📰 Modi govt. in denial of slowdown: Manmohan
•Former PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government was in denial of the economic slowdown and its target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25 was “wishful thinking”. He was speaking at the release of a book authored by former Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Team assesses damage to crops in locust attack
•A Central inter-ministerial team visited Rajasthan’s locust-affected areas to take stock of the damage caused by insects to the crops in Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions and met farmers, elected representatives and government officials after getting divided into three groups.
📰 Trade agreement with U.S. only delayed & not stuck, says govt.
It points to grand scale of Trump-Modi Motera rally as ‘key deliverable’ of visit
•An Indo-U.S. trade deal has been delayed but is not “stuck”, the government said on Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump confirmed that negotiations will not be completed in time for his visit next week.
•However, government sources said expectations on trade would not overshadow the larger context of the visit, which will be a massive roadshow for Mr. Trump and his wife Melania from the Ahmedabad airport to Motera as well as a joint rally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the stadium (billed as the world’s biggest cricket stadium), the “key deliverable” of the visit.
•“From the moment of their arrival at the airport, [Mr. and Mrs. Trump] will be treated to a display of famed Indian hospitality and India’s Unity in Diversity,” Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla told mediapersons.
•Speaking in Washington DC, Mr. Trump spoke in a similar vein. “We can have a trade deal with India but I am saving the big deal for later on. We’re doing a very big trade deal with India…we’ll have it. I don’t know if it’ll be done before the elections but we’ll have a very big deal with India,” he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, before he flew to California.
•The comments come days after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer cancelled a trip to India — as reported in The Hindu — to finalise a mini-trade deal that the two countries were hoping to finalise during the visit. “We’re not treated very well by India but I happen to like Prime Minister Modi a lot. And he told me we’ll have seven million people between the airport and the event. And the stadium, I understand, is sort of semi under-construction but it’s going to be the largest stadium in the world. So it’s going to be very exciting,” Mr. Trump said.
Performing arts
•“The route of their travel to the stadium is expected to have tens of thousands of ordinary citizens as well as artistes showcasing the performing arts from different States and Union Territories,” Mr. Shringla said, adding that Mr. Trump’s motorcade would pass through an “India roadshow” along the way, with 28 stages representing various parts of the country on display.
•The figures represent a considerable contrast to the U.S. President’s repeated reference to crowds of “7 million” that he expects will come out to greet him, but the government feels that rather than the figure being taken literally, the “spirit” of the grandness of the event is important.
📰 Swachh Bharat Mission second phase gets nod
Key focus is to end open defecation
•The Centre on Wednesday approved the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project focussed on sustainability of ODF and management of solid and liquid waste.
•The second phase will be implemented on a mission mode between 2020-21 and 2024-25 with an estimated central and State budget of Rs. 52,497 crore, the Jal Shakti Ministry said in a statement.
•The rural sanitation programme was started on October 2, 2014, when the sanitation coverage in the country was reported at 38.7 per cent. More than 10 crore individual toilets have been constructed since the launch of the mission and as a result, rural areas in all states have declared themselves open defecation free (ODF) as on October 2, 2019.
•The second phase will focus on Open Defecation Free Plus (ODF Plus), which includes ODF sustainability and solid and liquid waste management (SLWM), the statement said.
•The ODF Plus programme will converge with MGNREGA, especially for grey water management, and will complement the newly launched Jal Jeevan Mission.
📰 Centre to form new law panel
Commission has been tasked with the review of existing legislation
•The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval to set up the 22nd Law Commission.
•The Law Commission advises the government on complex legal issues. The term of the previous law panel ended last August.
•The Law Ministry will now notify the new panel, which will have a three-year term.
•Apart from having a full-time chairperson, the commission will have four full-time members, including a member-secretary.
•Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry will be the ex-officio members of the commission.
•“It will also have not more than five part-time members,” an official statement said.
•A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court will head the Commission.
•“The Law Commission shall, on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo motu , undertake research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms and enacting new legislation. It shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in cost of litigation, etc.,” the statement said.
•Originally formed in 1955, the commission is reconstituted every three years and so far, 277 reports have been submitted to the government.
Working papers
•The last Law Commission, under Justice B.S. Chauhan (retd.), had submitted reports and working papers on key issues such as simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies and a uniform civil code.
•While it supported simultaneous polls, the Commission had said the time for a common code was not yet ripe. In 2015, a proposal was mooted to make the law panel into a permanent body either through an Act of Parliament or an executive order (resolution of the Union Cabinet).
•The move was, however, shelved after the Prime Minister’s Office preferred the existing system to continue.
•In 2010 as well, the then UPA government had prepared a draft Cabinet note to give statutory status to the Law Commission but the idea did not take off.
📰 ART Bill proposes national registry of clinics
Board will formulate minimum standards for labs and lay down code of conduct for personnel
•The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 2020 to monitor medical procedures used to assist people to achieve pregnancy.
•The Bill provides for a national Board which will lay down a code of conduct to be observed by those operating clinics.
•It will also formulate minimum standards for laboratory and diagnostic equipment and practices to be followed by human resources employed by clinics and banks. The States and Union Territories will also have to form State Boards and State authorities within three months of the notification of the proposed legislation.
•Under the proposed law, a national registry and registration authority will maintain a database to assist the national Board to perform its functions, according to a statement issued by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
Strict punishment
•The Bill also proposes stringent punishment for those who practise sex selection, indulge in sale of human embryos or gametes and those who operate rackets.
•“India has one of the highest growths in the number ART centres and ART cycles performed every year. India has become one of the major centres of this global fertility industry, with reproductive medical tourism becoming a significant activity. This has also introduced a plethora of legal, ethical and social issues; yet, there is no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate,” the Ministry added.
Confidentiality clause
•“The Bill will also ensure confidentiality of intending couples and protect the rights of the child,” Union Minister Smriti Irani said at a media conference on Wednesday. She also said that in the Surrogacy Regulation Bill 2020, the government was looking to restrict the maximum age of surrogates from “above the marriageable age” to 50 years.
📰 Centre cuts its share in crop insurance
•The Centre has almost halved its contribution to its own flagship crop insurance schemes, slashing its share of the premium subsidy from the current 50% to just 25% in irrigated areas and 30% for unirrigated areas from the kharif season of 2020.
•The Cabinet approved the revamp of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme on Wednesday. In another significant step, enrolment in the two schemes have also been made voluntary for all farmers.
📰 By agreeing to Partition, Congress kept India united
Else, India would have been a fragmented entity
•It has become a fashion these days to blame the Congress for Partition. Certain sections of the right, who in fact became the prime beneficiaries of Partition, are the leading proponents of this thesis. Had Partition not taken place, the demographic exigencies of undivided India, with a Muslim population of 25%-30%; and five, and possibly six, Muslim majority provinces, among them Bengal and Punjab would have rendered the parties espousing Hindutva permanently irrelevant. But this is a topic for another time. If the Congress leadership, especially Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, had not accepted the division of the country, it could well have led to the dismemberment of India as we know it today. The reasons are as follows.
•What was on offer as an alternative to Partition was the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. This plan not only envisaged a loose federal structure with a very weak centre, it could be called a ‘crypto-Pakistan plus’. It not only grouped provinces on the basis of religious majorities, it left the issue of the princely states’ future as a matter of discussion between the princes and the weak centre that it envisioned. The central authority would have then had a very weak hand to play against the wily princely rulers, both Hindu and Muslim, who would have joined hands with each other and with the Muslim League in defence of their common interest to further weaken the centre.
Cabinet Mission Plan
•Moreover, documentary evidence, especially the resolution of the Muslim League Council in June 1946 that accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan, proves that the Muslim League’s acceptance was premised on the belief that the Plan was a stepping stone towards the ultimate formation of Pakistan, which to quote the resolution was its “unalterable objective”. The League inferred this from the Cabinet Mission Plan’s provision that said that “any Province by majority vote of its Legislative Assembly could call for a reconsideration of the terms of the Constitution after an initial period of ten years and at ten-yearly intervals thereafter.” Hence the Plan did not rule out the dissolution of the Union if provinces made a demand.
•Furthermore, the working of the interim government formed in September 1946 made it clear that the Muslim League was bent on thwarting its smooth functioning. It was the feeling that the interim government was like a chariot being pulled in two different directions that convinced Patel that Partition was the only way to save India from becoming a totally dysfunctional state. In his own famous words, “In order to keep India united it must be divided.” It was Patel who convinced Nehru that Partition was better than an eternally fragmented India.
•Nehru, whose opposition to Partition was based on his unstinted commitment to secularism, which refused to encounter the idea of India bring divided on communal lines, finally realised that his vision of a modern and strong Indian state could not be achieved with the Muslim League, in power in Bengal and Punjab, thwarting it at every step. With Patel and Nehru convinced of the necessity for Partition, the rest of the Congress Working Committee, except Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who voted against it, and Maulana Azad, who abstained, accepted the plan.
•Historical evidence based on impartial scholarship demonstrates that had the Congress Party not accepted the Partition plan, India today would have been a weak state and a divided polity barely able to keep itself together and constantly teetering on the brink of collapse. The Congress did a favour to the country by accepting its division in order to save it from collapse or dismemberment. This is a historically verifiable fact that cannot be refuted by partisan propaganda.
📰 The missing piece in India’s defence jigsaw puzzle
The country needs a clearly articulated white paper on its defence needs which sets out its strategic concerns
•Undoubtedly, we are living through a moment of decisive change and turbulence. This geopolitical period is perhaps the most troubled since the final decades of the 20th century. Hence, there exists a vital need to adopt right strategic choices. According to 2018 data, India occupies the fourth place in military expenditure across the world, behind the U.S., China, and Saudi Arabia. This does not mean that India has no further need to increase its stock of state-of-the art weapons. What is needed, nevertheless, is sober reflection and a cost-benefit analysis, to ensure that the amounts expended are in tune with our strategic requirements.
Defence deals in the pipeline
•This is an opportune moment to undertake such a cost-benefit analysis. The first lot of Rafale fighter jets are expected shortly. The final deal on the 200 Kamov Ka-226 light utility helicopters from Russia is in advanced stages and expected to be signed soon. In October 2018, India and Russia had signed a $5.4-billion mega deal for the S-400 Triumf Air Defence System. Under contemplation today are yet another set of high-value U.S. defence deals, including additional purchases of P-8I Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft and Apache Attack Helicopters. According to estimates, the total worth of defence equipment purchased from the U.S. alone since 2007 is in the region of $17-billion.
•On the eve of U.S President Donald Trump’s visit to India, a further spurt in defence purchases is anticipated. Speculation is rife that India and the U.S. would sign a deal for the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS-II), intended as part of a multi-layered missile shield to protect Delhi. The U.S. side is also hoping for two more mega defence deals, worth $3.5-billion to be signed for 24 MH-60 Romeo Multi Mission Helicopters for the Navy and an additional six AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters for the Army. (India’s Cabinet Committee on Security, on Wednesday, cleared the MH-60 helicopter deal.)
•Given India’s rising global profile, and with two major adversaries on its borders, India needs to be fully prepared. What is lacking in the defence jigsaw puzzle, however, is a well considered and clearly articulated white paper on India’s defence needs, that sets out its strategic concerns, how it is positioning itself to meet these challenges, and the putative costs of meeting the country’s defence needs.
Pakistan, China threats
•Several nations undertake such exercises. In India, exercises of this kind are sometimes undertaken, but they suffer from a lack of clarity and are restricted in scope. They contain vague references to the threat posed by China and Pakistan, but there is clearly more to India’s defence needs than exercises in military hagiography. What is required is a well formulated defence white paper, putting the different threats and dangers the nation faces in perspective, alongside steps taken to meet these challenges.
•In the case of Pakistan, the threat motif is, no doubt, obvious. India’s political and defence establishment are on record that India can easily defeat Pakistan, even if a “weaker” Pakistan possesses “nuclear teeth”. Yet, while this makes for excellent copy, a great deal of effort is called for to explain to the public, the true nature of the threat posed by Pakistan, and why India is so confident of beating back the Pakistani challenge.
•Meeting the military, strategic and economic challenge from China is an entirely different matter. China is not Pakistan, and while China and Pakistan may have established an axis to keep India in check, explaining the nature of the threat posed by China to India is a complex task that needs to be undertaken with care and caution.
Understanding Beijing
•To begin with, there are many experts who express doubts as to whether China intends today to pursue its 19th Century agenda, or revert to its belief in ‘Tian Xia’. Undoubtedly under China’s President Xi Jinping, China aims to be a great power and an assertive one at that. India’s defence planners should, however, carefully assess whether there are degrees of “assertiveness” in China’s behavioural patterns. There is little doubt that regarding its claim to areas falling within the ‘nine-dash lines’ (the first island chain), China is unwilling to make compromises. Whether this applies to other regions of Asia and the Indo-Pacific, calls for an in-depth study. It would be premature for India without undertaking such an analysis, to adhere to a common perception that China is intent on enforcing a Sino-centric world order in which India and other countries would necessarily have to play a secondary role.
•If after undertaking such an “analysis”, it appears that China does not pose a direct threat to India’s existence, notwithstanding the fact that India is its main rival in Asia, then India’s political, strategic and military planners need to come up with a different set of alternatives. In recent years, unfortunately, much of India’s strategic thinking regarding China’s aggressive behaviour has been coloured by that of the U.S. and the West, though it is a proven fact that China has not used lethal military force abroad since the 1980s.
•China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) does convey an impression that China seeks to put itself at the centre of the world. The speed with which many of the steps to progress the BRI are being taken, again conveys an impression that China is intent on shrinking the physical and psychological distance between Europe and East Asia. This does not, however, necessarily mean that China is preparing to confront individual countries in Asia, such as India, which do not subscribe to the BRI.
•A defence white paper would provide a more definitive answer to such issues. A detailed exercise to assess whether China is indeed a threat, rather than a challenge, to India should prove invaluable. It is possible that a detailed study may indicate that China understands that there are limits to its strength and capabilities. Several instances of late, have shown the frailties in China’s policies — Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Xinjiang are instances that indicate that China has its own Achilles heel. Consequently, China may not be ready, for quite some time at least, to seek a direct confrontation with India.
•A closer look at Beijing’s policies, undertaken as part of a defence white paper, may also indicate that rather than a “conflict-prone” role, China is more intent on an “influence-peddling” one. This is important from India’s point of view. Already there is one school of thought that believes that Beijing is better at converting its economic heft into strategic influence, rather than employing force beyond certain prescribed areas.
•If this view is espoused by a defence white paper then, despite the vexed border dispute between India and China, the two countries could try and arrive at a subliminal understanding about respective spheres of influence. Today, one of India’s major concerns is that China is attempting to intrude into its sphere of influence in South Asia, and the first and second concentric circles of India’s interest areas, such as Afghanistan and parts of West Asia. The defence white paper might well provide a strategic paradigm, in which India and China agree to peacefully co-exist in many areas, leaving aside conflict zones of critical importance to either, thus ensuring a more durable peace between them.
•One other outcome that the defence white paper could attempt is: whether China views geo-economics as the primary arena of competition today. China has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, robotics and bio-technology, and perhaps, India needs to recognise that rather than blacklisting Chinese technology Tech firms, (which could prove counter-productive) there exist avenues for cooperation, paving the way for better state-to-state relations.
A focus on domestic politics
•A final word. The defence white paper needs to underscore that a country’s domestic politics are an important pointer to a stable foreign policy. There could be different schools of thoughts within a nation, but equilibrium needs to be maintained if it is not to adversely impact a nation’s foreign policy imperatives. An impression that the country is facing internal strains could encourage an adversary, to exploit our weaknesses. This is a critical point that the defence white paper needs to lay stress on.
