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Feb 19, 2022
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INDO-PACIFIC FOR INDIA
An imminent early harvest trade deal with Australia and the sale of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile systems to the Philippines lend a sharper edge to India’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific.
India and the Indo-Pacific
Informational Warfare:
Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna?
Highlights
What is the early harvest agreement likely to cover?
- A new emphasis on strategic trade liberalization and the turn to military exports should begin to plug two major weaknesses in India’s regional strategy. The two agreements should also widen the focus of India’s Indo-Pacific debate from the current obsession with the nature of India’s partnership with the US and its implications for Delhi’s “strategic autonomy”.
India and the Indo-Pacific
- India’s definition of the Indo-Pacific region stretches from the western coast of North America to the eastern shores of Africa.
- The vast Indo-Pacific region comprises at least 38 countries, shares 44 percent of the world surface area, is home to more than 64 percent of the world’s population, and accounts for 62 percent of the global GDP with more than 50 percent of global trade traversing through its waters.
- The region is highly heterogeneous with countries at different levels of development connected by a common thread of the ocean.
- India’s Indo-Pacific concept as the SAGAR doctrine — ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’, an aspiration that depends on ensuring prosperity for all stakeholder nations, guided by norms and governed by rules, with freedom of navigation.
- In 2019, at the East Asia Summit in Bangkok, India announced the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) to support the building of a rules-based regional architecture centered on seven pillars — maritime security; maritime ecology; maritime resources; capacity building and resource sharing; disaster risk reduction and management; science, technology and academic cooperation; trade, connectivity and maritime transport.
- India’s Indo-Pacific strategy walks on two legs — strengthening its national engagement with the region, and stronger partnerships with like-minded nations. The former elevates India’s salience in the Indo-Pacific and raises Delhi’s value for its partners.
- The Indo-Pacific is emerging as a new area of importance, driven by the common interests and convergences of several strategic powers, each with their own set of influences and ambitions, reflective of three emerging geostrategic and geoeconomics shifts.
- Strategic competition over the next several decades will be dominated by maritime and blue economy.
- The Indo-Pacific covers a diverse and big region that envelopes Southeast Asia, South Asia and the littoral nations of the Indian Ocean.
- The rise of China, its outward expansion and the heightening of the US-China rivalry. The rivalry peaked during the pandemic, with countries jostling to identify partners for long-term strategic and economic cooperation, to go beyond unipolar or bipolar dynamics (US and China) of uncertainty, instability and supply chain risks.
- Delhi’s decision to walk away from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — an Asia-wide free trade agreement — at the end of 2019 and its new emphasis on Atmanirbhar Bharat, or a “self-reliant India”, have generated widespread concerns about India returning to protectionist ways.
- China has been a threat to the Asia Pacific countries and is posing threat to Indian interests in the Indian Ocean as well.
- China has a hold over Hambantota port (Sri Lanka), which is just a few hundred miles off the shores of India.
- China is supplying military equipment to India’s neighbours such as submarines to Myanmar, frigate to Sri Lanka, equipment to Bangladesh and Thailand, thus, in a way, colonising the region.
- China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner and can hardly be side-lined by the entire grouping which further threatens India’s relations with the grouping.
- Amongst the enduring challenges driving the sub-regional geopolitics are, climate change, oceanic degradation, jihadist terrorism, transnational crime, piracy, human trafficking and state/sub-regional fragility.
- The revival of the QUAD and SCRI grouping were motivated by shifts in the regional order in the Indo-Pacific.
- However, the degree of shared ambition among the countries in these groups vary, driven by their outlooks, interests and approaches, specifically on trade liberalisation and membership of multilateral organisations — for instance, Australia and Japan are members of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, APEC, RCEP and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- Economic growth in Indo-Pacific countries can only be revived by sound economic (power, water and transport) and social infrastructure (education and health).
- Private investment in infrastructure must be mobilized. Out of the US$ 50 trillion global stock of capital managed by pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors, only 0.8 percent is allocated to infrastructure.
- India should prioritize creating a full-fledged Ministry of Blue Economy, with an effective institutional mechanism for coordination and leadership.
- This will put all components of a blue economy, including security, maritime budgetary allocation, naval acquisitions, maritime trade, energy needs, transportation, connectivity, fisheries and marine exploration, under a single ambit.
- Sectors like automobiles, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, advance manufacturing, critical minerals, healthcare, education, infrastructure, science and innovation, and technology transfer could offer opportunities for regional recovery and also build substantial intellectual capital to address shared challenges.
- The ‘new normal’ economic diplomacy should seek for balance between competition and cooperation, aspirations and the achievable, and regional and global. It should be navigated on the strong foundation of rules-based collaboration.
- India’s concerted actions in the Indo-Pacific region will determine its evolution as a key player. This requires a reimagination, reform, resolve and resilience based on trust and transparency. It is no longer about rising India, but how India could lead.
Informational Warfare:
- According to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Information Warfare is “an operation conducted in order to gain an information advantage over the opponent.
- It consists in controlling one’s own information space, protecting access to one’s own information, while acquiring and using the opponent’s information, destroying their information systems and disrupting the information flow.”
- Information warfare is a type of non-kinetic warfare and has 4-Ds as its objectives:
- “Dismiss the Critic”;
- “Distort the facts”;
- “Distract from the main issue”; and
- “Dismay the audience”.
- States have been involved in information warfare and psychological warfare since times immemorial.
- Even Kautilya, the military strategist in ancient India, had warned against the obvious use of disinformation during wars.
- In present times, the internet has exacerbated the impact of information warfare on kinetic wars and conflicts, making the nature of war citizen-centric, with blurring lines between the combatants and non-combatants.
- Unlike traditional weapon technologies, development of information-based techniques does not require sizable financial resources or state sponsorship. Information systems expertise and access to important networks may be the only prerequisites.
- Traditional distinctions—public versus private interests, warlike versus criminal behavior—and geographic boundaries, such as those between nations as historically defined, are complicated by the growing interaction within the information infrastructure.
- New information-based techniques may substantially increase the power of deception and of image-manipulation activities, dramatically complicating government efforts to build political support for security-related initiatives.
- Poorly understood strategic IW vulnerabilities and targets diminish the effectiveness of classical intelligence collection and analysis methods. A new field of analysis focused on strategic IW may have to be developed.
- There is currently no adequate tactical warning system for distinguishing between strategic IW attacks and other kinds of cyberspace activities, including espionage or accidents.
- Disinformation narratives should be watched out for, rather expected, in current times of robust information technology.
- Think of narratives as a stream of running water.
- The flow of information should be tracked, and possibly capped while in its initial stages.
- Tracing the origin of information would help, specifically for sensitive topics pertaining to India – Kashmir, the North-East, Human Rights and religious minorities to name a few.
- Field studies in sensitive areas should be undertaken by Indian think tanks, and the reports generated be widely publicized.
- Research centers should be made operational in the said areas, these being of keen interest for the anti-India dissemination networks, thereby whetting the information being generated becomes of paramount importance.
- For spreading awareness (including on Social Media platforms), a network of good Samaritans must be stimulated.
- The perception of Kashmiris, who encourages development and integration, must be well-reflected on social media platforms.
- Likewise, India must create awareness and have a good slogan such as “India Against Disinformation” or “Stop the Fake News” – to facilitate our citizens to post correct information online.
- There is no way India could stop disinformation flow, but through improving communication strategy in the international system, India can reduce the adverse outcomes of the disinformation.
- To be credible, India also needs to formulate narratives supported by videos, images, write-ups, etc., concise and detailed forms by having an independent team with specialists and professionals who will proactively ensure its projections.
- Information is power, disinformation is an abuse of power and there is no end to disinformation. Therefore, diligent repetition of correct information is the key to setting a perception.
- India is a democratic nation; therefore, it must value the advantages of the Internet and Information. However, it should not compromise its national security by giving free-way to disinformation and must reduce its propagation.
- He wrote that sustainable development demanded approaches that were both geologically and ecologically sound.
- Chopra continued that “nature, however, neither forgets nor forgives such willful wrongs inflicted on her treasures. Nature sounded warning bells in June 2013 and February 2021 with disastrous consequences.”
- He called the Himalayas, the ‘marvel of Nature’.
Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna?
- The Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, whose foundation stone was laid in December 2016, seeks to improve connectivity between four pilgrimage sites – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunothri, and Gangothri – in Uttarakhand.
- The Char Dham project will focus on the widening of the existing roads in the region, along with ensuring adequate and sufficient slope protection.
- The entire length of the highways will be two-laned with paved shoulders and with a minimum width of 10 meters, the government has announced.
- The projects also include mitigation measures/ stabilization of chronic landslide & sinking spots/zones as standalone project or part of road widening projects to avoid land slide and safety of road users.
- Bio engineering methods like hydro seeding are being used for vegetative growth on fragile slopes for their stability. All these measures shall safeguard the highway and habitation against natural calamity.
- The improved road connectivity, which seeks to develop and widen these roads, will make travel safer, economical, comfortable, environmentally friendly, and all-weather.
- Wider roads are required in the Char Dham region in order to transport crucial military equipment to the mountainous territory, which is adjacent to the India-China border.
- It will boost the economy and industries related to travel in Uttrakhand.
- It will develop the trust and security between pilgrims and travellers for a safe journey.
- New jobs help local folks to make them financially strong which will decrease the cases of migration.
- The existence of river slopes depends on the vegetal cover. These slopes become fragile for flush floods and landslides in the absence of vegetal cover.
- A significant portion of the project area falls under the dry deciduous biome along the dry slopes of the rivers. Ruthless harvesting or uprooting of vegetation in the widening of roads can prove to be perilous for biodiversity and regional ecology.
- Forest loss is among the major impacts of project — about 508.66 hectares of forest area would be diverted into the non-forestry purpose and 33,000-43,000 trees would be cut down to build roads.
- The loss of forest will reduce the probability of maintaining effective reproductive units of plant and animal populations.
- This will increase wastage and garbage in the region which directly pollutes the rivers.
- Increase in number of vehicles further led to melting of glaciers, due to increase in temperature of the region.
- Known as Devabhumi, Uttarakhand is famous for its noted temples and heavenly destinations. Char Dham Yatra and Hemkund Sahib yatra are the backbones of Uttarakhand tourism and economy. This project will play a vital role in travel safety and the development of the state.
- Despite many concerns associated with it, security and national interest cannot be ignored. Steps like bio-engineering and many steps to curb cases of national calamities.
- In December 2021, the Jharkhand Personnel, Administrative Reforms, and Rajbhasha Department issued a notification to include Magahi, Bhojpuri, and Angika among others as regional languages in the district-level selection process through exams conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
- The notification triggered resentment in a section of people especially in Bokaro and Dhanbad, who saw the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi as an “infringement” on the rights of Adivasis and Moolvasis.
- The protesters argue that the “low population” of Magahi and Bhojpuri speakers in these two districts did not “warrant” the inclusion of these languages in the job selection process.
- Anecdotal evidence suggests there is a relatively small number of Magahi- and Bhojpuri-speaking people in these districts; however, no precise data is available.
- Eligibility requirements are relatively modest, and the exams will be held for appointments to lower-level jobs in the districts.
- The notification is for the selection of matriculation- (Class 10) and Intermediate- (Class 12) pass candidates at the district level through JSSC examinations.
- It is not applicable to the selection process at the level of the state.
- It would be the first time that the exams would have Bhojpuri, Angika, and Magahi as language papers, and the government was expected to announce details of the weightage and marks.
- The cases have been linked to travel to west African countries.
- The Lassa virus is named after a town in Nigeria where the first cases were discovered.
- The death rate associated with this disease is low, at around one per cent.
- But the death rate is higher for certain individuals, such as pregnant women in their third trimester.
- According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, about 80 per cent of the cases are asymptomatic and therefore remain undiagnosed.
- Some patients may need to be hospitalized and develop severe multi-system disease.
- Fifteen per cent of the hospitalized patients may die.
- The Lassa fever-causing virus is found in West Africa and was first discovered in 1969 in Lassa, Nigeria, the Centers for Disease Control and Pollution (CDC) notes.
- The discovery of this disease was made after two nurses died in Nigeria.
- The fever is spread by rats and is primarily found in countries in West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Nigeria where it is endemic.
- A person can become infected if they come in contact with household items of food that is contaminated with the urine or feces of an infected rat.
- It can also be spread if a person comes in contact with a sick person’s infected bodily fluids or through mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose or the mouth.
- Person-to-person transmission is more common in healthcare settings.
- Symptoms typically appear 1-3 weeks after exposure.
- Mild symptoms include slight fever, fatigue, weakness and headache and more serious symptoms include bleeding, difficulty breathing, vomiting, facial swelling, pain in the chest, back, and abdomen and shock.
- Death can occur from two weeks of the onset of symptoms, usually as a result of multi-organ failure.
- The CDC notes that the most common complication associated with fever is deafness.
- Nearly one-third of those infected report various degrees of deafness. In many such cases, the hearing loss can be permanent.
- Significantly, deafness can occur in both mild as well as severe presentations of the fever.
Highlights
- The companies said that the joint venture will use multi-orbit space networks.
- It is a combination of GEO (geostationary equatorial orbit) and MEO (medium earth orbit) satellite constellations.
- It is capable of delivering multi-gigabit links and capacity to enterprises, mobile backhaul and retail customers across the length and breadth of India and neighbouring regions.
- The joint venture will be the vehicle for providing SES’s satellite data and connectivity services in India, except for certain international aeronautical and maritime customers who may be served by SES.
- It will have availability of up to 100 Gbps capacity from SES and will leverage Jio’s sales reach in India to unlock this market opportunity.
- As part of the investment plan, the joint venture will develop extensive gateway infrastructure in India to provide services within the country.
- GEO is also called geosynchronous (or synchronous) orbits, which have 23 h, 56 min., 4.091s, or 24 hours period of revolution but are inclined with respect to the equator.
- Orbits that are below a mean altitude of about 35,784 km have periods of revolution shorter than 24 hours and hence are termed as non-GEO.
- GEO satellite has the ability to provide coverage of an entire hemisphere at one time.
- Satellites are designed to last only about 15 years in orbit, because of the practical inability to service a satellite in GEO and replenish consumables (Fuel, battery cells, and degraded and failed components).
- An MEO satellite is in orbit somewhere between 8,000 km and 18,000 km above the earth’s surface.
- MEO satellites are similar to LEO satellites in functionality.
- The MEO satellites are visible for much longer periods of time than LEO satellites, usually between 2 to 8 hours.
- MEO satellites have a larger coverage area than LEO satellites.
- LEO satellites are much closer to the earth than GEO satellites, ranging from 500 to 1,500 km above the surface.
- LEO satellites don’t stay in a fixed position relative to the surface and are only visible for 15 to 20 minutes each pass.
- A network of LEO satellites is necessary for LEO satellites to be useful.
- GEO and LEO satellites are considered to be the two extremes in satellite communications.
- While GEO satellites provide a larger coverage and therefore only three satellites can cover the whole earth, hundreds of LEO satellites are needed to provide coverage to a larger area.
- LEO satellites are smaller and are cheaper to launch than GEOs or MEOs.
- For MEO satellites, on the other hand, while a simple equatorial orbit covers 96 per cent of the global population, it shares some disadvantages of GEO satellites such as the need for a high inclined antenna for locations away from the equator.
What is the early harvest agreement likely to cover?
- An interim or early harvest trade agreement is used to liberalize tariffs on the trade of certain goods between two countries or trading blocs before a comprehensive FTA is concluded.
- The interim agreement will cover “most areas of interest for both countries” including goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and customs procedures.
- Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at about $12.5 billion in FY21 and has already surpassed $17.7 billion in the first 10 months of FY22.
- India has imported merchandise worth about $12.1 billion from Australia in the first 10 months of the fiscal and has exported merchandise worth $5.6 billion in the same period.
- Key imports from Australia include coal, gold and LNG while key exports to the country from India include diesel, petrol and gems and jewellery.
- The agreement with Australia was set to bring opportunities across sectors including mining, pharmaceuticals, health, education, renewables, railways, gems and jewellery, tourism, defence and textiles.
- India is also likely to seek easier visa access for both students and professionals visiting Australia.
- Australia is likely to seek market access for wines and agricultural products which are not produced on a large scale in India.
- The agreement would lead to deeper cooperation between the two countries in critical minerals and rare earth elements which are critical to future industries including renewable energy and electric vehicles.
- India and Australia are both members of the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) along with the US and Japan.
- Both countries have noted that the coalition has given impetus to increasing trade relations between all members of the Quad.
- Australia noted that it already had FTAs with both the US and Japan and that all four countries could start building a framework for economic cooperation within the countries of the Quad after they announced a deal with India.
- India is currently in the process of negotiating FTAs with the UAE, the UK, Canada, the EU and Israel, besides Australia.
- India is also looking to complete an early harvest agreement with the UAE and the UK in the first half of 2022.
- The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry has said that this will benefit the domestic edible oil refiners and also check prices of cooking oils.
- After reduction of the agri-cess, the import tax gap between CPO and Refined Palm Oil has increased to 8.25%.
- The increase in the gap between the CPO and Refined Palm Oil will benefit the domestic refining industry to import crude oil for refining.
- The rate of import duty on Refined Palm Oils at 12.5%, Refined Soyabean oil and Refined Sunflower Oil at 17.5% will remain in force up to 30th September, 2022.
- This measure will help in cooling down the prices of edible oils which are witnessing an upward trend in the international market due to lower availability and other international factors.
- A cess is a form of tax levied by the government on tax with specific purposes till the time the government gets enough money for that purpose.
- Different from the usual taxes and duties like excise and personal income tax, a cess is imposed as an additional tax besides the existing tax (tax on tax).
- For example, the Swachh Bharat cess is levied by the government for cleanliness activities that it is undertaking across India.
- A cess, generally paid by everyday public, is added to their basic tax liability paid as part of total tax paid.
- A cess is different from taxes as it is imposed as an additional tax besides the existing tax (tax on tax).
- The Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) is a tax that the government imposes on the commercial production of agricultural produce.
- The rate charged depends on the production capacity.
- The money that the government will collect through this cess is used for infrastructure development in agriculture across the country.
- The purpose of the new AIDC is to raise funds to finance spending on developing agriculture infrastructure.
- The AIDC is proposed to be used to improve agricultural infrastructure aimed at not only boosting production but also in helping conserve and process farm output efficiently.
- It has breached the upper tolerance level of the medium-term inflation target of 4+/-2 per cent set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- The rise was mainly on account of high food inflation, which jumped to a 14-month high of 5.43 per cent, along with an unfavourable base.
- Inflation at the wholesale level in January softened to 12.96 per cent from 13.56 per cent a month ago but marked the tenth consecutive month of being in double digits.
- There was a delicate balance between inflation and growth and the Reserve Bank was fully aware of its commitment to inflation.
- Wholesale food inflation was, however, at a 24-month high of 9.6 per cent.
- Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rate is reflective of the price pressures on the inputs side and of manufacturers passing on the higher input costs to their output prices.
- The rise in CPI inflation during October-December is mainly on account of the statistical effect of a low base.
- The RBI had projected India’s average inflation to soften to 4.5 per cent in 2022-23, down from an estimated 5.3 per cent in 2021-22.
- The RBI’s inflation projections are “robust” but contingent on downside and upside risks associated with the movement of global crude oil prices.
- The RBI has projected 5.3 per cent retail inflation for FY22, with Q4 inflation seen at 5.7 per cent before easing to 4.9 per cent in Q1 FY23.
- The MPC notes that inflation is likely to moderate in H1:2022-23 and move closer to the target rate thereafter, providing room to remain accommodative.
- He also expressed that they can (and if allowed most likely will) wreck the currency system, the monetary authority, the banking system, and in general the Government’s ability to control the economy.
- They threaten the financial sovereignty of a country and make it susceptible to strategic manipulation by private corporates creating these currencies or Governments that control them.
- He said increased acceptance of cryptocurrencies would result in effective ‘Dollarization’ of our economy.
- Dollarization would undermine the ability of authorities to control money supply or interest rates, as monetary policy would not have any impact on the non-Rupee currencies or payment instrument.
- India loses not just its currency, a defining feature of its sovereignty, but its policy control of the economy.
- A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors.
- A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam which generates returns for earlier investors with money taken from later investors.
- This is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based on using new investors' funds to pay the earlier backers.
- Both Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes eventually bottom out when the flood of new investors dries up and there isn't enough money to go around.
POSTED ON 19-02-2022 BY ADMIN
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