn’t change course on its support to al-Qaeda or its brutal treatment of women and minorities. The truth is that sanctions do not work on rogue states; they only help isolate their populations from the world, which in turn tightens the regime’s stranglehold on its people, and strengthens its resolve to disregard the UN.
Lacking guarantees
•In addition, to those who may just consider, as Libya did, to relinquish nuclear weapons, the fact that NATO destroyed Libya anyway is a disincentive. The UN has done itself no favours by failing to censure NATO on violating its mandate only to the responsibility to protect (R2P) and not for regime change in Libya in 2011. To other countries that may enter talks, as Iran did, the imminent threat from the U.S. of walking out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (P5+1 agreement) would make them question the efficacy of the UN in guaranteeing any deal struck. Other decisions of the Trump administration in the U.S., to walk out of the climate change agreement as well as threaten to cancel its funding contributions to the UN, have also seen little comment from the world body, which further reduces the respect it is viewed with.
•Nowhere is that lack of respect more obvious than regarding Myanmar, where the military junta faced sanctions for years. Despite inviting former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to prepare a report on Rakhine state, post-democracy Myanmar has been able to carry out one of the region’s most frightening massacres just days after the report was submitted. On the basis of satellite pictures, and eyewitness accounts, the UN Human Rights chief called military action a “textbook case of ethnic cleansing”, as half a million Rohingya fled for their lives from Rakhine villages that were then burnt down, with landmines laid along the border to Bangladesh to prevent their return. The Security Council will now meet on Thursday to consider the situation, but it is short on ideas and late on action, and restoring more than a million stateless refugees to their homes seems a daunting task, even for a world-body that was set up expressly to ensure that such a displacement would “never again” be allowed to occur.
•A similar impotency has been imparted to the UN on the issue of terrorism. India’s grievances here are justified and are a symptom of the UN’s powerlessness to enforce even the basic strictures against terrorists it sanctions, given that Hafiz Saeed and associates now plan to stand for public office in Pakistan, while others like Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who received bail despite UN financial sanctions, have simply disappeared. Meanwhile India struggles to convince China to allow the Security Council to sanction Masood Azhar, whose release in exchange for hostages in 1999 should have been proof enough of his perfidy.
•Mr. Guterres’s concerns about what he calls the “dark side of innovation” are valid, and the world is seeing an increasing number of cyber-attacks, especially from non-state actors. But the UN must do more to act on attacks carried out by states, especially those that are permanent members of the Security Council. Both Russia and the U.S. have been known to use cyber warfare, but equally the use of new-age warfare — drones, robotic soldiers and remote killings — must see more regulation from the international community.
Each one ‘first’
•Solving the world’s inequalities, the last point on his list, where Mr. Guterres pointed out that “eight men represent as much of the world’s wealth as half of all humanity”, will be a harder and harder task for the UN, where member countries speak only of putting themselves “first”.
•Clearly the vision of the UN dreamt by Tennyson or Mudaliar or any of the leaders over time has far to go. The important issue is the road it employs, and the respect the institution is accorded, not just as a structure at New York’s 42nd Street, but a shared ideal. This was summed up best by the UN’s first Secretary General, Trygve Lie, who ran an equally divided forum and finally resigned from his post in 1952 saying, “The United Nations will not work effectively if it is used merely as forum for destructive propaganda. Neither will it work if it is used only as a convenience when national interests are directly involved, and regarded with indifference, or bypassed or opposed, when the general world interest is paramount.”
