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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen held a virtual Summit to take stock of the bilateral relations. In the face of the changing international dynamics due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact on economy; both leaders emphasised the need to diversify the global supply chains beyond dependence on one country. Prime Minister Modi said that India was working with Japan and Australia for such a diversification and this statement has relevance in the backdrop of the current standoff at the India-China border. India and Denmark have long standing relations; in 2008 and 2009 the then Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited India. However, due to the extradition of Kim Davy, (a Danish national accused in the Purulia arms drops case), the relations hit a road block between 2010 and 2016. Official contacts between both sides were restored in end of 2016. Apart from having ministerial meetings, Prime Minister Modi had met Danish Prime Minister L...

The 15th Confederation of Indian Industry and Exim Bank Digital Conclave on India-Africa Partnership was held in Delhi; with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The conclave was held on the virtual mode in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. It saw the participation of eminent dignitaries from across Africa and India, who have actively built bridges to strengthen partnership between the two regions. The conclave gave the platform of virtual congregations of senior ministers, policy makers and business leaders from Africa and India, cutting across sectors, to frame a new contour of strategy for strengthening economic engagement between the regions which is in the cusp of the next wave of partnership. This is in line with the 10 guiding principles of India–Africa ties which Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled in his speech in Uganda’s Parliament in 2018. Over 500 delegates from Africa participated in the conclave. The Guests of Hon...

The Monsoon Session of Parliament ended on Wednesday after adopting several important bills. The Lok Sabha (House of People) and the Rajya Sabha (House of States) were adjourned sine die eight days before its schedule end due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Session with ten sittings had begun on 14th of this month and was scheduled to end on first of October. In his concluding remarks, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said 25 bills were passed and six new bills were introduced in the House amid protest by opposition parties on several issues. Parliament has passed the three labour code Bills for the welfare and protection of workers. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, seeks to amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of the persons employed in any establishment. The Industrial Relations Code 2020, aims at amending the laws relating to Trade Unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishment or undertak...

The farm Bills passed by the Parliament will certainly prove to be a watershed moment for farmers in the country. The Bills will not only provide farmers a freedom to trade their produce across states, the farmers have also been empowered to turn themselves into traders of their own yields. In substantial terms, the two farm Bills, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill are also visionary. These Bills for the first time will ensure a sustainable and profitable future for millions of farmers in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly said that change in the farming sector is the need of the hour. Indeed, there wasn’t a law that gave freedom to farmers in taking decisions about their produce. Rather, their hands were tied in the sale and purchase of agricultural goods. Farmers were restricted from selling their agricultural produce outside the n...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined world leaders on Monday, in commemorating the historic 75th anniversary Summit of the United Nations in New York. The fact that despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, world leaders had overcome logistics and other challenges to gather in the virtual meeting demonstrated the enduring appeal of the United Nations as a unique multilateral institution. The United Nations and its specialized agencies, as well as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, were established by the victorious Allied powers at the end of the Second World War. The special contribution of 2.5 million volunteer troops from India, the largest such contingent from any of the Allied armies, played a big role in India’s participation in the creation of the United Nations and its structures 75 years ago. The Prime Minister recalled India’s presence at the 1945 San Francisco Conference in June 1945 when she signed the UN Charter as a founding signatory. He said that “a new ho...

Last week, the joint session of Pakistan Parliament passed the Anti–terrorism Act (Amendment) bill and two other bills related to terror financing and money laundering in the country. This happened after the opposition dominated Senate rejected the bills repeatedly during the last one month. The bills ostensibly aim to meet some of the conditions imposed by Paris based Financial Action Task Force on Pakistan, if it wanted to come out of the FATF grey list. The financial watchdog put Pakistan in the grey list in June 2018 when it found the country dithering in acting against terror funding. On the face of it, Pakistan Government’s move to pass the bills in a specially convened joint session of parliament is a welcome step. But at the same time, it appears to be a desperate move by the Imran Khan government to come out of the FATF grey list. It is not known how well intentioned and sincere Mr. Imran Khan is in undertaking this exercise. If past experience is anything to go by, the move m...

The monsoon session of Parliament got underway from September 14th with strict safety protocols in place. The proceedings of both Houses are taking place without leave even on Saturdays and Sundays. Each house sits for four hours per day-with one session in the morning and another in the afternoon. This would provide for a total of 18 sittings across the monsoon session. Three major issues that dominated last week, included the COVID-19 pandemic, 11 bills to replace ordinances and the border stand–off with China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that this session will give a very strong message that both Houses are standing behind our brave soldiers guarding the borders in one voice. Prime Minister also struck a cautious note, stating that the session was taking place under ‘Special circumstances’ and asserted that the Members have chosen the path of duty. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that India was fully prepared to deal with any situation and tha...

 India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum is unique in many ways. It is not a formal organisation. It has no headquarters or secretariat. It is not a bloc, nor an alliance. It is also not an ideological alignment. Central to IBSA’s mission and agenda is the overarching goal to alter the balance of power between developed and developing countries by democratising global decision-making bodies, developing alternatives to the contemporary model of globalisation and giving concrete shape to the ideal of promoting the economic and social interests of the South. Initially the advent of BRICS did not affect IBSA’s mandate. There was no conflict of interests. IBSA focused its activities on democratic values and other causes common to the three countries, while the economy remained the priority concern of BRICS. China favoured dissolution of IBSA but India disagreed and saw the Chinese designs behind it. China later raised the issue of BRICS Plus. Gradually, IBSA began to be ove...

India joined the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct as an Observer state following a high-level virtual meeting held recently. New Delhi became a part of the team of existing observer states consisting of Japan, Norway, the UK, and the US. India looks forward to working with the 18-member group towards coordinating and contributing to enhanced maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region. Jeddah Amendment is a revised code of conduct adopted by the signatories of the Djibouti Code of Conduct in 2017. It emphasizes the adoption of national legislation to ensure effective protection of the marine environment and calls the signatories to cooperate for repression of transnational organized crime including terrorism in the maritime domain. It also insists on the adoption of security policies to safeguard maritime trade from unlawful acts and ensure safe operation of port facilities and stop illicit maritime activities, including illegal fishing. Further, it urges the participa...

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had promised to redefine the image of his country with his dream of a ‘Naya Pakistan’, one which is corruption-free. Most importantly, he pledged to turn Pakistan into an Islamic welfare state, one based on the model of the State of Madina and on the guiding principles of the Prophet. With a battered economy, allies leaving his coalition government, internal disputes within the party and the fear of blacklisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the balance sheet of the PTI government on the completion of its the second year in power, certainly does not look encouraging. On the second anniversary of his government, Imran Khan made quite a few trips to television studios to rollout his achievements in the last two years. According to him, along with changing the image of Pakistan through his choices in foreign policy, exemplary management of the coronavirus pandemic; one of the top achievements of his government (according to Imran Khan)...

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh briefed the Lok Sabha (House of People) on the situation in Eastern Ladakh. The Defence Minister said, India believes that the Indo-China border alignments are based on well-established geographical principles confirmed by treaties and agreements, as well as historical usage and practice, well-known for centuries to both sides. The Chinese position, however, is that the boundary between the two countries has not been formally delimited. Both India and China have formally agreed that the boundary question is a complex issue which requires patience and have committed to seeking a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution through dialogue and peaceful negotiations. In the interim, the two sides also agree that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is an essential basis for the further development of bilateral relations. The Defence Minister said, under various agreements, the two sides have agreed to maintain peace and t...

The much-awaited Talks between Afghanistan government and the Taliban begun in Doha on September 12. The Peace Talks which was earlier scheduled in March could not take place due to the disagreement over prisoners’ exchange-one of the preconditions put by Taliban for starting negotiations with the Afghan government. This was part of the agreement between the Taliban and US who were engaged in secret negotiations for enabling an exit strategy for the US troops. Taliban wanted its 5,000 prisoners who were behind the bars in Afghanistan to be freed, while the Ashraf Ghani government made the dialogue conditional on reduction of violence. Due to US pressure, Kabul was urged to start the dialogue at the earliest. The Afghan government was compelled to start the negotiations despite raging violence and Taliban’s attempts to takeover more areas under its control so that they could negotiate from a position of strength. The Taliban delegation is being led by Sheikh Abdul Hakim, former Ch...

India’s focus on a strengthened and multi-faceted relationship with Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) an outcome of the significant changes in the world’s political and economic scenario since the early 1990s and India’s own march towards economic liberalisation. The Act East Policy has today matured into a dynamic and action oriented Policy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had at the 12th ASEAN India Summit and the 9th East Asia Summit held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in November, 2014, formally enunciated the ‘Act East Policy’. Apart from ASEAN, India has taken other policy initiatives in the region that involve some members of ASEAN like BIMSTEC, MGC etc. India is also an active participant in several regional forums like the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting + (ADMM+) and Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF). India's relationship with ASEAN is a key pillar of her foreign policy and the fo...

India achieved the distinction of successfully launching an indigenously developed hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle powered by a scramjet engine, which will serve as a critical building block for next-generation hypersonic cruise missiles. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which had developed it, described it as a major technological breakthrough. The air-breathing scramjet engine was successfully flight-tested at hypersonic speed within the atmosphere, meeting all technical parameters. The test also paves the way for development of many more critical technologies, materials and hypersonic vehicles. In the next phase, DRDO hopes to develop long-range hypersonic cruise missiles in five to six years. When a projectile reaches a speed faster than Mach 5; that is, 5 times the speed of sound, it is said to travel at hypersonic speed. As of now, only the US, Russia and China comprise an extremely exclusive hypersonic club with the capability of dev...

With the advent of autumn, the domestic economy is appearing to show some positive signs of stirrings in the real sectors. This is conclusively borne out by the latest review of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance released recently. Caught in the crucial battle to reduce the massive uncertainty about Covid 19, while persisting with the challenging task of emergency reliefs to the hardest hit sections and sectors of the economy, the Government had to resort to stringent lockdowns. This, the review noted, resulted in the sharp contraction of 23.9 per cent in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in the April-June quarter of the fiscal 2020-21. But, this also helped to restrain the pandemic-spurred death rate to one of the lowest in the world, given our huge population. As a corollary to the pro-active preventive procedure, the economy is now witnessing a sharp “V-shaped” recovery. In technical parlance, this means that the economy suffers a brief spell of decl...

India’s commitment to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) underscores its desire to strengthen its cooperation in Eurasia. The regional grouping offers opportunities for India to fulfil its aspirations to connect India to the region of Central Asia in the absence of land connectivity and in turn, push for economic and energy partnerships. Hence, India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow to attend the 10th Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers came at a time of uncertain international economic and trade challenges as countries grapple with the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the tension in Ladakh. India is scheduled to host the SCO Heads of Government on 29 & 30 November 2020 for the first time.  India plans to utilise its historic linkages and synergies with the region, for finding solutions to common security challenges of the region. The SCO compliments these objectives as a regional platform for engagement to push for i...

The back-to-back visits by two senior Indian Cabinet Ministers to Iran within a week are geared towards cementing the India-Iran bilateral ties. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a stopover visit to Iran last Sunday while returning from Russia where he had gone to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting. In Tehran, Mr. Singh met with his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Amir Hatami and discussed issues of mutual cooperation as well as regional security. India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar also made a stopover visit to Tehran on his way to Moscow to attend the Foreign Minister’s meeting of SCO. During the stopover, Dr. Jaishankar held a productive meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The two sides held discussions on strengthening bilateral cooperation. The two Ministers also reviewed regional developments during the meeting. It may be noted that Dr. Jaishankar had last visited Tehran in December...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the importance of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 during the inaugural session of the Governors' Conference. The President of India Mr. Ram Nath Kovind also graced the occasion. Prime Minister said, the new National Education Policy (NEP) doesn’t belong to any one government but to the entire country, and it should be implemented in letter and spirit irrespective of the government in power. He laid stress for wide-ranging discussions in the country on policy implementation, the Prime Minister said that the awareness amongst students, teachers and parents about the NEP should be as comprehensive as the stakeholder consultation that led to the drafting of the policy itself. The key to NEP’s success, he said, lies in stakeholder involvement. Mr. Modi said, “It is equally important that our awareness (about the NEP and its provisions) should be as deep and wide-ranging as the consultation process. It’s important to discuss all the provision...

The global summits and high-level multilateral meetings face unusual challenges in view of the ongoing pandemic. When key decision makers are all present in one location, lobbying and working out give and take positions of individual member-country become easy. However, when these key figures can only be reached online, they become fragmented across the enormity of the digital world. In the absence of the crucial diplomatic coffee breaks, taxi rides and late- night dinners, adopting new strategies or advocating certain line of positions becomes an unchartered territory. However, virtual summits and high-level meeting through video conferences are becoming the new norm. Russia is hosting BRICS and SCO summits this year. Last week saw both these meetings being held in the same week—SCO Defence Ministers meeting in Moscow and the BRICS Foreign ministers Meeting through video conference. The BRICS summit had originally been scheduled for July but was later moved to October in vie...

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was on a visit to Moscow last week, to participate in  the combined meeting of Defence Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and CIS members to commemorate the 75th anniversary of victory in the Second World War. During the visit, he also met Russian Defence Minister, General Sergei Shoigu. This was the Defence Minister’s second visit to Moscow in recent weeks during the Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrating the importance of defence diplomacy in deepening India’s strategic interests. In June, Mr. Singh had represented India at the Russian Victory Day parade to commemorate the end of the Second World War. An Indian tri-services military contingent had marched in the parade, recalling the contribution of millions of Indian troops, including in aiding the Soviet Army that led to the Allied victory in the War. The Defence Minister’s bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart covered a...