📰 India placed on ‘Tier 2’ in human trafficking report
U.S. seeks amendment to Penal Code
•The U.S. State Department has released its 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, highlighting the need for action against domestic trafficking. India continued to be placed in Tier 2 on the 1-3 country trafficking scale.
•The 2019 report highlights the national nature of trafficking: in 77% of the cases, victims are trafficked within their own countries of residence, rather than across borders. Victims of sex trafficking were more likely to be trafficked across borders while victims of forced labour were typically exploited within their own countries, the report says, citing International Labour Organisation (ILO) data.
Three categories
•The report categorises countries into three groups based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), U.S. legislation enacted in 2000. The categorisation is based on efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.
•India was placed (i.e., remained) in Tier 2, which comprises “countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”
•The recommendations for India include amending the definition of trafficking in Section 370 of the Penal Code to “include forced labour trafficking and ensure that force, fraud, or coercion are not required to prove a child sex trafficking offence,” and to establish Anti-Human Trafficking Units in all districts with funding and clear mandates.
India is set to become the most populous nation; improving the quality of life is crucial
•The key message from the UN’s World Population Prospects 2019 report is that national leaders must redouble their efforts to raise education, health and living standards for people everywhere. India is projected to become the most populous country by 2027 surpassing China, and host 1.64 billion people by 2050; the world as a whole could be home to 8.5 billion people in just over a decade from now, and the number could go up to 9.7 billion by mid-century. The projections should be viewed in perspective, considering that alarmist Malthusian fears of inability to provide for more than a billion people on earth did not come true. Yet, there are strong arguments in favour of stabilising population numbers by raising the quality of life of people, and achieving sustainable development that will not destroy the environment. The UN report shows migration to countries with a falling ratio of working-age people to those above 65 will be steady, as those economies open up to workers to sustain economic production. Japan has the lowest such ratio, followed by Europe and the Caribbean; in over three decades, North America, Eastern and Southeastern Asia will join this group. India meanwhile will have a vast number of young people and insufficient natural resources left for exploitation. Preparing for the changes and opportunities migration offers will depend on a skills revolution.
•At the national level, achieving a reduction in fertility rates in States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh — which are high as per Sample Registration System data — is a challenge for India as it seeks to stabilise population growth. This is possible if the State governments set their minds to it. They must singularly focus on improving education and health access for women, both of which will help them be gainfully employed. On the other hand, a rise in life expectancy has brought with it a policy imperative that is bound to become even more important in coming decades. A growing population of older adults is a certainty, and it opens up prospects for employment in many new services catering to them. Urban facilities have to be reimagined, with an emphasis on access to good, affordable housing and mobility. The Sustainable Development Goals framework provides a roadmap to this new era. But progress in poverty reduction, greater equality, better nutrition, universal education and health care, needs state support and strong civil society institutions. Making agriculture remunerative and keeping food prices stable are crucial to ensure nutrition for all. India is set to become the most populous nation. For its leaders, improving the quality of life for its people will be a test of political will.
📰 Amid protests, triple talaq Bill introduced
Opposition says that it violates the Constitution
•The Narendra Modi government on Friday introduced The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, also known as the triple talaq Bill, in the Lok Sabha, amid protests by Opposition members who said it violated the Constitution.
•The Bill, the BJP-led government’s first legislation in the second term, was introduced after the Opposition asked for a division of votes. The treasury won with 186 “ayes” to the 74 Opposition “nays”.
543 cases reported
•Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who introduced the Bill, said the legislation was meant to ensure gender justice and equality. The Bill was not about religion but a “question of dignity of women and we are committed to safeguarding [it]”. There were 543 cases of triple talaq reported in the country.
•Even after the Supreme Court banned the practice, over 200 cases were reported and this necessitated, in his view, a Bill that addressed the issue. “The job of Parliament is to legislate, and it is up to courts to interpret the law,” he said.
•Several Opposition members stood up to protest as soon as Mr. Prasad was asked by Speaker Om Birla to table the Bill.
•The Speaker asked Shashi Tharoor of the Congress, N.K. Premachandran of the Revolutionary Socialist Party and Asaduddin Owaisi of the the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to present their views.
•Mr. Tharoor said he was against triple talaq, already voided by the Supreme Court, but opposed the Bill as it conflated civil and criminal laws. The Bill was a “textbook example of class legislation” as it was pointed at one community — the Muslims — even though abandoning wives was not unique to it.
•Mr. Owaisi said the BJP’s “affection” for Muslim women and its advocacy of gender justice were suspect, considering the party’s opposition to the entry of Hindu women into the Sabarimala temple. The Bill violated constitutional rights as it stipulated a three-year jail term for men, whereas a similar offence by non-Muslim men attracted only a year in jail.
•Mr. Premachandran made similar points against the Bill, which had faced objections from Opposition parties from the beginning. They had claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife was legally untenable.
Copy of ordinance
•The new Bill is a copy of the ordinance in force. Bills that are introduced in the Rajya Sabha and that are pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. But Bills passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapse with the dissolution of the Lower House.
•The government had promulgated the ordinance on triple ‘talaq’ twice -- in September 2018 and in February 2019 -- as the contentious Bill remained pending in the Rajya Sabha, though it was passed by the Lok Sabha.
📰 FATF warns Pak., but keeps it off the blacklist
Watchdog urges the country, which is still on the greylist, to finish the stipulated action plan by Oct.
•Pakistan has avoided being placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist during the multilateral financial watchdog’s plenary meetings in Orlando, Florida held from June 16 to 21.
•However, the country, which continued to remain on a greylist, was given a warning at the end of the plenary session and told that it lacked a proper understanding of transnational terrorist financing.
Indian efforts
•The mention of transnational terrorist financing is significant in light of India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan on the international stage in the context of its support for terror in Kashmir. “The FATF expresses concern that not only did Pakistan fail to complete its action plan items with January deadlines, it also failed to complete its action plan items due May 2019. The FATF strongly urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan by October 2019 when the last set of action plans are set to expire. Otherwise, the FATF will decide the next step at that time for insufficient progress,” a FATF statement released on Friday read.
•In June 2018, Pakistan was placed on a FATF greylist of countries whose laws do not adequately deal with money laundering and terrorist financing and agreed to a 10-point action plan to strengthen its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and proliferation regime.
•On Friday however, the FATF said in a statement that while Pakistan had taken steps to improve its AML/CFT regime, “it does not demonstrate a proper understanding of Pakistan’s transnational TF [terrorist financing] risk.”
•When the last FATF plenary session concluded in February, days after a terrorist attack killed over forty Indian security personnel in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan had avoided being blacklisted despite pressure from India. Pakistan-based terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack. However it also did not take Pakistan off of the greylist as the country had wanted.
•In April this year Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had said that being greylisted could cost Pakistan $10 billion a year.
Blacklist, greylist criteria
•To stay off of the FATF blacklist, the support of at least three of a total of 36 (excluding two regional organisations) FATF members is required. Fifteen members need to support a country’s move off of the greylist, as per the FATF charter.
•FATF continued to call for countermeasures against Iran and North Korea.
•The FATF noted that Iran had not completed its action plan which expired in January 2018 and listed seven points for Iran to complete, noting however that Iran had made progress, including by passing the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
•Countermeasures against Iran would continue to be suspended, a statement released on Friday said, with “the exception of FATF calling upon members and urging all jurisdictions to require increased supervisory examination for branches and subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran, in line with the February 2019 Public Statement.”
📰 Iran insists U.S. drone violated air space, vows to defend borders
‘Won’t hesitate for a moment to decisively respond to any aggression’
•Iran vowed on Friday to defend its borders after downing a U.S. drone it insisted had violated the country’s airspace, after it emerged that President Donald Trump had approved and then called off retaliatory strikes on Iranian targets.
•The downing of the drone — which Washington insists was above international waters but Iran says was within its airspace — has seen tensions between the two countries spike further after a series of attacks on tankers in the Gulf which the U.S. has blamed on Tehran.
•The commander of the aerospace arm of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said the drone was warned twice before it was downed over the Gulf of Oman.
•“This aircraft possesses a system which allows it to relay the signals and information it receives to its own central system,” Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh told state television.
•Under pressure to respond to the high-stakes incident near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Trump issued orders for retaliatory strikes, but then called it off.
•The U.S. President had struck a combative tone in his public comments before rowing back. “Iran made a very big mistake!” he tweeted in response to news Iran had shot down the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft. “This country will not stand for it, that I can tell you,” he said later at the White House.
Fears of open conflict
•But as the pre-dawn incident whipped up fears of open conflict between the U.S. and its declared foe Iran, Mr. Trump moved swiftly to dial back tensions. “I find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth,” Mr. Trump said.
•Following the President’s mixed message, the U.S. special representative on Iran, Brian Hook, called on Friday for diplomacy.
•“Our diplomacy does not give Iran the right to respond with military force,” he told reporters in Saudi Arabia. “Iran needs to meet diplomacy with diplomacy, not military force.”
•Oil prices edged down slightly on Friday following the previous day's surge that saw prices soar more than 6%, while the price of gold — seen as a safe haven asset — struck near six-year highs.
•Iran said it had called in the Swiss Ambassador, whose country has represented U.S. interests since the severance of diplomatic relations in the aftermath of the Islamic revolution of 1979, to issue a formal protest.
•Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi provided the Ambassador with “indisputable” evidence that the drone had violated Iranian airspace, the Foreign Ministry said.
•Mr. Araghchi “reiterated that Iran does not seek a war and conflict in the Persian Gulf”, but warned: “The Islamic Republic of Iran would not hesitate for a moment to decisively defend its territory against any aggression.”
•Iranian television later broadcast images of what it said was “debris” of the downed drone recovered from Iran’s territorial waters.
•“The debris was floating. We recovered it from the sea inside our territorial waters,” a general said.
‘Unprovoked attack’
•The Pentagon denounced the “unprovoked attack,” claiming that the Navy drone was 34 km from Iran when destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. It published a map showing the flight path of the drone, which indicated that it travelled outside of Iranian waters and included a photograph showing coordinates when it was downed.
•Mr. Zarif provided different coordinates for the downing of the drone by a domestically-manufactured Khordad 3 air defence battery.
•The drone’s downing came at a time when Iran was already accused by Washington of carrying out attacks on tankers in the congested shipping lanes heading out of the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
📰 India likely to raise terror, financial crimes at G20 meet
Open to negotiations on data localisation, e-commerce
•India is likely to raise issues of terrorism, energy security and climate change financing, and call for stricter international laws on economic fugitives when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Osaka for the G20 summit of the world’s largest economies on June 28-29, said senior officials in New Delhi.
•Indicating that the government might still be open to negotiation on the two major issues of e-commerce and data localisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sherpa for the summit, former Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said that both policies, which have come in for severe attack from several western countries, were still being debated within the country.
•“We have certain views on e-commerce and data localisation. Those issues are being debated and discussed at various forums within the country. As far as G20 is concerned, we will put forward our views as they are emanating from the discussion within the country,” Mr. Prabhu told journalists at a briefing on the summit agenda.
•This year’s summit under Japanese Presidency has the theme of “Human centred future society” and will take up digital economy, artificial intelligence, global health, ageing and marine plastic waste as subjects of deliberation. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a speech on May 30, laid the agenda for the summit and highlighted the global nature of data as opposed to its localisation.
•The Government of India is bracing for pressure on its data localisation guidelines at the G20 summit, given an outcry particularly from the United States and Japan on the Reserve Bank’s circular last year that stipulated that all “data relating to payment systems” must be “stored in a system only in India.”
•In the May 30 speech, Mr. Abe announced that he would push for a “Data Free Flow with Trust,” or DFFT system. Making a veiled reference to the Indian plan of a “single closed-off room”, he said data localisation would result in “immeasurable losses”.
•Diplomatic sources confirmed that the DFFT would be on the agenda to be adopted by the G20 nations.
•India has also faced bilateral backlash from the U.S. on the guidelines. While the State Department denied reports on Thursday that it would link data localisation laws to curbing H1-B visas, U.S. officials have made it clear to New Delhi that they expect a change in the guidelines proposed by the RBI.
•Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who attended the trade ministers of G20 conference last week, also convened meetings of industry bodies, as well as had a meeting with the Finance and External Affairs Ministers this week and discussed India’s stand at G20.
📰 ‘Consider Bills pending in RS as lapsed’
Disturbed by pendency of crucial legislations, calls for wider debate on the issue
•Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday suggested that a Bill pending for more than five years in the Upper House should be deemed to have lapsed, calling for a wider debate on the issue.
•“The Bills passed by the Lok Sabha, and pending in the Rajya Sabha, lapse with the dissolution of the House of the People… they have to be reintroduced in the Lok Sabha and the entire process has to be gone through afresh. This means a lot of delay. Can we make any change in this regard?”
•In all, 22 Bills passed by the 16th Lok Sabha, which were pending in the Upper House, lapsed. “In effect, the Lok Sabha has to take up these 22 Bills again for consideration and passing… it would take a minimum of two sessions for doing so,” said Mr. Naidu. Among them were the Land Acquisition Bill, Consumer Protection Bill, Triple Talaq Bill and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
📰 ‘Only one in four received PM-KISAN money’
Minister says delay due to long, multi-level verification process; farmers to get retrospective benefits
•While the Union government has expanded the PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers with great fanfare, only one in four of the intended beneficiaries have received income support from the scheme so far, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
•With a long verification process delaying payments, the Centre has now announced that farmers will get benefits retrospectively from the time their names are uploaded in the database, rather than from the time their details are verified.
•The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme, announced in the last interim budget of the previous government, provides an annual sum of Rs. 6000 to land-owning farmers in three instalments of Rs. 2,000 each. The new government has extended the scheme to larger farmers, raising the total number of beneficiaries to 14.5 crore families.
•So far, 3.29 crore farmers have received the first instalment, while 2.85 crore beneficiaries have received the second, according to the data Mr. Tomar provided in Parliament. In total, the Centre has disbursed Rs. 12,305 crore to farmers.
📰 Why South Asia must cooperate
A shared vision is essential to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals
•South Asia covers only about 3.5% of the world’s land surface area but hosts a fourth of its population, making it a region of significant importance for international development. In spite of the geographic proximity countries in this region enjoy and their common socio-cultural bonds, this is one of the world’s least integrated regions. Intra-regional trade is a meagre 5% of the total trade these countries do globally, while intra-regional investment is less than 1% of the region’s overall global investment. South Asia’s average GDP per capita is only about 9.64% of the global average. Accounting for more than 30% of the world’s poor, the region faces myriad economic and environmental challenges.
Lack of initiatives
•While the countries share a host of common development challenges, economic cooperation remains less than adequate. While A few noteworthy regional initiatives such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC ) and the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Initiative have been undertaken to bring the countries closer together, economically and socially, there is scope for much more. For a region with common development challenges of inequality, poverty, weak governance and poor infrastructure, a shared vision of attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides enormous opportunities for cooperation, collaboration, and convergence (3C).
•Compared to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were a set of eight objectives to be achieved by developing nations with support from developed nations by 2015, the SDGs are more universal, inclusive and integrated in nature. The 17 goals and their 169 targets are inter-connected and cannot be implemented by countries working in isolation. Many are transnational in nature and require regional efforts. South Asian countries could benefit a lot by adopting a regional framework of cooperation that can support, strengthen and stimulate the SDGs. The SDGs highlight not only the importance of regional approach towards achieving the goals but also the regional synergy and resulting positive value additions towards achieving the SDG 2030 Agenda. In the SDG Index 2018, which is an assessment of countries’ progress, among 156 countries only two South Asian countries, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, are in the top 100. India is ranked 112th.
•Most South Asian countries have made good progress in ending extreme poverty, but they face persistent challenges to goals related to industry, innovation and infrastructure, zero hunger, gender equality, education, sustainable cities and communities and decent work and economic growth. These apart, most of South Asia continues to be vulnerable to climate change and climate-induced natural disasters.
Varying performances
•A closer look at the country-level data shows that India is performing well in Goal 1 (no poverty), Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation), Goal 12 (sustainable consumption and production), Goal 13 (climate action) and Goal 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) while doing poorly in goal 2 (zero hunger), Goal 5 (gender equality) and Goal 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure). Like India, Bangladesh is doing well in Goals 1, 6, 12 and 13 but poorly in Goals 2 and 9, and lagging behind in Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy). While doing well in Goals 1 and 12, Pakistan needs improvement in Goals 2, 4, 5 and 9, similar to India and Bangladesh. It also needs improved performance with respect to Goal 8 (decent work and economic growth). There are a lot of similarities among these three big economies of South Asia with respect to achieving some specific SDGs as well as exhibiting poor performance in some common goals.
•A regional strategic approach to tackle common development challenges can bring enormous benefits to South Asia. SDGs related to energy, biodiversity, infrastructure, climate resilience and capacity development are transnational, and here policy harmonisation can play a pivotal role in reducing duplication and increasing efficiency. In a study titled ‘SDGs Needs Assessment and Financing Strategy: Bangladesh Perspective’, Bangladesh has undertaken exemplary initiatives for analysing its available resources and additional funding requirements for SDG implementation, suggesting that the country requires an additional $928 billion to fully implement the SDGs. The study identifies five possible sources for SDGs financing: public sector, private sector, public-private partnership, external sector and non-government organisations. On the other hand, data for many of the SDG targets and indicators for the Maldives are unavailable. Similarly, India has formulated some pragmatic plans and initiatives to improve food and nutrition security from which many of the neighbouring countries can benefit.
•To address institutional and infrastructural deficits, South Asian countries need deeper regional cooperation. On financing the SDGs in South Asia, countries can work towards increasing the flow of intra-regional FDI. The private sector too can play a vital role in resource mobilisation.
Taking everyone along
•The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the platform for regional economic cooperation in this region, has become moribund and remains unsuccessful in promoting regional economic cooperation. If the countries of South Asia, the fastest growing region of the world, can come to a common understanding on regional integration and cooperation in achieving the SDGs, it can unleash a powerful synergistic force that can finally make South Asia converge. A convergence towards achieving a common socio-economic agenda gives hope that no one in South Asia will be left behind in the journey towards eradicating poverty and enduring dignity to all.
📰 Smart diplomacy in five moves
India needs to see through many balancing acts to deal with regional tensions
•The nature and dynamics of Southern Asian geopolitics are undergoing a radical transformation, slowly, steadily and in an irrevocable manner. One of the world’s most volatile regions and hitherto dominated by the United States, Southern Asia is today at an inflection point with far-reaching implications for the states in the region, and for India in particular. Is New Delhi adequately prepared to weather the incoming geopolitical storm?
•To begin with, there is a sharp, though often understated, great power competition in the region with the U.S. caught between its reluctance to part with its quickly fading glory on the one hand and unwillingness to do what it takes to maintain its regional influence on the other. And yet, when challenged by China and Russia in the regional geopolitical landscape, the U.S.’s superpower instinct is to push back, often leading to short-sighted decisions and confused policies. The resultant geopolitical competition for space, power and influence in the regional scheme of things is undoing the traditional geopolitical certainties in Southern Asia. Russia and China are jointly and individually challenging the U.S.’s pre-eminence and drafting smaller countries of the region into their bandwagon/s.
•Despite our unease and traditional suspicion towards great power system shapers and managers, the simple fact is that a benign unipolarity or a balanced multipolarity with some amount of great power concert is generally better than unbalanced multipolarity. Unbalanced multipolarity when combined with a situation of power transition in the regional sub-system, as is perhaps the case today, might prove to be destabilising. We are perhaps at the cusp of such a moment in Southern Asia.
The China pivot
•Then there is the emergence of the ‘China pivot’ in the region. Washington’s role as the regional pivot and power manager is becoming a thing of the past with Beijing increasingly able and willing to assume that role. Regional geopolitics, from Iran to Central Asia and from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean region, is increasingly being shaped by China. China is the new regional hegemon with states in the region jumping on its bandwagon without much resistance. When new powers are on an ascendance, its neighbours tend to recalibrate their policies and old partnerships and alliances. Regional holdouts and challengers such as India will need to balance themselves tactfully to steer clear of the rising hegemon’s ire.
•Yet another feature of the current regional sub-system is the presence of an extreme trust deficit among the various actors in the region. That India and Pakistan, or China and India do not trust each other is not news, but a trust deficit exists between even seemingly congenial partners such as the U.S. and India, Russia and China, and among traditional partners such as Iran and India, and Russia and India. The varying degrees of trust deficit when combined with other factors such as unresolved conflicts, misunderstandings or the occurrence of a crisis could easily push the region towards more conflict and friction, and obviously less cooperation and regional integration.
•The rising war talk in the region is yet another contemporary feature of the Southern Asian regional sub-system. The possibility of a military conflict between Iran and the U.S. (a path the hawks in Washington are pushing U.S. President Donald Trump to pursue) which in turn would draw many more countries in the region into it leading to widespread instability, potential for India-Pakistan border skirmishes and possible escalation, an escalating China-U.S. trade war, and the many proxy and cold wars in Afghanistan and West Asia will keep the temperature high in the region for the foreseeable future.
•In sum, a power transition in the Southern Asian sub-system, an extreme trust deficit and the escalating war talk pose ominous signs for the region.
The layers
•This is not a pretty picture; certainly not for India, a country that is caught right in the middle of these tectonic developments and that habitually reacts to geopolitical developments with characteristic tardiness. And yet, true to its DNA, India is likely to adopt a slew of balancing acts. This is perhaps the most appropriate strategy to adopt under the circumstances provided it does so with a sense of clarity and purpose instead of merely reacting. There are at least five layers of balancing acts that India would need to adopt in order to weather the incoming geopolitical storm. At level one, it would need to balance its innate desire to get closer to the U.S. with the unavoidable necessities of not excessively provoking China both in the maritime and continental domains. Clearly, getting too close to the U.S. will provoke China, and vice versa.
•The second layer of this balancing game should drive India’s West Asia policy. Here it would have to take care of its energy and other interests (including the Chabahar project) with Iran and not alienate the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Israel by doing so. While Iran’s share in India’s energy imports is steadily decreasing, alienating Iran might not suit India’s strategic interests in the longer run.
•As a third balancing act, dealing with the Russia-China partnership will be crucial for India’s continental strategy, be it with regard to arms sales, the Afghan question or checking Chinese dominance of the region. New Delhi should be clever enough to exploit the not-so-apparent fissures between Beijing and Moscow. A related concern should be the growing relationship between Pakistan and Russia which must be dealt with by smart diplomacy rather than outrage.
•Yet another layer that requires careful balancing by India is the strategic partnership between Pakistan and China. While Pakistan is the revisionist power in the region, China, being a rising superpower and an already status quoist power in the region, could potentially be persuaded to check Pakistan’s revisionist tendencies. This again requires a great deal of subtle effort from New Delhi to convince Beijing that it has great stakes in regional strategic stability. What must be noted is that both Beijing and New Delhi, despite their sharp differences and unavoidable strategic competition, share a stake in the region’s stability. Therefore even a small measure of rapprochement between them, as it seemingly exists today, could stabilise the region to a great extent.
Handling Afghanistan
•Finally, if India is serious about having a say in Afghanistan’s future, it would need to enact several balancing acts there: between Russia and China, China and Pakistan, the Taliban and Kabul, and the Taliban and Pakistan. In a constantly changing Afghan geopolitical landscape, the contents of India’s interests should also evolve.
•New Delhi should keep in mind that it must, by all means, be careful to avoid getting caught in a nutcracker geopolitical situation in the region. Engaging in a delicate balancing game is undeniably the need of the hour, and let us remember that balancing such seeming contradictions is what smart diplomacy is meant to achieve.
📰 ‘No cap on H-1B visas in reprisal for data norms’
U.S. clarification comes in the backdrop of a media report
•The U.S. State Department has said that it is not considering capping the number of H-1B visas for countries that adopt laws that restrict data being taken out of their borders (‘data localisation’).
•The comments are a reaction to a report by the news agency Reuters, which said the U.S. was considering capping H-1Bs at 10-15% of all H-1Bs for countries that had a data localisation policy.
•“The U.S. has no plans to place caps on H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally,” a State Department spokesperson toldThe Hindu via email.
•“The Trump Administration’s ‘Buy American and Hire American’ executive order called for a broad review of U.S. worker visa programmes, including the H-1B programme,” the statement from the spokesperson said, adding, “This review is not targeted at a specific country and is completely separate from our ongoing discussions with India about the importance of ensuring the free flow of data across borders.”
Permanent residency
•The H-1B visa allows temporary employment of foreign workers in U.S.- based firms, in occupations that “require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialised knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent,” as per the U.S. Citizenship and Information Services (USCIS). The H-1B, while being a temporary visa, is a pathway to permanent residency (a “Green Card”) in the U.S.
•There is a Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas under the general category and a further 20,000 for advanced degree holders.
•However, there are no country-wise caps for H-1B. Some H-1Bs — such as those for academic, research jobs and non-profit organisation positions — are cap exempt.
•The Trump administration had taken several steps to tighten the screws on the H-1B programme, since U.S. President Donald Trump signed the ‘Buy American and Hire American’ order in April 2017.
•Some of these changes have focussed on combating fraud (such as through site visits) and ensuring that the probability of higher qualified workers getting visas is increased (such as by reversing the order in which general and master’s degree H-1B lotteries are conducted each year).
Less attractive
•Other changes have made the H-1B programme less attractive.
•For instance, an attempt to prevent H-1B spouses from getting a work permits (an ‘H4 EAD’) is in the works and could severely alter family dynamics and the ability of foreign worker families in the U.S. to support themselves.
•The Reuters report came days before U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is due in New Delhi in preparation for talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Osaka, Japan on June 28-29, where they would discuss the strategy for the Indo-Pacific.
•Mr. Pompeo’s discussions in New Delhi are also expected to feature a list of contentious topics between India and the U.S., including data localisation, 5G telecommunication, India’s plans to purchase the S-400 Triumf missile defence system from Russia.
•“During his June 12 speech, Secretary Pompeo highlighted the significance we attach to the U.S.- India relationship, and noted he looked forward to his trip to New Delhi next week to advance our strategic partnership,” a spokesperson said.
📰 ‘Operation Bandar’ code name of Balakot strike
No specific reason in choice of name
•The air strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on a terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, was code-named ‘Operation Bandar’.
•“It was code-named Operation Bandar but was known to very few,” a defence source said on Friday. There was no particular reason in the choice of the name, the official stated and added, “It could have been anything.”
Secrecy maintained
•To maintain secrecy, the Mirages took off directly from their home base in Gwalior at the time of the mission crossing Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir to the target and back.
•“Everything was carried on as usual to maintain secrecy,” a defence official had stated.
•As a response to the Pulwama terror attack which claimed the lives of 40 security personnel, 12 IAF Mirage-2000 fighter jets struck on Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp in Balakot inside Pakistan in the early hours on February 26 with precision guided munitions.
📰 Kaleshwaram project inaugurated
KCR dedicates the project to people in the presence of Maharashtra, AP Chief Ministers
•Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP), claimed as the world’s largest multi-stage and multi-purpose lift irrigation scheme, was inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at Medigadda where the first barrage of the project is located in Jayashankar-Bhupalapally district on Friday.
•The project is intended to irrigate over 37 lakh acres of new and existing ayacut, providing drinking water to Hyderabad and villages en route and supplying water for industrial needs by lifting 195 tmc ft of water from the Godavari at 2 tmc ft a day during the flood season. By lifting one more tmc ft water a day later, the government plans to bring another 8 lakh acres under irrigation.
•Mr. Rao dedicated the project to people with the inauguration of the barrage in the presence of Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and AP Devendra Fadnavis and Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, respectively. Later, he switched on a motor of the pump house at Kannepally to lift water from Medigadda barrage and take it upwards to Annaram barrage.
•The scene of water gushing out of two pressure mains (pipes) at the delivery cistern near the pump house about eight minutes after switching one of the six motors marked the head works of the project becoming functional. A large number of officials, bankers of the consortium that part-funded the project through a special purpose vehicle, executives of the work agencies and equipment suppliers including Megha Engineering, L&T, BHEL and others besides several Cabinet colleagues of Mr. Rao witnessed the two events. Annaram barrage, further upstream of the Godavari, was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy and its pump house by Home Minister Md. Mahamood Ali. Similarly, Sundilla barrage and pump house were inaugurated by SC Development Minister K. Eshwar, the pump house at Nandi Medaram by Labour Minister Ch. Malla Reddy and the pump house at Laxmipur by Education Minister G. Jagadish Reddy.
•After participating in Jalashaya Prathistanga Yagam and Jalasankalpa Mahotsava Yagam performed by vedic scholars KCR along with his Maharashtra and AP counterparts inaugurated Medigadda barrage by ribbon cutting. They also visited the Maharashtra side of the river bank by travelling on the new bridge constructed across the river downstream of the barrage.
•At Kannepally pump house, Manging Director of Megha Engineering P.V. Krishna Reddy explained to the dignitaries about Kannepally and other pump houses constructed by them. Mr. Rao personally gave send-off to the Governor and Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and AP after felicitating them and presenting mementoes.
•Mr. Fadnavis is learnt to have visited Kaleshwara Muktheshwar temple at Kaleshwaram after inauguration of Medigadda barrage. Chief Secretary of Telangana S.K. Joshi, Director General Police M. Mahender Reddy, Maharashtra DGP S.K. Jaiswal, AP Ministers P. Ramachandra Reddy and P. Anil Kumar Yadav, Engineers-in-Chief C. Muralidhar, N. Venkateshwarlu and B. Hariram participated.
📰 SC halts road works through tiger reserves
Seeks government’s response
•The Supreme Court on Friday ordered an immediate halt to the construction of a road that passes through a corridor between the Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves. “There appears to be numerous violations of the Forest Conservation Act,” it said.
•A Vacation Bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Surya Kant issued notice to the Uttarakhand government, asking it to reply, within three weeks, to a report filed by the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
•The road, which traverses a “critical” corridor between the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the Corbett Tiger Reserve, is being built without the statutory approval of the National Board for Wildlife, the CEC said in its report. “As per the 2014 data of All India Tiger Estimation, the area supports up to four tigers per 100 sq km...,” it said.
•The CEC sought an immediate halt to the construction of roads, bridges and culverts in the Rajaji Tiger Reserve between Laldhang and Chillarkhal as it would “adversely impact the habitat and wildlife of the ecologically sensitive area”.
•After going through the report, the court said, “It is apparent that the advice of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has not been taken and permission from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife has also not been taken”.
•The NTCA also informed the CEC that the Uttarakhand government had not responded to its letters of April 20 and May 30 on the road construction.
•It also asked for strict action against the officers who had allowed the road to be built.
