Aspirants Times Magazine Vol6

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INDEX Editorial • War is Approaching, Face the Battle.......................................................................03 SECTION - 1: Articles • India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation ......................................................................04 • India and United Nations .......................................................................................12 • Fiji Suspended from Commonwealth......................................................................25 • Hindi Article ( “EÞ

‡¹É IÉäjÉ E É ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ ¦ÉÉ® iÉÒªÉ +lÉÇ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ E É ¨ÉÖJªÉ +ÉvÉÉ®” ) .............38

SECTION - 2: Hot Topics India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions...............................................................................51 SECTION - 3: Current Relevant Facts......................................................................61 SECTION -4: Sports ................................................................................................65 SECTION -5: Awards...............................................................................................69 SECTION - 6: Mains Special • Foreign Relations Of India.......................................................................................74 • International Organizations...................................................................................120 • Hot Economic Issues..............................................................................................137

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War is Approaching, Face the Battle... Now final war for IAS mains is approaching and you are very near to it. Some candidates are fully prepared and some are confident but there are also some candidates, who are loosing the confidence in themselves. But all of you should keep one thing in mind very clearly, that the battle is open and no-one is victorious or loser, without actually facing the it. So my advice is that all of you must synchronize all your abilities, power, knowledge, time and everything. All of you know that good strategy is indispensable to win the war, so make your own strategy. all of you must have “your own” personal strategy. We are trying our best to provide you the materials for mains in very concise way. In this 6th and maiden volume, you will find “International Relation and Organization”, and Economy under the mains special column. We have covered all the important topics in the style by which you can understand them within few minutes. Read them carefully. Along with this, there is articles on “India and United Nations-Significant Contributions for Peace and Development”, “India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation-Social Security Agreement to Enhance Cooperation”, “ Fiji Suspended from Commonwealth- Failed to Opening Talks on a Return to Democracy”. Also an article on “EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ E É

‡´ÉE ÉºÉ ¦ÉÉ® iÉÒªÉ +lÉÇ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ E É ¨ÉÖJªÉ +ÉvÉÉ®”

in Hindi.

These are others topics as well, which may be asked in the IAS mains examination 2009. “India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions” is covered in Hot Topic and as always Personality, Awards and Sports sections have been covered under the regular column, Current Affairs. Our best wishes to all of you to win the final war. Editor: R. K. Pandey and UPSCPORTAL Team

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation Social Security Agreement to Enhance Cooperation

By: R. K. Pandey India and Switzerland signed a Social Security Agreement on September 03, 2009 in New Delhi, in presence of the Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation and Minister of Economic Affairs, Ms. Doris Leuthard. The Agreement was signed by Shri. K. Mohandas, Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry and Mr. Philippe Welti, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation in India. On the occasion, Shri. Mohandas said that this is an important agreement, which will further boost the friendly relationship between the two countries. This Social Security Agreement will enhance cooperation on social security between the two countries. It will facilitate the movement of professionals between the two countries. The detached workers sent by Switzerland-based companies to their Indian subsidiaries, or those sent by Indian companies to their branches in Switzerland will be exempt from social security contribution in the host country for a period of 72 months. While working abroad, these employees will only be subject to the social security regulations of their home country. The Agreement provides that an employed or selfemployed person, other than detached workers shall be subject only to the legislation of the host country. The Agreement provides for refund of the contributions at the time of relocation. In so far as Switzerland is concerned, the person will be refunded the contributions in accordance with the Swiss legislation. In so far as India is concerned, the person will be paid the withdrawal benefit or the pension in Switzerland or a third country, as the case may be, in accordance with the Indian legislation at the time of relocation. The Agreement will come into effect after the fulfillment of the national requirements.

There are over 11,000 Indians in Switzerland and there are over 800 Swiss nationals working in India. There is potential for greater movement of workers between the two countries in future. This bilateral Social Security Agreement will enhance trade and investment between the two countries. India has signed similar agreements with Belgium, France and Germany in the recent past.

Friendship between India and Switzerland The emergence of friendship between India and Switzerland formally started with the Treaty of Friendship and Establishment of 1948 and was strengthened in various fields such as development, economy, and culture. The exchanges between the two countries have since then increased. The two nations had a first commercial contact in 1851 when Salomon and Johann Georg Volkart simultaneously founded their company Volkart Brothers in Bombay and Winterthur. They reacted to the increasing demand in Europe for products from the Indian subcontinent and of European products in India. The two pioneers and adventurers reached high prominence with their company in India. Furthermore, Mahatma Gandhi came to Switzerland in 1931 after having attended the Round Table Conference in London. He spent five days in Switzerland to meet his friend Romain Rolland. Swiss development cooperation with India started 50 years ago. The first project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) was initiated in 1963 in Kerala with the purpose to contribute towards the improvement of livestock in the State, mainly for dairy production. The successful result was an eight-fold increase in milk

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

production over 35 years in the region. From Kerala, SDC India geographically extended its activities to other regions and domains of cooperation, including to green technologies at present. Swiss agency for development and Cooperation: The Swiss agency for development and Cooperation (SDC) works in India with a central focus on poverty reduction. Geographically its cooperation programme has been concentrated on semi-arid regions of the central Deccan plateau (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra) as well as on Kerala, Rajasthan, Orissa, Sikkim and Gujarat. SDC's programmes have contributed to people's empowerment and poverty reduction by focusing on three productivity enhancing themes: retention and sustainable use of water, rural energy and housing, rural finance and employment creation. In addition, SDC has supported Indian organisations in the fight for inclusion and social justice and in the promotion of the decentralisation process. Considering the fast growing importance of India as a global actor, the availability in the country of financial and human resources to address the challenge of poverty and sustainable development, as well as the importance to build on more than 45 years of development cooperation with India, SDC in 2006 decided to engage into a new type of collaboration with India. The new Programme involves a shift from traditional/classical development cooperation, towards a collaboration based on common interests and shared investments, with the ultimate aim of reducing poverty. A key feature of this Programme is the exchange of know how and technologies between Switzerland and India and the promotion of South-South cooperation. Historical and Political Ties: Switzerland and India are in many respects close to each other. Swiss people, mainly artists and intellectuals, have since long been attracted to the historic and cultural

splendour and the puzzling diversity, including the philosophical and religious one, of the subcontinent. Thus, the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung, who during his trip to India in 1938, which he described thoroughly in his work, was honoured with three doctorates from Allahabad, Benaras and Calcutta universities. Or take the sculptor, painter and art historian Alice Boner (1889-1981) from Zurich, who spent not less than 45 years at the banks of the Ganga, in Benaras, and who was awarded the "Padmabhushan" in 1974 by the Indian President for her outstanding scholarly work on Indian art, especially sculpture and architecture. As to the well known Swiss travel writer Ella Maillard, she spent the years of the World War II in the ashram of Ramana Maharishi, south of Madras, and reflected her unique experience in the novel "Ti Puss". The strong relationship between Switzerland and India has been continually strengthened by Indian and Swiss dignitaries who believed in the potential of sharing ideas and concrete projects together. Therefore, it is not surprising that the first ever friendship treaty signed by independent India was with Switzerland, signed by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 14th August 1948. Ever since, the two countries have maintained a cordial friendship, kept alive by regular visits, economic and cultural activities. Mr. Nehru admired Switzerland as a model democratic state and sent his daughter Indira to a girl's boarding school in Bex, VD. Many members of the Indian leadership have been to Switzerland at one time or another and have helped to create a positive image of Switzerland in India. Switzerland and India have since long been enjoying mutually beneficial trade and economic ties but these relations got a new impetus in the beginning of the 1990s, when India's economy began opening up to the world market. Both sides have some core competencies, which our political leaders and business communities have always strived to put together, resulting in increased trade

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

and investment flows between the two countries. The bilateral relations between India and Switzerland have grown closer over time. On 1st April 1947, Switzerland opened a Trade Mission in India, which in 1948 was converted into a Mission and in 1957 into an Embassy. The present Swiss Ambassador to India is H.E. Mr. Philippe Welti. He is also accredited to Nepal and Bhutan. There is a Consulate General in Mumbai, which is currently headed by Mr. Peter Specker. Three Honorary Consuls are promoting relations between India and Switzerland in Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai. India opened a mission in Switzerland in 1948, which was elevated to an embassy in 1954. Since 1957 there has been a residing Ambassador in Bern. India maintains a General Consulate in Geneva and is represented by an Honorary Consul in Zurich. Economic Relations: Switzerland and India continue to be natural partners constantly working together to strengthen their relationship in various fields. In the recent years, economic relations between the two countries have been hoisted to a higher level of importance. This is reflected in the pace at which our total bilateral trade has increased from Swiss Francs 1.16 billion in 2002 to Swiss Francs 2.62 billion in 2006, reflecting an increase of 125 per cent in four years. This positive trend in the last years is set to continue: In the first eleven months of 2007, Swiss exports to India have gone up by 30 per cent whilst Indian exports to Switzerland have increased by 25 per cent, as compared to the same period of the previous year. In terms of foreign direct investments, Switzerland has remained amongst the top 10 foreign investors in India. About 150 Swiss companies have formed joint ventures or subsidiaries, and many more have representatives or agents in India. The Swiss technology-driven companies, including small and medium businesses, play a major role in the trade and investment flows to India. As more and more Indian companies are now venturing abroad, Switzerland is offering many attractive advantages as a business and investment location,

especially for those Indian companies which would like to cover their European business activities from within Switzerland. Our two countries have indeed a lot to offer to each other and to gain in developing cooperation in high-tech and knowledge-based industries. In fact, both sides are already trying to bring more vibrancy to the relationship by adopting focused approaches, and initiatives have already been taken in sectors such as biotechnology, textile machinery and railways. The Swiss Business Hub India (SBHI) which is part of Osec Business Network Switzerland and which is located in the Consulate General in Mumbai and the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi offers a wide range of services to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Switzerland and Liechtenstein in their efforts to penetrate the Indian market. The Swiss-Indian Chamber of Commerce (SICC) is a key actor in promoting Swiss-Indian bilateral trade and investment. SICC is a bi-national, nonprofit association with over 320 Swiss and Indian members. It has offices in Zurich, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai. The Chamber provides members in Switzerland and India access to firsthand information and expertise thanks to the reservoir of know-how offered by its board and extensive partner network in both countries. Recent years have also seen exchange of high-level visits, and intensification of the dialogue between the two governments to ensure that together they can explore new ways and means to further strengthen the trade and investment ties. Notably, India has been identified as a country of high importance in the framework of Switzerland's Foreign Economic Strategy. The EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and India will soon launch negotiations for a broad-based agreement on trade and investment. The Indo-Swiss joint economic commission meeting that used to be held every four years will now be held every year.

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

The instruments mentioned above and our bilateral agreements on the Double Taxation Avoidance, Promotion and Protection of Investments and an MOU on Intellectual Property Rights, will ensure that an increasing number of Swiss and Indian companies will find a shared interest in doing business together. The future looks very bright, and both sides are continuing their efforts to deepen and widen the bilateral trade and economic ties.

Cultural Connections Pro Helvetia - the Swiss Arts Council: Pro Helvetia New Delhi initiates, supports and presents projects that reflect the multicultural character of Switzerland and India. Pro Helvetia aims to provide opportunities to art practitioners for mutual enrichment and exchange in arts and culture. It supports Swiss artists seeking dialogue with Indian artists in an effort to forge closer ties. The focus is on quality and originality, on mutuality and respect, to ensure that both sides benefit from the exchange. The liaison office in New Delhi is the Swiss Arts Council's first office in Asia. Its aim is to coordinate Pro Helvetia's activities in the South Asia region starting with India. It supports artistic and cultural collaboration between India and Switzerland, and also promotes Swiss ideas and arts practices among Indian audiences.Contemporary music, theatre, design, dance, literature, photography and new media are the areas of focus. Bollywood in Switzerland: The love story between Switzerland and the Indian film industry dates way back to the mid-sixties, when Rajkapoor placed his cameras on Swiss soil for "Sangam", also "Evening in Paris" followed by more recent hits like "Chandni", "Darr", "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayaenge". Switzerland as a country offers white winters, colourful springs, sunny summers and golden autumn. Switzerland permits to shoot in public places, there is almost zero crime, and generous and helping people all around which gives a peaceful, hassle-free mindset to work. The first

"Swiss Filmfare Award 2001" was announced by the Consulate General of Switzerland where the Swiss Hollywood celebrity Ms. Ursula Andress presented the award to Mr. Yash Chopra. In the following year, the "Swiss Filmfare Award 2002" was presented to Shah Rukh Khan, this time by Geraldine Chaplin, who grew up in Switzerland.

Development Cooperation The international community is impressed by its economic and nuclear strength, while others emphasize the dark facets of this country and condemn the poverty and discrimination endured by many of its citizens, in particular minorities and untouchables (Dalits). Further sizeable challenges facing the government and people of India are a low job-creation rate, poor-quality public services and lack of access to them, as well as discrimination against women. Figures reveal that India has the largest number of poor people in the world. Even today, 350 million Indians live on less than 1 USD a day, 47% of children suffer from malnutrition and in some States, such as Punjab, the proportion of women to men is a mere 793/1000. This has been the background to Swiss development cooperation in India since 1961, aimed at helping to reduce poverty and contribute to sustainable, just rural development. In addition to the SDC, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) as well as around 60 Swiss non-governmental organizations (some of them with SDC support) are active in India. In 2006, the SDC started shifting the emphasis of its development cooperation programme with India towards a new type of collaboration known as a Partnership Program. This new program, which is much more modest in financial terms than the current program, has different procedures and thematic priorities, will become operational in 2010. Between 2007 and 2009, the programme will be making the transition from the traditional cooperation program, in effect since 1961, to the new Partnership Program.

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

Bilateral Agreements

» The Treaty of Friendship and Establishment of

14th August 1948, which came into force on 5th May 1948.

»

Indo Swiss Agreement on Technical and Scientific Co-operation signed on 27th September 1966.

» The Exchange of Letters on 20th February 1989

between Switzerland and India concerning assistance in criminal matters, which came into force on 20th February 1989.

»

The Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of India with respect to income taxes, which came into force on 29th December 1994.

» The Agreement on Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology for 5 years was signed on 13th September 1999.

» The Agreement for the Promotion and Protec-

tion of Investments between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of India, which came into force on 16th February 2000.

» Indo-Swiss Agreement relating to Co-operation in Air Services signed on 2nd May 2001.

» The Agreement on Co-operation in the fields

of Science and Technology between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Republic of India signed on 10th November 2003.

» The Grant Agreement between the State Sec-

retariat for Economic Affairs and the International Competence Center for Organic Agriculture in India signed on 3rd February 2005.

» A Memorandum of Understanding between the

Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs of Switzerland on intellectual property signed on 7th August 2007.

2009-Year of Science and Education of Switzerland in India: After successfully completing the celebration of 60 years of the Friendship Treaty between India and Switzerland in 2008, the celebration of this great friendship is being carried forwards in the year 2009, under the theme of Science and Education.The first bilateral treaty in the field of science and technology-the Indo-Swiss Agreement on Technical and Scientific Cooperation was signed in 1966. This was followed by a number of other bi-lateral treaties in this field. The appointment of a Counsellor for Science and Technology at the Embassy and an Executive Director, swissnex, for India, emphasized the commitment towards strengthening ties between both countries and especially in the field of S&T. The year 2009 has been commenced with various projects, planned and finalized, under the theme of science and education with the objective of expanding the horizons of synergies between both countries.

Switzerland : Fact Sheet Background: The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons. In succeeding years, other localities joined the original three. The Swiss Confederation secured its independence from the Holy Roman Empire in 1499. Switzerland’s sovreignty and neutrality have long been honored by the major European powers, and the country was not involved in either of the two World Wars. The political and economic integration of Europe over the past half century, as well as Switzerland’s role in many UN and international organizations, has strengthened Switzerland’s ties with its neighbors. However, the country did not officially become a UN member until 2002. Switzerland remains active in many UN and international organizations, but retains a strong commitment to neutrality.

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

» Location : Central Europe, east of France, north of Italy » Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 8 00 E » Area : total: 41,290sqkm » Land : 39,770 sq km » Water : 1,520 sq km » Natural resources : hydropower potential, timber, salt » Population : 7,489,370 (July 2005 est.) » Age structure : 0-14 years: 16.6% (male 643,497/female 597,565) 15-64 » Years : 68% (male 2,570,544/female 2,522,365) 65 » Years and Over : 15.4% (male 472,769/female 682,630) (2005 est.) » Population Growth Rate : 0.49% (2005 est.) » Ethnic Groups : German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6% » Religions : Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, Musim 4.3%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census) » Literacy : definition: age 15 and over can read and write » Total Population : 99% (1980 est.) » Capital : Bern » Independence : 1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation) » National Holiday : Founding of the Swiss Confederation, 1 August (1291) Economy Overview : Switzerland is a peaceful, prosperous, and stable modern market economy with unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a per capita GDP larger than that of the big Western European economies. The Swiss in recent years have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU’s to enhance their international competitiveness. Switzerland remains a safe haven for investors, because it has maintained a degree of bank secrecy and has kept up the franc’s longterm external value. Reflecting the anemic economic conditions of Europe, GDP growth dropped in 2001 to about 0.8%, to 0.2% in 2002, and to -0.3% in 2003, with a small rise to 1.8% in 2004. Even so, unemployment has remained at less than half the EU average. GDP (PPP Basis) : $251.9 billion (2004 est.) GDP - Real Growth Rate : 1.8% (2004 est.) GDP - Per Capita : Purchasing power parity - $33,800 (2004 est.) GDP - Composition By Sector: » Agriculture: 1.5% » Industry: 34% » Services: 64.5% (2003 est.)

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Section -1 (Article : India-Switzerland Bilateral Relation)

» Inflation Rate : 0.9% (2004 est.) » Industrial Production Growth Rate : 4.7% (2004 est.) » Exports - Commodities : Machinery, Chemicals, Metals, Watches, Agricultural Products » Exports - Partners : Germany 20.2%, US 10.5%, France 8.7%, Italy 8.3%, UK 5.1%, Spain 4% (2004) » Imports - Commodities : machinery, chemicals, vehicles, metals; agricultural products, textiles » Import - Partners : Germany 32.8%, Italy 11.3%, France 9.9%, US 5.2%, Netherlands 5%, Austria 4.3% (2004)

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Section -1 (Article : India and United Nations )

India and United Nations Significant Contributions for Peace and Development By Avadhesh Pandey

Author is an Expert of Economic and political Issues and working as a Freelance Editor

As a founder member of the United Nations, India has been a firm supporter of the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations, and has made significant contributions to the furtherance and implementation of these noble aims, and to the evolution and functioning of its various specialized programmes. It stood at the forefront during the UN's tumultuous years of struggle against colonialism and apartheid, its struggle towards global disarmament and the ending of the arms race, and towards the creation of a more equitable international economic order. At the very first session of the UN, India had raised its voice against colonialism and apartheid, two issues which have been among the most significant of the UN's successes in the last half century. India exulted in the UN's triumph, and saw in the UN's victory, a vindication of the policy relentlessly pursued by it from its initial days at the world forum. At the beginning of the 21st century, new challenges are before us. Freed from the shackles of the Cold War, the UN stands poised to grapple with the changes which the world has witnessed over the years. Today's challenges, be they political, economic, social, environmental or demographic, are global, impinging on the affairs of all States and making the interdependence of peoples so much greater. If this demands a greater dependence on the UN as the only democratic, universal forum for the community of nations, it also demands a strengthening of the UN itself and its revitalization. The ongoing reform process is primarily aimed towards these ends. A revitalized and strengthened United Nations and a more representative Security Council will enable this unique organisation to face the challenges of the 21st century more effectively. As the United Nations strives to find solutions to these issues, India pledges to work, with abiding

faith and hope, towards UN's success, and to assume greater responsibilities that the world community expects from it. Indian Contribution: India is one of the largest contributors to the core resources of UNDP and a significant contributor to those of UNFPA and UNICEF. India is also a major contributor to the core resources of and the World Food Programme. India's contribution to these funds is higher than that of many OECD countries. We hope that the developed countries will also increase their contributions to untied and apolitical resources for development.India has contributed US $ 100,000 to the UNCTAD Trust Fund for the least Developed countries. It has also been contributing US $ 50,000 per annum to the ITC Global Trust Fund since its inception in 1996. It also makes substantial voluntary contributions to UNEP, Habitat, UN Drug Control Programme, UNRWA, UNIFEM UN Volunteers etc. UN Peacekeeping: over and over again, India has risked the lives of its soldiers in peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations, not for any strategic gain, but in the service of an ideal. India's ideal was, and remains, strengthening the world body, and international peace and security. Indian troops have taken part in some of the most difficult operations, and have suffered casualties in the service of the UN. Professional excellence of the Indian troops has won universal admiration. India has taken part in the UN peacekeeping operations in four continents. Its most significant contribution has been to peace and stability in Africa and Asia. It has demonstrated its unique capacity of sustaining large troops commitments over prolonged periods. Presently, India is ranked as one of the largest troop contributors to the UN. India has also offered one brigade of troops to the

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Section -1 (Article : India and United Nations )

UN Standby Arrangements. Over 55,000 Indian Military and Police personnel have served under the UN flag in 35 UN peace keeping operations in all the continents of the globe. India provided a paramedical unit to facilitate withdrawal of the sick at wounded in Korea. After the ceasefire, India became the Chairman of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission. One brigade group of the Indian Army participated in the operation in Korea, authorized by the UN General Assembly through Uniting for Peace resolution. Indian troops provided guards for the prisoners of war. India also contributed to peace in the Middle East. The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was created in 1956 following cessation of hostilities between Egypt and Israel. India provided an infantry battalion, which accounted for the bulk of the UN force. Over 11 years, from 1956 to 1967, more than 12,000 Indian troops took part in UNEF. Pursuant to the Geneva Accord, an International Control Commission (ICC) for Indo-China was set up in 1954. India was the Chairman of the Commission, which implemented the ceasefire agreement between Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and France. India provided one infantry battalion and supporting staff until the ICC was wound up in 1970. The UN faced one of its worst crises when war between the government and the secessionist forces broke out in Congo. The UN operation in the Congo, ONUC, was unique in many ways. The operation involved heavy casualties. It was also the first time that the UN undertook an operation in an intra -State, rather than an interState conflict. The operation upheld the national unity and territorial integrity of the Congo. The Indian contingent lost 39 men in action in the Congo. The performance of the Indian troops was distinguished by their discipline, self-restraint and humanitarian concern. Indian Army provided a Force Commander and observers for the Observer Mission in Yemen in

1963-64 (UNYOM). India also participated in the UN operation in Cyprus (UNFICYP). India provided three Force Commanders to UNFICYP, Gen. K.S. Thimmaya, Lt. Gen. P.S. Gyani and Lt. Gen. Dewan Prem Chand. The UN set up a Military Observer Group to monitor the situation on Iran-Iraq border. India provided military observers during the period 198890. Following the end of the Gulf War, the UN established the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM). Indian observers continue to participate in the operation. UN operation in Namibia is considered one of the success stories of the United Nations. Lt. Gen. Prem Chand of India was the Force Commander. Indian military observers in Namibia were responsible for the smooth withdrawal of foreign troops, elections and subsequent handing over of the authority to the government. UN established the ONUMOZ to restore peace and conduct elections in Mozambique. India provided a large contingent of staff officers, military observers, independent headquarters company, and engineering and logistics company. The operation has ended successfully. In recent times, one of the biggest peace keeping operations which was completed successfully was the UN operation in Cambodia. India provided an infantry battalion, military observers and a field ambulance unit. India has also regularly sent military observers to various UN operations. This includes ONUCA (Central America) in 1990-92, ONUSAL (El Salvador) in 1991 and UNOMIL (Liberia) in 1994. The UN Operation in Somalia is considered one of the most difficult and challenging operations the UN has ever attempted. Indian naval ships and personnel were involved in patrolling duties off the Somali coast, in humanitarian assistance

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Section -1 (Article : India and United Nations )

on shore, and also in the transportation of men and material for the United Nations. The UNOSOM II operation involved peace enforcement under Chapter VII. The objective was humanitarian relief. The Indian contingent successfully combined the often conflicting roles of coercive disarmament and humanitarian relief to the civilian population. With stand-alone capacity, the Indian brigade had operational responsibilities for one-third of Somalia viz. 1,73,000 sq. km area of responsibility, the largest ever held by any contingent. In spite of such a large areas of operations, there were minimum civilian casualties in the area of responsibility of the Indian contingent. The Indian contingent dug a large number of wells, constructed schools and mosques, and ran mobile dispensaries and relief camps, which provided veterinary care, and medical and humanitarian relief to a large number of Somalis and their livestock. In spite of suffering casualties the Indian contingent exercised utmost restraint in firing in self defence. It also organized and carried out rehabilitation and resettlement of thousands of refugees and helped to repatriate them to their homes. The Indian contingent played a vital role in reviving the political process by organizing reconciliation meetings. The last remaining units of the Indian contingent were repatriated from Somalia on board Indian naval ships from Kismayo port. India demonstrated its capacity to provide an integrated force, comprising land and naval forces as well as air support. India provided a contingent comprising one infantry battalion and support elements to the UN assistance mission in Rwanda to help ensure security for the refugees, and to create conditions for free and fair elections. After successful completion of the assignment, the Indian contingent was repatriated in April 1996. The Indian army has participated in the successive phases of the UN mission in Angola since 1989. The Indian contingent comprised one infantry battalion group, one engineer company,

staff officers and military observers. The contingent has made a sizeable contribution towards construction of quartering camps. The Indian contingent was also involved in rebuilding bridges over the Conga, Rio Quisaju, Rio Mugige and Rio N'hia Rivers. One high risk task was the demining of the main arterial road connecting Lobito and Huambo and repairing a 60 mile stretch of the road. The Indian contingent has also built a 3,300 feet airstrip at Londuimbali. The Deputy Force Commander was an Indian army officer. India also participated in the UN Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA), which succeeded UNAVEM III. The Chief Military Observer of the UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) was also an Indian army officer. India provided a medical unit and civilian police personnel to UNOMSIL. After the upgradation of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone in November-December 1999, India provided two infantry battalion groups, a quick reaction company, a field engineering company, a level III medical facility, a special forces company, an artillery battery, transport and attack helicopters and the backbone of the force headquarters in Freetown. Maj. Gen. V.K.Jetley was the first UN Force Commander in Sierra Leone. India has also provided an infantry battalion to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The Force Commander of UNIFIL is Maj.Gen. L.M. Tewari. India is also currently participating in the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) with an infantry battalion, a Force Reserve Company and a Field Engineer Construction Company. Recent peacekeeping operations have tended to be multi-dimensional, and include police monitors and election observers. India has contributed police personnel and election observers to the UN peacekeeping operations in Cambodia, Mozambique and Angola. India provided 123 police personnel to UN mission in Haiti (Phase II). India has also provided police monitors for

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the UN International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL), Western Sahara (MINURSO) and Kosovo (UNMIK). In addition, two companies of CRPF have deployed in UNMIK as Special Police units. The Police Commissioner of MINURSO is an Indian Police Officer, Mr. O.P. Rathor. India sent Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar, as the Force Commander of UNPROFOR in former Yugoslavia in 1992-93. India has also provided senior staff to assist the UN Secretary-General at the UN Headquarters. Major Gen. I. J. Rikhye served as Military Advisor to the UN Secretary General from 1960 to 1969. India also hosted a UN Regional Training Workshop for Peacekeeping Operations in New Delhi during January 20-26, 1996 in which 17 countries of the Asia-Pacific region participated. Mr. Kofi Annan, the then Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping visited India in this connection. India also held an International Seminar on UN Peacekeeping in March 1999 in which over 70 countries participated. The United Services Institution (USI) of India hosted another seminar in New Delhi in September 2000 in collaboration with the Swedish National Defence College. A Centre for UN Peacekeeping (CUNPK) was set up under the aegis of USI in New Delhi in 2000. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan visited the Centre in March 2001 during his visit to India. India has considerable experience in demining activities and has made significant contributions to the de-mining work in various missions in Rwanda, Mozambique, Somalia, Angola and Cambodia. Experienced Indian Army Engineers have been employed for training of selected personnel from the host countries to execute mine clearance programmes as also to generate awareness of the problem among the local people. Indian Army has also undertaken mine clearance projects in support of repatriation and rehabilitation programmes of the UNHCR.

India has also provided opportunities for training to military officers from different countries. India has, at present, army training teams in six countries: Seychelles, Laos, Mauritius, Botswana, Zambia and Bhutan. India has also offered diverse courses to service personnel at various military training institutions across the country. This includes officers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, France, Germany, Japan, Jordan, Kazakastan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, UAE, UK, USA, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Cadets from countries such as Maldives, Palestine, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and also many African States receive precommission training at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Over 100 Indian soldiers and officers have sacrificed their lives while serving in UN peacekeeping operations. Disarmament: Since independence, India has consistently pursued the objective of global disarmament based on the principles of universality, nondiscrimination and effective compliance. Given the horrific destructive capacity of nuclear weapons, India has always believed that a world free of nuclear weapons would enhance both global security and India's own national security. Thus India has always advocated that the highest priority be given to nuclear disarmament as a first step towards general and complete disarmament. As early as 1948, India called for limiting the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes only, and the elimination of atomic weapons from national armaments. India was the first country to call to an end to all nuclear testing in 1954. This was followed up in subsequent decades by many other initiatives, for example, on the Partial Test Ban Treaty, and the call for international negotiations on nuclear non-proliferation. In 1978, India proposed negotiations for an international convention that would prohibit the use or threat of use

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of nuclear weapons. This was followed by another initiative in 1982 calling for a "nuclear freeze" i.e. prohibition on the production of fissile material for weapons, on production of nuclear weapons, and related delivery systems. At the special sessions of the United Nations General Assembly on disarmament, India put forward a number of serious proposals including the 1988 Comprehensive Plan for total elimination of weapons of mass destruction in a phased manner. It was a matter of regret that the proposals made by India along with several other countries did not receive a positive response and instead, a limited and distorted non-proliferation agenda, meant above all to perpetuate nuclear weapons was shaped. India was compelled by considerations of national security to establish and adopt a policy of keeping its nuclear option open while it continued to work for global nuclear disarmament. India's nuclear capability was demonstrated in 1974. India exercised an unparalleled restraint in not weaponising its nuclear capability. It is relevant to recall, that during this period, when we voluntarily and totally desisted from testing, over 35,000 nuclear weapons were developed through a series of tests by states possessing nuclear weapons. This has happened even as Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty committed the Nuclear Weapons States, party to the NPT, to take steps in good faith for nuclear disarmament. India was obliged to stand apart on the CTBT in 1996 after having been actively engaged in the negotiations for two and a half years precisely because the issues of non-proliferation, global disarmament and India's concerns about her security and strategic autonomy were ignored. India's continued commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation is clear from the voluntary measures announced by India after undertaking a limited series of underground nuclear tests last year. India remains committed to converting its voluntary moratorium into a de jure obligation accordance with our long held positions disarmament, and in response to the desire of the international community that the CTBT should

come into effect in September 1999. India has declared that it will maintain minimum credible nuclear deterrent and will not engage in an arms race. India has declared a no-first-use doctrine. We are willing to strengthen this commitment by undertaking bilateral agreements as well as by engaging in discussions for a global no-first-use agreement. India believes that a global no-firstuse agreement would be the first step towards the delegitimization of nuclear weapons. India remains the only state possessing nuclear weapons to unambiguously call for a Nuclear Weapons Convention to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons just as the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) have banned the other two categories of weapons of destruction. Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation: In 1996, India, along with the members of the Group of 21 countries, put forward proposal, submitted to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), of a Programme of Action calling for a phased elimination of nuclear weapons (1996-2020). India has unambiguously indicated its commitment the establishment of an ad hoc committee in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to negotiate global nuclear disarmament. India is also the only state with nuclear weapons, which responded positively to certain aspects of the 8-Nation initiative on disarmament, entitled "Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World", put forward in June 1998 by Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden. At the NAM Summit in Durban, at India's initiative, NAM agreed that an international conference be held, preferably in 1999, with the objective of arriving at an agreement, before the end of this millennium, on a phased programme for the complete elimination of all nuclear weapons. The call for the elimination of nuclear weapons was reiterated once again by Prime Minister in his address to the UN General Assembly in 1998. India remains committed to cooperating with like minded states to attain this goal. India also introduced a resolution in the 53rd General Assembly

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calling for reducing nuclear danger by de-alerting nuclear weapons. India is fully committed to the goal of curbing nuclear proliferation in all its aspects. It was at India's initiative that the item "non-proliferation of nuclear weapons" was included in the agenda of the UN in 1964. In 1965, India along with other like-minded countries submitted a joint memorandum towards achieving a solution to the problem of proliferation; it included the conclusion of an international nuclear non-proliferation treaty. However, the NPT as it emerged from these negotiations, was flawed and discriminatory, seeking to create a permanent division between the nuclear ‘haves' and 'have-nots'. India believes that the indefinite and unconditional extension of the NPT in May 1995 has only served to legitimize nuclear arsenals of the NPT states possessing nuclear weapons into perpetuity, thus posing a major obstacle to the goal of global nuclear disarmament. The NPT Preparatory Commission (PrepCom) meetings held in 1997 and 1998 have also clearly demonstrated the reluctance on the part of the states possessing nuclear weapons to take steps towards a speedy process of global nuclear disarmament. India has developed wide-ranging expertise in nuclear technology and ensured through a stringent and effective system of export controls that there is no proliferation of these technologies for weapons purposes. India's record in this matter is, in fact, better than some of the NPT signatories. At the same time, we are against ad hoc regimes or cartels which restrict high technology in an arbitrary, unequal and patently discriminatory manner. They need to be universalised, made transparent and equitable. Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: India's commitment to a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing dates back to 1954 when Jawaharlal Nehru called for a "standstill agreement" whereby testing of all nuclear weapons was to be immediately suspended, pending an agreement on their complete prohibition. It was again at India's initiative

that the item "Suspension of Nuclear and ThermoNuclear Tests" was included in the agenda of the UN in 1959. During the course of the negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva on the CTBT, India put forward a number of proposals consistent with the mandate adopted by the CD in 1994. These proposals were aimed at ensuring that the CTBT would be truly comprehensive and would be part of the step-by-step process of eliminating all nuclear weapons. However, these proposals were regrettably ignored and instead, Article XIV on Entry into Force requiring India to join the treaty before it became operational was adopted in violation of basic treaty law. India was thus forced to declare its opposition to the CTBT as it emerged. After concluding a series of tests on May 13, 1998, India immediately announced a voluntary moratorium on further underground nuclear test explosions. In announcing this moratorium, India accepted the core obligation of a test ban and also addressed the general wish of the international community. India also announced its willingness to move towards a de jure formalization of the voluntary undertaking. India is now engaged in discussions with key interlocutors on a range of issues, including the CTBT. India is prepared to bring these discussions to a successful conclusion. For the successful conclusion of talks, creation of a positive environment by India's interlocutors is a necessary ingredient. India expects that other countries, as indicated in Article XIV of the CTBT, will adhere to this Treaty without conditions. Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT): India supports the ban on production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes. This demand has been articulated by India in the UN through concrete proposals like the Action Plan which it presented in 1988. India also co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution (48/75 L) in 1993, which called for an early commencement of negotiations for the prohibition of the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear ex-

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plosive devices. India has joined the consensus in the Conference on Disarmament on establishing an ad hoc committee to negotiate a FMCT. India believes that this is an integral part of the nuclear disarmament process. It would also go a long way in arresting problems of illegal transfers of nuclear material. India supports efforts for negotiations on a universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable fissile material cut-off treaty that would prohibit the future production of fissile material for weapons purposes but would permit such production for civilian uses. Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) and Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZs): India has always maintained that NSAs provide illusory benefits, and that the real security assurance is complete elimination of nuclear weapons, and also that in the interim, if NSAs are to be given, they should be provided through an international, comprehensive, legally-binding and irreversible agreement. Similarly, consideration of security assurances in the narrow strait-jacket of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZS) cannot do justice to the wide variety of concerns that emanate from the global nature of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. As a responsible state possessing nuclear weapons, India has stated that it does not intend to use nuclear weapons to commit aggression or for mounting threats against any country. India respects the sovereign choice exercised by states not possessing nuclear weapons in establishing NWFZs on the basis of agreements freely arrived at among the states of the region concerned. At the fifth session of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, India stated that it fully respects the status of the Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in South East Asia and is ready to convert this commitment into a legal obligation. India will remain responsive to the expressed need for commitments to other nuclear weapon free zones as well. Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC): Convention has India is an original signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention, having signed it on 14 January 1993, and was among the first 65 countries to have ratified the Treaty. The univer-

sal and non-discriminatory character of the CWC are primarily responsible for the large number of signatories and the equally large numbers of ratifications. The implementation of the CWC involves a combination of voluntary declarations and mandatory verification arrangements aimed at ensuring compliance in a transparent and universal manner. A National Authority (NA) has been set up to oversee implementation of the Convention in India. As the first Chairperson of the Executive Council of the Organization for Chemical Weapons (OPCW), India guided the deliberations of the organization during its crucial first year. Implementation of all obligations assumed by India to the Convention and related activities have proceeded satisfactorily. India believes that the provisions of the Convention require to be implemented in a non-discriminatory manner. National implementing legislations containing provisions which undermine the Convention hold out the prospect of leading to matching responses by other -states parties thereby leading to an unnecessary dilution of the spirit and the confidence reposed in the CWC by a great majority of countries party to the CWC. Similarly, the existence of technology denial regimes such as the Australia Group remains an aberration when seen against the large number of ratifications the enjoyed so far. Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC): India ratified the Biological Weapons Convention in 1974. India has participated in all four Review Conferences of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and in the meetings of the Group of Governmental Experts. India is currently participating in the negotiations of the Ad hoc Group of the States Parties of the BTWC with the aim to strengthen the convention by a protocol, including possible verification measures. India maintains that these measures should be non-discriminatory and avoid any negative impact on scientific research, international cooperation and industrial development. Anti-Personnel Landmines (APLS): India is fully committed to the eventual elimination of antipersonnel landmines and achievement of the objective of a nondiscriminatory and universal ban

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on APLS. A beginning can be made with a ban on export and transfer of APLS, that would enjoy an international consensus, and by addressing humanitarian. concerns and legitimate defence requirements of states. India is sensitive to the humanitarian aspects of the landmine crisis and the need for a strong international response. Aware that APLs have been used indiscriminately in conflicts not of an international nature, India has called for a ban on their use in all internal conflicts. India follows a conscious policy of not exporting APLS. India has also been contributing to UN demining efforts since the Congo peacekeeping operations in 1963. An officer of the Indian Army is presently deployed with the UN Mine Action Centre in Bosnia. India is presently in the process of ratifying amended Protocol II of the 1980 Inhumane Weapons Convention (CCW), which deals with anti-personnel landmines. India stands ready to negotiate a ban on the export and transfer of landmines in the Conference on Disarmament. Transparency in Conventional Weapons Transfers and Small Arms: India is committed to strengthening the norm of transparency in conventional armaments in general, and greater participation in the UN Register of Conventional Arms in particular. India has reported to the Register annually since 1994. The issue of proliferation of, and illicit trafficking in, small arms has moved up the agenda of the international community on disarmament issues. India is acutely aware of this problem and intends to participate actively in international search for effective solutions, including a proposed international conference to discuss the issue of illicit trafficking in small arms in all its aspects. Environment: India is among the top 12 mega centres of the world in terms of its genetic diversity. It has a wide range of geoclimatic conditions and a rich and varied flora and fauna, as well as a long standing tradition of environmental sensibility and concern that goes to the very roots of its millennia-old culture. Harmony with nature has been an integral part of the ethos of Indian

society.The then Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, was the sole foreign head of state or government to participate in the United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm in June 1972, at a time when international concern over environmental issues was yet to fully crystallise. At that session she emphasised that the environmental concerns cannot be viewed in isolation from developmental imperatives. India considers environmental and developmental issues to be closely intertwined. It fully supports international cooperation in the field of the environment so as to effectively deal with global environmental problems. It is committed to a global partnership that simultaneously seeks to protect the environment while addressing the development requirements and aspirations of the developing countries. India has consistently played an important role in the evolution of an international consensus to tackle major global environmental issues. It was an active participant in the process leading up to and culminating in the convening of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in June, 1992. The Rio Conference affirmed the importance of sustainable development, which encompasses both development and environmental protection. Agenda 21, adopted by the Rio meet, provides a blueprint on how to make development socially, economically sustainable. Despite constraints, India has initiated several activities and programmes in the context of Agenda 21, which are consistent with its national goals and objectives. India is a party to numerous multilateral environmental conventions which contribute to the protection of the environment and to sustainable development. These include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International importance, the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes, the Convention on

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Combating Desertification, and the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and2 Fauna. India is also an active member of the Commission on Sustainable Development that was set up after the Rio Conference to monitor the implementation of Agenda 21. India is among the leading countries in the vanguard of efforts directed at environmental protection. It has in position an elaborate framework of environmental legislation for the conservation of forests, preservation of wildlife and the control of water, air and soil pollution. It has a network of protected areas converting 84 national parks and 447 wildlife sanctuaries. India has also introduced the Eco-Mark label for environment-friendly products, requires the undertaking of Environment Impact Assessment before commencing major industrial projects, has in 2position functioning Environmental Tribunals as well as an effective system of Environmental Audit. At the Special Session of the UN General Assembly held in June 1997 to review the progress made five years after the Rio meet, India expressed its disappointment over the lack of fulfillment at the international level of commitments voluntarily undertaken by the industrialised countries at Rio. On its part, India reiterated its commitment to the global partnership established at Rio de Janeiro. Human Rights: In India the concept of human rights emphasizing pivotal position of individual citizen stretches back to the first millennia. Human rights have been an inherent component of various philosophies that have flourished in India. The leaders of the Indian National Movement stressed the primacy of human rights in the future constitutional set-up. The Indian Constitution, as a result, stands as one of the most comprehensive and self-contained documents on human rights. India took active part in drafting of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Dr (Mrs). Hansa Mehta, a Gandhian political activist and social

worker who led the Indian delegation, had made important contributions in drafting of the Declaration, especially highlighting the need for reflecting gender equality. India is fully committed to the rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration. India is a signatory to the six core human rights covenants, and also the two Optional Protocols to the Convention of the Rights of the Child. India has been advocating a holistic and integrated approach that gives equal emphasis to all human rights, based on their inter-dependence, inter-relatedness, indivisibility and universality, and reinforces the inter-relationship between democracy, development, human rights and international cooperation for development. India had played an active role as member of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) since its creation in 1947. India was elected in 2006 as a member of the newly established Human Rights Council (HRC), which replaced the CHR, by securing the highest number of votes among the contested seats. India was re-elected again as a member in 2007 by securing the highest votes by polling 185 votes out of 190 votes cast. India attaches great importance to the Human Rights Council and is committed to make the Council a strong, effective and efficient body capable of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. The National Commission for Human Rights (NHRC), established in India in 1993, serves as an independent and autonomous body for protection of human rights in the country. The Commission is now very much part of the life of the nation and, increasingly, of consequence to the quality of its governance. Awareness of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and included in the international instruments to which India is a State party, has increased dramatically in the country. The enactment by the Indian Parliament in August, 2005 of a Rural Employment Guarantee Act, providing for 100 days of assured employment in a year to every rural household, is a step in the

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direction of ensuring justiciability of economic and social rights. The Right to Information Act passed by the Indian Parliament in 2005 is a testimony to India’s commitment for providing access to information to the citizens. India is fully committed to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. India adopted a rights-based approach to promoting equality of women and evolved a multifaceted strategy aimed at their empowerment through awareness-raising, political participation, economic independence, education, health, and legal standards. The objective is to enable women to overcome disadvantages that they face and to enable them to play an effective and equal role in society. Among the most important of these measures include reservation of one-third seats in local and village-level bodies, and formulation of National Policy for the Empowerment of Women in 2001, provision for immediate and emergency relief to women in situations of domestic violence, amendment to the Hindu Succession Act to give daughters and widows equal right in ancestral property including agricultural land, dowry prohibition and prevention of immoral trafficking. India adopted a National Charter for Children in 2003 to reiterate its commitment to the cause of the child in order to see that no child remains hungry, illiterate or sick. The right to free and compulsory education for all children, in the age group of 6 to 14 years, has been made a fundamental right in 2002 by an amendment to the Constitution. India has a proactive stand on the issue of child protection and in creating a protective environment for children. Towards this end, India has undertaken several initiatives, notably a National Commission for Protection of Child’s Rights has been set up in February 2007 to provide speedy trial of offence against children or of violation of child’s rights, thus ensuring effective implementation of laws and programmes relating to children. Eradication of child labour in all occupations and industries is one of the most important priorities of the Government of India. The National Human Rights Commission and the civil

society, including non-Governmental organisations, have been supplementing Government’s efforts in eradication of child labour in the country. The rights of vulnerable groups have received special mention in India ever since independence and the Constitution itself contains extensive provisions for the promotion and protection of the rights of all minorities, including some special groups of people unique to Indian society known as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. These measures have been further strengthened through a recent amendment of the Constitution granting the Scheduled Tribes local self-government and a high degree of autonomy in the management of their day-to-day affairs, control over natural resources, and other development activities in the areas where they live. Independent institutions such as National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and National Commission for Minorities are effectively promoting and protecting the rights of these vulnerable groups. Further, National Minorities Development and Financial Corporation and National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC) have been set up to promote economic and development activities of minorities and Other Backward Classes. India became seventh country to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. India had participated actively in the deliberations of the Ad Hoc Committee of the UN General Assembly on finalisation of a Convention on the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities. The enactment in India of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act in 1995 marked a significant step towards providing equal opportunities for people with disabilities and their full participation in the nation building. The Government had also set up National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities in 2001 and a National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation in 1997 to promote economic devel-

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opment activities, including self-employment programmes, for the benefit of persons with disabilities.

countries, that has brought them to a stage where they can set the goals of economic and social development for their societies.

Struggle Against Colonialism: The purposes of the UN Charter include promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. This was by no means an easy quest. In 1945, when the UN Charter was signed, more than 750 million people lived in colonies. A half century later, the number is only about 1.3 million. India was in the forefront of the struggle against colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination - a struggle that has transformed the lives of millions of people in Africa and Asia.

UN Needs Reform

The Charter provisions on Non-Self Governing Territories were given a new thrust when the UN adopted the landmark 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. India was a co-sponsor of the Declaration. The Declaration solemnly proclaimed the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end, colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.

The UN needs reform. On that everyone agrees. But there is sharp disagreement on what kind of reform is needed and for what purpose. Again and again over the years, the UN has been reformed – on average once every eight years. But the pace has now quickened and reform projects seem almost a constant part of the landscape. Foundations, think tanks and blue ribbon commissions regularly call for institutional renovation at the UN. Secretary Generals frequently re-organize departments and set up new coordinating committees. NGOs gather to press their reform causes. Diplomats negotiate. And from Washington come somber warnings that the UN must "reform or die." But after the fireworks, the same problems persist – because the shortcomings of the UN are primarily rooted in the dysfunctional global order and the conflict-prone state system, not in the UN's institutional arrangements.

The following year, the Special Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on Decolonization was established to study, investigate and recommend action to bring an end to colonialism. India was elected the first Chairman of the Decolonization Committee. As a member of the Committee of 24, as it came to be called, India has ceaselessly struggled for an end to colonialism. India also took up the decolonization issue in the Trusteeship Committee, the Special Committee on Non-self Governing Territories and the Fourth Committee.

Few reformers are willing to admit that the UN's complex and inefficient machinery results from deep political disagreements among its members and between other contending forces in the global system. Yet the United States, military superpower and transnational corporate headquarters, clearly wants a weak UN with an impossibly small budget and scarcely any voice in economic matters. Many other nations, to the contrary, want a stronger UN and more effective multilateral policy making. Whose "reform" is to prevail? And how will any newly-devised UN institutions be paid for?

India supported numerous resolutions in the UN fora on decolonization. India has also raised the issue in NAM and Commonwealth fora. For coming generations, colonialism may be a part of history: new challenges of tomorrow have to be faced. However, it was the struggle against colonialism, successfully waged in solidarity by the Afro-Asian

UN Reform debates have revealed deep divides between states and among NGOs and other reform advocates. While some seek to strengthen the UN and improve accountability and efficiency, there are those who seek reform only on their terms. The US consistently pushes its own agenda for change and aims to weaken the UN. Various

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areas of UN Reform, include the Security council, The Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC), The General Assembly, The Human Rights Council, The Peacebuilding Commission, Management Reform, Responsibility to Protect, , and the creation of a UN Standing Force. The Millennium+5 reforms, proposed by the Secretary General Kofi Annan in March 2005, were neither ambitious nor far-reaching. Designed to please (or at least not to displease) the superpower, they substantially ignored the most urgent issues – the UN's financial woes, the unilateralism of the superpower, the absence of real disarmament, and the shaky and unjust global economic order. For a time, it seemed that these modest if flawed reforms might nevertheless be adopted. But as the summit approached, negotiations faltered, due largely to last-minute, far-reaching demands from Washington. In the end, the world leaders approved an embarrassingly weak document, filled mostly with empty platitudes. It remains to be seen how the UN will weather this contentious and divisive reform process, and what avenues remain open for a stronger and more effective multilateral system. Over the years, there have been numerous initiatives to reform the UN. These range from summits of heads of state, to panels of experts, to the reform efforts by UN Secretary Generals. GPF follows and critically analyses the actions of these UN reform initiatives and monitors subsequent progress.

Financing of the UN is an additional source for debate. As a solution to the constant financial shortages faced by the organization, many experts have suggested Alternative Financing schemes such as Global Taxes to improve the UN financial situation and make the organization less dependent on government contributios.

(IMP) Get UPSCPORTAL , Jobs, Results, Notification Alerts on Email. Step-1: Fill Your Email address in form below. you will get a confirmation email within 10 min. Step-2: Varify your email by clicking on the link in the email. (check Inbox and Spam folders) Step-3: Done! Now you will regular Alerts on your email.

NGOs and businesses are new actors within the United Nations, an organization originally reserved for states. NGOs are increasingly active in policy making at the United Nations, though the relationship between the two remains contentious at times. Although of increasing importance, NGOs do not have a formal role at the UN and have suffered disappointing setbacks due to their limited access. Transnational corporations on the other hand have a more controversial relationship with the UN, as UN and business are gaining a bigger role, putting the integrity of the UN at stake.

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Fiji Suspended from Commonwealth Failed to Opening Talks on a Return to Democracy

By Sangeeta Gupta

Author is an Expert of Various Competitive Examinations

The Commonwealth has suspended Fiji after the Pacific Island nation failed to meet a deadline for opening talks on a return to democracy on September 01, 2009.Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said it was with 'deep regret' and 'sorrow' that the organisation had to fully suspend Fiji from the grouping of 53 nations, mostly former British colonies. Fiji had already been suspended from Commonwealth meetings. The tougher sanction means that the country is not eligible for Commonwealth aid and will be barred from the Commonwealth Games. In April, Fiji's president reappointed coup leader Frank Bainimarama as interim prime minister, less than two days after a court ruled his 2006 coup illegal. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo had previously annulled the 1997 constitution and sacked the entire judiciary. Bainimarama, who had promised an election this year, has now ruled it out until 2014. Commonwealth ministers said on July 31 that Fiji would be fully suspended on September 1 unless Fiji's rulers committed to re-activating a forum set up for political parties to discuss a return to democracy. They said the dialogue should lead to a credible election no later than October 2010. Secretary General Sharma said that, although Bainimarama had sent him a letter re-affirming his commitment to the principles of the Commonwealth, his response did not meet the Commonwealth's conditions. According to him, it is hoped that Fiji would take the necessary steps to restore its full participation in the Commonwealth. The Pacific Islands Forum suspended Fiji from the 16-nation grouping in May. In a statement, the Commonwealth said it had de-

manded that Fiji commit, by 1 September, to rejoining negotiations with the opposition and to holding credible elections by October 2010. Mr Sharma said that although Cmdr Bainimarama had reaffirmed "his commitment to the principles of the Commonwealth", he had not met the terms of the 1 September deadline. He said Fiji's suspension was therefore "a step the Commonwealth is now obliged to take, and one that it takes in sorrow". Fiji has already been suspended from the regional Pacific Islands Forum, and some European Union aid to the country has been put on hold. Fiji has had a chequered relationship with the Commonwealth. It was expelled in 1987 after two military coups, but was readmitted 10 years later when democracy was restored. It was also suspended in 2000 for 18 months. The only other country to be fully suspended in the Commonwealth's history is Nigeria, during the rule of Gen Sani Abacha in 1995. Nigeria returned to the Commonwealth after democratic rule was restored. Pakistan was twice suspended from council meetings, and Zimbabwe was on course to be suspended when President Robert Mugabe preempted the move by walking out himself.

Account of Fiji Fiji is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country occupies an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population. Fiji's main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name "Fiji" is

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derived, through the pronunciation of their island neighbours in Tonga. Pottery excavated from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500–1000 BC, although the question of Pacific migration still lingers. It is believed that the Lapita people or the ancestors of the Polynesians settled the islands first but not much is known of what became of them after the Melanesians arrived; they may have had some influence on the new culture, and archaeological evidence shows that they would have then moved on to Tonga, Samoa and Hawai. The first settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west about 3500 years ago. Lapita pottery shards have been found at numerous excavations around the country. Aspects of Fijian culture are similar to Melanesian culture to the western Pacific but have stronger connection to the older Polynesian cultures such as those of Samoa and Tonga. Trade between these three nations long before European contact is quite obvious with Canoes made from native Fijian trees found in Tonga and Tongan words being part of the language of the Lau group of islands. Pots made in Fiji have been found in Samoa and even the Marquesas Islands. Across 1000 kilometres from east to west, Fiji has been a nation of many languages. Fiji's history was one of settlement but also of mobility. Over the centuries, a unique Fijian culture developed. Constant warfare and cannibalism between warring tribes was quite rampant and very much part of everyday life. Fijians today regard those times as "na gauna ni tevoro" (time of the devil). The ferocity of the cannibal lifestyle deterred European sailors from going near Fijian waters, giving Fiji the name Cannibal Isles, in turn Fiji was unknown to the rest of the outside world. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman visited Fiji in 1643 while looking for the Great Southern Continent. Europeans settled on the islands permanently beginning in the nineteenth century. The first European settlers to Fiji were Beachcombers, missionaries, whalers and those engaged in the

then booming sandalwood and beche-de-mer trade. Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was a Fijian chief and warlord from the island of Bau, off the eastern coast of Viti Levu, who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership. He then styled himself as King of Fiji or Tui Viti and then to Vunivalu or Protector after the Cession of Fiji to Great Britain. The British subjugated the islands as a colony in 1874, and the British brought over Indian contract labourers to work on the sugar plantations as the then Governor and also the first governor of Fiji, Arthur Charles Hamilton-Gordon, adopted a policy disallowing the use of native labour and no interference in their culture and way of life. The British granted Fiji independence in 1970. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987 because the government was perceived as dominated by the Indo-Fijian (Indian) community. The second 1987 coup saw the British monarchy and the governor general replaced by a non-executive President, and the country changed the long form of its name from Dominion of Fiji to Republic of Fiji (and to Republic of the Fiji Islands in 1997). The coups and accompanying civil unrest contributed to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. In 1990, the new Constitution institutionalised the ethnic Fijian domination of the political system. The group against racial discrimination (GARD) was formed to oppose the unilaterally imposed constitution and to restore the 1970 constitution. Sitiveni Rabuka, the Lieutenant Colonel who carried out the 1987 coup became Prime minister in 1992, following elections held under the new constitution. Three years later, Rabuka established the Constitutional Review Commission, which in 1997 led to a new Constitution, which was supported by most leaders of the indigenous Fijian and IndoFijian communities. Fiji is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations.

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The new millennium brought along another coup, instigated by George Speight, that effectively toppled the government of Mahendra Chaudhry, who became Prime Minister following the 1997 constitution. Commodore Frank Bainimarama assumed executive power after the resignation, possibly forced, of President Mara. Fiji was rocked by two mutinies at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks, later in 2000 when rebel soldiers went on the rampage. The High court ordered the reinstatement of the constitution, and in September 2001, a general election was held to restore democracy, which was won by interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua party. In 2005, amid much controversy, the Qarase government proposed a Reconciliation and Unity Commission, with power to recommend compensation for victims of the 2000 coup, and amnesty for its perpetrators. However, the military strongly opposed this bill, especially the army's commander, Frank Bainimarama. He agreed with detractors who said that it was a sham to grant amnesty to supporters of the present government who played roles in the coup. His attack on the legislation, which continued unremittingly throughout May and into June and July, further strained his already tense relationship with the government. In late November 2006 and early December 2006, Bainimarama was instrumental in the 2006 Fijian coup. Bainimarama handed down a list of demands to Qarase after a bill was put forward to parliament, part of which would have offered pardons to participants in the 2000 coup attempt. He gave Qarase an ultimatum date of 4 December to accede to these demands or to resign from his post. Qarase adamantly refused to either concede or resign and on 5 December President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, was said to have signed a legal order dissolving Parliament after meeting with Bainimarama. In April 2009, the Fiji court of appeal ruled that the 2006 coup had been illegal. This began the 2009 Fijian constitutional crisis. President Iloilo

abrogated the constitution, removed all office holders under the Constitution including all judges and the Governor of the Central Bank. He then reappointed Bainimarama as Prime Minister under his "New Order" and imposed a "Public Emergency Regulation" limiting internal travel and allowing press censorship. For a country of its size, Fiji has large armed forces, and has been a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world. In addition, a significant number of former military personnel have served in the lucrative security sector in Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion.

Political Condition Politics of Fiji normally take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Fiji is the head of government, the President the head of state, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament of Fiji. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.Since independence there have been four coups in Fiji, two in 1987, one in 2000 and one in late 2006. The military has been either ruling directly, or heavily influencing governments since 1987. 2006 Military Takeover: Citing corruption in the government, Commodore Josaia Voreqe(Frank) Bainimarama, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, staged a military takeover on December 5, 2006 against the Prime Minister that he himself had installed after the 2000 coup. There had been two military coups in 1987 and one in 2000. The commodore took over the powers of the presidency and dissolved the parliament, paving the way for the military to continue the take over. The coup was the culmination of weeks of speculation following conflict between the elected Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, and Commodore Bainimarama. Bainimarama had repeatedly issued demands and deadlines to the Prime Minister. At

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particular issue was previously pending legislation to pardon those involved in the 2000 coup. Bainimarama named Jona Senilagakali caretaker Prime Minister. The next week Bainimarama said he would ask the Great Council of Chiefs to restore executive powers to President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo. On January 4, 2007, the military announced that it was restoring executive power to President Iloilo, who made a broadcast endorsing the actions of the military. The next day, Iloilo named Bainimarama as the interim Prime Minister, indicating that the Military was still effectively in control. In the wake of the take over, reports have emerged of intimidation of some of those critical of the interim regime. It is alleged that two individuals have died in military custody since December 2006. These deaths have been investigated and suspects charged but not yet brought to court. On April 9, 2009 the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court decision that Bainimarama's takeover of Qarase's government was legal, and declared the Interim Government illegal. Bainimarama agreed to step down as Interim PM immediately, along with his government, and President Iloilo was to appoint "a distinguished person independent of the parties to this litigation as caretaker Prime Minister, to direct the issuance of writs for an election ..."

On April 10, 2009 President Iloilo suspended the constitution of Fiji, dismissed the Court of Appeal and, in his own words, "appointed himself as the Head of the State of Fiji under a new legal order". As President, Iloilo had been Head of State prior to his abrogation of the Constitution, but that position had been determined by the Constitution itself. The "new legal order" did not depend on the Constitution, thus requiring a "reappointment" of the Head of State. "You will agree with me that this is the best way forward for our beloved Fiji", he said. Bainimarama was re-appointed as Interim Prime Minister; he, in turn, re-instated his previous Cabinet. On July 13, 2009, Fiji became the first nation ever to be expelled from the Pacific Islands Forum, for its failure to hold democratic elections by that date. On September 1, 2009, Fiji became only the second country to be suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations. The action was taken because Commodore Frank Bainimarama refused to hold elections by 2010, elections that the Commonwealth of Nations had demanded after the 2006 coup. He states a need for more time to end a voting system he claims favors ethnic Fijians. Critics claim that he has suspended the constitution and was responsible for human rights violations by arresting and detaining opponents.

Fiji’s Commonweath History » 1987 - Fiji endures two military coups, declares a republic; the Commonwealth expels Fiji

» 1997 - Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth after it introduces a non-discriminatory constitution

» May 2000- Parliament stormed, PM Mahendra Chaudhry and cabinet taken hostage. Businessman George Speight proclaims himself acting PM

» June 2000 - Commonwealth suspends Fiji » Dec 2001 - Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth

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Economy Fiji, endowed with forest, miniral, and fish re sources, is one of the more developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Natural resources include timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower. Fiji experienced a period of rapid growth in the 1960s and 1970s but stagnated in the 1980s. The coup of 1987 caused further contraction. Economic liberalization in the years following the coup created a boom in the garment industry and a steady growth rate despite growing uncertainty of land tenure in the sugar industry. The expiration of leases for sugar cane farmers (along with reduced farm and factory efficiency) has led to a decline in sugar production despite a subsidized price. Subsidies for sugar have been provided by the EU and Fiji has been the second largest beneficiary after Mauritius. Urbanization and expansion in the service sector have contributed to recent GDP growth. Sugar exports and a rapidly growing tourist industry — with 430,800 tourists in 2003 and increasing in the subsequent years — are the major sources of foreign exchange. Fiji is highly dependent on tourism for revenue. Sugar processing makes up onethird of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment and uncertain property rights. The political turmoil in Fiji has had a severe impact on the economy, which shrank by 2.8% in 2000 and grew by only 1% in 2001. The tourism sector recovered quickly, however, with visitor arrivals reaching pre-coup levels again during 2002, which has since resulted in a modest economic recovery. This recovery continued into 2003 and 2004 but grew by 1.7% in 2005 and grew by 2.0% in 2006. Although inflation is low, the policy indicator rate of the Reserve Bank of Fiji was raised by 1% to 3.25% in February 2006 due to fears of excessive consumption financed by debt. Lower interest rates have so far not produced greater investment for exports. However, there has been a housing boom from declining commercial mortgage rates. The tallest building in Fiji is the fourteen-storey Reserve Bank of Fiji building in

Suva, which was inaugurated in 1984. The Suva central commercial centre, which opened in November 2005, was planned to outrank the Reserve Bank building at seventeen stories, but last-minute design changes made sure that the Reserve Bank building remains the tallest. Trade with Fiji has been criticized due to the country's military dictatorship. In 2008, Fiji's interim Prime Minister and coup leader Frank Bainimarama announced election delays and that it would pull out of the Pacific Islands Forum in Niue, where Bainimarama would have met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

A Chronology of Key Events 1643 - Dutch explorer Abel Tasman is the first European to visit the islands. 1830s - Western Christian missionaries begin to arrive. 1840s-50s - Christian convert chief Cakobau gains control of most of western Fiji, while another Christian convert, Ma'afu from Tonga, controls the east. 1868 - Cakobau sells Suva - the current capital of Fiji - to an Australian company. 1871 - European settlers at Levuka island organize a national government and name Cakobau king of Fiji following local disorder. British Rule 1874 - Fiji becomes a British crown colony at the request of Cakobau and other chiefs. 1875-76 - Measles epidemic wipes out one-third of the Fijian population; British forces and Fijian chiefs suppress rebellion. 1879-1916 - More than 60,000 indentured labourers brought in from the Indian subconti-

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nent to work on sugar plantations. 1904 - Legislative Council, consisting of elected Europeans and nominated Fijians, set up to advise the British governor. 1916 - British colonial government in India stops the recruitment of indentured labourers. 1920 - All labour indenture agreements in Fiji end. Fijians Get the Vote 1963 - Women and Fijians enfranchised; predominantly Fijian Alliance Party (AP) set up. 1970 - Fiji becomes independent with Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara of the AP as prime minister. 1985 - Timoci Bavadra sets up the Fiji Labour Party with trade union support. Supremacist Coups 1987 April - Indian-dominated coalition led by Bavadra wins general election, ending 17 years of rule by the AP and Prime Minister Mara. 1987 May - Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka seizes power in bloodless coup with the aim of making indigenous Fijians politically dominant. 1987 October - Rabuka stages a second coup, proclaims Fiji a republic and appoints Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau president; Ganilau in turn appoints Ratu Mara prime minister; Fiji expelled from Commonwealth; Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand suspend aid. 1989 - Thousands of ethnic Indians flee Fiji. 1990 - New constitution enshrining political dominance for indigenous Fijians introduced. 1992 - Rabuka, of the Fijian Political Party (FPP), becomes prime minister following general election.

1994 - Great Council of Chiefs appoints Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara president in January following the death of Ganilau in the previous month; Rabuka and the FPP win general election. 1997 - Fiji re-admitted to the Commonwealth after it introduces a non-discriminatory constitution. 1999 - Mahendra Chaudhry, an ethnic Indian, becomes prime minister after the Fiji Labour Party emerges from the general election with enough seats to rule on its own. Prime Minister Held Hostage 2000 May - Bankrupt businessman George Speight and retired major Ilisoni Ligairi storm parliament, aiming to make indigenous Fijians the dominant political force. They take Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and his cabinet hostage. Speight proclaims himself acting premier. President Mara sacks the Chaudhry government on the orders of Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs. 2000 June - Commonwealth suspends Fiji. 2000 July - Chaudhry and other hostages released; Great Council of Chiefs appoints Ratu Josefa Iloilo - a former father-in-law of Speight's brother president 2000 July - Speight and 369 of his supporters arrested. 2000 November - Eight soldiers are killed in a failed army mutiny. 2001 August - Elections to restore democracy; George Speight becomes MP in a new government. 2001 September - Indigenous Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase sworn in, but doesn't offer cabinet posts to opposition Labour Party, in defiance of constitution.

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2001 December - George Speight expelled from parliament for failing to attend sessions. 2001 December - Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth. 2002 February - George Speight sentenced to death for treason. President Iloilo commutes his sentence to life imprisonment. 2002 November - Government announces radical privatisation plan designed to stave off collapse of vital sugar industry threatened by withdrawal of EU subsidies. 2003 July - Supreme Court rules that Laisenia Qarase must include ethnic-Indian members of the opposition Labour Party in his cabinet. 2004 April - Former leader Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, considered to be independent Fiji's founding father, dies aged 83. 2004 August - Vice President Ratu Jope Seniloli found guilty of treason over his involvement in May 2000 coup attempt. He serves a few months of a four-year sentence. 2004 November - Labour Party declines cabinet seats in favour of opposition role. Fijian soldiers leave for peacekeeping duties in Iraq. 2005 July - Military chief warns that he will remove government if proposed amnesty for those involved in 2000 coup goes ahead. 2006 March - Great Council of Chiefs elects incumbent President Iloilo to a second, five-year term. 2006 May - Former PM Sitiveni Rabuka is charged with orchestrating a failed army mutiny in November 2000. Ruling party leader and incumbent PM Laesenia Qarase narrowly wins elections and is sworn in for a second term.

Fact Sheet » Full name: Republic of the Fiji Islands » Population: 844,000 (UN, 2008) » Capital: Suva » Area: 18,376 sq km (7,095 sq miles) » Major languages: English, Fijian, Hindi » Major religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam

» LIfe expectancy: 67 years (men), 71 years (women) (UN)

» Monetary unit: 1 Fijian dollar = 100 cents » Main exports: Sugar, clothing, gold, pro cessed fish, timber

» GNI per capita: US $3,800 (World Bank, 2007) Military Coup 2006 October - November - Tensions rise between PM Laesenia Qarase and military chief Frank Bainimarama, who threatens to oust the government after it tries, and fails, to replace him. Qarase goes into hiding as the crisis escalates. 2006 December - Frank Bainimarama says in a televised address he has taken executive powers and dismissed PM Laisenia Qarase. Commonwealth suspends Fiji because of the coup. 2007 January - Bainimarama restores executive powers to President Iloilo and takes on the role of interim prime minister. 2007 February - Bainimarama announces plans to hold elections in 2010. 2007 April - Bainimarama sacks the Great Council of Chiefs and suspends all future meetings, af-

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ter the chiefs refuse to endorse his government and his nomination for vice president. 2007 June - State of emergency lifted but reimposed in September. Lifted again in October. 2007 November - Bainimarama says police have foiled a plot to assassinate him. 2008 February - Bainimarama appoints himself as chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC), a body he suspended after it failed to back his December 2006 coup. 2008 July - Bainimarama postpones elections promised for early 2009, on the grounds that electoral reforms could not be completed in time. 2008 August - South Pacific leaders warn Fiji that it faces suspension from their regional grouping if it fails to show progress towards holding elections. 2009 January - Pacific leaders demand Fiji hold elections by the end of the year. 2009 April - Appeal Court rules the military regime was illegally appointed after the 2006 coup and says a caretaker prime minister should be appointed to call elections to restore democracy. President Iloilo repeals the constitution, appoints himself head of state, sets a 2014 election deadline and sacks all the judges. He then reappoints Bainimarama as interim prime minister.

A further coup in 2000, led by businessman George Speight, saw the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister, his cabinet and several MPs held hostage for several weeks.These events caused great harm to the economy - the tourism industry in particular - and Fiji's international reputation. Rancour over the 2000 coup persisted, with bitter divisions over plans to amnesty those behind it. The proposals underlay tensions which culminated in a bloodless military takeover in 2006 - Fiji's fourth coup in 20 years. Fiji's population, which resides mostly on the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, is divided almost equally between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, the descendents of indentured labourers brought from India. Mixing between the two groups is minimal, and informal segregation runs deep at almost every level of society. There are also very small nonIndo-Fijian, non-Fijian minority communities, such as Chinese and Rotumans. Although the former British colony relies heavily on the sugar and tourism industries for its foreign exchange, its economy is diverse. Gold, silver and limestone are mined, and there is a strong services sector and some light manufacturing. Nonetheless, Fiji has been hampered by persistent trade and budget deficits, making it one of the world's largest per capita recipients of aid.

Country Profile

Interim Prime Minister: Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama

The 800-plus volcanic and coral islands that make up the Pacific nation of Fiji enjoy a tropical climate and are a prime destination for tourists.However, since 1987 racial and political tensions have been an intermittent source of instability and international isolation. In 1987 a coup by indigenous Fijians overthrew the elected, Indian-dominated coalition. This triggered a series of adverse events, including the introduction - and subsequent withdrawal - of a constitution enshrining indigenous Fijian political supremacy.

Fiji's military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power in the December 2006 coup and first became interim prime minister in January 2007. He accused deposed prime minister Laisenia Qarase of corruption and of discriminating against Fiji's ethnic Indian minority. Mr Qarase, who had secured a second term in May 2006, had angered the opposition and the military with his controversial proposal to pardon or amnesty some of those behind the 2000 national-

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ist coup. Commodore Bainimarama promised to restore democracy through elections, but said the constitution would have to be revised first, as in his view it enshrined racial divisions. He maintains that his aim is to create a fairer, multi-racial society, but he has excluded political opponents from discussions on the constitutional reforms. A move by Fiji's Appeal Court in April 2009 to declare the military government illegal prompted the president, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, to suspend the constitution and reappoint Commodore Bainimarama as interim prime minister for a further five years, leaving the military chief's grip on power apparently stronger than ever. Commodore Bainimarama insists that he enjoys broad popular support for his elections reform plan, but the events of April 2009 have made Fiji even more of a diplomatic outcast than before. President: Ratu Josefa Iloilo President Ratu Josefa Iloilo was appointed in the aftermath of the May 2000 coup and was reelected president by the Great Council of Chiefs in March 2006. In the December 2006 coup, Mr Iloilo lost his executive powers to military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who dissolved parliament and declared a state of emergency. Commodore Bainimarama reinstated Mr Iloilo as president in January 2007. Mr Iloilo endorsed the December 2006 coup, saying general elections would be held once the political and economic conditions were suitable. When the Court of Appeal declared the military government illegal in April 2009, Mr Iloilo responded by assuming governing power, suspending the constitution and dismissing the judiciary. He then reappointed Commodore Bainimarama as interim prime minister and said that elections would not be held until 2014. He is seen as a close ally of the military chief, but denied that he was acting at the behest of Commodore Bainimarama. Now in his late eighties, he is said to be in poor health.

The Commonwealth The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 countries that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development. The world’s largest and smallest, richest and poorest countries make up the Commonwealth and are home to two billion citizens of all faiths and ethnicities – over half of whom are 25 or under. Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa (18) to Asia (8), the Americas (2), the Caribbean (12), Europe (3) and the South Pacific (10). The Commonwealth, with roots as far back as the 1870s, believes that the best democracies are achieved through partnerships – of governments, business, and civil society. This unique association was reconstituted in 1949 when Commonwealth Prime Ministers met and adopted what has become known as the ‘London Declaration’ where it was agreed all member countries would be “freely and equally associated.” Since then membership has continued to grow. The most recent members are the predominantly Francophone Cameroon and Mozambique, which was the first country to join with no historical or administrative association with another Commonwealth country. Beyond the ties of history, language and institutions, it is the association’s values which unite its members: democracy, freedom, peace, the rule of law and opportunity for all. These values were agreed and set down by all Commonwealth Heads of Government at two of their biennial meetings (known as CHOGMs) in Singapore in 1971 and reaffirmed twenty years later in Harare. At government level, the values are protected by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a rotating group of nine Foreign Ministers, which assesses the nature of any infringement and recommends measures for collective action from member countries. It has the authority to suspend or even recommend to Heads of Government that a member country be expelled.

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When member countries have been suspended the Commonwealth continues to do everything possible to bring them back into the fold. While CMAG represents one aspect of the Commonwealth’s commitment to democratic principles, many more discreet interventions are made through ‘good offices’ work, where specially appointed representatives conduct quiet diplomacy as part of efforts to prevent or resolve conflicts and build dialogue and democratic structures. As well as Heads of Government, ministers responsible for education, environment, civil society, finance, foreign affairs, gender affairs, health law, tourism and youth also meet regularly. This ensures that Commonwealth policies and programmes represent views of the members and gives governments a better understanding of each other’s goals in an increasingly globalised world. There are three intergovernmental organisations in the association: the Commonwealth Secretariat (which executes plans agreed by Commonwealth Heads of Government through technical assistance, advice and policy development); the Commonwealth Foundation (which helps civil society organisations promote democracy, development and cultural understanding) and the Commonwealth of Learning (which encourages the development and sharing of open learning and distance education). Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Commonwealth and Kamalesh Sharma, current Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, is the principal global advocate for the Commonwealth and Chief Executive of the Secretariat. Citizen-to-citizen links are as important to the Commonwealth as the contacts between member governments. The Commonwealth’s worldwide network of around 90 professional and advocacy organisations, most of which bear its name, continues to grow with a third of these based outside the UK. They work at local, national, regional or international levels and play crucial roles in policy, political or social aspects of Commonwealth life. One such organisation is the Commonwealth Games Federation, which manages the four-yearly multi-sport event.

Commonwealth countries work together in a spirit of co-operation, partnership and understanding. This openness and flexibility are integral to the Commonwealth's effectiveness. Emphasis on equality has helped it play leading roles in decolonisation, combating racism and advancing sustainable development in poor countries. This support network of countries and organisations is involved in a diverse range of work, from helping trade negotiations, building the small business sector and encouraging women entrepreneurs to supporting the quality and quantity of teachers, and increasing understanding of HIV/AIDS. As well as working with each other, member countries and organisations have also built alliances outside the Commonwealth. Commonwealth ideas have been taken up by the World Bank on Small States, by the World Health Organization on the migration of doctors and nurses, by the International Labour Organization on the migration of teachers. Its support and expertise have been enlisted by the European Union (EU) and the African Union on building governance in Africa, and by the EU and the Pacific Islands Forum on building governance in the Pacific.The Commonwealth is part of the world that it serves, sharing the same interests as those of its citizens: democratic freedom and economic and social development. History: Though the modern Commonwealth is just 60 years old, the idea took root in the 19th century. In 1867, Canada became the first colony to be transformed into a selfgoverning 'Dominion', a newly constituted status that implied equality with Britain. The empire was gradually changing and Lord Rosebury, a British politician, described it in Australia in 1884 as a "Commonwealth of Nations". Other parts of the empire became Dominions too: Australia (1901), New Zealand (1907), South Africa (1910) and the Irish Free State (1922). All except the Irish Free State (that did not exist at the time) participated as separate entities in the First

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World War and were separate signatories to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Subsequently, they became members of the League of Nations. After the end of the First World War, the Dominions began seeking a new constitutional definition and reshaping their relationship with Britain. At the Imperial Conference in 1926, the prime ministers of the participating countries adopted the Balfour Report which defined the Dominions as autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. This definition was incorporated into British law in 1931 as the Statute of Westminster. It was adopted immediately in Canada, the Irish Free State, Newfoundland (which joined Canada in 1949) and South Africa. Australia and New Zealand followed. India, Britain's largest colony at the time, became a Dominion at independence in 1947 and remained so until January 1950, when the Indian Republic was born. CFTC: The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) is the principal means by which the Commonwealth delivers development assistance to member countries.Many Commonwealth developing countries face human resource and knowledge constraints limiting their capacity for sustainable development, poverty reduction and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. To address these constraints, the CFTC provides capacity-building and institutional strengthening assistance to developing member countries, especially small states and least developed members. Assistance is provided through professionals who share their skills and experience to maximise the development potential of member states and to build the capacity of the key national and regional institutions. The CFTC also supports and develops training programmes at centres of excellence throughout the Commonwealth to build capacity in priority development areas of need.

CFTC programmes are mostly demand-led, with an emphasis on South–South cooperation. The Fund’s work programme fits within the framework of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s current 4-year Strategic Plan and is developed in consultation with the national Primary Contact Points as well as the Divisional Points of Contact. The CFTC’s work programme focuses on: » Trade capacity-building, including capacity to negotiate with multilateral agencies such as the WTO and the EU; » Public-sector reform and governance; » Economic and financial management; » Assistance related to negotiations with multinational companies to attract foreign direct investment in the mineral and petroleum sectors; » Enterprise and private-sector development; » Supporting institutional capacity-building in a wide range of areas including for the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights; » Gender mainstreaming and equality; » Health and education; » Niche areas including delimitation of maritime boundaries and environmentally sustainable development and youth development; and technical support at the regional and pan-Commonwealth levels for policy development and advocacy of Commonwealth interests. Secretary-General Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, an Indian diplomat, became Commonwealth Secretary-General on 1 April 2008. He was appointed to the post by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Kampala, Uganda, in November 2007. Mr. Sharma previously served as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, where he was closely involved in Commonwealth activities. In that capacity, since 2004 he has served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation.

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Role of the Secretary-General: The SecretaryGeneral is responsible for representing the Commonwealth publicly; and for the management and good governance of the Commonwealth Secretariat which sets out the Secretariat’s main goals and programmes. Promoting and protecting the Commonwealth’s values is a core responsibility. The Secretary-General does so through regular high level contact with Commonwealth governments and civil society leaders, as well as through the media and public engagements. The Secretary-General also uses a low-key, personal and discreet ‘good offices’ approach in certain sensitive situations around the Commonwealth, and occasionally appoints Special Envoys. At a meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in London, 1965, a memorandum on the functions of the Secretariat was agreed, which includes details on the role of the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General therefore reports to Heads of Government through individual meetings and also collectively at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The Secretary-General is also held accountable through the Commonwealth’s Board of Governors which meets regularly in London on behalf of member governments at senior diplomatic level.

The process by which Heads of Government select a new Secretary-General is unique. Candidates are nominated by governments in the months leading up to a CHOGM where the post becomes vacant. A Restricted Session is held during the CHOGM, open only to Heads of Government and other Heads of Delegation with ministerial status. The Chair leads in determining which candidate has the greatest support amongst the 53 leaders, and may conduct one or more secret “straw poll” ballots to assist that process. Once a clearly supported candidate becomes apparent, the governments whose candidates are unsuccessful withdraw from the contest in order to achieve unanimous support by Heads for one candidate. It was agreed at the 1993 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Cyprus that Secretaries-General would serve a maximum of two 4-year terms. Kamalesh Sharma (India) is the fifth Commonwealth Secretary-General. His predecessors were: Arnold Smith of Canada (19651975), Shridath ‘Sonny’ Ramphal of Guyana (19751990), Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria (1990 - 2000) and Don McKinnon of New Zealand (2000-2008).

Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba (Botswana) and Ransford Smith (Jamaica) – the two current Deputy Secretaries-General – support the Secretary-General in the management and executive direction of the Secretariat. These three senior managers collectively comprise the Management Committee, and between them have supervisory responsibility for all divisions and other business units in the Secretariat. The Secretary-General directly supervises the Communications and Public Affairs Division, Strategic Planning and Evaluation Division and the Secretary-General’s Office.A meeting between the Secretary-General and the Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, usually takes place twice a year.

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37

Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ E É ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ ¦ÉÉ® iÉÒªÉ +lÉÇ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ E É ¨ÉÖJªÉ +ÉvÉÉ®

By Dr. Divya

Author is Currently Working as Assistant Professor for Home Science

EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ®É¹] ÅÒªÉ +ÉªÉ ¨Éå ±ÉMɦÉMÉ 18 |ɇiÉ„ÉiÉ E É ªÉÉäMÉn ÉxÉ E ®iÉÉ ½ è +Éè® n ä„É Eä +ÉvÉä ºÉä +‡vÉE ¸É‡¨ÉE Éå E Éä ®ÉäVÉMÉÉ® ={ɱɤvÉ E ® ÉiÉÉ ½ è *
5000 E ®Éäc E É ®É¹] ÅÒªÉ JÉÉt ºÉÖ®IÉÉ ‡¨É„ÉxÉ „ÉÖ° ‡E ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ* <ºÉ ‡¨É„ÉxÉ Eä iɽ iÉ ±ÉMɦÉMÉ 300 ‡Sɇx½ iÉ ‡VɱÉÉå ¨Éå ¤É‡fªÉÃÉ ‡E º¨É Eä ¤ÉÒVÉÉå +Éè® =´ÉÇ®E Éå, jÉ%hÉ iÉlÉÉ |ɺÉÉ® ºÉ½ªÉÉäMÉ ={ɱɤvÉ E ®ÉxÉä {É® VÉÉä® ‡n ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ* <ºÉEä E ɪÉÉÇx´ÉªÉxÉ Eä |ÉlÉ¨É ´É¹ÉÇ Eä n Éè®ÉxÉ ½ Ò ®É¹] ÅÒªÉ JÉÉt ºÉÖ®IÉÉ B´ÉÆ +xªÉ |ɨÉÖJÉ ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ-- ®É¹]ÅÒªÉ EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ „ÉÖ° E Ò MÉ<Ç ‡VɺÉE É =qä„ªÉ EÞ ‡¹É +Éè® +xªÉ ºÉ¨¤Ér E ɪÉÇE ±ÉÉ{ÉÉå ¨Éå +Éè® +‡vÉE ‡xÉ´Éä„É E ®xÉä Eä ‡±ÉB ®ÉVªÉÉå E Éä |ÉÉäiºÉɽ xÉ n äxÉÉ lÉÉ* Eä xp ºÉ® E É® 11´ÉÓ ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ Eä n Éè®ÉxÉ EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå ‡xÉ´Éä„É Eä ‡±ÉB ®ÉVªÉÉå E Éä 25000 E ®Éäc ¯ {ÉB E Ò vÉxɮɇ„É ={ɱɤvÉ E ®É ®½ Ò ½ è* ®ÉVªÉÉå ºÉä ¦ÉÒ +‡iɇ®H vÉxɮɇ„É |ÉÉ{iÉ ½ ÉäxÉä {É® EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå {ɪÉÉÇ{iÉ ‡xÉ´Éä„É ½ ÉäxÉä ±ÉMÉäMÉÉ, <ºÉºÉä xÉ Eä ´É±É JÉÉtÉzÉÉå E É =SSÉiÉ® =i{ÉÉn xÉ ½ ÉäMÉÉ ¤É‡±E +xªÉ ¡ ºÉ±ÉÉå +Éè® {É„ÉÖ =i{ÉÉn Éå ¨Éå ¦ÉÒ ´ÉÞ‡r ½ ÉäMÉÒ +Éè® <ºÉ |ÉE É® <ºÉ IÉäjÉ ¨Éå {ɇ®ºÉ¨{ɇkɪÉÉå E É =i{ÉÉn xÉ ½ ÉäMÉÉ +Éè® <ºÉE Ò n ÒPÉÇE ɱÉÒxÉ ´ÉÞ‡r ¨Éå ªÉÉäMÉn ÉxÉ ‡¨É±ÉäMÉÉ* ‡´É‡¦ÉzÉ ¨ÉÉèVÉÚn É ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ+ÉäÆ Eä ‡´ÉºiÉÉ® ºÉä ‡{ÉU ±Éä iÉÒxÉ ´É¹ÉÉç Eä n Éè®ÉxÉ EÞ ‡¹É B´ÉÆ ºÉ¨¤Ér IÉäjÉÉå ¨Éå ‡xÉ´Éä„É ¤Éf Éà ½ è* ‡iɱɽ xÉÉå, n ɱÉÉå iÉlÉÉ ¨ÉCEä Eä ‡±ÉB ºÉ¨Éä‡E iÉ ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ Eä ‡±ÉB ´ªÉªÉ iÉlÉÉ EÞ ‡¹É ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ Eä ´ÉÞ½ n |ɤÉÆvÉxÉ ¨Éå =±±ÉäJÉxÉÒªÉ ´ÉÞ‡r ½ Ö<Ç ½ è* <ºÉ ºÉ¨ÉªÉ ‡E B VÉÉ ®½ ä ‡xÉ´Éä„ÉÉå Eä {ɇ®hÉɨɺ´É° {É ¤Éä½ iÉ® |ÉÉètÉä‡MÉE Ò +{ÉxÉÉxÉä, ‡xÉ´Éä„ÉÉå Eä +Éè® +‡vÉE ={ɪÉÉäMÉ iÉlÉÉ ‡´É{ÉhÉxÉ ºÉÖ‡´ÉvÉÉ+ÉäÆ Eä ºlÉɇ{ÉiÉ ½ ÉäxÉä ¨Éå ºÉ½ ɪÉiÉÉ ‡¨É±ÉäMÉÒ* 11´ÉÓ ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ +Éè® =ºÉEä ¤ÉÉn ¦ÉÒ OÉɨÉÒhÉ ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ iÉlÉÉ ®ÉäVÉMÉÉ® ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ+ÉäÆ Eä ºÉÉlÉ-ºÉÉlÉ EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå ‡] E É> ´ÉÞ‡r ½ ÉäMÉÒ* ¤Écä {Éè¨ÉÉxÉä {É® BE +xªÉ ½ ºiÉIÉä{É ½ è--2008-09 ¨Éå jÉ%hÉ ´ÉºÉÚ±ÉÒ ®ÉäE n äxÉÉ +Éè® jÉ%hÉ ®É½ iÉ* BE ½Ò ZÉ]Eä ¨Éå 71,000 E ®Éäc ¯ {ÉB ºÉä +‡vÉE ®E ¨É ±ÉMɦÉMÉ 4 E ®Éäc ¯ {ÉB E VÉÇ ºÉä

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

OɺiÉ ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå Eä jÉ%hÉ JÉÉiÉÉå ¨Éå SɱÉÒ MÉ<Ç ½ è* <ºÉxÉä xÉ Eä ´É±É =xÉ ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå ºÉä E VÉÇ E É ¤ÉÉäZÉ ½ ] É ‡±ÉªÉÉ ½ è ¤É‡±E VÉÉä +{ÉxÉä jÉ%hÉ SÉÖE É xɽ Ó {ÉÉ ®½ ä lÉä, ¤É‡±E =ºÉxÉä =x½ å ¤ÉéËE MÉ IÉäjÉ ºÉä iÉÉVÉÉ jÉ%hÉ ±ÉäxÉä Eä ªÉÉäMªÉ ¤ÉxÉÉ ‡n ªÉÉ ½ è* {ɽ ±Éä jÉ%hÉ ®É½ iÉ ºÉä ¨ÉÉjÉ BE ¤ÉÉ® Eä ‡±ÉB ºÉÖ‡´ÉvÉÉ ½ Éä {ÉÉiÉÒ lÉÒ {É®xiÉÖ +¤É ºÉ®E É® EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ Eä ‡±ÉB +‡vÉE ºÉä +‡vÉE jÉ%hÉ ={ɱɤvÉ E ®ÉxÉä Eä ‡±ÉB ¤ÉéE Éå E Éä |ÉÉäiºÉɽ xÉ n ä ®½ Ò ½ è* =vÉÉ® ±ÉäxÉä E Éä +ɺÉÉxÉ iÉlÉÉ {ÉÉ®n „ÉÔ ¤ÉxÉÉxÉä Eä ‡±ÉB ‡E ºÉÉxÉ Gä ‡b ] E Éb Ç E Ò ºÉÖ‡´ÉvÉÉ ¨ÉÖ½ èªÉÉ E ®É<Ç VÉÉ ®½ Ò ½ è* 300,000 ¯ {ÉB iÉE E É jÉ%hÉ 7 |ɇiÉ„ÉiÉ |ɇiÉ ´É¹ÉÇ E Ò ¤ªÉÉVÉ n ® E Ò U Ú] {É® ‡b ºE É=x] äb n ® n Ò VÉÉiÉÒ ½ è* <xÉEä +‡iɇ®H +xªÉ |ɪÉɺÉÉå Eä {ɇ®hÉɨɺ´É° {É ‡{ÉU ±Éä {ÉÉÄSÉ ´É¹ÉÉç ¨Éå EÞ ‡¹É jÉ%hÉ ¨Éå iÉÒxÉ MÉÖxÉÒ ºÉä +‡vÉE ´ÉÞ‡r ½ Ö<Ç ½ è* ‡{ÉU ±Éä SÉÉ® ´É¹ÉÉç ¨Éå |ɨÉÖJÉ ¡ ºÉ±ÉÉå Eä xªÉÚxÉiÉ¨É ºÉ¨ÉlÉÇxÉ ¨ÉÚ±ªÉÉå E Éä ¤Éf ÉÃxÉä E É EÞ ‡¹É {É® ¤ÉcÉ ½ Ò +xÉÖEÚ ±É |ɦÉÉ´É {ÉcÉ lÉÉ, <ºÉxÉä ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå Eä ‡±ÉB ±ÉɦÉE É®Ò E Ò¨ÉiÉå ºÉÖ‡xɇ„SÉiÉ E ® n Ò ½ è* <ºÉºÉä JÉÉtÉzÉÉå E Ò ‡®E Éb Ç ºÉ®E É®Ò JÉ®Òn ¦ÉÒ ½ Ö<Ç ½ è iÉlÉÉ JÉÉt {Én ÉlÉÉç E Ò E Ò¨ÉiÉå ºlÉ® ®½ Ó* ½ É±É ¨Éå ºÉ®E É® xÉä +‡vÉE iÉ¨É ‡¤ÉG Ò ¨ÉÚ±ªÉ ‡xÉvÉÉLJ®iÉ E ®xÉä Eä ¡ ɨÉÇÚ±Éä ¨Éå ºÉÆ„ÉÉävÉxÉ ‡E ªÉÉ ½ è, ‡VɺɺÉä ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå E Éä =xÉE Ò ={ÉVÉ E Ò IɇiÉ{ÉÚ‡iÉÇ ¤Éä½ iÉ® iÉ®ÒEä ºÉä ½ Éä ºÉEä * <ºÉ¨Éå E Éä<Ç +É„SɪÉÇ xɽ Ó ½ è ‡E ‡{ÉU ±Éä EÖ U ´É¹ÉÉç ¨Éå JÉÉtÉzÉÉå iÉlÉÉ EÖ U +xªÉ |ɨÉÖJÉ ¡ ºÉ±ÉÉå E É =i{ÉÉn xÉ ‡®E Éb Ç ºiÉ®Éå iÉE {ɽ ÖÆSÉ SÉÖE É ½ è* ‡ºlÉ®iÉÉ E Ò ±É¨¤ÉÒ +´É‡vÉ Eä ¤ÉÉn <ºÉxÉä {ÉÖxÉVÉÉÇMÉ®hÉ Eä |ÉÉ®Æ¦É E É ºÉÆEä iÉ ‡n ªÉÉ ½ è* JÉÉtÉzÉÉå E Ò ¨ÉÉÆMÉ VÉÉä +{ÉxÉä +É{É ¤Éf iÉÃÒ ®½ Ò ½ è, =ºÉEä ‡±ÉB JÉÉtÉzÉ E É {ɪÉÉÇ{iÉ ºÉÖ®‡IÉiÉ ¦ÉÆb É® iÉèªÉÉ® E ®xÉä Eä ¨ÉɨɱÉä ¨Éå ½ ¨É ºÉIÉ¨É ½ Éä SÉÖEä ½ é* BäºÉä ºÉ¨ÉªÉ, VɤɇE ‡´É„´É ¦É® ¨Éå JÉÉtÉzÉ ºÉÖ®IÉÉ ‡SÉxiÉÉ E É ‡´É¹ÉªÉ ¤ÉxÉÒ ½ Ö<Ç ½ è, ¦ÉÉ®iÉ JÉÉtÉzÉ ¨ÉɨɱÉä ¨Éå {ÉÚ®Ò iÉ®½ +Éi¨É‡xɦÉÇ® ½ è* ºÉ®E É® E Ò E ɪÉǺÉÚSÉÒ ¨Éå EÞ ‡¹É ºÉä ±ÉäE ® ¤ÉÉMÉ´ÉÉxÉÒ +Éè® +xªÉ IÉäjÉÉå E Éä ¦ÉÒ ºÉ®E É®Ò ºÉÚSÉÒ ¨Éå > ÆSÉÉ<Ç {É® ®JÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è* ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå E Ò +ɨÉnxÉÒ ¤ÉfÉÃxÉä Eä +±ÉÉ´ÉÉ ºÉƺÉÉvÉxÉÉå E É ¤Éä½ iÉ® ={ɪÉÉäMÉ, JÉÉtÉzÉ +Éè® =i{ÉÉn xÉ ¤Éf ÉÃxÉä Eä +±ÉÉ´ÉÉ, ®ÉäVÉMÉÉ® E É ºÉÞVÉxÉ E ®xÉÉ +Éè® +xªÉ Mɇiɇ´É‡vɪÉÉå E Ò ´ÉÞ‡r B´ÉÆ ºÉƺÉÉvÉxÉÉå E É ¤Éä½ iÉ® ={ɪÉÉäMÉ E ®xÉÉ +É´É„ªÉE ½è* ¤ÉÉMÉ´ÉÉxÉÒ +iªÉ‡vÉE IɨÉiÉÉ ´ÉɱÉÒ BäºÉÒ ½ Ò |ɨÉÖJÉ Mɇiɇ´É‡vÉ ½ è* ¤ÉÉMÉ´ÉÉxÉÒ E Éä BE ‡¨É„ÉxÉ E É ° {É n äE ® =ºÉä |ÉÉäiºÉɽ xÉ n äxÉä Eä ‡±ÉB =kÉ®-{ÉÚ´ÉÇ +Éè® +xªÉ {ɽ ÉcÒ IÉäjÉÉå ¨Éå ½ ɇ] ÇE ±SÉ® E Éä ®É¹] ÅÒªÉ ¤ÉÉMÉ´ÉÉxÉÒ ‡¨É„ÉxÉ E É ° {É n ä ‡n ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½ è* <xÉ ‡¨É„ÉxÉÉå uÉ®É

E Ò MÉ<Ç {ɽ ±É E É |ɦÉÉ´É EÖ U ´É¹ÉÉç Eä ¤ÉÉn ½ Éä ºÉEä MÉÉ VɤɇE JÉÉt |ɺÉƺE ®hÉ =tÉäMÉ E Ò ´ÉÞ‡r +Éè® ¤ÉÉMÉ´ÉÉxÉÒ =i{ÉÉn xÉ ¨Éå {ɽ ±Éä ½ Ò =SSÉ ´ÉÞ‡r ‡n JÉÉ<Ç {ÉcxÉä ±ÉMÉÉ ½ è* ¨ÉU ±ÉÒ {ÉɱÉxÉ, b äªÉ®Ò +Éè® JÉÉt |ɺÉƺE ®hÉ VÉèºÉä ºÉ½ ªÉÉäMÉÒ IÉäjÉÉå E Éä ¦ÉÒ {ÉÉä¹Éɽ É® ºÉÖ®IÉÉ, ®ÉäVÉMÉÉ® iÉlÉÉ OÉɨÉÒhÉ +ÉªÉ ¨Éå ´ÉÞ‡r +‡VÉÇiÉ E ®xÉä Eä ‡±ÉB |ÉÉäiºÉɽ xÉ ‡n B VÉÉ ®½ ä ½ é* EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå =¦É®iÉä ½ ÖB +ɇlÉÇE +´ÉºÉ®Éå E Éä n äJÉiÉä ½ ÖB ‡xÉVÉÒ E ¨{ɇxɪÉÉå +Éè® ´ªÉ‡H MÉiÉ =t¨ÉÉå xÉä ¦ÉÒ ‡xÉ´Éä„ÉÉå iÉlÉÉ ºÉä´ÉÉ+ÉäÆ ¨Éå |É´Éä„É „ÉÖ° E ® ‡n ªÉÉ ½ è* ±ÉÉä‡Vɇº] E ºÉÖ‡´ÉvÉÉBÆ, ¨ÉÉèºÉ¨É ºÉƤÉÆvÉÒ ºÉÚSÉxÉÉ, ¨ÉU ±ÉÒ {ÉɱÉxÉ, b äªÉ®Ò, {ÉÉä±] ÅÒ, ¡Ú ±ÉÉå E Ò JÉäiÉÒ, VÉcÒ-¤ÉÚ‡] ªÉÉå ´ÉɱÉÒ n´ÉÉBÆ iÉlÉÉ ‡xɪÉÉÇiÉ +ɇn* ºÉ®E É® <xÉ E ɪÉÉç ¨Éå |ÉÉäiºÉɽ xÉ n äxÉä iÉlÉÉ EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå =xÉEä |É´Éä„É E ®xÉä ¨Éå +ÉxÉä ´ÉɱÉÒ ¯ E É´É] å n Ú® E ®xÉä E Ò <SU ÖE ½ è* ‡xɺÉÆn ä½ , EÞ ‡¹É iÉlÉÉ +xªÉ ºÉ¨¤Ér IÉäjÉÉå E Ò {ÉÚ®Ò IɨÉiÉÉ E É ={ɪÉÉäMÉ E ®xÉä Eä ®ÉºiÉä ¨Éå +ÉxÉä ´ÉɱÉÒ iɨÉÉ¨É ºÉ¨ÉºªÉÉ+ÉäÆ E É iÉÖ®xiÉ +Éè® o fiÉÃÉ ºÉä ºÉ¨ÉÉvÉÉxÉ E ®xÉä E Ò VÉ° ®iÉ ½è* +‡vÉE iÉ® ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå E Ò ´É¹ÉÉÇ {É® ‡xɦÉÇ®iÉÉ +Éè® U Éä] ä-U Éä] ä JÉÉiÉÉå E Ò ºÉ¨ÉºªÉÉ +ɇn EÞ ‡¹É Eä IÉäjÉ ¨Éå {ɇ®´ÉiÉÇxÉ ±ÉÉxÉä Eä ¨ÉɨɱÉä ¨Éå E ‡` xÉÉ<ªÉÉÆ {Éèn É E ®iÉÒ ½ é* <xÉE É ºÉ¨ÉÉvÉÉxÉ E ®xÉä E É BE ½ Ò iÉ®ÒE É ½ è--Eä ‡xpiÉ xÉÒ‡iɪÉÉÆ +Éè® ºÉ®E É® <ºÉÒ ‡n „ÉÉ ¨Éå E ɪÉÇ®iÉ ½ é* ‡{ÉU ±Éä iÉÒxÉ-SÉÉ® ´É¹ÉÉç Eä n Éè®ÉxÉ <xÉ xÉÒ‡iɪÉÉå E Ò E cÒ {É®ÒIÉÉ ½ Ö<Ç ½ è +Éè® =xɺÉä iÉÒµÉ ´ÉÞ‡r, ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå E Éä ¤Éä½ iÉ® E Ò¨ÉiÉå iÉlÉÉ JÉÉt {Én ÉlÉÉç E Ò ={ɪÉÖH E Ò¨ÉiÉå |ÉÉ{iÉ ½ ÉäxÉä ¨Éå ºÉ¡ ±ÉiÉÉ ‡¨É±ÉÒ ½ è*

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

¨Éå ¨ÉɨɱÉä ¨Éå +Éi¨É ‡xɦÉÇ® ½Éä MɪÉÉ, {É® ¦ÉÉ®iÉÒªÉ ={É ¨É½ÉnÒ{É ¨Éå JÉäiÉÒ¤ÉÉcÒ E ä E É¨É ¨Éå +iªÉÉvÉÖ‡xÉE |ÉÉètÉä‡MÉE Ò E ä |ɪÉÉäMÉ E Ò <ºÉ ±É¨¤ÉÒ ªÉÉjÉÉ E Éä =ºÉE Ò ‡´É‡´ÉvÉ +´ÉºlÉÉ+ÉäÆ ¨Éå ‡SɇjÉiÉ E ®xÉä +Éè® ±ÉÉäMÉÉå E Ò <‡iÉ½ÉºÉ E Ò {É®iÉÉå ¨Éå ±Éä VÉÉxÉä E ä ‡±ÉB BE EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉYÉÉxÉ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E ä ‡±ÉB nä„É E Éä º´ÉÉvÉÒxÉiÉÉ E ä ¤ÉÉn E ®Ò¤É U½ n„ÉE iÉE |ÉiÉÒIÉÉ E ®xÉÒ {ÉcÒ * ‡n±±ÉÒ ¨Éå xÉ´ÉƤɮ 2004 ¨Éå ®É¹]Å{ɇiÉ bÉ. B.{ÉÒ.VÉä.+¤nÖ±É E ±ÉÉ¨É xÉä ®É¹]ÅÒªÉ EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉYÉÉxÉ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E É =nÂPÉÉ]xÉ ‡E ªÉÉ * ºÉ¦ÉÒ ºÉÆOɽɱɪÉÉå E Ò iÉ®½ EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉYÉÉxÉ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E Éä ¦ÉÒ MɇiÉ„ÉÒ±É ½ÉäxÉÉ {ÉciÉÉ ½è* ¦ÉÉ®iÉ VÉèºÉä ‡´É„ÉÉ±É VÉ致ÉE , +ÉxÉÖ´ÉÉƇ„ÉE +Éè® VɱɴÉɪÉÖ ‡´É‡´ÉvÉiÉÉ ´ÉɱÉä nä„É ¨Éå ‡E ºÉÒ ¦ÉÒ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E Éä ºÉ¦ÉÒ IÉäjÉÉå, ºÉ¦ÉÒ ¡ ºÉ±ÉÉå +Éè® ´ÉèYÉɇxÉE ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ E Ò ºÉ¦ÉÒ PÉ]xÉÉ+ÉäÆ E É E ä´É±É xÉÉ¨É ¨ÉÉjÉ E É ‡SÉjÉhÉ E ®xÉä ¨Éå ½Ò E <Ç n„ÉE ±ÉMÉ ºÉE iÉä ½é* <ºÉE ä ¤ÉÉ´ÉVÉÚn xɪÉÉ JÉÖ±ÉÉ ªÉ½ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ {ÉÖ®ÉxÉä ºÉ¨ÉªÉ ºÉä +¤É iÉE EÞ ‡¹É E ɪÉÇ E ä ¯ {ÉÉÆiÉ® +Éè® <ºÉ IÉäjÉ ¨Éå ´ÉèYÉɇxÉE |ÉMɇiÉ ºÉƤÉÆvÉÒ ºÉÚSÉxÉÉ+ÉäÆ E É BE ¦É´ªÉ ºÉÆOɽ ½è* ´É½ÉÆ ®JÉä iÉè±É ‡SÉjÉÉå +Éè® {ÉÖ®ÉiÉÉÎi´ÉE ´ÉºiÉÖ+ÉäÆ E ä ¤ÉÉ®ä ¨Éå n„ÉÇE Éå E Éä ºÉ¨ÉZÉÉxÉä E Ò ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ ½è* ªÉ½ E É¨É BE ªÉÉƇjÉE +É´ÉIÉ ¨ÉÚÌiÉ E ä ¨ÉÉvªÉ¨É ºÉä ‡E ªÉÉ VÉÉiÉÉ ½è VÉÉä BäºÉÒ ´ÉºiÉÖ+ÉäÆ ºÉä ºÉƤÉƇvÉiÉ {ÉÚ®Ò E lÉÉ E É ´ÉhÉÇxÉ E ®iÉÒ ½è * ªÉ½ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ 10 JÉhbÉå ¨Éå ¤ÉÉÆ]É MɪÉÉ ½è * |ÉiªÉäE JÉhb {ÉÚ´ÉÇ <‡iÉ½ÉºÉ E É±É ºÉä +ÉVÉ iÉE E ä ‡´É‡¦ÉxxÉ E É±É JÉhbÉå ¨Éå EÞ ‡¹É E ä ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ +Éè® iÉE xÉÒE Ò |ÉMɇiÉ n„ÉÉÇiÉÉ ½è * <ºÉ¨Éå BE JÉÆb ¤ÉSSÉÉå E ä ‡±ÉB ½è * ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E Ò ¦ÉÉ´ÉxÉÉ E Ò ºÉÉÆE ä‡iÉE |ɺiÉÖ‡iÉ E ®iÉä ½ÖB ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ¦É´ÉxÉ ¨Éå U½ ºiɨ¦É ¤ÉxÉÉB MÉB ½é * ªÉä ºiɨ¦É, ¨ÉÞnÉ, VɱÉ, VɱɴÉɪÉÖ, ¤ÉÒVÉ, ={ÉE ®hÉ +Éè® EÞ ¹ÉE E ä |ÉiÉÒE ½é * EÞ ‡¹É ¨Éå <xÉ ºiɨ¦ÉÉå E ä ªÉÉäMÉnÉxÉ E É ´É½ÉÆ +ɇbªÉÉä ´ÉÒVÉÖ+±É iÉlÉÉ <±ÉèC]ÅÉì‡xÉE ¨ÉÉvªÉ¨ÉÉå E ä |ɪÉÉäMÉ ºÉä ºÉVÉÒ´É ‡SÉjÉhÉ ‡E ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è* ªÉÚÆ iÉÉä <ºÉ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ¨Éå iÉ®½-iÉ®½ E ä ¤ÉÒVÉ, ={ÉE ®hÉ, ‡SɇcªÉÉå +Éè® ¨ÉU‡±ÉªÉÉå E Ò ‡´É‡¦ÉxxÉ |ÉVÉɇiɪÉÉå E Éä =xÉE ä ´Éɺiɇ´ÉE ° {É ¨Éå ºÉÉIÉÉiÉ näJÉÉ VÉÉ ºÉE iÉÉ ½è {É® VÉÉä SÉÒVÉå ºÉÉIÉÉiÉ xÉ½Ó |ɺiÉÖiÉ E Ò VÉÉ ºÉE iÉÓ, =x½å ¨ÉÉb±ÉÉå E ä Vɇ®B {Éä„É ‡E ªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è * {ÉÚ´ÉÇ Bä‡iɽɇºÉE +Éè® ´Éè‡nE E ɱÉ: <ºÉ E É±É E ä ¤ÉÉ®ä ¨Éå ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ¨Éå ‡nJÉɪÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è ‡E ‡E ºÉ iÉ®½ PÉÖ¨ÉÆiÉÚ +Éè®

¦É]E iÉÒ ‡„ÉE É®Ò ¨ÉÉxÉ´É VÉɇiɪÉÉå xÉä |ÉɮƇ¦ÉE +´ÉºlÉÉ E ä OÉɨªÉVÉÒ´ÉxÉ ¨Éå ¤ÉºÉE ® EÞ ‡¹É E ɪÉÇ „ÉÖ¯ ‡E ªÉÉ +Éè® vÉÒ®ä-vÉÒ®ä JÉä‡iɽ® ºÉ¨ÉÉVÉ ¤ÉxÉiÉÉ MɪÉÉ * =ºÉ ªÉÖMÉ ¨Éå ±ÉÉäMÉÉå xÉä xÉB-xÉB +ÉèVÉÉ® ‡´ÉE ‡ºÉiÉ ‡E B +Éè® E Éè„É±É |ÉÉ{iÉ ‡E ªÉÉ * ¨ÉxÉÖ¹ªÉ xÉä ‡¨É]Â]Ò E ä ¤ÉiÉÇxÉ ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ ºÉÒJÉÉ +Éè® +xÉÉVÉ E Ò ‡{ɺÉÉ<Ç +Éè® E {ÉcÉ ¤ÉÖxÉxÉä E Ò E ±ÉÉ ¦ÉÒ +É MɪÉÒ * ±ÉÉäMÉ VÉÉxÉ´É® {ÉɱÉxÉä ±ÉMÉä * ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E ä |ÉÉMÉè‡iɽɇºÉE JÉhb ¨Éå Þ|ÉɮƇ¦ÉE ¨ÉÉxÉ´É +Éè® ¦ÉÉäVÉxÉ E Ò iɱÉÉ„ÉÞ „ÉÒ¹ÉÇE E ä +ÆiÉMÉÇiÉ ¨ÉxÉÖ¹ªÉ E ä ‡´ÉSÉ®hÉ ºÉä ¤ÉºÉÉ´É] E ä ¤ÉÒSÉ E Ò E lÉÉ ‡SɇjÉiÉ E Ò MɪÉÒ ½è * ºÉ¨ÉªÉ E ä |É´Éɽ E ä ºÉÉlÉ ¤ÉºiÉÒ +Éè® ºÉ¨ÉÉVÉ +‡vÉE ºÉ¨ÉÖxxÉiÉ ½ÖB * ˺ÉvÉÖ PÉÉ]Ò E Ò ºÉ¦ªÉiÉÉ +ÉxÉä iÉE ‡E ºÉÉxÉ EÞ ‡¹É E ɪÉÇ ¨Éå iÉÉƤÉä +Éè® E ÉƺÉä E É |ɪÉÉäMÉ E ®xÉä ±ÉMÉä lÉä* ½±É E É +ɇ´É¹E É® E ® ‡±ÉªÉÉ MɪÉÉ +Éè® fÖ±ÉÉ<Ç E ä ‡±ÉB {ɇ½ªÉÉå ´ÉɱÉÒ MÉÉcÒ <ºiÉä¨ÉÉ±É ½ÉäxÉä ±ÉMÉÒ * ˺ÉSÉÉ<Ç „ÉÖ¯ ½ÉäxÉä ºÉä JÉäiÉÒ E É {Éè¨ÉÉxÉÉ ¤ÉfÃÉ +Éè® MÉä½ÚÆ, VÉÉè, n±É½xÉ +Éè® +xªÉ ¡ ºÉ±ÉÉå E Ò JÉäiÉÒ ½ÉäxÉä ±ÉMÉÒ * +‡vÉE ¨ÉÉjÉÉ ¨Éå =i{ÉxxÉ +xÉÉVÉ E ä ºÉÆOɽ E ä ‡±ÉB JÉkÉÒ +Éè® ¤ÉJÉÉ®Éå E É iÉ®ÒE É fÚÆf ‡xÉE ɱÉÉ MɪÉÉ * ´Éè‡nE +Éè® =kÉ® ´Éè‡nE E É±É ¨Éå EÞ ‡¹É E ɪÉÇ ¨Éå ±ÉÉä½ä E ä ={ÉE ®hÉÉå E É |ɪÉÉäMÉ „ÉÖ° ½Éä MɪÉÉ lÉÉ * ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ¨Éå n„ÉÇE Éå E Éä ªÉ½ näJÉE ® ¨ÉVÉÉ +ÉiÉÉ ½è ‡E ´Éè‡nE +ɪÉÉç E É SÉÆp-ºÉÉè® {ÉÆSÉÉÆMÉ {ÉÞl´ÉÒ E Ò {ɇ®G ¨ÉÉ +Éè® EÞ ‡¹É E ɪÉÉç E ä ¤ÉÒSÉ ºÉƤÉÆvÉ ºlÉɇ{ÉiÉ E ®xÉä ¨Éå ‡E ºÉ iÉ®½ ºÉ½ÉªÉE ½Ö+É * ´É½ÉÆ {ÉÚhÉÇ +ÉE É® E ä ‡¨É]Â]Ò E Ò |ɇiÉEÞ ‡iɪÉÉå E ä ¨ÉÉvªÉ¨É ºÉä ´Éè‡nE E É±É E ä VÉÒ´ÉxÉ, ´Éä¹É¦ÉÚ¹ÉÉ, E ɪÉÇ ‡´ÉiÉ®hÉ +Éè® MÉÉÆ´É E ä ´ÉÉiÉÉ´É®hÉ E Ò ZÉÉƇE ªÉÉÄ |ɺiÉÖiÉ E Ò MɪÉÒ ½è * ¨ÉÖMÉ±É +Éè® +ÆOÉäVÉÒ E É±É : ºÉ±iÉxÉiÉ +Éè® ¨ÉÖMÉ±É E É±É ¨Éå ¦ÉÚ‡¨É +Éè® E Ò¨ÉiÉ ºÉÖvÉÉ® ±ÉÉMÉÚ ‡E B MÉB * ¤Éɤɮ uÉ®É ‡´ÉE ‡ºÉiÉ E ®ÉB MÉB ¤ÉMÉÒSÉÉå E É BE ±ÉPÉÖ ¨ÉÉb±É =ºÉ VɨÉÉxÉä ¨Éå =tÉxÉ „ÉɺjÉ ¨Éå |ÉMɇiÉ E Éä n„ÉÉÇiÉÉ ½è * ´É½ÉÆ VÉÉxÉä ºÉä +É{É E Éä ªÉ½ ¦ÉÒ {ÉiÉÉ SɱÉiÉÉ ½è ‡E ¨ÉÖMÉ±É ¤ÉÉn„Éɽ VɽÉÆMÉÒ® ‡E ºÉ iÉ®½ ¦ÉÉ®iÉ E ä ¡ ±É¡Ú ±É +Éè® ´Éxɺ{ɇiɪÉÉå E É ¤ªÉÉè®É ®JÉiÉÉ lÉÉ * =ºÉE ä ¤ÉÉn {ÉÖiÉÇMÉɇ±ÉªÉÉå xÉä +ÉE ® ¦ÉÉ®iÉ ¨Éå EÖ U xÉB-xÉB |ÉE É® E ä {ÉÉèvÉä ±ÉMÉÉB * <ºÉ ºÉ¨ÉÞ‡r ‡´É®ÉºÉiÉ E ä ºÉÉlÉ +ÆOÉäVÉÒ „ÉɺÉxÉ E ä ºÉ¨ÉªÉ ¦ÉÉ®iÉ E ä EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå +xÉäE ¨É½i´É{ÉÚhÉÇ ¤Én±ÉÉ´É ‡E B MÉB * =ºÉ nÉè®ÉxÉ EÞ ‡¹É E É {ÉÆVÉÒE ®hÉ „ÉÖ¯ ½Ö+É * =xxÉiÉ ¤ÉÒVÉ ¤ÉÉäB VÉÉxÉä ±ÉMÉä, ¤Écä ¤ÉÉÆvÉÉå E É ‡xɨÉÉÇhÉ ½Ö+É iÉlÉÉ EÞ ‡¹É +xÉÖºÉÆvÉÉxÉ ´É ‡„ÉIÉÉ

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Section -1 (Article : Hindi Article)

E Ò ´ªÉ´ÉºlÉÉ E Ò MɪÉÒ * +ÆOÉäVÉÉå E ä ºÉ¨ÉªÉ E É BE JÉänVÉxÉE {ɽ±ÉÚ ªÉ½ lÉÉ ‡E =xÉE É vªÉÉxÉ ¦ÉÉ®iÉ ¨Éå EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ ºÉä VªÉÉnÉ +{ÉxÉÉ ®ÉVɺ´É ¤ÉfÃÉxÉä {É® lÉÉ * º´ÉiÉÆjÉ ¦ÉÉ®iÉ +Éè® ½‡®iÉ G ÉƇiÉ: º´ÉÉvÉÒxÉiÉÉ E ä ¤ÉÉn ¦ÉÉ®iÉ xÉä EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå iÉäVÉÒ ºÉä iÉ®CE Ò E Ò* ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ¨Éå º´ÉÉvÉÒxÉ ¦ÉÉ®iÉ E ä EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ E Ò VÉÒ´ÉÆiÉ E ½ÉxÉÒ |ɺiÉÖiÉ E Ò MɪÉÒ ½è * <ºÉE ä ‡±ÉB ¨ÉÉb±ÉÉå iÉlÉÉ o„ªÉ-¸É´ªÉ ¨ÉÉvªÉ¨ÉÉå E É ºÉ½É®É ‡±ÉªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è * ºÉÉ` E ä n„ÉE E Ò ½‡®iÉ G ÉƇiÉ +Éè® =ºÉE ä ¤ÉÉn E ä ‡´ÉE ÉºÉ ºÉä +xÉÉVÉ E É =i{ÉÉnxÉ ´ÉÉ̹ÉE {ÉÉÆSÉ E ®Éäc ]xÉ ºÉä ¤Éfà E ® 20 E ®Éäc ]xÉ iÉE {ɽÖÆSÉ MɪÉÉ ½è* ªÉ½ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ½‡®iÉ G ÉƇiÉ E ä xÉɪÉE Éå E É ªÉÉäMÉnÉxÉ ‡SɇjÉiÉ E ® =xÉE Éä ¸ÉrÉÆVɇ±É +Ì{ÉiÉ E ®iÉÉ ½è * ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E Ò nÒPÉÉÇ+ÉäÆ ¨Éå E n¨É-n®-E n¨É EÞ ‡¹É IÉäjÉ ¨Éå |ɪÉÉäMÉ ¨Éå +ÉB +ÉvÉÖ‡xÉE ={ÉE ®hÉÉå +Éè® +ÉxÉÖ´ÉÉƇ„ÉE +‡¦ÉªÉÉƇjÉE Ò VÉèºÉÒ xɪÉÒ =nҪɨÉÉxÉ |ÉÉètÉä‡MɇE ªÉÉå E Ò E ½ÉxÉÒ n„ÉÉÇ<Ç MɪÉÒ ½è * <ºÉ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ E Ò ®SÉxÉÉ ¨Éå {ÉÚ®Ò E ±{ÉxÉÉ„ÉÒ±ÉiÉÉ E É {ɇ®SÉªÉ ‡¨É±ÉiÉÉ ½è iÉlÉÉ <ºÉ¨Éå ªÉÖ´ÉÉ {ÉÒfÃÒ E ä ‡±ÉB +ÉE ¹ÉÇhÉ +Éè® ¨ÉÉèVɨɺiÉÒ E É ¦ÉÒ vªÉÉxÉ ®JÉÉ MɪÉÉ ½è * ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ näJÉxÉä +ÉxÉä ´ÉɱÉä UÉjÉ-UÉjÉÉBÆ ]SÉ -ºG ÒxÉ |ÉhÉɱÉÒ ºÉä EÞ ‡¹É E ä iÉlÉÉ nè‡xÉE EÞ ‡¹É VÉÒ´ÉxÉ E ä ¤ÉÉ®ä ¨Éå +{ÉxÉä YÉÉxÉ E Ò {É®JÉ E ® ºÉE iÉä ½é* ½c{{ÉÉ ºÉ¦ªÉiÉÉ E Ò EÞ ‡¹É, |ÉE É„É ºÉÆ„±Éä¹ÉhÉ E Ò |ɇG ªÉÉ, +Æbä ºÉä ¨ÉÖMÉÔ iÉE E É ‡´ÉE ɺÉ, SÉÉE ±Éä] ¤ÉxÉÉxÉÉ +Éè® ‡¤ÉºEÖ ] E Ò „ÉÖ¯ +ÉiÉ- ´É½ÉÆ BäºÉÒ ¤É½ÖiÉ ºÉÒ ¤ÉÉiÉå n„ÉÉÇ<Ç MɪÉÒ ½é VÉÉä ¤ÉcÉå E É YÉÉxÉ ¤ÉfÃÉxÉä E ä ºÉÉlÉ-ºÉÉlÉ ¤ÉSSÉÉå E Ò ‡VÉYÉɺÉÉ ¦ÉÒ „ÉÉÆiÉ E ®iÉÒ ½é * <ºÉ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ ¨Éå nä„É-‡´Énä„É ºÉä +Éè® ¦ÉÒ ´ÉºiÉÖBÆ VÉÖ]ÉxÉä iÉlÉÉ nä„É E ä ‡´É‡¦ÉxxÉ ¦ÉÉMÉÉå ºÉä ‡´É‡¦ÉxxÉ SÉÒVÉÉå E ä ºÉVÉÒ´É xɨÉÚxÉä ±ÉÉE ® ®JÉxÉä E Ò ªÉÉäVÉxÉÉ ½è * <ºÉ¨Éå BE +Éè® JÉhb VÉÉäcxÉä E É <®ÉnÉ ½è ‡VɺɨÉå ´ÉèYÉɇxÉE JÉäiÉÒ E ä iÉÉè®iÉ®ÒE ä +Éè® EÞ ‡¹É ‡´ÉYÉÉxÉ ¨Éå xɪÉÒ-xɪÉÒ |ÉMɇiÉ n„ÉÉÇ<Ç VÉÉBMÉÒ * <ºÉE ä {ÉÒUä ¨ÉÆ„ÉÉ ½è ‡E ªÉ½ ºÉÆOÉ½É±ÉªÉ YÉÉxÉ E É ºÉÆOɽ E åp ½ÉäxÉä E ä ºÉÉlÉ-ºÉÉlÉ nä„É E ä ‡E ºÉÉxÉÉå E Ò ºÉä´ÉÉ ¦ÉÒ E ® ºÉE ä*

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions

India-Specific Studies on GHG Emissions Profile Released India’s per capita emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) will continue to be low until the year 203031. In fact, it is estimated that India’s per capita emissions in the year 2031 will be lower than the per capita global emission of GHG in the year 2005. These significant findings were contained in a Report “India’s GHG Emissions Profile: Results of Five Climate Modelling Studies” released on September 02, 2009 by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The Minister of Environment & Forests Shri Jairam Ramesh presided over the function. The Chairman of Unique Identity Authority of India, Shri Nandan Nilekani was also present on the occasion. As per the estimates of the five different studies, India’s per capita GHG emissions in 2030-31 would be between 2.77 tonnes and 5.00 tonnes of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide equivalent). Four of the five studies estimated that even in 2031, India’s per capita GHG emissions would stay under 4 tonnes of CO2e which is lower than the global per capita emissions of 4.22 tonnes of CO2e in 2005. This would mean that even two decades from now, India’s per capita GHG emissions would be well below the global average of 25 years earlier. In absolute terms, estimates of India’s GHG emissions in 2031 vary from 4.0 billion tones to 7.3 billion tones of CO2e, with four of the five studies estimating that even two decades from now, India’s GHG emissions will remain under 6 billion tones. The key drivers of the range of these estimates are the assumptions on GDP growth

rates, penetration of clean energy, energy efficiency improvements etc. All the five studies show evidence of a substantial and continuous improvement in India’s energy efficiency of GDP. India’s energy use efficiency has been steadily improving over the years which is reflected in the decline of its energy intensity of GDP from 0.30 kgoe (kilogram of oil equivalent) per $ of GDP in 1980 to 0.16 kgoe per $ GDP in PPP (purchasing power parity) terms. This is comparable to Germany and only Japan, UK, Brazil and Denmark have lower energy intensities in the world. An Enhanced Energy Efficiency Mission has recently been approved in principle under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. Of the five studies on GHG emissions profile in India, three were conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)Jadavpur University, The Energy Research Institute (TERI) and the Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) with the support of the Ministry of Environment & Forests. Two other studies by TERI and Mckinsey and Company were conducted with support from other agencies. These studies were taken up with a view to develop a fact based perspective on climate change in India that clearly reflects the realities of its economic growth, the policy and regulatory structures and the vulnerabilities of climate change. The Ministry of Environment & Forests functioned as the facilitator, bringing together the five studies undertaken independently, enabling

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

a thorough review process and publishing the results with a view to generate a meaningful and informed dialogue on the subject of Climate Change.

Greenhouse Gases Greenhouse gases naturally blanket the Earth and keep it about 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would be without these gases in the atmosphere. This is called the Greenhouse Effect. Over the past century, the Earth has increased in temperature by about .5 degrees Celsius and many scientists believe this is because of an increase in concentration of the main greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons. People are now calling this climate change over the past century the beginning of Global Warming. Fears are that if people keep producing such gases at increasing rates, the results will be negative in nature, such as more severe floods and droughts, increasing prevalence of insects, sea levels rising, and Earth's precipitation may be redistributed. These changes to the environment will most likely cause negative effects on society, such as lower health and decreasing economic development. However, some scientists argue that the global warming we are experiencing now is a natural phenomenon, and is part of Earth's natural cycle. Presently, nobody can prove if either theory is correct, but one thing is certain; the world has been emitting greenhouse gases at extremely high rates and has shown only small signs of reducing emissions until the last few years. After the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the world has finally taken the first step in reducing emissions.

Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is the heating of the Earth due to the presence of greenhouse gases. It is named this way because of a similar effect produced by the glass panes of a greenhouse. Shorterwavelength solar radiation from the sun passes through Earth's atmosphere, then is absorbed by the surface of the Earth, causing it to warm. Part

of the absorbed energy is then reradiated back to the atmosphere as long wave infrared radiation. Little of this long wave radiation escapes back into space; the radiation cannot pass through the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases selectively transmit the infrared waves, trapping some and allowing some to pass through into space. The greenhouse gases absorb these waves and reemits the waves downward, causing the lower atmosphere to warm.

Government’s Stance India is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and falls under the non-Annexe I countries, or developing countries group. This implies that India does not have any binding commitments to reduce the level of its carbon emissions. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” This said India is currently one of fastest growing emitters of green house gasses (GHG) with a 65% increase in emissions between 1990-2005 and projected increase of another 70% by 2020. Added to that India is presently the fifth largest GHG emitter (absolute terms) and contributes 5% of global emissions. The Government of India has committed itself to vastly improving the country’s human development indices by 2031-2032. In order to do so, the country must average economic growth of at least 8 percent per annum for the next twenty-five years. According to a report released by the Planning Commission of India, if India is to sustain an 8 percent level of growth, then it will need to increase its primary energy supply by at least 3 or 4 times and its electricity supply by a factor of 5 to 7 by 2031-2032. Likewise, power generation capacity will have to increase from 120,000 MW to 780,000 MW. In addition The Government of India has undertaken to completely meet India’s growing elec-

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

tricity needs by 2012 so that shortage of energy supply does not impair the growth and development needs of our booming economy and industry, as well as to electrify all villages in India under a time bound programme. As currently renewable and alternate energy sources are not mainstream sources, the government aims to achieve its goal through major investment in thermal and hydro- electric power (50,000 MW Hydro and 1,00,000 MW Thermal projects have been planned).

development, not the other way round.

The energy sector is already the biggest contributor to GHG emissions in India and the above demands, while being a legitimate and necessary to improve the quality of life of vast sectors of the Indian public and ensure economic and social development, will lead to an inevitable increase in GHG emissions in coming years. This is especially as the majority of the energy needs will be met through fossil fuel based sources and coal in particular.

GHG stay in the atmosphere for long durations of time after they are emitted. According to the IPCC “about 50% of a CO2 increase will be removed from the atmosphere within 30 years, and a further 30% will be removed within a few centuries. The remaining 20% may stay in the atmosphere for many thousands of years.” Other estimates claim that, “If all recoverable fossil fuels were burnt up using today’s technologies, after 1,000 years the air would still hold around a third to a half of the CO2 emissions.” The bottom line is that GHG emitted today will cause problems not just today but possibly hundreds or even thousands of years from now.

Given this rapid growth in emission rates and the magnitude of likely future emissions The United States of America and other countries from the West are pressurizing rapidly developing countries like India and China to accept binding emission reduction targets. They claim that these countries will soon overtake the developed world in carbon emissions and hence should also shoulder the burden of reducing these emissions. They want India and China to take on such commitments in the post-Kyoto regime. The Indian position on this issue has been quite rigid and consistent. The Government of India has long argued that while climate change is a pressing global problem that needs to be solved, for developing countries like India, the prime goal is that of development and securing a good standard of living for the large number of poor and vulnerable peoples. In the words of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, Shyam Saran, “Developing Countries have the responsibility to engage in sustainable development but their emission reductions will be the result of sustainable

The arguments India uses to support this position are centered around the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities (as is with the UNFCCC) and equity. These arguments can be categorized under three broad heads as Historical Responsibility, Per-capita emissions, Technology transfer

Historic Responsibility

Given this, the Indian Government argues that India has played a insignificant role in bringing about the present problem, which they say, is caused by emissions of the developed countries during their process of industrialization. This claim is backed up by statistics. As can be seen from the following figure between 1850 and 2000 India contributed only 2% of the cumulative, energy related CO2 emissions, while the United States of America contributed 30% and the European Union 27%. Thus, India feels that the burden of solving the problem should also rest with these developed countries of the West.

Per-capita Emissions One major point of difference between the developed nations and India is over how to measure GHG emissions. The United States of America talks in terms of absolute emissions, while India

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

says emissions should be measured on a per-capita basis. The reasoning behind this argument is given in the adjoining box. When viewed from the perspective of per-capita emissions, India’s case seems to become stronger. Though it might be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gasses, according to a WWF report, India’s per capita emissions of GHG were just 1.8 tonnes compared 24 tonnes per capita by the United States. If we look at carbon dioxide levels this is even less. In 2005 India’s per capita CO2 emissions were 1.1 tonnes which, as can be seen from the following diagram is significantly lower than the global average and much lower than that of the United States which is close to 20 tonnes CO2 per-capita. The per capita emissions argument is extremely compelling when viewed from the development perspective. The developing countries argue that their per emissions are due to their efforts to develop and thus as the process continues with more production of goods and services and more and more people get access to electricity, heating, modern transport etc., the per capita emissions will go up corresponding to the increase in living standards. Developed countries on the other hand have already achieved very high levels of both development and quality of life. Thus, the fact that developed countries have higher per capita emissions is an indication that their emissions are now due to increased production and consumption of luxuries and not due to legitimate development needs as is the case of developing countries.

from with regard to different socio-economic groups. Greenpeace released a report called “Is India Hiding Behind the Poor” on 12 November 2007 that highlights this issue. According to the study, “The richest consumer classes produce 4.5 times more CO2 than the poorest class, and almost 3 times more than the average.” The report further states, “…the richest income class in this study, earning more than 30,000 rupees a month, produce slightly less than the global average CO2 emissions of 5 tonnes, this amount already exceeds the sustainable global average CO2 emissions of 2.5 tonnes per capita that needs to be reached to limit global warming below 2 degrees centigrade.” Though using per capita emissions is a fair and equitable yardstick, especially given the urgent development need of many poor countries, this principle needs to be applied both internally and externally. The Indian Government should therefore take measures to control wasteful, non-development related emissions.

Government Policies

Given this, India believes that international climate change agreements should set targets for convergence of per capita emissions between developed and developing countries and not ask developing countries to forgo development by imposing emission reduction targets on them. This would be a more equitable arrangement.

This does not mean that the Indian Government is not doing anything about climate change. India is a signatory to both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol and takes active part in multi-lateral negotiations on climate change. An example is India’s membership of the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate 2005. Under this partnership Foreign, Environment and Energy Ministers from partner countries agreed to cooperate on development and transfer of technology, which enables reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Ministers agreed to a Charter, Communique and Work Plan that outline a “private-public task forcess to address climate change, energy security and air pollution.” In addition, India has submitted its first National Communication on Climate Change (NATCOM I) and is currently working on NATCOM II.

There, however, is one serious drawback with this line of reasoning. While India calls for per capita measurement of emissions globally, internally it does not analyse where the emissions are coming

With regards to policies, India has in place many environmental laws, which attempt to reduce pollution and environmental damage, even though not all were framed specifically to tackle climate

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

change. Some of these policies/regulations are mentioned in the adjoining box. In India, a major concern is securing compliance to these policies.

Some key policies are:

Remote Village Electrification Programme (RVE) 2001: Electrify all the remote villages and remote hamlets through non-conventional energy sources such as solar energy, small hydro-power, biomass, wind energy, hybrid systems, etc. The Programme aims at bringing the benefits of electricity to people living in the most backward and deprived regions of the country. Energy Conservation Act 2001: The Indian Parliament passed The Energy Conservation Act 2001, in September 2001. This Act requires large energy consumers to adhere to energy consumption norms; new buildings to follow the Energy Conservation Building Code; and appliances to meet energy performance standards and to display energy consumption labels. The Act also created the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to implement the provisions of the Act. Integrated Energy Policy 2006: Released in August 2006 it addresses all aspects of energy, including energy security, access and availability, affordability and pricing, efficiency and the environment. In relation to renewable energy, the policy proposed: » The phase-out of capital subsidies by the end of the 10th Plan linked to creation of renewable grid power capacity;

» Requiring power regulators to seek alternative

incentive structures that encourage utilities to integrate wind, small hydro, cogeneration and so on into their systems, and the linking of all such incentives to energy generated as opposed to capacity created;

» Requiring power regulators to mandate feed-in laws for renewable energy, where appropriate, as provided under the Electricity Act 2003.

Labelling Programme for Appliances 2006: A star rating based labeling programme has been introduced for four commonly used consumer goods that indicate their energy efficiency. The goods covered as of now are; fluorescent tube-lights, air conditioners, refrigerators, distribution transformers. Introduced and managed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) these ratings are meant to be a guide to consumers so they make an informed decision. The ratings are backed by an aggressive media campaign that aims at increasing awareness by informing customers of the cost benefits of energy efficient appliances. Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2007: The ECBC was developed in 2006 and issued May 2007. It is not mandatory the first three years, and will become so in 2010, to allow the necessary implementation capacity to be developed. The code will be mandatory for all new buildings (commercial buildings or complexes) with a connected load of 500kW or more, or a contract demand of 600 kVA or greater. It will also apply to buildings with a conditioned floor space of 1 000m2 or greater. The code sets minimum requirements for building envelope components, lighting, HVAC, electrical system, water heating and pumping systems. There would be three ways of being compliant with the ECBC. First, through a prescriptive approach, i.e. all minimum standards for separate components must be met. Second, the envelope and lighting system would be assessed through a systems performance criteria, while other components would have to meet the minimum requirements. Third, setting the whole building target energy use and trading off between systems (Energy cost budget method). State and municipal governments must implement the code, while state governments are allowed to modify the code if necessary to account for local climatic conditions. In February 2008 an ECBC tip sheet and Technology atlas were distributed to developers, architects, engineers and other building energy efficiency professionals.

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

Solar Power Generation Based Incentive 2008: In January 2008, the federal minister responsible for renewable energy announced that the Indian government would provide a subsidy for solar power plants to help develop renewable energy infrastructure. The incentives, for a period of 10 years, will be over and above any financial assistance provided by the states. Generation based incentives for wind power 2008: In July 2008, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a new generation-based incentive scheme for wind power production. The scheme is designed to promote investment in new and large independent wind power producers, to fulfil a target of securing 10 500 MW of new wind power capacity by 2012. Energy Conservation Awards: The Ministry of Power instituted National Energy Conservation Awards, coordinated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, to recognize industrial units that have made special efforts to reduce energy consumption. In the first five years, the participating industrial units collectively saved 2397 million units of electrical energy; 9067 kilo litre of furnace oil; 2.76 Mt of coal and 11,585 million cubic metre of gas per year, resulting in substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. National Action Plan on Climate Change: On 30 June 2008, India released its first National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlining existing and future policies and programmes directed at climate change mitigation and adaptation. The plan outlines eight “National Missions” running up to 2017, and ministries are directed to submit detailed implementation plans to the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change by December 2008. Several target energy use, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as improved research capacity on climate change issues. Other missions target water efficiency, agriculture, forestation, and ecosystem conservation.

India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change This plan outlines eight “national missions are following: 1. National Solar Mission 2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency 3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat 4. National Water Mission 5. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem 6. National Mission for a Green India 7. National Mission fro Sustainable Agriculture 8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change National Solar Mission: Great importance has been given to the National Solar Mission in the NAPCC. This is justified by the fact that India is ideally situated in the equatorial Sun Belt receiving abundant solar radiation the year around. The average solar insolation incident over India is about 5.5 kWh/m2 per day, which means that just 1% of India’s land can meet the country’s entire electricity requirement till 2030. The stated objective of the mission is to increase the share of solar energy and other renewable and non-fossil based energy sources in the total energy mix of the country. This includes nuclear energy as a non-fossil option.The mission also calls for the launch of a research and development (R&D) programme that, with the help of international cooperation, would look into creating more cost-effective, sustainable and convenient solar power systems. The NAPCC sets the solar mission a target of delivering 80% coverage for all low temperature (<150° C) applications of solar energy in urban areas, industries and commercial establishments, and a target of 60% coverage for medium temperature (150° C to 250° C) applications. The deadline for achieving this is the duration of the 11th

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

and 12th five-year plans, through to 2017. In addition, rural applications are to be pursued through public-private partnership. The NAPCC also sets the target of 1000 MW/annum of photovoltaic production from integrated facilities by 2017 as well as 1000 MW of Concentrating Solar Power generation capacity. These efforts are to be backed by R&D to ensure that India develops commercial and near commercial solar technologies. The ultimate aim is to develop a solar industry that is competitive against fossil fuel options within the next 20-25 years. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: This Mission is basically targeted at industry, which, according to the NAPCC, accounts for 42% of the country’s total commercial energy use (2004-2005) and 31 % of total CO2 emissions (1994). The Government of India already had a number of initiatives to promote energy efficiency in place before the NAPCC such as the star labelling system and energy conservation building code and had also passed the Energy Conservation Act of 2001. In addition to these, the NAPCC calls for: · Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy consuming industries and creating a framework to certify excess energy savings along with market based, mechanisms to trade these savings. This is aimed at enhancing cost effectiveness of improvements in energy efficiency in energy-intensive sectors.

» Innovative measures to make energy efficient appliances/products in certain sectors more affordable.

» Creation of mechanisms to help finance demand side management programmes by capturing future energy savings and enabling public-privatepartnerships for this.

» Developing fiscal measures to promote energy

efficiency such as tax incentives for including dif-

ferential taxation on energy efficient certified appliances. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: The aim of the Mission is to make habitats more sustainable through a threefold approach that includes » Improvements in energy efficiency of buildings in residential and commercial sector » Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) » Promote urban public transport The NAPCC claims that use of energy efficient options could have achieve 30% electricity savings in new residential buildings and 40% in new commercial buildings. For existing buildings the corresponding savings are 20% and 30% respectively. The authors call for a wide and diverse range of policy instruments to overcome the barriers to adoption of energy efficient options in residential and commercial sectors, highlight the need for more a more competitive market for energy efficient products and advocate an involving all stakeholders. In addition, they once again stress on the need for technology transfer from developed countries. With regards to MSW, the Plan suggests some policy reforms such as common regional disposal facilities for smaller towns and villages in a particular region, and integrated system for collection, transport, transfer, treatment and disposal facilities. Finally, with regards to urban public transport, the NAPCC endorses mass transit such as buses, railways and mass rapid transit systems and the use of CNG, ethanol blending in gasoline and biodiesel. Hydrogen is something that is mentioned for the future. In addition, the Plan proposes the promotion of costal shipping and inland waterways, increasing attractiveness of railways, introducing appropriate transport pricing measures to influence purchase and use of vehicles in respect of fuel efficiency and fuel choice, tightening regu-

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

latory standards in fuel-economy of automobiles.As with the other Missions, the Plan emphasises the need for R&D for all the components of the Sustainable Habitat Mission. National Water Mission: According to the NAPCC, out of the 4000 billion m3 of precipitation that India receives annually, only 1000 billion m3 is available for use, which comes to approx. 1000 m3 per capita per annum. Further, by 2050 it states that India is likely to be water scarce. The National Water Mission thus aims at conserving water, minimising wastage and ensuring more equitable distribution through integrated water resource management. It also aims to optimize water use efficiency by 20% by developing a framework of regulatory mechanisms having differential entitlements and pricing. In addition, the Water Mission calls for strategies to tackle variability in rainfall and river flows such as enhancing surface and underground water storage, rainwater harvesting and more efficient irrigation systems like sprinklers or drip irrigation. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: The NAPCC recognises the Himalayan ecosystem as vital to preserving the ecological security of the country. It consists of forests; perennial rivers which are a source of drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower; rich biodiversity; and is a major tourist attraction. All these are in danger from climate change through increases in temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, drought and glacier melt. The Plan calls for empowering local communities especially Panchayats to play a greater role in managing ecological resources. It also reaffirms the following measures mentioned in the National Environment Policy, 2006.

» Adopting appropriate land-use planning and water-shed management practices for sustainable development of mountain ecosystems

» Adopting best practices for infrastructure con-

struction in mountain regions to avoid or mini-

mize damage to sensitive ecosystems and despoiling of landscapes

» Encouraging cultivation of traditional varieties

of crops and horticulture by promoting organic farming, enabling farmers to realise a price premium

» Promoting sustainable tourism based on best

practices and multi-stakeholder partnerships to enable local communities to gain better livelihoods

» Taking measures to regulate tourist inflows into mountain regions to ensure that the carrying capacity of the mountain ecosystem is not breached

» Developing protection strategies for certain mountain scopes with unique “incomparable values”

National Mission for a Green India: This Mission aims at enhancing ecosystem services such as carbon sinks. It builds on the Prime Minister’s Green India campaign for afforestation of 6 million hectares and the national target of increasing land area under forest cover from 23% to 33%. It is to be implemented on degraded forest land through Joint Forest Management Committees set up under State Departments of Forests. These Committees will promote direct action by communities. The Green India programme suggests: » Training on silvicultural practices for fast-growing and climate-hardy tree species

» Reducing fragmentation of forests by provision

of corridors for species migration, both fauna and flora

» Enhancing public and private investments for

raising plantations for enhancing the cover and the density of forests

» Revitalizing and upscaling community-based ini-

tiatives such as Joint Forest Management and Van

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Section -2 (Hot Topics : India’s Per Capita GHG Emissions)

Panchayat committees for forest management » Formulation of forest fire management strategies In-situ and ex-situ conservation of genetic resources, especially of threatened flora and fauna

ance; development of GIS and remote sensing methodologies; mapping vulnerable regions and disease hotspots; and developing and implementing region-specific, vulnerability based contingency plans.

» Creation of biodiversity registers (at national,

Finally, it suggests greater access to information and use of biotechnology.

district, and local levels) for documenting genetic diversity and the associated traditional knowledge

» Effective implementation of the Protected Area

System under the Wildlife Conservation Act and National Biodiversity Conservation Act 2001 National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The aim is to make Indian agriculture more resilient to climate change by identifying new varieties of crops, especially thermal resistant ones and alternative cropping patterns. This is to be supported by integration of traditional knowledge and practical systems, information technology and biotechnology, as well as new credit and insurance mechanisms. In particular the Mission focuses on rain-fed agricultural zones and suggests:

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: This Mission will strive to work with the global community in research and technology development and collaboration through a variety of mechanisms and, in addition, will also have its own research agenda supported by a network of dedicated climate change related institutions and universities and a Climate Research Fund. The Mission will also encourage private sector initiatives for developing innovative technologies for adaptation and mitigation. The Mission includes: » Research in key substantive domains of climate science to improve understanding of key phenomena and processes

» Global and regional climate modelling to im-

varieties

prove the quality and accuracy of climate change projections for India

» Improving methods to conserve soil and water

» Strengthening of observational networks and

» Development of drought and pest resistant crop

Stakeholder consultations, training workshops and demonstration exercises for farming communities, for agro-climatic information sharing and dissemination

» Financial support to enable farmers to invest in

data gathering and assimilation to increase access and availability to relevant data

» Creation of essential research infrastructure, such as high performance computing

and adopt relevant technologies to overcome climatic related stresses

In addition, the Mission makes suggestions for safeguarding farmers against increased risk due to climate change. These suggestions include, strengthening agricultural and weather insurance; creation of web-enabled, regional language based services for facilitation of weather-based insur-

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Section -3 (Current Affairs : Current Relevant Facts)

Current Affairs Current Relevant Facts

The ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in New Delhi has broken the impasse and the Doha trade talks will resume in Geneva on September 14. Even as the 2010 deadline remains a stretch, trade ministers reaffirmed the need for development oriented talks.WTO members' chief negotiators will meet in Geneva from September 14, in the run-up to the Pittsburgh G20 summit, to grapple with outstanding issues in the talks, now in their eighth year, with the aim of completing the round by 2010. Political leaders have called repeatedly in recent months to conclude the Doha round, launched in 2001 to help developing countries grow by opening trade, to help pull the world out of the economic crisis and fight protectionism. The Delhi meeting did not look at any of the specific issues that remain open, such as a safeguard to help farmers in poor countries cope with a flood of imports, or proposals to eliminate duties entirely in some industrial sectors.That will be up to the negotiators, but India expressed confidence that such issues could be resolved around the negotiating table if countries were willing.The talks will resume on the basis of the draft negotiating texts issued in December 2008. That should provide comfort to WTO members from Brazil to the European Union who had feared that the United States wanted to unpick what has already been agreed over the past seven years, jeopardizing the emerging deal.Ministers also reiterated that the talks had to be multilateral, since any deal must be signed off by all 153 WTO members. South African Government has endorsed the call for celebrating former President and anti-Apartheid hero Nelson Mandela's birthday on 18th July as global Mandela Day. Cabinet called on all South Africans, civil society organisations and the citizens of the world to support the Mandela Day initiative by doing good work in their communities. The campaign led by the Nelson

Mandela Foundation seeks to encourage all of humanity to spend 67 minutes of their time doing something that would make a difference in their communities. A series of events, co-ordinated by 46664 and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, will be organised on the occasion of Mandela's 91st birthday this year in South Africa and around the world, especially New York. The untimely death of Subhas Chakraborty, 68, West Bengal’s Minister for Transport, Sports and Youth Affairs, in Kolkata on August 3 has caused a genuine void in the State’s Left circles. A maverick Communist in every sense being unorthodox and independentminded both in his utterances and his activities. His livewire contacts with the people at large was used by the party leadership in different ways—in mass mobilisation as well as during elections in varied forms—but the same leadership did not allow him to rise in the party organisation while far inferior elements with barely any talent registered meteoric rise within a brief span of time. Till his death he was denied entry into the party’s Central Committee whereas only because of his mentor Jyoti Basu’s vocal intervention was he made a member of the State Secretariat practically at the fag and of his life.

»

SD Tendulkar, the former chairman of Prime Minister’s economic advisory council has prepared a report, according to which India has 38 per cent population below poverty line (BPL). At present, Planning commission of India’s 2006 figure is only 28.5 per cent of the population is under BPL. If Tendulkar’s report is accepted officially by the government and the Planning commission, there shall be an addition of about 11 crore population in the exiting number of people living BPL. In India, since 1972, poverty is being calculated in terms of calories. 2100 calories for Urban and 2400 calories for rural areas are the yardsticks to measure poverty in India.

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Section -3 (Current Affairs : Current Relevant Facts)

Tendulkar has used different methodology for this survey and took education, health, sanitation, nutrition and household income etc into account while calculating poverty, the definition of which has always been a point of difference amongst economists and experts. Many experts, economists and rights activists believe, and they give some convincing arguments also to support their views that poverty measurement formula in India is not satisfactory, there are actually more people below BPL. Efforts have been made earlier also by the government in order to find a broader consensus on the definition of poverty. One NC Saxena committee was formed by government in June this year, which suggested that 50 per cent people are under BPL. In 2007, Arjun Sengupta, associated with National commission for enterprises in unorganised sector, said that 77 per cent of Indians are in BPL. Only a couple of years ago, NSSO, the national sampling government organisation, has thrown a figure in the public domain that about 70 per cent of populations in India don’t even spend 20Rs/- a day on them. Whereas in this country itself, there are people who gifts 700 crores plane to his wife on birthday. The number of HNI in India is increasing with galloping speed and it has crossed one lakh figure till date. Fall out on proposed National Food Security ActThe Union government is to come out with a historic bill on food security in the next session of Parliament. The proposed legislation is historic in the sense that it would guarantee availability of at least 25 Kg of grains to one BPL families per month @ 3 Rs/-. The proposed legislation would incur an additional 9500 crore rupees on the subsidy of the grains. At present, government is incurring 37,010 crore rupees on the subsidy of the food meant for BPL families. U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, the youngest member of a politically powerful family that produced a U.S. president, has died of brain cancer at the age of 77 on 25 August 2009. The Demo-

cratic senator has been suffering from an incurable form of brain cancer for just over a year. He had been missing in the U.S. Senate for much of this year due to his illness, forcing him to work on his lifelong signature issue, a national health care system, from his home. Kennedy had represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate since 1962, when he was elected to the seat previously held by his older brother, President John F. Kennedy. During his Senate career, he was a strong champion of liberal causes, including civil rights, education, immigration and health care. He was a vocal critic of both the Vietnam War and the U.S.led invasion in Iraq in 2003.

» Interpol has issued an international wanted notice for the head of a Pakistan-based Islamic charity over the 2008 Mumbai (Bombay) attacks. The wanted man is Hafiz Saeed who heads Jamaat-ud-Dawa, accused of being a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed by India for the attacks. Earlier this month, Pakistan's Supreme Court adjourned a hearing seeking Mr Saeed's re-arrest. Interpol has also issued a similar Red Notice against Pakistanbased Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi, who India says is one of the masterminds of the Mumbai attacks. The Interpol notices followed the decision of a court in Mumbai to issue non-bailable arrest warrants against the two men for their alleged role in the Mumbai attacks. Many Interpol member countries view a Red Notice as a legal basis for arrest or detention of a suspect, but they are not required to do so. Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy was found dead on Sept. 3 amid the wreckage of a Bell 430 helicopter that went missing one day before crashing into a hillock and exploding, bringing to a tragic end the life of yet another charismatic Congress leader. The charred bodies of 60-year-old Reddy, known as YSR, and four others were traced around 8.20 in morning on the Rudrakonda hillock in the Nallamala forests of Kurnool district. The find capped a nearly

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Section -3 (Current Affairs : Current Relevant Facts)

20-hour aerial and ground search operation that had raised hopes of survival. The helicopter lost radio contact about half an hour after lifting off from Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport for Chittoor, 600km away, where YSR was to launch a people-contact programme. The others who died were principal secretary P. Subramanyam, chief security officer A.S.C. Wesley, pilot Group Captain S.K. Bhatia and co-pilot M.S. Reddy.YSR is the second serving chief minister to die in an air crash. In the 1965 war, then Gujarat chief minister Balwantrai Mehta was killed when his civilian plane was brought down by Pakistani jets in the Kutch region.K. Rosaiah, the 77year-old finance minister, was sworn in chief minister as an interim arrangement amid demands that YSR’s son Jaganmohan Reddy, 36, succeed his father.

» The high court in the Indian state of Gujarat has ordered the government to lift the ban on a controversial book “Jinnah : India Partition Independence” on Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah on sept 4. The book was written by Jaswant Singh, a leader in India's Hindu nationalist main opposition party, the BJP. The party subsequently expelled him. But two social activists from Gujarat challenged the ban in court. The state government said it had banned the book for "defamatory references" to India's first home minister. While banning the book last month, the Gujarat government had said that Mr Singh's book Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence was "objectionable, misleading and against public tranquillity". But the Gujarat high court said that the government had not "read the book" before imposing the ban. The court said the government had not "applied its mind" to arrive at the opinion that the book was "against national interest" and would affect public peace. The Gujarat government is expected to issue a statement reacting to the court decision. It is not clear whether it will issue a fresh ban giving a different reasons. The book examines the role of Congress party leader and the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mr Patel in the partition of India in 1947.

»

For the first time since 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran will have a woman Cabinet Minister, as Parliament on Sep 03 approved 18 out of 21 nominees proposed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his new Cabinet.Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, who will hold the Health portfolio, will be Iran’s first woman Minister. She is a qualified gynaecologist from Tehran University, and has been a well-known health activist. The Parliament also voiced its strong approval for Mr. Ahmadinejad’s choice of Ahmad Vahidi as Defence Minister, with 227 out of a total of 286 law makers backing him for the post. Earlier Interpol distributed an arrest warrant for Mr. Vahidi over a 1994 attack on the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association (AMIA), which killed 85 people. Iran has strongly denied any involvement in the attack. Mr. Vahidi described the Parliament’s approval for him as a decisive slap to Israel.Parliament also approved some of the other seemingly controversial nominees. The Intelligence Ministry has gone to Heydar Moslehi, a former representative of the Supreme Leader to the paramilitary Basij militia. Massoud Mirkazemi, who has close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has been approved as the new Oil Minister. Parliament approved Mr. Ahmadinejad’s trusted confidants, Manouchehr Mottaki as Foreign Minister, while Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, a senior figure with an IRGC background, easily passed muster for the post of Interior Minister.

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Section -4 (Sports)

Sports »

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved grant of Rs. 110 crore to the Kerala Government for the conduct of the 35th National Games on Sep 1. The grant would be utilized towards upgradation of existing sports infrastructure, laying and development of playing surfaces and procurement of sports equipments, conduct of National Games including opening and closing ceremonies.

of Rs. 220 crore. The Central Team recommended that since it may not be possible for the State Government to bear the entire cost of Rs. 220 crore from its own resources because of resource constraint, Planning Commission may consider Additional Central Allocation (ACA) of Rs. 110 crore of the project cost of Rs. 220 crore) to the Kerala Government for hosting 35th National Games.

» Defending champion India beat

Syria by 5-4 in a penalty shootout in a thrilling final match to win the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament held at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Aug 31. The win came after a nail-biting finish as no goals could be scored in the normal time, and had to be decided on penalty shoots, where India missed just two shots, while Syria missed three of the seven shots.

These games would be the last major domestic event before Commonwealth Games, 2010 and would be a curtain raiser to CWG 2010 and it would be the basis of selecting the national teams that would represent the country at CWG 2010. It may be recalled that Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has allotted 35th National Games to State of Kerala, which are scheduled to be held in May 2010. Kerala Government has initially requested Central Government for central assistance, at least 50 per cent, of the total projected requirement of about Rs. 600 crore for creation of sports infrastructure and conduct of 35th National Games 2010. Earlier in May, a Central Team, led by Joint Secretary (Sports), Department of Sports and consisting of representatives from Planning Commission, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA), visited Kerala to evaluate the proposal for conduct of 35th National Games to be held in May 2010. Based on interactions with the Central Team, the Kerala Government submitted a revised proposal

Goalkeeper Subroto Paul was awarded the man of the match for his superb performance in the match.Led by its star striker Bhaichung Bhutia, India entered the third consecutive final of the Nehru Cup and anticipations were high, as they had defeated Syria in the 2007 final. Indian team had strikers in the form of Bhutia and Sunil Chettri, while Anthony Pereira, N.P. Pradeep, Climax Lawrence and Steven Dias handled midfield.Defence was well held by Mahesh Gawli, Anwar, Gourmangi Singh and Surkumar Singh.The tournament had been quite difficult for the home team, as they had won two and lost two league matches, including one against Syria. On the other hand Syria, with a strong defence, had won all their league matches.

»

India moved up seven places in the FIFA rankings to the 149th spot following their ONGC Nehru Cup football triumph. Two wins in the group stage against Kyrgyzstan and Sri Lanka

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Section -4 (Sports)

pulled India out of the dismal 156th spot. India's win against Syria in Momday's final was not counted since it ended in tie-breakers. Syria, however, stayed at the 95th spot while Lebanon, who had defeated India in the group stage, dropped two places to the 150th spot. Second runners-up Kyrgyzstan, despite losing two matches in the tournament, stunned everybody by jumping 17 places to the 143rd spot while Sri Lanka dropped three places to the 159th spot.

since its come-back in early 2008, after a year's break. Their graph has been steadily rising after some stupendous performance. They won the Bitburger Open and Bulgarian Open last year and reached the final of the Indian Open Grand Prix Gold in March. The entered the top-10 in rankings and made it to the quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad earlier this month.

Meanwhile, South American champions Brazil are on top of the FIFA rankings followed by Euro winners Spain in the second place while the Dutch are third. Germany and world champion Italy are joint fourth.

ent start to beat compatriot and top seed Vishnu Vardhan 6-4, 6-3, to win his fourth International Tennis Federation (ITF) title in the USD 10,000 event at the DLTA complex in New Delhi on Aug 29.

» Roger Federer has become the first 50-million

dollar man in tennis. The world No 1 picked up just over 19,000 dollars in prize money following a 6-1 6-3 7-5 first-round win over American teenager Devin Britton to bring his career total to a staggering 30.75 million pounds.Federer has won a record 15 Grand Slams.

» India's Jwala Gutta and Valiyaveetil Diju claimed their biggest career victory on Aug 30 when they defeated Indonesian Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Vita Marissa 23-21, 21-18 to win the mixed doubles title at the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold badminton. The World No.7 Indian pair, seeded third in the tournament, survived a tough battle against the Indonesians en route to their maiden Grand Prix Gold title, also the first by any Indian combination. The semi-final was also an intensely fought contest, where Diju and Gutta outlasted Malaysians Liu Ying Goh and Peng Soon Chan 21-11, 17-21, 24-22. Gutta and Diju had lost to both pairs earlier, but made it even this time. The victory came as a advanced birthday gift for Jwala, who turns 26 Sept 7. The Indian pair has been making waves on the international scene

» India's Yuki Bhambri shrugged off an indiffer-

It was 17-year-old Yuki's third successive win in four meetings with Vardhan and second in a final. For Vardhan, it was his second straight loss in the three consecutive finals at the venue. The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh, in fact, led 3-0 in the first set, Yuki dropping serve in the second game committing three double-faults. But Yuki bounced back in style, firing three aces on the trot to win his first game of the match. That gave confidence to the Delhi youngster, who broke Vardhan with a forehand winner in the seventh game to even things out and then reeled off three games to take the first set. The win will fetch Yuki $1,300 and 17 ATP points while Vardhan will pocket $900 and 9 ATP points.

» Chinese domination: Lin Dan and Lan Lu ruled

the roost at the World badminton championship, clinching the men’s and women’s singles titles in Hyderabad on Aug 16. Lin Dan won his third straight world title defeating second-seeded fellow Chinese and World No. 2 Chen Jin 21-18, 2116 in a 46-minute men’s singles final in the BWF World badminton championship which concluded at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. In the women’s final seventh-seeded Lan Lu of China defeated two-time world champion and

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fifth-seeded Xie Xingfang 23-21, 21-12 in 38 minutes to clinch her maiden singles title. Lan was a bronze medallist in the last edition. In the women’s singles final, it was the youthful exuberance of the seventh-seeded, Lu which prevailed over the 28-year-old Xie. Lu went in for long rallies and won most of them. Two upsets marked the doubles competitions. In mixed doubles, seventh-seeds Thomas Laybourn and Kamilia Rytter Juhl ensured a grand finish to their dream run, shocking two-time world champions and second-seeded Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia 21-13, 21-17 to give Denmark its first gold in the Worlds after a gap of six years. The women’s doubles final saw Yawen Zhang and Tingting Zhao of China getting the better of their teammates and second-seeded Shu Cheng and Yunlei Zhao 17-21, 21-17, 21-16.

The results (All Finals) Men’s Singles: Lin Dan (Chn) bt Chen Jin (Chn) 21-18, 21-16. Men’s Doubles: Cai Yun & Fu Haifeng (Chn) bt Jung Jae Sung & Lee Yong Dae (Kor) 21-18, 1621, 28-26. Women’s Singles: Lan Lu (Chn) bt Xie Xingfang (Chn) 23-21, 21-12. Women’s Doubles: Yawen Zhang & Tingting Zhao (Chn) bt Shu Cheng & Yunlei Zhao (Chn) 17-21, 21-17, 21-16. Mixed Doubles: Thomas Laybourn & Kamilia Ryttern Juhl (Den) bt Nova Widianto & Liliyana Natsir (Ina) 21-13, 21-17.

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Section -1 (Hindi Article : Climate Change)

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Section -5 (Awards)

Awards » President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has presented

the National Sports awards to 25 sportspersons at an impressive ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Aug.29. In a unique departure from established tradition, the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was presented to three sportspersons - two boxers and a wrestler - for the first time.The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was presented to woman boxer M C Marykom and Beijing bronze medalist boxer Vijender Singh, and to wrestler Sushil Kumar. The country's best boxer and four-time World Champion, MC Mary Kom, got the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna after applying for it for the past three years. Vijender Kumar got the highest national sports award a year after he won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, while wrester Sushil Kumar also got the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award a year after winning India a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. Badminton ace Saina Nehwal received the Arjuna award for her excellent show in the last one year, as also cricketer Gautam Gambhir.Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand achieved the rare feat of being the only sportsperson in the nation to have won the Khel Ratna, the Arjuna Award and the Padma Shree and now the Dronacharya award due to Saina Nehwal's superb performance. Olympic medallist Sushil’s coach Satpal and former All England Badminton champion and Saina`s coach Pullela Gopichand were presented the Dronacharya Award. The prize money for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyanchand Awards have been increased this year. Khel Ratna prize money has been raised from Rs.500,000 to Rs.750,000. The prize money for the Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyanchand Awards has been increased from Rs.300,000 to Rs.500,000. The government instituted this year a new award, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, to recognise the contribution made to sports by entities other

than sportspersons and coaches. Under the new category, Railways got the award for Employment of Sportsperson and Sports Welfare Measures. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee received the award. TATA Steel bagged two awards for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. They got it for Community Sports Identification and Nurturing of Budding Young Talent, and Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence.

List of Awardees Rajiv Khel Ratna: M.C. Marykom (boxer), Vijender Kumar (boxer) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling) Arjuna Award: Mangal Singh Champia (archery), Sinimol Paulose (athletics), Saina Nehwal (badminton), L. Sarita Devi (boxing), Tania Sachdeva (chess), Gautam Gambhir (cricket), Ignatius Tirkey (hockey), Surinder Kaur (hockey), Pankaj Shirsat (kabaddi), Satish Joshi (rowing), Ranjan Sodhi (shooting), Poulami Ghatak (table tennis), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), G.L. Yadav (yachting), Parul Parmar (badminton disabled) Dronacharya Award: Baldev Singh (hockey), Jaidev Bisht (boxing), Satpal (wrestling) and Pullela Gopichand (badminton) Dhyanchand Award: Ishar Singh Deol (athletics), Satbir Singh Dahya (wrestling).

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar Community Sports Identification and Nurturing of Budding Young Talent: TATA Steel Ltd Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence: TATA Steel Ltd Employment of Sportspersons and sports welfare measures: Railways Sports Promotion Board

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Section -5 (Awards)

»

Accenture Services Limited, India (Accenture India) has won the inaugural Asian Human Capital Award. Accenture India will receive their award at the Singapore Human Capital Summit on 29 September from Singapore's Minister for Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong. Conferred by the Ministry of Manpower, INSEAD and CNBC Asia Pacific, the annual Award is the first of its kind that recognises innovative people practices adopted by organisations in Asia that have achieved significant business impact. A total of 44 entries were received from 7 countries across Asia for the prestigious Asian Human Capital Award 2009.

»

State-run steelmaker Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) announced its "SAIL HR Excellence Awards" for seven Indian manufacturing firms including Tata Motors and Jindal Steel. The SAIL has instituted the award to commemorate its 50th year of production. The companies that have been awarded in the large scale industries category are Tata Motors, Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Moser Baer. In the medium scale category, Jindal Steel and Castrol won the awards, while Honeywell and ITW Signode were named winners the small scale category. The jury that selected the winners included Roongta, National Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda, HDFC Ltd chairman Deepak Parikh and T.V. Rao and Neharika Vohra of the IIM-Ahmedabad.

» Seven Indian cricketers dominate this year's vari-

ous LG ICC Annual Awards for 2009 to be announced in Mumbai later on Sept.2. Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, middle-order bats V V S Laxman and Yuvraj Singh and fast bowler Zaheer Khan feature in the list. Dhoni, Gambhir and

Harbhajan Singh have made the cut for the Cricketer of the Year award. The trio has also been nominated, in the initial list, for the Test player of the year award along with stylish V V S Laxman. For the coveted One-day International player of the year, skipper Dhoni, prolific batsman Yuvraj Singh and opener Virender Sehwag have made it to the initial list of nominees. Indian pacer Zaheer Khan is a strong contender for the T20 Performer of the Year award. Indian opener Virender Sehwag and former cricketer Ravi Shastri announced the names of the nominees along with the Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council, Haroon Lorgat. The sixth ICC annual awards ceremony is to be held at Johannesburg during the ICC Champions Trophy. There are eight individual prizes, including the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Cricketer of the Year. The winners of seven individual awards would be chosen on the basis of voting done by a 25-person panel from around the world made up of former players, media personnel and an elite umpire and match referee. Another 16-person group featuring former players and other experts on the women's game would vote the nominations for the Women's Cricketer of the Year award. The other three awards are reserved for the Test Team of the Year, the ODI Team of the Year and the Spirit of Cricket award. Performances of players in the period between August 2008 and August 2009 would be taken into account for deciding the awards.

» Recently European Council against Torture and

Discrimination has announced the name of Sir Vikrant Singh as the winner of Mahatma Gandhi Award 2009 for his contribution towards educa-

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Section -5 (Awards)

tional field. Sir Vikrant Singh, Vice Chancellor of University of Antarcticland has been known for his exemplary work in the area of Higher Education and better livelihood. European Council Against Torture and Discrimination is an international Non Governmental Organisation based in Hungary and patronised by Prince Gabriel Inellas Paleologo within a Temple Order (Supremus Militaris Templi Hirerosolymitani Ordo) in 1986.Ambassador Dr Lamartine Hollanda Junior was the recipient of Mahatma Gandhi Award 2008 organised in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

»

A newspaper produced entirely by women in rural India is among the four winners of this year`s Literacy Prizes awarded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).Khabar Lahariya, the fortnightly newspaper distributed to more than 20,000 readers in Uttar Pradesh, is entirely created and marketed by newly literate "low caste" women who are training as journalists in Chitrakoot and Banda districts.The King Sejong Literacy Prize was given to this fortnightly paper, started by Nirantar — a centre for gender and education based in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. In 1989, the Unesco`s King Sejong Literacy Prize was instituted by South Korea. It is named after Sejong the Great of the 14th century who created the Korean alphabet Hangul and is remembered for his contribution to education in the areas of science, technology and literature. Each winner is awarded $20,000. Nirantar has developed a method of training women as journalists, which involves developing their literacy skills as well as honing their reporting abilities. This includes talking to public figures, gathering information and sharpening their editing skills. The coverage of Khabar Lahriya includes politics, crime, social issues and entertainment for their readership that spans 400 villages in both districts of India`s most populous state.

The publication began in May 2002 in Chitrakoot and a second edition was launched in the adjoining Banda district in October 2006, according to the NGO`s website. It is written in the local dialect Bundeli for its Bundelkhandi readership. The other prizes given by Unesco in recognition of innovative programmes designed to teach women, adolescents and other marginalised populations how to read and write, went to programmes in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso and the Philippines. The Pashai Language Development Project in Afghanistan provides literacy, livelihood, public health and nutrition education to about 1,000 ethnic minority Pashai men and women annually. An honourable mention also went to a programme in Bhutan for its holistic approach to literacy and its success in reaching remote areas, with an emphasis on literacy as an integral part of the country`s "Gross National Happiness" as well as its focus on adults and out-of-school youth, particularly women and girls. The theme for this year`s awards was "Literacy and Empowerment".

» Coal India Ltd has bagged the Standing Confer-

ence of Public Sector Enterprises (SCOPE) award for “Excellence and outstanding contribution to the public sector management” in the Institutional category 2007-08 on Aug. 16. CIL has bagged the Gold Trophy in the institutional category. Selection of the award was based on criteria devised and evaluated by International Management Institute (IMI) and a panel of eminent persons as jury. Former Chief Justice of India Mr P.N. Bhagwati was the Chairman of the jury panel. CIL employs approximately four lakh people. The company was recently offered two exploratory coal blocks in Mozambique through a bi-lateral concession agreement. The company has produced a little over 400 million tonnes of coal during the last fiscal and is aiming to produce 430 mt in the current fiscal.

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Section -5 (Awards)

» Mr SK Roongta chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd has won the Award for Excellence and Outstanding Contribution to the Public Sector Management in the individual category for the 2007-08 period.

Standing Conference of Public Enterprises said that Mr Roongta is the first SAIL chief to get this award for 2007-08. Other awardees include Coal India, which bagged the gold trophy in the institutional category and Heavy Engineering Corp Ltd, which won the same trophy in the special institutional turnaround category. Electronics Corporation of India and WAPCOS Ltd also won gold trophies in the medium and smaller public sector enterprises categories, respectively.

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Section -6 (Mains Special: Foreign Relations of India)

Foreign Relations of India India's Foreign Policy

India's foreign policy has always regarded the concept of neighborhood as one of widening concentric circles, around a central axis of historical and cultural commonalties. The guiding principles of India's Foreign Policy have been founded on Panchsheel, pragmatism and pursuit of national interest. In a period of rapid and continuing change, foreign policy must be capable of responding optimally to new challenges and opportunities. It has to be an integral part of the larger effort of building the nation's capabilities through economic development, strengthening social fabric and well-being of the people and protecting India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. India's foreign policy is a forward-looking engagement with the rest of the world, based on a rigorous, realistic and contemporary assessment of the bilateral, regional and global geo-political and economic milieu. As many as 20 million people of Indian origin live and work abroad and constitute an important link with the mother country. An important role of India's foreign policy has been to ensure their welfare and well being within the framework of the laws of the country where they live.

Neighbours Countries:-

Afghanistan–India relations Bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Islamic State of Afghanistan have been traditionally strong and friendly. While the Indian Republic was the only South Asian country to recognise the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in the 1980s, its relations were diminished during the Afghan civil wars and the rule of the Islamist Taliban in the 1990s. India aided the overthrow of the Taliban and became the largest regional provider of humanitarian and reconstruction aid. Afghanistan used to border British India's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and congress dominated, which was

home to a significant Pashtun population that participated extensively in the Indian independence movement. Everything changed and after 1947 the NWFP became a part of Pakistan, the Republic of India and the modern State of Afghanistan maintained significant cultural and economic links. Films and music of India are widely popular in Afghanistan and Afghan products such as carpets, nuts and fruit are exported to India. For most of their independent history, both nations have enjoyed traditionally friendly relations and have cooperated over respective conflicts with Pakistan. Since April 2007, Afghanistan is eighth member of SAARC after India endorsed Afghan full membership. Civil wars and Taliban: The Republic of India was the only South Asian nation to recognise the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union's military presence in Afghan territories, and provided humanitarian aid to the country. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet armed forces from Afghanistan in 1989, republic of India and the international community supported the coalition government that took control, but relations and contacts ended with the outbreak of another civil war, which brought to power the Taliban, an Islamist militia supported by Pakistan. The Taliban regime was recognised only by Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The rise of Islamism in Afghanistan and the proliferation of Afghan mujahideen in the militancy in Indian-administered Kashmir turned the Taliban and Afghanistan into a security threat for the Government of India. The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha monuments by the Taliban led to outrage and angry protests by India, the birthplace of Buddhism. In 1999, the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacked by Muslim militants landed and stayed in Kandahar in Afghanistan and the Taliban and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were suspected of supporting them. India became one of the key supporters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.

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Post-2001: During the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, India offered intelligence and other forms of support for the Coalition forces. After the overthrow of the Taliban, India established diplomatic relations with the newly-established democratic government, provided aid and participated in the reconstruction efforts. India has provided USD 650-750 million in humanitarian and economic aid, making it the largest regional provider of aid for Afghanistan. The Indian Army's Border Roads Organisation is constructing a major road in the remote Afghan province of Nimroz. India's support and collaboration extends to rebuilding of air links, power plants and investing in health and education sectors as well as helping to train Afghan civil servants, diplomats and police. India also seeks the development of supply lines of electricity, oil and natural gas.

ghanistan was signed during the visit of the Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Spanta between June 29 and July 1, 2006. During the same year, India raised its aid package to Afghanistan by $150 million, to $750 million. India also supported Afghanistan's bid to become a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Both nations also developed strategic and military cooperation against Islamic militants. Owing to the killing of an Indian national by Taliban militants in November 2005, India deployed 200 soldiers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to provide security for Indian nationals and the projects supported by India. Afghanistan strengthened its ties with India in wake of persisting tensions and problems with Pakistan, which was suspected of continuing to shelter and support the Taliban. India pursues a policy of close cooperation in order to bolster its standing as a regional power and contain its rival Pakistan, which it maintains is supporting Islamic militants in Kashmir and other parts of India.

During the 15th SAARC summit in Colombo, India pledged another USD $450 million along with $750 million already pledged for ongoing and forthcoming projects. In August 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited New Delhi. This visit further strengthened bilateral relations, and Prime Minister Singh pledged further aid for Afghanistan.

Three MoUs (memorandum of understanding) for strengthening cooperation in the fields of rural development, education and standardization between the Bureau of Indian Standards(BIS) and Afghan National Standardization Authority were signed between India and Afghanistan during Hamid Karzai's visit to India during 9-13 April 2006. An agreement providing $50 million to promote bilateral businesses between India and Af-

On July 7, 2008 the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked by a suicide car bomb - the deadliest attack in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The bombing killed 58 people and wounded 141. Senior Indian Army officer Brigadier Ravi Datt Mehta was entering the embassy gates in a car along with V. Venkateswara Rao when the attack took place. Both were killed in the blast. The Afghan government had claimed that Pakistan's ISI was involved in the attack.

Bangladesh–India relations Both Bangladesh and India are part of what is known as the Indian subcontinent and have had a long common cultural, economic and political history. The cultures of the two countries are similar; in particular Bangladesh and India's states West Bengal and Tripura are all Bengali-speaking. However, since the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947, India emerged as an independent state and Bangladesh (as East Bengal, later rename to East Pakistan in 1956) was allocated as a part of Pakistan. Following the bloody Liberation War of 1971, Bangladesh gained her independence and established relations with India. The political relationship between India and

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Bangladesh has passed through cycles of hiccups. The relationship typically becomes favorable for Bangladesh during periods of Awami League government. During the Partition of India after independence in 1947, the Bengal region was divided into two: East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) and West Bengal. East Bengal was made a part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan due to the fact that both regions had an overwhelmingly large Muslim population, more than 85%. In 1955, the government of Pakistan changed its name from East Bengal to East Pakistan. There were some confrontations between the two regions though. Firstly, in 1948, Muhammad Ali Jinnah declared that only Urdu would the sole official language of the entire nation, though more than 95% of the East Bengali population spoke Bengali. And when protests broke out in Bangladesh on February 21, 1952, Pakistani police fired on the protesters, killing hundreds. Secondly, East Bengal/East Pakistan was allotted only a small amount of revenue for its development out of the Pakistani national budget. Therefore, a separatist movement started to grow in the isolated province. When the main separatist party the Awami League, headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won 167 of 169 seats up for grabs in the 1970 elections and got the right to form the government, the Pakistan president under Yahya Khan refused to recognize the election results and arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. This led to widespread protests in East Pakistan and in 1971, the Liberation War, followed by the declaration (by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 7 March 1971) of the independent state of Bangladesh. India under Indira Gandhi fully supported the cause of the Bangladeshis and its troops and equipment were used to fight the Pakistani forces. The Indian Army also gave full support to the main Bangladeshi guerrilla force, the Mukti Bahini. Finally, on 26 March, 1971, Bangladesh emerged as

an independent state. Since then, there have been several issues of agreement as well as of dispute.

Areas of agreement:-

1. India played 0a central role in the independence of Bangladesh. About 250,000 Indian soldiers fought for, and 20,000 losing their lives for the cause of an independent Bangladesh. India sheltered over 10 million refugees who were fleeing the atrocities of the occupying West Pakistan Army. India and its ally Bhutan were the first countries to recognize Bangladesh as an independent nation. Bangladeshis have some awareness of their obligation and gratitude towards India. 2. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s first foreign visit as Prime Minister and the Founding Father of the newly born nation was to India and it was then decided Indo-Bangladesh relations would be guided by principles of democracy, socialism, nonalignment and opposition to colonialism and racism. Indira Gandhi too visited Bangladesh in 1972 and assured that India would never interfere in the internal affairs of the country. 3. In 1972, both the countries signed a ‘Treaty of Friendship and Peace’. An Indo-Bangladesh Trade Pact was also signed. 4. The mainstream party Awami League is generally considered to be friendly towards India.

Areas of contention:-

1. A major area of contention has been the construction and operation of the Farakka Barrage by India to increase water supply in the river Hoogly. Bangladesh insists that it does not receive a fair share of the Ganga waters during the drier seasons, and gets flooded during the monsoons when India releases excess waters. 2. There have also been disputes regarding the transfer of Teen Bigha Corridor to Bangladesh. Part of Bangladesh is surrounded by the Indian state of West Bengal. On 26 June, 1992, India

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leased three bigha land to Bangladesh to connect this enclave with mainland Bangladesh. There is dispute regarding the indefinite nature of the lease. 3. Indian border force's killing of people while crossing the border has been the topic of disputes. In August 2008, Indian Border Security Force officials said that they killed 59 smugglers and illegal immigrants (34 Bangladeshis and 21 Indians) who were trying to cross the border between India and Bangladesh during a 6 month period. On November 16, 2008, 3 people including a women and her child were shot dead in a Bangladeshi village by a drunken BSF soldier before he was apprehended. 4. Terrorist activities carried out by outfits based in both countries, like Banga Sena and Harkat-ulJihad-al-Islami. Recently India and Bangladesh had agreed to jointly fight terrorism. 5. The Sharing of Ganges Waters was also a matter of dispute. 6. The unresolved issue of the status of the Chittagonian plains of Bengal as part of CHT on the (grounds of ethnic affiliation).

Bhutan–India relations The bilateral relations between the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan and the Republic of India have been traditionally close. With independence in 1947, India inherited the suzerainty over Bhutan enjoyed by the British Raj. Although modified and modernised since, India remains influential over Bhutan's foreign policy, defence and commerce. For much of history, Bhutan has preserved its isolation from the outside world, staying out of international organisations and maintaining few bilateral relations. Bhutan became a protectorate of British India after signing a treaty in 1910 allowing the British to "guide" its foreign affairs and defence. Bhutan was one of the first to recognize India's independence in 1947 and both nations fostered close relations, their importance aug-

mented by the annexation of Tibet in 1950 by the People's Republic of China and its border disputes with both Bhutan and India, which saw close ties with Nepal and Bhutan to be central to its "Himalayan frontier" security policy. India shares a 605 kilometres (376 miles) border with Bhutan and is its largest trading partner, accounting for 98 percent of its exports and 90 percent of its imports. 1949 Treaty : On August 8, 1949 Bhutan and India signed the Treaty of Friendship, calling for peace between the two nations and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. However, Bhutan agreed to let India "guide" its foreign policy and both nations would consult each other closely on foreign and defence affairs. The treaty also established free trade and extradition protocols. The occupation of Tibet by Communist China brought both nations even closer. In 1958, the then-Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited Bhutan and reiterated India's support for Bhutan's independence and later declared in the Indian Parliament that any aggression against Bhutan would be seen as aggression against India. The period saw a major increase in India's economic, military and development aid to Bhutan, which had also embarked on a programme of modernisation to bolster its security. While India repeatedly reiterated its military support to Bhutan, the latter expressed concerns about India's ability to protect Bhutan against China while fighting a two-front war involving Pakistan. Despite good relations, India and Bhutan did not complete a detailed demarcation of their borders until the period between 1973 and 1984. Border demarcation talks with India generally resolved disagreements except for several small sectors, including the middle zone between Sarpang and Geylegphug and the eastern frontier with the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Distancing from India: Although relations remained close and friendly, the Bhutanese government expressed a need to renegotiate parts of the treaty to enhance Bhutan's sovereignty. Bhutan began to slowly assert an independent attitude in

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foreign affairs by joining the United Nations in 1971, recognising Bangladesh and signing a new trade agreement in 1972 that provided an exemption from export duties for goods from Bhutan to third countries. Bhutan exerted its independent stance at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit conference in Havana, Cuba also in 1979, by voting with China and some Southeast Asian countries rather than with India on the issue of allowing Cambodia's Khmer Rouge to be seated at the conference. Unlike in Nepal, where its 1950 treaty with India is subject of great political controversy and nationalist resentment for decades, the nature of Bhutan's relationship with India has not been affected by concerns over the treaty provisions. From 2003 to 2004, the Royal Bhutanese Army conducted operations against anti-India insurgents of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) that were operating bases in Bhutan and using its territory to carry out attacks on Indian soil. 2007 treaty : India renegotiated the 1949 treaty with Bhutan and signed a new treaty of friendship in 2007. The new treaty replaced the provision requiring Bhutan to take India's guidance on foreign policy with broader sovereignty and not require Bhutan to obtain India's permission over arms imports. In 2008, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh visited Bhutan and expressed strong support for Bhutan's move towards democracy. India allows 16 entry and exit points for Bhutanese trade with other countries with exception only being the PRC, and has agreed to import a minimum of 5,000 megawatts of electricity from Bhutan by 2020.

Burma–India relations Bilateral relations between Burma (officially the Union of Myanmar) and the Republic of India have improved considerably since 1993, overcoming strains over drug trafficking, the suppression of democracy and the rule of the military junta in Burma. Burma is situated to the south of the states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. The proximity of the

People's Republic of China give strategic importance to Indo-Burmese relations. The Indo-Burmese border stretches over 1,600 miles. India was one of the leading supporters of Burmese independence and established diplomatic relations after Burma's independence from Great Britain in 1948. For many years, Indo-Burmese relations were strong due Burma previously having been a province of India, due to cultural links, flourishing commerce, common interests in regional affairs and the presence of a significant Indian community in Burma. India provided considerable support when Burma struggled with regional insurgencies. However, the overthrow of the democratic government by the Military of Burma led to strains in ties. Along with much of the world, India condemned the suppression of democracy and Burma ordered the expulsion of the Burmese Indian community, increasing its own isolation from the world. Only China maintained close links with Burma while India supported the pro-democracy movement. A major breakthrough occurred in 1987 when the then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Burma, but relations worsened after the military junta's bloody repression of pro-democracy agitations in 1988, which led to an influx of Burmese refugees into India. However, since 1993 the governments of the Indian Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee changed course and began cultivating ties with Myanmar, as part of a wider foreign policy approach aimed to increase India's participation and influence in Southeast Asia and to counteract the growing influence of the People's Republic of China. Commercial relations: India is the largest market for Burmese exports, buying about USD 220 million worth of goods in 2000; India's exports to Burma stood at USD 75.36 million. India is Burma’s 4th largest trading partner after Thailand, China and Singapore, and second largest export market after Thailand, absorbing 25 percent of its total exports. India is also the seventh most important source of Burma’s imports. The governments of

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India and Burma had set a target of achieving $1 billion and bilateral trade reached USD 650 million U.S. dollars by 2006. The Indian government has worked to extend air, land and sea routes to strengthen trade links with Myanmar and establish a gas pipeline. While the involvement of India's private sector has been low and growing at a slow pace, both governments are proceeding to enhance cooperation in agriculture, telecommunications, information technology, steel, oil, natural gas, hydrocarbons and food processing. The bilateral border trade agreement of 1994 provides for border trade to be carried out from three designated border points, one each in Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. On February 13, 2001 India and Burma inaugurated a major 160 kilometre highway, called the Indo-Myanmar Friendship Road, built mainly by the Indian Army's Border Roads Organisation and aimed to provide a major strategic and commercial transport route connecting North-East India which connects South Asia with Southeast Asia. Development of strategic ties: India's move to forge close relations with Burma are motivated by a desire to counter China's growing influence as a regional leader and enhance its own influence and standing. Concerns and tensions increased in India over China's extensive military cooperation and involvement in developing ports, naval and intelligence facilities and industries, specifically the upgrading of a naval base in Sittwe, a major seaport located close to the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. India's engagement of the Burmese military junta has helped ease the regime's international isolation and lessen Burma's traditional reliance on China. Both nations sought to cooperate to counteract drug trafficking and insurgent groups operating in the border areas. India and Myanmar are leading members of BIMSTEC and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, along with Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, helping India develop its influence and ties amongst Southeast Asian nations. India was slow and hesitant in reacting to the 2007 Burmese antigovernment protests that had drawn overwhelm-

ing international condemnation. India also declared that it had no intention of interfering in Burma's internal affairs and that the Burmese people would have to achieve democracy themselves. This low-key response has been widely criticised both within India and abroad as weakening India's credentials as a leading democratic nation.

India–Maldives relations Bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Maldives have been friendly and close in strategic, economic and military cooperation. India contributed to maintaining security on the island nation and has forged an alliance with respect to its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep Islands in the Indian Ocean and approximately 700 kilometres from Sri Lanka. Both nations established diplomatic relations after the independence of Maldives from British rule in 1966. Since then, India and Maldives have developed close strategic, military, economic and cultural relations. India has supported Maldives' policy of keeping regional issues and struggles away from itself, and the latter has seen friendship with India as a source of aid as well as a counter-balance to Sri Lanka, which is in proximity to the island nation and its largest trading partner. Development of bilateral relations: India and Maldives officially and amicably decided their maritime boundary in 1976, although a minor diplomatic incident occurred in 1982 when the brother of the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom declared that the neighbouring Minicoy Island that belonged to India were a part of Maldives; Maldives quickly and officially denied that it was laying claim to the island. India and Maldives signed a comprehensive trade agreement in 1981. Both nations are founding members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the South Asian Economic

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Union and signatories to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement. Indian and Maldivian leaders have maintained high-level contacts and consultations on regional issues. Operation Cactus: In November 1988 speedboats carrying 80 armed militants of the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam landed in Maldives and along with allies who had infiltrated the country, began taking over the government. The plot, planned in Sri Lanka by the Tamil nationalist group was believed to be an attempt by a Maldivian businessman and politician opposed to the regime of the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to gain control while the PLOTE sought a safe haven and base for its activities. The militants took control of the airport in Male, the national capital, but failed to capture the President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had fled and asked for military aid from India on November 3. The then-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered 1,600 troops to aid the Maldivian government. In a military operation codenamed "Operation Cactus," Indian forces arrived within 12 hours of the request for aid being made, squashed the coup attempt and achieved full control of the country within hours. 19 PLOTE militants were killed and 1 Indian soldier wounded. India's intervention was endorsed by other nations such as the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain and its neighbours Nepal and Bangladesh. Its speedy and decisive victory and the restoration of the Maldivian government brought both nations even closer in friendship and cooperation. In wake of internal security crises and tensions with Sri Lanka, Maldives saw its relationship with India as a source of future security. Commercial relations: Since the success of Operation Cactus, the relations between India and Maldives have expanded significantly. India has provided extensive economic aid and has participated in bilateral programs for the development of infrastructure, health, civil aviation, telecom-

munications and labour resources. It established the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Male, the capital of Maldives, expanded telecommunications and air links and increased scholarships for Maldivian students. While India's exports to Maldives during 2006 were worth Rs. 384 crores, imports were worth less than Rs. 6 crores. The State Bank of India has contributed more than USD 500 million to aid the economic expansion of Maldives. India and Maldives have announced plans to jointly work to expand fisheries and tuna processing. Military relations: On 7 March 2005 Defence Attaché's Office ( DAO) was established in the High commission of the Republic of Maldives in India by making Lt.Colonel Abdulla Shamaal as first defense attaché.This was the first Defence Attaché's office set up abroad. Given, that defence relations is a major component of the IndoMaldives bilateral relations and both counties have a long record of strengthening their defense ties through a wide range of activities, such as Military Joint Exercises, exchange of visits of senior officers of the Armed forces, training of large number of defense services personnel from the Maldives at Indian defense establishments, provision of military aid, and intelligence and information sharing, the necessity for a DAO was felt. Hence, the DAO was instituted to further strengthen and consolidate the already existing bilateral defense relations in a mutually beneficial manner. As a result, the DAO functions as the primary mechanism integrated in the resident Mission of the Republic of Maldives in New Delhi, India to guide direct and coordinate defense ties between the two countries. On April 2006 Indian Navy gifted a Trinkat Class Fast Attack Craft of 46m length to Maldives National Defence Force's Coast Guard.

Indo-Nepalese relations Relations between India and Nepal are close yet fraught with difficulties stemming from geography, economics, the problems inherent in big

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power-small power relations, and common ethnic, linguistic and cultural identities that overlap the two countries' borders. New Delhi and Kathmandu initiated their intertwined relationship with the 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship? and accompanying letters that defined security relations between the two countries, and an agreement governing both bilateral trade and trade transiting Indian soil. The 1950 treaty and letters stated that "neither government shall tolerate any threat to the security of the other by a foreign aggressor" and obligated both sides "to inform each other of any serious friction or misunderstanding with any neighboring state likely to cause any breach in the friendly relations subsisting between the two governments." These accords cemented a "special relationship" between India and Nepal that granted Nepal preferential economic treatment and provided Nepalese in India the same economic and educational opportunities as Indian citizens. Independent Political History: In the 1950s, Nepal welcomed close relations with India, but as the number of Nepalese living and working in India increased and the involvement of India in Nepal's economy deepened in the 1960s and after, so too did Nepalese discomfort with the special relationship. Tensions came to a head in the mid-1970s, when Nepal pressed for substantial amendments in its favor in the trade and transit treaty and openly criticized India's 1975 annexation of Sikkim which was considered as part of Greater Nepal. In 1975 King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev proposed that Nepal be recognized internationally as a zone of peace; he received support from China and Pakistan. In New Delhi's view, if the king's proposal did not contradict the 1950 treaty and was merely an extension of nonalignment, it was unnecessary; if it was a repudiation of the special relationship, it represented a possible threat to India's security and could not be endorsed. In 1984 Nepal repeated the proposal, but there was no reaction from India. Nepal continually promoted the proposal in international forums, with Chinese support; by 1990 it had won the support of 112 countries.

In 1978 India agreed to separate trade and transit treaties, satisfying a long-term Nepalese demand. In 1988, when the two treaties were up for renewal, Nepal's refusal to accommodate India's wishes on the transit treaty caused India to call for a single trade and transit treaty. Thereafter, Nepal took a hard-line position that led to a serious crisis in India-Nepal relations. After two extensions, the two treaties expired on March 23, 1989, resulting in a virtual Indian economic blockade of Nepal that lasted until late April 1990. Although economic issues were a major factor in the two countries' confrontation, Indian dissatisfaction with Nepal's 1988 acquisition of Chinese weaponry played an important role. New Delhi perceived the arms purchase as an indication of Kathmandu's intent to build a military relationship with Beijing, in violation of the 1950 treaty and letters exchanged in 1959 and 1965, which included Nepal in India's security zone and precluded arms purchases without India's approval. India linked security with economic relations and insisted on reviewing India-Nepal relations as a whole. Nepal had to back down after worsening economic conditions led to a change in Nepal's political system, in which the king was forced to institute a parliamentary democracy. The new government sought quick restoration of amicable relations with India. The special security relationship between New Delhi and Kathmandu was reestablished during the June 1990 New Delhi meeting of Nepal's prime minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai and Indian prime minister V.P. Singh. During the December 1991 visit to India by Nepalese prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, the two countries signed new, separate trade and transit treaties and other economic agreements designed to accord Nepal additional economic benefits. Indian-Nepali relations appeared to be undergoing still more reassessment when Nepal's prime minister Man Mohan Adhikary visited New Delhi in April 1995 and insisted on a major review of the 1950 peace and friendship treaty. In the face of benign statements by his Indian hosts relating

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to the treaty, Adhikary sought greater economic independence for his landlocked nation while simultaneously striving to improve ties with China. In 2005, after King Gyanendra took over, Nepalese relations with India soured. However, after the restoration of democracy, in 2008, Prachanda, the Prime Minister of Nepal, visited India, in September 2008. He spoke about a new dawn, in the bilateral relations, between the two countries. He said, "I am going back to Nepal as a satisfied person. I will tell Nepali citizens back home that a new era has dawned. Time has come to effect a revolutionary change in bilateral relations. On behalf of the new government, I assure you that we are committed to make a fresh start." He met Indian Prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee. He asked India to help Nepal frame a new constitution, and to invest in Nepal's infrastructure, and its tourism industry. In 2008, Indo-Nepali ties got a further boost with an agreement to resume water talks after a 4 year hiatus. The Nepalese Water Resources Secretary Shanker Prasad Koirala said the Nepal-India Joint Committee on Water Resources meet decided to start the reconstruction of breached Kosi embankment after the water level goes down. During the Nepal PM's visit to New Delhi in September the two Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction at the age-old close, cordial and extensive relationships between their states and expressed their support and cooperation to further consolidate the relationship. The two issued a 22-point statement highlighting the need to review, adjust and update the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, amongst other agreements. India would also provide a credit line of up to 150 crore rupees to Nepal to ensure uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products, as well as lift bans on the export of rice, wheat, maize, sugar and sucrose for quantities agreed to with Nepal. India would also provide 20 crore as immediate flood relief. In return, Nepal will take measures for the "promotion of investor friendly, enabling business en-

vironment to encourage Indian...investments in Nepal." Furthermore, a three-tier mechanism at the level of ministerial, secretary and technical levels will be built to push forward discussions on the development of water resources between the two sides. Politically, India acknowledged a willingness to promote efforts towards peace in Nepal. Indian External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee promised the Nepali Prime Minister Prachanda that he would "extend all possible help for peace and development." In 2008, the Bollywood film Chandni Chowk to China was banned in Nepal, because of a scene suggesting the Gautama Buddha was born in India. Some protesters called for commercial boycott of all Indian films.

Indo-Pakistan relations Indo-Pakistani relations are grounded in the political, geographic, cultural, and economic links between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of India, two of the largest and fastestdeveloping countries in South Asia. The two countries share much of their common geographic location, and religious demographics (most notably Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism); yet diplomatic relations between the two are defined by numerous military conflicts and territorial disputes. Much of South Asia came under direct control of Great Britain in the late 18th century. The British Raj over the Indian subcontinent lasted for almost two centuries. 95% of the people living in South Asia practised either Islam or Hinduism. The Muslim League, headed by Jinnah, proposed the Two Nation Theory in the early 20th century. According to the theory, Muslims and others shared little in common, and British India should be divided into two separate countries, one for the Muslims and the other for the Hindu majority, which he feared would suppress the Muslim minority. The campaign gained momentum in early

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1940s and by the end of World War II, British India's partition looked inevitable. The Partition of India in 1947 created two large countries independent from Britain: Pakistan as two wings in the East and West, separated by India in the middle. Soon after Independence, India and Pakistan established diplomatic relations. Subsequent years were marked by bitter periodic conflict, and the nations went to war four times. The war in 1971 ended in defeat and another partition of Pakistan. The eastern wing split off as a new country named Bangladesh, while the western wing continued as Pakistan. There was some improvement in relations since the mid-2000s. But relations soured again after the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings by extremists from India, and the 2008 Mumbai Terrorist Attacks by a group of Pakistani men, and now mutual suspicion governs the relationship again. Seeds of conflict: Millions of Muslims and Hindus were killed in communal riots following the partition of the British Empire. Millions of Muslims living in India and Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan emigrated in one of the most colossal transfers of population in the modern age. Both countries accused each other of not providing adequate security to the minorities emigrating through their territory. This served to increase tensions between the newly-born countries. According to the British plan for the partition of British India, all the 680 princely states were allowed to decide which of the two countries to join. With the exception of a few, most of the Muslim-majority princely-states acceded to Pakistan while most of the Hindu-majority princely states joined India. However, the decisions of some of the princely-states would shape the PakistanIndia relationship considerably, in the years to come. Junagadh Dispute: Junagadh was a state on the southwestern end of Gujarat, with the principalities of The Indian point of view was that since Junagadh was a state with a predominantly Hindu

population it should be a part of India. Additionally, since the state was encircled by Indian territory it should have been a part of India. Indian politicians also stated that by giving Pakistan a predominantly Hindu region to govern, the basis of the two nation theory was contradicted. The Pakistani point of view was that since Junagadh had a ruler and governing body who chose to accede to Pakistan, they should be allowed to do so. Junagadh, having a coastline, could have maintained maritime links with Pakistan. Additionally, Pakistani politicians stated that the two nation theory did not necessarily mean a clear division of land and absolute transfer of populations as the sheer magnitude of such a proceeding would wreak havoc upon millions. Neither of the ten states were able to resolve this issue amicably and it only added fuel to an already charged environment. Sardar Patel, India's then Defence Minister, felt that if Junagadh was permitted to go to Pakistan, it would create communal unrest across Gujarat. The government of India gave Pakistan time to void the accession and hold a plebiscite in Junagadh to pre empt any violence in Gujarat. Samaldas Gandhi formed a government-in-exile, the Arzi Hukumat of the people of Junagadh. Patel ordered the annexation of Junagadh's three principalities. Junagadh, facing financial collapse, first invited the Arzi Hukumat, and later the Government of India to accept the reins of power. Kashmir Dispute: Kashmir was a princely state, ruled by a Hindu, Hari Singh. The Maharaja of Kashmir was equally hesitant to join either India – , because he knew his Muslim subjects would not like to join a Hindu-based and Hindu-majority nation – , or Pakistan – which as a Hindu he was personally averse to. Pakistan coveted the Himalayan kingdom, while Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru hoped that the kingdom would join India. Hari Singh signed a Standstill Agreement (preserving status quo) with Pakistan, but did not make his decision by August 15, 1947.

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Rumours spread in Pakistan that Hari Singh was trying to accede Kashmir to India. Alarmed by this threat, a team of Pakistani forces were dispatched into Kashmir, fearing an Indian invasion of the region. Backed by Pakistani paramilitary forces, Pakistani Pashtun tribal warlords invaded Kashmir in September 1947. Kashmir's security forces were too weak and ill-equipped to fight against Pakistan. Troubled by the deteriorating political pressure that was being applied to Hari Singh and his governance, the Maharaja asked for India's help. However, the Constitution of India barred the Indian Armed Forces' intervention since Kashmir did not come under India's jurisdiction. Desperate to get India's help and get Kashmir back in his own control, the Maharaja acceded Kashmir to India (which was against the will of the majority of Kashmiris), and signed the Instrument of Accession. By this time the raiders were close to the capital, Srinagar. On October 27, 1947, the Indian Air Force airlifted Indian troops into Srinagar and made an intervention. The Indian troops managed to seize parts of Kashmir which included Jammu, Srinagar and the Kashmir valley itself, but the strong and intense fighting, flagged with the onset of winter, made much of the state impassable. After weeks of intense fighting between Pakistan and India, Pakistani leaders and the Indian Prime Minister Nehru declared a ceasefire and sought U.N. arbitration with the promise of a plebiscite. Sardar Patel had argued against both, describing Kashmir as a bilateral dispute and its accession as justified by international law. In 1957, north-western Kashmir was fully integrated into Pakistan, becoming Azad Kashmir (Pakistan-administered Kashmir), while the other portion was acceded to Indian control, and the state of Jammu and Kashmir (Indian-administered Kashmir) was created. In 1962, China occupied Aksai Chin, the northeastern region bordering Ladakh. In 1984, India launched Operation Meghdoot and captured more than 80% of the Siachen Glacier. Pakistan maintains Kashmiris' rights to self-determination through a plebiscite in accordance

with an earlier Indian statement and a UN resolution. Pakistan also points to India's failure of not understanding its own political logic and applying it to Kashmir, by taking their opinion on the case of the accession of Junagadh as an example (that the Hindu majority state should have gone to India even though it had a Muslim ruler), that Kashmir should also rightfully and legally have become a part of Pakistan since majoirity of the people were Muslim, even though they had a Hindu ruler. Pakistan also states that at the very least, the promised plebiscite should be allowed to decide the fate of the Kashmiri people. India on the other hand asserts that the Maharaja's decision, which was the norm for every other princely state at the time of independence, and subsequent elections, for over 40 years, on Kashmir has made it an integral part of India. This opinion has often become controversial, as Pakistan asserts that the decision of the ruler of Junagadh also adhered to Pakistan. Due to all such political differences, this dispute has also been the subject of wars between the two countries in 1947 and 1965, and a limited conflict in 1999. The state/ province remains divided between the two countries by the Line of Control (LoC), which demarcates the ceasefire line agreed upon in the 1947 conflict.

Other Territorial Disputes Pakistan is locked in other territorial disputes with India such as the Siachen Glacier and Kori Creek. Pakistan is also currently having dialogue with India regarding the Baglihar Dam being built over the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir. Bengal refugee crisis: In 1949, India recorded close to 1 million Hindu refugees, who flooded into West Bengal and other states from East Pakistan, owing to communal violence, intimidation and repression from authorities. The plight of the refugees outraged Hindus and Indian nationalists, and the refugee population drained the resources of Indian states, which were unable to absorb them. While not ruling out war, Prime Minister

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Nehru and Sardar Patel invited Liaquat Ali Khan for talks in Delhi. Although many Indians termed this appeasement, Nehru signed a pact with Liaquat Ali Khan that pledged both nations to the protection of minorities and creation of minority commissions. Although opposed to the principle, Patel decided to back this Pact for the sake of peace, and played a critical role in garnering support from West Bengal and across India, and enforcing the provisions of the Pact. Khan and Nehru also signed a trade agreement, and committed to resolving bilateral disputes through peaceful means. Steadily, hundreds of thousands of Hindus returned to East Pakistan, but the thaw in relations did not last long, primarily owing to the Kashmir dispute. Bangladesh Liberation War: Pakistan, since independence, was geo-politically divided into two major regions, West Pakistan and East Pakistan. East Pakistan was occupied mostly by Bengali people. In December 1971, following a political crisis in East Pakistan, the situation soon spiralled out of control in East Pakistan and India intervened in favour of the rebelling Bengali populace. The conflict, a brief but bloody war, resulted in an independence of East Pakistan. In the war, the Pakistani army swiftly fell to India, forcing the independence of East Pakistan, which separated and became Bangladesh. The Pakistani military, being a thousand miles from its base and surrounded by enemies, was forced to give in. Simla Agreement: Since the 1971 war, Pakistan and India have made only slow progress towards the normalisation of relations. In July 1972, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto met in the Indian hill station of Simla. They signed the Simla Agreement, by which India would return all Pakistani personnel (over 90,000) and captured territory in the west, and the two countries would "settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations." Diplomatic and trade relations were also re-established in 1976. Afghanistan crisis: After the 1979 Soviet war in Afghanistan, new strains appeared in Indo-Paki-

stani relations. Pakistan actively supported the Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union, which was a close ally of India, which brought opposing political opinions. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was strongly supported by Pakistan - one of the few countries to do so - before the September 11 attacks and the start of the era of global terrorism. India, on the other hand, firmly opposed Taliban and criticised Pakistan for supporting it. Hatred for the Taliban grew amongst Hindu ultra-nationalists in India after they enforced laws on Afghan Hindus to "wear label". In the following eight years, India voiced increasing concern over Pakistani arms purchases, U.S. military aid to Pakistan, and a clandestine Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme. In an effort to curtail tensions, the two countries formed a joint commission to examine disputes. In December 1988, Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Rajiv Gandhi concluded a pact not to attack each other's nuclear facilities. Agreements on cultural exchanges and civil aviation were also initiated. In 1997, high-level Indo-Pakistan talks resumed after a three-year pause. The Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India met twice and the foreign secretaries conducted three rounds of talks. In June 1997, the foreign secretaries identified eight "outstanding issues" around which continuing talks would be focused. The dispute over the status of Kashmir, (referred by India as Jammu and Kashmir), an issue since Independence, remains the major stumbling block in their dialogue. India maintains that the entire former princely state is an integral part of the Indian union, while Pakistan insists that UN resolutions calling for selfdetermination of the people of the state/province must be taken into account. It however refuses to abide by the previous part of the resolution, which calls for it to vacate all territories occupied. In September 1997, the talks broke down over the structure of how to deal with the issues of Kashmir, and peace and security. Pakistan advocated that the issues be treated by separate working groups. India responded that the two issues be taken up along with six others on a simultaneous

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basis. In May 1998 India, and then Pakistan, conducted nuclear tests. Samjhauta Express bombings & 2008 Mumbai attacks : The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings was a terrorist attack targeted on the Samjhauta Express train on the 18th of February.The 2008 Mumbai attacks by ten terrorists killed over 173 and wounded 308. India blamed the Lashkar-eTaiba, a Pakistan-based Welfare group, for planning and executing the attacks. Islamabad resisted the claims and demanded evidence. India provided evidence in the form of interrogations, weapons,candy wrappers, Pakistani Brand Milk Packets, and telephone sets . Indian officials demanded Pakistan extradite suspects for trial. They also said that, given the sophistication of the attacks, the perpetrators "must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan". Terrorist acts in Jammu and Kashmir: Kashmiris Attacks on Jammu & Kashmir State Assembly: A car bomb exploded near the Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly on October 1, 2001, killing 27 people on an attack that was blamed on Kashmiri separatists. It was one of the most prominent attacks against India apart from on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. The dead bodies of the terrorists and the data recovered from them revealed that Pakistan was solely responsible for the activity. Developments since 2004: Violent activities in the region declined in 2004. There are two main reasons for this: warming of relations between New Delhi and Islamabad which consequently lead to a ceasefire between the two countries in 2003 and the fencing of the LOC being carried out by the Indian Army. Moreover, coming under intense international pressure, Islamabad was compelled to take actions against the militant's training camps on its territory. In 2004, the two countries also agreed upon decreasing the number of troops present in the region. Under pressure, Kashmiri militant organisations have made an offer for talks and negotiations with New Delhi, which India has welcomed.

India's Border Security Force blamed the Pakistani military for providing cover-fire for the terrorists whenever they infiltrated into Indian territory from Pakistan. Pakistan has in turn has also blamed India for providing support for terrorist groups inside Pakistan such as the MQM In 2005, Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Rashid, was alleged to have run a terrorist training camp in 1990 in N.W. Frontier, Pakistan. The Pakistani government dismissed the charges against its minister as an attempt to hamper the ongoing peace process between the two neighbours. Both India and Pakistan have launched several mutual confidence-building measures (CBMs) to ease tensions between the two. These include more high-level talks, easing visa restrictions, restarting of cricket matches between the two. The new bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad has also helped bring the two sides closer. Pakistan and India have also decided to cooperate on economic fronts. A major clash between Indian Security Forces and militants occurred when a group of insurgents tried to infiltrate into the Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistan in July 2005. The same month, also saw Kashmiri militant attack on Ayodhya and Srinagar. However, these developments had little impact on the peace process. Some improvements in the relations are seen with the re-opening of a series of transportation networks near the India-Pakistan border, with the most important being bus routes and railway lines. An Indian man held in Pakistani prisons since 1975 as an accused spy walked across the border to freedom March 3, 2008, an unconditional release that Pakistan said was meant to reduce the deep-rooted enmity between the countries. Re-evaluation: The insurgents who initially started their movement as a pro-Kashmiri independence movement, have gone through a lot of change in their ideology. Most of the insurgents portray their struggle as a religious one.

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Indian analysts allege that by supporting these insurgents, Pakistan is trying to wage a proxy war against India while Pakistan claims that it regards most of these insurgent groups as "freedom fighters" rather than terrorists Internationally known to be the most deadly theatre of conflict, nearly 10 million people, including Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, have been fighting a daily battle for survival. The cross-border firing between India and Pakistan, and the terrorist attacks combined have taken its toll on the Kashmiris, who have suffered poor living standards and an erosion of human rights. Kargil crisis: Attempts to restart dialogue between the two nations were given a major boost by the February 1999 meeting of both Prime Ministers in Lahore and their signing of three agreements. These efforts have since been stalled by the intrusion of Pakistani forces into Indian territory near Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir in May 1999. This resulted in intense fighting between Indian and Pakistani forces, known as the Kargil conflict. Backed by the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army successfully regained Kargil. A subsequent military coup in Pakistan that overturned the democratically elected Nawaz Sharif government in October of the same year also proved a setback to relations. In 2001, a summit was called in Agra; Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf turned up to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The talks fell through. On June 20, 2004, with a new government in place in India, both countries agreed to extend a nuclear testing ban and to set up a hotline between their foreign secretaries aimed at preventing misunderstandings that might lead to a nuclear war. India has granted Pakistan unilateral "most favoured nation" trade status under WTO guidelines, but Pakistan is yet to reciprocate. As of early 2005, both countries are committed to a process of dialogue to solve all outstanding issues. Baglihar Dam issue was a new issue raised by Pakistan in 2005.

India – Sri Lanka Relations Bilateral relations between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of India have been generally friendly, but were controversially affected by the Sri Lankan civil war and by the failure of Indian intervention during the war. India is the only neighbour of Sri Lanka, separated by the Palk Strait; both nations occupy a strategic position in South Asia and have sought to build a common security umbrella in the Indian Ocean. The two largest ethnic groups of Sri Lanka are Sinhala and Tamil. Sinhalese descend from North India, and Tamils are the majority ethnic group in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Development of bilateral relations: India and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations when the latter gained its independence in 1948. Both nations proceeded to establish extensive cultural, commercial, strategic and defence ties to establish a common sphere of influence in the region, adopting non-alignment to control Western and Soviet influence. The close relationship between the then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then-Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike led to the development of strong bilateral relations. In 1971, Indian armed forces helped squash a Communist rebellion against the Sri Lankan government. Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war: In the 1980s, private entities and elements in the state government of Tamil Nadu were believed to be encouraging the funding and training for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist insurgent force. In 1987, faced with growing anger amongst its own Tamils, and a flood of refugees, India intervened directly in the conflict for the first time after the Sri Lankan government attempted to regain control of the northern Jaffna region by means of an economic blockade and military assaults, India supplied food and medicine by air and sea. After subsequent negotiations,

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India and Sri Lanka entered into an agreement. The peace accord assigned a certain degree of regional autonomy in the Tamil areas with Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) controlling the regional council and called for the Tamil militant groups to lay down their arms. Further India was to send a peacekeeping force, named the IPKF to Sri Lanka to enforce the disarmament and to watch over the regional council. Even though the accord was signed between the governments of Sri Lanka and India, with the Tamil Tigers and other Tamil militant groups not having a role in the signing of the accord, most Tamil militant groups accepted this agreement, the LTTE rejected the accord because they opposed the candidate, who belonged to another militant group named Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), for chief administrative officer of the merged Northern and Eastern provinces. Instead the LTTE named three other candidates for the position. The candidates proposed by the LTTE were rejected by India. The LTTE subsequently refused to hand over their weapons to the IPKF. The result was that the LTTE now found itself engaged in military conflict with the Indian Army, and launched their first attack on an Indian army rations truck on October 8, killing five Indian paracommandos who were on board by strapping burning tires around their necks. The government of India then decided that the IPKF should disarm the LTTE by force, and the Indian Army launched number of assaults on the LTTE, including a month-long campaign dubbed Operation Pawan to win control of the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE. When the IPKF engaged the LTTE, the then president of Sri Lanka, Ranasinghe Premadasa, began supporting LTTE and funded LTTE with arms. During the warfare with the ltte IPKF was also alleged for human rights violation against the civilians. Notably, IPKF was alleged to have perpetrated Jaffna teaching hospital massacre which was the killing of over 70 civilians including patients, doctors and nurses. The ruthlessness of this campaign, and the Indian army's subsequent anti-

LTTE operations made it extremely unpopular amongst many Tamils in Sri Lanka. The conflict between the LTTE and the Indian Army left over 1,000 Indian soldiers dead. The Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, which had been unpopular amongst Sri Lankans for giving India a major influence, now became a source of nationalist anger and resentment as the IPKF was drawn fully into the conflict. Sri Lankans protested the presence of the IPKF, and the newly-elected Sri Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa demanded its withdrawal, which was completed by March 1990. on May 21, 1992, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated and the LTTE was alleged to be the perpetrator. As a result India declared the LTTE to be a terrorist outfit in 1992. Bilateral relations improved in the 1990s and India supported the peace process but has resisted calls to get involved again. India has also been wary of and criticised the extensive military involvement of Pakistan in the conflict, accusing the latter of supplying lethal weaponry and encouraging Sri Lanka to pursue military action rather than peaceful negotiations to end the civil war. Commercial ties: India and Sri Lanka are member nations of several regional and multilateral organisations such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, South Asian Economic Union and BIMSTEC, working to enhance cultural and commercial ties. Since a bilateral free trade agreement was signed and came into effect in 2000, Indo-Sri Lankan trade rose 128% by 2004 and quadrupled by 2006, reaching USD 2.6 billion. Between 2000 and 2004, India's exports to Sri Lanka in the last four years increased by 113%, from USD 618 million to $1,319 million while Sri Lankan exports to India increased by 342%, from $44 million to USD $194 million. Indian exports account for 14% of Sri Lanka’s global imports. India is also the fifth largest export destination for Sri Lankan goods, accounting for 3.6% of its exports. Both nations are also signatories of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Negotiations are also underway to expand the free

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trade agreement to forge stronger commercial relations and increase corporate investment and ventures in various industries. India's National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) is also scheduled to build a 500 MW thermal power plant in Sampoor (Sampur). The NTPC claims that the this plan will take the Indo-Srilankan relationship to new level. Fishermen Issue: There have been several incidents of firing on Indian fishermen fishing in Palk Bay.Indian Government has always taken up the issue of safety of Indian fishermen on a priority basis with the Government of Sri Lanka. Presently there is no bona fide Indian fisherman in the Sri Lankan custody. A Joint Working Group (JWG) has been constituted to deal with the issues related to Indian fishermen straying in Sri Lankan territorial waters, work out modalities for prevention of use of force against them and the early release of confiscated boats and explore possibilities of working towards bilateral arrangements for licensed fishing. The JWG last met in Jan 2006. Development Cooperation: India is active in a number of areas of development activity in Sri Lanka. About one-sixth of the total development credit granted by GOI is made available to Sri Lanka. Lines of credit: In the recent past three lines of credit were extended to Sri Lanka: US$ 100 million for capital goods, consumer durables, consultancy services and food items, US$ 31 million for supply of 300,000 MT of wheat and US$ 150 million for purchase of petroleum products. All of these lines of credit have been fully utilized. Another line of credit of US$ 100 million is now being made available for rehabilitation of the Colombo-Matara railway. A number of development projects are implemented under ‘Aid to Sri Lanka’ funds. In 200607, the budget for ‘Aid to Sri Lanka’ was Rs 28.2 Crs. Small Development Projects: A MoU on Cooperation in Small Development Projects has been signed. Projects for providing fishing equipments

to the fishermen in the East of Sri Lanka and solar energy aided computer education in 25 rural schools in Eastern Sri Lanka are under consideration. Health Projects: We have supplied medical equipments to hospitals at Hambantota and Point Pedro, supplied 4 state of the art ambulances to the Central Province, implemented a cataract eye surgery programme for 1500 people in the Central Province and implemented a project of renovation of OT at Dickoya hospital and supplying equipment to it. The projects under consideration are: Construction of a 150-bed hospital at Dickoya, upgradation of the hospital at Trincomalee and a US$ 7.5 million grant for setting up a Cancer Hospital in Colombo. Upgradation of the educational infrastructure of the schools in the Central province including teachers’ training, setting up of 10 computer labs, setting up of 20 e-libraries (Nenasalas), Mahatma Gandhi scholarship scheme for +2 students and setting up of a vocational training centre in Puttalam. India also contributes to the Ceylon Workers Education Trust that gives scholarships to the children of estate workers. Training: A training programme for 465 Sri Lankan Police officers has been commenced in Dec 2005. Another 400 Sri Lankan Police personnel are being trained for the course of ‘Maintenance of Public Order’.

Relation with Other Countries:-

China -Indian relations China-India relations, refer to the ties and relations between China and India. The economic and diplomatic importance of People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of India, which are the two most populous states in the world, as emerging economies, has in recent years increased the significance of their bilateral relationship. They are emerging not only as world powers but are forecast to rival the US in the coming decades in economic and military might. Historical rela-

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tions between Beijing and New Delhi can most accurately be described as being controversial at best. Their relationship has undergone times of both war and peace. It has been characterized by both border disputes, resulting in military conflict, and by economic cooperation. Both countries, despite their belligerent mutual histories, have in recent years attempted to reignite diplomatic, military and economic ties. Geographical overview: China and India are separated by the formidable geographical obstacles of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan mountain chain, with Tibet serving as a buffer region between the two. China and India today share a border along the Himalayas and Nepal and Bhutan, two states lying along the Himalaya range, and acting as buffer states. In addition, the disputed Kashmir province (jointly claimed by India and Pakistan) borders both the PRC and India. As Pakistan has tense relations with India, Kashmir's state of unrest serves as a natural ally to the PRC. Two territories are currently disputed between the People's Republic of China and India: Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh is located near the far east of India, while Aksai Chin is located near the northwest corner of India, at the junction of India, Pakistan, and the PRC. However, all sides in the dispute have agreed to respect the Line of Actual Control and this border dispute is not widely seen as a major flashpoint. Jawaharlal Nehru based his vision of "resurgent Asia" on friendship between the two largest states of Asia; his vision of an internationalist foreign policy governed by the ethics of the Panchsheel, which he initially believed was shared by China, came to grief when it became clear that the two countries had a conflict of interest in Tibet, which had traditionally served as a geographical and political buffer zone, and where India believed it had inherited special privileges from the British Raj. However, the initial focus of the leaders of both the nations was not the foreign policy, but the internal development of their respective states. When they did concentrate on the foreign policies, their concern wasn’t one another, but rather the United States of America and the Union of

Soviet Socialist Republics and the alliance systems which dominated by the two superpowers. On October 1, 1949 the People’s Liberation Army defeated the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) of China in a civil war and established the People's Republic of China. On August 15, 1947, India became an independent dominion under British Commonwealth and became a federal, democratic republic after its constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950. Mao Zedong, the Commander of the Liberation Army and the Chairman of the Communist Party of China viewed Tibet as an integral part of the Chinese State. Mao was determined to bring Tibet under direct administrative and military control of People’s Republic of China and saw Indian concern over Tibet as a manifestation of the Indian Government in the internal affairs of the People’s Republic of China. The PRC sought to reassert control over Tibet and to end Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism) and feudalism, which it did by force of arms in 1950. To avoid antagonizing the People's Republic of China, Nehru informed Chinese leaders that India had neither political nor territorial ambitions, nor did it seek special privileges in Tibet, but that traditional trading rights must continue. With Indian support, Tibetan delegates signed an agreement in May 1951 recognizing PRC sovereignty but guaranteeing that the existing political and social system of Tibet would continue. Direct negotiations between India and the PRC commenced in an atmosphere improved by India's mediation efforts in ending the Korean War (1950-1953). Meanwhile, India was the 16th state to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, and did so on April 1, 1950. In April 1954, India and the PRC signed an eightyear agreement on Tibet that set forth the basis of their relationship in the form of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (or Panch Shila). Although critics called the Panch Shila naive, Nehru calculated that in the absence of either the wherewithal or a policy for defense of the Himalayan region, India's best guarantee of security was

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to establish a psychological buffer zone in place of the lost physical buffer of Tibet. Thus the catch phrase of India's diplomacy with China in the 1950s was Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai, which means, in Hindi, "Indians and Chinese are brothers". Up until 1959, despite border skirmishes and discrepancies between Indian and Chinese maps, Chinese leaders amicably had assured India that there was no territorial controversy on the border though there is some evidence that India avoided bringing up the border issue in high level meetings. In 1954, India published new maps that included the Aksai Chin region within the boundaries of India (maps published at the time of India's independence did not clearly indicate whether the region was in India or Tibet). When an Indian reconnaissance party discovered a completed Chinese road running through the Aksai Chin region of the Ladakh District of Jammu and Kashmir, border clashes and Indian protests became more frequent and serious. In January 1959, PRC premier Zhou Enlai wrote to Nehru, rejecting Nehru's contention that the border was based on treaty and custom and pointing out that no government in China had accepted as legal the McMahon Line, which in the 1914 Simla Convention defined the eastern section of the border between India and Tibet. The Dalai Lama, spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetan people, sought sanctuary in Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh, in March 1959, and thousands of Tibetan refugees settled in northwestern India, particularly in Himachal Pradesh. The People's Republic of China accused India of expansionism and imperialism in Tibet and throughout the Himalayan region. China claimed 104,000 km² of territory over which India's maps showed clear sovereignty, and demanded "rectification" of the entire border. Zhou proposed that China relinquish its claim to most of India's northeast in exchange for India's abandonment of its claim to Aksai Chin. The Indian government, constrained by domestic public opinion, rejected the idea of a settlement based on uncompensated loss of territory as being humiliating and unequal. China-India War: Border disputes resulted in a

short border war between the People's Republic of China and India in 20 October 1962. The PRC pushed the unprepared and inadequately led Indian forces to within forty-eight kilometres of the Assam plains in the northeast and occupied strategic points in Ladakh, until the PRC declared a unilateral cease-fire on 21 November and withdrew twenty kilometers behind its contended line of control. At the time of Sino-Indian border conflict, a severe political split was taking place in the Communist Party of India. One section was accused by the Indian government as being pro-PRC, and a large number of political leaders were jailed. Subsequently, CPI split with the leftist section forming the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1964. CPI(M) held some contacts with the Communist Party of China in the initial period after the split, but did not fully embrace the political line of Mao Zedong. Relations between the PRC and India deteriorated during the rest of the 1960s and the early 1970s as Sino-Pakistani relations improved and Sino-Soviet relations worsened. The PRC backed Pakistan in its 1965 war with India. Between 1967 and 1971, an all-weather road was built across territory claimed by India, linking PRC's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan; India could do no more than protest. The PRC continued an active propaganda campaign against India and supplied ideological, financial, and other assistance to dissident groups, especially to tribes in northeastern India. The PRC accused India of assisting the Khampa rebels in Tibet. Diplomatic contact between the two governments was minimal although not formally severed. The flow of cultural and other exchanges that had marked the 1950s ceased entirely. The flourishing wool, fur and spice trade between Lhasa and India through the Nathula Pass, an offshoot of the ancient Silk Road in the then Indian protectorate of Sikkim was also severed. However, the biweekly postal network through this pass was kept alive, which exists till today. In late 1967, there were two skirmishes between

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Indian and Chinese forces in Sikkim. The first one was dubbed the "Nathu La incident", and the other the "Chola incident". Prior to these incidents had been the Naxalbari uprising in India by the Communist Naxalites and Maoists. In 1967 a peasant uprising broke out in Naxalbari, led by pro-Maoist elements. A pronunciation by Mao titled "Spring Thunder over India" gave full moral support for the uprising. The support for the revolt marked the end for the relations between CPC and CPI(M). Naxalbari-inspired communists organized armed revolts in several parts of India, and in 1969 they formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). However, as the naxalite movement disintegrated in various splits, the PRC withdrew its political support and turned non-committal towards the various Indian groups. On 11 September 1967, troops of the Indian Army's 18th Rajput Regiment were protecting an Engineering Company that was fencing the North Shoulder of Nathula, when Chinese troops opened fire on them. This escalated over the next five days to an exchange of heavy artillery and mortar fire between the Indians and the Chinese. 62 Indian soldiers, from the 18th Rajput, the 2nd Grenadiers and the Artillery regiments were killed. Major Harbhajan Singh of the Rajput Regiment was awarded a MVC (posthumous) and Naib Subedar Pandey a VrC (posthumous) for their gallant actions. The extent of Chinese casualties in this incident is not known. In the second, on 1 October 1967, a group of Indian Gurkha Rifles soldiers (from the 7th Battalion of the 11th Regiment) noticed Chinese troops surrounding a sentry post near a boulder at the Chola outpost in Sikkim. After a heated argument over the control of the boulder, a Chinese soldier bayoneted a Gurkha rifleman, triggering the start of a close-quarters knife and fire-fight, which then escalated to a mortar and HMG duel. The Chinese troops signaled a ceasefire after three hours of fighting, but later scaled Point 15450 to establish themselves there. The Gurkhas outflanked them the next day to regain Point 15450 and the Chinese retreated across the LAC. 21 Indian soldiers were killed in this action. The Indian government

awarded Vir Chakras to Rifleman Limbu (posthumous) and battalion commander Major K.B. Joshi for their gallant actions. The extent of Chinese casualties in this skirmish is also not known. In August 1971, India signed its Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation with the Soviet Union, and the United States and the PRC sided with Pakistan in its December 1971 war with India. By this time, the PRC had just replaced the Republic of China in the UN where its representatives denounced India as being a "tool of Soviet expansionism." India and the PRC renewed efforts to improve relations after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. The PRC modified its proPakistan stand on Kashmir and appeared willing to remain silent on India's absorption of Sikkim and its special advisory relationship with Bhutan. The PRC's leaders agreed to discuss the boundary issue, India's priority, as the first step to a broadening of relations. The two countries hosted each others' news agencies, and Mount Kailash and Mansarowar Lake in Tibet, the mythological home of the Hindu pantheon, were opened to annual pilgrimages from India. In 1981 PRC minister of foreign affairs Huang Hua was invited to India, where he made complimentary remarks about India's role in South Asia. PRC premier Zhao Ziyang concurrently toured Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. In 1980, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi approved a plan to upgrade the deployment of forces around the Line of Actual Control to avoid unilateral redefinitions of the line. India also increased funds for infrastructural development in these areas. In 1984, squads of Indian soldiers began actively patrolling the Sumdorong Chu Valley in Arunachal Pradesh (formerly NEFA), which is north of the McMahon Line as drawn on the Simla Treaty map but south of the ridge which Indian claims is meant to delineate the McMahon Line. The Sumdorong Chu valley "seemed to lie to the north of the McMahon line; but is south of the highest ridge in the area, and the McMahon line

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is meant to follow the highest points" according to the Indian claims, while the Chinese did not recognize the McMahon Line as legitimate and were not prepared to accept an Indian claim line even further north than that. The Indian team left the area before the winter. In the winter of 1986, the Chinese deployed their troops to the Sumdorong Chu before the Indian team could arrive in the summer and built a Helipad at Wandung. Surprised by the Chinese occupation, India's then Chief of Army Staff, General K.Sundarji, airlifted a brigade to the region. Chinese troops could not move any further into the valley and were forced to move sideways along the Thag La ridge, away from the valley. By 1987, Beijing's reaction was similar to that in 1962 and this prompted many Western diplomats to predict war. However, Indian foreign minister N.D. Tiwari and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi travelled to Beijing over the following months to negotiate a mutual de-escalation. After the Huang visit, India and the PRC held eight rounds of border negotiations between December 1981 and November 1987. These talks initially raised hopes that progress could be made on the border issue. However, in 1985 the PRC stiffened its position on the border and insisted on mutual concessions without defining the exact terms of its "package proposal" or where the actual line of control lay. In 1986 and 1987, the negotiations achieved nothing, given the charges exchanged between the two countries of military encroachment in the Sumdorung Chu Valley of the Tawang tract on the eastern sector of the border. China's construction of a military post and helicopter pad in the area in 1986 and India's grant of statehood to Arunachal Pradesh (formerly the North-East Frontier Agency) in February 1987 caused both sides to deploy new troops to the area, raising tensions and fears of a new border war. The PRC relayed warnings that it would "teach India a lesson" if it did not cease "nibbling" at Chinese territory. By the summer of 1987, however, both sides had backed away from conflict and denied that military clashes had taken place.

A warming trend in relations was facilitated by Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China in December 1988. The two sides issued a joint communiqué that stressed the need to restore friendly relations on the basis of the Panch Shila and noted the importance of the first visit by an Indian prime minister to China since Nehru's 1954 visit. India and the People's Republic of China agreed to broaden bilateral ties in various areas, working to achieve a "fair and reasonable settlement while seeking a mutually acceptable solution" to the border dispute. The communiqué also expressed China's concern about agitation by Tibetan separatists in India and reiterated China's position that Tibet was an integral part of China and that anti-China political activities by expatriate Tibetans was not to be tolerated. Rajiv Gandhi signed bilateral agreements on science and technology cooperation, on civil aviation to establish direct air links, and on cultural exchanges. The two sides also agreed to hold annual diplomatic consultations between foreign ministers, and to set up a joint ministerial committee on economic and scientific cooperation and a joint working group on the boundary issue. The latter group was to be led by the Indian foreign secretary and the Chinese vice minister of foreign affairs. As the mid-1990s approached, slow but steady improvement in relations with China was visible. Top-level dialogue continued with the December 1991 visit of PRC premier Li Peng to India and the May 1992 visit to China of Indian president R. Venkataraman. Six rounds of talks of the Indian-Chinese Joint Working Group on the Border Issue were held between December 1988 and June 1993. Progress was also made in reducing tensions on the border via confidence-building measures, including mutual troop reductions, regular meetings of local military commanders, and advance notification of military exercises. Border trade resumed in July 1992 after a hiatus of more than thirty years, consulates reopened in Bombay (Mumbai) and Shanghai in December 1992, and, in June 1993, the two sides agreed to open an additional border trading post. During Sharad Pawar's July 1992 visit to Beijing, the first ever by an Indian minister of defence, the two

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defense establishments agreed to develop academic, military, scientific, and technological exchanges and to schedule an Indian port call by a Chinese naval vessel. Substantial movement in relations continued in 1993. The sixth-round joint working group talks were held in June in New Delhi but resulted in only minor developments. However, as the year progressed the long-standing border dispute was eased as a result of bilateral pledges to reduce troop levels and to respect the cease-fire line along the India-China border. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Premier Li Peng signed the border agreement and three other agreements (on cross-border trade, and on increased cooperation on the environment and in radio and television broadcasting) during the former's visit to Beijing in September. A senior-level Chinese military delegation made a six-day goodwill visit to India in December 1993 aimed at "fostering confidence-building measures between the defense forces of the two countries." The visit, however, came at a time when press reports revealed that, as a result of improved relations between the PRC and Burma, China was exporting greater amounts of military matériel to Burma's army, navy, and air force and sending an increasing number of technicians to Burma. Of concern to Indian security officials was the presence of Chinese radar technicians in Burma's Coco Islands, which border India's Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Nevertheless, movement continued in 1994 on troop reductions along the Himalayan frontier. Moreover, in January 1994 Beijing announced that it not only favored a negotiated solution on Kashmir, but also opposed any form of independence for the region. Talks were held in New Delhi in February 1994 aimed at confirming established "confidencebuilding measures" and discussing clarification of the "line of actual control", reduction of armed forces along the line, and prior information about forthcoming military exercises. China's hope for settlement of the boundary issue was reiterated.

The 1993 Chinese military visit to India was reciprocated by Indian army chief of staff General B. C. Joshi. During talks in Beijing in July 1994, the two sides agreed that border problems should be resolved peacefully through "mutual understanding and concessions." The border issue was raised in September 1994 when PRC minister of national defense Chi Haotian visited New Delhi for extensive talks with high-level Indian trade and defense officials. Further talks in New Delhi in March 1995 by the India-China Expert Group led to an agreement to set up two additional points of contact along the 4,000 km border to facilitate meetings between military personnel. The two sides also were reported as "seriously engaged" in defining the McMahon Line and the line of actual control vis-à-vis military exercises and prevention of air intrusion. Talks in Beijing in July 1995 aimed at better border security and combating cross-border crimes and in New Delhi in August 1995 on additional troop withdrawals from the border made further progress in reducing tensions. Possibly indicative of the further relaxation of India-China relations, at least there was little notice taken in Beijing, was the April 1995 announcement, after a year of consultation, of the opening of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi. The center serves as the representative office of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and is the counterpart of the India-Taipei Association in Taiwan; both institutions have the goal of improving relations between the two sides, which have been strained since New Delhi's recognition of Beijing in 1950. Sino-Indian relations hit a low point in 1998 following India's nuclear tests in May. Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes declared that "China is India's number one threat", hinting that India developed nuclear weapons in defense against China's nuclear arsenal. In 1998, China was one of the strongest international critics of India's nuclear tests and entry into the nuclear club. Relations between India and China stayed strained until the end of the decade. With Indian President K. R. Narayanan's visit to

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China, 2000 marked a gradual re-engagement of Indian and Chinese diplomacy. In a major embarrassment for China, the 17th Karmapa, Urgyen Trinley Dorje, who was proclaimed by China, made a dramatic escape from Tibet to the Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim. Chinese officials were in a quandary on this issue as any protest to India on the issue would mean an explicit endorsement on India's governance of Sikkim, which the Chinese still hadn't recognised. In 2002, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji reciprocated by visiting India, with a focus on economic issues. 2003 ushered in a marked improvement in Sino-Indian relations following Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's landmark June 2003 visit to China. China officially recognized Indian sovereignty over Sikkim as the two nations moved toward resolving their border disputes. 2004 also witnessed a gradual improvement in the international area when the two countries proposed opening up the Nathula and Jelepla Passes in Sikkim which would be mutually beneficial to both countries. 2004 was a milestone in Sino-Indian bilateral trade, surpassing the $10 billion mark for the first time. In April 2005, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Bangalore to push for increased Sino-Indian cooperation in high-tech industries. In a speech, Wen stated "Cooperation is just like two pagodas (temples), one hardware and one software. Combined, we can take the leadership position in the world." Wen stated that the twentyfirst century will be "the Asian century of the IT industry." The high-level visit was also expected to produce several agreements to deepen political, cultural and economic ties between the two nations. Regarding the issue of India gaining a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, on his visit, Wen Jiabao initially seemed to support the idea, but had returned to a neutral position on the subject by the time he returned to China. In the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit (2005) China was granted an observer status. While other countries in the region are ready to consider China for permanent membership in the SAARC, India seems reluctant. A very important dimension of the evolving Sino-

Indian relationship is based on the energy requirements of their industrial expansion and their readiness to proactively secure them by investing in the oilfields abroad - in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. On the one hand, these ventures entail competition (which has been evident in oil biddings for various international projects recently). But on the other hand, a degree of cooperation too is visible, as they are increasingly confronting bigger players in the global oil market. This cooperation was sealed in Beijing on January 12, 2006 during the visit of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, who signed an agreement which envisages ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) placing joint bids for promising projects elsewhere. This may have important consequences for their international relations. On July 6, 2006, China and India re-opened Nathula, an ancient trade route which was part of the Silk Road. Nathula is a pass through the Himalayas and it was closed 44 years prior to 2006 when the Sino-Indian War broke out in 1962. The initial agreement for the re-opening of the trade route was reached in 2003, and a final agreement was formalized on June 18th, 2006. Officials say that the re-opening of border trade will help ease the economic isolation of the region. In November 2006, China and India had a verbal spat over claim of the north-east Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. India claimed that China was occupying 38,000 square kilometres of its territory in Kashmir, while China claimed the whole of Arunachal Pradesh as its own. In May 2007, China denied the application for visa from an Indian Administrative Service officer in Arunachal Pradesh. According to China, since Arunachal Pradesh is a territory of China, he would not need a visa to visit his own country. Later in December 2007, China appeared to have reversed its policy by granting a visa to Marpe Sora, an Arunachal born professor in computer science. In January 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited China and met with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao and had bilateral discussions related

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to trade, commerce, defense, military, and various other issues. In July 2008, at the 34th G8 summit in Japan, Hu Jintao and Manmohan Singh had a friendly meeting. In the wake of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, India offered aid to help the earthquake victims. Until 2008 the British Government's position remained the same as had been since the Simla Accord of 1913: that China held suzerainty over Tibet but not sovereignty. Britain revised this view on 29 October 2008, when it recognised Chinese sovereignty over Tibet by issuing a statement on its website. The Economist stated that although the British Foreign Office's website does not use the word sovereignty, officials at the Foreign Office said "it means that, as far as Britain is concerned, 'Tibet is part of China. Full stop.'" This change in Britain's position affects India's claim to its North Eastern territories which rely on the same Simla agreement that Britain's prior position on Tibet's sovereignty was based upon. Alleged 2009 naval stand-off: On January 15, Chinese sources reported that two Chinese destroyers and an anti-submarine helicopter engaged in a half an hour naval stand off against an Indian submarine. The report said that Chinese destroyers forced an Indian submarine to surface off Somalia waters after it tried to test Chinese sonar systems for weaknesses. The Indian vessel then apparently left without further confrontation. However, the report was later confirmed as an inaccurate one by both sides.

India–Japan relations Throughout history, Indo-Japanese relations have always been strong. For centuries, India and Japan have engaged in cultural exchanges, primarily as a result of Buddhism which spread from India to Japan. During the Indian Independence Movement, the Japanese Imperial Army helped Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army in battles against British forces. Diplomatic, trade, economic, and technical relations between India and Japan were well established since the 1950s. India's iron ore helped Japan's recovery

from World War II devastation, and following Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi's visit to India in 1957, Japan started providing yen loans to India in 1958, as the first yen loan aid extended by Japanese government. Relations between the two nations were constrained, however, by Cold War politics. Japan, as a result of World War II reconstruction, was a U.S. ally, while India pursued a non-aligned foreign policy. Since the 1980s, however, efforts were made to strengthen bilateral ties. India’s ‘Look East’ policy posited Japan as a key partner. Since 1986, Japan has become India's largest aid donor, and remains so. Relations between the two nations reached a brief low in 1998 as a result of India's nuclear program. After India's nuclear tests in 1998, Japan suspended all political exchanges with India. The long-establish economic assistance was also stopped for three years. Relations improved exponentially following this period, as bilateral relations between the two nations improved once again. Economic: In August 2000, Japanese Prime Minister Mori visited India. At this meeting, Japan and India agreed to establish "Japan-India Global Partnership in the 21st Century." Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee visited Japan in December, 2001, where both Prime Ministers issued "Japan-India Joint Declaration", consisting of high-level dialogue, economic cooperation, and military and anti-terrorism cooperation. In April, 2005, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi visited India and signed Joint Statement "Japan-India Partnership in the New Asian Era: Strategic Orientation of Japan-India Global Partnership" with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Japan is currently India’s third largest source of foreign direct investment; Japanese companies have made cumulative investments of around $2.6 billion in India since 1991. The 2007 annual survey conducted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation ranked India as the most promising overseas investment destination for Japanese companies over the long term. In recent years, Japan has assisted India in infrastructure development projects such as the Delhi Metro Rail Project. Both

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sides are also discussing the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project and Dedicated Freight Corridor Projects on the Mumbai-Delhi and the Delhi-Howrah routes. In October 2008, Japan signed an agreement with India under which it would provide the latter a low-interest loan worth US$4.5 billion to construct a railway project between Delhi and Mumbai. This is the single largest overseas project being financed by Japan and reflected growing economic partnership between the two. India is also one of the only three countries in the world with whom Japan has security pact, the other two being Australia and the United States. As of March 2006, Japan was the third largest investor in India with an estimated total investment of US$2.12 billion. Military: India and Japan also have close military ties. They have shared interests in maintaining the security of sea-lanes in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean, and in cooperation for fighting international crime, terrorism, piracy and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The two nations have frequently held joint military exercises and cooperate on technology. Cultural: Japan and India maintain strong cultural connections. The two nations announced 2007 as Japan-India Friendship Year, and held cultural events in both India and Japan. Recently, Japan has also supported the reconstruction of the ancient Nalanda University, and has agreed to provide financial assistance, and recently approached the Indian government with a proposal.

Brazil–India relations Brazil and India are large continental sized countries with social diversity, democratic governments, a multiethnic society, and a large population base. Both possess advanced technologies. The two countries share similar perceptions on issues of interest to developing countries and have cooperated in the multilateral level on issues such

as international trade and development, environment, reform of the UN and the UNSC expansion. India’s links with Brazil go back five centuries. Portugal’s Pedro Alvares Cabral is officially recognised as the first European to “discover” Brazil in 1500. Cabral was sent to India by the King of Portugal soon after the return of Vasco da Gama from his pioneering journey. Cabral is reported to have been blown-off course on his way to India. Brazil became an important Portuguese colony and stop-over in the long journey to Goa. This Portuguese connection led to the exchange of several agricultural crops between India and Brazil in the colonial days. Indian cattle was also imported to Brazil. Most of the cattle in Brazil is of Indian origin. Diplomatic relations between India and Brazil were established in 1948. The Indian Embassy opened in Rio de Janeiro on May 3, 1948, moving to Brasília on August 1, 1971. Cultural relations: There is enormous interest in Brazil on India's culture, religion, performing arts and philosophy. A number of cultural events including performances by famous Kuchipudi dance group, "Raja and Radha Reddy" were organized in the major cities of Brazil ahead of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Brasília from 1114 September 2006. Earlier, a very successful Festival of India was organised during the visit of President K.R. Narayanan to Brazil in May 1998. There are numerous organisations teaching yoga and they invite yoga teachers from India for instructions and learning. ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Bhakti Vedanta Foundation and other Indian spiritual gurus and organisations have their chapters in Brazil. The University of Londrina has a good specialization course on India in its Department of Afro-Asian Studies. Mahatma Gandhi is highly regarded in the country and the government has sought to teach his philosophy of non-violence to the police to improve its track record. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi is located in a prominent square in Rio de Janeiro. A group called the Filhos de Gandhi (Sons of Gandhi) participates regularly in the car-

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nival in Salvador. Private Brazilian organizations occasionally invite Indian cultural troupes. Economic relations: In recent years, relations between Brazil and India have grown considerably and co-operation between the two countries has been extended to such diverse areas as science and technology, pharmaceuticals and space. The twoway trade in 2007 nearly tripled to US$ 3.12 billion from US$ 1.2 billion in 2004. Global software giant, Wipro Technologies, also set up a business process outsourcing centre in Curitiba to provide shared services to AmBev, the largest brewery in Latin America. AmBev's zonal vice president, Renato Nahas Batista, said "We are honoured to be a part of Wipro's expansion plans in Brazil and Latin America." AmBev's portfolio includes leading brands like Brahma, Becks, Stella and Antarctica.

Current issues UNSC reform: Both countries want the participa ion of developing countries in the UNSC permanent membership since the underlying philosophy for both of them are: UNSC should be more democratic, legitimate and representative - the G4 is a novel grouping for this realization. South-South cooperation: Brazil and India are deeply committed to IBSA initiatives and attach utmost importance to this trilateral cooperation between the three large, multi-ethnic, multi-racial and multi-religious developing countries, which are bound by the common principle of pluralism and democracy. The first ever IBSA Summit was held in Brasília in September 2006, followed by the Second IBSA Summit held in Pretoria in October 2007, with the third one to be held in Delhi in October 2008. Four IBSA Trilateral Commission meetings were already held till 2007 since the first one was held in 2004 and had covered many areas such as science, technology, education, agriculture, energy, culture, health, social issues, public administra-

tion and revenue administration. The target of US $10 billion in trade was already achieved by 2007. Both countries view this as a tool of transformation diplomacy to bring economic growth, sustainable development, poverty reduction and regional prosperity in the vast regions of Latin America, Africa and Asia. The IBSA Fund for Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger has already provided funds for capacity building in East Timor and for the fight against HIV/AIDS in Burundi and has won the South-South Partnership Award at the 2006 UN Day event held in New York City on 19 December 2006.

India – United States relations Despite being one of the pioneers and founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement, India developed a closer relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. India's strategic and military relations with Moscow and strong socialist policies had an adverse impact on its relations with the United States. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, India began to review its foreign policy in a unipolar world following which, it took steps to develop closer ties with the European Union and the United States. Today, India and the U.S. share an extensive cultural, strategic, military and economic relationship. During the tenure of the Clinton and Bush administration, relations between India and the United States blossomed primarily over common concerns regarding growing Islamic extremism, energy security and climate change. According to some foreign policy experts, there was a slight downturn in India-U.S. relations following the appointment of Barack Obama as the U.S. President in 2009. This was primarily due to Obama administration's desire to increase relations with China, and Barack Obama's protectionist views on dealing with the economic crisis. However, the leaders of the two countries have repeatedly dismissed these concerns. The historic relationship between India and the

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United states was very strong. One event is the visit of Swami Vivekananda who introduced Yoga and Vedanta to America. Vivekananda was the first known Hindu Sage to come to the West, where he introduced Eastern thought at the World's Parliament of Religions, in connection with the World's Fair in Chicago, in 1893. Here, his first lecture, which started with this line "Sisters and Brothers of America," made the audience clap for two minutes just to the address, for prior to this seminal speech, the audience was always used to this opening address: "Ladies and Gentlemen". It was this speech that catapulted him to fame by his wide audiences in Chicago and then later everywhere else in America, including farflung places such as Memphis, Boston, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and St. Louis. After Indian independence until the end of the cold war, the relationship between the two nations has often been thorny. Dwight Eisenhower was the first US President to visit India in 1959. He was so supportive of India that the New York times remarked "It did not seem to matter much whether Nehru had actually requested or been given a guarantee that the US would help India to meet further Chinese communist aggression. What mattered was the obvious strengthening of Indian-American friendship to a point where no such guarantee was necessary." During John F. Kennedy's period as President, he saw India as a strategic partner against the rise of communist China. He said "Chinese Communists have been moving ahead the last 10 years. India has been making some progress, but if India does not succeed with her 450 million people, if she can't make freedom work, then people around the world are going to determine, particularly in the underdeveloped world, that the only way they can develop their resources is through the Communist system." From 1961 to 1963 there was a promise to help set up a large steel mill in Bokaro that was withdrawn by the U.S. The 1965 and 1971 Indo-Paki-

stani wars did not help their relations. During the Cold War, the US asked for Pakistan's help because India was seen to lean towards the Soviet Union. Later, when India would not agree to support the anti-Soviet operation in Afghanistan, it was left with few allies. Not until 1997 was there any effort to improve relations with the United States. Soon after Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Indian Prime Minister, he authorized a nuclear weapons test in Pokhran, which got the immediate attention of the US. The Clinton administration and Vajpayee exchanged representatives to help build relations. In March 2000, President Bill Clinton visited India. He had bilateral and economic discussions with Prime Minster Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Over the course of improved diplomatic relations with the Bush administration, India has agreed to allow close international monitoring of its nuclear weapons development while refusing to give up its current nuclear arsenal. India and the US have also greatly enhanced their economic ties. During the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., President George W. Bush chose India as the country to control and police the Indian Ocean sea-lanes from the Suez to Singapore. The tsunami that occurred in December 2004 saw the U.S. and Indian navies to work together in search and rescue operations and to reconstruct the damaged lives and land. An Open Skies Agreement was made in April 2005. This helped enhance trade, tourism, and business by the increased number of flights. Air India purchased 68 US Boeing aircraft, which cost $8 billion. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have made recent visits to India as well. After Hurricane Katrina, India donated $5 million to the American Red Cross and sent 2 plane loads of relief supplies and materials to help. And on 1 March 2006, President Bush made another diplomatic visit to expand relations between India and the United States. Military relations: The U.S.-India defense rela-

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tionship derives from a common belief in freedom, democracy, and the rule of law, and seeks to advance shared security interests. These interests include maintaining security and stability, defeating terrorism and violent religious extremism, preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and associated materials, data, and technologies and protecting the free flow of commerce via land, air and sea lanes. In recent years India has conducted joint military exercises with the U.S. in the Indian Ocean. Despite this the Indian government sees the sole U.S. base in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia, and the permanent presence of the U.S. military there, as a potential escalation point in a future war, especially because of the current U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognizing India as a key to strategic U.S. interests, the United States has sought to strengthen its relationship with India. The two countries are the world's largest democracies, both committed to political freedom protected by representative government. India is also moving gradually toward greater economic freedom. The U.S. and India have a common interest in the free flow of commerce and resources, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean. They also share an interest in fighting terrorism and in creating a strategically stable Asia. There were some differences, however, including over India's nuclear weapons programs and the pace of India's economic reforms. In the past, these concerns may have dominated U.S. thinking about India, but today the U.S. views India as a growing world power with which it shares common strategic interests. A strong partnership between the two countries will continue to address differences and shape a dynamic and collaborative future. In late September 2001, President Bush lifted sanctions imposed under the terms of the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act following India's nuclear tests in May 1998. The nonproliferation dialogue initiated after the 1998 nuclear tests has

bridged many of the gaps in understanding between the countries. In a meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Vajpayee in November 2001, the two leaders expressed a strong interest in transforming the U.S.-India bilateral relationship. High-level meetings and concrete cooperation between the two countries increased during 2002 and 2003. In January 2004, the U.S. and India launched the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP), which was both a milestone in the transformation of the bilateral relationship and a blueprint for its further progress. In July 2005, President Bush hosted Prime Minister Singh in Washington, DC. The two leaders announced the successful completion of the NSSP, as well as other agreements which further enhance cooperation in the areas of civil nuclear, civil space, and high-technology commerce. Other initiatives announced at this meeting include: an U.S.-India Economic Dialogue, Fight Against HIV/AIDS, Disaster Relief, Technology Cooperation, Democracy Initiative, an Agriculture Knowledge Initiative, a Trade Policy Forum, Energy Dialogue and CEO Forum. President Bush made a reciprocal visit to India in March 2006, during which the progress of these initiatives were reviewed, and new initiatives were launched. In December 2006, Congress passed the historic Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Cooperation Act, which allows direct civilian nuclear commerce with India for the first time in 30 years. U.S. policy had opposed nuclear cooperation with India because the country had developed nuclear weapons in contravention of international conventions and never signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The legislation clears the way for India to buy U.S. nuclear reactors and fuel for civilian use. In July 2007, the United States and India reached a historic milestone in their strategic partnership by completing negotiations on the bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation, also known as the "123 agreement." This agreement, signed by Secretary of State Rice and External Affairs Minister Mukherjee on October 10, 2008, governs civil

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nuclear trade between the two countries and opens the door for American and Indian firms to participate in each other's civil nuclear energy sector. The U.S. and India seek to elevate the strategic partnership further to include cooperation in counter-terrorism, defense cooperation, education, and joint democracy promotion. Economic relations: The United States is also one of India's largest direct investors. From the year 1991 to 2004, the stock of FDI inflow has increased from USD $11.3 million to $344.4 million, totaling $4.13 billion. This is a compound rate increase of 57.5% annually. Indian direct investments abroad were started in 1992. Indian corporations and registered partnership firms are allowed to invest in businesses up to 100% of their net worth. India's largest outgoing investments are manufacturing, which account for 54.8% of the country's foreign investments. The second largest are nonfinancial services (software development), which accounts for 35.4% of investments. Trade relations: The United States is India's largest trading partner. In 2007, the United States exported $17.24 billion worth goods to India and imported $24.02 billion worth of Indian goods. Major items exported by India to the U.S. include Information Technology Services, textiles, machinery, ITeS, gems and diamonds, chemicals, iron and steel products, coffee, tea, and other edible food products. Major American items imported by India include aircraft, fertilizers, computer hardware, scrap metal and medical equipment. The United States is also India's largest investment partner, with American direct investment of $9 billion accounting for 9% of total foreign investment into India. Americans have made notable foreign investment in India's power generation, telecommunications, ports, roads, petroleum exploration/processing, and mining industries. In July 2005, President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh created a new program called the Trade Policy Forum. It is run by a representative from each nation. The United States Trade Representative is

Rob Portman and the Indian Commerce Secretary is Minister of Commerce Kamal Nath. The goal of the program is to increase bilateral trade which is a two-way trade deal and the flow of investments. There are five main sub-divisions of the Trade Policy Forum which include: Agricultural Trade group- This group has three main objectives: agreeing on terms that will allow India to export mangoes to the United States, permitting India's APEDA (Agricultural and Process Food Products Export Development Authority) to certify Indian products to the standards of the USDA, and executing regulation procedures for approving edible wax on fruit. Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers group- Goals of the group include: agreeing that insecticides that are manufactures by United States companies can be sold throughout India. India had agreed to cut special regulations on trading carbonated drinks, many medicinal drugs, and lowering regulations on many imports that are not of agricultural nature. Both nations have agreed to discuss improved facets on the trade of Indian regulation requirements, jewelry, computer parts, motorcycles, fertilizer, and those tariffs that affect the American process of exporting boric acid. The two nations have discussed matters such as those who wish to break into the accounting market, Indian companies gaining licenses for the telecommunications industry, and setting polices by the interaction of companies from both countries regarding new policies related to Indian media and broadcasting. This group has strived to exchange valuable information on recognizing different professional services offered by the two countries, discussing the movement and positioning of people in developing industries and assigning jobs to those people, continuation of talks in how India's citizens can gain access into the market for financial servicing, and discussing the limitation of equities. The two countries have had talks about the restriction of investments in industries such as financial services, insurance, and retail. Also, to take

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advantage of any initiatives in joint investments such as agricultural processing and the transportation industries. Both countries have decided to promote small business initiatives in both countries by allowing trade between them. The majority of exports from the United States to India include: aviation equipment, engineering materials and machinery, instruments used in optical and medical sectors, fertilizers, and stones and metals. Below are the percentages of traded items India to US increased by 21.12% to $6.94 billion. 1. Diamonds & precious stones (25%) 2. Textiles (29.01%) 3. Iron & Steel (5.81%) 4. Organic chemicals (4.3%) 5. Machinery (4.6%) 6. Electrical Machinery (4.28%) Major items of export from U.S. to India: For the year 2006, figures are available up to the month of April. Merchandise exports from US to India increased by 20.09.26% to US $2.95 billion. Select major items with their percentage shares are given below: 1. Engineering goods & machinery (including electrical) (31.2%) 2. Precious stones & metals (8.01%) 3. Organic chemicals (4.98%) 4. Optical instruments & equipment (7.33%) 5. Aviation & aircraft ( 16.8%)

Ties Under Obama Administration Despite much gains in Indo-American relations during the tenure of the Bush administration, India was not one of the Asian countries U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited in February 2009. The Foreign Policy magazine reported that even though Foreign Policy Staff of the previous administration had recommended India as a "key stop" during any such official tour of Asia, Hillary Clinton will not be making a visit to New Delhi.

The exclusion of India from the Asian tour was regarded as a "mistake" by some analysts. India was not even mentioned once in the Obama administration's official foreign policy agenda. The Forbes magazine alerted U.S. President Barack Obama on the need to prevent United States' newfound alliance with India from erosion. The initial approach of the Obama administration towards ties with India raised concerns of a downturn in Indo-American relations. In an editorial, the National Interest suggested that the Obama administration could possibly damage "the foundations underlying the geostrategic partnership" between India and the United States. Another editorial published by the Taipei Times highlighted the importance of India-U.S. relations and urged Barack Obama to give "India the attention it deserves".Terming India to be United States' "indispensable ally", the Christian Science Monitor argued that the Obama administration needs India's cooperation on several issues, including climate change, Afghanistan war and energy security and therefore, Obama cannot risk putting ties with India on "back-burner". In an attempt to bolster relations between the two countries, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be making a visit to India in the second half of July 2009. Calling India a "key partner" of the United States, Clinton said that the United States wants India "to succeed as an anchor for regional and global security". She also mentioned four platforms for building future U.S.-India relationship — "global security, human development, economic activity, science and technology". Foreign policy issues: According to some analysts, India-U.S. relations have strained over Obama administration's approach in handling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan. India's National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan, criticized the Obama administration for linking the Kashmir dispute to the instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan and said that by doing so, President Obama was "barking up the wrong tree".The Foreign Policy too criticized Obama's approach to-

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wards South Asia saying that "India can be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem" in South Asia and suggested India to take a more proactive role in rebuilding Afghanistan irrespective of the attitude of the Obama administration. In a clear indication of growing rift between India and the U.S., the former decided not to accept a U.S. invitation to attend a conference on Afghanistan. Bloomberg reported that since 2008 Mumbai attacks, the public mood in India has been to pressure Pakistan more aggressively to take actions against the culprits behind the terrorist attack and this might reflect on the upcoming general elections in May 2009. Consequently, the Obama administration may find itself at odds with India's rigid stance against terrorism. Robert Blake, assistant secretary of United States' Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, dismissed any concerns over a rift with India regarding United States' AfPak policy. Calling India and the United States "natural allies",Blake said that the United States cannot afford to meet the strategic priorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan at "the expense of India". Economic relations:India strongly criticized Obama administration's decision to limit H-1B visas and India's External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, said that his country would argue against U.S. "protectionism" at various international forums. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a close aide of India's main opposition party the BJP, said that if the United States continues with its antioutsourcing policies, then India will "have to take steps to hurt American companies in India." India's Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath, said that India may move against Obama's outsourcing policies at the World Trade Organization. However, the outsourcing advisory head of KPMG said that India had no reason to worry since Obama's statements were directed against "outsourcing being carried out by manufacturing companies" and not outsourcing of IT-related services. In May 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated his anti-outsourcing views and criticized the current U.S. tax policy "that says you should

pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, New York." However, during the U.S.-India Business Council meet in June 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton advocated for stronger economic ties between India and the United States. She also rebuked protectionist policies saying that "[United States] will not use the global financial crisis as an excuse to fall back on protectionism. We hope India will work with us to create a more open, equitable set of opportunities for trade between our nations." In June 2009, United States provided diplomatic help in successfully pushing through a US$2.9 billion loan sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, despite considerable opposition from the People's Republic of China. Strategic and military relations:In March 2009, the Obama administration cleared the US$2.1 billion sale of eight P-8 Poseidons to India, the largest military deal between the two countries. India expressed its concerns that Obama administration's non-military aid to Pakistan will not be used for counter-insurgency, but for building up its military against India. However, Robert Blake, assistant secretary of Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, said that the Pakistani Government was increasingly focused at fighting the Taliban insurgency and expressed hope that the people of India would "support and agree with what we are trying to do". Concerns were raised in India that the Obama administration was delaying the full implementation of the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal. The Obama administration has also strongly advocated for the strengthening of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and has pressurized India to sign the agreement. India's special envoy, Shyam Saran, "warned" the United States that India would continue to oppose any such treaty as it was "discriminatory". In June 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the Obama administration was "fully committed" to the Indo-U.S. civil

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nuclear agreement. U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen encouraged stronger military ties between India and the United States and said that "India has emerged as an increasingly important strategic partner [of the U.S.]". Cold War era: India played a key role in establishing the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. Though India pursued close relations with both US and USSR, it decided not to join any major power bloc and refrained from joining military alliances. India, however began establishing close military relationship with the Soviet Union. After the Sino-Indian War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, India made considerable changes to its foreign policy. It developed a close relationship with the Soviet Union and started receiving massive military equipment and financial assistance from the USSR. This had an adverse effect on the Indo-US relationship. The United States saw Pakistan as a counter-weight to pro-Soviet India and started giving the former military assistance. This created an atmosphere of suspicion between India and US. The US-India relationship suffered a considerable setback during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan when India openly supported the Soviet Union. Relations between India and the United States came to an all-time low during the early 1970s. Despite reports of atrocities in East Pakistan, and being told, most notably in the Blood telegram, of genocidal activities being perpetrated by Pakistani forces, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and U.S. President Richard Nixon did nothing to discourage then Pakistani President Yahya Khan and the Pakistan Army. Kissinger was particularly concerned about Soviet expansion into South Asia as a result of a treaty of friendship that had recently been signed between India and the Soviet Union, and sought to demonstrate to the People's Republic of China the value of a tacit alliance with the United States. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Indian Armed Forces, along with the Mukti Bahini, succeeded in liberating East Pakistan which soon

declared independence. Richard Nixon, then US President, feared that an Indian invasion of West Pakistan would mean total Soviet domination of the region, and that it would seriously undermine the global position of the United States and the regional position of America's new tacit ally, China. In order to demonstrate to China the bona fides of the United States as an ally, and in direct violation of the US Congress-imposed sanctions on Pakistan, Nixon sent military supplies to Pakistan, routing them through Jordan and Iran, while also encouraging China to increase its arms supplies to Pakistan. When Pakistan's defeat in the eastern sector seemed certain, Nixon sent the USS Enterprise to the Bay of Bengal, a move deemed by the Indians as a nuclear threat. The Enterprise arrived on station on December 11, 1971. On 6 December and 13 December, the Soviet Navy dispatched two groups of ships, armed with nuclear missiles, from Vladivostok; they trailed U.S. Task Force 74 into the Indian Ocean from 18 December 1971 until 7 January 1972. The Soviets also sent a nuclear submarine to ward off the threat posed by USS Enterprise in the Indian Ocean. Though American efforts had no effect in turning the tide of the war, the incident involving USS Enterprise is viewed as the trigger for India's subsequent nuclear program. American policy towards the end of the war was dictated primarily by a need to restrict the escalation of war on the western sector to prevent the 'dismemberment' of West Pakistan. Years after the war, many American writers criticized the White House policies during the war as being badly flawed and illserving the interests of the United States. India carried out nuclear tests a few years later resulting in sanctions being imposed by United States, further drifting the two countries apart. In recent years, Kissinger came under fire for comments made during the Indo-Pakistan War in which he described Indians as "bastards." Kissinger has since expressed his regret over the comments . Post Cold War Era:Since the end of the Cold War,

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India-US relations have improved dramatically. This has largely been fostered by the fact that the US and India are both democracies and have a large and growing trade relationship. During the Gulf War, the economy of India went through an extremely difficult phase. The Government of India liberalized the Indian economy. After the break up of the Soviet Union, India started looking for new allies and tried improving diplomatic relations with the members of the NATO particularly the United States, Canada, France and Germany. In 1992, India established formal diplomatic relations with Israel. In the mid-1990s, India tried to attract world attention towards the Pakistan backed terrorism in Kashmir. The Kargil War resulted in a major diplomatic victory for India. The United States and European Union recognized the fact that Pakistani military had illegally infiltrated into Indian territory and pressurized Pakistan to withdraw from Kargil. Several anti-India terrorist groups based in Pakistan were labelled as terrorist groups by the United States and European Union. Pokhran tests: In 1998, India tested nuclear weapons which resulted in several U.S., Japanese and European sanctions on India. India's then defence minister, George Fernandes, said that India's nuclear program was necessary as it provided a deterrence to some potential nuclear threat. Most of the sanctions imposed on India were removed by 2001. India has categorically stated that it will never use weapons first but will defend if attacked. In fact Pakistan is the first country that India informs if any nuclear tests are on the agenda. The economic sanctions imposed by the United States in response to India's nuclear tests in May 1998 appeared, at least initially, to seriously damage Indo-American relations. President Bill Clinton imposed wide-ranging sanctions pursuant to the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act. U.S. sanctions on Indian entities involved in the nuclear industry and opposition to international financial institution loans for non-humani-

tarian assistance projects in India. The United States encouraged India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) immediately and without condition. The U.S. also called for restraint in missile and nuclear testing and deployment by both India and Pakistan. The non-proliferation dialogue initiated after the 1998 nuclear tests has bridged many of the gaps in understanding between the countries. Post-September 11 attack: After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Indian intelligence agencies provided the U.S. with significant information on AlQaeda and related groups' activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. India's extensive contribution to the War on Terrorism has helped India's diplomatic relations with several countries. Over the past few years, India has held numerous joint military exercises with U.S. and European nations that have resulted in a strengthened U.S.-India and E.U.-India bilateral relationship. India's bilateral trade with Europe and U.S. has more than doubled in the last five years. However, India has yet to sign the CTBT, or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, claiming the discriminatory nature of the treaty that allows the five declared nuclear countries of the world to keep their nuclear arsenal and develop it using computer simulation testing. Prior to its nuclear testing, India had pressed for a comprehensive destruction of nuclear weapons by all countries of the world in a time-bound frame. This was not acceptable to the US and other countries. Presently, India has declared its policy of "no-first use of nuclear weapons" and the maintenance of a "credible nuclear deterrence". The US, under President George W. Bush has also lifted most of its sanctions on India and has resumed military co-operation. Relations with US have considerably improved in the recent years, with the two countries taking part in joint naval exercises off the coast of India and joint air exercises both in India as well as in the United States. India has been pushing for reforms in the UN and WTO with mixed results. India's candidature for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council is

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currently backed by several countries including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Brazil, African Union nations and recently People's Republic of China. In 2005, the United States signed a nuclear co-operation agreement with India even though the latter is not a part of the NPT. The US argued that India's strong nuclear non-proliferation record made it an exception and persuaded other NSG members to sign similar deals with India. On March 2, 2006 India and the US signed the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Pact on co-operation in civilian nuclear field. This was signed during the four days state visit of US president George Bush in India. On its part, India would separate its civilian and military nuclear programs, and the civilian programs would be brought under the safeguards of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The United States would sell India the reactor technologies and the nuclear fuel for setting up and upgrading its civilian nuclear program. The U.S. Congress needs to ratify this pact since U.S. federal law prohibits the trading of nuclear technologies and materials outside the framework of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Indo-US Strategic Partnership Indo-US relations got strategic content way back in early sixties. The rise of China worried the policymakers in Washington. Chinese annexation of Tibet, its role in Korean war and other such acts convinced Washington about the expansionist designs of the Chinese. As the relations between India and China deteriorated during late fifties, the Americans found a golden opportunity to take advantage of this situation to promote India as a counterweight to China But any unidimensional alliance is bound to be short-lived and this alliance was no exception to this general rule. As China ceased to be a headache for the American policymakers by the late sixties, this unidimensional alliance disappeared into thin air. The end of the Cold War necessitated as well as facilitated the infusion of strategic content to IndoUS relations–this time multidimensional.In the

post Cold War era, the strategic objectives of India and the US converges on a number of issues and not just one–as well as the case earlier. These issues include, inter alia, containment of terrorism, promotion of democracy, counter proliferation, freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean, Asian balance of power, etc. One of the very interesting feature of Indo-US relations of recent times is the changes on the terms of engagement between the two countries on the issue of nuclear proliferation.While earlier, in the US strategic thinking on nuclear proliferation, India figured mainly because of American concern about latter’s nuclear and missile programmes, in the twenty-first century,however, American strategic thinking on the issue of nuclear proliferation has undergone radical reorientation.Now, the Americans are increasingly realising the futility of insisting on a rollback of India’s nuclear programme. They, rather, want to leverage India’s growing power and influence in favour of their broader nonproliferation and counter proliferation objectives. As promotion of democracy around the world is one of the most important foreign policy objective of the USA, India- as the largest democracy of the world-can hardly be ignored by the US.This is the reason, cooperation in promotion of democracy in the world has become one of the most important facets of Indo-US relations in recent times.India is a founding member of the ‘Community of Democracies’ – a prominent endeavour of the US on promotion of democracy. However,India rejected the suggestion of the US about setting up a Centre for Asian Democracy. Agriculture is another important area of cooperation between India and the USA in present times.Considering the fact that both the nations at present have a vast pool of human resources adept at knowledge economy, it is only natural that the most optimal course such partnership can aim at is harnessing these human resources by concentrating on development and dissemination of agricultural knowledge through research, edu-

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cation and training etc.An initiative to forge such a partnership is the 'India-US Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture' (KIA)

European Union India was one of the first countries to develop relations with the Union, signing bilateral agreements in 1973, when the United Kingdom joined. The most recent cooperation agreement was signed in 1994 and an action plan was signed in 2005. As of April 2007 the Commission is pursuing a free trade agreement with India. The Union is India's largest trading partner, accounting for 20% of Indian trade. However, India accounts for only 1.8% of the EU's trade and attracts only 0.3% of European Foreign Direct Investment, although still provides India's largest source. During 2005 EU-India trade grew by 20.3%. There was controversy in 2006 when the Indian Mittal Steel Company sought to take-over the Luxembourg based steel company, Arcelor. The approach met with opposition from France and Luxembourg but was passed by the Commission who stated that were judging it on competition grounds only. The European Union (EU) and India agreed on September 29,2008 at the EU-India summit in Marseille, France's largest commercial port, to expand their cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy and environmental protection and deepen their strategic partnership. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the EU's rotating president, said at a joint press conference at the summit that "EU welcomes India, as a large country, to engage in developing nuclear energy, adding that this clean energy will be helpful for the world to deal with the global climate change." Sarkozy also said the EU and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan pledged to accelerate talks on a free trade deal and expected to finish the deal by 2009. The Indian prime minister was also cautiously optimistic about cooperation on nuclear energy. "Tomorrow we have a

bilateral summit with France. This matter will come up and I hope some good results will emerge out of that meeting," Singh said when asked about the issue. Singh said that he was "very satisfied" with the results of the summit. He added that EU and India have "common values" and the two economies are complementary to each other. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, also speaking at Monday's press conference, expounded the joint action plan on adjustments of EU's strategic partnership with India, saying the two sides will strengthen cooperation on world peace and safety, sustainable development, cooperation in science and technology and cultural exchanges. Reviewing the two sides' efforts in developing the bilateral strategic partnership, the joint action plan reckoned that in politics, dialogue and cooperation have enhanced through regular summits and exchanges of visits and that in economy, mutual investments have increased dramatically in recent years, dialogue in macro economic policies and financial services has established and cooperation in energy, science and technology and environment has been launched. Under the joint action plan, EU and Indian would enhance consultation and dialogue on human rights within the UN framework, strengthen cooperation in world peacekeeping mission, fight against terror and nonproliferation of arms, promote cooperation and exchange in developing civil nuclear energy and strike a free trade deal as soon as possible. France, which relies heavily on nuclear power and is a major exporter of nuclear technology, is expected to sign a deal that would allow it to provide nuclear fuel to India. Trade between India and the 27-nation EU has more than doubled from 25.6 billion euros ($36.7 billion) in 2000 to 55.6 billion euros last year, with further expansion to be seen. "We have agreed to achieve an annual bilateral trade turnover of 100 billion euros within the next five years," Singh told reporters. A joint statement issued at the end of the summit said the EU and India would work to reach an agreement on climate change by the end

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two-way bilateral investments.

of 2009.

India–United Kingdom relations Indian–British relations are foreign relations between the United Kingdom and India. India has a high commission in London and two consulatesgeneral in Birmingham and Edinburgh. The United Kingdom has a high commission in New Delhi and three deputy high commissions in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Since 1947, relations between the two countries have been mostly friendly and there are many areas in which both India and the UK seek stronger ties for mutual benefit. There are also strong cultural and social ties between the two nations. In India, English is one of the official languages, and Cricket is among the most popular sports. In the UK Indian Cuisine is hugely popular. Britain imports most of its tea from India, and there are a number of words of Indian origin in the English language. The UK has an ethnic Indian population of over 1 million. Republic of India (since 1950): India remained in the Commonwealth of Nations after become a Republic, but diversified its foreign relations beyond the former British Empire. In particular, India became a major force within the NonAligned Movement, which initially sought to avoid taking sides during the Cold War. This contrasted with Britain's position as a founding member of NATO, and key ally of the United States. However, relations between the two countries have generally been cordial. Due mainly to post independence immigration, there are now over a million people of Indian descent in the United Kingdom. Economy: India is the second largest foreign investor in the UK after the USA, and the UK is also a significant investor in India. There are many bilateral trade agreements between the two nations designed to strengthen ties. For example, in 2005, the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was inaugurated in New Delhi aimed at boosting

Defense: Cooperation is undertaken under the Defence Consultative Group (DCG) formed in 1995. India and the UK cooperate in a number of ways. Joint Indo-UK exercises (a ten-day exercise Emerald Mercury was held in India in March 2005, the first of its kind between the two countries, which marked the biggest land deployment of British military personnel in India), research and technology and defence equipment collaboration. Britain supports India’s case for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council as well as bilateral cooperation in civilian nuclear technology. The UK and India also cooperate on security and terrorism issues. Political: Politically, relations between India and the UK occur mostly through the multilateral organisations of which both are members, such as the Commonwealth of Nations, the World Trade Organisation and the Asian Development Bank. Britain was the first G8 nation to suggest that India, along with China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, be allowed to attend summits with the G8. Britain recently donated £825 million in aid to India for the development of India's Healthcare System and Educational System. The President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan paid a state visit to the United Kingdom in June 1963. The President of India Ramaswamy Venkataraman paid a state visit to the United Kingdom in October 1990. HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom paid state visits to India in November 1963, and in April 1990.

India–Russia relations India-Russian relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Russian Federation. During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union enjoyed a strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship. After the collapse of the USSR, India improved its relations with the West but it continued its close relations with Russia. India is the second largest

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market for Russian arms industry. In 2004, more than 70% on Indian Military's hardware came from Russia, making Russia the chief supplier of arms. India has an embassy in Moscow and 2 Consulates-General (in Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok). Russia has an embassy in New Delhi and 3 Consulates-General (in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai). Since 2000 and the visit of Vladimir Putin in India there have been an Indo-Russian Strategic Partnership. Soviet Union and India:A cordial relationship with India that began in the 1950s represented the most successful of the Soviet attempts to foster closer relations with Third World countries. The relationship began with a visit by Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Soviet Union in June 1955 and Khrushchev's return trip to India in the fall of 1955. While in India, Khrushchev announced that the Soviet Union supported Indian sovereignty over the disputed territory of the Kashmir region and over Portuguese coastal enclaves. The Soviet relationship with India rankled the Chinese and contributed to Sino-Soviet enmity during the Khrushchev period. The Soviet Union declared its neutrality during the 1959 border dispute and the Indo-China war of 1962, although the Chinese strongly objected. The Soviet Union gave India substantial economic and military assistance during the Khrushchev period, and by 1960 India had received more Soviet assistance than China had. This disparity became another point of contention in Sino-Soviet relations. In 1962 the Soviet Union agreed to transfer technology to coproduce the MiG-21 jet fighter in India, which the Soviet Union had earlier denied to China. In 1965 the Soviet Union served successfully as peace broker between India and Pakistan after an Indian-Pakistani border war. The Soviet chairman of the Council of Ministers, Aleksei N. Kosygin, met with representatives of India and Pakistan and helped them negotiate an end to the military conflict over Kashmir. In 1971 the former East Pakistan region initiated

an effort to secede from its political union with West Pakistan. India supported the secession and, as a guarantee against possible Chinese entrance into the conflict on the side of West Pakistan, signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union in August 1971. In December, India entered the conflict and ensured the victory of the secessionists and the establishment of the new state of Bangladesh. Relations between the Soviet Union and India did not suffer much during the rightist Janata Party's coalition government in the late 1970s, although India did move to establish better economic and military relations with Western countries. To counter these efforts by India to diversify its relations, the Soviet Union proffered additional weaponry and economic assistance. During the 1980s, despite the 1984 assassination by Sikh extremists of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the mainstay of cordial Indian-Soviet relations, India maintained a close relationship with the Soviet Union. Indicating the high priority of relations with the Soviet Union in Indian foreign policy, the new Indian prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, visited the Soviet Union on his first state visit abroad in May 1985 and signed two longterm economic agreements with the Soviet Union. In turn, Gorbachev's first visit to a Third World state was his meeting with Gandhi in New Delhi in late 1986. Gorbachev unsuccessfully urged Gandhi to help the Soviet Union set up an Asian collective security system. Gorbachev's advocacy of this proposal, which had also been made by Brezhnev, was an indication of continuing Soviet interest in using close relations with India as a means of containing China. With the improvement of Sino-Soviet relations in the late 1980s, containing China had less of a priority, but close relations with India remained important as an example of Gorbachev's new Third World policy. Military relations:Defence relations between India and the Russian Federation have a historical perspective. Russia has been an important supplier of defence goods for several decades. Today, the cooperation is not limited to a buyer-seller rela-

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tionship but includes joint research and development, training, service to service contacts, including joint exercises. The last joint naval exercises took place in April 2007 in the Sea of Japan and joint airborne exercises were held in September 2007 in Russia. There is an Inter-Governmental commission on military-technical cooperation co-chaired by the two Defence Ministers. The Seventh session of this Inter-Governmental Commission was held in October 2007 in Moscow. During the visit, an Agreement on joint development and production of prospective multi role fighters was signed between the two countries. India and Russia have several major joint military programs such as those mentioned below: » BrahMos cruise missile program

» INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier program » 5th generation fighter jet program » Sukhoi Su-30MKI program (230+ to be built by » Hindustan Aeronautics) » Ilyushin/HAL Tactical Transport Aircraft Additionally, India has purchased/leased several military hardware from Russia: » T-90S Bhishma program. (1000+ to be built in India) » Akula-II nuclear submarine (2 to be leased) » Tu-22M3 bombers (4 ordered) » US$900 million upgrade of MiG-29 » Mil Mi-17 (80 ordered) Ilyushin Il-76 Candid (6 ordered to fit Israeli Phalcon radar) Russia's MiG-35 is competing in the Indian MRCA Competition and is considered to be the front-runner for the winning bid, given India's already, largely Russian-built air force. The Farkhor Air Base in Tajikistan is currently jointly operated by India and Russia. Economic relations:Bilateral trade turnover is

modest and stood at US $ 3 bn in 2006-07, out of which Indian Exports to Russia were valued at US $ 908 mn. Main Indian exports to Russia are pharmaceuticals; tea, coffee & spices; apparel & clothing; edible preparations; and engineering goods. Main Indian imports from Russia are iron and steel; fertilizers; non-ferrous metals; paper products; coal, coke & briquettes; cereals; and rubber. IndoRussian trade is expected to reach US$10 billion by 2010. The India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC) has had 13 sessions so far and is co-chaired by the External Affairs Minister from the Indian side and a Deputy Prime Minister from the Russian side. There are six Joint Working Groups [WG] under the IRIGC, namely, WG on Trade and Economy [trade and financial matters], WG on Energy [oil and gas, thermal and hydel power, non-conventional energy], WG on Metallurgy and Mining [steel, nonferrous metal, coal], WG on Science & Technology; WG on Communication and Information Technology; and WG on Culture and Tourism. The 13th of the IRIGC was held in Moscow on 12 October 2007. The two countries have set-up India-Russia Forum on Trade and Investment at the level of the two Commerce Ministers to promote trade, investment and economic cooperation. The first Forum was held in New Delhi on 12-13 February 2007 which was attended by the Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, apart from a large number of business representatives from both sides. The Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Kamal Nath participated in the 11th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on 9-10 June 2007. In February 2006, India and Russia also set-up a Joint Study Group to examine ways to increase trade to US $ 10 bn by 2010 and to study feasibility of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). The Group finalized its report after its fourth meeting in Moscow in July

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2007. It has been agreed that a Joint Task Force would monitor the implementation of the recommendation made in the Joint Stdy Group Report, including considering CECA. Cooperation in the Energy sector: Energy sector is an important area in Indo-Russian bilateral relations. In 2001, ONGC-Videsh Limited acquired 20% stake in the Sakhalin-I oil and gas project in the Russian Federation, and has invested about US $ 1.7 billion in the project. The Russian company Gazprom and Gas Authority of India Ltd. have collaborated in joint development of a block in the Bay of Bengal. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project with two units of 1000 MW each is a good example of Indo-Russian nuclear energy cooperation. Both sides have expressed interest in expanding cooperation in the energy sector. In December 2008, Russia and India signed an agreement to build civilian nuclear reactors in India during a visit by the Russian president to New Delhi. Space Cooperation:Space is another key sector of cooperation between the two countries. During President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December 2004, two space-related bilateral agreements were signed viz. Inter-Governmental umbrella Agreement on cooperation in the outer space for peaceful purposes and the Inter Space Agency Agreement on cooperation in the Russian satellite navigation system “GLONASS”. Subsequently a number of follow-up agreements on GLONASS have been signed. In November 2007, the two countries have signed an agreement on joint lunar exploration. These space cooperation programmes are under implementation. Science and Technology:The ongoing cooperation in the field of science & technology, under the Integrated Long-Term Programme of cooperation (ILTP) is the largest cooperation programme in this sphere for both India and Russia. ILTP is coordinated by the Department of Science and Technology from the Indian side and by the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Ministry of In-

dustry & Science and Technology from the Russian side. Development of SARAS Duet aircraft, semiconductor products, super computers, polyvaccines, laser science and technology, seismology, high-purity materials, software & IT and Ayurveda have been some of the priority areas of co-operation under the ILTP. Under this programme, eight joint Indo- Russian centers have been established to focus on joint research and development work. Two other Joint Centres on Nonferrous Metals and Accelerators and Lasers are being set up in India. A Joint Technology Centre based in Moscow to bring cutting edge technologies to the market is also under processing. An ILTP Joint Council met in Moscow on 11-12 October 2007 to review cooperation and give it further direction. In August 2007, an MoU was signed between Department of Science and Technology and Russian Foundation of Basic Research, Moscow to pursue scientific cooperation. North-South Transport corridor: The “NorthSouth” Transport Corridor Agreement [INSTC] has been ratified by all the three original signatory states, viz. India, Iran and Russia, and has come into force since 16 May, 2002. This route is expected to reduce the cost of movement of goods between India and Russia and beyond. The 3rd Coordination Council Meeting of the INSTC was held in October 2005 in New Delhi and the 4th meeting was held in Aktau, Kazakhstan in October 2007 to discuss further streamlining the operation of the corridor. Cooperation in the sphere of Culture: India-Russia relations in the field of culture are historical. Five Chairs relating to Indology have been established in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Vladivostok. Days of Russian Culture were held in India in November 2003, in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. “Days of Indian Culture” in Russia were organized from September- October 2005 in Russia. 130th birth anniversary of Nikolai Roerich and 100th birth anniversary of Svyatoslav Roerich were celebrated in India in October 2004. Chief Minister of National Capital Territory of Delhi led a delegation for participating in the event “Days

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of Delhi in Moscow” from 28 May-1 June 2006. The “Year of Russia in India” is being held in 2008. It will be followed by the “Year of India in Russia” in 2009. There is a Hindi Department, in the University of Moscow. Terrorism:On international terrorism, India and Russia agree that there is no justification for terrorism, and this must be fought against, without compromise and wherever it exists. Russia has supported the Indian draft at the UN on Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). The two sides signed a MoU on cooperation in combating terrorism in December 2002. A Joint Working Group on Combating International Terrorism meets from time to time and its fourth meeting was held in Delhi on 24 October 2006.

India–Israel relations Despite formation of the State of Israel in 1948, India's strong historic ties with the Arab world prevented it establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union (with whom India maintained strong relations) and increasing concerns over the rise of Islamic extremism in the Indian subcontinent convinced India to change its position towards Israel. On January 29, 1992, full diplomatic ties between the two were established and since then the bilateral relations have grown exceedingly. During the tenure of the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), relations between India and Israel blossomed. The relations have continued to grow ever since the Indian National Congress (INC) came to power in 2004. By 2008, bilateral trade between India and Israel exceeded US$4 billion and Israel was India's second-largest military supplier after Russia. It was expected that Israel would overtake Russia as the largest arms supplier to India, which it did in 2009. As of 2008, India has bought more than US$5 billion worth of Israeli equipment since 2002. In addition, Israel is training Indian military units and discussing an arrangement to give Indian comman-

dos instruction in counter-terrorist tactics and urban warfare. There is also growing space cooperation between the two. In February 2008, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched an Israeli spy satellite to monitor the activities of Iran. Given India's strong relations with both the Arab world and Israel, it has been indicated that India can play a constructive role in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. India gained independence from the British Empire in 1947, a year before the State of Israel was founded. Officially, India was opposed to the creation of Israel for a philosophical reason, it did not like the concept of creation of nations based on religion. This was to keep India and Pakistan in one country. Due to its opposition for creation of Pakistan based on Islam, it opposed the creation of Israel as a nation for Jews. Before Israel was created, a number of countries sent their representatives and the representative from India was a Muslim. Though Gandhi had a good relationship with Jews, he opposed the creation of Israel as he was against the creation of countries based on religion]. India did not have any official relations with Israel until 1991 due to its problem with Palestine. Despite this, its military had an excellent relationship with Israel. People like Moshe Dayan have had interaction with India despite the lack of diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Israel has provided India with crucial information during multiple wars that India faced. India's first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru supported the creation of Israel. Muslims in India were largely pro-Arab and the Congress-led Indian government did not want to publicly take a pro-Israel stance. India recognized Israel as a nation in 1950. Another factor which affected India-Israel diplomatic relationship was the Kashmir dispute. During the First Kashmir War, India referred the Kashmir issue to the United Nations Security Council. Had India established diplomatic relations with Israel, it was thought in Indian power circles, that the Arab nations would favor Pakistan's claim over India's to Kashmir. In private though, Indian political leaders have expressed their support for Israel. In

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a statement in 1954, Nehru said he would not "be a party to a resolution which stated that the creation of Israel was a violation of international law". He also wrote a letter to Frances Gunther expressing his support for the general Jewish behavior in Palestine. Various Hindu organizations, led by the Sangh Parivar, openly supported the Jewish cause and the creation of Israel. The opposition to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1960s and 1970s arose from the Congress Party's desire to appease the Muslims in India. In 1986, the members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) issued a joint declaration supporting Pakistan's claim over Kashmir. Relations between India and the OIC became tense in 2001 when the latter criticised India for taking insufficient action to stop the alleged human rights violations against Muslims in the disputed Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. India dismissed these allegations as baseless and Pakistani propaganda. India responded to the anti-India position taken by the OIC by re-evaluating its Middle East policy. Intelligence and military: India and Israel have increased cooperation in military and intelligence ventures since the establishment of diplomatic relations. While India and Israel were officially "rivals" during the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Islamic terrorism in both countries have generated a solid strategic alliance. India recently launched a military satellite for Israel through its Indian Space Research Organization. During the Kargil War, Israel provided India with military hardware, including laser-guided bombs and unmanned aerial vehicles to help it to flush out the Pakistani infiltrators in Kargil. This relationship soon developed into a major defense partnership between India and Israel. In 1997, Israel's President Ezer Weizman became the first head of the Jewish state to visit India. He met with Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma, Vice President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minis-

ter H.D. Deve Gowda. Weizman negotiated the first weapons deal between the two nations, involving the purchase of Barak-1 verticallylaunched surface-to-air (SAM) missiles from Israel. The Barak-1 has the ability to intercept antiship cruise missiles such as the Harpoon. The purchase of the Barak-1 missiles from Israel by India was a tactical necessity since Pakistan had purchased P3-C II Orion maritime strike aircraft and 27 Harpoon sea-skimming anti-ship missiles from the United States. In what would be end of an era, Israel became India's biggest military supplier in 2009, supplying equipment worth more than 1 Billion Dollars each year. Israel replaced Russia in the process as biggest supplier, which traditionally had been India's top supplier. Strategic Naval Cooperation: In naval terms Israel sees great strategic value in an alliance with the Indian Navy, given India's dominance of South Asian waters. It would be advantageous to the Israeli Navy to establish a logistical infrastructure in the Indian Ocean with the cooperation of the Indian Navy, since the Mediterranean has a dominant Arab and European presence that is hostile to the Israeli navy in varying degrees. In 2000, Israeli submarines reportedly conducted test launches of cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in the waters of the Indian Ocean, off the Sri Lanka coast. Air Force contracts: In 1996 India purchased 32 Searcher" Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Electronic Support Measure sensors and an Air Combat Manoeuvering Instrumentation simulator system from Israel. Since then Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has serviced several large contracts with the Indian Air Force including the upgrading of the IAF's Russian-made MiG-21 ground attack aircraft and there have been further sales of unmanned aerial vehicles as well as laser-guided bombs. Intelligence: A Rediff story in 2003 revealed that the Indian external intelligence agency R&AW had clandestine links with the Mossad, Israel's external intelligence agency. When R&AW was founded in 1968 by Rameshwar Nath Kao, he was advised by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira

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Gandhi to cultivate links with Mossad. This was suggested as a countermeasure to military links between that of a hostile Pakistan and China, as well as with North Korea. Israel was also concerned that Pakistani army officers were training Libyans and Iranians in handling Chinese and North Korean military equipment. Though India planned to bomb Kahuta, as in Operation Opera, where Israel destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor, the plan was later dropped. The Pakistanis eventually started to suspect intelligence relations between India and Israel resulting in a threat to Pakistani security. When young Israeli tourists began visiting the Kashmir valley in the early nineties, Pakistan suspected they were disguised Israeli army officers there to help Indian security forces with counter-terrorism operations. Pakistani intelligence inspired a series of terrorist attacks on the unsuspecting Israeli tourists with one slain and another kidnapped. Intense pressure from the Kashmiri Muslim diaspora in the United States led to their release. Phalcon AEW&C radar systems: In March 2004, Israel and India signed a US$1.1 billion deal according to which IAI would deliver the Indian Air Force three Phalcon AEW&C radar systems. India signed a separate deal with the Ilyushin Corporation of Russia for the of supply three Il76 A-50 heavy air-lifters, which were to be used as platforms for these radar systems, for an additional US $500 million. On 12 January 2009, the Indian Air Force received its first aircraft, which was flown to the IAF Agra base where it will be stationed. First AWACS aircraft will be inducted to No 50 sq based in Agra in end May 2009. According to the revised delivery schedule, second and third ones now expected in November/December 2009 and May/June 2010. Order for another 3 in process, reports suggest that deal was inked in Nov 08. IAF is keen on building up its Phalcon AWACS fleet to a strength to six. AWACS will enable the IAF to carry out tactical surveillance over a radius of 400 kilometers and collect surface target information deep inside Pa-

kistan even as the aircraft operates within Indian airspace. Barak missile deal: Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd has signed a $2.5 billion deal with India to develop an anti-aircraft system and missiles for the country, in the biggest defense contract in the history of Israel at the time. IAI CEO Yitzhak Nissan recently visited India to finalize the agreement with heads of the defense establishment and the country's president. The Indian government has already approved the project, in the framework of which the IAI will develop for the Indian Navy and Air Force the Barak-8 missile that is capable of protecting sea vessels and ground facilities from aircraft and cruise missiles. The missile has a range of over 70 kilometres. The missile will replace the current obsolete Russian system used by India. On November 10 2008, Indian military officials are expected to visit Israel to discuss joint weapons development projects, additional sales of Israeli equipment to the Indian military, and counter-terrorism strategies. The new round of talks are seen as a significant expansion in the Indian-Israeli strategic partnership. In 2008, Israel surpassed Russia as the largest arms supplier to India MR-SAM deal: The deal, signed in February, involves development and production of a landbased version of the Barak 8 missile systems. The sea-based version is already in advanced development stages. The missile will be capable of intercepting enemy aircraft and missiles within a 70-kilometer range. DRDO-IAI joint venture will develop and equip Indian Air Force (IAF) with 18 combat management systems with 435 MRSAMs. Missiles will replace obsolete PECHORA missile systems. In December 2008, DRDO chief M Natarajan informed Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that the nation’s air defence was under threat: IAF had reported that 17 out of 60 firing units of PECHORA had already been phased out. Science and technology:India is building closer ties

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with Israel in the areas of nanotechnology, information technology, alternative fuels, agriculture, animal husbandry and space research.

Science and Technology in India signed an MoU with Israel for jointly funding industrial R&D projects.

Israel's Minister for Science and Technology, Eliezer Moodi Sandberg, said in 2003 that Israel was keen on strengthening science and technology ties with India considering that the latter had a rich base of scientists and technologists and the two countries could benefit by synergising their activities.

In an agreement signed on May 30, 2005, India and Israel pledged to set up a fund to encourage investment and joint industrial ventures. According to the Press Trust of India, there are five priority areas for enhanced collaboration: nanotechnology, biotechnology, water management, alternative energy, and space and aeronautics. India and Israel will each start by contributing US$1 million to provide risk-free grants to entrepreneurs in the two countries.

Various activities under Indo-Israel Cooperation in Science & Technology continued during the 1999 – 2000 year, including 22 joint research projects. Work on six projects was completed by 2002. Twelve scientists from both countries visited the laboratories of their collaborators and two exploratory visits from India were also supported with three young Indian scientists deputed to Israel on short term exchange visits. The Indo-Israel Joint Symposium on Human Genome was held in Jerusalem in 1998 with 6 Indian scientists working in the area. Subsequently, as a follow up to the symposium, a call for joint research proposals on Human Genome was issued in July 1999 for which 11 proposals were received. Out of these, 6 research projects have been recommended for implementation. Another IndoIsrael status seminar on human Genome Research was organized in India on December 2000. In 2003, the two countries proposed to double the investment under the ongoing science and technology collaboration to $1 million with $0.5 million from each country in the next biennial period starting October 2004. The Indo-Israel Joint Committee of scientists was constituted with the DST (Department of Science and Technology)and India as Co-chairmen with representatives from various research organizations in India and the Ministry of Information Technology as members. The 4th Meeting of the joint committee was held in the first week of November 1999 in Jerusalem, attended by a 3 member Indian delegation. In 2004, the Ministry of

In 2008, Israel and India finalised a three-year plan to introduce crops such as olives, dates and grapes to be introduced and cultivated in the states of Rajasthan and Maharashtra, to create an agricultural market that meets Western demand for products like olive oil. In addition to the hope that this plan would boost yield and stave off famine, officials presented the project as symbolic. Spy satellites:Israel's Minister for Science and Technology has expressed interest in collaborating with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) towards utilizing satellites for better management of land and other resources. Israel has also expressed interest in participating in ISRO's Chandrayaan mission of sending an unmanned craft to the moon. A Memorandum of Understanding, signed by ISRO and Israel's space agency, provides for cooperation in multiple areas of space science and technology TecSAR: In a significant move, Israel chose India to launch its satellites. The latest Israeli spy satellite, TecSAR, was launched by India on 22 January, 2008. The Indian PSLV launch-vehicle was chosen instead of its own home grown Shavit rocket. This was due to the cost of the PSLV being no more than $15 million (as it is a more matured system), compared to the Shavit which is close to $20 million. Besides the cost and maturity factors, the Shavit had other several critical drawbacks. The most important was the constraint on possible satellite orbits. Any launch from Is-

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raeli territory must be directed westwards, towards the sea, in order to prevent the launcher's first stages (or the satellite itself, in case of a malfunction) from falling on populated areas or on foreign (hostile) territory. A westward launch, that is, against the direction of the Earth's rotation, seriously restricts the weight of the satellite that the launch vehicle can carry. In the past, Israel also experienced several failures - the most recent example being the attempted Ofeq-6 launch in March 2004. In such cases, security links and the operational experience of a more capable partner can allow alternative, more reliable launching when needed.

on the Palestinian issue.

RISAT-2: In March 2009, India acquired access to Israeli advanced spy satellite, RISAT-2. The satellite has the capability to take high resolution images at night and can carry out reconnaissance operations even through a dense cloud cover. Most Indian satellites currently in operation lack these capabilities. The decision to purchase the satellite was taken in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The 300 kilogram RISAT-2 was successfully launched by India's PSLV rocket in April 2009. A spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organization said that RISAT-2 is an Indian satellite built with assistance from Israel. India is also developing its own, indigenous version of RISAT-2, capable of taking images through clouds and at night. It will be launched in late 2009.

Newspapers like The Times of India and Outlook expressed "concern" over "India's changing priorities", accusing India of "turning away" from the cause of supporting the Palestinians and other "oppressed peoples".Urdu-language newspapers such as Slasat launched a campaign against Sharon, accusing Israel of "aggressive and fascistic inclinations".

Tourism: India is a big destination for Israeli tourists. They usually visit the states of Goa, and Himachal Pradesh. Similarly, Israel is a destination for religious tourism for the 15,000 Indian Jews. Ariel Sharon's visit to India: In 2003 Ariel Sharon was the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India. He was welcomed by the center-right wing Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance coalition government of India. Several newspapers expressed positive views on his visit, and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee voiced confidence that Sharon's visit would pave the way for further consolidating bilateral ties and said there was no dilution of the country's stand

Muslim response: Sharon's visit was condemned by some, especially in leftist and Muslim circles. Hundreds of supporters of India's various pro-Islamic communist parties rallied in New Delhi, denouncing the visit. Muslims accused Sharon of being a "terrorist and a war criminal". Nearly 100 Muslims were arrested. Students of the Aligarh Muslim University joined the protests of Sharon's visit, denounced him as a "terrorist," and demanded that India sever all ties with Israel and increase ties with Palestine.

Positive response: Sharon was welcomed by many in India, including some politicians. The Hindilanguage daily Navbharat Times condemned protests made against him and wrote that none of Sharon's controversies can justify demonstrations planned in protest of his visit by some Indian opposition parties "because he is coming as the prime minister of Israel, which is an important friend of India". Articles in The Indian Express agreed with this view, noting that the issue of India's relations with Israel "instantly polarises hard-nosed pragmatists from dewy-eyed idealists", which is "regrettable, for cementing geo-political and trade links with Israel need in no way weaken New Delhi's traditional insistence that Palestinians be granted control of their territories". The various Jewish communities in India expressed satisfaction at Sharon's visit, though some regretted that Sharon could not visit them in person, and some Indian Jews opined that it would have been better if a previous head of state from Israel had visited India. Sharon's visit sparked an inter Most of Sharon's activities in India went unhin-

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dered and were largely productive towards cementing the India-Israel alliance. The central topic of the dialogues between the Indians and the Israeli delegation was the mutual problem of Islamic fundamentalism and Islamic terrorism in both countries, and how India and Israel can join forces to defeat this enemy. Israeli deputy minister Josef Lapid said that both India and Israel face "threats from fanatic Muslims and terrorism". While delivering a lecture on 'The Global War Against Terror -- Israel and India' organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in Delhi, he stressed that Israel has developed an excellent military and defense system to combat terrorism and the technology would be very beneficial to India. Since India had been experiencing terrorism more than western Countries, its leaders understood him better than others. Sharon expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the talks with Indian leaders, saying that the landmark visit would result in upgradation of bilateral relations to new heights. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also expressed satisfaction, saying that the visit would increase ties between India and Israel. Sharon also invited Vajpayee to visit Israel. Sharon himself spoke positively of the importance of his hosts. Sharon himself said that Israelis "regard India to be one of the most important countries in the world,", and Vajpayee was sure that Sharon's visit would bring the two states closer together. Sharon said that terrorism was a menace that required an international response. 2007 Jewish-Hindu leadership summit:The world's first Jewish-Hindu interfaith leadership summit,spearheaded by Hindu organizations in India and Jewish organizations in Israel, as well as the American Jewish Committee, was held in New Delhi on February 2007. Visits of Indian politicians to Israel: In 2000 Jaswant Singh became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Israel. Following the visit, the two countries set up a joint anti-terror commission. The foreign ministers of the two countries say intensified cooperation will range from areas such

as counter terrorism to information technology. In early 2006 Indian government ministers Sharad Pawar, Kapil Sibal and Kamal Nath visited Israel. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has also visited Israel. Issue of Kashmir:Owing to Israel's turbulently volatile relationship with Pakistan, Israel ardently supports India's Territorial integrity on the Kashmir controversy and says the Disputed territory belongs to them. Bnei Menashe controversy:The Bnei Menashe are a group of more than 8,000 people from India's remote North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Ethnically and linguistically, they are Tibeto-Burmans and belong to the Mizo, Kuki and Chin peoples (the terms are virtually interchangeable). Prior to their conversion by British missionaries in the 19th century, they were animists. On March 31, 2005 Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, one of Israel's two chief rabbis, accepted the Bnei Menashe's claim because of their exemplary devotion to Judaism. His decision was significant because it paved the way for all of the Bnei Menashe to enter Israel under Israel's Law of Return.In the past two decades, some 1,300 Bnei Menashe have moved to Israel. In June 2003 Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz halted Bnei Menashe immigration to Israel following charges by Ofir Pines-Paz (Minister of Science and Technology, 2006) that the Bnei Menashe "are being cynically exploited for political purposes." Arutz Sheva quoted Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, a rabbinical judge dealing with the conversion of Bnei Menashe, as saying that the Knesset Absorption Committee's decision was one of "ignorance, racism, and unjustifiable hate." Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum says that community members who move to Israel in fact suffer financially because their move is motivated by a desire to return to the Holy Land and not material gain. Michael Freund has suggested that the Bnei

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Menashe could help with Israel's demographic problem saying "I believe that groups like the Bnei Menashe constitute a large, untapped demographic reservoir for Israel and the Jewish people." With the March 2005 decision by Rabbi Amar, the immigration issue seemed to have been rendered moot. The Bnei Menashe's Orthodox conversion would in the future be conducted in India, and they would be recognized as wholly Jewish prior to their arrival in Israel. However, this solution was short-lived because the government of India, under pressure from Mizo-Kuki churches and Fundamentalist Christian preachers, objected formally to the conversion of its citizens. This ignited a furious controversy in Mizoram, culminating in top-rating television debates. The opposition mainly came from fundamentalist Christian preachers such as Chuauthuama of the Aizawl Theological College, and Biaksiama from Aizawl's Christian Research Centre. On November 9, 2005 the Israeli government halted all conversions of the Bnei Menashe in India, saying it was straining relations between the two countries. Indian officials reportedly expressed concern about the conversions and indicated mass conversions are considered illegal in India. Concern may have been triggered after a task force from the Rabbinic Court travelled to India in September 2005 to complete the conversion process for 218 Bnei Menashe. The decision by the Israeli government led to criticism from supporters of the Bnei Menashe who say Israeli officials failed to explain to the Indian government that the rabbis were not proselytising, but rather formalizing the conversions of Bnei Menashe who had already accepted Judaism. The Indian government's complaint was also criticized by some Hindu groups in India, who claim that the Indian government takes Christian complaints more seriously than theirs, and that Hindus have complained for years about Christian proselytizing without government response. In July 2006 Israeli Immigration Absorption Minister Zeev Boim said that the 218 Bnei Menashe who were formally converted in 2005 by the Chief Rabbinate "would be allowed to come here, but first the government must decide what its policy will be towards those who have yet to (formally) convert" . In response Michael Freund said that Boim may devise a policy concerning the Bnei Menashe remaining in India, but must allow the converted Bnei Menashe to immigrate to Israel without bureaucratic delays .Freund says that he has engaged "a prominent lawyer" and is prepared to take the minister to the Supreme Court if he does immediately facilitate the arrival of the Bnei Menashe. The Bnei Menashe have not suffered anti-Semitism in India, but over 1300 have migrated to Israel as they regard the country as their homeland and decided to emigrate "on Zionist considerations."

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International Organizations World Trade Organization

The WTO was born out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was established in 1947. A series of trade negotiations, GATT rounds began at the end of World War II and were aimed at reducing tariffs for the facilitation of global trade on goods. The rationale for GATT was based on the Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause, which, when assigned to one country by another, gives the selected country privileged trading rights. As such, GATT aimed to help all countries obtain MFNlike status so that no single country would be at a trading advantage over others. The WTO replaced GATT as the world's global trading body in 1995, and the current set of governing rules stems from the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, which took place throughout 1986-1994. GATT trading regulations established between 1947 and 1994 (and in particular those negotiated during the Uruguay Round) remain the primary rule book for multilateral trade in goods. Specific sectors such as agriculture have been addressed, as well as issues dealing with antidumping. The Uruguay Round also laid the foundations for regulating trade in services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the guideline directing multilateral trade in services. Intellectual property rights were also addressed in the establishment of regulations protecting the trade and investment of ideas, concepts, designs, patents, and so forth. The purpose of the WTO is to ensure that global trade commences smoothly, freely and predictably. The WTO creates and embodies the legal ground rules for global trade among member nations and thus offers a system for international commerce. The WTO aims to create economic

peace and stability in the world through a multilateral system based on consenting member states (currently there are slightly more than 140 members) that have ratified the rules of the WTO in their individual countries as well. This means that WTO rules become a part of a country's domestic legal system. The rules, therefore, apply to local companies and nationals in the conduct of business in the international arena. If a company decides to invest in a foreign country, by, for example, setting up an office in that country, the rules of the WTO (and hence, a country's local laws) will govern how that can be done. Theoretically, if a country is a member to the WTO, its local laws cannot contradict WTO rules and regulations, which currently govern approximately 97% of all world trade.

How It Functions? Decisions are made by consensus, though a majority vote may also rule (this is very rare). Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Ministerial Committee, which holds meetings at least every two years, makes the top decisions. There is also a General Council, a Goods Council, Services Council, and an Intellectual Property Rights Council, which all report to the General Council. Finally, there are a number of working groups and committees. If a trade dispute occurs, the WTO works to resolve it. If, for example, a country erects a trade barrier in the form of a customs duty against a particular country or a particular good, the WTO may issue trade sanctions against the violating country. The WTO will also work to resolve the conflict through negotiations.

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Free Trade at What Cost? The anti-WTO protests we have seen around the world are a response to the consequences of establishing a multilateral trading system. Critics say that the after-effects of WTO policies are undemocratic because of the lack of transparency during negotiations. Opponents also argue that since the WTO functions as a global authority on trade and reserves the right to review a country's domestic trade policies, national sovereignty is compromised. For example, regulations that a country may wish to establish to protect its industry, workers or environment could be considered barriers to the WTO's aim to facilitate free trade. A country may have to sacrifice its own interests to avoid violating WTO agreements. Thus, a country becomes limited in its choices. Moreover, brutal regimes that are pernicious to their own countries may inadvertently be receiving concealed support from foreign governments who continue, in the name of free trade, to do business with these regimes. Unfavorable governments in favor of big business therefore remain in power at the cost of a representative government. One high profile WTO controversy has to do with intellectual property rights and a government's duty to its citizens versus a global authority. One well known example is HIV/AIDS treatments and the cost of patented medicines. Poor, very needy countries, such as those in South America and subSaharan Africa, simply cannot afford to buy these patented drugs. If they were to buy or manufacture these same drugs under an affordable generic label, which would save thousands of lives, these countries would, as members of the WTO, be in violation of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreements and subject to possible trade sanctions.

Analysis Free trade fosters investment into other countries, which can help boost the economy and eventually the standard of living of all countries involved.

As most investment comes from the developed and economically powerful into the developing and less influential economies, there is, however, a tendency for the system to give the investor an advantage. Regulations that facilitate the investment process are in the investor's interest because these regulations help foreign investors maintain an edge over local competition. Controversy over what is the best course of action in the creation of a global economic system - one that fosters free trade and free choice - will persist.

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that provides financial assistance and advice to member countries. This article will discuss the main functions of the organization, which has become an enduring institution integral to the creation of financial markets worldwide and to the growth of developing countries. The IMF was born at the end of World War II, out of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1945. The Fund was created out of a need to prevent economic crises like the great depression. With its sister organization, the World Bank, the IMF is the largest public lender of funds in the world. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is run by its 184 member states. Membership is open to any country that conducts foreign policy and accepts the statutes of the Fund. Functions and Duties: The IMF is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the international monetary system, the system by which international payments among countries take place. It thus strives to provide a systematic mechanism for foreign exchange transactions in order to foster investment and promote balanced global economic trade. To achieve these goals, the IMF focuses and advises on the macroeconomic policies of a country, which affect its exchange rate and its government's budget, money and credit management. The IMF

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will also appraise a country's financial sector and its regulatory policies, as well as structural policies within the macroeconomy that relate to the labor market and employment. In addition, as a fund, it may offer financial assistance to nations in need of correcting balance of payments discrepancies. The IMF is thus entrusted with nurturing economic growth and maintaining high levels of employment within countries. The IMF gets its money from quota subscriptions paid by member states. The size of each quota is determined by how much each government can pay according to the size of its economy. The quota in turn determines the weight each country has within the IMF - and hence its voting rights - as well as how much financing it can receive from the IMF. Twenty-five percent of each country's quota is paid in the form of special drawing rights (SDRs), which are a claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. Before SDRs, the Bretton Woods system had been based on a fixed exchange rate, and it was feared that there would not be enough reserves to finance global economic growth. Therefore, in 1968, the IMF created the SDRs, which is a kind of international reserve asset. It was created to supplement the international reserves of the time, which were gold and the U.S. dollar. The SDR is not a currency; it is a unit of account by which member states can exchange with one another in order to settle international accounts. The SDR can also be used in exchange for other freely-traded currencies of IMF members. A country may do this when it has a deficit and needs more foreign currency to pay its international obligations. The SDR's value lies in the fact that member states commit to honor their obligations to use and accept SDRs. Each member country is assigned a certain amount of SDRs based on how much the country contributes to the Fund (which is based on the size of the country's economy). However, the need for SDRs lessened when major economies dropped the fixed exchange rate and opted

for floating rates instead. The IMF does all of its accounting in SDRs, and commercial banks accept SDR denominated accounts. The value of the SDR is adjusted daily against a basket of currencies, which currently includes the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro, and the British pound. The larger the country, the larger its contribution; thus the U.S. contributes about 18% of total quotas while the Seychelles Islands contribute a modest 0.004%. If called upon by the IMF, a country can pay the rest of its quota in its local currency. The IMF may also borrow funds, if necessary, under two separate agreements with member countries. In total, it has SDR 212 billion (USD 290 billion) in quotas and SDR 34 billion (USD 46 billion) available to borrow.

IMF Benefits The IMF offers its assistance in the form of surveillance, which it conducts on a yearly basis for individual countries, regions and the global economy as a whole. However, a country may ask for financial assistance if it finds itself in an economic crisis, whether caused by a sudden shock to its economy or poor macroeconomic planning. A financial crisis will result in severe devaluation of the country's currency or a major depletion of the nation's foreign reserves. In return for the IMF's help, a country is usually required to embark on an IMF-monitored economic reform program, otherwise known as Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs). There are three more widely implemented facilities by which the IMF can lend its money. A standby agreement offers financing of a short-term balance of payments, usually between 12 to 18 months. The extended fund facility (EFF) is a medium-term arrangement by which countries can borrow a certain amount of money, typically over a three to four-year period. The EFF aims to address structural problems within the macroeconomy that are causing chronic balance of payment inequities. The structural problems are addressed through financial and tax sector reform

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and the privatization of public enterprises. The third main facility offered by the IMF is known as the poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF). As the name implies, it aims to reduce poverty in the poorest of member countries while laying the foundations for economic development. Loans are administered with especially low interest rates. The IMF also offers technical assistance to transitional economies, such as the former Soviet Republics, in the changeover from centrally planned to market run economies. The IMF also offers emergency funds to collapsed economies, as it did for Korea during the 1997 financial crisis in Asia. The funds were injected into Korea's foreign reserves in order to boost the local currency, thereby helping the country avoid a damaging devaluation. Emergency funds can also be loaned to countries that have faced economic crisis as a result of a natural disaster. All facilities of the IMF aim to create sustainable development within a country and try to create policies that will be accepted by the local populations. However, the IMF is not an aid agency, so all loans are given on the condition that the country implement the SAPs and make it a priority to pay back what it has borrowed. Currently, all countries that are under IMF programs are developing, transitional and emerging market countries (countries that have faced financial crisis). Because the IMF lends its money with "strings attached" in the form of its SAPs, many people and organizations are vehemently opposed to the Fund's activities. Opposition groups claim that structural adjustment is an undemocratic and inhumane means of loaning funds to countries facing economic failure. Debtor countries to the IMF are often faced with having to put financial concerns ahead of social ones. Thus, by being required to open up their economies to foreign investment, to privatize public enterprises, and to cut government spending, these countries suffer an inability to properly fund their education and health programs. Moreover, foreign corporations often ex-

ploit the situation by taking advantage of local cheap labor while showing no regard for the environment. The oppositional groups say that locally cultivated programs, with a more grassroots approach towards development, would provide greater relief to these economies. Critics of the IMF say that, as it stands now, the IMF is only deepening the rift between the wealthy and the poor nations of the world. Indeed, it seems that many countries cannot end the spiral of debt and devaluation. Mexico, which sparked the infamous "debt crisis" of 1982 when it announced it was on the verge of defaulting on all its debts in the wake of low international oil prices and high interest rates in the international financial markets, has yet to show its ability to end its need for the IMF and its structural adjustment policies. Is it because these policies have not been able to address the root of the problem? Could more grassroots solutions be the answer? These questions are not easy. There are, however, some cases where the IMF goes in and exits once it has helped solve problems. Egypt is an example of a country that embarked upon an IMF structural adjustment program and was able to finish with it. Providing assistance with development is an everevolving and dynamic endeavor. While the international system aims to create a balanced global economy, it should strive to address local needs and solutions. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the benefits that can be achieved by learning from others.

World Bank The World Bank Group (WBG) was established in 1944 to rebuild post-World War II Europe under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Today, the World Bank functions as an international organization that fights poverty by offering developmental assistance to middle-income and low-income countries. By giving loans and offering advice and training in both the private and public sectors, the

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World Bank aims to eliminate poverty by helping people help themselves. Under the World Bank Group, there are complimentary institutions which aid in its goals to provide assistance.

Membership There are 184 member countries that are shareholders in the IBRD, which is the primary arm of the WBG. To become a member, however, a country must first join the IMF. The size of the Bank's shareholders, like that of the IMF's shareholders, depends on the size of a country's economy. Thus, the cost of a subscription to the Bank is a factor of the quota paid to the IMF. There is an obligatory subscription fee, which is equivalent to 88.29% of the quota that a country has to pay to the Fund. In addition, a country is obligated to buy 195 Bank shares (USD 120,635 per share, reflecting a capital increase made in 1988). Of these 195 shares, 0.60% must be paid in cash in U.S. dollars while 5.40% can be paid in a country's local currency, in U.S. dollars, or in non-negotiable non-interest bearing notes. The balance of the 195 shares is left as "callable capital", meaning the Bank reserves the right to ask for the monetary value of these shares when and if necessary. A country can subscribe a further 250 shares, which do not require payment at the time of membership but are left as "callable capital". The president of the Bank comes from the largest shareholder, which is the United States, and members are represented by a Board of Governors. Throughout the year, however, powers are delegated to a board of 24 Executive Directors (ED). The five largest shareholders - the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan - each have an individual ED, and the additional 19 EDs represent the rest of the member states as groups of constituencies. Of these 19, however, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have opted to be single country constituencies, which means that they each have one representative within the 19 EDs. This decision is based on the fact that these countries have large, influential economies, which requires that their interests be voiced individually rather than diluted within a group. The World Bank gets its

funding from rich countries as well as from the issuance of bonds on the world's capital markets. The IBRD offers assistance to middle income and poor but credit worthy countries, and it also works as an umbrella for more specialized bodies under the Bank. The IBRD was the original arm of the Bank which was responsible for the reconstruction of post-war Europe. Before gaining membership in the WBG's affiliates (the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Center For Settlement of Investment Disputes), a country must be a member of the IBRD. The International Development Association offers loans to the world's poorest countries. These loans come in the form of "credits", and are essentially interest-free. They offer a 10-year grace period and hold a maturity of 35 years to 40 years. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) works to promote private sector investments by both foreign and local investors. It provides advice to investors and businesses, and it offers normalized financial market information through its publications, which can be used to compare across markets. The IFC also acts as an investor in capital markets and will help governments privatize inefficient public enterprises. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) supports direct foreign investment into a country by offering security against the investment in the event of political turmoil. These guarantees come in the form of political risk insurance, meaning that MIGA offers insurance against the political risk that an investment in a developing country may bear. Finally, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Dispute facilitates and works towards a settlement in the event of a dispute between a foreign investor and a local country. As mentioned earlier, the main function of the WBG is to eliminate poverty and to provide assistance to the poor by offering loans, policy advice

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and technical assistance. As such, the countries receiving aid are learning new ways to function. Over time, however, it has been realized that sometimes as a nation develops, it requires more aid to work its way through the development process. This has resulted in some countries accumulating so much debt and debt service that payments become impossible to meet. Many of the poorest countries can receive accelerated debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries scheme, which reduces debt and debt service payments while encouraging social expenditure. Another issue on which the Bank has recently been focusing has presented itself as an endangerment to a country's livelihood: support programs for HIV/AIDS. The WBG has also been focusing on reducing the risk of projects by means of better appraisal and supervision mechanisms as well as a multidimensional approach to overall development. (This includes not only lending but also support for legal reform, educational programs, environmental safety, anti-corruption measures and other types of social development.)

Moreover, even though the Bank provides training, assistance, information and other means that may lead to sustainable development, opponents have observed that developing countries often have to put health, education and other social programs on hold in order to pay back their loans. Opposition groups have protested by boycotting World Bank bonds. These are the bonds that the WBG sells on global capital markets to raise money for some of its activities. These opposition groups also call for an end to all practices that require a country to implement structural adjustment programs - including privatization and government austerity measures - an end to debt owed by the poorest of the poor, and an end to environmentally damaging projects such as mining or the building of dams.

Analysis

Opposition to the Bank

It is not surprising that there is a clash of opinion over how aid is given. Indeed, those that offer assistance are going to want to have a say in how the loans are used and what kind of economic policies are fostered in a country's developmental process. Many developing and poor nations, however, are stuck in a quagmire of debt and impoverishment, no matter how much assistance they receive. Given this, it may need to remember that the process of aid is also a developing state, in which both the giver and the receiver should be helping each other reach a poverty-free world.

While the WBG strives to create a poverty-free world, there are groups that are passionately opposed to the international patron. The opponents believe that, due to the fundamental structure of the Bank, the already existing imbalance between the world's rich and poor is only exacerbated. The system allows the largest shareholders to dominate the vote, resulting in WBG policies being decided by the rich but implemented by the poor. This can result in policies that are not in the best interests of the developing country in question, whose political, social and economic policies will often have to be molded around WBG resolutions.

Asian Development Bank: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established in 1966 to promote economic and social development in Asian and Pacific countries through loans and technical assistance. It is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 67 members, 48 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens. The work of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is aimed at improving the welfare of the people in

The Bank encourages all of its clients, which number over 100, to implement policies that promote sustainable growth, health, education, social development programs focusing on governance and poverty reduction mechanisms, the environment, private business and macroeconomic reform.

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Asia and the Pacific, particularly the 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, Asia and the Pacific remains home to two thirds of the world's poor. The bank was conceived with the vision of creating a financial institution that would be "Asian in character" to foster growth and cooperation in a region that back then was one of the world's poorest. ADB raises funds through bond issues on the world's capital markets, while also utilizing its members' contributions and earnings from lending. These sources account for almost three quarters of its lending operations. Although recent economic growth in many member countries have led to a change in emphasis to some degree, throughout most of its history the bank has operated on a project basis, specifically in the areas of infrastructure investment, agricultural development and loans to basic industries in member countries. Although by definition the bank is a lender to governments and government entities, it also provides direct assistance to private enterprises and has also participated as a liquidity enhancer and best practice enabler in the private sectors of regional member countries. The primary human capital asset of the bank is its staff of professionals, encompassing academic and/ or practical experts in the areas of agriculture, civil engineering, economics, environment, health, public policy and finance. Professional staff are drawn from its member countries and given various incentives to relocate to Manila. It is conceivable that once all of Asia-Pacific reaches a certain level of living standard the bank will be wound down or reconfigured to operate as a commercial enterprise. Policy-making Body & Members: The highest policy-making body of the bank is the Board of Governors composed of one representative from each member state. The Board of Governors, in turn, elect among themselves the 12 members of the Board of Directors and their deputy. Eight of the 12 members come from regional (Asia-Pacific)

members while the others come from non-regional members. The Board of Governors also elect the bank's President who is the chairperson of the Board of Directors and manages ADB. The president has a term of office lasting five years, and may be reelected. Traditionally, and because Japan is one of the largest shareholders of the bank, the President has always been Japanese. The current President is Haruhiko Kuroda. The headquarters of the bank is at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong city, Metro Manila, Philippines, and it has representative offices around the world. The bank employs approximately 2,400 people, coming from 55 of its 67 member countries, and with more than half of the staff being Filipino. ADB has 67 members (as of 2 February 2007). The year after a member's name indicates the year of membership. The largest share holders of the ADB are Japan and USA, each holding 15.57% of the shares. At the time a country ceases to be a member, the Bank shall arrange for the repurchase of such country's shares by the Bank as a part of the settlement of accounts with such country in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article. Republic of China(Taiwan) initially joined as "China" as a founding member representing the whole of China. However, its share of Bank capital was based on the size of Taiwan's capital, unlike the World Bank and IMF where the government in Taiwan had had a share representing the whole of China prior to the People's Republic of China joining and taking the Republic of China's seat. In 1986, a compromise was effected when the People's Republic of China joined the institution. The ROC was allowed to retain its membership, but under the name of Taipei,China — a name it protests. Uniquely, this allows both sides of the Taiwan Straits to be represented at the institution.

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ADB projects and Technical Assistance:-

ADB's annual project lending amounts to about US$7 billion per year with typical lending per project being in the $100 million range. » Afghan Diaspora Project » Funding Utah state university led projects to bring labor skills in Thailand » Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project in Indonesia » Greater Mekong Subregional Program » ROC Ping Hu Offshore Oil and Gas Development » Strategic Private Sector Partnerships for Urban Poverty Reduction in the Philippines » Trans-Afghanistan gas pipeline feasibility assessment Loan of $1.2 billion to bail it out of an impending economic crisis in Pakistan and on going funding for the countries growing energy needs, specifically Hydro-power projects Micro finance support for private enterprises, in conjunction with governments, including Pakistan and India. In 2009, the bank endorsed a 2.9-billion-dollar funding strategy for proposed projects in India. The projects in this strategy were only indicative and still needed to be further approved by the bank's Board of Directors; however, PRC Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang claimed, "The Asian Development Bank, regardless of the major concerns of China, approved the India Country Partnership strategy which involves the territorial dispute between China and India. China expresses its strong dissatisfaction over this... The bank's move not only seriously tarnishes its own name, but also undermines the interests of its members.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

economic organisation of 10 countries located in southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully. In 2005, the bloc spanned over an area of 4.46 million km2 with a combined GDP of about USD $896.5 billion/$2,728 billion growing at an average rate of around 5.6% per annum. Nominal GDP had grown to USD $1.4 trillion in 2008.

Establishment ASEAN was preceded by an organisation called the Association of Southeast Asia, commonly called ASA, an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand that was formed in 1961. The bloc itself, however, was established on 8 August 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand – met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration, more commonly known as the Bangkok declaration. The motivations for the birth of ASEAN were the desire for a stable external environment (so that its members’ governing elite could concentrate on nation building), the common fear of communism, reduced faith in or mistrust of external powers in the 1960s, as well as the aspiration for national economic development; not to mention Indonesia’s ambition to become a regional hegemon through regional cooperation and the hope on the part of Malaysia and Singapore to constrain Indonesia and bring it into a more cooperative framework. Unlike the European Union, ASEAN was designed to serve nationalism.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN is a geo-political and

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In 1976, the Melanesian state of Papua New Guinea was accorded observer status. Throughout the 1970s, the organization embarked on a program of economic cooperation, following the Bali Summit of 1976. This floundered in the mid1980s and was only revived around 1991 due to a Thai proposal for a regional free trade area. The bloc then grew when Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member after it joined on 8 January 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on 1 January. On 21 July 1994, Vietnam became the seventh member. Laos and Burma (Myanmar) joined two years later in 23 July 1997. Cambodia was to have joined together with Laos and Myanmar, but was deferred due to the country's internal political struggle. The country later joined on 24 April 1997, following the stabilisation of its government. During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership as well as in the drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus composing the then-members of ASEAN as well as the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing influence of the United States in the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as well as in the Asian region as a whole. This proposal, however, failed since it faced heavy opposition from Japan and the United States. Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration. In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase the region’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market. This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area. After the East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was established in Chiang Mai, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, which calls for better integration between the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three countries (China, Japan, and South Korea). Aside from improving each member state's economies, the bloc also focused on peace and stability

in the region. On 15 December 1995, the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty was signed with the intention of turning Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. The treaty took effect on 28 March 1997 after all but one of the member states have ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June 2001, after the Philippines ratified it, effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region. At the turn of the 21st century, issues shifted to involve a more environmental prospective. The organization started to discuss environmental agreements. These included the signing of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002 as an attempt to control haze pollution in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful due to the outbreaks of the 2005 Malaysian haze and the 2006 Southeast Asian haze. Other environmental treaties introduced by the organization include the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security, the ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network in 2005, and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, both of which are responses to Global Warming and the negative effects of climate change. Through the Bali Concord II in 2003, ASEAN has subscribed to the notion of democratic peace, which means all member countries believe democratic processes will promote regional peace and stability. Also, the non-democratic members all agreed that it was something all member states should aspire to. The leaders of each country, particularly Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, also felt the need to further integrate the region. Beginning in 1997, the bloc began creating organisations within its framework with the intention of achieving this goal. ASEAN Plus Three was the first of these and was created to improve existing ties with the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea. This was followed by the even larger East Asia Summit, which included these countries as well as India, Australia, and New Zealand. This new grouping acted as a prerequisite for the planned

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East Asia Community, which was supposedly patterned after the now-defunct European Community. The ASEAN Eminent Persons Group was created to study the possible successes and failures of this policy as well as the possibility of drafting an ASEAN Charter. In 2006, ASEAN was given observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. As a response, the organisation awarded the status of "dialogue partner" to the United Nations. Furthermore, on 23 July that year, José Ramos-Horta, then Prime Minister of East Timor, signed a formal request for membership and expected the accession process to last at least five years before the then-observer state became a full member. In 2007, ASEAN celebrated its 40th anniversary since its inception, and 30 years of diplomatic relations with the United States. On 26 August 2007, ASEAN stated that it aims to complete all its free trade agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand by 2013, in line with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. In November 2007 the ASEAN members signed the ASEAN Charter, a constitution governing relations among the ASEAN members and establishing ASEAN itself as an international legal entity. During the same year, the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security in Cebu on 15 January 2007, by ASEAN and the other members of the EAS (Australia, People's Republic of China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea), which promotes energy security by finding energy alternatives to conventional fuels. On February 27, 2009 a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN regional block of 10 countries and New Zealand and its close partner Australia was signed, it is estimated that this FTA would boost aggregate GDP across the 12 countries by more than US$48 billion over the period 20002020.

ASEAN Charter On 15 December 2008 the members of ASEAN met in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to launch a charter, signed in November 2007, with the aim of moving closer to "an EU-style community".The charter turns ASEAN into a legal entity and aims to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 500 million people. President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated that "This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift," he added, referring to climate change and economic upheaval. Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, wartorn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s." The charter's aims included: » "Respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states". » "Peaceful settlement of disputes". » "Non-interference in member states internal affairs". » "Right to live without external interference". However, the ongoing global financial crisis was stated as being a threat to the goals envisioned by the charter, and also set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in February 2009. This proposition caused controversy, as the body would not have the power to impose sanctions or punish countries who violate citizens' rights and would therefore be limited in effectiveness.

Policies Apart from consultations and consensus, ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decision-making processes can be usefully understood in terms of the so-called Track I and Track II. Track I refers to the practice of diplomacy among government channels. The participants stand as representatives of their re-

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spective states and reflect the official positions of their governments during negotiations and discussions. All official decisions are made in Track I. Track II on the other hand refers to diplomatic activities that are unofficial and includes participants from both government and non-government institutions such as the academic, economic communities and NGOs. This track enables governments to discuss controversial issues and test new ideas without making official statements or binding commitments, and, if necessary, backtrack on positions. Although Track II dialogues are sometimes cited as examples of the involvement of civil society in regional decision-making process by governments and other second track actors, NGOs have rarely got access to this track, meanwhile participants from the academic community are a dozen thinktanks. However, these think-tanks are, in most cases, very much linked to their respective governments, and dependent on government funding for their academic and policy-relevant activities. Their recommendations, especially in economic integration, are often closer to ASEAN’s decisions than the rest of civil society’s positions. The track that acts as a forum for civil society in Southeast Asia is called Track III, which is essentially people-to-people diplomacy undertaken mainly by CSOs. Track III networks claim to represent communities and people who are largely marginalised from political power centers and unable to achieve positive change without outside assistance. This track tries to influence government policies indirectly by lobbying, generating pressure through the media. Third-track actors also organise and/or attend meetings as well as conferences to get access to Track I officials. While Track II meetings and interactions with Track I actors have increased and intensified, rarely has the rest of civil society had the opportunity to interface with Track II. Those with Track I have been even rarer. In other words, the participation of the big majority of CSOs has been excluded from ASEAN’s agenda-setting and decision-making.

Looking at the three tracks, it is clear that until now, ASEAN has been run by government officials who, as far as ASEAN matters are concerned, are accountable only to their governments and not the people.

ASEAN Summit The organization holds meetings, known as the ASEAN Summit, where heads of government of each member meet to discuss and resolve regional issues, as well as to conduct other meetings with other countries outside of the bloc with the intention of promoting external relations. The ASEAN Leaders' Formal Summit was first held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976. Its third meeting was held in Manila in 1987 and during this meeting, it was decided that the leaders would meet every five years. Consequently, the fourth meeting was held in Singapore in 1992 where the leaders again agreed to meet more frequently, deciding to hold the summit every three years. In 2001, it was decided to meet annually to address urgent issues affecting the region. Member nations were assigned to be the summit host in alphabetical order except in the case of Myanmar which dropped its 2006 hosting rights in 2004 due to pressure from the United States and the European Union. By December 2008, the ASEAN Charter came into force and with it, the ASEAN Summit will be held twice in a year.

East Asia Summit The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a forum held annually by leaders of 16 countries in the East Asian region. EAS meetings are held after annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur on December 14, 2005.The concept of an East Asia Grouping has significant history going back to an idea first promoted in 1991 by then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad for an East Asia Economic Caucus. The final report in 2002 of the East Asian Study Group, established by the ASEAN Plus Three countries, was based on an EAS involving ASEAN

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Plus Three, therefore not involving Australia, New Zealand or India The EAS as proposed was to be an ASEAN led development, with the summit to be linked to ASEAN summit meetings however the issue was to which countries beyond those in ASEAN the EAS was to be extended to. The decision to hold the EAS was reached during the 2004 ASEAN Plus Three summit and the initial 16 members determined at the ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Meeting held in Laos at the end of July 2005. Credit for advancing the forum during the 2004 ASEAN Plus Three summit has been attributed to Malaysia. First EAS: Prior to the first meeting there was significant discussion as to which countries should be represented .At the time there were difficulties in the relationship between the "Plus Three" members (ie Japan, China and South Korea) of ASEAN Plus Three ,and the perception that India and to a lesser extent Australia and New Zealand were present to balance the growing China power all meant the first meeting's achievements were limited. Russia expressed early interest in EAS membership and attended the first EAS as an observer at the invitation of 2005 EAS host Malaysia. Second EAS: The next EAS was to be held on December 13, 2006 in Metro Cebu, Philippines. After the confidence building of the inaugural EAS the 2006 EAS will help to define the future role of the EAS, its relationship with ASEAN Plus Three and the involvement of Russia in EAS. However in the face of Tropical Typhoon Utor the summit was post-poned until January 2007. It was rescheduled for January 15, 2007, approximately a month after the original scheduled date.The outcomes are summarised in the Chairman's Statement of the Second East Asia Summit. The EAS members signed the Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security, a declaration on energy security and biofuels containing statement for members to prepare, non-binding, targets.

The reality appears however that movement towards such a relationship is a long way-off. Lee Kuan Yew has compared the relationship between South-East Asia and India with that of the European Community and Turkey, and has suggested that a free-trade area involving South-East Asia and India is 30 to 50 years away. The members of EAS agreed to study the Japanese proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia (CEPEA). The Track Two report on CEPEA is due to be completed in mid-2008 and at the Third EAS it was agreed this would be considered at the Fourth EAS. Third EAS: The issues of Myanmar (Burma), following the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests,and climate change were expected to be discussed at the Third EAS. Myanmar successfully blocked formal discussion of its internal affairs. The summit did issue the Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the Environment. The Summit also agreed to the establishment of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia and to receive the final report on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia at the Fourth EAS. The outcomes are summarised in the Chairman's Statement of the 3rd East Asia Summit Singapore, 21 November 2007. Fourth EAS: The Summit was significantly delayed and its location changed a number of times due to internal tensions in Thailand, the host nation. In the lead up to the Summit there were also several fatal border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. The Summit however is said to be used as an opportunity for discussions on the sidelines between the respective nation's leaders. It was also announced that India would be represented at the Summit by its Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath not its Prime Minister.

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The Summit was then cancelled following protesters takin over the summit's venue on the day of the Summit.

The relationship with ASEAN Plus Three The relationship between the EAS on the one hand and ASEAN Plus Three on the other is still not clear. As discussed above, some countries are more supportive of the narrower ASEAN Plus Three grouping whereas others support the broader, more inclusive EAS. ASEAN Plus Three, which has been meeting since December 1997 has a history, including the Chiang Mai initiative which appears to have led to the development of the Asian Currency Unit. This may be significant for those advocating a broader role for EAS in the future. The tension between the groupings extends to the respective members' intentions towards future Free Trade Agreements with China and South Korea focused on ASEAN Plus Three and Japan on the broader EAS members. The 1997 Asian financial crisis had demonstrated the need for regional groupings and initiatives. It was during this time ASEAN Plus Three had commenced and it was also during this time that the East Asian caucus was being discussed. The EAS is just one regional grouping and some members down play its significance, the former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has stated that the EAS was secondary as a regional summit to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) which has on his view a premier role. Not all members of the EAS, notably India, are members of APEC. However as the EAS meetings are scheduled with the ASEAN Plus Three meetings (they both follow the annual ASEAN meetings) and all members of ASEAN Plus Three are members of EAS the ability of the two forums to remain relevant given the existence of the other remains in question. China has stated its preference for both EAS and ASEAN Plus Three to exist side-by-side.

The relationship between APEC, ASEAN Plus Three and the EAS remained unresolved heading into the 2007 APEC meeting. Following the meeting the then Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi described ASEAN Plus Three as the primary vehicle and implied APEC was the lesser of the three. At the same time a Malaysian commentator writing in a Singaporean newspaper described concentric circles for the three with ASEAN Plus Three at the centre and APEC at the outer, also suggested the Nikai Initiative, with its regional OECD like plans, might overtaking the remaining role for APEC.

Regional Forum The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is a formal, official, multilateral dialogue in Asia Pacific region. As of July 2007, it is consisted of 27 participants. ARF objectives are to foster dialogue and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region. The ARF met for the first time in 1994. The current participants in the ARF are as follows: all the ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Timor-Leste, United States and Sri Lanka. The Republic of China (also known as Taiwan) has been excluded since the establishment of the ARF, and issues regarding the Taiwan Strait is neither discussed at the ARF meetings nor stated in the ARF Chairman's Statements.

Economic Community ASEAN has emphasised regional cooperation in the “three pillars” of security, sociocultural and economic integration. The regional grouping has made the most progress in economic integration, aiming to create an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015. The AEC would have a combined population of over 560 million and total trade exceeding US$ 1,400 billion.

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Free Trade Area: The foundation of the AEC is the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a common external preferential tariff scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The latecomers have not fully met the AFTA's obligations, but they are officially considered part of the AFTA as they were required to sign the agreement upon entry into ASEAN, and were given longer time frames in which to meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.

Comprehensive Investment Area:-

The ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Area (ACIA) will encourage the free flow of investment within ASEAN. The main principles of the ACIA are as follows:

»

All industries are to be opened up for investment, ith exclusions to be phased out according to schedules

»

National treatment is granted immediately to ASEAN investors with few exclusions

» Elimination of investment impediments » Streamlining of investment process and procedures

» Enhancing transparency » Undertaking investment facilitation measures Full realisation of the ACIA with the removal of temporary exclusion lists in manufacturing agriculture, fisheries, forestry and mining is scheduled by 2010 for most ASEAN members and by 2015 for the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam) countries.

Trade in Services: An ASEAN Framework Agreement on Trade in Services was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in December 1995. Under AFAS, ASEAN Member States enter into successive rounds of negotiations to liberalise trade in services with the aim of submitting increasingly higher levels of commitments. The negotiations result in commitments that are set forth in schedules of specific commitments annexed to the Framework Agreement. These schedules are often referred to as packages of services commitments. At present, ASEAN has concluded seven packages of commitments under AFAS. Single Aviation Market: The ASEAN Single Aviation Market (SAM), proposed by the ASEAN Air Transport Working Group, supported by the ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting, and endorsed by the ASEAN Transport Ministers, will introduce an open-sky arrangement to the region by 2015. The ASEAN SAM will be expected to fully liberalise air travel between its member states, allowing ASEAN to directly benefit from the growth in air travel around the world, and also freeing up tourism, trade, investment and services flows between member states. Beginning 1 December 2008, restrictions on the third and fourth freedoms of the air between capital cities of member states for air passengers services will be removed, while from 1 January 2009, there will be full liberalisation of air freight services in the region, while By 1 January 2011, there will be liberalisation of fifth freedom traffic rights between all capital cities. Free Trade Agreements With Other Countries: ASEAN has concluded free trade agreements with China, Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, it is currently negotiating free trade agreement with India (conclusion expected in April 2009) and with the European Union. Taiwan has also expressed interest in an agreement with ASEAN but needs to overcome diplomatic objections from China.

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Cultural activities: The organisation hosts cultural activities in an attempt to further integrate the region. These include sports and educational activities as well as writing awards. Examples of these include the ASEAN University Network, the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, the ASEAN Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award, and the Singapore-sponsored ASEAN Scholarship.

Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. The member countries of this group are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. On 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok and given the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Myanmar attended the inaugural June Meeting as an observer and joined the organization as a full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon which the name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC. Nepal was granted observer status by the second Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka in December 1998. Subsequently, full membership has been granted to Nepal and Bhutan in 2004. In the first Summit on 31 July 2004, leaders of the group agreed that the name of the grouping should be known as BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. According to the Bangkok Declaration on the Establishment of BIST-EC, the aims and purposes of BIST-EC/BIMST-EC are to create an enabling environment for rapid economic development, accelerate social progress in the sub-region, promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest, provide assistance to each

other in the form of training and research facilities, cooperate more effectively in joint efforts that are supportive of, and complementary to national development plans of member states, maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations, and cooperate in projects that can be dealt with most productively on a sub-regional basis and which make best use of available synergies. BIMSTEC was initiated with the goal to combine the 'Look West' policy of Thailand and ASEAN with the 'Look East' policy of India and South Asia. So it could be explained that BIMSTEC is a link between ASEAN and SARRC. Seven members of BIMSTEC covers 13 Priority Sectors led by member countries in a voluntary manner namely, Trade & Investment, Technology, Energy, Transport & Communication, Tourism, Fisheries, Agriculture, Cultural Cooperation, Environment and Disaster Management, Public Health, People-to-People Contact, Poverty Alleviation and Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes. What make BIMSTEC different from other organization would be that BIMSTEC represent one of the most diverse regions of the world, be it, way of life, religion, language, culture, etc. BIMSTEC clearly separates issues of development into 13 Priority Sectors besides focusing only on economic cooperation which make BIMSTEC covers all aspects regarding the word 'developing'. BIMSTEC provides a unique link between South Asia and Southeast Asia bringing together 1.3 billion people - 21 percent of the world population, a combined GDP of US$750 billion, and a considerable amount of complementarities. A study shows the potential of US$ 43 to 59 billion trade creation under BIMSTEC FTA. Regarding economic aspect, BIMSTEC has Trade Negotiating Committee (BIMTEC TNC). The 16th TNC meeting was held during 17-21 March 2008 in India. The 17th TNC meeting was held during 15-17 October 2008 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. TNC Meeting is now working on the List of Goods regarding the Framework Agreement that has been signed in 2004. So far, BIMSTEC has been work-

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ing on the FTA and looking forward to finalise our agreement soon.

BIMSTEC Priority Sectors BIMSTEC has thirteen priority sectors cover all areas of cooperation. Six priority sectors of cooperation were identified at the 2nd Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka on 19 November 1998. They include the followings: 1. Trade and Investment, led by Bangladesh 2. Transport and Communication, led by India 3. Energy, led by Myanmar 4. Tourism, led by India 5. Technology, led by Sri Lanka 6. Fisheries, led by Thailand After the 8th Ministerial Meeting in Dhaka on 18-19 December 2005, a number of new areas of cooperation emerged. The number of priority sectors of cooperation increased from 6 to 13. The 7 new sectors were discussed in the 1st BIMSTEC Summit and there has been various activities to enhance those cooperations ever since. The sectors are as follows:7. Agriculture, led by Myanmar 8. Public Health, led by Thailand 9. Poverty Alleviation, led by Nepal 10. Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime, led by India 11. Environment and Natural Disaster Management, led by India 12. Culture, led by Bhutan 13. People to People contact, led by Thailand

Chairmanship BIMSTEC uses the alphabetical order for the Chairmanship. The Chairmanship of BIMSTEC has been taken in rotation commencing with Bangladesh (1997 - 1999), India (2000) Myanmar (2001-2002), Sri Lanka (2002 - 2003), Thailand (2003 – 2005), Bangladesh (2005-2006). Bhutan asked for the skip. So it's turned to India (2006-present). In 2009, Myanmar will host the 12th Ministerial Meeting and assume the BIMSTEC Chairmanship.

Cooperation with ADB ADB has become BIMSTEC's development partner since 2005, to undertake a study which is designed to help promote and improve transport infrastructure and logistic among the BIMSTEC countries. So far, ADB has already finished the project so called BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistic Study (BTILS). The final report of the said study from ADB has already been conveyed to all members and being awaited for the feedback. Other fields of cooperation will be designed later on.

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Hot Economic Issues The Globalization Debate

Globalization Debate Globalization is the tendency of investment funds and businesses to move beyond domestic and national markets to other markets around the globe, allowing them to become interconnected with different markets. Proponents of globalization say that it helps developing nations catch up to industrialized nations much faster through increased employment and technological advances and Asian economies are often highlighted as examples of globalization's success. Critics of globalization say that it weakens national sovereignty and allows rich nations to ship domestic jobs overseas where labor is much cheaper.

The View from the Penthouse For business leaders and members of the economic elite, globalization is good. Cheaper labor overseas enables them to build production facilities in locations where labor and healthcare costs are low and then sell the finished goods in locations where wages are high. Profits soar and Wall Street rewards big profit gains with higher stock prices. The CEOs of global companies also get credit for the profits, and are rewarded with generous compensation packages, in which company stock and stock options figure prominently. Institutional investors and wealthy individuals also take home the big gains when stock prices increase.

The View From the Street But globalization doesn't only affect CEOs and high-net-worth individuals. Competition for jobs stretches far beyond the immediate area in a global marketplace. From technology call centers in India, to automobile manufacturing plants in China, globalization means that workers must compete with job applicants from around the world.

Some of these changes arose as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA sent the jobs of U.S. autoworkers to Mexico, a developing country, where wages are significantly lower than those in the U.S. A few years later, some of those same jobs were relocated to third-world countries in East Asia, where wages are even lower. In both cases, the auto manufacturers expected U.S. consumers to continue buying those products at U.S. prices. While critics of globalization decry the loss of jobs that globalization can entail for developed countries, those who support globalization argue that the employment and technology that is brought to developing countries helps those populations toward industrialization and the possibility of increased standards of living.

The View from the Middle Ground In the globalization battleground, outsourcing is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, low wages in foreign countries enable retailers to sell clothing, cars and other goods at reduced rates in western nations where shopping has become an ingrained part of the culture. This allows companies to increase their profit margins. At the same time, shoppers save money when they buy these goods, causing some supporters of globalization to argue that while sending jobs overseas tends to lower wages, it may also lower prices at the same time. Lower-income workers also enjoy some of the benefits of stock price appreciation. When companies outsource jobs and get rewarded with rising share prices, mutual funds that hold those shares also increase in value.

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The Effects of Globalization The ever-increasing flow of cross-border traffic in terms of money, information, people and technology isn't going to stop. Some argue that it is a classic situation of the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. While global standards of living have risen overall as industrialization takes root in third-world countries, they have fallen in developed countries. Today, the gap between rich and poor countries is expanding as is the gap between the rich and poor within these countries. Homogenization of the world is another result, with the same coffee shop on every corner and the same big-box retailers in seemingly every city in every country. So, while globalization does promote contact and exchange between cultures, it also tends to make them more similar to one another. At the market level, linked global financial markets propel local issues into international problems, such as meltdowns in Southeast Asia to Russian debt defaults.

What lies ahead? Deviation from the status quo on this issue is likely to be minimal. The massive outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing jobs that began decades ago continues today. White collar jobs, such as call center workers, medical technicians and accountants have also joined the outsource parade, leaving many to argue that those profiting from the arrangement have little incentive to change it, while those most impacted by it are virtually powerless. Politicians have latched onto the idea of the disappearing middle class as a political issue, but none of their income redistribution schemes are likely to have any immediate substantial impact.

Emerging Market Economy

as an economy with low to middle per capita income. Such countries constitute approximately 80% of the global population, and represent about 20% of the world's economies. The term was coined in 1981 by Antoine W. Van Agtmael of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. Although the term "emerging market" is loosely defined, countries that fall into this category, varying from very big to very small, are usually considered emerging because of their developments and reforms. Hence, even though China is deemed one of the world's economic powerhouses, it is lumped into the category alongside much smaller economies with a great deal less resources, like Tunisia. Both China and Tunisia belong to this category because both have embarked on economic development and reform programs, and have begun to open up their markets and "emerge" onto the global scene. EMEs are considered to be fast-growing economies.

What an EME Looks Like EMEs are characterized as transitional, meaning they are in the process of moving from a closed economy to an open market economy while building accountability within the system. Examples include the former Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries. As an emerging market, a country is embarking on an economic reform program that will lead it to stronger and more responsible economic performance levels, as well as transparency and efficiency in the capital market. An EME will also reform its exchange rate system because a stable local currency builds confidence in an economy, especially when foreigners are considering investing. Exchange rate reforms also reduce the desire for local investors to send their capital abroad (capital flight). Besides implementing reforms, an EME is also most likely receiving aid and guidance from large donor countries and/or world organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

An emerging market economy (EME) is defined

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One key characteristic of the EME is an increase in both local and foreign investment (portfolio and direct). A growth in investment in a country often indicates that the country has been able to build confidence in the local economy. Moreover, foreign investment is a signal that the world has begun to take notice of the emerging market, and when international capital flows are directed toward an EME, the injection of foreign currency into the local economy adds volume to the country's stock market and long-term investment to the infrastructure. For foreign investors or developed-economy businesses, an EME provides an outlet for expansion by serving, for example, as a new place for a new factory or for new sources of revenue. For the recipient country, employment levels rise, labor and managerial skills become more refined, and a sharing and transfer of technology occurs. In the longrun, the EME's overall production levels should rise, increasing its gross domestic product and eventually lessening the gap between the emerged and emerging worlds.

Local Politics vs. Global Economy An emerging market economy must have to weigh local political and social factors as it attempts to open up its economy to the world. The people of an emerging market, who are accustomed to being protected from the outside world, can often be distrustful of foreign investment. Emerging economies may also often have to deal with issues of national pride because citizens may be opposed to having foreigners owning parts of the local economy. Moreover, opening up an emerging economy means that it will also be exposed not only to new work ethics and standards, but also to new cultures. The introduction and impact of, say, fast food and music videos to some local markets has been a by-product of foreign investment. Over the

generations, this can change the very fabric of a society and if a population is not fully trusting of change, it may fight back hard to stop it. Although emerging economies may be able to look forward to brighter opportunities and offer new areas of investment for foreign and developed economies, local officials in EMEs need to consider the effects of an open economy on citizens. Furthermore, investors need to determine the risks when considering investing in an EME. The process of emergence may be difficult, slow and often stagnant at times. And even though emerging markets have survived global and local challenges in the past, they had to overcome some large obstacles to do so.

International Trade International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. This type of trade gives rise to a world economy, in which prices, or supply and demand, affect and are affected by global events. Political change in Asia, for example, could result in an increase in the cost of labor, thereby increasing the manufacturing costs for an American sneaker company based in Malaysia, which would then result in an increase in the price that you have to pay to buy the tennis shoes at your local mall. A decrease in the cost of labor, on the other hand, would result in you having to pay less for your new shoes. Trading globally gives consumers and countries the opportunity to be exposed to goods and services not available in their own countries. Almost every kind of product can be found on the international market: food, clothes, spare parts, oil, jewelry, wine, stocks, currencies and water. Services are also traded: tourism, banking, consulting and transportation. A product that is sold to the global market is an export, and a product that is bought from the global market is an import. Imports and exports are accounted for in a country's current account in the balance of payments.

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Increased Efficiency of Trading Globally Global trade allows wealthy countries to use their resources - whether labor, technology or capital more efficiently. Because countries are endowed with different assets and natural resources (land, labor, capital and technology), some countries may produce the same good more efficiently and therefore sell it more cheaply than other countries. If a country cannot efficiently produce an item, it can obtain the item by trading with another country that can. This is known as specialization in international trade. Let's take a simple example. Country A and Country B both produce cotton sweaters and wine. Country A produces 10 sweaters and six bottles of wine a year while Country B produces six sweaters and 10 bottles of wine a year. Both can produce a total of 16 units. Country A, however, takes three hours to produce the 10 sweaters and two hours to produce the six bottles of wine (total of five hours). Country B, on the other hand, takes one hour to produce 10 sweaters and three hours to produce six bottles of wine (total of four hours). But these two countries realize that they could produce more by focusing on those products with which they have a comparative advantage. Country A then begins to produce only wine and Country B produces only cotton sweaters. Each country can now create a specialized output of 20 units per year and trade equal proportions of both products. As such, each country now has access to 20 units of both products. We can see then that for both countries, the opportunity cost of producing both products is greater than the cost of specializing. More specifically, for each country, the opportunity cost of producing 16 units of both sweaters and wine is 20 units of both products (after trading). Specialization reduces their opportunity cost and therefore maximizes their efficiency in acquiring the goods they need. With the greater supply, the price of each product would decrease, thus giving an advantage to the end consumer as well.

Note that, in the example above, Country B could produce both wine and cotton more efficiently than Country A (less time). This is called an absolute advantage, and Country B may have it because of a higher level of technology. However, according to international trade theory, even if a country has an absolute advantage over another, it can still benefit from specialization.

Other Possible Benefits of Trading Globally International trade not only results in increased efficiency but also allows countries to participate in a global economy, encouraging the opportunity of foreign direct investment (FDI), which is the amount of money that individuals invest into foreign companies and other assets. In theory, economies can therefore grow more efficiently and can more easily become competitive economic participants. For the receiving government, FDI is a means by which foreign currency and expertise can enter the country. These raise employment levels and, theoretically, lead to a growth in the gross domestic product. For the investor, FDI offers company expansion and growth, which means higher revenues.

Free Trade vs. Protectionism As with other theories, there are opposing views. International trade has two contrasting views regarding the level of control placed on trade: free trade and protectionism. Free trade is the simpler of the two theories: a laissez-faire approach, with no restrictions on trade. The main idea is that supply and demand factors, operating on a global scale, will ensure that production happens efficiently. Therefore, nothing needs to be done to protect or promote trade and growth because market forces will do so automatically. In contrast, protectionism holds that regulation of international trade is important to ensure that markets function properly. Advocates of this

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theory believe that market inefficiencies may hamper the benefits of international trade and they aim to guide the market accordingly. Protectionism exists in many different forms, but the most common are tariffs, subsidies and quotas. These strategies attempt to correct any inefficiency in the international market.

National Treatment A concept of international law that declares if a state provides certain rights and privileges to its own citizens, it also should provide equivalent rights and privileges to foreigners who are currently in the country. This concept of equality can be found in bilateral tax treaties and also in most World Trade Organization agreements. For example, if country A provides special tax breaks for its fledgling pharmaceutical industry, all pharmaceutical companies that have operations in country A will be entitled to the tax breaks, regardless of whether the company is domestic or foreign. In some situations, national treatment may not be such a great thing. For instance, suppose that a state has a law that allows it to expropriate property. Under national treatment, a foreign firm would technically still be subject to the expropriation law. However, depending on the country, other laws may exists that could limit national treatment to only the upside benefits.

Rich-Poor Divide Despite the high growth rate of the economy, in absolute terms India still is a low income economy, with its per capita income at a level less than $500 per annum. Low per capita income is a pointer towards the existing sharp divide between India’s wealthiest and poorest sections of society. Out of the total population, about 26 million people live below poverty line and 35 per cent out of this group, also classified as the poorest of the poor, have income level of less than $1 per day. As per

2001 Census, about 78 million people in the country were living without a home and more than that number were holed up in urban slums. The number of the poor living in the country is more than the poor living in any other country of the world. Despite the above socio-economic problems plaguing the Indian society, post-reforms period has been marked by high growth rate, placing the country among the front runners in the race for highest growth in the world. During the past five years, India has been second only to China in terms of the growth rate achieved. India’s Information Technology (IT) industry, services, manufacturing and automobile sectors have been booming. The urban areas, particularly the metropolitan cities, have been the centres of growth. Industrial centres have also been the hubs of economic activity and the income levels in the country are on the rise. During the past about a decade, the foreign sector in the country has also been performing extremely well and the policy of globalization has paid rich dividends, with the foreign sector, registering over 20 per cent growth in the past several years. Without taking away the credit from the liberalization policy, the resilience of the Indian economy must also be given its due credit for outstanding achievements. Unfortunately, the spurt in economic activity in the country and increase in the growth rate over the past few years has not been able to make a discernible dent on the problem of poverty, deprivation and exploitation of the downtrodden. The divide between the rich and the poor has now become a tangible reality. There are more Indian billionaires in the Forbes list than ever before. But the number of the poor and hungry is also not decreasing. The growth centres are encircled by the group of underprivileged people whose basic needs are still to be met. During this era of rapid growth, the problems of unequal and skewed distribution of economic resources and the fruits of growth have surfaced.

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In addition to the economic divide between the rich and the poor, the digital divide between various regions of the country has also become an important issue. It has been admitted by the government policy makers that the growth rate in the rural areas has been quite sluggish despite high growth rate in the urban centres. Economic activity in the rural areas has not been able to pick up to match the rapid growth of the cities. The result is that in the hope of getting better employment and growth opportunities a large number of people are migrating to the cities every year. Rural economy is largely comprised of the agriculture and allied activities. The growth rate of the agricultural sector has been between 2 to 4 per cent over the past couple of decades, while the rest of the economy is growing at the rate of around 8 per cent. It implies that increase in incomes in the rural sector has been almost onethird of the average growth of incomes in the country. Resultantly, the rural economy has emerged as a poor cousin of the urban and industrial sectors and the existing yawning gap has actually increased further. The above does not imply that all is well in the urban sector as a whole. Urban areas have their own set of problems and inequalities resulting in what is known as urban-urban divide. The urban problems in India are no different. With about 300 million people living in 5,000 cities and towns, the urban population cries for more care, investment in urban infrastructure and basic civic amenities. About 40% of the urban population in India lives in 60 metropolitan urban agglomerations. As per one estimate of the government, about 65 million urban people live in slums and squatter settlements in these agglomerations. It is estimated that the urban population of the country would increase to 468 million by the year 2020. This poses a Herculean task to the cities in terms of improvements in civic infrastructure, housing, basic amenities and employment opportunities.

The current situation in most of the cities and towns is pathetic. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the main business and growth centres in the country. In addition cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad are the hub centres of the IT revolution in the country. But these very cities have their darker side as well. There is a huge population of urban poor and slum dwellers living there. Water supply and sanitation is a serious problem and solid waste collection and its safe disposal is something that requires a major national initiative. While a person from the middle class and upper middle class in the cities would invariably have access to better health, educational and other facilities, the poorer sections would generally be denied these facilities, which come at a higher cost than they can afford. The variation in the income levels in the cities has also created a kind of dichotomy in the society and the vertical split in the society is a matter of serious concern for the sociologists as well as the economists. Equitable growth of the economy is the ultimate goal and every government must strive hard to achieve this goal. Indian Constitution, through the Directive Principles of State Policy entrusts this responsibility of equitable distribution of economic resources to the government policies. Globalization cannot snatch away the basic right of decent living from the poor and the downtrodden. It is the duty and responsibility of the government to take immediate measures for bridging the widening gap, which requires pragmatic policies aimed at redistributive justice on sustainable basis. Government of India has already launched an ambitious programme aimed at stimulating the economic activity in the rural areas. Known as Bharat Nirman, this new initiative is expected to pump in huge sums of public expenditure in the development of rural infrastructure of the country. Two more flagship programmes, called Sarv Siksha Abhiyan and “National Rural Health Mission”, are being implemented which aim at bringing in qualitative as well as numerical improvement in the

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education and healthcare sectors, particularly in the rural areas. To take care of the urban-urban divide, another ambitious programme called Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is being implemented in 66 major cities of the country under which a lot of funds are being spent to upgrade the urban infrastructure, housing and service delivery mechanism. In addition to the above initiatives, the government has to ensure distributive justice through its taxation and other economic policies. Due attention is required to be paid to the education sector in the rural areas so that the people living there are able to get the best possible education to compete with their urban counterparts. Healthcare and sanitation facilities need a total upgrade in the entire country. Special attention of the government is required to be focused on stepping up the economic activity in the rural areas so that the rural incomes experience the required upsurge and the existing gap is bridged to some extent. Divide in the early stages of development is a global phenomenon but it must not be allowed to perpetuate beyond reasonable limit.

Islamic Finance Islamic finance refers to the means by which corporations in the Muslim world, including banks and other lending institutions, raise capital in accordance with Sharia, or Islamic law. It also refers to the types of investments that are permissible under this form of law. A unique form of socially responsible investment, Islam makes no division between the spiritual and the secular, hence its reach into the domain of financial matters. Because this sub-branch of finance is a burgeoning field, in this article we will offer an overview to serve as the basis of knowledge or for further study. The Big Picture Although they have been mandated since the beginnings of Islam in the seventh century, Islamic banking and finance have been formalized gradually since the late 1960s, coincident with and in response to tremendous oil wealth which, fueled

renewed interest in and demand for Sharia-compliant products and practice. Central to Islamic banking and finance is an understanding of the importance of risk sharing as part of raising capital and the avoidance of riba (usury) and gharar (risk or uncertainty). Islamic law views lending with interest payments as a relationship that favors the lender, who charges interest at the expense of the borrower. Because Islamic law views money as a measuring tool for value and not an 'asset' in itself, it requires that one should not be able to receive income from money (for example, interest or anything that has the genus of money) alone. Deemed riba (literally an increase or growth), such practice is proscribed under Islamic law (haram, which means prohibited) as it is considered usurious and exploitative. By contrast, Islamic banking exists to further the socio-economic goals of Islam. Accordingly, Sharia-compliant finance (halal, which means permitted) consists of profit banking in which the financial institution shares in the profit and loss of the enterprise that it underwrites. Of equal importance is the concept of gharar Defined as risk or uncertainty, in a financial context it refers to the sale of items whose existence is not certain. Examples of gharar would be forms of insurance, such as the purchase of premiums to insure against something that may or may not occur or derivatives used to hedge against possible outcomes. The equity financing of companies is permissible, as long as those companies are not engaged in restricted types of business - such as the production of alcohol, pornography or weaponry - and only certain financial ratios meet specified guidelines.

Basic Financing Arrangements Below is a brief overview of permissible financing arrangements often encountered in Islamic finance:

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Profit-and-loss sharing contracts (mudarabah). The Islamic bank pools investors' money and assumes a share of the profits and losses. This is agreed upon with the depositors. A group of mutual funds screened for Sharia compliance has arisen. The filter parses company balance sheets to determine whether any sources of income to the corporation are prohibited (for example, if the company is holding too much debt) or if the company is engaged in prohibited lines of business. In addition to actively managed mutual funds, passive ones exist as well based on such indexes as the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index and the FTSE Global Islamic Index. Part ne rship and joint st ock ow nership (musharakah). Three such structures are most common: a. Declining-Balance Shared Equity: Commonly used to finance a home purchase, the declining balance method calls for the bank and the investor to purchase the home jointly, with the institutional investor gradually transferring its portion of the equity in the home to the individual homeowner, whose payments constitute the homeowner's equity. b. Lease-to-Own: This arrangement is similar to the declining balance one described above, except that the financial institution puts up most, if not all, of the money for the house and agrees on arrangements with the homeowner to sell the house to him at the end of a fixed term. A portion of every payment goes toward the lease and the balance toward the purchase price of the home. c. Installment (Cost-Plus) Sale (murabaha): This is an action where an intermediary buys the home with free and clear title to it. The intermediary investor then agrees on a sale price with the prospective buyer; this price includes some profit. The purchase may be made outright (lump sum) or through a series of deferred (installment) payments. This credit sale is an acceptable form of finance and is not to be confused with an interest-bearing loan.

Leasing ('ijarah/'ijar): The sale of the right to use an object (usufruct) for a specific time period. One condition is that the lessor must own the leased object for the duration of the lease. A variation on the lease, 'ijarah wa 'iqtina provides for a lease to be written whereby the lessor agrees to sell the leased object at the lease's end at a predetermined residual value. Only the lessor is bound by this promise. The lessee, by contrast, is not obligated to purchasing the item. Islamic Forwards (salam and 'istisna): These are rare forms of financing, used for certain types of business. These are an exception to gharar. The price for the item is prepaid and the item is delivered at a definite point in the future. Because there is a host of conditions to be met to render such contracts valid, the help of an Islamic legal advisor is usually required.

Basic Insurance Vehicles Traditional insurance is not permitted as a means of risk management in Islamic law. This is because it constitutes the purchase of something with an uncertain outcome (form of ghirar), and because insurers use fixed income - a form of riba - as part of their portfolio management process to satisfy liabilities. A possible Sharia-compliant alternative is cooperative (mutual) insurance. Subscribers contribute to a pool of funds, which are invested in a Sharia-compliant manner. Funds are withdrawn from the pool to satisfy claims, and unclaimed profits are distributed among policy holders. Such a structure exists infrequently, so Muslims may avail themselves of existing insurance vehicles if needed or required. Islamic finance is a centuries-old practice that is gaining recognition throughout the world and whose ethical nature is even drawing the interest of non-Muslims. Given the increased wealth in Muslim nations, expect this field to undergo an even more rapid evolution as it continues to address the challenges of reconciling the disparate worlds of theology and modern portfolio theory.

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Basel I& Basel II Basel I: A set of international banking regulations put forth by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision, which set out the minimum capital requirements of financial institutions with the goal of minimizing credit risk. Banks that operate internationally are required to maintain a minimum amount (8%) of capital based on a percent of riskweighted assets. The first accord was the Basel I. It was issued in 1988 and focused mainly on credit risk by creating a bank asset classification system. This classification system grouped a bank's assets into five risk categories:

» 0% - cash, central bank and government debt and any OECD government debt

» 0%, 10%, 20% or 50% - public sector debt » 20% - development bank debt, OECD bank debt,

OECD securities firm debt, non-OECD bank debt (under one year maturity) and non-OECD public sector debt, cash in collection

» 50% - residential mortgages »

100% - private sector debt, non-OECD bank debt (maturity over a year), real estate, plant and equipment, capital instruments issued at other banks The bank must maintain capital (Tier 1 and Tier 2) equal to at least 8% of its risk-weighted assets. For example, if a bank has risk-weighted assets of $100 million, it is required to maintain capital of at least $8 million. Basel II: A set of banking regulations put forth by the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision, which regulates finance and banking internationally. Basel II attempts to integrate Basel capital

standards with national regulations, by setting the minimum capital requirements of financial institutions with the goal of ensuring institution liquidity. Basel II is the second of the Basel Committee on Bank Supervision's recommendations, and unlike the first accord, Basel I, where focus was mainly on credit risk, the purpose of Basel II was to create standards and regulations on how much capital financial institutions must have put aside. Banks need to put aside capital to reduce the risks associated with its investing and lending practices

Sovereign Wealth Funds A sovereign wealth fund is simply an investment fund managed by a government or other organization on behalf of a nation or sovereign state. The capital that flows into sovereign wealth funds can come from any number of sources, but the most common are foreign currency reserves (budget and banking surpluses) and excess profits from the sale of natural resources and commodities. Crude oil profits in particular have been a huge benefactor to sovereign wealth fund assets. On the whole, sovereign wealth funds don't have boilerplate restrictions on what can or can't be owned, much like with hedge funds in the United States, but foreign stocks, bonds, derivatives and currencies are all fair game. Many of the big-story headlines you may have read about SWFs relate to their efforts to buy large stakes in financial corporations like Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group. But with these investments, and the attempts to make others, sovereign wealth funds have incited feelings of protectionism within the countries where these banks and other investments are located.

Major Players There are dozens of sovereign wealth funds in existence, and many have been around since the '80s and '90s. The growth in assets and the intent of

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fund managers to diversify away from just holding currency reserves or gold is what sets apart the old SWFs from the newly created ones. In the interest of seeking higher returns and diversification, many SWFs invest in global assets like stocks and bonds, and they invest in multiple currencies. According to data compiled by the IMF in early 2008, the current aggregate value of SWFs are in the neighborhood of US$2-$3 trillion, which is already more than is held by the world's hedge funds (US$1.7 trillion). It should be noted, however, that the use of leverage within hedge funds gives them much more buying power than their net asset values alone. The top five largest SWF by assets: 1. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (UAE) - $875 billion 2. Norway Government Pension Fund (Global) $380 billion 3. Government of Singapore Investment Corporation - $330 billion 4. Saudi Arabia 1 (no official fund name) - $300 billion 5. State Administration of Foreign Exchange (China) - $300 billion Three of the top five funds have gained their heft thanks to exploding oil profits, with the exception of Singapore and China, which were running high current account surpluses in the mid-2000s.

Labor Mobility Labor mobility refers to the ease with which laborers are able to move around within an economy and between different economies. It is an important factor in the study of economics because it looks at how labor, one of the major factors of production, affects growth and production. There are two primary types of labor mobility: geographic and occupational. Geographic mobil-

ity refers to a worker's ability to work in a particular physical location, while occupational mobility refers to a worker's ability to change job types. For example, a worker moving from the United States to France involves the concept of geographic mobility. An automobile mechanic who changes jobs to become an airline pilot involves the concept of occupational mobility.

Geographic Mobility Matter From a policy-maker's perspective, geographic mobility can have important implications on the economy of a particular country. This is because easing immigration requirements can do several things: 1. Increase the supply of labor: As more workers enter the economy, the general labor supply increases. An increase in labor supply accompanied by a static labor demand can decrease wage rates. 2. Increase unemployment: Unless employers demand more workers, an increase in labor supply could lead to a glut in labor. This means that more workers are available than jobs. 3. Increase productivity: Not all laborers added to the labor supply will be unskilled. An influx in laborers can increase productivity if they bring specialized skills to the workplace, although they might push out existing employees who are less productive. Obtaining geographic mobility is not a purely economic matter. It can also be an issue of state sovereignty and government control. After all, governments are also concerned with security, and completely open borders mean that governments are not sure who, or what, is coming into their countries. While increased geographic mobility generally has a positive impact on the economy, it is also one of the first targets to incur the wrath of both citizens and their representatives. Immigration is already a hot-button topic, both in the United States and abroad.

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A reduction in geographic restrictions can be reached in several different ways. Between countries, it is accomplished through treaties or economic agreements. Countries can also increase the number of worker visas available, or reduce the requirements of receiving one. For example, countries that are part of the European Union have fewer restrictions on the movement of labor between members, but can still place tight restrictions on labor movement from non-member countries. The effectiveness of improved geographic mobility will ultimately depend on individual workers. If economic opportunities are not available in a different country or in a different part of one's current country, the likelihood of an employee wanting to make a change will be diminished.

Occupational Mobility The ease with which employees can move from a job in one particular industry to a job in a different industry determines how quickly an economy can develop. For example, if there was zero occupational mobility we would still be hunter-gatherers, because no one would have been able to become farmers or specialists. An easing of occupational mobility restrictions can do several things: Increase the supply of labor in particular industries. Lower restrictions cause laborers to have an easier time entering a different industry, which can mean that the demand for labor is more readily met. Lower wage rates. If it is easier for laborers to enter a particular industry, the supply of labor will increase for a given demand, which lowers the wage rate until equilibrium is reached. Allow nascent industries to grow. If an economy is shifting toward new industries, employees must be available to run that industry's businesses. A shortage of employees means that overall productivity can be negatively impacted because there

aren't enough employees to provide the service or work the machines used to make the product. Occupational mobility can be restricted through regulations. Licensing, training or education requirements prevent the free flow of labor from one industry to another. For example, restrictions limit the supply of physicians, since specialized training and licensing is required to work in that particular profession. This is why physicians can command higher wages, because the demand for physicians coupled with a restricted supply increases the equilibrium wage. This funnels unqualified members of the labor force into industries with fewer restrictions, keeping the wage rate lower through a higher labor supply compared to the amount of labor demanded.

Labor Mobility: Two Perspectives Labor mobility affects workers on two levels: the aggregate level and the personal level. On a personal level, increased labor mobility gives workers an opportunity to improve their financial situations. If workers are permitted to train for new jobs, move locations or seek higher wages, then they are more likely to be happy working, which can have a positive impact on productivity. Workers who do not feel indefinitely relegated to low wages or jobs with few benefits will consistently seek better positions, which also makes it easier for new industries to attract the most qualified applicants by offering better perks. The aggregate level refers to the economy as a whole. The extent to which labor forces are mobile can impact how quickly an economy can adapt to technological changes, how quickly competitive advantages can be exploited and how innovative industries develop. Restrictions placed on how workers move around, either geographically or occupationally, can slow growth by making it more difficult for businesses to hire productive workers. At the same time, unrestricted labor can depress wages in certain industries and create unemployment.

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As labor mobility improves, so do the lives of workers around the globe. As a general rule, workers are able to find better paying jobs and improve their living situations when less control is placed on where they can move and what occupations they can apply for. At the same time, businesses improve because workers receive better training and the right employee can be hired. Economies improve as productivity improves.

Macroeconomic Analysis macroeconomics is the study of the behavior of the economy as a whole. This is different from microeconomics, which concentrates more on individuals and how they make economic decisions. Needless to say, macro economy is very complicated and there are many factors that influence it. These factors are analyzed with various economic indicators that tell us about the overall health of the economy. Macroeconomists try to forecast economic conditions to help consumers, firms and governments make better decisions.

» Consumers want to know how easy it will be to

find work, how much it will cost to buy goods and services in the market, or how much it may cost to borrow money.

»

Businesses use macroeconomic analysis to determine whether expanding production will be welcomed by the market. Will consumers have enough money to buy the products, or will the products sit on shelves and collect dust?

» Governments turn to the macroeconomy when budgeting spending, creating taxes, deciding on interest rates and making policy decisions. Macroeconomic analysis broadly focuses on three things: national output (measured by gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment and inflation.

National Output: GDP Output, the most important concept of macroeconomics, refers to the total amount of goods and services a country produces, commonly known as the gross domestic product. The figure is like a snapshot of the economy at a certain point in time. When referring to GDP, macroeconomists tend to use real GDP, which takes inflation into account, as opposed to nominal GDP, which reflects only changes in prices. The nominal GDP figure will be higher if inflation goes up from year to year, so it is not necessarily indicative of higher output levels, only of higher prices. The one drawback of the GDP is that because the information has to be collected after a specified time period has finished, a figure for the GDP today would have to be an estimate. GDP is nonetheless like a stepping stone into macroeconomic analysis. Once a series of figures is collected over a period of time, they can be compared, and economists and investors can begin to decipher the business cycles, which are made up of the alternating periods between economic recessions (slumps) and expansions (booms) that have occurred over time. From there we can begin to look at the reasons why the cycles took place, which could be government policy, consumer behavior or international phenomena, among other things. Of course, these figures can be compared across economies as well. Hence, we can determine which foreign countries are economically strong or weak. Based on what they learn from the past, analysts can then begin to forecast the future state of the economy. It is important to remember that what determines human behavior and ultimately the economy can never be forecasted completely.

Unemployment The unemployment rate tells macroeconomists how many people from the available pool of labor (the labor force) are unable to find work.

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Macroeconomists have come to agree that when the economy has witnessed growth from period to period, which is indicated in the GDP growth rate, unemployment levels tend to be low. This is because with rising (real) GDP levels, we know that output is higher, and, hence, more laborers are needed to keep up with the greater levels of production.

Inflation The third main factor that macroeconomists look at is the inflation rate, or the rate at which prices rise. Inflation is primarily measured in two ways: through the consumer price index (CPI) and the GDP deflator. The CPI gives the current price of a selected basket of goods and services that is updated periodically. The GDP deflator is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP. If nominal GDP is higher than real GDP, we can assume that the prices of goods and services has been rising. Both the CPI and GDP deflator tend to move in the same direction and differ by less than 1%.

Demand and Disposable Income What ultimately determines output is demand. Demand comes from consumers (for investment or savings - residential and business related), from the government (spending on goods and services of federal employees) and from imports and exports. Demand alone, however, will not determine how much is produced. What consumers demand is not necessarily what they can afford to buy, so in order to determine demand, a consumer's disposable income must also be measured. This is the amount of money after taxes left for spending and/ or investment. In order to calculate disposable income, a worker's wages must be quantified as well. Salary is a function of two main components: the minimum sal-

ary for which employees will work and the amount employers are willing to pay in order to keep the worker in employment. Given that the demand and supply go hand in hand, the salary level will suffer in times of high unemployment, and it will prosper when unemployment levels are low. Demand inherently will determine supply (production levels) and an equilibrium will be reached; however, in order to feed demand and supply, money is needed.

Monetary Policy A simple example of monetary policy is the central bank's open-market operations. When there is a need to increase cash in the economy, the central bank will buy government bonds (monetary expansion). These securities allow the central bank to inject the economy with an immediate supply of cash. In turn, interest rates, the cost to borrow money, will be reduced because the demand for the bonds will increase their price and push the interest rate down. In theory, more people and businesses will then buy and invest. Demand for goods and services will rise and, as a result, output will increase. In order to cope with increased levels of production, unemployment levels should fall and wages should rise. On the other hand, when the central bank needs to absorb extra money in the economy, and push inflation levels down, it will sell its T-bills. This will result in higher interest rates (less borrowing, less spending and investment) and less demand, which will ultimately push down price level (inflation) but will also result in less real output.

Fiscal Policy The government can also increase taxes or lower government spending in order to conduct a fiscal contraction. What this will do is lower real output because less government spending means less disposable income for consumers. And, because more of consumers' wages will go to taxes, demand as well as output will decrease.

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A fiscal expansion by the government would mean that taxes are decreased or government spending is increased. Ether way, the result will be growth in real output because the government will stir demand with increased spending. In the meantime, a consumer with more disposable income will be willing to buy more. A government will tend to use a combination of both monetary and fiscal options when setting policies that deal with the macro economy. The performance of the economy is important to all of us. We analyze the macro economy by primarily looking at national output, unemployment and inflation. Although it is consumers who ultimately determine the direction of the economy, governments also influence it through fiscal and monetary policy.

Deflation In the common parlance deflation is an economic situation of falling prices, but in economic theory there is much more to it than just the reducing price level.In economic terms, deflation can be termed as a situation of declining prices, often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit. It can also be caused by the direct contraction in expenditure, including the public expenditure, personal spending or the investment expenditure. This is opposite of inflation and often leads to lower effective demand and increasing unemployment rate in the economy. According to economic theory, price level is the result of functional relationship between demand and supply. To put it simply, the supply being constant, if the demand of the goods and services increases in an economy, the prices are likely to go up and the economy is likely to encounter a situation of inflation. On the other hand, if the supply increases with demand being constant, or the supply increases more than the demand, the prices may fall and such a situation may be referred to as ‘deflation’. In addition to the above demand supply dynam-

ics, the inflation or deflation can also be caused by the reasons of the adequacy or lack of money supply in the country. If the money supply is less, it is a situation of more money chasing lesser goods and services, leading to general rise in prices. On the other hand, if the money supply is more than the supply of goods and services, the situation of fall in prices is generally experienced and is referred to as deflation. Deflation caused by rapid growth of production and manufacturing in the country, causing the supply to go up is good for the economy, as with abundant availability of all goods and services in the economy, the prices go down, resulting in increase in the real income and wealth of all the consumers. Such a situation does not harm the producers also, as they gain by increasing sales volumes. The Great Depression of 1930s was associated with deflation and it is said that the recession coupled with deflation leads the economies to suffer. It is this very concern which is causing anxiety among the economists and the policy makers. But it must be clearly understood that deflation and depression are two different words and situations and should not be taken as synonymous.

Effects on the Economy Temporary fall in prices is not deflation and it is the sustained fall for a considerably long period of time which is a matter of serious concern. It causes the aggregate demand to fall, as due to the falling prices the consumers try to delay the purchases, which in turn reduces economic activity in the economy, thereby accentuating the spiral effect of deflation. The result is that the existing manufacturing capacity of the economy becomes idle, leading to further reduction in aggregate demand and even more reduction in economic activity. If the process continues without any interventions from the government, the economies may move in to a situation of recession. Theoretically speaking, the situation of deflation

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may also lead to a peculiar economic condition known as the ‘liquidity trap’. Generally, the rate of interest in an economy is linked to the rate of inflation. But the situation of deflation may necessitate the interest rates to go down as low as zero. Deflationary times and zero interest rates reduce the economic viability of most of the projects due to tremendously reduced demand and the investors also tend to postpone their new projects. This worsens the situation further. Generally, the deflationary situation encourages people to hold on to their money, mainly because of the reasons like lower aggregate demand for newly produced goods and very low interest rates that discourage the people from keeping money in bank deposits. This causes substantial reduction in the velocity of money i.e. reduction in the number of transactions, dramatically reducing the money supply in the economy, as one man’s expenditure is the income of another. Reduced velocity of money results in reduction of incomes. Deflation results in fall of availability of hard currency per person. This further results in increasing the purchasing power of each unit of currency, as the average price level goes down. Increase in purchasing power may sound beneficial to a layman but actually it may cause hardship to those people whose majority of wealth is kept in nonliquid assets such as real estate, land and buildings. It is thus evident that sustained deflation is a serious cause of worry to the policy makers, as it may lead the economies to recession and, more seriously, to a situation of depression.

Indian Scenario In India, the rate of inflation or deflation is measured on the basis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on weekly basis and then computed for the fiscal years for the purpose of policy monitoring, appraisal and decisions. WPI is an indicative and representative index of the wholesale prices of various commodities produced in the economy.

Consumer Price Index (CPI), on the other hand, is an index of the consumer prices that give 46 per cent weightage to the food items, 15 per cent weightage to the domestic facilities, 6.4 per cent to lighting and fuel and 6.6 per cent to apparel and shoes. The inflation rate in India has suddenly fallen to a level of less than half a per cent and closer to zero in March 2009 onwards and the fears of the Indian economy slipping into a precarious situation of deflation have been expressed by many. But despite extremely lower inflation rate, the prices of food items are still experiencing reasonably higher increase in prices. This, while putting the economically vulnerable sections of society in a disadvantageous position, has also given a glimmer of hope to the policy makers because this phenomenon may gradually stabilize the economy and help it come out of the deflationary pressures early. The economists are in a fix and do not know whether to call this economic situation in the country as deflation or disinflation. While the deflation is persistent fall in price level, disinflation is a situation where the inflation rate goes down. The economic theory provides separate sets of solutions for both the situations and unless the situation is clearly identified and diagnosed, it would be difficult to resolve it. Government agencies in India vehemently deny that there is any fear of deflation in the near future. The International Monetary Fund has projected the annual inflation rate of 1.7 per cent for the Indian economy for 2009-10. This implies that for some part of the year, the economy may experience a brief spell of deflation. Whether or not to call such a situation a deflationary situation, is a matter of argument. The current economic situation is that of disinflation in India. The basis for such a belief is that the economy has grown at the rate of 5.3 per cent in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

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Citigroup has said that the deflationary patch in India is due to high base effect and supply side issues and is likely to be temporary and short-lived in nature. But persistence of such a situation may increase the problems of the economy in the months to follow. Many economists believe that the current situation can be termed as ‘demand deflation’. Both production and the prices are falling down. This would require more targeted fiscal measures, along with stepped up direct government purchases and increased scope of public distribution system. The situation in India may not be as grave as that of sustained deflation. The CPI is still positive and at around 10 per cent; the rural demand for FMCGs is robust and food items are in great demand. The resilience of our economy may not allow the typical deflationary situation to emerge and the current phase may turn out to transient and temporary. Despite the above, the situation needs to be tackled by the Government very carefully.

Infrastructure Like most of the developing countries, Indian economy is also a diversified and resilient in nature. Similarly, like most of the developing countries, huge sums of funds are being spent on the development of infrastructure, both in the private as well as in the public sectors. But, it is felt that the infrastructure spending is shorter than what is ideally required for achieving the required higher growth rate. As per the estimation of the Planning Commission of India, the total requirement of funds for financing the infrastructure requirements during the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) is to the tune of USD 500 billion, which is about 2.5 times of the funds provided for this purpose during the Tenth Five Year Plan. Realizing that the government may not be able to fund the huge requirement for infrastructure projects required to be taken up for rapid growth of the economy, the Union government and various State governments have come up with the

required Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework to facilitate the private participation in the infrastructure sector in a big way. The government has also asked the Infrastructure Investment Finance Company to earmark a corpus of over 8.15 billion US dollars for this purpose. This is in addition to $320 billion to be spent by the government for up-gradation of sea ports, railroads, highways and airports over the next about 15 years. A massive 494 billion dollar investment is proposed in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12), which would increase the share of infrastructure investment in this sector from 5 per cent of the GDP at the beginning of Eleventh Plan to 9 per cent during the Plan. This massive investment in the infrastructure sector is envisaged through huge doses of public spending through several flagship national programmes, as well as through active participation of the private sector in this gigantic effort. To facilitate PPP in infrastructure sectors, the government has not only introduced the model concession agreements but also permitted increased percentages of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in various sectors. Major expansion of infrastructure in the sub-sectors like railways, ports, civil aviation, road, power, telecommunications and housing is planned to be achieved during the plan period. Urban infrastructure is targeted to be strengthened through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewable Mission, while the general rural infrastructure is proposed to be up-graded through implementation of national programmes like Bharat Nirman, Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana, and National Rural Health Mission etc.

Private Participation Policy makers realise that the basic goal of inclusive development laid down for the Eleventh Five Year Plan may not be achieved if the basic infrastructure facilities are not available in the urban as well as rural areas of the country. In this regard, the participation of the private sector is considered to be very important. Partnership with the private sector had been continuing in the country

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during the past several years but there was no defined uniform policy and legal framework till recently. With a view to facilitate the private and foreign investors to pump funds into Indian infrastructure projects, and to standardize the concessions to be extended to the private investors under the PPP, the government of India carried out special workshops in various parts of the country. Main objectives of these workshops were to bring out the developmental relevance of the PPP in the current context, assist interested in the PPP to go ahead, understand and address the concerns of the potential PPP investors, and international experience sharing from successful PPP models across the world. The government of India has set up a PPP cell in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs. It is also felt that many PPP projects may not be economically viable but are essentially required to be executed. For such projects, Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme has been introduced. This is a special facility aimed at supporting such infrastructure projects which are economically and socially justifiable but are not commercially viable. Under the VGF Scheme, upfront assistance upto 20 per cent of the project cost can be sanctioned as grant for such PPP projects. No facilitation is complete without making institutional arrangements for financing. The government of India has set up India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) as a wholly government-owned company to facilitate long-term funding of infrastructure projects. IIFCL provides direct financing, as well as refinancing of such projects in public, private or PPP sector. The government has also paid special attention towards the capacity building at the Central and State levels. Capacity building needs include training of the key personnel, development of standard toolkits, Model Concession Agreements, development of Project Manuals, preparation of standard bidding documents, consultancy support and

project preparation manuals. This effort is also being supported by the Asian Development Bank. Over the past three to four years, the government of India has worked towards creating institutional framework to facilitate it. But at the same time, the overall environment is very important before the private investors commit funds into such projects. Simplicity of government procedures, reduction in corruption level and reduction in time taken for decision making in government are some of the areas of concern that may have to be addressed before the PPP picks up in the country. Efficiency in government as well as enforcement of market-driven tariffs are two other important determinants of the enabling environment.

Precursor to Rapid Growth Infrastructure development has been identified as an effective tool for taking the economy out of the effects of global recession. There has been stiff increase in the proposed expenditure for infrastructure projects particularly in the rural areas. Hefty 31 per cent increase has been proposed in the interim Budget 2009-10 for Bharat Nirman programme, aimed at strengthening the rural infrastructure in the country. This would not only increase the economic activity in the countryside but would also provide the rural people with the required infrastructure and increased employment opportunities. One of the ambitious ongoing infrastructure projects is the Golden Quadrilateral Project, which is aimed at improving the road infrastructure on the highways/expressways connecting major cities of the country. The Project, on completion, would connect the metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata with expressways. It is the largest expressway project of the country, aimed at constructing 5,846 kilometres of six/four lane express highways at a cost of Rs 60,000 crores. Its North South and East West sections are nearing completion while the work on other sections is going on. Road infrastructure, world class telecommunica-

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tions, availability of efficient sea ports and airports, capacity creation in electricity generation and strong rural and urban infrastructure were some of the areas identified for improvement by the policy makers. After the planning stage, it is now the implementation stage and it is expected that within next five to ten years, India would have all the world class infrastructure facilities available.

resultant outcome of this system.

In addition to creation of sustainable infrastructure in the country, the government effort would also result in ensuring huge doses of investment into the economy, including the rural economy, at a time when most of the western and developed markets are reeling under the influence of worldwide recession. Investment in this sector has ensured that the economy grew at 7 per cent during the previous financial year, when the world growth rate was around one per cent. During the current fiscal also, when the world economy is likely to record zero growth rate, Indian economy may still record reasonable growth rate.

The economic system was working to the satisfaction of the government. The social indicators were gradually improving and the number of people below poverty line also declined steadily. The only problem area had been that the growth rate of the economy had been very low, and till late seventies, the growth rate of the GDP was hovering around 3.5 per cent per annum. It was only during mid-eighties that the growth rate touched 5 percentage points.

Financial Sector Reforms in India The period immediately after independence posed a major challenge to the country. Due to centuries of exploitation at the hands of foreign powers, there were very high levels of deprivation in the economy—both social as well as economic. To take up the Herculean task of rapid growth with socio-economic justice, the country adopted the system of planned economic development after independence. Due to paucity of economic resources and limitations of availability of capital for investment, the government also came up with the policy of setting up public enterprises in almost every field. The fiscal activism adopted by the government resulted in large doses of public expenditures for which not only the revenues of the government were utilized but the government also resorted to borrowing at concessional rates, which kept the financial markets underdeveloped. The growth of fiscal deficit also continued unabated year after year. Complex structure of interest rates was a

Nationalisation of major commercial banks in the late sixties and early seventies provided the government with virtually the complete control over the direction of the bank credit. The emphasis was mainly on control and regulation and the market forces had very limited role to play.

The situation became difficult by the eighties. Financial system was considerably stretched and artificially directed and concessional availability of credit with respect to certain sectors resulted in distorting the interest rate mechanism. Lack of professionalism and transparency in the functioning of the public sector banks led to increasing burden of non-performance of their assets. Late eighties and early nineties were characterised by fluid economic situation in the country. War in the Middle East had put tremendous pressure on the dwindling foreign exchange reserves of the country. The country witnessed the worst shortages of the petroleum products. High rate of inflation was another area of serious concern. Most of the economic ailments had resulted due to over regulation of the economy. The international lending and assisting agencies were ready to extend assistance but with the condition that the country went in for structural reforms, decontrols and deregulation, allowing increased role for the market forces of demand and supply. The precarious economic conditions left the country with no alternative other than acceptance of the conditions for introducing the reforms.

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Post Reforms Rationalisation of the taxes has already taken place on the basis of the recommendations of Raja Challiah Committee Report during mid-nineties. The government has been able to tighten its fiscal management through the FRBMA and the continuing increase in the fiscal deficit has been contained significantly. Reforms in the external sector management have yielded results in the form of increased foreign capital inflows in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) and the exchange rate has also represent true international value of Indian rupee vis-à-vis hard global currencies. The primitive foreign exchange regulation regime controlled by FERA has been replaced by a liberalized foreign exchange rate management system introduced by FEMA. Introduction of such a modern management law was perhaps a pre-condition for allowing FDI and FII. In 1993, the RBI issued guidelines to allow the private sector banks to enter the banking sector in the country, a virtual reversal of the policy of bank nationalisation. Foreign banks were also given more liberal entry. The thrust of the monetary policy after the introduction of the process of reforms has been able to develop several instruments of efficient financial management. A Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) was introduced in June 2000 to precisely modulate short-term liquidity and signal shortterm interest rates. A lot of reliance is being placed on indirect instruments of monetary policy. Strengthening and upgradation of the institutional, technological and physical infrastructure in the financial markets has also improved the financial framework in the country.

Economy and Reforms The introduction of financial sector reforms has provided the economy with a lot of resilience and stability. The average annual growth rate of the economy during the post-reform period has been more than 6 per cent, which was unimaginable a

decade before that. The economy withstood boldly the Asian economic crisis of 1997-98. Even the economic sanctions by the US and other developed countries after the nuclear testing did not affect the economy to the extent apprehended. The current global slowdown and sub-prime crisis affecting the banking system all over the world has not impacted the Indian economy to that extent. Banking and insurance sectors are booming. While the private and foreign banks are giving stiff but healthy competition to the public sector banks, resulting in overall improvements in the banking services in the country, the insurance sector has also witnessed transformation. The consumer is a gainer with the availability of much better and diversified insurance products. The stock exchanges in the country are in the process of adopting the best practices all over the world. The RBI has also been able to control and regulate effectively the operations and growth of the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the country. A few changes which are on the anvil pertain to the legal provisions relating to fiscal and budget management, public debt, deposits, insurance etc. As per the Finance Minister, future reforms by making legal changes also pertain to banking regulations, Companies Act, Income Tax, Bankruptcy, negotiable instruments etc. But there are certain issues that call for more cautious approach towards the financial sector reforms in the future. The social sector indicators—like availability of doctor per 1000 population, availability of health institutions, quality of elementary education, literacy rate, particularly among the females—are some of the areas of serious concern. Countries like China, Indonesia and even Sri Lanka are much better than India in most of the social sector indicators. Despite being among the most rapidly developing economies of the world, the literacy rate and pov-

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erty percentage are two biggest embarrassments and the country still languishes at 128th position in the Human Development Index of the UNDP, where it is virtually stagnating for the last about five years. Further, the systems should also be able to check any unusual rise in prices to protect the common man from inflation. One of the major criticisms of the government policy has been that the reforms have lacked the human face, as the government has been over-obsessed with the idea of achieving higher growth rate and fiscal and monetary management, rather than addressing the needs for equitable and inclusive growth. The reforms process has ignored the common man and the trickle down theory has actually failed to deliver. The Planning Commission, while finalising the Eleventh Five-Year Plan has now sought to achieve the overall objective of achieving the ‘inclusive growth’, i.e., to include all those in the process of economic growth, who has remained excluded from the process of economic growth experienced by the country during the past decades.

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