102ND Science Congress Culminates

Shri Ram Naik Calls Upon Scientists Devise New Methods for Increasing Agricultural Praoduction, Better and Economic use of Water Resources as well as  Cost Effective Energy Consumption Knowledge of the Past should be with The Modern Concept Dr. A.K.Saksena Nominated as President Elect For 103rd Indian Science Congress to be held at Mysore The five days long sojourn of 102nd Indian Science Congress today came to an end with a call from Uttar Pradesh Governer and Chief Guest of the event  Shri Ram Nayak to the Scientist Community to devise new methods for increasing Agricultural Praoduction, better and economic use of water resources as well as  cost effective energy consumption.  He said it is a challange for us as he have an ever indreasing population  and scienists need to evolve solution for it. Shri Ram Naik first talked of Late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan” and linked it with the slogan given by former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratn Nominee Shri Atal Bihari Vajpeyee “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan aur Jai Vigyan”. He said our current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is rightly working to promote Scientific Environment in the Country with a firm resolution. Referring  to the Ancient scriptures Shri Naik said what ever knowledge we have should be associated with the modern concept and there should be a thorough research in this regard. He said we must have proud on our past achievements as one who forgets past fails to design future. Shri Naik also referred to Swami Viveka Nanda’s words ‘awake, move aheadtill you reach at the destination’ and said we should keep in mind the Ved Mantra “Chaieveti-Chaireveti” in all our ventures. Shri Naik also released a Sovenier for the Indian Scince Congress on this Occasion. He also felicitated winners of Young Scientists Awards for the Year 2014-15 in the field of Agricultural & Forestry Science, Animal Husbandry, Embryology, Chemical Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Mineral Sciences, Medical Sciences, New Biology, Physical and Plant Sciences. The Award carried a Citation with Rs. 25,000/-each. The Pwards for poster competion were also given on the occasion. In addition all the departments participating in the “Pride of India Expo” were also felicitated. The Guest of Honour Union Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu in his address said he is addressing Scientists of today and tomorrow. He said emphasis be laid on how to use Science and Technology to achieve the targets and fulfill the aspirations of people. He said in coping with the developmental needs of our county anfd humanity at large Science and Scintifis fraternity has to play a pivotal role. He also emphasised the need to address the Climatic Changes concerns, conservation of our Ecological  resources. He said we have to think that “To solve a problem we should not create another problem” and Science  and Technology should be used for it. He called upon to prepare  a national agenda for devising a  long term vision in this regard. The other guest of honour, the Maharashtra Minister of Technical & Higher Education Shri Vinod Tavde said that suggestions during Science Congress will be duly considered by a  Task Force set up by the State Government. Earlier in his Welcome Address Dr. Naresh Chandra, Pro-Vice Chanceller of Mumbai University informed of the Participation of 15,000 plus delegates and 06 Nobel Laureates and o4 other Laureates in the Conference. In his Address Prof. Rajan Welukar, Vice Chanceler of Mumbai University while expressing gratitude to all the collaborates announced the dedication of University based Nano Science Cell and Nano Technology department to the Nation for open research. He said any one desirrous of doing research work can come here for hie persuits. Dr,. S.B.Nimse, Vice Chancellor Lucknow University and President of the Indian Science Congress in his address also expressed gratitute to all concerned for making this mega event a grand success. Earlier in the General Body Meeting of Indian Science Congress held to day Mr. A.K. Saksena was nominated  as new President elect for the 103rd Indian Science Congress to be held in Mysore in January, 2015.

The benefits of Aadhaar

The direct benefits transfer (DBT) scheme of the Indian government, said to be the largest of its kind in the world, was technically rolled out across the entire country from January 1. It has been initiated with the transfer of the subsidy for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), meant for cooking gas to the consumer's designated bank account that is also linked to her Aadhaar number. This is an important part of the government's programme to pass on as many subsidies as possible directly to the beneficiary concerned in order to avoid leakage. There are three legs on which the whole operation stands - the consumer's proof of identity as established through the biometric Aadhaar system, her bank account to which the subsidy will be credited and the beneficiary details of the service in question, in this instance supply of LPG cylinders. So far close to 65 million or 43 per cent of the total number of consumers have registered and till now Rs 624 crore of subsidy has been disbursed through bank accounts. A massive 728 million people (58 per cent of the country's 2013 population) have registered under Aadhaar so far. In the last three months, 103 million bank accounts have been opened under Jan Dhan Yojana, thus bringing under its ambit 98 per cent of targeted households. By any measure, all this adds up to a highly credible technological achievement for any country, not to speak of a developing one.

The key identification enabler, Aadhaar, was developed by the previous government but became mired in controversy, some of it created by the Bharatiya Janata Party itself, then in opposition. TheDBT for LPG was also introduced by the previous United Progressive Alliance government, but was held back when initial glitches surfaced. Right now, Aadhaar registration is not compulsory and a sixth of those who have registered for LPG have not furnished Aadhaar details. They have three months to do so. Even if a consumer fails to do that, she will not lose her subsidy for good as it will rest in an escrow account until the paperwork is complete. These important fallbacks have been introduced so that consumers can take their time to understand what they have to do and do it with confidence.

It is to the credit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he saw the potential of Aadhaar as a key enabler for the DBT scheme and stretched out across bipartisan skirmish lines to revive and adopt it. Once the DBT scheme gets fully going, leakages resulting from the existence of fictitious consumers and impersonation will be virtually abolished. But more will need to be done to meaningfully target subsidies. The important task of identifying the deserving in order to make targeting work has to be a separate exercise and that is likely to prove challenging. Right now an absurdly huge proportion of households in several states has been designated as falling below the poverty line and, hence, entitled to many subsidies. This is a failure of targeting. As only three per cent of Indians pay income tax, determining incomes for the rest to enable effective targeting will be both difficult and controversial.

Govt deserves credit for moving on direct transfers

Finding a number for 'good' governance

The recent elections saw the emergence of an aspirational class exercising their franchise in an unprecedented manner. The electorate put its faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an attempt to prevent the moral and operational decay of India's governing institutions.

Following Modi's election, political discourse has been dominated by talk of good governance. The term occupies such a hallowed position that we have christened (pun-intended) "Good Governance Day." However, notwithstanding the wisdom of the Indian electorate, there has been something amiss amid all this rhetoric. While it is possible to meaningfully and objectively evaluate a claim of Kerala being better developed than Bihar; on what grounds can one evaluate the claim that governance in Gujarat is objectively better than governance in Maharashtra? A prerequisite to make good governance the benchmark of an effective government is a mechanism to evaluate and assess the same. Previous attempts by government agencies have resulted in incomplete or discarded projects. This shifts the onus upon private institutions and civil society organisations. India must have a system that introduces accountability and allows the public to evaluate the claims of good governance on the basis of evidence and not mere rhetoric. Given this backdrop, there is a dire need to establish a governance index for Indian states. Such a tool will create a ranking system that gives poor performance little chance to hide, while simultaneously encouraging constructive competition and empowering civil society to hold their governments to account.

The development of a governance index for Indian states is not limited to reasons of accountability alone. Tying assistance to good governance conditionalities is imperative. For example, the Millennium Challenge Corporation determines US foreign aid contributions based purely on governance improvements of poor countries, completely divorced from political compulsions. In a similar vein, a certain amount of central assistance in India could be conditioned on the governance performance of states. In this scenario, the political futures and revenue sources of leaders and governments becomes dependent on their governance performance.

Furthermore, the establishment of a comprehensive data set and index of governance will effect informed academic research and help develop more robust theory drawing links between governance and development, lack of governance and conflict and so on. It can also be used to question policy; asking how two states with similar human and natural resources end up with very different levels of security and development.

The debate over the need for a composite governance index has many parallels to the Sen-Haq debate prior to the development of the Human Development Index (HDI). Amartya Sen thought that capturing a concept as complex as human development in a single number was a "crude" and "vulgar" idea. However, Mahbub ul Haq convinced Sen of the merits of a composite index that would give policymakers the ability to fall back on a statistic that was more accessible and easier to understand and convey. The simplicity of a ranking system, in other words, is the defining characteristic that makes it a powerful tool that is easily accessed, digested, and understood by ordinary citizens to hold their governments to account. This is fundamentally the reason that ranked indices such as the HDI, Ease of Doing Business, Corruption Perceptions Index and so on gain front-page traction in media outlets in India and across the world; and thus become better tools of accountability, while World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators fail to achieve this level of outreach.

However, before quantitatively evaluating good governance, one has to conceptualise what good governance means. Some global indices measure governance by the outcomes it produces - indicators of health, education, infrastructural development and so on. This is problematic, as it equates governance with development and thus makes the link between governance and development tautological. It also ignores, for example, the fact that the development of the health sector and the under-five mortality rate is not exclusively determined by public governance; but is often a result of a complex interplay of societal structure, citizen actions, private sector performance and public sector efforts.

Thus, there is an urgent need to focus on governance as the interplay of institutions, processes and mechanisms as opposed to development outcomes. It is necessary to think about not just what good governance achieves but particularly on how good governance works and who it works for.

While acknowledging that institutional processes and mechanisms have legitimate reason for contextual variation, governance in the Indian context must acknowledge the normative constructs that are already deeply embedded in the Indian polity - transparency, decentralisation, human rights and other normative dimensions of democracy cannot be ignored because of the intrinsic value that the Indian polity has already ascribed to them. Any effort to build a governance index must also take into account other factors unique to the Indian context - the efficiency of the bureaucracy, federalism and devolution of power through Panchayati Raj, special interest capture, autonomy and independence of institutions, minority representation and so on.

Academics, policymakers and other key stakeholders must enter into a comprehensive dialogue to debate and define governance in the Indian context before commencing a substantive home-grown project to build upon existing literature, gather data and design an index. Unless we develop a rigorous method to quantify the quality of governance and hold government and politicians to account, the clarion call for good governance is doomed to failure.

Define good governance in the Indian context, and then build an index

India's healthcare crisis

The wide disparity between the best healthcare & quackery that much of the population must endure is partly to blame for India's apathy

Whether Indians in ancient times discovered algebra and the Pythagoras theorem before "selflessly" passing them on to the Arabs and the Greeks as Science and Technology MinisterHarsh Vardhan said last week is for agile historians to ponder. Widely accepted is that Indians in ancient times studied the science of logic. Whether our government does in 2015 is debatable.

What is one to make of the plans for the spectrum auction in February that will drive prices through the roof and leave us short of capacity in 3G even as the government tom-toms its plans for Digital India at every opportunity? Even more bizarre is the lack of focus on healthcare, especially for mothers and babies, while holding forth about India's demographic dividend at every investors' forum in the country.

Reuters reported on December 23 that the 2014-15healthcare Budget was going to be cut by about $950 million, down by about 20 per cent from the Budget allocation of $5 billion. Cuts in the healthcare Budget in the mid to high teens have been true every year for the past few years as the time comes to meet fiscal deficit targets - but this year was supposed to be different.

The Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto promised universal healthcare and a focus on rural health, for starters. Just days after the news that the healthcare Budget was to be cut, the National Health Policy was unveiled. People with incomes of less than Rs 1,640 in rural areas and Rs 2,500 in cities are to qualify for medical assistance. Primary care is to be free for all. The policy also makes a case for more than doubling government spending on healthcare from 1.04 per cent of gross domestic product, among the lowest in the world even among poor countries, to 2.5 per cent.

Anyone with a basic knowledge of arithmetic would notice that the cutting of the health Budget by almost $1 billion and expanding coverage to all does not quite add up. In fact, the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health study of 2013 pegged at $23.6 billion annually what India would have to spend over the next 20 years to achieve a convergence with global levels on infectious disease, child and maternal mortality rates.

Impossible? Perhaps, but we should be trying to move in that direction as if the country was in an emergency. Which, of course, it is, for the parents of babies dying from diarrhoea because of the lack of rehydration salts and zinc that cost all of Rs 15 each. In total, 1.4 million Indian children die before the age of five.

Where would all the money come from? India could redirect at least some of the subsidies lavishly spent on fertilisers (total subsidy for 2013-14 about $11 billion) and petroleum (about $13.5 billion over the same period). Instead of encouraging the excessive use of fertilisers on our farms, and of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders to the extent that some middle-class families hook them up to their water geysers, or of diesel for SUVs as we have done historically, we would do better to invest in healthcare.

Far from aspiring to global averages, India trails poorer countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh and, heaven help us, Nepal on yardsticks like inoculating babies against diphtheria and tetanus or even the percentage of mothers who breastfeed their babies.

Despite some improvement over the years, what India's poor performance underlines is both too little money being spent on healthcare as well as inefficient primary healthcare systems in many states. As K Srinath Reddy, the president of the Public Health Foundation of India, puts it, the "metric" for success should be the life expectancy of a tribal girl in Madhya Pradesh.

The Gates Foundation in India has targeted turning around high maternal mortality numbers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh (UP), where many women die in childbirth when wounds turn septic - because midwives and mothers-in-law use cow dung or oil as a salve where the umbilical cord is cut. The foundation's head, Girindre Beeharry, says the Budget next month offers an opportunity to "think big and act big" on healthcare. Likening healthcare spending to a funnel, he says India needs to spend significantly more at the "mouth" and also manage the efficiency of the "stem" that carries that funding to, say, mothers and children needing neonatal care. Working in UP, the foundation has used mobile cards, or mobile kunjis, to help health workers disseminate information to mothers on breastfeeding and the like as well as a recording of a "Dr Anita" that mothers can call into to get tips on looking after their babies. States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where I have followed energetic primary healthcare workers making house calls to new mothers on a reporting assignment years ago, show how it can be done.

Rampant absenteeism of doctors and nurses at primary healthcare centres in many of India's 640,000 villages cannot perennially be used as an excuse for withholding funding from healthcare. In Rajasthan last summer, I was impressed to hear the government was considering bussing villagers to primary healthcare centres in towns. It might fail, but the logic was straightforward enough. "Even a saintly doctor needs a small room with a toilet (to rent). We have to accept ground realities," said Rajiv Mehrishi, then chief secretary of Rajasthan and now finance secretary in New Delhi.

The wide disparity between the best healthcare in the country and the quackery and absenteeism that much of the population must endure is partly to blame for India's apathy. With the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis and antibiotic-resistant infections to the middle class in the cities, we are at a point when the health epidemic is about to hit home, even in New Delhi. As Kaushik Basu observed recently, if poverty were a communicable disease, we would have found more energetic solutions to it.

PM's address at the Inauguration of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

PM calls upon the Indian diaspora across the world to unite as a positive global force in the cause of humanity The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today called upon the Indian diaspora across the world to unite as a positive global force in the cause of humanity. In his inaugural address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, the Prime Minister recalled that exactly 100 years ago, a Non Resident Indian - Gandhi - had returned to India to serve the people. Today, he said, he was welcoming NRIs from across the world as a Non Resident Gujarati. The Prime Minister said NRIs are present across the world, in more than 200 countries. "India is global because of you," he told the gathering. He said that in the past, Indians had travelled across the world in search of opportunity, or to gain knowledge and exposure. "Today, opportunities beckon you in India," he asserted, adding that today, the world looks at India with hope. He said times are changing quickly, and India is rising with great strength. The Prime Minister exhorted the Indian diaspora to contribute to India`s success in any way possible, including knowledge, expertise or skills. The Prime Minister mentioned in particular, the Namaami Gange project to clean the River Ganga, and make it a source of economic empowerment for 40 percent of India`s population. He said he was sure all NRIs would be inspired to contribute to this cause. The Prime Minister welcomed the dignitaries from Guyana, South Africa and Mauritius. He recalled how Indian festivals such as Holi and Diwali are enthusiastically celebrated in Guyana. He recalled that today - January 8th - was the founding day of the African National Congress in South Africa. He mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi`s birth anniversary - October 2 - is observed in Mauritius with even greater vigour than it is observed in India. The Prime Minister called upon NRIs across the world to forge and take pride in a common identity and heritage, and to use this strength collectively. He said even if a solitary NRI is present anywhere in the world, India is alive and present in that corner of the world through him. The Prime Minister said he had met representatives of 50 countries since assuming office, and he could say with confidence that rich or poor, all nations across the world, today feel that their goals and objectives can be met in partnership with India. He said this was a rare opportunity, and it was now upto everyone to use this opportunity for the benefit of humanity, and for India`s benefit. The Prime Minister said the world was showering affection on India, as was evident from the fact that a record 177 nations out of 193, had co-sponsored India`s resolution on International Day of Yoga at the United Nations. External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister's Address at the Inaugural Session of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 Following is the text of the External Affairs Minister`s address at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas - 2015 “Let me, at the outset, extend a very warm welcome to all of you, to this Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. It is apt that this year PBD is being held in Gujarat, marking the 100th Anniversary of the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa. Bapuji gave shape and character to India`s freedom struggle. He demonstrated the power of non-violence, by precipitating the disintegration of the mightiest empire in the world at that time. He also fought against indentureship and the exploitation of Indians around the globe. It is a fitting tribute to Bapu that we have with us today Hon’ble Donald Ramotar, President of Guyana, as the Chief Guest. Our warm and friendly relations are embedded in historical, cultural and traditional links. We have just commissioned well-known sculptor and Padma Shri awardee, Biman Das, to build a monument dedicated to the arrival of Indian indentured labourers in Guyana. Excellency, we look forward to taking our relationship to greater heights, for the mutual benefit of our peoples. Friends, it is also a particular pleasure for me to welcome our Guest of Honour, Hon’ble Madam Mashabane, the Foreign Minister of South Africa. Excellency, your presence here today underscores the value you attach to our common legacy and cooperation in the struggle for freedom from colonialism and oppression. I am happy to note that South Africa is a partner country at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit being held in Gandhinagar from 11-13 January 2015. We are pleased to have with us Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius, Hon’ble Mr. Showkatally Soodhun. The historical and civilizational connection of Mauritius with India is so deep that they take pride in calling the country "Chhota Bharat”.The PIOs in Mauritius celebrate the arrival of Indian indentured labourers as `Aapravasi Divas`which I had the privilege of attending two months back. Gandhiji visited Mauritius in 1901 and as a tribute to him the National Day of Mauritius is celebrated on March 12, which is the date of launch of the Dandi Salt Satyagraha.Owing to the strong Diaspora ties and the great pride in our shared ancestral heritage, Mauritius has been an active participant in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) since its inception in 2003. I respectfully welcome the Hon’ble Prime Minister without whose guidance and leadership this event would not have been possible at this scale. I welcome Governor of Gujarat Shri Kohliji for gracing this occasion.I welcome Smt. Annadiben, Chief Minister of Gujarat; Gujarat happens to be the partner state of PBD this year. I welcome my colleagues Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad and Shri Jayant Sinha who have helped us in releasing the commemorative stamp and coin. I welcome my colleague Gen. V.K. Singh, MOS who has personally supervised all arrangements for the PBD. Last but not least, I welcome Secretary MOIA Shri Soni who has executed our decisions with speed and efficiency. Friends, the term diaspora, in ancient Greek, refers to "a scattering or sowing of seeds". The presence of Indians abroad can be attested to from the days of remote antiquity. Our classical texts describe the long journeys that saints and monks undertook for the spread of knowledge, peace and love. This was followed by several waves of outward migration over centuries, from the medieval period to the colonial and then the post-independence era, resulting in diverse communities of people of Indian origin in various parts of the world. The present-day travel of Indians as professionals, labourers, traders and entrepreneurs to the rest of the world is a continuing saga of Indian Migration.Our common bond, however, continues to be the mother tree – India. The Indian diaspora today constitutes an important, and in some respects unique, force in world culture. In the past couple of decades, it has grown into an energetic and confident community of over 25 million that has given India a presence in many parts of the world. However, it is not a one-way interaction that benefits only one side. It pleases all Indians when the Overseas Indian community is respected for its work culture, discipline, successful integration with the local community and for its outstanding contributions in their countries of residence. A successful, prosperous and politically influential diaspora is an asset to India, much as a strong and self-reliant India would be a source of strength and inspiration for the diaspora. This synergy acts as a vibrant bridge between us and sustains our relationship. The Government of India is determined to work closely with the diaspora to leverage each other’s strengths to mutual benefit. The Prime Minister himself has taken the lead in reaching out to the Overseas Indian community and engaging you. We welcome entrepreneurs, investors and professionals from the diaspora to partake in our endeavour to develop the motherland and restore it to its past glory. I promise you that it will be a mutually rewarding and satisfying partnership. I believe you have the unique insights, perspectives and the extensive natural links that can make this partnership work. The Prime Minister said he firmly believes that NRIs are a big strength of India, and India can make a global impact by reaching out to them. The Prime Minister said he was happy to announce that he had fulfilled all promises made to NRIs, such as lifelong visa for PIO cardholders, merging of PIO and OCI schemes, visa on arrival for 43 countries, and electronic travel authorization.

solar energy

With about 300 clear, sunny days in a year, India's theoretical solar power reception, on only its land area, is about 5,000 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year (or 5 EWh/yr).^[7][8][9] The daily average solar energy incident over India varies from 4 to 7 kWh/m² with about 1,500–2,000 sunshine hours per year (depending upon location), which is far more than current total energy consumption. For example, assuming the efficiency of PV modules were as low as 10%, this would still be a thousand times greater than the domestic electricity demand projected for 2015.^[7][10]

The amount of solar energy produced in India in 2007 was less than 1% of the total energy demand.^[11] The grid-connected solar power as of December 2010 was merely 10 MW.^[12]Government-funded solar energy in India only accounted for approximately 6.4 MW-yrs of power as of 2005.^[11] However, India is ranked number one in terms of solar energy production per watt installed, with an insolation of 1,700 to 1,900 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak (kWh/KWp).^[13]25.1 MW was added in 2010 and 468.3 MW in 2011.^[14] By end September 2014, the installed grid connected solar power had increased to 2,766 MW,^[15] and India expects to install an additional 10,000 MW by 2017, and a total of 20,000 MW by 2022

The Great Game Folio: Saudi succession

At a moment when the world is marvelling at the bold Saudi strategy of driving down oil prices — this week they dipped for a moment below $50 a barrel — King Abdullah, 90, has been hospitalised with pneumonia, setting off speculation about the kingdom’s stability and the international consequences of a political transition in Riyadh.

Abdullah acceded to the Saudi throne in 2005, when his half-brother King Fahd passed away. But Abdullah had been the crown prince since 1982 and was in charge of the kingdom during Fahd’s prolonged illness in his final years.

The king of Saudi Arabia is more than a mere monarch. He is the custodian of the Muslim holy places in Mecca and Medina, and exercises great political influence in the Islamic world. Since the fall of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser in the late 1960s, Saudi Arabia has acquired a decisive influence in shaping the regional order in the Middle East. The kingdom has been a strong ally of the Anglo-Saxon powers and enjoyed great clout in shaping the world economy.

With nearly a fifth of the world’s proven oil reserves and the very low costs of exploiting them, some have described the king of Saudi Arabia as the “custodian of the world’s oil prices”. As has been demonstrated in the last few weeks, Saudi Arabia remains the swing producer that can unilaterally determine the international price of oil.

Unlike in other monarchies, the Saudi succession has moved horizontally from one brother to another among the 40-odd sons that the founder of the kingdom, Abdul Aziz, fathered. Abdullah’s designated crown prince, Salman, is 79 years old; but he is said to be ill. The deputy crown prince Muqrin, the youngest of the second generation, is 69.

Some analysts worry that Abdullah’s death might generate considerable internal jockeying for power in Riyadh.

Others believe that Abdullah has had enough time to organise a smooth transition to the third generation of leadership. There is speculation that Abdullah has positioned his son, Prince Miteb, currently the head of the powerful National Guard, at the top of the heap in the third generation. Some are betting that when King Abdullah abdicates or passes away, his son Miteb could be appointed deputy crown prince.

REGIONAL TURBULENCE

The internal problems of succession look rather simple in comparison to the massive external challenges that Saudi Arabia faces.

If his predecessors had the reputation for political passivity, King Abdullah had brought a measure of assertiveness to Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy.

Amidst growing perception that Saudi Arabia is losing its clout in the oil market, Abdullah has taken on high-cost oil production around the world, including shale gas exploitation in the US, by forcing lower prices. This involves considerable cost to Saudi Arabia in the near term and Abdullah has been willing to run the risk.

Angered by the American empathy for the Arab Springand concerned that Washington might cut a nuclear deal with Iran, Abdullah has acted vigorously in the region. He sent troops into Bahrain to assist the minority Sunni elite in putting down a popular revolt. Abdullah offered strong support to the Egyptian army when it ousted the Muslim Brotherhood government in Cairo led by Mohammed Morsi. He actively sought to blunt the regional policies of Turkey and Qatar that backed the Brotherhood.

Fears of rising Iranian power and Tehran’s support to Shia formations across the region saw Abdullah back the Sunni militias in Syria and Iraq. The rise of Sunni extremism in the form of the Islamic State that threatens the interests of both Saudi Arabia and Iran has begun to encourage Abdullah to limit the regional rivalry with Tehran in the last few months.

DELHI’S ARABIA

Over the last decade, Abdullah unveiled a “Look East” policy that lent Asia greater salience in the Saudi worldview. Abdullah became the first Saudi monarch ever to visit China. His trip to India as the chief guest on Republic Day in 2006 was the first by a Saudi king in more than 50 years.

If Beijing moved with great speed to consolidate the partnership with Riyadh, the UPA government seemed somewhat slow in seizing the new opportunities that opened up in Saudi Arabia under Abdullah.

The NDA government, focused as it has been on the immediate neighbourhood and the great powers, has not devoted sufficient attention to the Middle East in 2014. As New Delhi turns to the Gulf in 2015 and tends to its high stakes in the region, an intensive engagement with Saudi Arabia must be at the top of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic priorities.

-