AIR World Service English

My dear countrymen, Namaskar! Our Mann ki Baat too has not remained untouched by the effect of Corona. The last time I spoke to you through ‘Mann Ki Baat' , passenger train services, busses and flights had come to a standstill. This time around much has resumed-Shramik special trains are operational; other special trains too have begun. With utmost precautions, flights have resumed; industry too is returning to normalcy; thus, opening up a major segment of the economy. In such a scenario, we need to be even more alert and careful. Whether it’s the mandatory two yards distancing, wearing face masks or staying at home to the best extent possible, there should be no laxity on our part in complete adherence.  The battle against Corona is being fiercely waged in the country through collective efforts. When we glance at the world, we can actually experience the magnitude of the achievements of the people of India. Our population itself is many times that of most countries. The chal...

India and Nepal share a land border of 1750 kilometers with Nepal touching five states of India – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Most of this border was fixed by the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816 between the East India Company and the Nepalese Royal Court. It marked the Kali (Mahakali) River as Nepal’s western extremity, i.e. Nepal’s territory only lay to the east of the Kali. Nepal had recently launched an ‘updated’ map of its territory claiming roughly 400 square kilometers of territory in the areas of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh, which have always been recorded as being West of the Kali and in India. Kathmandu claims that these areas lie to the east of the major tributary of the Kali and hence belong to Nepal. This is even though surveys and maps for over 150 years, including maps of Nepal, maintained that the main source of the Kali is the stream coming from Kalapani which means that these areas are west of the Kali. The areas ar...

On Monday, 532 flights after over two months soared high on the Indian skies, leaving an unmistakable proof that no challenge can overwhelm the Indian resolve to prevail over any adversity. Airports and passengers demonstrated that India is well prepared to contain the deadly Covid-19, as they minimized the scope for the virus to find hosts to multiply. A five year old boy, wearing a mask, flew alone from New Delhi to Bengaluru, illustrating people’s confidence that life can soon return to normalcy. In the course of over two months of the lockdown, India has arguably sensitized citizens and agencies on ways to deny the scope of transmission to the virus. That the passengers complied with social distancing norms at the airports and took benefits of the ‘Aarogya Setu’ Application would truly further ease operations of flights. The air transport mode indeed followed the government allowing special trains to operate to connect scores of destinations. Lakhs of people availed t...

India has extended her medical assistance to help authorities abroad in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Till now, India has helped 125 countries with essential supplies, medicines, teams of medical experts and also in some cases evacuation of foreign citizens to their home countries. New Delhi has already delivered consignments in 29 countries spread out over the South Asian region, the Indian Ocean region, the Gulf (Kuwait), Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Ukraine) and even remotely located countries like Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Six more African countries have received hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and paracetamol as well. Apart from medical aid, India has also sent teams of medical personnel called Rapid Response Teams to Kuwait and Maldives, set up mobile health check-up centres, conducted webinars to train personnel in other countries and extended technical assistance in other formats. India took the lead by setting up a $ 10 million COVID-19 fund for S...

Nepal has once displayed belligerence on the Kalapani territorial dispute at the tri-junction of India, Nepal and China in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India and Dharchula district in the far western region of Nepal. A new political and administrative map of the Himalayan nation issued on 20th May by the Communist government of Nepal has raked up the latest controversy. The new map approved two days earlier by Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli’s cabinet shows Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh areas as Nepalese territory. However, these areas are parts of the sovereign Indian territory in the map issued on 2nd November 2019 by New Delhi after reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh into Union territories.  Both India and Nepal, are close friendly neighbours having strong social, cultural and economic bonds. The controversy over Nepal’s claims of a small but strategic tract of land in the close proximity of River Kali originating from Kalapani area in the...

As the world comes to grips with the realities of COVID 19, there is a pressing need to adjust to a `new normal’. Countries are also trying to achieve a sense of continuity with the older norms of official functioning, through joint action and collective approaches, reinforcing the realities that individual states are facing under the pandemic. States have increased consultative processes across the regional level. This was visible when Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to his counterparts within the SAARC to address the spread of the pandemic in South Asia, in March. Other regional initiatives in Europe and Southeast Asia are also examples of this. Collaboration has also been clearly evident in India’s call for a response at the level of the G20. In light of these developments, the move towards an Indo-Pacific Cooperation to address the COVID 19 is not surprising. While the Indo-Pacific does not represent a “region” in the traditional sense of the word, it is important to...

India’s weight in the eight-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which focuses on political security-related issues, has increased since it along with Pakistan was admitted as full members in 2017. India has made constructive contributions to the organisation. In the present difficult times when the world is battling the Covid-19 pandemic, it is always useful if regional and international organisations coalesce to discuss and seek a long-term solution to this global challenge. India was an observer at the SCO since 2005 and participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region. The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar took part in the extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the members of the bloc last week, wherein he emphas...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs. 20 trillion economic stimulus package to respond to the covid19 pandemic in India. The details of this package would be in tranches. The first tranche announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman focused more on infusing liquidity into the stressed units like MSMEs and NBFCs. Against the backdrop of rare–corona virus pandemic; India has been put in a lockdown mode. While trying to “flattening the curve” by reducing the number of human lives being lost through lockdown strategy, enormous economic disruption has taken place. The policy response to “lives versus livelihood” has been the objective of the government. The initial policy packages announced by the Finance Minister and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had focused more on providing the basic income support to the vulnerable people and to infuse liquidity into the system. However, a need was felt then to scale up the policy response package against the mounting humanitarian crisis. ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation for the 4th time since the beginning of the national lockdown, said that India has shown its resolute will to stop the spread of the covid19 virus. India has fared much better than many other nations. Prime Minister said the virus has destroyed the world. Billions of people around the world are facing a crisis. The World is engaged in a battle to save precious lives. We have never seen or heard of such a crisis. This crisis unprecedented for mankind. We need to remain vigilant, closely monitor it, follow the rules of engagements to save ourselves and move ahead. Today, when the world is in crisis, we must strengthen our resolve to overcome the crisis. The Prime Minister observed, as a nation, today we stand at a very crucial juncture. The covid19 has brought a message and an opportunity. He said, when the Corona crisis started, not a single PPE kit was made in India. The N-95 masks were produced in small quantities. But, today we are ...

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalizad visited India and met with Indian External Affairs Minister and National Security Adviser. He had been to Qatar and Pakistan before reaching New Delhi. He persuaded all stakeholders for greater regional support. Mr. Khalilzad also urged the stakeholders to speed up peace talks, emphasized on immediate reduction of violence in Afghanistan, and cooperation on Covid-19 pandemic. According to the U.S. State department, the trip was meant to build support for the full implementation of the US-Taliban agreement, which has been derailed by differences between the Afghan government and the Taliban over the release of prisoners. Since the US Chief negotiator Mr. Khalizad signed the historic peace accord in Doha with Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar in February 2020, he has been actively monitoring the developments in the region. It was the second trip he has made since April 12 in the midst of the pandemic to salvage...

Last week, Pakistan's Supreme Court held a hearing on a civil miscellaneous application (CMA), submitted by the country's federal government ‘respectfully praying’ before the court to allow it to carry out “necessary amendments” in the 2018 Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Order for the caretaker government to "conduct elections for Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly”. After hearing out the government’s case, in a short order, the seven-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, gave its nod. It would be pertinent to mention, that Pakistan Supreme Court had, earlier, in January 2019, extended its jurisdiction to Gilgit-Baltistan and restored an order, which was set aside by GB Supreme Appellate Court. Simultaneously, recognising the weaknesses of the 2018 Order, it had asked the government to prepare an amended draft order based on the Sartaj Committee recommendations. Set up by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, the Committee had recommended legislative measures to...

The Coronavirus pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge not just for the healthcare system worldwide but also for the national and global governance institutions. Diplomacy and global summitry too suddenly find themselves in unchartered territories. The decision to organize the online Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Contact Group Summit at the initiative of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is, therefore, a step in the right direction. Over 30 Heads of States and Governments and others attended the video conference. While addressing the summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined the need for “a new template of globalization based on fairness, equality and humanity”. He also drew the attention of global leaders towards the imperative need to ensure that international institutions reflect the new global reality. He further said that NAM continues to be a strong moral force and hence it must become an instrument of global solidarity. It is this spirit that explains why India has sen...

As India enters the 3.O phase of the national lockdown in light of the covid19 pandemic, the country has remained focused on her external outreach too. Not only is India committed to flatten the curve of the coronavirus; but New Delhi is also ready to walk the extra mile to help her brethren the world over. Continuing with the government's outreach to countries in India's immediate neighbourhood and beyond, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina over telephone. The two Prime Ministers discussed the regional situation in the wake of the covid19 pandemic. Both leaders briefed each other about the steps being taken to mitigate its effects in the two countries. Prime Minister Modi and Ms. Hasina expressed happiness at the progress made in implementing the special arrangements agreed in March 2020 during the SAARC Leaders video conference. Mr. Modi thanked Bangladesh for the $1.5 million contribution to SAARC covid19 Emergency Fund. Prime ...

Extraordinary times call for out-of-the-box measures and, in a COVID-19 induced global disruption, this was aptly reflected in the recent BRICS Foreign Ministers virtual meeting. The Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa met with the core objective of strategizing a collective response to the pandemic which has overwhelmed national health response systems and brought the world to the brink of a recession. India's External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar represented India at the meet. Rebuilding health and wealth was, therefore, the core focus of the online discussion. The interaction also delved into a post-COVID-19 world order and the role of emerging economies in it with the foreign ministers re-emphasising the need for reforming multilateral institutions. The key outcome of the meeting was the decision to allocate US$ 15 billion to set up a special loan instrument that will help reconstruct the ravaged BRICS economies. A virtual BRICS Health offic...