Foreign Policy

In this article , we will  deal with topic titled ‘The Foreign Policy of India after Independence.’

 

• Mainly Nehruvian Policy is part of Post Independence syllabus
• Main pillars of Nehruvian Foreign Policy
  • World Peace
  • Help Colonies in their struggle against Imperialism
  • Securing national interests ie economic development and growth
  • Peaceful Co-existence of nations with different ideologies

 

 

 

Non Aligned Movement

Concept	It is misunderstood as neutrality. But in broad terms , it refers to the freedom to decide each issue on the basis of it’s merit and then to take a stand .
Objectives	Four broad objectives of NAM are World Peace Fighting against Social injustice and exploitation Economic growth and development To face the challenges confronting the world
Reasons behind emergence	After World War 2, world was divided into two power blocks. According to Nehru , newly independent nations would gain nothing by allying with any  block. Hence, in order to restore peace and to symbolise the struggle of nations, to ensure sovereignty and independence, NAM was introduced   NAM also served the purpose of democratization of International Relations
Emergence of NAM	Events leading to it Brussel Conference , 1927 It was attended by all the Colonial Countries with purpose of uniting economically and politically to raise voice wrt Right of Self Assertion   Delhi Conference, 1947 Purpose was to establish Asian Independence and it’s recognition at world stage .   Reoccupation of Indonesia by Dutch, 1948 Nehru called conference and declared that all the facilities provided to Dutch shipping would be abrogated . This created pressure and Indonesian independence was restored   Korean War, 1955 When North Korea attacked South, India gave support to US to declare Korea as aggressor . But India refused to be part of Joint Command to push back North Korean forces  due to it’s adherence to non-interference in internal affairs .   Bandung Conference, 1955 It was the first Afro-Asian Conference which took place in Indonesia where the principles of Panchsheel Policies were laid down Peaceful Co-existence Non Interference in internal matters Respect for integrity and sovereignty Equality and Mutual Benefit Non-Aggression Suez Canal Crisis, 1956 There was a formula suggested by India which included Egyptian control on Suez Canal Advisory role for the users and settlement of disputes in accordance with UN Charter   Hungry Issue , 1958 India condemned the Soviet aggression (but refused to sign the formal condemnation)   Congo Conflict, 1960 India urged UN to play a decisive part , get rid of foreign troops , end the civil war and restore the Government   Belgrade Conference At the Belgrade Conference, NAM got politically recognised
Criticism by Western powers	Former U.S.A. secretary of state, John Foster Dulles accused the non alignment movement with the charge of “immoral neutrality”   Nehru rebated the charge of Dulles, by saying that Non alignment meant having the freedom to decide each issue on its merits, to understand what was right or wrong, and then take a stand in favour of right.
Question	Critically analyse the statement ‘NAM is not immoral neutrality’ in the context of the role played by India in the international affairs during Nehruvian Era.

 

 

 

 

Indo-China War, 1962

India was the first country to recognise People’s Republic of China and Nehru had great affliation with China due to common historical experiences and common problem of poverty and underdevelopment India’s support to China was evident in Korean war and also 1954 treaty in which India recognised China’s Right over Tibet and the two countries aggreed to be gòverned in their mutual relation by Panchsheel.   Indo-China Issues Border dispute wrt Aksai Chin and McMohan Line Revolt in Tibet in 1959 and asylum to Dalai Lama (however, he was denied to carry out any political activities) Forward Policy by India around McMohan Line (precipitating factor) => As a result, China attacked India and the war continued for One month . However, post that China declared unilateral ceasefire. But by that time, India lost the war in all the capacities.     Analysis of the war It was the biggest blow to India’s self respect which affected the dynamics of politics both within India and at global level. Eg : Nehru faced the first No-Confidence Motion in 1963 and India’s relation with other countries were also impacted Nehru was blamed for not being able to guard nation’s interest as against Communist betrayal . But for some , it was Nehru’s stubborness to not settle the border dispute with China and going ahead with forward policy which antagonised China. Resources for the economic development and third five year plan were diverted for defence However, later analysis believes that the cause of war was more related to China’s compulsion . Eg Impact global stature of India as a leader of Afro-Asian newly independent nations Soviet support to India Border disputes with India , To topple Nehru and discredit his NAM Policy and more because of Sino-Soviet differences

 

 

Relations with Pakistan

Kashmir Issue : Already studied   Both the government worked together to restore the abducted women to their original families   Long term dispute of river water sharing was resolved –with world Bank’s mediation and India-Pakistan Indus Water Treaty was signed by Nehru and General Ayub Khan in 1960.

The Congress System

In this article , we will  deal with topic titled ‘The Congress System in India after Independence.’

 

In the initial three general elections, the congress gained overwhelming majority. The congress won three out of every four seats . We will discuss how Congress was able to achieve it.

 

 

One Party Dominance

Congress emerged as the single dominant party in India but it was different from One Party Dominance in other countries like China , USSR etc where constitution allowed just one party.   Reasons why Congress emerged as Single Dominant Party within India Congress was the main party  fighting for freedom struggle movement . It had inherited the legacy of Indian National Congress Movements and their stalwart leaders. Due to their strong organizational network throughout the country, it reached out to the masses instantly . It was impossible for other political parties to organize themselves in such a short time . Congress was an ideological coalition. It accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre   => Noted political scientist, Rajni Kothari termed this period of Indian Politics as “The Congress system”

 

 

 

Emergence of Opposition Parties

As the ability of congress to accommodate all interests and all aspirants for political hour steadily declined, other political parties started gaining greater significance.     Socialist Party Roots of Socialist Party lay in Congress Socialist Party formed in 1934 Later after independence, the congress party had changed the rule regarding dual membership and barred the C.S.P members with congress’s membership. This situation compelled CSP leaders to form separate Socialist Party in 1948. Socialist party leaders criticized congress for favouring capitalists and landlord and ignoring teaming masses like workers, peasants. Socialist party was in big dilemma when the congress party in 1955 declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society. In such scenario, their leader Ashok Mehta offered limited cooperation with the congress.  Many faction emerged from the split and union of the socialist party viz. Kisan Mazdoor Praja party, Praja Socialist party, Samyukta Socialist Party     Bhartiya Jan Sangh Formed in 1951  by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and trace its roots with RSS & Hindu Mahasabha Emphasised the idea of ‘ONE COUNTRY, ONE CULTURE AND ONE NATION‘ BJP in traces its origin to BJS     Communist Party of India Took inspiration from Bolshevik Revolution . Communists believed in violent uprising, as they thought transfer of power was not genuine. Very few people believed in their ideology and they got crushed by the armed force. They later abandoned violent means and participated in general elections and emerged as second largest opposition party. It had well organized dedicated cadre and healthy machinery to run political party. stalwart leaders included A.K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh and P. Sundarrya.     Swatantra Party Swatantra party was formed in August 1959 after Nagpur resolution of the Congress which called for land ceilings, takeover of food grain trade by the state, adoption of cooperative farming. They didn’t believe this resolution. The party believed lesser involvement of the government in economy. It opposed the development strategy of state intervention in economy, central planning, nationalization, Public sector. They opposed progressive tax regime, demanded dismantling of license Raj. It was critical of non-alignment policy and friendly relations with the Soviet Union and advocated closer ties with the U.S.A. The industrialist and big landlords had supported this party. This party has a very limited influence, lacked dedicated cadres, so it didn’t perform well. The stalwart of party were C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Munshi, N.G. Ranga and Minoo Masani.

Democracy in India

In this article , we will  deal with topic titled ‘Democracy in India after Independence.’

 

• In India, view of leaders was different from leaders of other countries which gained independence post World War 2
  • World : National Unity was declared to be priority which couldn’t be sustained with democracy as it would bring differences and conflicts
  • India : In-spite of problems like illiteracy , poverty and diversity, our leaders choose Democracy to be main pillar

 

• On 26 Jan 1950, India adopted Constitution. New democratically elected government was need of the hour and for this  election commission of India was set up in January 1950 with a constitutional provision to conduct free and fair elections. Sukumar Sen became the first Chief Election Commissioner.

 

• India has adopted universal adult franchise model of democracy where any person with prescribed condition of age, could vote without any form of discrimination.

 

Many problems were faced by Election Commission

• No election on this scale had ever been conducted in the world before. At that time there were 17 crores eligible voters
• Only 15% of these eligible voters were literate.
• caste ridden, multi religious  and backward society  where voters were prone to vote on irrational basis

 

 

Steps taken by Election Commission of India (ECI)

• Due to illiteracy , Election Commission devised special method of voting – candidates were to be identified by symbols, assigned to each major party and independent candidates, painted on the ballot papers in the box assigned to a particular candidate and ballot was secret.
• Over 224000 polling booths, one for almost every 1000 voters were constructed and equipped with over 2.5 million steel ballot boxes one box for every candidate. Nearly 620,000,000 ballot papers were printed.
• Stable conditions were created for free participation of opposition parties in elections including Jan Sangh & communist party of India (CPI)
• Election Commission trained over 3 lakhs officers and polling staff to conduct the election

 

People’s response to the new political order was tremendous. At certain places, people treated polling as a festival wearing festive clothes, women wearing their jewelry. Despite higher percentage of poverty and illiteracy, the number of invalid votes cast was as low as 0.3% to 0.4%. A remarkable feature was the wide participation of women: at least 40% of women eligible to vote did so.  When the elections results were declared, it was realized that nearly 46% of the eligible voters had cast their vote.

 

 

Result of first elections

• Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 364 seats with 45% of total polled votes for Lok Sabha
• Congress formed all the government in all the states and at the centre too. It did not get a majority on its own in four states–Madras, Travancore-Cochin, Orissa, PEPSU but formed governments even there with the help of independents and smaller local parties which then merged with it.
• Communist performance was big surprise and it emerged as the second largest group in the Lok Sabha.
• Princes and big landlords still wielded a great deal of influence in some parts of the country. Their party Gantantra Parishad won 31 seats in Orissa Assembly.
• Despite the numerically dominant position of the congress, the opposition was quite effective in parliament

 

 

Side Note

• During Nehru Period, In 1957, the communist were able to form a government in Kerala, which was the first democratically elected communist government anywhere in the world.

Tribal Consolidation

In this article , we will look deal with topic titled ‘Tribal Consolidation in India after Independence.’

 

Phases

At the time of Independence, Tribal Consolidation was one of the major Issue . Tribes were very important because already we were suffering the issue of Territorial Integration and Tribal areas constituted substantial area of India’s territory.

 

Phase 1 : Pre British

• Policy of Non-Interference
• Tribals were following their own customary laws and traditions and were self sufficient remaining isolated from the outside world .

 

Phase 2 : British Rule 

Radical Transformation happened

• Traditional Livelihood suffered due to invasion of colonial machinery and Dikus. Britishers forced them to abandon Jhum Agriculture and practice Settled Agriculture
• Culture : Forest wasn’t just their source of livelihood but part of their culture as well + Christian Missionaries trying to convert them to Christianity
• Relation with forest altered : Britishers were interested in the wood and due to this they passed various Forest Laws making it illegal for Tribals to gather resources or cut wood from these forests

 

Phase 3 : Post Independence

At time of Independence, there were majorly two approaches wrt Tribals in India ie Isolationist approach and Assimilationist approach . However, Nehru rejected both these approaches as isolation is not desirable

Different approaches

Isolation	By Verrier Elwin Just leave them on their own as they were before advent of British rule
Assimilation	By GS Ghurye Tribals are just backward hindus who need to be assimilated in Hindu fold
Integration	Envisaged in Tribal Panchsheel Policy by JL Nehru Nehru rejected both of the above approaches as isolation is not desirable and assimilation would lead to loss of social and cultural identity of tribals . Hence he gave the Panchsheel policy Tribal should develop along the line of their own genious Tribal rights in land and forest should be respected Promotion of tribal languages No over administration Tribal assistance should be seeked in managing polity and administration   To give effect to the Panchsheel policy, following provisions were introduced Reservation of seats for Tribals Setting up of Tribal Advisory Councils Commissioner for STs was appointed to investigate whether the safeguards provided to them are properly observed or not Provision of 5th and 6th Schedule Article 46 : State should promote with special care the educational and economic interest of Tribal People and should protect them from social injustice and exploitation PESA (Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act) Forest Right Act , 2006

 

Side Topic : Forest Right Act, 2006

• It is a framework to ensure local self governance
• It guarantees following rights  (TURFm)
• • • • Title Rights : the right in the land is granted to STs and the people who are residing there for 75 years but don’t have documents (maximum 4 hectare)
      • Right of use of resources. Eg : Minor Forest Produce (honey, herbs etc) , Common Property Resource etc
      • Relief and Developmental Rights : in case of any displacement of tribals , proper relief packages should be given
      • Forest Management Rights 

• Issues wrt Forest Right Act
• • • • Task of documenting the claims of communities is very tedious
      • Reluctance on the part of bureaucracy
      • Narrow interpretation of the law
      • Opposition from wildlife conservationists

• Way forward
• • • Political will should be there
    • Devolution of fund, functions and functionaries
    • Awareness among the tribals about their rights

 

 

Issues wrt Tribals

Irrespective of Government efforts , Tribal progress has remained dismal due to

• weak execution of policies and ineffectiveness of state government in administering the policies
• misappropriation of funds
• ineffective functioning of Tribal Advisory Council
• lack of awareness among tribals wrt their rights and entitlements
• evasion of laws
• Deforestation
• neglect of primary education in tribal languages
• emergence of class differences among tribes due to unequal distribution of benefits of affirmative action
• Retreatment of tribals into inaccessible stretches due to loss of land, culture , forest rights etc

 

 

Xaxa Committee

The Committee was setup in 2013 to study socio-economic, health and educational status of tribals  and also to suggest policy initiatives and interventions for tribal upliftment Following are the suggestions Gram Sabha’s power needs to be increased wrt land alienation Mining rights needs to be given to the tribal cooperatives (eg : Andra Model of Tribal Cooperatives for Mining) Unused land should be acquired and used for tribal rehabilitation Impose penalties on officials for delayed implementation of FRA or PESA Appoint judicial commissions to investigate Naxal cases against tribals and their supporters Instead of large dams, small sized water harvesting should be created

Official Language Issue

In this article , we will look deal with topic titled ‘Official Language Issue in India after Independence.’

 

 

• Our leadership was very clear that India cant have any language as national language since it would lead to curbing the diversity vis a vis language.  However, in order to carry out Official Tasks , there was a need of Official Language.
• There were majorly two contenders
  • Hindi
  • English

Despite the richness , English language (eg : it was language of diplomacy, international commerce etc) it occupied a very unnatural place in India due to unequal relationship with Britishers . Hence,  our Constitution declared Hindi in Devanagari Script along with Roman Numerals will be our Official Language and English will continue as Associate Official language till 1965 .

 

• Issue of the time-frame for a shift from English to Hindi produced a divide between Hindi & non Hindi areas.
  • Proponents of Hindi wanted immediate switch over
  • Non Hindi areas advocated retention of English for a long if not indefinite period.

Nehru was in favor of making Hindi the official language, but he also favored English to be continuing as an additional official language.

 

• Due to the over-zealous attitude of Hindi language proponents to Sanskritise the language on the name of purity led to the emergence of Supra-State Regionalism wrt language. Hence, to contain these riots and violent activities, 1963 Official Language Act was passed . According to this act, English may continue as the official language post 1965. However, this may clause created apprehension among the South Indian states and finally the issue was addressed with the passage of 1967 amendment to Official Language Act according to which the Veto power was given to South Indian States wrt English as Associate Official Language.

 

Question

1. Implementation of language provision in the constitution proved to be a formidable task even though Congress was in power all over the country. In this regard , discuss the challenges and the manner in which the language issue was resolved .

Rehabilitation of Refugees

In this article , we will look deal with topic titled ‘Rehabilitation of Refugees in India after Independence.’

 

Due to ‘Two Nation Theory’ India was divided on religious basis resulting in

• • Mass exodus of Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan (80 lakh people migrated)
  • Brutal killings, atrocities, rapes, on both sides of the border . In many cases women were killed by their own family members to preserve the ‘family honor’.  (10 lakh people killed)

 

How Government settled these refugees

• India had to rehabilitate nearly six million refugees from Pakistan.
• Department of Rehabilitation was created.
• Various refugee camps were set up some notable being camp at Kurukshetra (for Punjab Refugees) and Kolwada camp at Bombay (Sindh Refugees).
• Camps such as Kurukshetra were but a holding operation. The refugees had to be found permanent homes and productive work. Thus refugees required land for permanent settlement.

 

Settling farmers

Leading the operations was the director general of rehabilitation, Sardar Tarlok Singh of the Indian Civil Service. A graduate of the London School of Economics, Tarlok Singh used his academic training to good effect

• Now commenced ‘the biggest land resettlement operation in the world’. But there were problems
  • Against 2.7 million hectares abandoned by Hindus and Sikhs in West Punjab, there were only 1.9 million hectares left behind by Muslims in East Punjab.
  • Areas in the west of the province (now gone to Pakistani Punjab) had richer soils, and were more abundantly irrigated.
• To begin with, each family of refugee farmers was given an allotment of four hectares, regardless of its holding in Pakistan. Loans were advanced to buy seed and equipment.
• Applications were invited for permanent allotments. Each family was asked to submit evidence of how much land it had left behind. These claims were then verified in open assemblies consisting of other migrants from the same village. Expectedly, many refugees were at first prone to exaggeration. However, every false claim was punished
• The rehabilitation on East took years and it was more difficult because of constant exodus of Hindus from East Bengal continued for years.

Indian Diaspora and Issues

This article deals with ‘Indian Diaspora and Issues – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

What is meant by Diaspora?

• Indian Diaspora is a generic term to describe the people who
  • migrated from territories that are currently within the borders of the Republic of India.
  • It also refers to their descendants. 
• Diaspora is currently estimated to number over 26 million, composed of “NRIs” (Indian citizens not residing in India) and “PIOs” (Persons of Indian Origin who have acquired the citizenship of some other country).

Distribution

• India has the second largest (first being China) Diaspora in the world.
• The overseas Indian community estimated at over 26 million is spread across every major region in the world. The major concentration of Indian diaspora is in Middle East (11 Million) , U.S.A, U.K, Canada, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa respectively.

Trends of Indian Diaspora

• Overseas Indian community is the result of different waves of migration over hundreds of years driven by a variety of reasons-mercantilism, colonialism and globalization. 

Changing nature

• British times => Indentured Labour to Fiji, Kenya, West Indies, Mauritius etc
• In the last three decades of the 20th century the character of migration began to change and a ‘new Diaspora’ led by
  • High skilled professionals moving to the western world
  • Semi-skilled contract workers moving to the Gulf, West and South East Asia emerged.

View of Various leaders towards Diaspora

JL Nehru	Although we want to maintain close relationship with Indian Diaspora but Diaspora should re-affirm their commitment to Country they are settled in and integrate themselves in that country
Present	Since 2002 (since formation of Singhavi Committee) , Indian government has started to view Diaspora as their important asset which can help in foreign policy and safeguarding Indian interests abroad.

Earlier Government viewed Diaspora as burdensome & refused to help them in various crisis

• 1964 Myanmar crisis when 3 lakh India businessmen expelled & their businesses nationalised
• 1972 : When 70,000 Indians faced  persecution in Uganda by Idi Amin regime

Role of Indian Diaspora in development of country they are settled in

• They have also contributed to the growth and development of the country of their residence. For example, Silicon Valley represents the success of Indians. 4 out of 10 startups in the region are Indian.
• Becoming important part of Government and political establishments and helping in nation building  .
  • Canadian Government has 4 Ministers (including Defence Minister of Indian Origin)
  • More than dozen MPs in UK are of Indian origin
  • US representative to UN (Nikki Halley (Randhawa)) is of Indian Origin
  • Portugual PM Dr Coasta is of Indian (Goa) origin (he was Chief Guest at 2017 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas held in Bangaluru)
  • Leo Varadkar – Former Ireland PM

How they help India

They help Home Country ie India in various ways. Instances are 

• It is the source of large inflows of remittances, which has been helping balance the current account. According to the World Bank Indian diaspora sends highest amount of remittances back home (followed by China)
• During Indo-US Nuclear Deal, US Indians played part in lobbying for India
• Many Indians invest in philanthropic activities back in India especially in their AlmaMater
• Mauritian President is generally of Indian Origin and always act as important ally in Indian Ocean. China has not been able to make deep inroads in Mauritius .
• They are investing in Indian . States to which they belong try to woo them . Eg : Punjab organises Progressive Punjab Summit and Punjabi NRIs are given special invitation for doing investments
• Help to re-develop after disasters . Eg :
  • Kerala Diaspora helped Kerala during 2018 floods
  • UAE government proposed to give ₹700 crore to Kerala recognising the contribution of Keralites in building UAE & their importance in country and economy

Remittances send by Indians 

Remittances : World Bank Ranking

India	72 (billion $)
China	64
Philippines	30
Mexico	22
Nigeria	21

Major Issues

• Dual Citizenship: Majority of Indian diaspora want to retain their Indian citizenship along with the citizenship of the country of their residence.

• Customs and Immigration Official Issues : The commonest grievance of the Diaspora is the ill treatment, harassment and the demands for illegal gratification it encounters at the hands of our customs and immigration officials at the points of entry.

• Threat to their employment (Nitaqat Law): It is aims to replacing a large section of overseas workers with locals in Saudi Arabia. Because of this, overseas workers from Kerala, TN etc. affected.

• Threat to their security by IS: In view of the recent cases of violence in the Middle East, there has emerged a new threat the very security of oversees workers in the region. For example, the recent kidnapping of Indian workers by IS group.

• Evacuation from War Zones : Explained Below

Side Topic : Evacuation of Indians

• Various Evacuations done by Government till now

2016	Sankat Mochan	From South Sudan (Civil War going on in South Sudan)
2015	Raahat	Yemen (Civil War between Government and Houthi Rebels )
2011	Op Safe Home Coming	Libya (Civil War after Arab Spring)
2006	Sukoon	Lebanon
1990	——-	From Kuwait (Airlift movie made on this)

Do we need Evacuation Policy / Doctrine

• India has conducted more than 30 evacuation operations across Africa, Asia, and Europe, including its largest-ever civilian airlift of 110,000 people from the Persian Gulf in 1990. However , India does not have a comprehensive evacuation policy to evacuate Indian stranded in conflict zone.

Why We need Evacuation Policy

• US, UK, and the NATO have institutionalised Non-Combatant Evacuation operations (NEO) doctrine. Among the developing countries, Brazil too has institutionalised a standard operating procedure (SOP).
• India has more than 25 million strong Diaspora and in that  11 million Indians are in West Asia which is becoming unstable with growth of ISIS   
• Fast Reaction : Whenever such situation arives, Government and Officials can take steps at earliest to save Life of Indians.
• Will establish clear chain of command and in case of failure , responsibility can be properly expressed

How to make and what it can include

• Take lessons from  India’s  previous Evacuation Operations  and best practices  along with Evacuation Plans of US, UK, NATO etc
• India’s diplomatic cadre must be given specific training to operate in hostile environments. 
• Assign a greater role to its armed forces, in particular by strengthening the Navy and Air Force’s capacity to operate in tandem with civilian authorities. 
• Government must establish a permanent civil reserve air fleet that pools aircraft from all Indian airlines based on pre-established requisition and reimbursement process.
• Invest in new technologies to better monitor the diaspora’s profile and mobility

Steps Taken

• India setup Dr LM Singhavi Committee (High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora)  in 2002 which gave various recommendations. (Almost all steps taken by the Government are based on this report like starting Pravasi Bhartiya Divas , giving more importance to Diaspora etc

• For giving special focus to the issues pertaining to the Indian diaspora, the government set up a dedicated Ministry of oversees Indian affairs in 2004. It provides all round services to the diaspora. (Again merged with External Ministry. Retrograde step)

• Government has started, since 2003, the organization of Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India. 

• The government has launched various social security schemes for Indian diaspora living abroad, like
  • Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojana, 2006

• Skilling for Foreign Jobs
  • Swarnapravas Yojana : focuses on skill development of Indians  who want to go abroad  in select sectors that face skill shortages in the international labor market, and increase their employability  
  • Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana : PKVY has exclusive program to train Indians seeking jobs abroad which train them in suitable skill sets 

• Various online platforms for Diaspora
  • MADAD App : To help NRIs in distress relating to work permit, visa , employer issue
  • E-Migrate Portal : Recruiting Agents have to register here

• Schemes to know about India  and their roots
  • Know India Programme was launched as a three-week Orientation programme for diaspora youth (aged 18 to 30) conducted with a view to promote awareness on different facets of life in India and the progress made by the country in various fields (latest such program conducted in Dec 2017) .
  • Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs is running a scheme known as “Tracing the Roots” to facilitate PIOs in tracing their roots in India.

• Oversees Citizenship of India Scheme (OCI): The Scheme provides for benefits comparable to citizens in certain fields, like in economic and education fields etc. PIO Card was merged with OCI Scheme as well

• State level initiatives : States like Punjab with huge diaspora have started NRI police stations and NRI Sabha to deal with cases and issues of NRIs.

What more can be done

• To ensure that Diaspora members feel welcomed on their arrival in India and also recall warmly their visits, a friendlier reception at their point of entry; easier procedures for immigration and customs clearances that are marked by courteous service are essential
• To address the problems of our overseas blue-collar workers, following should be implemented at the earliest possible.
  • Establishing a welfare fund for repatriated overseas workers in distress;
  • Monitoring and supervision of both the employment contracts, and conditions of our overseas workers by our Missions;
  • Launching compulsory insurance schemes covering the risks faced by our overseas workers;

• Diaspora can make a significant contribution to the growth of tourism in India. PIOs make frequent visits to their home state or  their relatives. There should be greater focus on promoting tourism among 2nd generation PIOs.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Indian Diaspora could be constituted.This Committee could also act as a focal point for interaction with Parliamentarians of Indian Origin in other countries. Such exchanges are essential in order to bring about greater understanding and amity between them. 

• Giving Voting Rights to Indians living abroad . Procedure through which it can be done like e-ballot or on Indian Consular office etc can be debated

Last Updated: April 2025 (BIMSTEC and India)

BIMSTEC and India

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About BIMSTEC

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Timeline

1997	BIST-EC, i.e. Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation, was formed headquartered in Dhaka.
2004	– Nepal and Bhutan joined. – BIST-EC was renamed to BIMSTEC .   – BIMSTEC = Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
2004	Talks on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) started between BIMSTEC nations.
2008	2nd BIMSTEC Summit held in Delhi.
2014	3rd BIMSTEC Summit in Nay Pyi Taw (Capital of Myanmar).
2016	BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit held on side-lines of 2016 BRICS Summit in Goa => India started to promote BIMSTEC instead of SAARC.
2018	4th BIMSTEC Meet held in Nepal.
2019	BIMSTEC leaders were invited to Prime Minister’s swearing-in ceremony (in 2014, SAARC leaders were invited ). Therefore, it can be seen as a change in policy.
2020	5th summit was proposed to be held in September 2020 in Sri Lanka, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
2022	5th BIMSTEC Meet  was held in Colombo in virtual format.
2025	6th BIMSTEC Meet held in Thailand

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Why BIMSTEC is important for India?

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Challenges

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Revival of BIMSTEC (& death of SAARC) 

UNSC Reforms

This article deals with ‘UNSC Reforms – UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘International Relations’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

 

UN  reform  is  a  long  drawn  process  which  encompasses  five  key  issues: Categories  of  membership Question of  the veto  held  by  the  five  Permanent  Members Regional  representation Size  of  an  enlarged  Council  and  its working  methods Security  Council-General  Assembly  relationship.  Inclusion  of  new  members  is  part  of this reform  process.   Any  reform  of the  Security  Council would  require Agreement of at  least  2/3 of  UN member  states Agreement of  all the  Permanent  Members of  the UNSC  enjoying  the  veto  right.

Why UNSC Reforms are needed?

UNSC represents  post WWII realities . After 7 decades, the realities of world dynamics have changed a lot   In economic sphere , bodies like NDB , AIIB etc came up as Bretton Woods organisations (WB & IMF)   representing post WWII realities failed to accommodate legitimate interests of new economic powers eg India, Brazil, China etc.  If similar thing happened in case of UN , that will be detrimental to world peace.    UNSC isn’t  representative enough No permanent member from Africa despite 75% of UN work focusses on Africa No islamic nation   Not responsive to new issues that are emerging like terrorism & climate change .   Also parties are going to alternate forums or try to adjust other powers than P5 to reach at consensus. Eg to deal with Iran P5+1 platform was made   It has failed to tackle the recent crisis of Syria, Gaza and Ukraine. Need to make it efficient, effective, and credible and a legitimate body.   Numbers of members since formation of UN has increased from 51 to 193 but that is not reflected in UNSC .

Various Proposals for UNSC Reforms

G-4 Economically strong states along with one from Africa should get permanent seats This proposal has support of many nations Dealt in detail below.   African Union Increasing the number of both permanent & non-permanent members where 2 permanent & 5 non-permanent members from Africa should be included   United for Consensus (UfC) Aka Coffee Club Mainly created to counter the proposals of G-4 . 40 members like Italy (against Germany) , Pakistan (against India), Columbia(against Brazil) , S Korea (Japan) , Nigeria & Egypt (against SA)  etc They propose Enhancement of non permanent members to be increased from 10 to 20 members. Later they proposed idea of regional representation rather than national representation. This has benefit of giving representation to bigger body (but not all the regions have strong regional organisations eg Asia .

Other suggestions

Member states that have demonstrated credibility and capacity to shoulder the responsibilities of the principal UN organ should have a presence in form of “semi-permanent” seats with term of  six-eight years    Veto Reforms:  There shouldn’t be any Veto power.   Variants of the veto provision have been suggested, such as the requirement of double veto, i.e. at least two permanent members must exercise veto for it to be valid.

G4 and its issues

Comprises of  Brazil, Germany, India & Japan . These 4 countries support each other’s bids for permanent seats on UNSC The G4’s primary aim is the permanent member seats on the Security Council.   Claims of different nations of G4 Germany 3rd largest contributor to UN funding Several times elected to Security Council Biggest economy in Europe UK & France support Germany’s claim But Italy & Spain which are part of UfC oppose Germany Brazil Largest country in Latin America in terms of population, territory & economy It has been elected to Security Council many times 10th largest contributor to UN funding UK, Russia & France support But Mexico & Argentina oppose due to regional dynamics Japan 2nd largest contributor to UN budget One of the largest contributor to Official Development Assistance Many times elected to Security Council US, UK , France & Russia supports China (having veto) opposed to it

India & Permanent  Membership ?

India’s Claim Biggest  democracy  in the  world  &  represent 1/6th of humanity Second-largest and one of the largest constant contributors of troops to United Nations peacekeeping It   frequently  serves  as  a  non-permanent  (rotational)  member (7 times till now ) It  has  the support  of  some  major  players  (France,  Russia,  United  Kingdom,  and  United  States ) It is also the world’s7th largest economy by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. India maintains the world’s third largest active armed force and is a nuclear weapon state but at the same time known for her peaceful credentials It  is  part  of  an  otherwise  underrepresented  region,  with  large  unrepresented  religions  (Hinduism  and Islam).   Impediments Would be very difficult to make P5 members to share their power with others . They would like to maintain status quo . Very difficult to garner support of 2/3rd members United for Consensus bitterly oppose these reforms India’s position on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its border “disputes” with Pakistan and China Asia already has representation in form of China but Africa is not represented by any nation. Along with that G-4 has two Asian nations which if accepted will take Asian number to 3 .     Latest Development : India is in favour of expansion of Permanent Members without Veto Powers since Permanent Members don’t want to share Veto Power with any other power

 

Data Privacy Bill and BN Srikrishna Committee Report

This article deals with ‘Data Privacy Bill and BN Srikrishna Committee Report- UPSC.’ This is part of our series on ‘Science and Technology’ which is important pillar of GS-3 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Issues at hand

• SC in K.S. Puttaswamy case has declared Right to Privacy as Fundamental right. 
• Most of the data storage companies are based abroad.  They also export data to other jurisdiction making it difficult to apply Indian laws. 
• India does not have any dedicated legal framework for data protection.
• India does not have provisions   for data localization i.e. to store data within country .
• Volume of data on internet is expanding exponentially 
• Generally, the application using pre-ticked boxes on consent regarding the privacy policy and use of their personal data
• RBI announced that the payment system providers (Visa, Mastercard, PayTM etc) need to store entire payments data in a system only in India

Data Protection Bill and Justice BN Srikrishna Committee report

Provisions of Data Protection Bill which is based upon the recommendations of Justice BN Srikrishna Report are as follows :-

• Fiduciary relationship: Relationship between individual and service provider must be viewed as a fiduciary . Therefore, the service provider is under an obligation to use data fairly and for the authorised purposes only.
• In case of violation, he can be punished.

• Rights of the individual: Certain rights regarding data has been given to individual. These include:
  • right to be forgotten.
  • right to seek correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date personal data, and
  • right to have personal data transferred to any other data fiduciary

• Data localization: It mandates Data localization of at least one copy in India by data fiduciary

• **Data Protection Authority: to protect interests of individuals, prevent misuse of personal data, and ensure compliance with the Bill

• Define Sensitive personal data: It includes passwords, financial data, genetic data, caste, religious or political beliefs, or any other category of data specified by the Authority. 
• explicit consent of the individual is required for Processing of sensitive personal data

• Exemptions from compliance: It also gives exemptions for processing of personal data for certain purposes, such as journalistic activities, law enforcement, security of state. 

• Recognises privacy as a fundamental right

Importance of Data Localisation

• Data is the new oil fueling the 4th Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence led economy

• Increase revenue and create jobs as technology companies will be forced to open up offices in India and cant shift their profits to outside locations to avoid taxes.

• Maintain data sovereignty and privacy of citizens

• Important for national security as any data can be retrieved for investigation of crime

Issues with the Bill

• Issues with data localization
  • There is no evidence that data localization leads to better privacy and security of data.
  • The industry will have to incur the additional costs given the bill proposes that companies ensure the storage, on a server or data centre located in India, of at least one copy of personal data.
  • Keeping a copy in India does not really guarantee against breach of security or privacy.

• exemption on the ground of security of state may be too broad and may lead to surveillance and systematic access to citizens’ data by the state.

• Protectionist measures in the law => US and European Union countries are planning to take India to WTO on these issues.

Data localisation in other countries

Russia and China	Strict data localisation
EU	General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR) which mandates that every EU citizen’s data be stored within the EU.