AIR World Service English

Kashmir, the crown of India, is one of the most appropriate example of composite culture where different streams of thought have co-existed for generations, adding value to each other's traditions. It is a true blend of multiple philosophies influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, culminating in what has come to be known as ‘Kashmiriyat’. The essence of this philosophy is to live in harmony and brotherhood. Until the advent of Islam in the 14th century, Kashmir was under the sway of Hinduism and Buddhism. It came under Islamic influence thereafter. But these currents of religion, spirituality and thought were never antagonistic but complimentary to each other. So, if there was Hindu spirituality in place, the Sufi movement, the mystic tradition of Islam, also thrived. The great mystic poet Laleshwari popularly known as Lal Ded preached spirituality through her ‘vakhs’ (poetry). She was a bridge between pre and post Islamic era who passed on the baton to her contemporary Sheikh...

The arrival of first batch of five Rafale fighter aircraft jets at Ambala Air Force Station is definitely a massive boost for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) combat capabilities. At the same time, the launching of 17 ‘Golden Arrows’ squadron at the strategically located Ambala air base itself is also significant as it indicates the operational preparedness of the Air Force only 250 Kilo meters away from the Western front. The fighter jets built by French aviation firm Dassault, took off from the Merignac airbase in southern France’s Bordeaux and covered 7000 Kilo meters before reaching India with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop at the French airbase in United Arab Emirates. Dubbed as the “game changer” by IAF, Rafale fighters are expected to reset the aerial power equation along India’s international borders. The fact is, air power would be the decisive factor in future battle fields. The effectiveness, long reach and precision weapon delivery at stand-off ranges gives air power...

With the announcement of India and the UK confirming to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the economic ties between the two countries have shown potential to gain a new momentum. The issue was discussed in the 14th Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) virtual meeting held between the two countries. It was co-chaired by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss. As a follow-up and to intensify efforts towards this objective, Working Groups will meet at frequent intervals in order to achieve some of the Early Harvest Agreements. In addition, monthly meetings of Ministers of State and meetings between Mr. Goyal and Ms. Truss will also take place this year in New Delhi. The statement released on the occasion outlined trade priorities through a Joint Trade Review. The priority areas are life science and health, information and communications technology, food and drink, chemicals and services which will...

After the latest round of protracted diplomatic and military parleys between India and China over disengagement on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clash that resulted in loss of lives on both sides, complete disengagement has been achieved at Patrolling Point 14, 15 and 17 A in eastern Ladakh. The nearly three-hour-long virtual confabulations were held under the aegis of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs. However, disengagement is yet to be implemented is the Finger area along the Pangong Tso Lake, from Finger 5 to Finger 8. India has already made its stand on the situation clear. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs had said, “We have also made it clear that India is fully committed to observing and respecting the LAC (with China) and that we will not accept any unilateral attempts to change the status quo along the LAC.” Meanwhile, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said bot...

My dear countrymen, Namaskar. Today, is the 26th of July, a very special day…It is Kargil Vijay Diwas. It was on this very day 21 years ago, our Army unfurled the flag of victory in the battle of Kargil. Friends, India can never forget the circumstances under which the battle of Kargil took place. Pakistan had embarked upon this misadventure, nursing delusions of encroaching upon Indian soil, to distract attention from the internal strife prevailing there. India was then in the process of making efforts to foster good relations with Pakistan. But as it is said, "बयरु अकारन सब काहू सों। जो कर हित अनहित ताहू सों।।" Which means, to the wicked, enmity with one and all for no reason comes naturally. People with such a disposition keep thinking of harming even their well-wishers… that is why when India extended a hand of friendship, Pakistan tried to respond, stabbing in the back. But after that, when our gallant Army displayed deeds of valour, when India demonstrated her might th...

The sudden outbreak of Coronoavirus from the Chinese city of Wuhan left the world scrambling for cover – first on dealing with its spread, its symptoms, whether it was infectious or non-infectious; secondly and most importantly, were there any immediate antigens? India put its act together to insulate its citizens from infection around mid-January and issued travel advisories to China. Thermal screening of incoming passengers from China and Hong Kong was introduced after the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued comprehensive technical guidance and advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at that time. As the viral infection spread to more countries and the WHO declared it as a global pandemic, with no readily available treatment, other than precautionary, Indian laboratories joined global efforts to find an effective vaccine for COVID-19. As the burden of COVID-19 spiralled, India set up an inter-disciplinary ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked US firms to invest in India, in various sectors including infrastructure, aviation, defence and space research. He was addressing the “India Ideas Summit”. The Summit was hosted by US-India Business Council. The theme of the summit was “Building a Better Future”. The India Ideas Summit aims at attracting foreign capital to India as a post COVID-19 recovery agenda. Prime Minister Modi highlighted that India got $ 20 billion in foreign investment during the first quarter of 2020-‘21. He also said, India’s “ease of doing business” ranking has improved. The investment optimism can further determine improvements in India’s key business ratings. India has reached record high in foreign direct investment (FDI). The transition in foreign investment from FII portfolio investment to FDI is a welcome trend as FDI is relatively a stable investment than foreign portfolio investment. FII is ‘hot money’ and it can lead to flight of foreign capital based on th...

Last week, Pakistan organised consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav for the second time after India fielded twelve requests for the same. This access was as much of a farce as the previous one in September 2019. In response to Indian requests, Pakistan had assured “unimpeded, unhindered and unconditional access” following the promulgation of an ordinance in May 2020, ostensibly, to comply with the July 2019 directive from International Court of Justice (ICJ) to provide “an effective mechanism for review and reconsideration” of the April 2017 verdict of the military court sentencing Jadhav to death in a trumped up case of espionage and subversion in Pakistan. It was hoped that Pakistan would honour its assurance. Two Indian high commission officials were granted access in the presence of Pakistani officials “with an intimidating demeanour” despite protests from the Indian side. The whole meeting was being recorded and no free conversation was possible to engage Jadhav on his legal right...

In a stirring address to the “India Ideas Summit 2020”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a strong argument for the world, and particularly the United States, to invest in India saying “India offers a perfect combination of openness, opportunities and options.” The two-day virtual Summit, organized by the US-India Business Council to mark its 45th anniversary was attended by business leaders from both countries. The theme of the Summit is “Building a better future”. Highlighting that India celebrates openness in people and in governance, which makes for open markets and prosperity, the Prime Minister underlined the wide-ranging reforms undertaken by India which create an ideal eco-system marked by increased competitiveness, transparency, digitization, innovation and policy stability. To illustrate the scale of opportunity in India, Prime Minister Modi pointed to the fact that of the half a billion internet users in India, the number in rural areas exceeds that in urban areas. An...

India conducted joint naval exercises with the US Navy, off the coast of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The exercises with the US involved makeovers called PASSEX or passing exercises and involved various coordinated exercises such as surface action, surveillance and anti-submarine drills to check the inter-operability between the two navies and sharing of best practices. The development is significant given the increased Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. The conduct of the exercises in the Bay of Bengal in a maritime area that overlooks the Malacca Straits, a critical sea route for international trade, including China; is very significant. The exercises included four Indian naval ships and is being conducted with ships from the US fleet that includes the USS Nimitz, a nuclear power warship, which has been conducting ‘freedom of navigation’ operations in the South China Sea. It came at the same time China is conducting military drills of its own in the South China Sea, near t...

India has taken a significant step towards energy security; New Delhi has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US for cooperation on strategic petroleum reserves operation and maintenance. This move is of immense importance. It was accomplished last week during the Second Ministerial Meeting of India-US Strategic Energy Partnership, an initiative which was established at the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in April 2018. With the signing of such MoU, the country will not only be able to ensure uninterrupted energy supply in the event of geopolitical turmoil, but also shield itself from unprecedented oil price volatility as was seen in 2008, causing immense stress to the exchequer. Further, to overcome challenges from disruptions in oil supply or volatility in the international oil price, India wants to increase its strategic oil stockpile by storing crude oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Discussions between the two...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s online address to the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting was notable for outlining the emerging contours behind India’s call for “reformed multilateralism”. Recalling that the United Nations emerged from the “furies of the Second World War”, the Prime Minister urged member-states to use the current existential crisis posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the “rebirth and reform” of multilateralism. Mr. Modi’s address highlighted the key role of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in this context. The success of India, representing one-sixth of humanity, in achieving her development objectives would contribute significantly to the global achievement of the SDGs. This would require working together in the spirit of inclusive growth based on a “whole-of-society” people-centric paradigm, which met the core SDG principle of “leaving no one behind.” The Indian Prime Minister highlighted how India’s effecti...

Indian Railways has set a target of going completely green by becoming a 'net zero' carbon emitter by 2030 through various initiatives, including electrification of broad gauge, improving energy efficiency and switching to renewable sources. It has also set a goal of electrification of all routes on broad gauge by December 2023. Railway electrification, improving energy efficiency of locomotives and trains and fixed installations, green certification for installations/stations, fitting bio-toilets in coaches and switching to renewable sources of energy are part of its strategy of achieving this net zero carbon emission. Recently addressing the captains of Indian industry, Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal said "Railways will move to 100 per cent electrification in the next 3.5 years and 100 per cent Net Zero operator in the next 9-10 years. By 2030, each one of us will be a proud citizen, owning the world's first large Clean Railways. Prime Minister has promoted...

Amidst the global pandemic, India’s development assistance continues to help neighbouring countries to address their specific socio-economic needs. India provided outdoor fitness equipment for 61 islands of Maldives this week. The equipment provided was part of India’s grant assistance for socio-economic development projects across Maldives announced in March 2019 during the visit of President Mohammed Ibrahim Solih to India. India had agreed to provide, ‘grant assistance of US$ 5.5 million, for the Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects through local bodies and a cash grant of US$ 6.9 million for implementation of socio-economic development projects’. Speaking on the occasion, the Speaker of Maldives Parliament, Mohammed Nasheed underscored the importance of Maldives relations with India. He said Maldives “cannot grow and develop if it abandons close relationship with India” and urged the other leaders to make sensible and wise decisions while dealing with close...

As a consequence of the COVID19 pandemic, the 15th India-EU Summit took place in virtual format. Emphasizing their shared values and endorsement of democracy, freedom, rule of law and respect for human rights, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to effective multilateralism and a rules based multilateral order centring the UN and the WTO. The Summit was not only an opportunity to review the relations but in the backdrop of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, it adopted the “EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025” that sets out a trajectory to further build the relations. Thus, expanding the scope of joint action, the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and the EU Council President Mr. Charles Michel and the Commission President Ms. Ursula von der Leyen have agreed upon how to operationalise this new roadmap of strategic partnership that is responsive to the current challenges. Both sides emphasised global cooperation and solidarity to address the public ...

Six months after the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, India not only delayed its spread but is also on course to contain its lethal effect. Daily growth rate of the positive cases has drastically slowed, and the recovery rate has gone past 63 per cent to affirm that India has taken good care of its large population. The Prime Minister’s timely decision to impose lockdown gave the much needed elbow room for the government to ramp up facilities and infrastructure. In January, India just had one laboratory to test samples of Covid-19. Now there are more than 1200 laboratories, spread uniformly across the country. Ramping up the testing facilities firmly scaled up the screening. India has tested over 12 million samples till now. This indeed has had a benign impact on testing and tracing and treatment. India’s Covid-19 positive cases have gone past the nine lakh mark; but, 63 per cent of patients have been cured and discharged from hospitals. At a time when two indigenous...

India’s digital ecosystem is on the threshold of a truly transformative phase with the U.S technology giant Google’s proposal to invest US$ 10 billion (INR 75, 000 crore) over the next five to seven years. The objective is to roll out India-first products and services to focus on four areas crucial to digitization of the Indian economy. These include, facilitating affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, building products and services that are pertinent to India’s unique needs, empowering businesses particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on their digital transformation journey and leveraging technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for social good in areas such as agriculture, education and health. At the annual Google for India virtual summit, Google’s Sundar Pichai, who is also the Chief Executive of parent Alphabet Inc., said the funds would be deployed to expedite Google’s efforts to spread connectivity and adopt digital technolog...